COMMUNITY NEWS SANTAN SUN NEWS | JUNE 15 - JULY 5, 2019
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How to help with Chandler back-to-school event SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF
The City of Chandler Diversity Office, along with For Our City-Chandler and a volunteer committee, is gearing up for another Operation Back to School event on July 20, at Chandler High School, 350 N. Arizona Ave. Operation Back to School is a one-day event where kids receive a free, brand-new backpack filled with school supplies to ensure Chandler students are ready with the supplies they need for the first day of school. Haircuts, uniforms, socks, shoes and underwear also are a few of the freebies students receive during the event. There are several ways to get involved for this year’s upcoming event: corporate sponsorships that range from $500 to $20,000; make an online financial contribution (100 percent of monetary donations are used to purchase supplies
for students); donate school supplies, shoes, socks, underwear or empty backpacks, for any size or gender, K-12. Please note all donated items must be brand new; or volunteer to assist with inventory and backpack stuffing prior to the event or the day-of event assistance. People also can donate a new backpack filled with supplies, or conduct a backpack/supply drive at your workplace or organization. Stylists will be needed to cut boys and girls hair from 6:30-10:30 a.m. Nearly 2,200 families and students from 43 of the 47 Chandler Unified schools attended last year and more are expected to attend this coming year. In addition, more than 307 residents provided volunteer service to prepare for the event and nearly 50 nonprofits and local businesses made cash and in-kind
donations. Complete information is bit. ly/2019OBTSChandler, niki.tapia@ chandleraz.gov or 480-782-2214. Drop-off locations for donations are: To view a complete list of sponsorship opportunities, school supplies needed or volunteer opportunities, visit bit. ly/2019OBTSChandler. The website also has information on how to donate online. In addition, supplies can be dropped off at any of these collection sites in Chandler: · E nvironmental Education Center, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ·T umbleweed Recreation Center, 745 E. Germann Road Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. · Sunset Library, 4930 W. Ray Road Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday: 1-5 p.m. · Flix Brewhouse, 1 W. Chandler Blvd. Visit flixbrewhouse.com/chandler for hours · Snedigar Recreation Center, 4500 S. Basha Road Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. · West Chandler Police Substation, 251 N. Desert Breeze Blvd. Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. · Hilton Chandler Mall, 2929 W. Frye Road Open 24 hours Collection sites for backpacks and school supplies will be open until Wednesday, July 11.
Chandler couple fenced baby formula, police allege BY KAYLA RUTLEDGE Staff Writer
A Chandler couple has been arrested on suspicion they acted as middle men in fencing stolen baby formula. In the aftermath of what Chandler Police called their largest undercover operation to date, police arrested Rafid Khoshi, 46, and Manal Sulaiman, 43, at their Sun Groves home. Police said couple was purchased stolen formula and shipped it to a dealer in El Cajon, California. In total the couple shipped over 25,000 cans of baby formula worth about $425,000 to California via freight trucks.
The investigation began in September 2018, when two subjects were taken into custody for stealing formula from a Walmart in Chandler. The subjects told detectives they had stolen the formula with intent of selling it to Khoshi and Sulaiman, who had requested to purchase upwards of 1,000 cans at a time, police said. Five days later, an undercover cop met with Khoshi and Sulaiman to sell baby formula. By May this the officer had sold formula to the couple 13 times and worth over $25,000, though Khoshi had knowledge the formula had been stolen, police said. Throughout the investigation it was discovered the Khoshi was recruiting drug
City employees take a break after a work-out. (City of Chandler)
SENATORS
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parochial school. But Yarbrough, until he stepped down from ACSTO in late 2017, also had a personal and financial interest in scholarships. ACSTO was the second-largest tuition organization in the state, behind only the program run by the Catholic church. It collected more than $200 million in donations between 1998 and 2017, giving
out $173 million of that in scholarships as Arizona law allows sponsoring organizations to keep up to 10 percent for costs. Yarbrough said he had nothing to gain from his sponsorship of the corporate tax credits, saying all the money he gave out came from private and not corporate donations. In his last year in office — and after stepping aside from ACSTO — Yarbrough did offer to support reducing that 20
addicts and users of the app “Offer Up,” a buying and selling app comparable to Craigslist, to steal the formula and bring it to him. Khoshi was known to text lists of preferred formula brands to shoplifters, and told the undercover detective he had a buyer for those brands because they were “top sellers” for his business. Khoshi told police he had minimal involvement in the trafficking ring and simply buys about 20 cans of formula per week as a hobby. Chandler Police Chief Sean Duggan said, “The financial losses to the victims were great and so was the reach this criminal enterprise had in the community.
I commend our Property Crimes detectives for their relentless pursuit to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion.” Various national news agencies have reported on the lucrative the black market for baby formula. Legitimate sales of formula exceed $4 billion annually and that basic cans can run $20 apiece while special recipes can sell for as much as three times that for a three-to-four-day supply. Around the country, law enforcement agencies in recent years have reported heists ranging from thousands to several million dollars’ worth of baby formula.
WELLNESS
The bike ride is hosted by the transportation policy division, but Boley said the Wellness Committee promoted the event because it is a great way for families to be active together. “Sometimes we start living in our own bubble. I think it also gives people an opportunity to discover trails and get out and discover more of their own community. Were lucky in Chandler we have exceptional parks and trails, jogging paths and bike lanes in a lot of areas,” said Boley. Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke added, “our Wellness Team has been working hard to develop programs to engage our employees to make health and wellness a priority. I’m pleased that their efforts were recognized with a Healthy Arizona Worksite Platinum Award.” Boley said she is excited to see the wellness and health efforts of the city expand next year.
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to them because it’s not a one size fits all,” said Boley. She added an app has also been developed to keep employees connected from their phone to the portal no matter where they are. The portal grants online access to seminars on the various aspects of wellness including; nutrition, mental health, fitness, retirement and finances. “Not everyone can make it to lunch and learn at noon. So we made it available electronically,” said Boley. Some of the events city employees have participated in this year involved a mindful meditation session, national walk at lunch day, a resistance bands fitness class, and Chandler’s annual family bike ride event.
percent year-over-year inflator. But that died when he insisted it be paired with actually increasing the amounts of some other tax credits available for these private and parochial school scholarships. This year’s version, sponsored by Mesnard, had no such trade-off. It gained unanimous approval of both the House and Senate. During 2017, the most recent year for which records are available, Internal Revenue Service filings by ACSTO
show that out of the $21.3 million the organization collected, Yarbrough was paid $98,241 in annual salary plus another $27,840 in what was listed as the cost of fringe benefits and life insurance. On top of that, the organization paid another $659,300 to HY Processing, a firm owned by Yarbrough and his wife, Linda, to handle the accounting and paperwork for the scholarships. And ACSTO was renting space in a building owned by Yarbrough.