June 20 - July 3, 2015 www.SanTanSun.com
Miss Arizona heading to 2015 Miss USA Pageant BY TRACY HOUSE
There isn’t a talent portion at the 2015 Miss USA Pageant, but if there was, Maureen Montagne, the 21-year-old reigning Miss Arizona USA 2015 from Chandler, said she would probably sing, dance or play the ukulele, because her other talent, licking her elbow, isn’t really stage worthy. Instead, Montagne will be judged in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories at the 2015 Miss USA Pageant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 12. “All the contestants will be leaving two weeks early and we’ll do pageant training over there,” she said. To prepare for the trip, Montagne is staying fit, maintaining her interview skills, keeping up on current events and readying for the runway. Montagne is no stranger to the latter, however. “I started modeling when I was about 5. I was actually scouted at the Ostrich Festival one time.” She made her pageant debut at age 13. “My mom entered me in it. I was so shy and I didn’t do very well. I used to be super quiet.” Then at 18 she placed third runner-up as Miss Asia Arizona. At 19 she went to
Chandler’s Maureen Montagne, Miss Arizona USA 2015, is heading to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to compete in the 2015 Miss USA Pageant on Sunday, July 12. Submitted photo
the Philippines and represented Arizona in a national pageant, receiving first
Chandler National athletes become baseball ambassadors BY TIM J. RANDALL
Baseball is a global game, evidenced by Major League Baseball showcasing the top talent from around the world. Those aspiring to play professional baseball are the youth playing in the United States, Central and South America and Asia. In the spirit of growing the game and fostering a love of baseball, 15 boys and five coaches have been invited, as a squad, to Taiwan to compete in a goodwill fiveday exhibition tournament against Korea, Japan, Philippines and Taiwan. The team, the Chandler All-Stars will be comprised of the top hand-picked players from the Chandler National Little League (CNLL). “We have a very successful league, teams from Chandler National have made it to the Little League World Series Regionals in back-
to-back years—2014 and 2015,” said Doug Brewster, CNNL president. The invitation from the Taiwan league to play in the fifth annual Giant Cup Little League Tournament was reciprocation, as last year a squad of Taiwan all-stars played tournament games on a visit to Chandler, as part of an Arizona tour. “We had some fun games last year against the Taiwan team, their players and coaches really like the competition,” said Brewster. Spearheading this engagement has been Councilman Jack Sellers, who received the invite and approached Brewster in April. “This trip will not only provide our youth an opportunity to play their favorite sport, it will provide exceptional SEE AMBASSADORS PAGE 5
Voted Chandler’s BEST REALTOR for 4 years!
runner-up and in November 2014 was crowned Miss Arizona USA 2015.
Veteran’s advice For girls thinking about going into pageantry, Montagne offers some advice. “The No. 1 thing I have to say to girls looking to compete is there is no such thing as a ‘pageant girl.’ The girls who win are confident girls who know how to showcase themselves. It’s all about confidence. It’s all about inner beauty. I think so many girls think they aren’t good enough, or they’re not thin enough, or that the girl next to me is beautiful, she’s taking away from me so I can’t compete. That’s not the case at all.” Montagne admitted she was terrified in her first pageant. “If it wasn’t for pageantry I wouldn’t be as outgoing as I am. I wouldn’t be able to be such a great public speaker.” She mentioned that competing in pageants has also made her smart and business savvy. After all, she has to find sponsors to help with the costs. “At the end of this year, in November, I can say that I have so much that I’ve learned and gained from doing pageants.” Montagne moved to Chandler as a youngster, but feels like a “true Arizonan.” “I hate the cold and I grew up here,” she said. In addition to her duties as Miss Arizona, she works at Abercrombie & Fitch at the Chandler Fashion Center and attends ASU where she is majoring in communication and dancing on the school’s drill team. “I feel like I have to graduate a Sun Devil. I have to graduate with an ASU degree.” SEE MISS ARIZONA PAGE 4
Council approves budget with no hike in tax rate BY KEN ABRAMCZYK
Chandler residents will not see an increase in the City portion of their property tax rate on their next tax bills. The Chandler City Council left the 201516 tax rate unchanged when it approved a $910.6 million budget on June 11. The council approved a rate of $1.1792 per $100 of assessed property value, which is unchanged from the current amount. The council adopted the budget, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2016, and approved a 2016-2025 capital improvement budget for $1.1 billion. The council held a public hearing on the final budget, the capital improvement program and the property tax levy. Mayor Jay Tibshraeny thanked the staff for its work in putting together the budget and residents for their input.
Councilmembers viewed a PowerPoint presentation on the budget that presented these highlights: • The total operating budget is $538 million with the City departments’ operating budget at $343.3 million. • Several key public projects were earmarked, including the construction of a Fire Safety Center Burn Building, expansion of the Ocotillo Water Reclamation Facility, and improvements to downtown streets and utilities on Boston, Chicago, Dakota and Oregon streets and Commonwealth Avenue. • The Limited Property Value will be used to compute property taxes. While the tax rate remains the same, the actual tax on the city portion will decline
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Colossal water slides come to Layton Lake . . . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . Page 13 Local Realtor achieves Green Designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 23 Sister Cities announces showcase’s grand prize winner . . . . .YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 27 Nabers quintessential entertainment hotspot . . . . . . . . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . . . . . Page 41 ‘Idol’ winner talks coronation single, live show . . . . . . . . . . . .ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 63
See our ad on page 18
CLIP IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Center Section
SEE BUDGET PAGE 5
More Community . . . . . . 1-18 Business . . . . . . . .19-26 Youth. . . . . . . . . . 27-34 Opinion. . . . . . . . 39-40 Neighbors. . . . . . .41-54 Where to eat . . . .55-56 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . .57-63 Spirituality . . . . . 64-66 Directory . . . . . . 67-68 Classifieds. . . . . . 69-70