July 4 - July 17, 2015 www.SanTanSun.com
Off the turf, football players tackle charitable work BY ISRAEL GONZALEZ
As a fifth grader, Zach Werlinger played football daily in his Chandler neighborhood. Similarly, Zach Hemmila grew up grasping for flags in faux gridiron games in the same hometown. Both of them continued their paths to football, eventually receiving multiple honors in Chandler Unified School District high schools. Werlinger and Hemmila now play for the University of Arizona Wildcats as quarterback and offensive line, respectively. However, it’s what they do off the field that they say is more important. Through it all, Werlinger and Hemmila haven’t forgotten about the community. Zach Werlinger Werlinger played quarterback for Basha High School all four years, setting multiple school records including most career passing touchdowns and yards, and most touchdowns in a season. Even with all this, his off-the-field success might even be more impressive. Werlinger was president of the National Honor Society at Basha, possessed a weighted 4.56 GPA his senior year and earned many honors such as Sports360AZ
Zach Hemmila, right, a senior offensive lineman at the University of Arizona, played football at Chandler High School. Submitted photo
First Team All-Academic roster and was recognized as one of five National Football Foundation National High School Scholar-
Steel cacti to spruce up Arizona Avenue median BY KEN ABRAMCZYK
Motorists driving into Chandler soon will be greeted by a spruced up mile-long section of Arizona Avenue’s median. The City’s Transportation and Development Department will beautify the stretch between Chandler Heights and Riggs roads by installing 70 steel cacti, brick pavers, boulders and decomposed granite as part of a $92,000 median upgrade. The cacti, which cost $54,000, were created by Desert Steel in Kansas. The artwork ranges from saguaros to prickly pear. That stretch of Arizona Avenue is considered a gateway from the south into Chandler, just north of where highways 87 and 587 merge, and near
Athlete honorees. “Academics have always been important to me,” Werlinger said. “It’s important as a
student athlete to be the best academically as well as on the field.” Besides landing good grades, Werlinger has worked more than 100 hours of community service. “I started getting involved in high school because of National Honor Society and our football program,” Werlinger said. “I’m really glad I got into it. It’s a great way to meet people, connect with people and build friendships.” The 19-year-old U of A sophomore hasn’t forgotten his roots. “I grew up in Chandler. That’s home to me,” Werlinger said. Recently, Werlinger visited Cindy Bickley’s second-grade class at Tarwater Elementary School. There, Werlinger explained to students the importance of academics, leadership, responsibility and finding your passion. Not only did he motivate the students, but he inspired the teacher. “It is wonderful to have such a remarkable and humble role model in our Chandler community,” Bickley said. “My youngsters were overjoyed with his visit. He is an inspiration to all.” Werlinger, who enjoys working with children, said football players have to accept their responsibilities as role models. “Whether you like it or not, when you’re a football player someone will look up to you,” Werlinger said. “I do the best I can to encourage young kids to get involved in school and community. I enjoy taking on the responsibility of helping kids.” A communications major with a focus in see CHARITABLE WORK page 4
Preemie has knack for holidays BY TRACY HOUSE
Interstate 10. Motorists are asked to use caution for the next few weeks when driving through the construction area. To accommodate the work, some lanes close to the median will be closed to traffic. “It’s a positive upgrade to a barren desolate entry to the city,” said Jim Phipps, public information officer. “It makes sense economically and from a natural resources standpoint.” The City chose the artificial cacti over real cacti and shrubs due to ongoing costs of the installation of water lines and pumps. Once real cacti are established they require little water but, for the first two years, they need constant watering, Phipps said.
Little Emma Lawson favors the holidays. Her parents, Cindy Mendenhall and Chris Lawson, found out they were expecting on Halloween 2014. The first-time parents shared the news with their families on Thanksgiving, and on Valentine’s Day, they learned they were having a girl. Emma was due July 4th. But something changed. “She wasn’t having any of it,” said Mendenhall, who lives in Chandler with Lawson. “She wanted to be an April Fools baby. She’s holidays all the way around.” She was born 14 weeks early, Emma was only 1 pound, 14 ounces at birth, but was up to 5 pounds, 7 ounces when she went home just before Father’s Day. “It was the definitely the best gift that I’ve gotten—ever,” Lawson said about bringing Emma home. “It’s the best holiday I’ve had so far.”
Emma spend three months in the Nursery Intensive Care Unit (NyICU) at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. Mendenhall said the family is doing well and adjusting to being home. “She’s definitely a night baby,” she said. “But I think it’s because of the NyICU as the night time is a little quieter than the day. We’re adjusting to not having our awesome primaries and baby doctors around us.” Hospital personnel trained Emma’s parents on how to take care of her. Instruction included changing diapers, watching for medical signs, and the proper way to bottle feed her. The littles things that wouldn’t be a big deal for a full-term baby are harder on a preterm baby. “We had to learn a lot about handling her at first because of her being in an see PREEMIE page 4
see STEEL CACTI page 5
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Know the rules about fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . community . . . . . . . . Page 6 Pottery studio builds creative memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . business . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 24 ‘The Tiniest Tumbleweed’ inspires big thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 San Tan Mountain Regional Park summer activities set . . . . neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . Page 48 Theater Works opens 30th season in Peoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 62
See Page 7
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