July 16 - August 5, 2016
www.SanTanSun.com
Officers replace stolen bike
When Spanish-speaking Chandler woman loses transportation, police lend a hand When she answered Arias’ knock on her door, she was shocked, then jumped up and down, he said. “She loves it. She likes the old classic bicycles.” Molina said through a translator, Sgt. Daniel Mejia, that she’s always respected officers. “Patrol officer Arias is a noble officer,” she said.
BY KEN ABRAMCZYK
Rosa Maria Molina’s story was one that moved patrol officer George Arias. The Spanish-speaking Chandler resident rode her bike to a store near Arizona Avenue and Ray Road in search of folders—and her only method of transportation was stolen after only 5 minutes at the shop. The bike was close to the entrance, but it was not locked. Molina notified a cashier, who contacted police. Arias said the call wasn’t in his district, but because he speaks Spanish, he responded. Arias not only investigated the crime by examining surveillance footage, but he obtained a bike donated by another officer, fixed it up and delivered it to Molina three days later. That, in turn, inspired Molina to help others with similar acts of kindness. Stolen in plain sight Molina was “very distraught and upset” when she realized her bike was gone, Arias said. The surveillance footage revealed very few clues because the camera was angled so the entire bike couldn’t be seen. Patrol officers were notified of the theft, but the bike could not be located. Arias returned to the station later that morning and spoke with his supervisor, Sgt. Jim Bruggeman, and his patrol team about helping Molina. “Everyone was eager to help out,” Arias said. Molina liked the classic-style bicycles. An officer who wished to remain anonymous donated a classic Beach Cruiser to Arias.
Rosa Maria Molina discusses the recent theft of her bicycle and how Chandler Police Officer George Arias gave her a bike donated from a co-worker who wished to remain anonymous.
“We were able to fix it up, make it ‘ride-worthy,’ and delivered it to her a couple of days later,” Arias said.
Retired firefighter’s respite stay brightens when fire officials visit BY SRIANTHI PERERA
Chandler Fire, Health & Medical personnel responds quickly to emergencies. They are also available when a community member needs a little camaraderie. Recently, Jim Keskey, a retired firefighter from Sacramento, California, was in a respite-care program in the senior-living community of Solterra in South Chandler. Keskey, who now lives in the Southeast Valley, suffers from lung damage as a result of previous exposure to fires, and needs aroundthe-clock nursing care. He had agreed to stay at Solterra so that his wife could attend a wedding out of town. Solterra’s respite-care program, available in its independent living, assisted living and memory care
categories, enables a caregiver to take a brief hiatus from caring for someone. “We sensed that he was not happy with the decision to separate from his wife and thought that maybe a great way to integrate him on a short stay would be to get his brothers from the fire department over, and that’s what we did,” said Greg Corns, Solterra’s executive director. Capt. Johnny Rosales of Chandler Fire Station 8 and team members Engineer Dan Glenn and Firefighter Joseph Wirth spent nearly an hour with Keskey and swapped stories from their careers. “He had a great conversation; he was extremely happy,” said Corns, who sent a letter of appreciation to Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny to acknowledge see KESKEYpage 4
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Bike is found In an odd twist to the story, two days after the replacement bike was delivered, the original one was located by Molina’s husband. He saw someone riding it on the street and followed that person onto a Mesabound bus. “He confronted them, and they tried to extort money from him,” Arias said. He would not back down from his demand that the suspect return the bike, so the person did. Police only learned of that incident several days later, but no arrests were made. Now Molina has two bikes, which she says she now locks at stores. According to Molina’s friend, Connie Fonseca, her Bible study group prayed that week and read about “how Jesus rescues us from sin.” Gifts from others are forms of rescue from Jesus, she added. That group met the day the replacement bike was delivered, Fonseca said. Molina wants to help someone else and donate one of the bikes. “For someone in need, I would like to pay it forward,” Molina said. see BIKE page 4
Chandler and Gilbert adopt grassroots approach to tackle abuse of prescription drugs BY SRIANTHI PERERA
Chandler and Gilbert have a new force to counter prescription drug misuse. Facing common issues, representatives from the two cities have formed the Chandler-Gilbert Substance Abuse Task Force to address the opioid medication and other drug dependency issues prevalent in epidemic proportions in the area. In a 2014 survey of 12th graders in Maricopa County by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, 15% of the kids admitted to using prescription pain medications. In the same year, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,211 overdoses statewide, while across the country, more than 1,700 young adults died from RX overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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see DRUG ABUSE page 5
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Stolen bike replaced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TCC school rocks backpack giveaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exposing bad-guy myth about stepparents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A new way to play laser and archery tag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Three organizations receive arts grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
See WHY on page 18
Steven R. Brown has run the Renaissance Recovery Center in Gilbert for 15 years and receives about 10 to 15 telephone calls each week from people struggling with addiction to prescription drugs, while half to twothirds of those he treats are hurting from the same issue. “Over the years, I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people struggling with painkiller addiction,” he said. “It’s fairly a common pattern for people to start using prescription opioids and become highly dependent and they will graduate to other substances.” In Chandler and Gilbert, grassroots initiatives to fight drug abuse are nothing new.
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