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C O M M U N I T Y P. 1 9 | O P I N I O N P. 2 7 | B U S I N E S S P. 2 9 | G E T O U T P. 3 3 |
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Wednesday, July 18, 2018
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Molestation arrest here puts spotlight on club sports BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer
T SINGER SALUTED
S P O R T S P. 3 9 | C L A S S I F I E D P. 4 4
he arrest last week of an Ahwatukee club baseball coach on charges he molested young players about nine years ago has raised questions about the scrutiny that club sports organizations give adults involved in their activities. And it has prompted police and experts on sexual predators to remind parents that
they must take an active role in protecting their children. “Organizations that sponsor any kind of youth activity have a responsibility to protect children,’’ said Becky Ruffner, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse of Arizona. “They must have two adults present at all times. Predators thrive on secrecy and deniability.’’ See
(Chandler Police)
Club baseball coach Richard Gallegos of Ahwatukee was arrested by Chandler police on charges he molested boys on the team.
ARREST on page 14
She’s undaunted by Ahwatukee Farms’ collapse BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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COACHING TO GREATNESS
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ACES ON THE COURT
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A
s the long legal battle over the future of the defunct Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course entered a new stage, the founder of a key part of the True Life Companies’ shattered plan for the site has long since moved on. Exactly two years ago this month, True Life unveiled its “agrihood” vision for the 101-acre site closed since 2013. It included about 270 houses, a cafe, trails – and the Desert Gardens Montessori School. Founder and director Shetal Walters Shetal Walters saw the plan as an answer to her prayers for a place where she could expand and accommodate her pre-K-12 students because her current location on Warner Road near 51st Street in Ahwatukee was starting to get too crowded for her to realize all her ambitions for the school. Now, while True Life and former course owner Wilson Gee both filed appeals from a Superior Court judge’s ruling that the site must remain as – and be restored to – a golf
KEYSTONE
MONTESSORI A Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning
(Desert Garden Montessori)
Even though their space isn’t as ample as founder Chetal Walters would like, Desert Garden Montessoru students still have room to play games that educate while being fun.
course, Walters is philosophical about the lost opportunity She’s making do at her current location, where kids as young as 3 set tables and clear dishes for lunch, where 8-year-olds organize fund drives for children with cancer and
other causes and where 11-year-olds book their own school trips as well as line up hotels and work up a budget. “We just took a backseat and just sat in See
LAKES on page 8
Toddler • Primary • Elementary • Adolescent www.keystonemontessori.com • (480) 460-7312 1025 E. Liberty Ln. , Phoenix, AZ 85048 (Across the street from the YMCA)
• (480) 460-7312