Ahwatukee Foothills News - July 26, 2017

Forum brings both council candidates, voters together

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

The first – and possibly only – joint appearance in Ahwatukee of both City Council candidates for the seat representing the community will be held tonight, July 26, at Mountain Park Community Church.

Incumbent Sal DiCiccio and challenger Kevin Patterson will square off in an hourlong forum sponsored by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce and the Ahwatukee Foothills News starting at 6 p.m., following a public reception for the two candidates that starts at 5:30 p.m. at the church, 24th Street and Pecos Road. Audience members will have an opportunity during the forum to submit questions in writing to moderators. Questions also have been submitted in advance by chamber members and AFN readers.

The general moderator for the event is chamber President/CEO Lindy Lutz Cash.

The event was moved to the larger church venue from the Ahwatukee Activity Center after more than 100 people indicated they planned to attend, Cash said.

Chamber member Harvey Gibson will be the forum moderator, asking questions that will be screened by the AFN and Nick

Knight, who chairs the chamber’s public policy committee.

Gibson is the business development officer at Landings Credit Union, one of the chamber’s founding member businesses.

After nearly two years of studying flood risks in Ahwatukee that could cause more than $5 million in damage to 492 homes, apartments, commercial buildings and other structures, county and city officials have one piece of advice for owners and renters in harm’s way.

Get flood insurance.

But even if you got it today – in the middle of monsoon season – you’ll still have to wait 30 days before it takes effect.

The advice emerged Monday during an Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee meeting over a frustrating fact: While city and county officials now know

where the problems lie, there’s little money to fix them.

And in cases where flooding issues are linked to other property owners’ lack of maintenance, officials aren’t sure if they can force those owners to correct the problems.

“It’s frustrating,” said Karen Young, who appeared before the committee as it discussed the Maricopa County Flood Control District’s final version of the nearly two-yearlong study.

That study pinpoints 21 intersections, 15 streets and segments of major arterials, two hillsides and a channel entrance behind Lomas Elementary school as being at risk for heavy damages in a so-called 100-year flood.

Although the term “100-year flood” is a simple definition of a catastrophe that

statistically has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year, Young discussed how her 80-year-old mother had already been hit twice by fate in three years.

Her mother’s home, near the clubhouse in Ahwatukee Country Club, incurred $14,000 in damage in 2014 and another $4,000 last year. Since then, she’s also forked out $3,000 on flood prevention improvements.

To her dismay, she also heard Hasan Mushtar, the city’s flood plain manager, concede that owners might not be able to get flood insurance if they’ve incurred flood damage before.

The county doesn’t even know how much it would cost to correct all the problems it

SAL DiCICCIO

KEVIN PATTERSON

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Blessed by Congress, then signed into law by President Reagan for U.S. homeowners

Could this government-insured product give you financial relief and independence?

It’s a well-known fact that for many senior citizens in the U.S. their home is their single biggest asset, often accounting for more than 50% of their total net worth.

Yet, according to new statistics from the mortgage industry, senior homeowners in the U.S. are now sitting on more than 6.1 trillion dollars of unused home equity.1 With people now living longer than ever before and home prices back up again, ignoring this “hidden wealth” may prove to be short sighted.

All things considered, it’s not surprising that more than a million homeowners have already used a government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or “HECM” loan to turn their home equity into extra cash for retirement.

However, today, there are still millions of eligible homeowners who could benefit from this FHAinsured loan but may simply not be aware of this “retirement secret.”

Some homeowners think HECM loans sound “too good to be true.” After all, you get the cash you need out of your home but you have no more monthly mortgage payments.

NO MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS?2 EXTRA CASH?

It’s a fact: no monthly mortgage payments are required with a government-insured HECM loan;2 however the homeowners are still responsible for paying for the maintenance of their home, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if required, their HOA fees.

Another fact many are not aware of is that HECM reverse mortgages first took hold when President Reagan signed the FHA Reverse

Mortgage Bill into law 29 years ago in order to help senior citizens remain in their homes.

Today, HECM loans are simply an effective way for homeowners 62 and older to get the extra cash they need to enjoy retirement.

Although today’s HECM loans have been improved to provide even greater financial protection for homeowners, there are still many misconceptions.

For example, a lot of people mistakenly believe the home must be paid off in full in order to qualify for a HECM loan, which is not the case. In fact, one key advantage of a HECM is that the proceeds will first be used to pay off any existing liens on the property, which frees up cash flow, a huge blessing for seniors living on a fixed income. Unfortunately, many senior homeowners who might be better off with a HECM loan don’t even bother to get more information because of rumors they’ve heard.

That’s a shame because HECM loans are helping many senior homeowners live a better life.

In fact, a recent survey by American Advisors Group (AAG), the nation’s number one HECM lender, found that over 90% of their clients are satisfied with their loans.

While these special loans are not for everyone, they can be a real lifesaver for senior homeowners like Betty Carter, who recently took out a HECM loan with AAG so that she could finally get the extra cash she needed to fix up her house.

“With the help of AAG, I have been able to repair my home’s foundation that I had been putting off for several years, refinish the hardwood floors, paint the interior and will have the exterior painted within a few days. My house is starting to look like my home again and it feels good,” says Carter.

In 1988, President Reagan signed an FHA bill giving U.S. homeowners age 62 and older a legal way to cash in on their home equity without having to sell their property or make monthly loan payments.2

The cash from a HECM loan can be used for many purposes. Some people use the money to save on interest charges by paying off credit cards or other high-interest loans. Other common uses include making home improvements, paying off medical bills or helping other family members. Many people simply need the extra cash for everyday expenses while others are now using it as a “safety net” for financial emergencies.

If you’re a homeowner age 62 or older, you owe it to yourself to learn more so that you can make an informed decision. Homeowners who are interested in learning more can request a free 2017 HECM loan Information Kit and free Educational DVD by calling American Advisors Group toll-free at 1-866-575-2519. At no cost or obligation, the professionals at AAG can help you find out if you qualify and also answer common questions such as:

1. What’s the government’s role?

2. How much money might I get?

3. Who owns the home after I take out a HECM loan?

You may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover when you call AAG for more information today.

1Source: http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2016/06/21/seniors-home-equity-grows-to-6-trillion-reverse-mortgage-opportunity. 2If you qualify and your loan is approved, a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) must pay off any existing mortgage(s). With a HECM loan, no monthly mortgage payment is required. A HECM increases the principal mortgage loan amount and decreases home equity (it is a negative amortization loan). AAG works with other lenders and financial institutions that offer HECMs. To process your request for a loan, AAG may forward your contact information to such lenders for your consideration of HECM programs that they offer. Borrowers are responsible for paying property taxes and homeowner’s insurance (which may be substantial). We do not establish an escrow account for disbursements of these payments. A set-aside account can be set up to pay taxes and insurance and may be required in some cases. Borrowers must occupy home as their primary residence and pay for ongoing maintenance; otherwise the loan becomes due and payable. The loan also becomes due and payable when the last borrower, or eligible non-borrowing surviving spouse, dies, sells the home, permanently moves out, defaults on taxes or insurance payments, or does not otherwise comply with the loan terms. American Advisors Group (AAG) is headquartered at 3800 W. Chapman Ave., 3rd & 7th Floors, Orange CA, 92868. (MB_0911141), V11082016

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Mountain Park Senior Living resident

Jack Methen heads toward 100

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Jack Methen seemed perplexed when asked his secret to a long life.

Asked about it as he prepared to turn 100 years old this Friday, July 28, the British native paused, then said:

“I don’t know. I always stayed active,” he replied. “And I got along with people, never got mad at people. Don’t fight with the boss.”

Even though he needs a walker now to get around, Methen – the first resident to mark a century in three years at Mountain Park Senior Living, his home since it opened a new building in 2012 – still walks around and inside the building twice a day.

Other than that, there’s no special diet or regimen he follows. “I just ate meat and potatoes,” he said. “And I used to love my beer.”

He’s been around during his long life.

He arrived in America with his mother when he was 4 years old, settling in New York City.

When he graduated high school, the Great Depression was in full swing, and though he wanted to be a policeman, “I got bumped down the list by a lot of college boys.”

So he started working for 12 years in a slaughterhouse at a time when New York “was an industrial city with breweries, bakeries and factories, not office buildings like now.”

“I was lucky to get the job,” he said. “There weren’t many around.”

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Because slaughterhouses back then had trouble finding employees, he secured a draft deferment during the first few years of World War II until 1943, when he joined the Navy and was assigned to a seagoing tug.

Part of a crew of about 85 men, he sailed around Africa, the Mediterranean and Bermuda, rescuing men, towing disabled ships and engaging in other similar salvage, delivery and rescue operations.

Then, when he got out, he still wanted to be a cop.

But after learning the next exam was four years away, he decided to join the New York City Fire Department instead, eventually rising to the rank of captain and working out of fire stations across the Big Apple.

He saw his share of tragedies, including a fuel tank explosion in Staten Island that killed 40 people and “many, many tenement fires,” the worst of which still

(KImberly Carrilo/AFN Photographer)

Jack Methen, who turns 100 Friday, July 28, said he has no special recipe for a long life except “stay active” and eat meat and potatoes.

The Kansas City, Missouri, native also is a former chairman of the chamber’s board of directors and is active in a number of nonprofit organizations.

The forum is intended to be a civil discourse between DiCiccio, an Ahwatukee resident who is seeking his third consecutive term, and Patterson, a Central Phoenix resident who spent most of his childhood in Ahwatukee.

Both candidates have already been advised of the ground rules for the forum.

Among those rules is that they may not interrupt each other and should treat each other in a courteous, professional and respectful manner.

The audience will be asked to hold any applause until the end and refrain from any interruptions or disruptions during the event.

No direct questions from the audience will be allowed. Instead, audience members will be provided with cards to write their questions and may then signal to have the cards picked up by one of the Chamber Ambassadors. Each candidate will have two minutes for an opening statement and another two minutes for closing remarks.

They will be limited to one minute for answering any question, with their opponent allowed a 30-second rebuttal when called for.

A timing light will be provided and operated by members of the Ahwatukee Chamber Toastmasters. The timing lights will be demonstrated for the candidates during the introductions.

Additionally, Ahwatukee American Legion Post 64 will lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the beginning of the forum.

While DiCiccio lives in Ahwatukee with his wife and two daughters, Patterson is an Ahwatukee native who now lives in Central Phoenix with his partner and their two daughters.

Election Day is Aug. 29 with early voting beginning on Aug. 2. If neither candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will head into a runoff election in November.

DiCiccio is seeking his third four-year term on Council and would be termed out if he were to win again. He also served two terms, between 1994 and 2002, before he again sought the seat in 2009.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, DiCiccio relocated with his family in 1962 to the Valley, where he attended Tempe High School.

Patterson made Arizona history several years ago when he and his partner were married in the state’s first gay wedding.

His campaign website boasts of having “first-hand experience in the importance of neighborhood safety, community programs and access to city services to our most vulnerable populations.”

Director of Banner Health’s leadership development, Patterson is president of Equality Arizona, a group that advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Though his website does not make any promises specific to Ahwatukee, he pledges to “empower small businesses and entrepreneurs with local financing opportunities,” “retain university talent by making Phoenix an affordable and attractive city to live in,” “increase resident access and awareness of parks, libraries, and community centers” and “ensure efficiency by reducing waste and investing savings in our neighborhoods.”

Ahwatukee residents who have not registered to vote can go to servicearizona.com. Voters who are not on the permanent early ballot list and want to vote by mail can call 602-2618683 to request a ballot. The city also will have in-person early voting available on the 15th floor of City Hall. Details: phoenix.gov.

haunts him.

“We had one that spread to other buildings and I always remember 20 or more firemen laid out on the street along the curb, waiting for ambulances because they had been injured,” he recalled.

The oldest of his three sons, now 75 and retired, also saw his share of tragedy. He was among the first responders to the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack – and still suffers from lung problems caused by the thick, acrid smoke.

After he retired in 1976, Methen drove a school bus for three years, then relocated with his wife to Florida.

They stayed there eight years, but eventually left because “everybody we knew passed away.”

From there, he and his wife, who died at age 90 in 2006, lived Texas for 22 years.

So, what changes has he seen over 100 years that have made the biggest impression?

“I have to say lifestyle,” Methen replied.

“When I was a kid, we played ball in the streets and went swimming a lot. But today, you read about so many kids as young as 12 getting involved in dope, crime and sex. It’s something.”

Tempe Union superintendent announces plans to step down next June

Tempe Union High School Superintendent Kenneth Baca has resigned.

But he dated his resignation for next June 30 to give the governing board time to find his replacement.

“As we look to the future, one has to know when it is time to say goodbye. That time is now,” Baca wrote in a resignation letter that the board reluctantly accepted during its regular biweekly meeting last week.

“I have never believed that I was entitled to continue in this position; rather, I have always believed that I was blessed to be a part of an organization that values public education,” he also wrote.

Baca was hired to the position from Phoenix Elementary School District, where he served as assistant superintendent for business services from 2002 until he joined Tempe Union six years ago. He also had been Phoenix Elementary’s director of assessment, evaluation

AFN NEWS STAFF

(Special to AFN)

Tempe Union High School District Superintendent Kenneth Baca says this will be his last year. He did not indicate his future plans, but has dated his resignation June 30, 2018, to give board members enough time to find his replacement.

Prior to

he also served as region assistant to the associate superintendent with Albuquerque Public Schools. Several board members praised Baca and said they regretted his decision. In a prepared statement that essentially could serve as a letter of recommendation to anyone considering hiring Baca, board President DeeAnne McClenahan lauded his “excellent communication skils” and said he had “saved the district and taxpayers many funds” while he focused “his responsibility on students frst and foremost.”

“Among the many superintendents who have worked for Tempe Union

District, Dr. Baca stands out,” McClenahan said, calling him “bright, innovative and dependable.”

Board member Sandy Lowe told Baca, “I feel very blessed I have been board member with you as Superintendent. Her colleague Michelle Helm added, “You’ve made every decision on what’s best for kids.”

While he did not discuss why he was resigning or any future plans, Baca told the board, “Thank you for understanding and accepting my decision to leave.”

Baca told the board he was submitting his letter now in order to “give you the time needed to carefully consider the person who will lead Tempe Union into the future and allow for a smooth transition that does not hinder the amount of progress we have made together.”

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Painkiller use sparks debate on pain among physicians

BY LAUREN MARSHALL Cronkite News

Chronic pain grips Lauri Nickel every day, day after day.

“It’s like someone has got a claw that is made out of stainless steel and the points are sharp and it’s gripped around your spine,” Nickel said. “Then attached to it is a chain and a 10-pound weight. That’s just what the back pain feels like. There’s also the fire that goes down your leg and the burning in your feet.”

Relief, she says, comes from prescription opioids.

Nickel, who suffers from a ruptured disc and nerve pain throughout her body, said as regulations tighten on opioids in an effort to mitigate a nationwide epidemic of abuse, chronic pain patients who use opioids responsibly get “tossed to the curb.”

A new 400-page report by leading doctors across the country called on the FDA to develop new regulations for opioid prescriptions, balancing the need to treat pain properly and avoid opioid abuse.

The report’s researchers said doctors, pharmacists and others in the medical profession must work to halt the rising

levels of opioid abuse, even though the medications are necessary for people with intense pain. They also recommended doctors receive training in pain management.

Nickel ruptured a disc in 1989. Five years later, while receiving an epidural injection, she said a doctor hit a nerve root, causing permanent damage and pain. Add in a pain disorder, arachnoiditis, and even basic movement is painful.

“Taking away pain medication from people who need them will not reduce addiction at all,” Nickel said. “Addicts will find something, anything, to substitute.”

Nickel, who relies on an oxycodone prescription and ketamine infusions to manage her pain, said regulating opioids without considering chronic pain sufferers does not address treatment for those who abuse. Instead it punishes those who need opioids for their health.

The FDA commissioned the report, which mirrors concerns across the country about a crisis that kills 90 people nationwide a day.

Last year 790 people in Arizona died from opioid overdoses, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Dr. Mark Schumacher, a San Francisco doctor who contributed to the researchers’ report, said it’s time for a “culture change” among medical professionals.

Dr. Daniel Brooks of Banner Health said some patients have unrealistic expectations that they can age or have a major surgery with no pain.

“The normal aging process is to become weak and have some aches and pains,” Brooks said.

“I think some folks truly do have significant amounts of pain, either in intensity or duration, and that they feel that they’ve lost control,” Brooks said. “They’re very nervous or anxious about being in pain, and we have to clearly respect those needs and address them.”

In the report, researchers called on insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists and therapists to take responsibility for their role in opioid abuse.

Arizona’s efforts to battle opioid abuse include limiting prescriptions of painkillers to seven days to those on Medicaid or state aid and requiring a doctor’s visit before refills are allowed.

Gov. Doug Ducey declared deaths caused by opioids a statewide health

emergency in early June.

The Department of Health Services now requires health providers to report opioid prescriptions and overdoses within 24 hours.

Nickel said the requirement to go to the doctor every seven days takes a toll on patients’ health and wallets.

“The government is interfering with my relationship with my doctor,” Nickel said.

The report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, shows pain management has been difficult for doctors to navigate. Research is lacking and education for healthcare providers in treating pain is “inadequate and underfunded.”

Brooks said physicians find it difficult to treat because, aside from conditions where scans can show visible injury or nerve damage, there are no tests for pain.

Still, he said, only a small minority of patients need opioids.

People in the U.S. expect to treat their pain problems only with painkillers, Brooks said, adding that many of his patients are unwilling to do tasks like lose weight or exercise every day to reduce pain.

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Midwest Food Bank looking for agencies to benefit from its bounty

BY SRIANTHI PERERA AFN News Staff

Gilbert is about to formally welcome a nonprofit organization into the community that helps fill one of the basic human needs.

Midwest Food Bank has opened a distribution center in a 27,000-squarefoot warehouse on Baseline Road, in the northwest part of the town.

The non-denominational, faithbased organization receives large-scale donations of food from companies that it distributes to food banks, soup kitchens and other nonprofits as well as disaster sites across Arizona.

Individuals are not served at the site.

But it serves nearly a hundred food pantries that help about 400,000 people supplement their food needs each month.

In the East Valley, it includes the Open Arms Care Center in Gilbert, House of Refuge, Resurrection Street Ministries, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and Salvation Army in Mesa and Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank, Casa de Vida and

Azcend in Chandler.

But Midwest believes it can help at least 250 agencies, so it’s looking to enlist more. Any agency with a nonprofit status is eligible to apply.

It’s a “phenomenon,” said Eric Sheldahl, who resides on its national board and was instrumental in getting the Midwest organization to Arizona. “We have more food coming in the door than we can get out.”

Sometimes, food is donated due to over-production – it’s nearing expiration and manufacturers know it may go to waste and prefer it go to the impoverished instead.

There are other reasons.

“If the crackers are a little bit too crispy, we get them. If the soup cans aren’t at weight, we get them. It’s that kind of product,” said executive director Lauren Leverette. “It’s also people who want to give.”

The organization receives paper products from a company that wants to donate it “because they believe in the mission and they want to help,” she said.

(Srianthi Perera/AFN STaff)

Retired business owner Jerry Tooley of Ahwatukee Foothills volunteers most days of the week at the Midwest Food Bank.

Leverette describes the organization as “a facilitator.”

Here’s how it works:

Registered agencies scan and choose from the items available and sends volunteers to fill their orders on a Saturday morning. They are allowed to pick up the food twice a month, Mondays through Thursdays.

Like any nonprofit, Midwest depends on volunteers to function. Just now, only three full-time employees run the operation – Leverette, Terry McLaws, community development and Felipe Hernandez, warehouse manager – so volunteers are welcome.

Among them is Jerry Tooley, a retired business owner and Ahwatukee resident who volunteers most days of the week. After managing a company that assembled circuit boards and computers, Tooley relishes in doing handyman jobs such as constructing a base to hang brooms in the warehouse.

What does he get out of it?

“It’s the pleasure of helping others; that’s really my whole focus. I’ve got no reason. I’m not looking to get paid. I get paid far better than by the gift of God

in the sense of being able to do this,” he said.

Sheldahl volunteers almost daily as well.

“This is our life,” he said. “Our biggest need is to be connected with the community. It’s for people to learn who we are and what we do and how they can benefit from what we have.”

As far as connecting to the community, the warehouse features a valuable asset: a rent-free community room that can seat about 100.

While the agencies receive the food and other donations free of charge, Midwest must ensure the stuff is never sold.

“We ensure the food is ending up in the hands of the impoverished,” Sheldahl said.

As part of his work duties, Terry does site visits.

“You really get to see their hearts and their organization and their volunteers and we’re just one of the arteries of that,” he said. “We’ve literally several thousand people across the state that are engaged on the ground. It’s a unique opportunity to engage in every one of them to see what they’re doing.”

Midwest began in Bloomington, Illinois when three farming brothers,

Robert, David and Paul Kieser, used a farm building to assuage the hunger in their area in 2003. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, David Kieser took a semi load of food to the disaster area and was told that they needed 10 more loads.

Thus, the organization was born of determination to help those in peril and reduced circumstance.

If you can help…

Today, Midwest operates in six other states – Arizona is its seventh – and Kenya.

Federal statistics indicated in 2015 that more than 36,400 adults and children in Arizona experienced homelessness and 17.4 percent of its population live at or below the poverty level.

“The need stays the same; there’s always a need,” Leverette said.

Midwest Food Bank is here to help Arizona, but it has a few needs of its own. Here’s a list:

 Donations toward a campaign to raise $168,000 for a walk-in cooler/freezer to enable the organization to accept perishables. About $25,000 has been raised so far.

 A refrigerated box truck to transport perishables.

 Service donations such as servicing the air conditioners in the warehouse.

 Desk and other furniture items for the reception area.

 Volunteers.

The Gilbert Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting to open Midwest Food Bank from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3 at 725 E. Baseline Road.

Details: 480-892-0134, arizona.midwestfoodbank.org or on Facebook at “Midwest Food Bank - Arizona Division.”

Freeway blasting in portions of Ahwatukee likely to begin soon

Blasting may begin in Ahwatukee within a few weeks as crews prepare to begin major construction of the South Mountain Freeway.

The Arizona Department of Transportation announced last week that blasting will be needed after all to break down rock in areas west of 24th Street and beyond Desert Foothills Parkway.

Although ADOT’s announcement did not give a timeline for the blasting, department spokesman Dustin Krugel said, “Best guess right now is mid-August.”

The blasting comes at a time when workers are preparing to start building the actual freeway on what had been the eastbound lanes of the old Pecos Road.

“Controlled rock blasting uses small amounts of timed charges to break rock into smaller, more manageable pieces. The broken rock will then be removed and used as fill throughout the Pecos Road segment of the freeway,” ADOT stated.

the blasts will use “modern techniques” and “comply with local and federal safety and ground vibration standards.”

Those standards exist to avoid impacting nearby homes and other structures.

“Any blasting activities will be in accordance with industry best practices using only proven and safe methods,” ADOT added.

“Controlled rock blasting has been used to shape essential roadways throughout the world, including the initial construction of Pecos Road previously,” said Rob Samour, ADOT’s senior deputy state engineer for major projects, adding:

However, it said freeway developer Connect 202 Partners “anticipates that controlled rock blasting will be necessary in some locations.”

ADOT said crews have been using heavy equipment since April to break down rock and that “this method has been effective thus far.”

Chandler Boulevard Extension slated to open Friday morning

The new Chandler Boulevard Extension in Ahwatukee is scheduled to open on Friday, but one end may be jarring for a while.

The opening of the three-lane, 1.2-mile stretch connects 19th and 27th avenues.

It also spells the end to the stretch of Pecos Road west of 17th Avenue to make way for the South Mountain Freeway. Traffic on the extension will be allowed after 8:30 a.m. Friday, July 28.

The completion of the $24 million extension marks an end for now to a debate that began when the Phoenix Department of Street Transportation first brought its plan before the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee last August. Even now, some controversy may linger, since one resident said the new road is as much as two feet higher than Chandler Boulevard at Shaughnessy Road near 19th Avenue.

Asked about the complaint, Street Transportation Department spokeswoman Monica Hernandez said in an email: “At the west end of the project, we are constructing the new improvements on the north half of Chandler Boulevard while maintaining traffic on the existing roadway. When the new Chandler Boulevard is open, traffic will be moved to the new pavement and construction will occur on the existing pavement to match

the new roadway.” Hernandez said that work should be done in a few weeks.

The north side of the roadway, along the South Mountain Preserve, was fully developed and includes a sidewalk, street lighting and drainage crossings. The other side abuts state trust land and won’t be developed until the state sells the parcel.

At last August’s planning committee meeting, residents reacted with skepticism to assurances from city officials that the extension will handle traffic when Pecos Road is shut down.

The freeway’s alignment runs along western lanes of Pecos Road, though the Arizona Department of Transportation and freeway developer Connect 202 Partners decided to keep a makeshift Pecos Road during the freeway’s construction as an accommodation to residents.

During the planning committee meeting, audience members peppered Chris Turner-Noteware, deputy street transportation director, with questions and expressions of doubt about the accuracy of her department’s traffic projections.

“If we have 18,000 cars on this roadway, it’s going to be a pretty significant increase,” one audience member told Turner-Noteware, expressing concern that the extension essentially would be the only way in and out of Club West once Pecos Road is shut down.

It called such blasting “a standard construction technique used in many areas of the nation for many years without damage to property.”

ADOT said Connect 202 Partners “will ensure that ground vibrations” from

“Connect 202 Partners has hired an experienced team, including a blasting engineer, blasting consultant and vibration monitoring expert with close to 100 years of combined blasting experience in

The 18,000 figure was what the city study said a two-lane artery can typically absorb.

Committee Chairman Chad Blostone raised an even larger issue with the initial plan. He said if an accident occurred along the extension, both lanes could be shut down for a long period of time and leave an estimated 800 nearby homes stranded.

About 30 feet wide and bordered by South Mountain Park to the north and state trust land to the south, the east-west extension would be doubled in width to accommodate two more lanes if the trust land is ever sold and developed, city officials said.

Blostone pressed city officials to identify any similar roadway in Phoenix, and eventually city officials conceded there were none.

He then raised these concerns with city

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who together with state Rep. Jill Norgaard pressed city transportation officials to widen the extension to four lanes.

Turner-Noteware said the extension could not be wider because the city does not own enough land.

Once the state auctions off its portion for development, Turner-Notware said, the extension would be widened if warranted.

But she also asserted that traffic studies done earlier this year show that the extension doesn’t need four lanes right now.

“Based on the traffic information we have, it does not warrant four lanes,” she said.

The city eventually relented to pressure and added a third lane, doubling the original $12 million project cost.

That lane will be available solely for emergency vehicles.

(Arizona Department of Transportation)

Crews work on a box culvert around 17th Avenue and the South Mountain Freeway alignment in Ahwatukee.

AFN News Staff

(City of Phoenix/Special to AFN)

This map of the new Chandler Boulevard Extension shows how it slices between state trust land and the South Mountain Preserve.

Troopers expected to periodically monitor Pecos Road speed

Pecos Road motorists beware: State police patrols may start tagging speeders soon.

Long a subject of complaints by Ahwatukee residents, Pecos Road is coming under greater scrutiny by the state Department of Public Safety now that a 40 mph speed limit is in place along the entire length of the thoroughfare.

“You will start seeing our patrol units out there more often in the future,” said DPS spokesman Bart Graves.

On Tuesday, July 18, off-duty troopers were stationed along parts of Pecos Road to provide security for crews building the South Mountain Freeway, Graves added.

periodically lit up with complaints from residents about speeding motorists.

They create a greater hazard because the two lanes in each direction on the makeshift road have no median barrier and the lanes themselves are not nearly as straight as they have been.

For nearly a year, Pecos has been a state road, so Phoenix police have not been responsible for enforcing speed limits.

Now that a makeshift four-lane road has been extended to the entire length of Pecos, the old 55 mph speed limit has passed into history.

Before the recent completion of the makeshift road in the westbound lanes of Pecos, Ahwatukee social media sites

BLASTING

from page 14

Arizona and across the United States.”

ADOT virtually assured that the blasting “will not result in any damage to nearby structures,” although the freeway developer had offered to residents within a half-mile of the affected area a free inspection to document the condition of their homes in case of structural damage claims.

The blasting is occurring in an area that includes the home of Pat Lawlis, president of Protect Arizona Resources and Children, which is trying to stop the freeway’s construction in court.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals has tentatively set October for hearing oral arguments in PARC’s appeal from a federal judge’s ruling last summer that allowed their work to begin. No date has yet been set.

The 22-mile freeway, the most expensive highway project in Arizona history at $1.77 billion, will connect 59th Avenue in West Phoenix with the Chandler

The road will be permanently closed once the freeway opens in late 2019.

“The reduced speed limit allows for two-way traffic on the interim Pecos Road after the median and shoulders were removed to ensure there would be two lanes of traffic in each direction during freeway construction, which is occurring just north of Pecos Road on the opposite side of the concrete barricades,” the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a release last week.

In the coming weeks, crews will rip up the former westbound lanes of Pecos Road, which are located within the footprint of the freeway.

“In addition, crews will start clearing and removing trees, brushes and rubbish, installing pipes and beginning the initial earthwork needed to build the freeway,” ADOT said.

Interchange on I-10, enabling drivers to bypass downtown Phoenix.

Connect 202 Partners hired Aimone-Martin Associates to conduct the structure inspections.

ADOT said the company “has extensive experience working in residential areas in Arizona” ansd that it “uses seismographs to ensure that ground vibration is within allowable levels and provide a second level of assurance for homeowners.”

“AMA will also conduct vibration monitoring during the blasting to ensure ground vibration does not exceed allowable levels and provide a second level of assurance the blasting will not impact residences,” ADOT added.

Temporary traffic restrictions will be imposed during blasting activities and message board signs on Pecos Road and Desert Foothills Parkway will provide advance notice of the, ADOT said.

More substantial blasting will occur next year when crews begin cutting a 200foot swath across three South Mountain peaks to make way for the freeway.

(ADOT)

A 40 mph speed limit now exists along the entire stretch of Pecos Road.

identified.

It took only six hazards, further studied them and determined that eliminating them will each cost between $100,000 and $2 million.

Only one was advanced into the grantseeking process.

That project – construction of a flood wall and other preventive measures on South Manden Street, a frequent target of runoff from South Mountain – will cost an estimated $1 million.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency already rejected a request for partial funding last fiscal year, so local officials are hoping FEMA will change its mind.

Mushtar told the planning committee he hopes funding will come through so that “either this year or next it will go into final design.” It will then require four months of design and up to another 12 months’ construction.

As for the other five projects identified for “immediate” work, no funding is in sight.

And the remaining hazards identified by the county are even deeper in limbo; corrective work has not been fully proposed, so there are no estimates on what potential fixes might cost.

“We can’t get rid of the risk immediately of every problem, so we need to warn homeowners in those areas about getting flood insurance,” said committee chairman Chad Blostone. “We’d like to do it quickly.”

Mushtar said it would take at least two weeks for the city to put together a warning letter for property owners in the flood-prone areas, though he said the review process could take longer before a letter would be ready to send out –meaning a warning like would not arrive in owners’ mailboxes until the monsoon season is practically winding down.

Blostone’s sense of urgency is based on the fact that regular homeowner insurance will not cover damages caused by water from a source outside the insured property – such as hillside runoffs or fast-moving downpours that overwhelm drainage systems.

Meanwhile, officials had no immediately clear answers on another problem that is associated with some of the flood-prone sites: inadequate maintenance on some nearby property that might not even be in the danger zone. That situation apparently is exactly what

happened to the home of Young’s mother because a channel on the Ahwatukee Golf Club’s course may need to be deeper.

“Is there something you can do so this private property owner can be forced to correct the problem and if so, what?” Young asked.

No one at the meeting knew, though city Councilman Sal DiCiccio said he would find out, promising to set up a meeting over the next week between Young and city code enforcement officers to see if golf course owner Wilson Gee’s company can be ordered to fix the problems.

Mushtar said city officials have had discussions with the owner to rectify the problem but that little has been accomplished.

“We can start the discussion again with the property owner,” he said.

DiCiccio said more action than that was necessary after Young said the golf course owner is “not going to do it voluntarily because they’re afraid that would admit liability.”

“Apparently, they don’t mind the government or the Ahwatukee Board of Management from coming onto their property and doing it for them, but why should ABM or the city do it?” Young later said in an interview.

Meanwhile, Mushtar reminded the audience that the county study “was not meant to point fingers at anybody. It’s to identify problems.”

About flood insurance

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says flooding “is the most common natural disaster in the United States” and that just an inch of water can cause more than $20,000 in damage.

“Flood insurance can be the difference between recovering and being financially devastated,” FEMA states, noting that typical homeowner insurance policies do not cover damage from water that hits a building from an outside source, as opposed to a broken water pipe.

People can purchase flood insurance only through an insurance agent. Renters and homeowners cannot buy it directly from the National Flood Insurance Program. Contact the NFIP Referral Call Center at 888-379-9531 for an agent referral. Information: fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program.

(AFN file photo)

This wash at Cottonwood and 41st could cause thousands of dollars in flooding damage to nearby homes, the county study warns.

(AFN file photo)

A heavy downpour in July 2016 flooded part of Ahwatukee Lakes, but the county did not include this area in its flood study.

Ahwatukee Drainage Master Plan

New driver’s manual looks at how to avoid being shot by police

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

If the new language in the state’s driver license manual sounds like something crafted by Black Lives Matter, there’s a good reason for it.

The provisions tell motorists what to do if they’re pulled over by a police officer. And there are specific warnings about what NOT to do, like reaching around in the vehicle or getting out.

Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Laveen, who helped craft the language, said the goal is pretty simple. It’s designed to keep drivers from getting shot by police

And Bolding, who is black, said the record shows that the victims of these incidents are more likely to be black or brown.

“When you look at what’s taken place across the country, you have seen a majority of individuals who are people of color that have had higher incidence of interactions with law enforcement officers, particularly in shootings,’’ he said. “Hopefully we can get to a place where that’s not the reality.’’

It was just one such shooting of a black man that got Bolding to get the

ball rolling: the 2016 killing of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer.

Jeronimo Yanez pulled Castile over because a brake light was out. Castile told the officer he had a firearm on him, to which the officer said, “Don’t reach for it then.’’

After Castile said he was not pulling it out, the officer drew his weapon and fired seven rapid shots into the vehicle, striking Castile five times.

The entire incident was captured on the dash camera of the patrol car.

Prosecutors charged the officer with one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety. Yanez, who testified he feared for his life, was acquitted earlier this month.

Bolding said in the wake of that incident, he reached out to eight different police departments, asking them what motorists should do to avoid becoming a victim.

“I got eight different recommendations,’’ he said. Queries to various motorists on what they think they should do produced responses that were no more consistent.

“Some people said you immediately reach into your glove department to grab

your license and registration,’’ Bolding said. “Others said to turn on the dome light. Others said to wait.’’

So Bolding brought together the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety in hopes of coming up with good – and consistent –advice for what drivers should do when they see those flashing lights in the rearview mirror and be able to drive away.

“No one should ever leave a traffic stop in a body bag,’’ Bolding said.

“I recognize this won’t solve all officerinvolved shootings,’’ he said. “I do hope that this could potentially save a life by giving a recommendation of what to do.’’

The first, obviously, is to find a safe place to pull over.

And after that?

The recommendations now made part of the state manual for drivers say to park the car, remain in the vehicle, and for all occupants to keep their seatbelts fastened. It also says motorists should keep their hands on the steering wheel in a visible location and wait for the officer to approach the vehicle.

Other suggestions include:

• Lower the windows, especially if they are tinted,

• At night, turn on any overhead passenger compartment lights,

• Inform the officer if the driver has a weapon or there are any in the vehicle.

Bolding said this last one is particularly crucial in a state like Arizona, where any adult can carry a weapon, open or concealed. And that includes having a gun in a car.

“There has not been a lot of education what individuals should do if they are carrying a gun,’’ he said.

The new manual includes not only things that motorists should do when stopped. There also are warnings about what not to do.

One is to reach around inside the vehicle.

“If you need to reach for an item, contact the officer verbally to indicate the item you need to locate and only do so after the officer has given verbal confirmation,’’ the manual now reads.

And it says not to get out of the vehicle unexpectedly or approach the officer.

What Bolding got put in the manual is not all one-sided. But he also cautioned against motorists getting carried away in demanding those rights, at least while they’re stopped at the side of the road.

Dangerous intersections are targets of engineered improvements

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

Phoenix and East Valley traffic engineers are fighting a constant, endless battle to make congested roads and intersections as safe as possible, guiding drivers with extra turn lanes and flashing signals in an attempt to reduce deadly collisions.

Their efforts, essentially an attempt to protect people from themselves by discouraging poor choices, are paying some big dividends.

And while the region’s primary road-planning agency has not put any Ahwatukee intersections on its list of the 100 most dangerous crossings, several that are traversed by hundreds of Ahwatukee motorists are being eyed for improvements.

The Maricopa Association of Government compiles a list of the county’s 100 highest-risk intersections for traffic collisions, using a formula that includes the number of crashes and their severity, frequency and type.

The highest-ranked – or riskiest – East Valley intersection on the list is busy Interstate 10 and Baseline Road in Tempe.

It was ranked as the 16th riskiest intersection in the region, with 275 collisions between 2011 and 2015.

But the East Valley looks relatively good on the list and on an associated map, with 18 intersections making the list, far fewer than in Central Phoenix and west Phoenix.

“Comparatively, the East Valley is really doing well,” said Sarath Joshua of

Chandler, senior program manager with MAG, which compiles the list.

He said MAG sends a team of experts to some of the highest-risk intersections to make evaluations and suggest improvements to cities. One such Road Safety Assessment was performed recently at I-10 and Baseline.

While the details of such assessments are considered confidential, the experts

conducting the assessments typically find a gamut of issues, such as malfunctioning signals, trees blocking the view of signs and other problems that might contribute to collisions.

“You would be amazed by what we find out when we do these investigations,” Joshua said. “We find all kinds of deficiencies.”

Cities are notified immediately if the experts find an obvious risk to public safety that needs correction, Joshua said. About a dozen intersections on the top 100 list are analyzed each year.

All East Valley cities are represented on the list and many cities keep lists of their own, using somewhat different criteria than MAG.

Chandler has rebuilt nine intersections since 2001 and is now rebuilding a tenth.

Despite the aggressive rebuilding project, Chandler makes the unflattering list, but just barely, with four Chandler intersections finishing at numbers 93, 94, 96 and 99.

The process is slow, expensive and frustrating for drivers backed up in traffic for months on end. And then there is the

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The intersection of Baseline Road and Interstate 10 in Tempe is the most dangerous one in the East Valley, and the 16th most dangerous in the Phoenix area. It registered 275 crashes over five years.

INTERSECTIONS

city’s extensive use of photo radar, sometimes a hot-button issue in a conservative state that fears the encroachment of Big Brother.

But Chandler traffic engineer Mike Mah said he is gratified that collisions have dropped 43 percent in the past three years at the nine rebuilt intersections.

The improvements include dual leftturn lanes that help protect drivers against devastating T-bone collisions while increasing capacity and traffic flow.

“From our prospective, it really comes down to capacity and safety. We are trying to improve both at the same time,” he said. “What we’ve been doing is making improvements. We’re widening them. It’s something we’ve been doing for 15 years.”

With the rebuilding campaign on the verge of completion, Mah said any further safety improvements will have to come from improved human behavior. The engineers are quick to observe that all it takes is one impaired or distracted driver, staring at their smartphone while ignoring the road, to sabotage their efforts.

“I think it comes down to human factors,” Mah said, with distracted drivers becoming a bigger problem all the time. “It’s too tempting to use your cellphone and drive at the same time.”

Erik Guderian, Mesa’s deputy transportation director, said traffic engineering can be frustrating occupation, just as driving in traffic frustrates most drivers at one time or another.

“We can design the safest roadway, but if someone decides to make a bad decision, it’s out of control,” he said.

Tempe, the East Valley’s most urban city, has several intersections much higher on the list, but it has more severe traffic challenges than its more suburban

The EV’s most dangerous intersections

Here are the 18 East Valley intersections listed among the 100 most dangerous in the Valley by the Maricopa Association of Governments. Included is their rank in the MAG list and the number of crashes over the last five years.

16. Baseline Road and Interstate 10, Tempe (275)

19. Dobson Road and Southern Avenue, Mesa (205)

20. University Drive and Rural Road, Tempe (232)

29. Southern Avenue and 48th Street, Tempe (115)

31. Baseline Road and 48th Street, Tempe/Phoenix (163)

33. Val Vista Drive and Elliot Road, Gilbert (119)

56. Higley and Baseline roads, Gilbert/Mesa (145)

58. Rural and Broadway roads, Tempe (158)

63. Hardy and Baseline roads, Tempe (111)

64. Ellsworth and Baseline roads, Mesa (79)

74. Val Vista Drive and Baseline Road, Mesa/Gilbert (185)

84. McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard, Tempe (128)

88. Southern Avenue and Power Road, Mesa (91)

90. Broadway and Alma School roads, Mesa (61)

93. Ray Road and McClintock Drive, Chandler (117)

94. Warner and Alma School roads, Chandler (122)

96. Warner Road and Arizona Avenue, Chandler (148)

99. Ray and Dobson roads, Chandler (153)

counterparts.

Tempe has Arizona State University, a city within a city, at the heart of its downtown. The city’s downtown character has changed dramatically with such developments as the high- and mid-rise State Farm campus near Tempe Town Lake.

Tempe pursues a multi-modal approach to transportation, incorporating roads, bicycle lanes and mass transit, such as Valley Metro light rail, said Julian Dresang, city traffic engineer.

“We are really in the middle of the region. We don’t just carry city of Tempe traffic,” Dresang said.

While better design of intersections promotes safety, the answer is a combination of engineering, education and enforcement, he said.

“We work closely with the police department on education and enforcement,” he said. “We can’t solve all of the problems with engineering.”

Tempe estimates it has a “sleeping population” of 165,000 at night but a “daytime population” of about 275,000, including many students who are less-experienced drivers prone to taking more risks, he said.

“The intersection itself isn’t dangerous; 90 percent of crashes are caused by human error,” Dresang said, noting that better design can help. “We’re changing the intersections so they make better decisions.”

He said Tempe constantly monitors collision data, looking for short-term fixes that may promote safety until adequate funds are available to rebuild intersections. Those with a higher number of collisions resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities become the top priority.

“It’s our job to do what we can to make our streets as safe as possible,” Dresang said. “Traffic safety is something I care passionately about.”

He said the only acceptable goal is to eliminate all serious injury collisions and fatalities, although that might sound unrealistic with so much unpredictable behavior occurring every day.

“Anything less than that makes it OK for someone to not go home to their loved one,” Dresang said.

Short-term fixes might include better signs, better lane markings and improvements to landscaping that might promote better visibility.

The next intersection Tempe plans to rebuild is Southern Avenue and Rural Road, a busy place with a grocery store, a Walmart and the Tempe library on three corners.

In fall 2016, Mesa finished rebuilding the intersection of Dobson Road and Southern Avenue, flagged as the East Valley’s second highest-risk intersection on the MAG list, Guderian said.

The rebuild was part of Mesa’s Fiesta District redevelopment plan, with Mesa Community College and Banner Desert Medical Center located nearby. Southern Avenue was narrowed and additional medians were installed to limit dangerous left turns from nearby strip malls.

Mesa’s next priority is to rebuild Stapley Drive and Southern Avenue to improve the flow of north-south traffic and to reduce left turns. The improvements will be designed next year and construction should begin in about two years.

“When you look at the number of crashes, it ranks near the top,” Guderian said.

Jennifer Alvarez, a Gilbert town spokeswoman, said the town is developing a list of intersections that might be candidates for improvement. She said several bad collisions in recent months have concerned officials, including a fatality at Val Vista Drive and Elliot Road in April that left one jogger dead and another critically injured.

The MAG list flags that intersection as the 33rd riskiest in the county and the worst in Gilbert, with 119 crashes between 2011 and 2015.

Guderian said that improving intersections to make them safer is an endless job in a metropolitan area inundated with traffic.

“Relatively speaking, I think we are doing a fairly good job of roadway design out here. We are always looking to improve safety for the traveling public,” he said.

– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or

– Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer

(City of Chandler/Special to AFN) Chandler has begun installing flashing left-turn arrows, which have been shown in studies to heighten driver awareness when turning left in front of oncoming traffic.

Making ‘space’ at Cerritos Academy

Volunteers on Monday helped Darcy DiCosmo, principal of Kyrene del los Cerritos Leadership Academy in Ahwatukee, pain and fix up a "maker space" for the kindergartners through fifth graders who attend the school. The idea is to stock the room with various materials and let the kids' imaginations run wild, encouraging their creativity and resourcefulness. DiCosmo still needs materials and donors can write her at ddicosmo@kyrene.org. The need covers a broad range of items, from duct tap and small pieces of PVC pipe to Legos and electronics. In the upper row of photos, Su Rogers, left, and Eileen Byrne-Quinn prepare a wall that they are also working on in the top-right photo while Nick Gomez uses some paint and elbow grease to color another wall. To the right, Courtney Bauer does some higher-level wall painting while Tracey Nordah does some trimming. Below from left, Katie Byrne-Quinn tapes up a wall, Rogers and Chris Epolite stir some paint and DiCosmo herself joined the action to make her idea a reality.

Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee seeks volunteers, donations for community baby shower

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

Andi Pettyjohn still remembers a communication she received after the Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee hosted its inaugural Community Baby Shower.

“I got a phone call from an older gentleman who said, ‘God bless you for what you are doing for these young moms. My mother was a baby when she had me, and we didn’t have anything but love while I was growing up. She could have used someone like you to help her then.’ I’ll never forget that call,” said Pettyjohn who marks her 25th year with Kiwanis of Ahwatukee this November.

The Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee currently is seeking community donations of new and gently used baby items and other necessities for children ages birth to 5 years.

There are 10 donation drop-off sites this year, and the donation deadline is Aug. 15. Volunteers are sought for help in sorting the donations on Saturday, Aug. 19.

After collecting donations, volunteers are crucial for sorting clothing, toys and baby accouterments that will find their way into the grateful hands of pregnant teens and teen moms at the Kiwanis Community Baby Shower Aug. 26. Attendees are from foster care, students of Compadre High School’s TeenAge Pregnancy Program (TAPP), Maggie’s Place, Sophia’s House and the Child Crisis Center. This year, women who are fostering infants in their homes are also included.

Last year, scores of young women and one new dad attended the shower, held at a local social hall festooned with pink and blue streamers, balloons, and other usual decorations found at baby showers.

“This is our third annual Baby Shower,” said Pettyjohn, who is currently club treasurer and has served as secretary and president five times in her 25 years.

“In 2015, we helped 60 new moms, and in 2016, it was 73 new moms and one new dad. The dad was housed at Tumbleweed Homeless Shelter and took custody of his baby girl when she was born. He even came to the baby shower. This year, we think we have more access to teens who have aged out of foster care, so our number might go up.”

TAPP’s Bronwyn Paes, in her 12th year as director, said the baby shower, with its festive decor, cakes and refreshments, means a lot to her students. But even

more meaningful, she said, is the community support and respect offered them.

“So often these girls are isolated and stigmatized, and many of our girls don’t get to have baby showers, so when they come back from this Community Baby Shower, they’re just ecstatic,” she said, adding:

How to help

For more information or to donate or volunteer, contact Andi Pettyjohn at 602-402-6267, or Info@AhwatukeeKiwanis.org

Donation deadline is Aug. 15.

Here are donation drop-off locations for Kiwanis’ Community Baby Shower. All are in Ahwatukee unless otherwise stated:

Ahwatukee Community Swim & Tennis Center, 4700 E. Warner Rd.

Ahwatukee Carpets, 15215 S. 48th St.

Vision Community Management, 16625 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy.

Triple R Child Care, 4510 E. Ray Road and 1442 E. Chandler Blvd.

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd.

PostNet, 4605 E. Chandler Blvd. #110.

West USA Realty, 4505 E. Chandler Blvd. #170.

Ahwatukee Foothills Family

YMCA, 1030 E. Liberty Lane.

United Brokers Group, 106 S. Kyrene Road #2, Chandler.

“I have some girls who were kicked out when they got pregnant, and some of them don’t have very much, so they’re very grateful when people in the community reach out to them. We’re a dropout prevention program, and when they don’t have diapers or clothes for their babies, they don’t come to school.”

Volunteer Tami Johnson has helped

with the Community Baby Shower since its inception.

Together with fellow Mesa resident Sue Aldridge, the pair have become almost famous for their gifts of handmade diaper cakes that are focal centerpieces of the serving tables.

Their diaper cakes are three-tiered and comprise up to 78 disposable diapers, tightly rolled and secured with rubber bands. Using baby bottles as the center point, the tiers are stacked like a cake and decorated with baby washcloth flowers or alphabet blocks.

Each cake is topped with a small teddy bear.

“We typically make one for each group home represented at the baby shower,” said Johnson, a former Texan employed at Gilbert’s Topgolf. “We wanted to make something special for the girls, and something they were able to take back to the house and utilize.”

Johnson said she collects donations “from anyone and everyone I can talk into helping” and volunteers as head cake-maker and day-of shower helper because of her faith.

and

14014 S 31st St, Phoenix, AZ 85048

(Special to AFN)

The Kiwanis Club makes sure its baby shower offers a festive atmosphere for the young moms it helps.

Inspire Kids Montessori founder started in construction, now builds young minds

AFN News Staff

Diana Darmawaskita started her career managing commercial construction, and now she’s building young minds.

As the founder of Inspire Kids Montessori in Ahwatukee, the Chandler resident and Indonesia native has her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and masters in operations management.

But after she became a mom of two kids, Darmawaskita said, “my interest changed to early childhood development.”

“After doing a lot of research, I finally decided that Montessori was the right future for me. I left the corporate world to become a Montessori teacher. After completing my AMS training, I taught a 3- to 6-year-old class for a couple of years in the East Valley,” she explained.

SHOWER

“I really found my passion in teaching. I always enjoyed seeing my students flourish with their new skills and knowledge, as well as interacting with the parents.”

From teaching grew a desire to operate her own Montessori center.

Despite some initial obstacles, she prevailed.

“When I first opened the school at the previous location on 44th Street and Ray Road in 2010, the economic situation was at its worst and I could have postponed my plans, but the dream just wouldn’t wait,” she recalled.

“So, I decided to go ahead and open my school. Although it has been very challenging, I am glad I did, as it has given me a chance to contribute to a better world for our children.”

Now located at 4205 E. Chandler Blvd., Inspire Kids Montessori boasts

should all do as much as Andi does!”

individualized programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners in Ahwatukee and the East Valley.

Offering accelerated programs for gifted children as well, Inspire Kids’ goal is developing a child’s “academic and social skills by experienced Montessori-certified teachers in a nurturing environment.”

Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori was a 19th-century education pioneer whose philosophy emphasizes independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child’s natural psychological development. It calls for an approach to education that advocates free activity within an environment “tailored to basic human characteristics, specific behaviors of children at different ages and to individual child personalities,” Inspire Kids notes on its website.

Having chosen Ahwatukee “because I like the family-oriented community that supports local small businesses,” Darmawaskita is happy.

“During the three years we’ve been open, we have received so much support from the local families and businesses, and for that I am truly grateful,” she said.

Information: 480-659-9402, info@ inspirekidsmontessori.com

“My relationship with God makes me want to help others whenever possible. I just want to be a part of doing good for someone else,” she said.

Her close friendship with Pettyjohn’s daughter, Stacy Rasmussen, is the original impetus for being a part of the Kiwanis Club Baby Shower.

“Stacy and I like to volunteer whenever we can, and Andi (Pettyjohn) does so much good for the community, I help her anytime I can,” said Johnson. “We

Pettyjohn shakes off any praise or credit, focusing it instead on the Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee members and the other volunteers who help collect the donations, and then sort through them.

Names of mothers attending are gathered in advance, as are their due dates and sex of child expected. Children under 5 accompanying the mothers (or fathers) are also tallied along with specific needs they have.

When the shower donations are collected from the various drop-off locations, the real work begins as

volunteers sort items and ready them for giving. Volunteers are still being sought for the Aug. 19 sorting day and the day of the shower.

“It is a Kiwanis Club project. However, we utilize a lot of community volunteers,” explained Pettyjohn, coowner of Water Treatment Technologies Inc. with her husband, Robin. “We use our men members and volunteers for hauling stuff and setting up, but they’re not into the baby shower.”

“The baby shower allows these teens to feel valued for a couple of hours,” said Stacy Rasmussen. “Not only do

ASU Prep Compadre High School

I hope they leave feeling hopeful, but also knowing that members of their community are there to support them.”

Pettyjohn reported that the Horizon Honors High School’s Key Club, sponsored by the Kiwanis of Ahwatukee service club, collected three “very large boxes of new baby items” before school closed in June to help jump-start this summer’s campaign.

Kiwanis has also set up a Target baby registry that can be accessed by entering first name Kiwanis and last name Ahwatukee.

• Tuesday, Aug. 1, 6 – 7 p.m.

• Tuesday, Aug. 8, 6 – 7 p.m.

(AFN file photo)

A teacher at Inspire Kids Montessori leads kids in an exercise.

(Special to AFN)

Diana Darmawaskita founded Inspire Kids Montessori in Ahwatukee.

Ahwatukee woman gets her white coat in UofA med school ceremony

BY TERESA JOSEPH AFN Guest Writer

Ahwatukee resident Manroop

“Mandy” Kaur has taken a big step toward realizing her dream by participating in the White Coat Ceremony at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

The ceremony marks the first time a medical student will don his or her white coat, the defining symbol of a physician.

The coat bestows a great honor on each student, and with it comes a responsibility to uphold the trust of every patient they will encounter. The class of 2021 received their white coats on Friday, July 21.

First-year student Kaur’s journey to medical school started when her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer during her freshman year of college. Although her grandmother’s outcome was positive, it compelled her to help those who were not as fortunate.

“I started volunteering at a hospice home, where I learned the difference that compassion and empathy could make for someone who was suffering,” Kaur said. “My decision to pursue medicine was solidified during my time as a student researcher and with shadowing a primary care physician at an underserved health center.

“I realized during this time that medicine was a career where I could bring together my passions for the community, science and helping others in a perfect manner.”

Kaur attended Arizona State University, where she received a degree in human nutrition and an honor degree from Barrett, the Honors College. She graduated from Desert Vista High School and has lived in Ahwatukee for about 13 years.

“Choosing the College of MedicinePhoenix was an easy decision for me for several reasons,” she said.

“The most important factor for me in choosing a medical school was student satisfaction and wellness, and the students at the college were some of the happiest medical students I had met over the interview season. The culture at this school is collaborative, student-centered and diverse, which are all qualities I sought in a medical school.”

Declaring “a strong interest in working

with the community,” she said UofA “does wonderful work with the Wesley Clinic along with other programs to serve the downtown community.”

“The college felt like home to me on interview day and I was ecstatic the day I was accepted,” she continued. “I know that the education and clinical experiences that I will receive here will help me become an excellent physician.”

Kaur said she has “always enjoyed working with people and giving back to the community.”

In high school, she volunteered with Community Counts, where she mentored underprivileged third-graders. Since then, she has been involved with Valley Teen Leadership, Hospice of the Valley, Devils’ Advocates, All Kids Can and Feed My Starving Children.

She also has volunteered as a “Summer Scrubs” counselor for the College of Medicine-Phoenix, which, she said “allowed me to be a mentor for high school kids who are interested in health care fields.”

Kaur was elated with the white coat.

“It is special in that it can have so many different meanings. To me, the white coat means responsibility, honesty and advocacy. I believe that as a physician, I will have the ability to fight for my patients on a personal and community level.”

-Teresa Joseph is a spokeswoman for the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix. Information: phoenixmed.arizona.edu/tenyears.

(Tabbitha Mosier/Special to AFN)

Ahwatukee resident Manroop “Mandy” Kaur donned her doctor's white coat for the first time last week.

How Medicare covers home health services

BY GREG DILL AFN Guest Writer

Acouple of years ago, my father, well into his 70s, finally bought himself a high-performance automobile.

All was fine with the new car until my mother broke her hip, had surgery, and needed extensive outpatient physical and occupational therapy. Getting into and out of a sporty car isn’t easy for someone using a walker and cane. So, I got a phone call asking what could be done. But I told him he didn’t need to take Mom to a clinic or hospital. As a Medicare beneficiary, she could receive most of the therapy in her own home.

Medicare covers a variety of heath care services that you can get in the comfort and privacy of your home. These include intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology services and occupational therapy.

Such services used to be available only at a hospital or doctor’s office. But they’re just as effective, more convenient and usually less expensive when you get them in your home. To be eligible for home health

services, you must be under a doctor’s care and receive services under a plan of care established and reviewed regularly by a physician. He or she also needs to certify that you need one or more home health services.

In addition, you must be homebound and have a doctor’s certification to that effect. Being homebound means leaving your home isn’t recommended because of your condition, or your condition keeps you from leaving without using a cane, wheelchair or walker; special transportation; or getting help from another person. Also, you must get your services from a Medicare-approved home health agency.

If you meet these criteria, Medicare pays for covered home health services for as long as you’re eligible and your doctor certifies that you need them. For durable medical equipment (like a walker or wheelchair), you pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount.

Skilled nursing services are covered when they’re given on a part-time or intermittent basis. In order for Medicare to cover such care, it must be necessary and ordered by your doctor for your specific condition. Medicare does not cover fulltime nursing care.

Skilled nursing services are given by either a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse under an RN’s supervision. Nurses provide direct care and teach you and your caregivers about your care.

Examples of skilled nursing care include: giving IV drugs, shots, or tube feedings; changing dressings; and teaching about prescription drugs or diabetes care.

Before your home health care begins, the home health agency should tell you how much of your bill Medicare will pay. The agency should also tell you if any items or services they give you aren’t covered by Medicare and how much you’ll have to pay for them.

This should be explained by both talking with you and in writing. The agency should give you a notice called the Home Health Advance Beneficiary Notice before giving you services and supplies that Medicare doesn’t cover.

What isn’t covered? Some examples: 24-hour-a-day care at home; meals delivered to your home; homemaker services like shopping, cleaning, and laundry (when this is the only care you need, and when these services aren’t related to your plan of care); personal care given by home health aides like bathing, dressing, and us-

ing the bathroom (when this is the only care you need).

If you get your Medicare benefits through a Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plan (not Original Medicare), check your plan’s membership materials. Contact the plan for details about how the plan provides your Medicare-covered home health benefits. If your doctor decides you need home health care, you can choose from among the Medicare-certified agencies in your area.

However, Medicare Advantage or other Medicare plans may require that you get services only from agencies they contract with. One good way to look for a home health agency is by using Medicare’s “Home Health Compare” web tool, at www.medicare.gov/HHCompare. It lets you compare agencies by the types of services they offer and the quality of care they provide.

For more details on Medicare’s home health benefit, please read our booklet, “Medicare and Home Health Care.” It’s online at medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10969Medicare-and-Home-Health-Care.pdf.

-Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona. Get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-633-4227.

Turning 15 and facing death, Mesa boy just wants birthday cards

BY JESSICA SURIANO AFN Staff Writer

AMesa teen battling a terminal illness will turn 15 soon – and all he wants for his birthday is 100,000 greeting cards.

Jacob Priestly, whose birthday is Aug. 28, was diagnosed with a disease when he was 10 that has caused most of the mitochondria in his cells to die. This has left him easily exhausted and with a diminished energy supply.

“Anytime someone sends me a card, I get filled with joy,” Jacob said. “If I read it and see people – random strangers – signing cards to another stranger, it makes me have joy.”

The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation says mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90 percent of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and organ function. There are currently no cures for the disease.

Aside from his condition, Jacob is just like other boys his age and enjoys joking around with his parents and younger brother, playing video games and listening to music. Some of his favorite games

are Minecraft, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty.

He still completes school classes from home. History and science are his favorite subjects, and he is not a fan of language arts.

Last year, Jacob and his family made a goal of opening 10,000 birthday cards, but ended up receiving double that amount.

So far, he has received cards from Barack Obama, Matt Damon, a postcard from Pixar, a signed guitar from country music artist Harry Luge and a flag from the U.S. Army that traveled from Iraq to Germany.

He has also received cards from abroad, including India, Hong Kong and the Philippines. His family has collected about 12,000 cards for his birthday this year so far.

Jacob said cards from prison inmates are some of the best ones because most have detailed drawings and supportive messages.

Jacob’s mom, Britney, said the idea for the birthday card campaign came about two years ago, when his condition was declining and he was bed-bound most of

ABOVE: Jacob Priestly of Mesa, who may not see another birthday after he turns 15 on Aug. 28 because of a terminal illness, is hoping he'll get 100,000 birthday cards because greetings "bring me joy."

LEFT: Jacob collected more than 20,000 birthday cards last year from around the world.

the time.

“We had no idea what to give him for his birthday,” she said. “We got like 200 cards, and we gave them to him on his birthday and he was so excited. He was so happy.”

His parents said the way Jacob handles adversity and his smile are their favorite qualities about him.

“He can be in pain and hurting, but he

KImberly Carrilo/AFN Staff Photographer)

Shots fired in Ahwatukee neighborhood; no suspects

Phoenix police said they investigated a report of gunfire in the area of Granite View Drive and Indigo Brush, Ahwatukee, around 2 a.m. Thursday, July 20, but came up dry in their effort to find the shooter.

Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said police investigating several calls reporting gunfire determined that a party had been breaking up and that someone fired a gun as guests were leaving. There were no reported injuries.

Cub Scout Pack 278 seeks new members

Ahwatukee boys in first through fifth grade are invioted to check out Cub Scout Pack 278 at its first meeting at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 21 at Corpus Christi Church, rooms 5 and 6, 3350 E. Knox Road.

All families welcome to the meeting and no commitment required. Information: azpack278@gmail.com or azpack278.com.

PostNet owners to give mailboxes to six nonprofits

Aaron and Janine Moeller, owners

AROUND AHWATUKEE

of PostNet at 4605 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee and another in Chandler are looking for six nonprofit organizations interested in receiving free private mailbox rental services.

To be eligible, nonprofits must provide proof of 501(c)(3) status and submit a short paragraph describing their nonprofit and why they would like the mailbox. Applications can be sent to AZ156@postnet.com.

Local

prof’s homeless outreach downtown is

July 29

Project Humanities’ year-round outreach led by an Ahwatukee professor to help the homeless in downtown Phoenix will be held

6:45-8:15 a.m. Saturday, July 29. Volunteers are welcome to meet on South 12th Avenue between West Jefferson and West Madison streets to help homeless people pick out clothing, shoes and toiletries.

Neal Lester, Foundation Professor of English at Arizona State University and the founder/director of ASU’s Project Humanities, also reminds residents they can donate bottled water at AZ Spine & Disc, 4530 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Other items can be donated at Project Humanities’ Tempe headquarters.

KFYI

stars to speak at Republican Women’s

luncheon

Four personalities from KFYI Radio will comprise a guest panel at the Ahwatukee Republican Women’s luncheon 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2, at Mt. View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee.

Mike Broomhead, Seth Leibsohn, Chris Buskirk and Suzanne Sharer will speak and be available for book signings.

Tickets are $20 for members of the Ahwatukee Republican Women and $25 for non-members. Reservations can be made at ahwatukeerepublicanwomen.com.

Information: 480-727-7030 or projecthumanities@asu.edu.

Foothills Floral offering flowerarrangement clases

Foothills Floral Gallery, 4647 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, is holding a series of flower-related classes starting Aug. 10.

Classes include head wreaths, Aug. 10; succulent/cactus potting workshop, Sept. 7; Thanksgiving centerpieces, Nov. 9 and winter wreaths, Dec. 7. Information Freddi Grimes, 480-496-0202.

has a joke or is singing a song,” Britney said. “He’s just a happy kid, and that’s everybody’s favorite thing about him.”

Jacob said he’s grateful for all his parents do to help him succeed and stay as healthy as possible.

“They’re an inspiration to me,” he said. “They help me go through all of this. Without my parents, I don’t know what I would be.”

Jacob’s favorite types of cards either have animals on them or funny jokes. To learn more about Jacob’s life and mission to receive 100,000 birthday cards, visit his Facebook page: Adventures with Mighty Jake or his Twitter account: @ mightyjake828.

To help

Want to help Jacob and his family reach their goal this year? Send cards and letters to:

Jacob Priestly P.O. Box 855 Queen Creek, AZ 85142

Giorgio from Italy, 16 yrs. Loves to play baseball and spend time with his dogs. Giorgio also plays the guitar, and his dream is to join a drama club at his American high school.

TODAY, JULY 26

Summer’s end marked

Wednesdays are for teens at Ironwood. This week, we draw the summer to a close with an end-of-summer blow out party!

DETAILS>> 4:30-6:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. For ages 12-17. No registration required.

Council candidates in forum

A public forum sponsored by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce and Ahwatukee Foothills News offers residents a chance to ask question of the two candidates for the District 6 seat on Phoenix City Council, which includes Ahwatukee. Both Councilman Sal DiCiccio and challenger Kevin Patterson will attend the moderated forum.

DETAILS>> 5:30-7 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, Pecos Road and 24th Street, Ahwatukee. Free.

FRIDAY, JULY 28

Food and fun at Hawthorn

Family, friends and kids can enjoy live music and a food truck rodeo.

DETAILS>> 6-8 p.m., 13822 S. 46th Place, Ahwatukee. Free admission. RSVP: 480-598-1224.

TUESDAY, AUG. 1

‘Ironwood Alchemy’ launch set

Celebrate the publication of an anthology by members of Ironwood Library’s writers group, Parchment & Prose. The night includes food, door prizes and readings by the authors themselves. Copies of the book will be available.

DETAILS>> 6 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Free, no registration required.

SATURDAY, AUG. 5

Protecting kids is topic

It’s back to school time, when kids have their parents’ attention more than usual. Local attorney and mom Amie Mendoza will explain how to properly name legal guardians for your children, including how to avoid common mistakes.

DETAILS>> 2-3 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Free. Register in the calendar section at phxlib.org.

THURSDAY, AUG. 17

Blood drive scheduled

Give the gift of blood at the American Red Cross Blood Drive at Ironwood Library. Appointments are recommended by going to redcrossblood.org and selecting the “Donating Blood” option to submit your appointment time. Walk-in donations are also welcome as available.

DETAILS>> 2:30-7:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20

Eclipse talk slated

Kids 5 to 12 years old and their families can prepare for the solar eclipse on Aug. 21 by making a pinhole eclipse viewer and other astronomy-related crafts.

DETAILS>> 2-3 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Ages 6-11. No registration required. Free.

THURSDAY, AUG. 24

Desert lawn care

Get practical advice for maintaining a healthy, beautiful and water-efficient lawn. This free workshop presented

in partnership with City of Phoenix Water Department.

DETAILS>> 6:30-7:30 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Register online in the calendar section at phxlib.org.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 26

Back-to-school party is on

Back-to-school party! Join us for craft, snacks, and Smash Bros.

DETAILS>> 2-4 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Open to teens ages 12-17. Free, no registration required.

DAILY

Online reading is rewarding

The Maricopa County Reads Online Summer Reading Program will continue through Aug. 1. Adults, teens, children, and babies can log onto maricopacountyreads.org to record their reading and earn points toward a voucher for a free book and other prizes. Just read 20 minutes a day, every day.

DETAILS>> Registration is online. Come to Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, to pick up the schedule. Attend programs and earn points toward a free book. All ages. Free.

SUNDAYS

‘

TinkerTime

’

open for kids

A makerspace for children to design, experiment, and invent as they explore hands-on STEAM activities through self-guided tinkering.

DETAILS>> 1-4 p.m. every Sunday, Ironwood Library 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Ages 6-11. Free; No registration required.

Learn gardening from pros

Learn desert gardening by getting your hands dirty with the Ahwatukee Community Gardening Project. Share in the knowledge, the produce, and the smiles. All ages welcome Bring sun protection and water, tools optional.

DETAILS>> 7-9 a.m. in the northwest corner of the park at 4700 E. Warner Road, Ahwatukee. Information : acgarden.org or 480-759-5338

MONDAYS

Chamber offers networking

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group is open to chamber members.

DETAILS>> Noon, Native Grill and Wings, 5030 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Devida Lewis, 480-753-7676.

LD 18 Dems meet monthly

Legislative District 18 Democrats gather monthly, usually the second Monday, to share news, opportunities, food and laughter. Meetings include guest speakers, legislative updates, how-to sessions and Q&A. Volunteer or just enjoy an evening with likeminded folks.

DETAILS>> For times and places: ld18democrats.org/ calendar.

TUESDAYS

STEM for kids available

Join us at the library for this fun, hands-on STEMbased program. Kids will create a different project each week including: Circuit Bugs with LEDs, straw rocket ships, binary code keychains, wobblebots, turtle weavings and robotic hand building.

DETAILS>> Free. 4-5 p.m., Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd. Ages 6-11. No registration required.

Courtney Valleywide Properties is excited to announce that we have joined the Weichert® family. Weichert has been in business since 1969 and is one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in the nation.

We are now WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Courtney Valleywide. Randy Courtney, Broker/Owner, a 31-year real estate veteran, founded Courtney Valleywide in 2003. Together with Weichert’s proven systems and our local experience, we will be working to deliver the highest level of personal service for our customers.

Randy Courtney

WEICHERT, REALTORS - Courtney Valleywide

2600 S. Rural Rd. Suite A Tempe, AZ 85282

www.ahwatukee.com

District 6 Council candidates discuss what's on their mind

Editor’s note:

As Ahwatukee nears the beginning of early voting Aug. 2 in the election for the District 6 seat on Phoenix City Council, AFN asked the two candidates to write four columns.

AFN gave the candidates two specific subjects to address and left the subject of the other two columns up to them. For this week’s column, both candidates had a choice of topic.

The first set of columns can be found on ahwatukee.com, along with questionnaires answered by both candidates.

Sal DiCiccio:

I will do everything possible

BY SAL DICICCIO

If there is one topic that unites Ahwatukee Foothills, it’s education – our great schools and how to support them.

It does not matter where I am or what I’m doing, every day someone stops me to talk education. Many families moved to Ahwatukee specifically for our great schools. But even people whose children have long since moved out of the house understand: Education is the issue of our time.

Our teachers are underpaid and our schools need help.

Public education is personal for me. My parents came to this country with grade-school educations. I couldn’t speak English until I was immersed in first grade. And while my parents may not have known the math and English skills required for school, they knew I needed the skills that a strong education brings to be successful in this new country.

That’s why I will always do everything possible to find solutions that will make our local schools successful: public, charter and private alike.

Now, the fact is that we – the city of Phoenix – have little control over our schools. That’s the reality. But it’s equally true that we can, and have already had, an impact.

With the support of my fellow councilmembers, over the last decade the Phoenix IDA has doled out more than $1.5 billion in loans to schools.

Our after-school programs, libraries and student-support organizations – funded

to help our schools

and run by the city – are some of the best in the country. I have and will continue to support these programs.

The fact that I grew up poor made me realize the importance of just being able to get to school. For this reason, I have pushed – and the council is moving forward with – addressing free bus passes for our children going to and from school.

Right now, many parents and families have to make tough choices about what opportunities their kids have access to, like sports, theater and the arts. Working families don’t have the ability to drive their kids to and from these activities.

By allowing any child with a school ID free use of our city buses – as Tempe already does for its kids – we can support our schools, help reduce their transportation costs so that they can devote those monies to the classroom, and ensure that our children can take advantage of every opportunity their schools offer.

Working with the school districts also means ensuring that the roads around our schools are safe and properly maintained. It means working with the police to protect our children. And it means ensuring the great quality of life that has attracted so many of you to our community in the first place.

We aren’t going to solve our teacher shortage or low pay by ourselves, but by doing every little thing we possibly can, the city of Phoenix can take strong steps towards helping our school leaders solve those problems.

As your councilman, this is my commitment to you, and one more reason I am, once again, asking for your vote on Aug. 29.

Kevin Patterson: Incumbent has become less and less accountable

BY KEVIN PATTERSON AFN Guest Writer

When I was a young man growing up in Ahwatukee, I made the typical mistakes young people do.

I talked back to my parents. I didn’t always turn in my homework on time, or show up to school. Despite these errors, I always knew that I would be held accountable by someone, whether it was my parents or the administrators at my school.

I knew that I couldn’t just get away with not doing my job as a son or as a student, so why wouldn’t the same hold true for our city councilman?

When Councilman Sal DiCiccio takes a vote on the City Council, he is supposed to be representing us, our values and what will most benefit this community.

Councilman DiCiccio has represented this community for more than a decade, and in that time, he has become less and less accountable to families like ours, and in Ahwatukee, it really shows.

Councilman DiCiccio claims to have “won 500 more police officers,” but recently voted against the budget that added 217 more police to our streets. How does that add up?

He decries the fact that emergency response times in Ahwatukee are higher than ever, and that only three police patrol our streets at a time. But when asked about the issue by constituents, he resorts to juvenile tactics like blocking them on social media. Where’s the accountability in that?

Further, Councilman DiCiccio claims to have “fought for after-school programs for kids” but voted against the budget that funds these critical programs that give opportunity and access to services for youth.

I spoke with a single mother recently who said that the only thing she wanted from the city was for the community center near her home to be open a little later so that she could pick up her children after work, instead of leaving them alone late at night. She didn’t even know Sal was her councilman.

Like any job, an individual should be held accountable, given time to improve, or removed for low performance. The same accountability is critical as a public official.

Over a decade is long enough to show improvement for our councilman. I accept that level of accountability. I want to hear from you, whether you agree with me or not, about how we can constructively work together to make Phoenix a place full of opportunity and happiness for all of us.

I promise that if I am so fortunate to be your city councilman, my office is always open for your voice.

Let’s say yes to accountability for our public officials. It’s far past time we did.

Ahwatukee Foot Hills Chamber of Commerce-Ahwatukee Foothills News Candidate Forum 5:30-7 p.m. today, July 26, Mountain Park Community Church Pecos Road and 24th Street, Ahwatukee

AFN Guest Writer

BY PAUL MARYNIAK

AFN Executive Editor

Twenty years ago this month, Barry Kramer made two momentous moves.

He got married and he created KellerWilliams Realty Sonoran Living in Ahwatukee.

Both the marriage and the business are still going strong today.

He and his wife, Lynn, a Realtor, have a daughter, Madison, who just got

her real estate license. And Kramer is the designated broker and operator in principal for Keller Williams Sonoran Living’s Ahwatukee and Scottsdale “market centers,” presiding over an operation that includes 370 agents.

In many ways, Kramer’s success reflects Keller Williams’ philosophy.

“Our environment is a culture of productivity,” he said. “When agents can meet their financial goals, they

Mike Mendoza

can fund their lifestyle, mission, and purpose….our mission is to build careers worth having and enjoy your work, have businesses worth owning and lives worth living.”

That culture is what eventually drew Kramer to Keller Williams after the Tucson native started his real estate career in new-home sales and eventually added resales to his resume.

The Kramers had been running a boutique realty company in Ahwatukee called Desert Foothills Real Estate since 1993 when, in July 1997, they converted to Keller Williams, running the business out of their home near Mountain Park and Ray Road with only a couple of agents.

He had been attracted to Ahwatukee at the time because he saw potential.

“This was a growth area,” he recalled. “I liked it also because it was close to Tucson, where my family still was living and I could get on the I-10 and be there in 90 minutes.”

But over the five years that preceded his joining Keller Williams, Kramer began seeking “a different model” in the industry.

Early in his career, the 1979 University of Arizona graduate explained, “the mindset in the industry was that realtors were a necessary evil, that the only reason you were successful was the company name.”

“I wasn’t looking for branding,” he continued. “I was looking for a different model. I was looking up and seeing people who had no life, no balance, no exit strategy. The industry just said, ‘Go make a bunch of money and do it over and over and over.’”

“I didn’t know what exactly I wanted it to look like, but I knew what it I didn’t want it to look like,” he said. “I wanted to create a better mousetrap.”

education and training support. We train to teach best practices that top performers use.”

The communication usually revolves around trends and strategies that succeed. “There is constant chatter,” he said, not just among agents in the Ahwatukee market center but among all the Keller Williams market centers across the state and nation.

“It’s going on a minute-by-minute basis and allows us to be very nimble,” Kramer said.

He found it in Keller Williams.

In Keller Williams, he said, he discovered a culture made up of “businesspeople doing real estate” instead of agents doing business.

That difference is explained by the fact that while many agents’ income “is up and down, depending how the market is doing,” Keller Williams is focused “on strategy, not how business is doing.”

“If realtors ask questions, they’re asking, ‘Where’s my next sale?’ A businessperson asks, ‘How can I be more profitable?’ A Realtor might look at a training opportunity and says, ‘I can’t afford to do that.’ A businessperson says, ‘I can’t afford not to do that,’”

Kramer said.

“Eighty percent of my time has to be spent with someone buying or selling,”

he said, while the industry often finds “most agents spend 80 percent of their time doing clerical work.”

Keller Williams focuses relentlessly on data, analyzing trends that agents can stay on top of – providing they have a strong work ethic that is dedicated to “lead generation and lead conversion,” he said.

To help agents, he added, “We encourage people to constantly be trained. The majority of the industry doesn’t support that.”

But Kramer and Keller Williams are not just focused on making money. They also are dedicated to helping the community.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated Mississippi and Louisiana, Keller Williams agents across the country kicked in $5 million in one day to assist the families of agents affected by the storm. Kramer noted the recovery required not just a one-time response but a long-term effort to care for those families as they struggled to rebuild their lives.

One of the company’s ongoing programs is called REACT, standing for “Real Estate Agents Caring Together.”

To further encourage smart business practices, Keller Williams maintains an Agent Leadership Council, in which the top 20 percent of the most productive agents function like a board of directors “to give input, direction and provide accountability to the business. Because it is a bottom-up, agent-centric culture, agents actually input to how the business is operated,” he said.

Kramer calls the Keller Williams Sonoran Living headquarters on 46th Street just south of Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee a “market center” rather than a real estate office to underscore what the company encourages from its agents – namely, training and constant communication.

“It all starts foundationally with the environment, being in an environment that’s set up that’s going to support the agents on different levels and not be just a place to hang their license,” he said. “We provide a tremendous amount of

“REACT is our local commitment to giving back to our local community,” Kramer said. “Agents donates a percentage of each commission to the REACT Fund, which is then distributed to a special needs organization or individual chosen by the agents.”

The company also has “RED Day” – an acronym for “Renew, Energize, Donate” – on the second Thursday in May. At that time, all agents take the day off from their business to give back to the community.

“It is a one-day expression of what happens 24/7 in the KW culture of giving back to the community,” said Kramer who cites the long-term support that Keller Williams Sonoran Living hasd provided to numerous Ahwatukee institutions, such as the Festival of Lights.

(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Photographer)

Lynn and Barry Kramer, center, are flanked by Mike Salyer, Deanna Boehmer and Cathy McClure on the left and Scott Crouch and John Hrimnak to the right.

Regrets often accompany homebuyers, especially younger ones

BY STACEY LYKINS AFN Guest Writer

Buying a home is stressful and the uncertainty seems to make the process worse.

I am going to go over what seems to be the most common regrets of homebuyers so you can learn from others’ mistakes and relieve a little of the stress surrounding homeownership in the process.

According to national statistics, 44 percent of Americans have some form of regret about their current home or the homebuying process, a substantial percentage of homebuyers.

Interestingly, the biggest regrets come from renters who wish they had decided to buy instead of renting.

Another 41 percent are from homeowners who wish they had gone with a larger home. It seems that tiny homes are not so trendy after all because you have to live in your new home for some time in the future.

The statistics also revealed that younger participants were far more regretful than their older counterparts.

Overall, younger buyers were shown to have the most regrets at 71 percent, which might be because it is their first major purchase. Interestingly, those 65 years and older had the fewest percentage of buyer regrets at 28 percent.

My guess is that those older buyers have made the mistakes of younger buyers already and learned from their previous mistakes.

Though given the fact that a 22-yearold’s financial situation is probably not

as secure as someone over 65, this is not altogether surprising: Those aged 18-34 were almost twice as likely to wish they were more financially secure before making their housing decision.

Speaking of finances, the consensus surrounding home affordability is substantially negative.

More than half of Americans, 62 percent, believe housing costs have become less affordable to some degree since 2012. A quarter of those Americans firmly be-

lieve that the market has become much less affordable.

Other interesting finding indicated that higher income showed a positive correlation with more regrets, and participants with children were generally more regretful than those without. These are both interesting observations.

The good news is that since 2012’s housing crash, Americans overall tend to feel more positive about owning a home. This is compared to 52 percent of homeowners and renters in 2013 who had regrets about their current home or the process of choosing it. That number in 2017 dropped by one whole percent.

However small, we’re making some steps in the right direction. If you are interested in purchasing, make sure to contact an Ahwatukee Foothills market specialist. You want to make sure to get good representation from someone, who lives and works in our community.

-To find out more about any real estate questions, contact Ahwatukee resident and Associate Broker Stacey Lykins, West USA, 602-616-9971 or at S.Lykins@LykinsProperties.com or visit her website at www.LykinsProperties.com.

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BY BONNY HOLLAND AFN Guest Writer

As of Feb. 1, the Arizona Association of Realtors introduced a new Residential Purchase Contract which has created a whole new outlook on buying a home.

The new purchase contract contains several major changes, but the most apparent alteration is the removal of sellers’ warranties. This means all residential resale homes in Arizona are now sold As-is.

Yes, you read that correctly... As-is! Anyone who is currently looking or planning on starting the search in the future should know and understand how these modifications affect you.

Prior to February, the purchase contract deemed the seller responsible for any and all “warranted items,” which included mechanical, heating and cooling, electrical and plumbing systems. This meant the seller would be held accountable for all warranted items to be in working order by close of escrow, even if

they were not operational when the contract was first accepted.

If a seller had a broken air conditioning unit and went under contract on their home, the sellers would have to have it repaired to working order by close of escrow. Today, the warranted items are no longer in

the purchase contract. In other words, the seller with the broken air condition is now not required to fix it.

Buyer still are given an agreed-upon inspection period to do their due diligence and submit a repair request to the seller. Also, the seller is still required to submit a

property disclosure and provide a five-year claims history on the property.

Since the new purchase contract took effect, there have been some changes in the behavior between buyers and sellers during the inspection period as well as by inspectors.

Inspectors have become more meticulous with their recommendations while the number of the buyers’ repair requests have increased compared to what it was like before the removal of the warranted items.

Yet, the new purchase contract is widely being considered as a way for the buyer and seller to enter into a contract on the same page and on an even playing field.

Even with the recent changes, it’s not unusual for sellers to agree to reasonable buyer-requested repairs to keep a transaction moving, even though such an agreement is not mandatory.

In time, everyone will adjust to the new Residential Purchase Contract. Until then, make sure that you are informed on how it works and how to best prepare yourself to enter into a purchase contract for a home.

-Bonny Holland is a Realtor in Ahwatukee. Reacher her at 602-369-1085, 480-759-4300 or leadingluxuryexperts.com.

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Nine pitfalls to avoid when selling your home

For most homeowners, their house is their largest asset – which means there’s a lot of money at stake when it comes time to sell.

Want to get as much money back as possible from this big-ticket investment? Avoid doing these nine things when you put your home on the market, according to Realtor. com.

Ignoring your agent’s advice. Although you don’t technically need to use a real estate agent to sell your home, hiring one can help you get more money in your pocket.

A good listing agent can assist you with pricing your home, marketing it, negotiating with buyers, and guiding you through the closing process. That’s a lot of responsibility – and you might feel slightly uncomfortable putting your faith in a stranger’s hands. However, because your agent has a fiduciary responsibility to look out for your best interests, you need to trust the person’s advice.

So, if your agent says to do something –like make a price reduction – you should do it, said Daniel Gyomory, a real estate agent.

Neglecting important repairs. Most homebuyers will require a home inspection contingency. But that doesn’t mean you should wait for the home inspector to tell you what to fix. If your home has noticeable flaws, go ahead and ask your agent whether you should address them before putting your house on the market.

“Something as small as a leaky kitchen faucet can be a red flag to a buyer, since the person might assume there are bigger issues with the home,” said Gyomory. Being restrictive with showings. You want the greatest number of potential buyers to see your home, said real estate agent Holly Gray.

Hence, you need to be extremely flexible when responding to showing requests, she added. Be ready to leave your house at a moment’s notice. Bear in mind that if you decline a showing, the buyer might not come back – and you could potentially lose out on a great offer.

“Expect little privacy when selling your house,” advised Karen Elmir, a luxury real estate agent.

Failing to keep the house tidy. To be prepared for last-minute showing requests, you have to keep your home relatively clean, neat, and organized at all times. Try your best to make the place look spotless (or close to it) before buyers arrive. Being present for showings. Home buyers are already apprehensive about

touring a stranger’s property, so don’t make things even more awkward by sticking around for open houses or showings. Buyers need to be able to envision your home as their own, which can be difficult to do if they see you hanging around the house, said Danielle Schlesier, a real estate agent. Letting a pet spoil your sale. Even though you love your pet, a homebuyer might not feel the same way. Also, dogs, cats and other animals often leave behind a bad odor, which can be an immediate turnoff.

Plus, “some home buyers are allergic to pets,” said Gyomory. So, instead of crating or confining Fido to a special area of the house during showings, take him with you for a walk while buyers are viewing your home. Even better: Drop him off at Grandma’s house for an extended stay while the home is listed for sale.

Reviewing offers with a closed mind. Many people form an emotional attachment to their home. But don’t let those feelings cloud your vision, especially when you receive offers.

In an ideal world, you’ll nab a full-price (or higher) offer for your home, but be willing to negotiate if you receive an offer that’s below list price. Trust your agent to negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal.

Balking over requested repairs. No matter how well you’ve maintained your house, a buyer’s home inspector is going to find issues with the property. Be prepared to make repairs during the home inspection negotiation period – or at least offer the buyer credit at closing.

Whatever you do, “don’t fight over a few hundred dollars,” said Gyomory.

Overlooking closing costs. While home buyers shoulder the lion’s share of the closing costs, home sellers still chip in a good chunk of cash at settlement – roughly 1 percent to 3 percent of the home’s final sales price. Unfortunately, many sellers don’t budget for closing fees. In fact, “a lot of sellers only look at their agent’s commission” when calculating their closing costs, said Gyomory.

As a seller, you can expect to be responsible for these closing costs: A closing fee, paid to the title company or attorney’s office where everyone meets to close on the home; taxes on the home sale; a fee for an attorney if the home seller has one and a fee for transferring the title to the new owner.

After you sign a sales contract with a homebuyer, ask the buyer’s title company for an estimate of what you’ll have to pay at closing, so that you can budget appropriately.

Ahwatukee Custom

With a new school year beginning, remember to tout successes and activities

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Having grown up back East, I went back to school on a much different calendar than kids out here.

But regardless of where parents and children may live, the final countdown to that first day of school poses one question in the minds of nearly everyone: Where did summer vacation go?

The AFN can’t do anything to stop the clock, but with a new school year just days away, this is a good time to remind you parents that we want to celebrate your kids’ achievements.

No, we don’t have the space to tell readers about their report cards.

Nor does it mean we will be overlooking the harder side of school coverage –namely the business of education.

We routinely monitor governing board meetings, review audits, budgets and

other reports and ask school officials tougher questions about district business.

But education is a far greater subject than budget discussions and program questions.

If we didn’t pay attention to what is actually going on in classrooms and the results of all the work that goes into them, we’d only be doing half of our job.

That’s why you’ll be reading about the achievements and efforts of individual students and groups – and why you’re bound to come across some stories about teachers and administrators doing some marvelous things to expand those students’ knowledge and experience.

I certainly welcome parents to contact me about unique activities involving their kids.

Ditto for high school students themselves who feel like bragging a bit about something they’ve done for class or in an extracurricular activity.

During the last school year, for example, among our features was a look

at the national-prize-winning Mountain Pointe High School robotics club. That school also produced an interesting project by a group of DECA students who were trying to encourage a better understanding among Mountain Pointe’s diverse student population.

Both Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools’ drama programs and their productions were featured several times during the school year.

At the elementary- and middleschool level, we looked at how Akimel A-al Middle School youngsters were mentoring students at adjacent Estrella Elementary School.

The initial tips on all these unique efforts came from parents or teachers rather than the school district.

I am not downplaying the district’s contributions to getting the word out about their students and teachers, their programs or their in-class or extracurricular activities and accomplishments.

But I am a firm believer in having many

Despite dire cancer diagnosis, McCain is a warrior up to the task

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ AFN Columnist

The neurosurgeon speaking about the glioblastoma assailing Sen. John McCain described this form of brain tumor using terms like “aggressive” and “relentless,” a warrior force that can be slowed down, stymied for the time being, but never defeated.

Funny thing. That’s exactly how I’ve always thought of John McCain himself. As indomitable. Unbreakable. Persistent in the extreme. As, to be frank, one of the last unconquered men or women this nation has ever produced.

As news of the senator’s brain cancer made the round, it quickly became fashionable in certain circles to make political points about McCain’s health-care coverage, or to suggest that McCain’s voting record, his role in the “Keating Five” abomination and his Republican politics somehow have undermined his status as an American hero.

If you came to this space looking for such smarm, by all means feel free to stop reading here.

Let me be abundantly clear: If you don’t think being shot down at 550 mph over Hanoi and surviving 5½ years as a prisoner of war at the hands of North

Vietnamese torturers deserves the word “hero,” you’re a fool. End of story.

As a journalist, my path has crossed McCain’s many times over the years, with the great man always fast-witted, frank, quick with a joke and irascible as hell. In 1996, I shadowed him from sunup to deep night around the Republican National Convention in San Diego. The most vivid memory? Watching his press secretary comb his hair before a TV interview because McCain’s war injuries had left him unable to raise his arms enough to complete that simple task.

In 2000, when the memoir “Faith of My Fathers” hit bookshelves, I found myself returning time and again to the chapters about McCain’s imprisonment: The two years he spent in solitary confinement, alone with his daydreams and prayers; the tap code he and his fellow prisoners devised to communicate between the walls of the Hanoi Hilton; the endless hours of beatings he suffered at the hands of subhumans like The Bug and Slopehead; and the offer of early freedom that McCain’s sense of honor compelled him to turn down.

On Election Night 2008, when McCain fell short in his second run at the presidency, he took the stage at the Arizona Biltmore and gave a concession speech that should be regarded as one of his finest moments – 10 minutes of humil-

voices coming into the newsroom so that the AFN can provide the widest coverage possible of the community.

If you’re an empty nester who is rolling your eyes over this prospect, consider this: Your tax dollars are financing these activities, so wouldn’t you like to know what you’re getting for your money?

Moreover, the Ahwatukee Foothills News covers the community. And a community is more than dollars and cents, controversies and discussions.

It’s about the kids who are growing up in those communities – and the adults who are helping them follow in our paths.

So, don’t be shy about dropping a dime on some student activity or accomplishment, whether it involves a group or an individual.

We want to tell their stories, and it all starts by dropping me a line at pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com.

Hope to hear from you sometime in 2017-18.

ity and grace in the wake of a turbulent campaign that saw McCain lose, but not become a loser.

His closing lines that night have stayed with me ever since.

“I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here,” McCain told us that night. “Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”

It is in that spirit, I am sure, that John McCain now faces the final, toughest fight of a life well lived.

He is 80 years old now, and maybe the science and the smart money says glioblastoma, undefeated, wins this battle, too.

But we are not talking an ordinary human being here. We are talking about someone so much larger than life, he positively dwarfs it, a true warrior from a line of warriors, a man who has faced captors and cancer, heartbreak and defeat and managed to still stand tall all the while.

If ever a man alive could beat cancer’s ass, it’s John McCain. Screw the smart money. I’d say that brain tumor is in for the fight of its life.

– David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo.com.

What Maricopa County is doing about the opioid crisis

BY DENNY BARNEY AFN Guest Writer

You may not know anyone with a heroin addiction, but there’s probably someone in your social circle who is misusing prescription pills.

For many, it starts with taking pain medication exactly as prescribed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the opioid crisis the worst drug overdose epidemic in our history.

In June, Governor Ducey said the crisis constitutes a statewide emergency, and in the days that followed, issued an executive order requiring better data tracking and sharing among health and law enforcement agencies, including those here in Maricopa County.

The goal: Follow the crisis in real time and reduce preventable deaths.

A look at McCain’s care

My Arizona U.S. senator, John McCain, is in Mayo Clinic. I wish Sen. McCain a full recovery and a healthy life. It strikes me, though, that my Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Arizona health care coverage does not allow me in-network coverage at Mayo Clinic.

If our representatives had the same health-care insurance we constituents have or we could get what they have for their families and staff, the health-care insurance crisis in the United States would be quickly resolved.

– Matt Winkler

The statistics are sobering:

• Nationwide, 60,000 deaths from opioid use in 2016

• In Arizona, 790 opioid overdose deaths in 2016, a 74 percent increase over the past four years

• In Maricopa County jails, more than 900 of the approximately 8,000 individuals in custody admit ongoing opioid use

So what is Maricopa County doing about it?

Limiting overdose deaths: Governor Ducey made the distribution of naloxone a priority, and Maricopa County

Correctional Health Services is using the drug to save lives and put inmates on a path to recovery. In addition, Sheriff

Penzone is equipping his deputies with the drug and investing in training so they know how to administer it properly.

Reducing cravings: The transition from incarceration back to the community is

6-month job review

It’s usually fair to grant a new employee at least six months on the job to determine whether they are proficient in the position for which they were hired. Has their preemployment resume and rhetoric been matched by their on-the-job performance? Have they been competent, cooperative, cerebral and candid on carrying out their duties? Here’s one voter’s look at President Trump’s six-month “report card”:

The wall on our Southern border hasn’t even begun to be built and Mexico has adamantly refused to pay for it.

President Trump’s taxes still haven’t been released. Is this the longest “audit” in IRS history?

Mrs. Clinton isn’t in jail!

a very risky time for individuals. Some inmates are receiving Vivitrol, a drug known to reduce opioid cravings and dull the high that someone receives from taking the drug. The first injection is given in custody, a few days before release.

Outside agencies handle subsequent injections. This program is in its infancy. Our Correctional Health team will track outcomes to see if Vivitrol is an effective means of treating this addiction, limiting overdose deaths and preventing people from returning to jail.

Education: The sheriff appointed former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Shannon Scheel to lead drug education efforts which includes outreach to students with an interactive program developed by the Discovery Channel. The county is also committed to education inside our jails, so we continue to refine substance abuse programs such as MOSAIC which teach people struggling with addition the

skills to replace their dependency with something positive.

Of course, much is out of our control. Medical professionals need to be smart about how they prescribe powerful painkillers. A recent CDC report found Maricopa County, and Arizona as a whole, above the national rate for opioid prescriptions.

We need community support, too.

Nonprofits and volunteers. Churches and support groups. Employers and landlords willing to give people a chance. Progress isn’t possible if addicts are considered those “other folks.” Separate from us. Not our problem.

Maricopa County has developed a wideranging response to the opioid crisis. Our hope is to give these people all the tools at our disposal to survive and, hopefully, recover.

It’s still unproven that thousands of people stood on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River and cheered as our World Trade Center was destroyed.

It’s still unproven that former President Obama or anyone else secretly bugged Trump Towers in New York City.

The D.C. “swamp” not only hasn’t been drained, but one could easily claim that alligators and crocodiles have been added.

Is there any independent proof that coal mining and manufacturing jobs are returning to the United States as promised?

The generous overall grade I would say our president has earned after a half year on the job would be a D.

Should we feel duped, deceived,

disillusioned or disgusted with the performances emanating from the White House since President Trump’s inauguration? Everyone will make up their own mind concerning President Trump’s performance thus far, but this engaged and interested voter is eagerly awaiting the midterm elections in 2018 and the next presidential election in 2020! – Richard K. Meszar

Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com

- Denny Barney is a Gilbert resident and chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

www.ahwatukee.com

Ahwatukee man partners in building a modular home kit Business

BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY AFN Staff Writer

With the average home value in the U.S. exceeding $200,000, an Ahwatukee man is working to deliver an affordable housing option that homebuyers can purchase for under $60,000.

Ahwatukee resident Jim Pitts – whose story went viral in 2014 after AFN wrote about his “Back to the Future”-inspired hoverboard – started 22nd Century Structures with business partner Lindsay Harding to manufacture affordable modular kit homes out of high-quality materials that are also easy to put together.

“If you have a third-grade education and can lift six pounds, you can put this together in a week,” said Pitts.

Harding, a master tool and die maker, came up with the idea and design for the homes. Pitts is in charge of electric, sewer and water solutions as well as flooring and siding options.

The company refers to the homes, which can be assembled with just 300 bolts, as the transformer design. They feature a frame made of British aircraft aluminum, which is as strong as steel and three times lighter. The aluminum is also three times cheaper than wood and strong enough to withstand a hurricane, said Pitts.

Ease of assembly is a key aspect of the product because it gives buyers the option of putting the house together themselves rather than hiring a contractor, though that is also an option.

“All the critical manufacturing is done at the factory, so any John Doe can put it together,” said Harding.

Pitts estimates that two to three people can construct the house in less than two weeks.

The company is also working on a pneumatic method to erect the houses by unfolding themselves with the use of an air compressor.

Aluminum poles fit into joints to create the frame. The poles are color-coded by section to make assembly simpler for buyers.

Slots for plumbing and electrical are

pre-cut into the insulation, so those pieces can be installed prior to assembling the house.

Siding is then attached to the exterior of the house using a combination of Velcro, tensioning cables and locking strips. The siding will feature a polycarbonate protective layer.

The 1,600square-foot houses also feature 50-year metal roofs that can withstand hurricanes and tornados. The metal roofs are an upgrade over what people will find on most homes outside of those manufactured by high-end custom home builders, said Pitts.

“We want to give people a better product

than they can buy now,” said Pitts in reference to the roofs.

Because the homes are not made of wood, they are termite-proof, said Pitts. The homes can be outfitted to work with an array of power sources, including solar and wind. They can also use a technology that allows users to derive power from AM radio frequencies. The base price for the transformer design home is $59,900. The team zeroed in on the price by looking at 1,200-squarefoot stick-built kit homes available from Home Depot. They worked to make a similarly priced alternative that has a longer lifes-

pan.

The price does not include shipping costs.

In the future, the company plans to set up mobile manufacturing units in train cars so they can eliminate shipping costs for large purchases by constructing the home materials near the customer’s destination.

The homes can be finished using products that are readily available from most hardware stores like sheet rock or drywall. Customers can also choose to have these options included for an additional cost.

For example, adding drywall to the package costs $5,700, said Harding.

That price will not include options like countertops, cabinets and toilets, because the company wants to allow buyers to customize the homes to their tastes, said Pitts.

The operation is set up in former B-52 hangars in west Phoenix that now function as warehouse space for various manufacturing companies.

The men built a prototype of the home in the space for prospective buyers to look at. Rather than build a complete sample home, though, they chose to construct a partial model based on advice from an acquaintance in the tract housing industry.

That partial model allows potential buyers to look at the bones of the structure, including the aluminum frame and a cross-section of the wall components.

“He said, ‘People want to see what they’re buying,’” said Pitts.

The team used a 3-D printer to create many of the components for the prototype.

For production models, they will use injection molds for the plastic components and glass-filled nylon to create the joints.

In addition to the transformer design, 22nd Century Structures is working on a modular home with a geodesic design that can be put together in a variety of designs based on buyer needs using adjustable joints. The geodesic design could also be combined with the transformer design.

Information: 602-800-9696.

(KImberly Carrillo/AFN Photographer)

Lindsay Harding, left, and Jim Pitts stand in front of the aluminum frame for their house.

(Kimberly Carrilo/AFN Photographer)

The two men used a 3-D printer to create prototypes for their house.

Former athlete hopes to help area patients with pain

As an athlete, Aaron Shakarian welcomed the benefits of chiropractic therapy.

Now, he’s returning the favor to other people in need of those benefits at his new practice on the Chandler-Ahwatukee border.

His practice, The Joint, recently opened in the Shoppes at Casa Paloma on Ray Road and 54th Street.

Shakarian played Division II football as a running back for Grand Valley State University in Michigan and said he never would have made it as an athlete if it had not been for chiropractic treatment.

“I started when I was around 12 years old after having a neck injury playing football,” said Shakarian, adding:

“Chiropractic care enabled me to remain a competitive athlete. It helped by preventing injuries and helping me recover quickly. While I was in chiropractic school, I received a chiropractic adjustment and it cured me of my seasonal allergies. This made me even more excited to begin my career in chiropractic.”

He also found that chiropractic came in

coach was Brian Kelly, now the head football coach for the University of Notre Dame.

room full of people.”

Eventually, the Shakarians had two daughters and decided in 2015 that the East Valley was the right place for them to grow up.

handy when he was dating his wife of 15 years, Stacie.

“Stacie had never been to a chiropractor prior to dating me,” he recalled. “At that time, she was on Toprol for having a rapid heartbeat and was able to stop taking it a few months after my chiropractic care.”

Shakarian ended up playing on a team that holds the record for the winningest program in college football history. His

Inspired by the care he received, he became a chiropractor, working with professional and Olympic athletes in Michigan and then celebrity clients in Beverly Hills.

Among his patients were performers on the TV show “Dancing With the Stars,” for which he was the on-call chiropractor.

“We stayed for 10 years because my practice grew quickly,” Shakarian said. “Patients in Beverly Hills have high standards but are loyal if you can get them out of pain. When you’re able to do that, they tell others and soon you have a waiting

Now the Shakarians work together, with him providing treatment. Stacie, a former Cadillac dealerships district manager and a live theater producer, manages the office.

Though they currently live in Gilbert, the Shakarians are in the process of looking for a home in Chandler or Ahwatukee so they can be closer to their office and can become “more active with the Chamber and charitable activities through our local church.”

They say their practice is “reinventing chiropractic care by making quality healthcare affordable for patients seeking pain relief and ongoing wellness.

They also like their office setting.

“The shopping center feels like paradise,” raved Stacie. “The palm trees, elegant shops and friendly people create a lovely place to practice. Patients are always complimenting how pleasant it is at our office.”

Information: 480)-247-9336, thejoint. com.

to AFN)

Dr. Aaron Shakarian and his wife Stacie moved from Hollywood, where he had a large practice to the stars, and moved to the East Valley becvause they felt it was a better place to raise their two daughters.

Tourism spending in Arizona hits record $21.2 billion

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Tourists visiting Arizona spent a record $21.2 billion in the state last year.

And they would have spent more if gasoline had been more expensive.

That’s the conclusion of a new study done for the Arizona Office of Tourism.

The report also finds that the lion’s share of international visitors to the state continue to come from Mexico. But tourism from that country actually declined in 2016 by one-half a percent versus 2015.

Canadian tourists also were a bit more scarce, with the nearly 880,000 visitors down by more than 5 percent.

But Debbie Johnson, the agency’s executive director, says that has nothing to do with Arizona being less attractive. She said it’s a simple question of finance: While the strong U.S. dollar has made purchase of imports cheaper, it makes travel here more expensive.

“That’s obviously a challenge for people,’’ she said. “Any time they’re going to come and spend their money, they want to go somewhere where their money’s going to go further, not the opposite.’’

Johnson said there’s been no indication that the rhetoric coming out of Washington – and particularly comments about Mexicans by the new president – are harming tourism from that country this year.

She suggested that any effect has been blunted by the fact that Gov. Doug Ducey

has made an active effort to maintain relations with Mexico and Mexican officials and convince them that Arizona wants a partnership. And Johnson said her organization has an ongoing marketing presence in Mexico.

That strong dollar also has resulted in fewer tourists from some other foreign countries, particularly in Europe.

But there is a big exception: Arizona has become a growing hot spot of sorts for visitors from China.

Last year, they amounted to just a fraction of all international visitors, with fewer than 77,000. But that’s a 20 percent increase from just the prior year.

Johnson credits some of that to the national “Brand USA’’ program, financed with donations from private sources and matched with the $14 the federal government collects from each international visitor under the Visa Waiver Program.

But Johnson said Arizona isn’t relying on that alone.

“We’ve had travel, trade representation in China for the past four years,’’ she said.

“We’ve focused on it,’’ Johnson said. “We know it’s an important market, and we know that the Chinese are coming here.’’

Agency spokesman Scott Dunn said the Chinese are big followers of social media. That means when friends or relatives posts photos of themselves at a place like the Grand Canyon, it generates an interest of those who see it to come and visit themselves.

Dunn also said that it makes financial

sense for the state to court Chinese visitors.

“They shop like crazy,’’ he said, helping out not just retailers but also tax rolls.

All that money from all those tourists, Chinese and otherwise, adds up.

A study done for the agency concludes that 43 million domestic and international travelers spent that record $21.2 billion.

Granted, that’s up by just 1 percent over 2015 figures. But that takes into account that fuel prices last year were lower than in 2015.

Johnson said when that’s factored out, spending on everything else, from hotels and restaurants to recreation and entertainment, actually saw year-over-year revenue growth of at least 3 percent.

And the overall numbers are nearly 28 percent better than they were in 2009, when tourist spending tanked during the depths of the recession.

That spending, according to the new report, generated $859 million in state taxes and another $893 million for local governments.

What’s next, said Johnson, is her agency’s first new ad campaign in four years.

Some of that is aimed at domestic targets like Chicago and Seattle. And there’s a renewed emphasis on attracting visitors from the San Francisco area.

But Johnson said the state cannot afford to ignore international tourists, saying that if Arizona can get them, there’s more to be gained as they stay longer.

The essence of the campaign, she said, will be not so much name ID or logos but

Walmart upgrades with a self-serve pickup kiosk

BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY AFN Staff Writer

Walmart has begun rolling out a new customer-friendly technological upgrade for shoppers in the Ahwatukee area and the East Valley.

The most notable addition comes in the form of the Pickup Tower, a large cylindrical automated kiosk for customers picking up online orders. The massive kiosks allow customers to scan a barcode sent to their smartphones and retrieve purchases.

After selecting a store in Gilbert for debuting the tower, Walmart has finished its pilot program for the technology and is now expanding to locations across the country, according to a blog on the company’s website.

Previously, customers had to wait for an employee to retrieve packages at the back of the store. The new machines significantly reduce customer waiting time, store general manager Jason Allred said.

The kiosks can hold up to 300 packages, with some restrictions. They do not hold groceries, prohibitively large items or liquids like bleach and detergents.

Customers ordering groceries can also have items delivered to their car by an employee.

The location will also feature upgraded self-checkout stations because the option has become more popular in recent years.

“Almost half of our customers use self-checkout,” Allred said.

In addition to these tech upgrades, customers will notice a redesigned floor plan

instead wrapped around images of people doing fun things in Arizona.

“We try to show the visitor what they could be doing in Arizona,’’ Johnson said.

“If we show a person hiking or showing someone playing golf, I want them to be able to imagine that they’re in Arizona doing that,’’ she explained. “If I’m in Chicago and it’s snowing and cold and blustery, I look at a picture of someone playing golf in Arizona, and I’m like, ‘OK, that’s where I’m going to be next week.’’

Still, there are PR hurdles to overcome, such as the national publicity Phoenix got last month when it was too hot for aircraft to take off. Johnson, in her best promotional mode, brushes that off.

“I will take a few minutes of a plane not being able to take off than being grounded for days in the snow,’’ she said.

Tourism growth

This chart shows the growth of direct spending by tourists in Arizona, representing billions:

1998: $11.9

2000: $13.7

2005: $16.9

2010: $17.8

2013: $19.9

2015: $21

2016 (preliminary: $21.2

-Source: Dean Runyan Associates, through Arizona Office of Tourism

that will bring the location in line with other Walmart stores.

“Walmart is trying to align (store floor plans), so the experience is the same across all stores,” Allred said.

Several departments in the store will now feature expanded offerings, including electronics, hardware and infant goods.

The grocery department now has a berry cooler with expanded fresh fruit options as well.

– Reach Wayne Schutsky at 480-898-6533 or wschutsky@timespublications.com.

Walmart’s self-serve pickup kiosks can hold up to 300 packages, with some restrictions.

SPIRITUAL SIDE

God’s challenge: To embrace, not ignore, someone else’s story

BY LYNNE HARTKE AFN Guest Writer

When we were two years into grandparent -

ing, I realized it was long past time to buy our own baby things for when the grandchildren visited. Before purchasing a Pack ’N Play, I decided to check out Craigslist, but the equipment in the ads looked old and worn. I popped up one more ad that advertised the collapsible crib as “like new.” The pics looked promising, the house was in my zip code, and the seller promised to take $10 off the price. I headed over.

A young woman greeted me – all long legs and willowy arms with straight

blond hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“Do you want to see it set up?” she asked as we headed into their garage. As she unpacked, unrolled, and popped open the Pack ’N Play, I realized it didn’t just look new, it was new. Never used.

“Why do you have a new Pack ’N Play?” I asked.

She looked up briefly, eyes shadowed by falling hair. “The baby died,” she said. She said it clinically. Brief. Short. But I heard the bandage being ripped off over a gaping wound.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

But it was not okay. I knew.

Two-plus decades later, I remembered the words, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hartke, but we can’t find a heartbeat.” I remembered leaving the hospital, overwhelmed by

grief, angry that the sun still dared to shine. But I said none of this to her. I didn’t mention my own loss or pain. I didn’t offer hope or speak of faith.

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I found myself tiptoeing away from her pain. I pulled out my bills and unfolded the cash. I drove home.

“Did you offer to pray for her?” my husband asked me later, the extrovert who lives a green-light life – unlike me, the analyzing introvert who lives with a yellow light on her soul. A caution. A pause. A reluctance to invade someone else’s space.

That caution is my constant wrestling point, where I try to push words around my guarded personality. I wait, yellow-light cautious and the moment is so often lost. This is my challenge – not

to be an extrovert, but when I feel that nudge, that prompting of God, to take a step forward, not a step back. To embrace, not ignore, someone else’s story.

To live the yes.

Jesus, God with us. God in man, not just one step into humanity’s story, but all in. Fully human, yet fully God. God all into mess and pain and confusion of earthly life. Jesus came wearing baby skin. As an image bearer of God, I come also with skin – his hands, his feet, his touch in a world of painful stories. And somehow, some way, God moves through me – a person, yellow-light cautious in this world of hurting people. This. Yeah, this. Amazes me.

-Chandler author Lynne Hartke, a pastor’s wife, writes often on spiritual matters: lynnehartke.com

SATURDAY, July 29

BACK-TO-SCHOOL DAY SET

Generation Church will hold its annual back-to-school celebration, handing out free backpacks and school supplies to children in need. Last year, it handed out over 400 backpacks and this year hopes to triple that amount between two campuses. Volunteers also will offer food, games, inflatables and more. Children must be present to receive a backpack and school supplies. Items will be distributed on a first come, first served basis until supplies are exhausted.

DETAILS>> 8-10 a.m., 11832 S. Warner Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Free. Information: help@generationaz.org or call 480-986-3149.

SUNDAYS

BIBLE EXPLORED

This biblical scripture study embraces a spirit-filled, intellectually honest and understandable exploration of God’s Word. Lessons will combine Christian and Jewish theology along with Bible history, archaeology and linguistics for a rich learning experience.

DETAILS>> 9:15 a.m. Mountain View Lutheran Church. 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. 480-893-2579, mvlutheran.org.

HORIZON SEEKS YOUNG PEOPLE

High school and middle school students meet to worship and do life together.

DETAILS>> 5 p.m. at Horizon Presbyterian Church, 1401 E. Liberty Lane. 480-460-1480 or email joel@horizonchurch. com.

KIDS CAN LEARN JEWISH LIFE

Children can learn and experience Jewish life. Chabad Hebrew School focuses on Jewish heritage, culture and holidays.

DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m. to noon, for children ages 5-13 at Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. 480-855-4333, info@chabadcenter.com, or chabadcenter.com.

SUNDAY CELEBRATION SERVICE

Inspirational messages and music to lift your spirit. A welcoming community committed to living from the heart. Many classes and events offered. We welcome you!

DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-7921800, unityoftempe.com.

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH

The Foundations of Faith Bible study embraces a spirit-filled, intellectually honest, and refreshingly understandable exploration of God’s Word. Lessons will combine Christian and Jewish theology along with bible history, archaeology and linguistics for a rich learning experience.

DETAILS>> 9:15 a.m. Mountain View Lutheran Church. 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. 480-893-2579. mvlutheran.org.

MONDAYS

JOIN CHRIST-CENTERED YOGA

This Flow 1-2 class (intermediate) is free and open to the community.

DETAILS>> 6-7 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. Greg Battle at 480-759-6200 or gbattle@moutainpark.org.

CLASS TARGETS THE GRIEVING

Classes for those grieving over death or divorce.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480-963-4127.

TUESDAYS

GRIEFSHARE

Mountain Park Community Church is offering an ongoing GriefShare programs to help people deal with the pain of losing a loved one.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m., 2408 E. Pecos Road, Ahwatukee.

To register: mountainpark.org and click on Launch. Information: Alex at 480-759-6200

FINDING HEALING FOR PAIN

HOPE, an acronym for “Help Overcome Painful Experiences,” offers support for men and women who seek God’s grace and healing.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m. Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. mountainpark.org.

SENIORS ENJOY TUESDAYS

The Terrific Tuesdays program is free and includes bagels and coffee and a different speaker or theme each week. Registration not needed.

DETAILS>> 10-11 a.m., Barness Family East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. evjcc.org or 480-897-0588.

WEDNESDAYS

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Celebrate Recovery is a biblical 12-step program that helps you find hope and healing from all of life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. Whether it’s addiction, loss, anger or stress, you can find the freedom you’re looking for today.

DETAILS>> 6:20 p.m. Mountain View Lutheran Church. 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee.. 480-893-2579. mvlutheran.org.

DIVORCE CARE

Don’t go through one of life’s most difficult times alone. DivorceCare is a friendly, caring group that will walk alongside you and provide support through divorce or separation.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m. Mountain View Lutheran Church. 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. 480-893-2579. mvlutheran.org.

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY OFFERED

Living Word Ahwatukee women’s Bible study and fellowship that offers “a short, low-key time of praise and worship in music and message.” It’s also an opportunity to meet other Christian women in Ahwatukee.

DETAILS>> 10-11:30 a.m., Living Word Ahwatukee, 14647 W. 50th St., Suite 165, Ahwatukee. Free child care.

THURSDAYS

SLEEPING BAGS FOR THE HOMELESS

Ugly Quilts has made more than 15,500 sleeping bags for the area homeless, and continues to do so at First United

Methodist Church every Thursday. Quilters stitch donated fabric, comforters, sheets and blankets into sleeping bags. Those are then distributed to the Salvation Army, churches and veterans organizations.

DETAILS>> 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 15 E. 1st Ave., Mesa. Information: 480-969-5577.

KIDS CAN FIND SUPPORT

Support group for children ages 6 to 12 coping with a separation or divorce in the family. One-time $10 fee includes snacks and workbook.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8:30 p.m., 1825 S. Alma School Road, Room C202, Chandler. Pastor Larry Daily, 480-963-3997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or chandlercc.org.

FRIDAYS

NEFESHSOUL HOLDS SERVICES

Congregation NefeshSoul holds Shabbat services the second Friday of every month on the campus of the Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

DETAILS>> 6:15 p.m., 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. Information: nefeshsoul.org.

TOTS TAUGHT TORAH

Hosted by Chabad of the East Valley for children ages 2 to 5. Features hands-on activities about the Shabbat, songs, stories and crafts. Children will make and braid their own challah.

DETAILS>> 10:15-11 a.m., members’ homes. 480-785-5831.

SATURDAYS

JEWISH STUDY OFFERED

Congregation NefeshSoul Jewish study for adults is held weekly.

DETAILS>> 8:45-9:45am, 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler, in the sanctuary. Information: nefeshsoul.org or rabbi@nefeshsoul.org

WEEKLY SERVICES SCHEDULED

International, nondenominational church offers weekly Sabbath services. Congregational meeting in the morning and Bible study in the afternoon.

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m.-noon; 1:30-2:45 p.m. at True Jesus Church, 2640 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. 480-899-1488 or tjcphoenix@tjc.org.

JEWISH KIDS PROGRAM AVAILABLE

Shabbat Yeladim is a free Shabbat program for Jewish children ages 3-7 sponsored by Ahwatukee’s NefeshSoul Jewish Community. Shabbat Yeladim is on the second Saturday of the month. Songs, stories and art project each month.

DETAILS>> 10-11 a.m. on the Valley Unitarian Universalist Campus, 6400 W. Del Rio, Chandler. Contact Rabbi Susan Schanerman at rabbi@nefeshsoul.org or nefeshsoul.org.

Chow down on chicken wings and cheesecake in Ahwatukee area

BY JUSTIN FERRIS GetOut Editor

The weekend of July 29-30 turns out to be a big one for eating. On July 29, many people celebrate National Chicken Wing Day. For dessert, National Cheesecake Day falls on July 30.

You don’t see that combination of flavorful favorites together very often. However, if you want to indulge in one, or both, we know some spots in the East Valley hungry people should visit.

Actually, our readers voted for most of these eateries in the East Valley Tribune’s annual Best of Mesa and Best of Gilbert publications. If you want to keep making your voice heard, voting for Best of Chandler starts on August 7 at eastvalleytribune.com.

Chicken Wings

A quintessential part of any sportswatching experience, chicken wings are a messy finger food that can range from sweet to burn-your-mouth hot.

Buffalo Wild Wings

With “wings” in the name, you would expect Buffalo Wild Wings to offer something special, and you’d be right. Choose from 16 signature sauces and five seasonings to build your perfect wing flavor. You can also choose traditional wings or white-meat boneless wings. Enjoy them

at the restaurant with domestic, import or craft beer and various sides, or buy buckets of wings to eat at home.

Locations:

Chandler: 3163 W. Chandler Blvd., 480-289-5200. Tempe: 705 S. Rural Road, 480-858-9464

Website: buffalowildwings.com

Native Grill & Wings

This wing-focused establishment offers 21 flavors, from basic honey BBQ to mouthmelting ghost pepper. You can also choose from traditional wings, boneless wings or Native Style Strippers (chicken strips). Eat the wings alone or as a combo with salad and pizza. As a bonus, Native Grill & Wings also serves New York cheesecake.

Locations: Two in Ahwatukee

Website: nativegrillandwings.com

Zzeeks

Owners Jody and Mark Pectol of Ahwatukee have developed a secret recipe for their wings, which usually are on sale for 60 cents apiece on Sundays, boneless or bone-in. If you’re especially hungry, you can add one of their pizzas, too.

Locations:

Ahwatukee: Southeast corner of 48th Street and Warner Road. 480-940-5555. Chandler: Northwest corner of McQueen and Warner roads. 480-400-1010. Tempe: Northeast corner of Southern and Mill avenues. 480-685-9888.

Website: zzeeks.com.

Teakwoods Tavern & Grill

A full-range grill, Teakwoods still lists wings prominently on its menu. While it offers only eight basic flavors, the specialty flavors include some unusual mixes and additions, including prickly pear cactus. It offers three types of wings: traditional, boneless and tenders. If you don’t want to interrupt your binge watching to go out to

eat, Teakwoods does deliver to Chandler and Gilbert through Grubhub.

Locations:

Chandler: 5965 W. Ray Road, 480-961-0945. Website: teakwoodstavern.com

The Hub Grill and Bar

Voted by readers as the best wings in Mesa, the Hub offers a respectable 12 flavors, including the unique raspberry chipotle. In addition to traditional and boneless wings, you can order Arizona smoked style. Thirsty? Wash down your wings with a selection of more than 90 craft and draft beers.

Locations:

1860 S. Stapley, Mesa, 480-494-2699. Website: hubgrill.com

Silky, sweet and cheesy, cheesecake makes the perfect base for a range of gastronomic delights. Include fresh fruit, chocolate, peanut butter or any other ingredient or flavor you wish to make a delicious dessert.

The Cheesecake Factory

Yes, it’s an obvious choice, but you can’t ignore the selection of more than 30 types of cheesecake. Whether you want something sweet, tart, sour, extra chocolate or classic, you can find it. For National Cheesecake Day, The Cheesecake Factory offers two perks. First, take advantage of the “Any Slice,

Arizona Breakfast Weekend on the menu

BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ GETOUT Contributor

Valley chefs and restaurateurs are uniting for an event that celebrates the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

The third annual Arizona Breakfast Weekend, sponsored by Hickman’s Family Farms, hits eateries July 27-30. Diners will enjoy special dishes at breakfast and brunch spots around the Valley. Breakfast Weekend will feature three dining price points ($7, $10 or $15).

Breakfast is such a popular meal that some restaurants are offering “breakfast for dinner” option on July 28 and July 29; check website, ArizonaBreakfastWeek.com, for details.

Half Price” deal on July 30-31. Second, a new celebration cheesecake will be on the menu starting July 30. It layers strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla mousse cheesecake, and vanilla cake under a cream cheese icing.

Locations: Chandler: 3111 W. Chandler Blvd., 480-792-1300. Mesa: 6613 E. Southern Ave., 480-641-7300 Website: thecheesecakefactory.com

Kneaders

Bakery & Cafe

This well-loved spot for fresh baked goods offers two styles of cheesecake. The fresh berry cheesecake loads a vanilla cheesecake with raspberry filling and tops it with whole strawberries and whipped cream. Or you can opt for the turtle cheesecake with caramel, pecans and chocolate on a cookie base. You can also order online for delivery.

Locations: Eight locations in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, Tempe and Ahwatukee Website: kneaders.com

Piefection

As the name suggests, Piefection focuses on pies and pie-shaped desserts. It carries a range of cheesecakes, including flavors like cherry, triple berry, blueberry, lemon and fresh strawberry. Also, the Pie of the Month is a special berry lemonade cheesecake, which features fresh strawberries and blueberries in a lemon glaze with real whipped cream. Location: 6731 E. Brown Road, Suite 104, Mesa, 480-218-7437 Website: piefectionaz.com

Local grocery stores

Ask many people their favorite place for cheesecake and they’ll name the bakery section of their local AJ’s, Basha’s, Fry’s or Safeway. The selections might learn toward basic – although sometimes they’ll surprise you – but for cost and convenience, you won’t do much better.

Cheesecake

Chandler Center for the Arts launches year-round shows

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Contributing Writer

In Michelle Mac Lennan’s 18 years at the Chandler Center for the Arts, she has worked tirelessly to provide the best programming possible.

Now, to broaden and deepen her audiences, Mac Lennan has scheduled shows year-round, instead mirroring the winter visitor season.

“We’re going to do programs outside of that key season,” said Mac Lennan.

The center is hosting a summer concert series in August and September. Tickets are free, but there are suggested donations of $5 per child, $10 per adult and $15 per family.

“We have some phenomenal artists this year,” Mac Lennan said of the summer concert series.

“They’re free, but they’re worth paying for. People who have never been here can find out about the center and attend other events.”

The summer concert series offers more than free shows, however. Patrons can purchase tickets at a 50 percent discount for one of the season’s performances.

“It’s a great way for someone to explore a new title or something they haven’t seen before,” Mac Lennan said. “Someone who attends two shows or more tend to be more committed.”

The 2017-2018 season highlights include a Disneyland Retro Slide Show, 50th anniversary tribute performances to The Family Stone and The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album, “Musical Thrones, A Parody” and Cesar Millan, Lee Rocker and Clint Black.

Returning to the CCA are Get the Led Out, Black Violin and Texas Tenors, along with Zoppé, An Italian Family Circus, presented by Steena Murray. Celebrating its 175th anniversary, Zoppé features Giovanni Zoppé, a sixth-generation circus performer who plays Nino the Clown.

The season is heavy on multicultural performances, too. The 18th annual Mariachi and Folklorico Festival, under the artistic direction of Vanessa Ramirez, is on the docket, as are Jarabe Mexicano, Moscow Festival Ballet, Celtic Nights and Pacifico Dance Company.

“I think this year is my favorite,” she said. “We have a little bit of something for so many types of people. We’re really trying to develop new audiences and different demographics. It’s something I’ve been proud of.”

(Special to AFN)

This season, the Chandler Center for the Arts features a Disneyland Retro Slide Show, 50th anniversary tribute performances to The Family Stone and The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album, tribute band Get the Led Out and Clint Black.

What to expect with the 2017-2018 season:

Aug. 4: Santa Pachita with Funky Bonz (free)

Aug. 13: Robby Roberson Band (free)

Aug 20: Niki J. Crawford (free)

Aug. 25: Jessica Fichot Band (free)

Sept. 9: Sure Fire Soul Ensemble (free)

Sept. 23: Pushcart Players’ The Velveteen Rabbit, Reborn

Sept. 30: Mariachi and Folklorico Festival

Oct. 6: Charles Phoenix: Disneyland Retro Slideshow

Oct. 12: Get the Led Out, American Led Zeppelin

Nov. 4: The Family Stone’s 50th anniversary tour

Nov. 10: The Underwater Bubble Show

Nov. 15: Straighten Up and Fly Right: The Nat King Cole Tribute featuring Ramsey Lewis and John Pizzarelli

Dec. 27 to Jan. 7: Zoppé, An Italian Family Circus

Jan. 19: Jarabe Mexicano

Jan. 27: The Texas Tenors – Let Freedom Ring

Feb. 2: Moscow Festival Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty

Feb. 16: Bumper Jacksons

Feb. 23: Black Violin

Feb. 24: Music of the Knights

March 3: “Always Patsy Cline”

March 11: Celtic Nights-Oceans of Hope

March 16: Classic Albums Live’s 50th

Anniversary of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

March 18: “Musical Thrones, A Parody”

March 23: Cesar Millan

April 7: Lee Rocker

April 15: Clint Black

May 4: Pacifico Dance Company

Trains, monsters and ice cream all on tap this weekend

BY JUSTIN FERRIS GETOUT Editor

‘The

Little Mermaid’

Head under the sea for the musical version of Disney’s timeless classic “The Little Mermaid.” It features your favorite characters, including Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder, and hits songs like “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl.”

DETAILS>> Wednesdays-Saturdays, today-Aug. 19. Hale Centre Theatre, 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbert. Tickets: $22-$32. 480-4971181. haletheatrearizona.com.

Arizona Big Train Operators Exhibit

Marvel at huge G-Scale trains as they pass through intricate historical dioramas. Kids can get hands-on experience, and operators will be available to answer any questions.

DETAILS>> 9 a.m.-afternoon/evening, Thursday-Saturday, July 27-29. Mesa Public Library, 64 E. 1st St., Mesa. Cost: Free. 480-644-3100. facebook.com/mesalibrary.

Summer Splash Thursdays

Bring the kids out to meet their favorite Disney princesses and superheroes, plus games, music and fun in the splash pad. For its final week, enjoy a Frozen Fiesta with Anna and Elsa.

DETAILS>> 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 27. Tempe Marketplace, 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe. Cost: Free. 480-966-9338. tempemarketplace.com/summer.

Arizona Breakfast Weekend

Switch up your morning routine. Restaurants around the Valley will offer special breakfast menus and dishes so you can expand your culinary horizons. The range of cuisine comes in three affordable price points.

DETAILS>> All day, Thursday-Sunday, July 27-30. Multiple restaurants. Cost: $7, $10, $15. arizonabreakfastweekend.com.

Sunset Goat Yoga

What’s better than an outdoor yoga session? How about yoga with trained goats

under a gorgeous Arizona sunset? If that sounds like your type of activity, sign up fast.

DETAILS>> 7:30-8:30 p.m., Friday, July 28. Welcome Home Ranch, Gilbert. Tickets: $13.65. 480-269-4144. goatyoga.com.

Monsters in the Museum

Parents can drop off their kids ages 4 and up for a fun evening of games, activities, interactive exhibits and adorable monsters. Dinner is provided.

DETAILS>> 6-9 p.m., Friday, July 28.

I.d.e.a. Museum, 150 W. Pepper Place, Mesa. Cost: $20. 480-644-4332. facebook.com/ ideaMuseum/events.

Zen Nights Block Party

If you want to connect with cruelty-free food vendors and like-minded people, this family-friendly block party should be on your schedule. It also features live music.

DETAILS>> 6-10 p.m., Friday, July 28.

Downtown Mesa, MacDonald & Main St., Mesa. Cost: Free. facebook.com/zennightsaz.

The brainchild of and produced by Arizona Restaurant Association, Arizona Breakfast Weekend gives chefs the chance to curate new recipes and to amaze breakfast lovers by elevating and celebrating the morning meal.

“For two years now, Arizona Breakfast Weekend has been wowing diners around the state,” said ARA president and CEO, Steve Chucri. “We look forward to its continued success, and growth, for years to come.”

Nearly 50 restaurants participated in 2016, and it is anticipated that number will increase this year.

“We like to think that Arizona Breakfast Weekend presents restaurants with new opportunities – whether to offer diners a totally new menu or to tweak and expand their existing breakfast and brunch menus,” Chucri added.

“Arizona Breakfast Weekend brings the same level of culinary excellence, creativity and diversity as diners have come to expect from Arizona Restaurant Week – but with the added benefit of starting off your day with us.”

Simple cheesecake is simply a tasty treasure

BY JAN D’ATRI

AFN Contributor

Join the sheet-pan cooking trend with a juicy steak dinner

SBY JAN D’ATRI AFN Contributor

ome recipes are just treasures – like this simple cheesecake. Please don’t be intimidated by it. It’s basically cream cheese, a few eggs, some sour cream, vanilla and a little lemon zest! Most people make their own crust with graham crackers and butter.

Want to know why sheet-pan cooking is all the rage? Well, it’s one complete meal cooked on one sheet pan all at one time. It doesn’t get any easier that, and the combinations are endless – steak and potatoes, fish and fresh veggies, sausage and peppers to name just a few.

But a ready-made graham cracker crust makes it even easier for you. The topping is just as simple. It’s basically sour cream blended with sugar and a little more zing of citrus.

Sheet-pan cooking is the perfect method for busy families who want a delicious dinner on the table quickly and with very little cleanup. Here, I’m sharing the recipe for a flavorful T-bone steak and veggies. For the steak, I created a flavor bomb with herbed butter. Then I tossed the veggies lightly in oil and seasonings. Throw them all together on one sheet pan and you’ve got a main meal in just minutes.

Add your favorite seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic salt,

Drizzle with some olive oil and then toss to

When sheet pan is hot, lay proteins on (The hotter

Return pan to oven and cook until proteins and

1 cube (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)

1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced

ACROSS

ACROSS

1 Speedometer stat

4 Puncturing tools

8 Into the sunset

12 Savings plan acronym

13 Biblical boatwright

14 Eastern potentate

15 Wanting company

17 One of the Jackson 5

and his parents?

18 Margery of nursery-rhyme fame

19 Played aloud, as a TV

Be philanthropic

21 Without a cent

24 Winter woe

25 Year, in Uruguay

26 Snitch

28 Square dance group

32 Rickey flavoring

34 Shrill bark

36 Genealogy chart

37 Put forth

39 Cookie holder

41 Coffee vessel

42 U.K. flyers

44 Burns or Browning

46 Serving piece

50 Astronaut Grissom

51 Floater

Midafternoon, in a way

52 Boring

Trip around the world?

56 Con

Lawyer’s due

57 Culture medium

58 Scratch

59 Uncategorized (abbr.)

Engine additive brand

Alternative to white

Before you begin, here are a couple of my favorite sheet pan cooking tips:

I’m not even giving this cheesecake a water bath. I simply pour the filling into the crust, and cook at 375 for 10 minutes, then drop the temperature for one hour. Then make the topping and you’re golden.

1. If you really want to make sure that your steak has a nice sear on the outside, you can cook your steak in a hot skillet to sear before finishing it off in the oven to desired temperatures.

This cheesecake is delicious plain or with fresh berries in season. I simply mixed the berries together with a fruit glaze and then I spooned it right over the top! With this recipe, you’ll get one large or two small cheesecakes.

Oh, I must say … life is sweet!

Easy Cheesecake

For the crust:

2. If using potatoes, cut them into wedges or smaller pieces, and cook in microwave for two minutes to soften. Then, add them to the other vegetables. Check out my how-to video here: jandatri.com/ recipes/one-minute-kitchen.

2 ready-made graham cracker crusts (6 oz. Keebler)

For the filling:

Sheet Pan Steak and Veggies

Ingredients:

5 packages (8 oz. size) cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 large eggs plus 2 yokes

Protein of your choice (steak, chicken, fish)

1/4 cup sour cream

3-4 or more fresh veggies (1-2 cups each)

2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest

Olive oil to coat veggies

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cheesecake topping

Salt, pepper and seasonings of your choice to taste

3 cups sour cream

3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

For the berry topping

Fresh berries of your choice (I used 1 pint each

Coat a sheet pan lightly with olive oil. Season your steak with salt and pepper.

Marie’s Glaze for Strawberries (14 oz. container, found in produce section of store)

Directions:

2 teaspoons fresh or dried herbs of your choice. (All herbs combined should equal 2 teaspoons) 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Directions:

Soften butter just enough to combine herbs, garlic and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well. Add sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Pour into two 8-inch ready-made graham cracker pie shells.

Mary’s follower

Ledge

Diving garb

Bake for 10 minutes. Without removing cheesecakes from oven, reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and bake for about 70 minutes (1 hour and 10 minutes).

Mix together, spoon into container. Or, spoon herbed butter on parchment paper, cover and roll into a log and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, then slice! Place a pat of the herbed butter over top of steak after cooked.

Cheesecake is done when toothpick comes up clean. Allow cheesecakes to cool.

Meanwhile, make cheesecake topping. In a bowl, whisk or beat together sour cream, sugar, lemon and salt until smooth and creamy. When cheesecake has completely cooled, spread topping evenly over cakes.

Send forth

Walked (on)

Of the unborn

Ahwatukee 11-year-olds at doorstep of Little League state title

BY GREG MACAFEE AFN Sports Editor

The Ahwatukee 11-year-old AllStars continue to swing their hot bats, going undefeated through the first four rounds of the Arizona Little League State tournament and advancing into the championship game on Tuesday, July 25.

After starting their district tournament 0-2, the Ahwatukee all-stars have been relentless at the plate in the state tournament in Show Low. In four games Ahwatukee has outscored their opponents 53-8, scoring double-digit runs in every game so far.

Though the game was being played after AFN’s press time, results can be found at ahwatukee.com

“Everyone is hitting right now,” head coach Tim Romaine said. “Against Cactus Horizon, we played a little small ball early and broke it open with a couple of home runs late. Then, against Queen Creek, we played solid throughout the whole game and got a great pitching performance from Bryce McKnight. He pitched the whole game, holding Queen Creek to three runs.”

Romaine said the team’s success has been a team effort.

“It’s been an all-around team effort,” Romaine said. “Connor Crossland is swinging the bat well, Chase Schaefer is swinging the bat well, then it’s just different guys on different days stepping up and driving the ball. We’re just playing well as a team, and we’re playing really good defense.”

Ahwatukee will be pitted against Queen Creek or Cactus Horizon in the 11-yearold state championship, who played Monday night.

Ahwatukee has beaten both teams, but

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

ANDY STATEN/SPECIAL TO AFN

they are also the only two teams to put runs on the board. Heading into Tuesday night, Romaine said the team felt good about their play so far.

“I mean, we’re confident,” he said.

“It’s good to have Bryce on our team. He’s been the best pitcher that I have seen up there, and he pitched great against Queen Creek, but he won’t be available for Tuesday. So, it will have to be by committee, but I think we have enough good pitchers to get the job done as long as we can swing the bats.”

One thing that has been constant for Ahwatukee is how loose the boys have been while playing in Show Low.

“If we make a mistake, no one is getting upset about it. We’re kind of almost just laughing it off and then just coming back and getting the next one,” Romaine said, adding:

“So, everyone is loose and I just like the way were playing right now. Everyone

knows what to expect. Everyone knows what their role is, and we’re going to go out and do the best job we can and do whatever they are asked to do.”

The state tournament is doubleelimination, so to be eliminated, the winner of Queen Creek vs. Cactus Horizon must beat Ahwatukee twice.

That means a loss on Tuesday pits

Ahwatukee against the same opponent today, July 26.

-Do you have a human-interest or feature story idea? Contact Sports Editor Greg Macafee at gmacafee@timespublications.com or by phone at 480-898-5630. Follow Greg on Twitter @ greg_macafee

Cactus Horizon baserunner Garrett Geenen gets safely back to first base as the ball pops out of the glove of Ahwatukee’s Evan Gerken.

Connor Crossland gets an enthusiastic reception at home plate by teammate Andrew Smith and others during Ahwatukee’s 10-5 win over Cactus Horizon at the Little League State Tournament in Show Low on Thursday, July 20.

Ahwatukee’s Chase Schaefer beats a tag at home plate by Cactus Horizon pitcher Nate Senior to score a run during the fourth inning of Thursday’s 10-5 win in the Arizona Little League State Tournament in Show Low. Ahwatukee scored seven runs in the fourth to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Coaching turnover continues to dog Desert Vista High

BY ART PREUSS AFN Contributor

Despite all its success in sports, Desert Vista High School just might have set a record it really didn’t want.

Desert Vista won back-to-back state titles in girls volleyball in 2014 and 2015 and just this past season swept both the girls and boys cross-country state championships, with the girls team setting a state record for total team points (20).

Three years ago, the girls basketball team also won a state championship, but that program is drawing more attention lately for its inability to keep a coach for more than one season.

Jontar Coleman led the 2014 squad to 30 wins and that last title, but he was gone before the next season started.

But that’s only part of a puzzling set of circumstances that has spanned almost a decade. The girls basketball program has had seven head coaches in the last seven years.

That’s worth repeating: seven coaches in seven years.

When Rachel Proudfoot finished the final season of her four-year tenure

running the program, a period during which she had two seasons of 20 or more wins and just one losing season, the job was turned over to Jayce Chambers Sheppard.

But the transition didn’t go well. Chambers was asked to step down not long after midseason following an issue between her and a player, and Coleman finished out the season.

Coleman’s only full season was the 2012-13 school year, and he was replaced by Will Gray, who posted an impressive 29-4 record before taking his leave in the off-season.

Gray turned it over to Cheyan Wilson, who contributed a 20-7 record before leaving shortly after the 2015-16 season ended. By mid-May he was on board at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale as the Sabercats’ new head coach.

Desert Vista then brought in Rodney Berry to take the reins last season. He went 16-13 in his only season.

Earlier this month, the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board approved three new positions in the athletics program at Desert Vista. One of those new positions was in the girls

m

basketball program.

Yep, there’s another newbie stepping into the ring.

Raymond Patche will be taking over the Desert Vista girls basketball program for the 2017-18 season.

Patche has coached in the AAU program and was an assistant boys basketball coach in the Scottsdale district, but also spent some time as a volunteer coach for the women’s basketball program at Arizona State University, his alma mater.

Maybe a change at the top will help stop the spinning coaching carousel. Desert Vista also has a new assistant principal for athletics, Tommy Eubanks, who was athletic director at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High School for the past five years.

There are no statistics that track the most consecutive coaching changes in a

given sport. But if there were, the Desert Vista girls basketball program would likely have set yet another record. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be one to brag about.

-Reach Art Preuss at phxfan.com

(AFN file photo)

Desert Vista High School sophomore Osasere Ighodaro is expected to return to the team this season.

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINKI

AFN Contributor

2017 Diamondbacks

in

With the All-Star Game behind the team, Lovullo is entrenched in the second half of the season, preparing for a possible postseason run.

“Everything has been going as well as we had hoped,” Lovullo said. “It was exciting for us to get off to the start we did. It kind of validated what we did in spring training, how we prepared for the season.

“Things have continued from that point on. I’m very proud of the guys and very pleased with how it’s been happening since the first day of the season.”

A first-time manager, Lovullo said the players are getting along well and that is contributing to the remarkable season.

“I think the common denominator of things was that (last season) got off to a bad start,” he said. “They were unable to

recover, whether it be from injuries or performances that were below average. It resulted in a poor season.

“This year, the guys have jelled, cared for one another and relied on one another on a pretty impressive level.

It’s become a very family-oriented atmosphere around our clubhouse.”

As a bench coach with the Boston Red Sox from 2013 to 2016, Lovullo was clued into what he may encounter.

“I knew from playing the Diamondbacks last year in interleague while in Boston, there were some good players here,” he said, adding:

“I just didn’t know how good they were. I was pleasantly surprised by their willingness to learn, their fearless applications of the concepts that I laid down in spring training.”

Although the Diamondbacks have an above-.500 season, there is always room for improvement.

“Offensively, we’ve had a very, very good year,” he said. “I think there are some downcycles when we face elite pitching. That happens from time to time.”

CITY OF AVONDALE PUBLIC NOTICE

IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE # 316, SECTION 3 pertaining to liquor license applications and Publication of Notice, notice is hereby given that the Avondale City Council has received for approval an application for a liquor license within the corporate limits of Avondale, Arizona from:

Adam Mahmoud Salem

Dodge City Market

Location 705 E Main Street Avondale, AZ 85323

Series 10 – Beer and Wine Store License

Any person who is a resident of Avondale of the age of eighteen (18) years or more, residing owning or leasing property within one-half mile radius of 705 E Main Street, Avondale and who is in favor of or opposed to the issuance of a Series 10 liquor license shall, file with the City Clerk of the City of Avondale, a written argument in favor thereof, or objection thereto by July 27, 2017

Any person interested in said application is hereby notified that the Mayor and City Council will review said application at their Council meeting on August 7, 2017 at 7:00 p m at the Council Chambers, 11465 West Civic Center Drive, Avondale

Published July 26, 2017 and August 2, 2017

CITY OF AVONDALE PUBLIC NOTICE

IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE # 316 SECTION 3, pertaining to liquor license applications and Publication of Notice, notice is hereby given that the Avondale City Council has received for approval an application for a liquor license within the corporate limits of Avondale Arizona from:

Andrea Dahlman Lewkowitz

Harkins Theatres

Location: 10250 W. McDowell Road Avondale, AZ 85392

Any person who is a resident of Avondale of the age of eighteen (18) years or more, residing, owning or leasing property within one-half mile radius of 10250 W. McDowell Road, Avondale and who is in favor of, or opposed to the issuance of a Series 07 liquor license shall, file with the City Clerk of the City of Avondale, a written argument in favor thereof or objection thereto by July 27, 2017.

Any person interested in said application is hereby notified that the Mayor and City Council will review said application at their Council meeting on August 7 2017 at 7:00 p m. at the Council Chambers 11465 West Civic Center Drive Avondale.

Published: July 26 2017 and August 2, 2017 /

Classifieds

Employment General

ASU Athletics seek PT

Flexible work schedule with split shifts Starting Salary $14 49 - $18 00 For additional info go to www kyrene org/hr

Christian school seeks Assistant Teacher for 2 year old class

Hours are 8:am to 1:pm Monday - Thursday Send Resume to sn10115@yahoo com

Tram Drivers who operates a multi-passenger vehicle to transport football team members and other groups of people to and from football practice or around campus

Deadline: Every Monday until the search is closed

Salary: $10 77-$16 15 per hour/DOE. -AA/EOE. See Req Id# 34024BR at: www asu edu/asujobs/ for more info

PHOTOG TEAM Positions School /Sports photog exp a + PT/Seasonal Early Risers, Exp w/children Training provided Must love kids! Also, hiring yearbook rep with Pictavo Exp 480-239-0656

Employment General

Landscape laborers, 36 temporary full-time positions

Duties: Laborers will be needed for turf care pruning, fertilization irrigations systems maintenance and repair, general clean up procedures and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units Work in the outdoors, physical work 3 months landscape EXP REQ No EDU REQ Drug testing REQ

Days & Hours: 40 hours/week (6:00am-2:30pm); day shift; Mon-Fri Dates of employment: 02/01/1711/05/17 Wage: $11 74/h, OT $17 61/h if necessary Raises, bonuses, or incentives dependent on job performance. OJT provided.

Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary, lodging) to the place of employment will be provided, or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer Employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, equipment and supplies required to perform the job Job location: Maricopa and Pinal counties, AZ Employer will provide daily transportation to and from the worksite.

Applicants may send or contact the AZDES Office, 4635 S Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85040 Desirae Diaz ph:520-866- 3608 Please reference AZDES Job Order #: 2738529

Employer: Agave Environmental Contracting, Inc 1634 N 19th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009 Contact Mike McMahon, fax (602) 254-1438

Employment General

Landscape laborers, 15 temporary full-time positions

Duties: Laborers will be needed for turf care, pruning, fertilization, irrigation system maintenance and repair, general clean up and installation or mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units Work in the outdoors, physical work No EXP REQ No EDU REQ

Days & Hours: 40 hours/week (6:00am-2:30pm); day shift; Mon-Fri Dates of employment: 02/15/1711/15/17 Wage: $11 74 /h, OT $17 61/h if necessary Raises, bonuses, or incentives dependent on job performance OJT provided

Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary, lodging) to the place of employment will be provided, or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer Employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, equipment and supplies required to perform the job Job location: Mesa, Arizona - Maricopa and Pinal counties Employer will provide daily transportation to and from the worksite

Applicants may send or contact the AZDES Office, 4635 S Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85040 Desirae Diaz ph:520-866- 3608. Please reference AZDES Job Order #: 2738528

Employer Hernandez-Mesquite Landscape Services, Inc 1043 S Lewis, Mesa, AZ 85210 Contact: Jose Hernandez fax (480) 615-9887

Laborers will be

for turf care, pruning, fertilization, irrigation system maintenance and repair, general clean up and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units Work in the outdoors Physical work 3 months landscape EXP REQ No EDU REQ

Days & Hours: 40 hours/week (6:00am-2:30pm); day shift; Mon-Fri Dates of employment: 04/18/1710/31/17 Wage: $11 47/h, OT $17 61/h if necessary Raises, bonuses, or incentives dependent on job performance OJT provided

Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary, lodging) to the place of employment will be provided, or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer Employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, equipment and supplies required to perform the job Job location: Chandler AZ - Maricopa and Pinal counties

Applicants may send or contact the AZDES Office, 4635 S Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85040 Desirae Diaz ph:520-866- 3608 Please reference AZDES Job Order #: 2742573

Classifieds: Monday 11am for Wednesday Life Events: Friday 10am for Wednesday

Employment General

Nursery workers, 5 temporary full-time positions Duties: Work in nursery facilities or at customer location planting, cultivating, harvesting, and transplanting trees, shrubs, or plants No EXP REQ No EDU REQ

Days & Hours: 40 hours/week (6:00am-2:30pm); day shift; Mon-Fri Dates of employment: 04/18/1711/15/17 Wage: $9 51/h, OT $14 27/h if necessary Raises, bonuses, or incentives dependent on job performance OJT provided

Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary, lodging) to the place of employment will be provided, or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer Employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, equipment and supplies required to perform the job Job location: Phoenix, AZ - Maricopa County

Applicants may send or contact the AZDES Office, 4635 S Central Ave, Phoenix AZ, 85040 Desirae Diaz ph:520-866- 3608 Please reference AZDES Job Order #: 2739590

Employer: Cox Cactus Farm, LLC 34623 N 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85086 Contact: Ryan Cox, fax(480) 336-2933

TOTAL YARD RESTORATION

Planting & removal of trees Complete maintenance Tree trimming and hauling Free Estimates

Enrique (480) 495-5828 English (Ana) (602) 579-1834

CLEAN-UP & TREE SERVICE

Sprinklers

Rene: Espanol-English 602-568-8662

Noe: English 602-303-0368

Sabina 602-568-2151 lospinoslandscapingllc net

Ahwatukee Foothills Friends and Neighbors (AFFAN) is a women s organization dedicated to cultivating friendships, and goodwill AFFAN promotes social, charitable and educational events all year long AFFAN holds monthly luncheon meetings with varied speakers We offer over 40 monthly activities including Book Clubs, Canasta, Bunco, Euchre, and Bridge. Other monthly activities are Dining Out, Stitch and Chat, Explore Arizona, and Garden Club Significant others/ spouses

Christian Business Networking, Chandler BiMonthly Chapter

7:30 a m second and fourth Tuesdays of the month

Offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and business referrals Chandler Christian Church, Room B202

1825 S Alma School Rd , Chandler Info: Maia, 480-4250624, christianbusinessnetworking com

General Meeting

Thursday, July 27

C A N C E L L E D

We have decided to forgo the meeting in July as we typically have a reduced number of attendees during this month We appreciate your understanding and your continued support for our group!

NOTICE: If you have any interest (or know of someone interested) in a leadership role within the Ahwatukee TEA Party, please send an email to info@tukeeteaparty com with your contact information

Thank-you Patriots!

Visit http://www teapartypatriots org for up-todate information and action items!

Meetings/Events

Smart Recovery Meeting Wed’s 7:008:30 p m 6400 W Del Rio Chandler Montessori School next to Unitarian Church room 5 All issues drugs, alcohol, gambling, online addictions, & medications 480-532-2460

PARENTS OF ADDICTED LOVED ONES

Are you affected by someone who is dealing with an addiction? If so, know that you are not alone and that the PAL (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones) group can help The group is available to provide education and support to anyone 18 years or older who is dealing with a friend or family member with an addiction See our local meeting list at palgroup org

Meetings/Events

AMERICAN LEGION

AHWATUKEE Post #64

We Meet Every 3rd Wed at 3pm at the Ahwatukee Retirement Center At 5001 E Cheyenne Dr, Phoenix, Az 85044

Contact ED MANGAN Cmdr 602-501-0128

In-Ahwatukee Toastmasters Club meets from 6:45-8am every Tuesday at Dignity Health Urgent Care Ahwatukee - Community Room (1st floor), 4545 E Chandler Blvd , Phoenix, AZ 85048

Guests welcome anytime! http://4873 toast mastersclubs org/

Beta Sigma Phi, a woman ' s cultural and social organization, is looking to reconnect with non-active members in the East Valley New members are also welcome Beta Sigma Phi is a non-college sorority, which offers "sisterhood" and "friendship" to women of all ages You can never underestimate the importance of other women in your life

Contact: Gail Sacco at gailsacco@q com

ROC #189850 Bond/Ins d

Points Hotel located at 51st St and Elliot Rd in

Noon Cost is $15 For

and

etails, please call

8

Dining For Women (DFW) diningforwomen org inspires, educates and engages people to invest in programs that make a meaningful difference for women and girls living in extreme poverty DFW helps women find dignity and strength, develop skills and opportunities value and support their children s education We have a local chapter in Ahwatukee which meets the 3rd Thursday every month from 6:30 p m -8:30p m If you d like to know more on how you can transform lives and reduce poverty contact Mary Hake at marysullivanhake @gmail com

GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS & GAMANON for meeting information 602-266-97846

Overeaters Anonymous Tuesday's at 10:30 AM Esperanza Lutheran Church Ray & Thunderhill

HIRING?

We have the applicants! Place your Job Post Today! Starting at $229 for a 30-day Online Job Post For more info: 480-898-6465 or jobposting @evtrib.com

Plumbing

business cards, or on flyers

What it does require under A.R.S. §32-1121A14(c)

ising to the public