SanTan Sun News - 8.15.2021

August 15, 2021 | www.santansun.com

Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

City entertainment scene getting a jolt Wild Horse Pass putting luxury Racing icon’s mega go kart sportsbooks at Chandler's door center coming to S. Chandler

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

As Arizona prepares to launch sports betting Sept. 9, the Gila River Indian Community is poised to become one of the big players after teaming up with one of the gambling world’s biggest operators.

Chandler will be right on the doorstep of some brick-and-mortar venues.

Now that the application time for licenses has expired, the Arizona Department of Gaming by the end of the month must winnow down a list of 15 tribal applicants competing for 10 available licenses allowing them to offer gambling on professional and college games both online and at retail, or brick-and-mortar, sites. State law

forbids the department from releasing the identities of applicants but observers expect the GRIC to be among the winners.

BetMGM announced last week partnerships with Gila River Hotels & Casinos and the Arizona Cardinals, stating that besides digital betting, it will set up sportsbooks at the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium and at Wild Horse Pass, Lone Butte and Vee Quiva casinos.

While online sports betting does a far greater business nationwide, retail sportsbooks’ revenue is nothing to sneeze at.

That’s why the brick-and-mortar sites will be offering more than, well, See

GAMBLE on page 5

Chandler family fights a ‘war’ to save boy, 9

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

A major entertainment venue with ties to an auto racing legend is coming to south Chandler.

Andretti Karting & Games last month shelled out $4.9 million to buy 10.2 acres on the southwest corner of Cooper Road and the Santan Loop 202 Freeway from hotel developer Drury Development Company and DDC Hotels LLL. Named after racing legend Mario Andretti, the company already operates three venues in Texas, two in Georgia and one in Orlando, Florida.

And when it opens either late next year or early 2023, company spokesman Stan Manousos told the SanTan Sun

News, it will offer the same stunning array of hi-tech entertainment options, mostly focused around auto racing.

“We like Chandler and we like the area by the 202,” Manousos said, adding that his company is impressed with the access it gives to the broader Phoenix Metro market.

And, of course, “We like that there are many families living in the area,” he said.

The cornerstone of each venue is high-tech electric go-kart racing on intricately designed tracks that even offer “mini Mario go-karts” for kids as young as 4.

Manousos said that while each track See

GOKART on page 12

Waymo help

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

War. That is what Heather, Joshua and Luke Ozga agree they are going through.

“A war to save Luke’s life,” said Heather Ozga of Chandler.

The family didn’t ask to be in this devastating battle against a virulent and rare form of lymphoma attacking 9-year-old Luke Ozga since December 2019, but they have faced it bravely.

He appeared to have overcome that initial attack, but relapsed a year later.

A bone marrow donation from his elder brother Josh appeared to be successful and the family was ecstatic.

In early July, Luke Ozga marked the 100th day following his bone marrow transplant. The family’s small celebration featured two cakes, one with creamy white icing in which the happy youngster chose to plant his face to indicate his happiness.

Less than two weeks later, on the 110th post-transplant day, what the family hoped was a routine examination to assure them all was going well brought devastating news: they were informed the bone marrow transplant that had been such agony for both brothers had failed.

“They said we didn’t have very many options left,” a tearful Heather Ozga said.

Sitting beside her in a social media post, as he did again in follow-up videos, was 12-year old Joshua Ozga, the

Luke Ozga, 9, opf Chandler has gone through a heart-wrenching ordeal with a rare and virulent cancer since 2019.

(Courtesy of the Ozga Family)

elder brother who had just entered 7th grade at San Tan Junior High School and who has proven himself to be preternaturally knowledgeable on the disease and various treatments, including chemotherapy.

At that 110th day examination, the family learned Luke had trace amounts of cancer in his bone marrow.

“I almost hit the floor,” she said.

“Hearing your child has cancer is a parent’s worst nightmare; hearing he See

CANCER on page 8

Karla Paredes of AZCEND stuffs food bags into a specially colored Waymo minivan being used to ferry essentials to facilities that provide food for elderly people. For the story, see page 10. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

F E AT U R E STO R I E S Why State Fair won't be moving .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . Page 4 Homeowners and SRP line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REAL ESTATE . . . . Page 22 Chandler gym marks 10 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUSINESS . . . . . . Page 24 Sports no longer secondary at ACP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . Page 29 Chandler vet helps other vets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . . . Page 36

More Community . . . . 1-19 Clip-It . . . . . . . .20-21 Real Estate . . . 22-23 Business . . . . . 24-28 Sports . . . . . . . 29-30 Neighbors . . . . 31-35 Arts . . . . . . . . . 36-38 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Directory . . . . 40-41 Eat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

GOP lawmakers urge punishment for ban defiance

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Chandler Sen. JD Mesnard and 25 other Republican lawmakers signed a letter last week urging Gov. Doug Ducey last week to punish school districts that defy the law banning mask mandates by withholding state funds and offering school vouchers for students “trapped” in those districts.

The letter was sent at the same time that all three of the state’s universities declared they are going to require face masks on campus in certain situations.

The new policy announced by Arizona State University mandates the use of face coverings in classrooms, teaching or research labs as well as “close-quarter environments where physical distancing may not be possible.’’

That specifically includes meeting rooms, workshop, design or production studios “and other indoor settings where social distancing is not possible.’’

At Northern Arizona University, President Jose Luiz Cruz Rivera said Wednesday the school is going from a “mask-friendly’’ campus to a “masksmart campus.’’

The policy requires anyone on campus to wear face coverings in certain settings, “including all classrooms and teaching or research labs.’’ And, like ASU, it also says masks must be wore in any other “indoor and outdoor settings where physical distancing may not be possible.’’

Cruz Rivera said the school is encouraging students to get vaccinated.

But he said that’s clearly not enough.

“Another thing that has become clearer through this discussion is that our next line of defense, regardless of whether or not we’re vaccinated, is to wear face coverings,’’ Cruz Rivera said.

The moves come less than two months after lawmakers approved -- and Gov. Doug Ducey signed -- legislation

saying that universities and community colleges cannot require that students be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of such immunization.

It also says that these schools cannot place any conditions on attendance or participation in classes or academic activities, including the use of masks, if someone chooses not to be vaccinated.

That, in turn, followed Ducey’s June 15 executive order which has virtually identical language.

But ASU Vice President Jay Thorne said he does not believe the new policy violates either. The key, he told Capitol Media Services, is that it does not discriminate.

“Our requirements apply to everyone on campus (students, faculty, staff, and visitors) and regardless of their vaccination status,’’ he said. “They do not conflict with the order or the legislation.’’

Hours later the University of Arizona followed suit.

Ducey appears to be seeking to avoid a confrontation with the schools over the policy changes.

“The law we signed is clear,’’ said gubernatorial press aide C.J. Karamargin.

“Rather than creating new mandates, the focus should be on vaccinations,’’ he sadi, adding they are “widely available and proven effective.”

Karamargin repeatedly declined to answer direct questions about whether his boss believes that the actions by the universities violate either his executive order or the new law.

“We’re not anti-mask,’’ he said.

“We’re anti-mandate.’’

The new university policies come as more than half the Republican state legislators are pushing Ducey to go after public and charter schools that they say are violating a separate law, approved at the same time, that more directly prohibits school boards from requiring the use of face coverings by students or staff during school hours and on school property.

Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who crafted the demand, wants the governor to withhold any federal funding under his control from any school district that is not complying with the law.

Hoffman also wants Ducey to authorize vouchers “for all students trapped within any school district that is non-compliant with state law,’’ giving them tax dollars to attend private or parochial schools. And he said the governor should sue any district breaking the law.

The move comes as an increasing number of districts have chosen to require students and staff to wear masks on campus.

Don’t look for any immediate action

by Ducey on the request.

“We haven’t reviewed it yet,’’ Karamargin said of the bid by the 26 GOP lawmakers out of the 47 at the Capitol. But he suggested that the governor has no intention of making an issue of it, saying Ducey is “pro-parental decision on masks.’’

“Parents should decide what’s best for their kids,’’ Karamargin said. “And those are the kind of policies he will be supporting.’’

But the legal question remains as to whether they are breaking the law, at least right now.

The legislation with the ban on masks was part of a series of budget-related bills approved by lawmakers at the end of the session. And, with only a handful of exceptions, all measures do not take effect until the 91st day after the end of the session.

This year, that is Sept. 29.

Ducey, through Karamargin, has insisted that the law is enforceable because that is the “legislative intent.’’

That, however, remains to be seen.

On Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner will hear arguments by a teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District challenging the decision of its governing board to require the use of mask on campus.

CUSD board ducks position on mask mandate ban SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board last week followed its large East Valley counterparts by paying no formal attention to the state law banning mask mandates.

Instead, the board heard a lengthy presentation by district administration on its COVID-19-mitigation measures and encouraged parents to send their kids to school with face masks.

Those mitigation measures include a minimum 3-feet distancing among students and staff when possible, enforcing directional flow of students, keeping large gatherings outside if social distancing is not possible and imposing mitigation measures on all field trips.

The district also will use quarantines under conditions spelled out on its website at cusd80.com/Page/113434.

CUSD did not follow Tempe Union and Kyrene governing boards – which, after sometimes emotional and angry statements by members, last week approved resolutions asking the Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey to rescind

the ban on mask mandates.

Instead, its informal no-comment position echoed those of Mesa Public Schools and Gilbert Public Schools governing boards, which also took no formal position on the mandate ban.

The CUSD board met in a lengthy executive session to discuss with its lawyer “the District’s COVID-19 related school safety operations or school safety plans or programs and related matters,” according to its agenda.

The vast majority of the 57 emails sent the board prior to the Aug. 11 meeting and statements by 27 parents and other citizens who addressed the board in person reflected the deep division over masks that exists in the district, as it does throughout the nation.

Typical of those who virtually urged the district to ignore the law and impose a mask mandate was a letter from one parent that stated, “We, concerned parents, are requesting that kids are asked or mandated to wear masks and an online option exist for gifted students. We are playing with our kids lives. The CDC, American Pediatrics are

recommending masks again. Let’s follow Science for the sake of the kids.”

Another stated, “I feel the board has a ethical, moral and legal responsibility to protect students while at school i.e. in loco parentis. While there is a law on the books, it actually isn’t enforceable until end of September. Furthermore, any simple court challenge would render this law unconstitutional.”

A Superior Court judge was scheduled on Friday, after the deadline for the SanTan Sun News, to hear evidence in a biology teacher’s lawsuit against Phoenix Union High School District’s mask requirement. That district and at least five others are defying the ban.

On the other hand, other parents who wrote or addressed the CUSD board urged it to let parents decide whether to send their children to school with face masks.

“I want to thank you for abiding by the law by not having a mask mandate, requiring vaccine and not teaching CRT,” one wrote, referring to critical See

MASKS on page 17

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

State Fair relocation faced daunting challenges

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

Chandler won’t have the Arizona State Fair as a neighbor this fall after all.

The Arizona Exposition and State Fair Board 10 days ago announced that the fair will be held in October at the fairgrounds at 19th Avenue and McDowell Road.

The announcement came less than five months after the board voted unanimously to move the fair to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on Gila River Indian Community land just south of the interchange between I-10 and the Loop 202 South Mountain /Santan freeways.

But documents obtained by the SanTan Sun News show that less than a month after the March 25 decision, significant doubts arose as to whether the relocation could be pulled off.

Those documents, obtained through a public records request, show that fair officials projected a $2.6 million loss if it had been held at the reservation. That included a loss of $1.6 million in income and just under $975,000 in additional expenses.

For the years 2018 and 2019, records show, the fair averaged $12.2 million in annual income and $8.3 million in expenses for an average annual net income of $3.8 million.

The same day as the board’s unanimous March 25 vote, Gov. Doug Ducey’s office released an announcement hailing it.

The announcement said the GRIC site “is larger than the size of the State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, allowing for appropriate social distancing and other public health mitigation measures.”

It also noted that the fairgrounds had become “a vital location for mass testing and vaccine distribution.”

By moving the event, it added, the fairgrounds could “continue to be available for public health needs in an underserved area of our community” while preventing the second consecutive cancellation of the annual fourweek fair because of the pandemic.

The board blamed its change of heart on “an inability to secure the necessary infrastructure to hold the fair at the Gila River Indian Community’s Reservation in time for October.”

It also said, “related supply chain problems across the country are causing delays in materials and supplies needed to hold the fair at the” GRIC site and that “manufacturers are unable to guarantee on-time delivery.”

“The Gila River Indian Community and Arizona State Fair continue to study the possibility of moving the Fair to the Reservation in 2022, in a manner that will be mutually beneficial to both parties,” the board said.

It also included a statement by board Chairman Jonathan Lines, an influential Yuma County Republican and former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party.

“We are committed to creating the best experience for the State Fair guests, partners and sponsors,” Lines said. “Due to the limited timeframe and supply concerns, keeping the Fair at its existing home makes the most sense for 2021.

The Arizona State Fair won't be moving next door to Chandler this year but will stay at the Phoenix fairgrounds.

(File photo)

“We remain committed to working with the Gila River Indian Community to see if we can move the Fair to the Gila River Indian Reservation in 2022 in a manner that is mutually beneficial to both sides.”

While noting the fair will run Oct. 2-30, the board’s statement did not mention there will be no concerts this year because of scheduling difficulties created by the pandemic.

Wild Horse Pass Development Authority Board Chairman Donald Antoine Sr. started the chain of events leading to the March 25 decision with a letter last Oct. 28 to the State Fair Board.

The authority is the development arm of the Gila River Indian Community.

“WHPDA has the space and know how to host and deliver a meaningful, safe and appropriately scaled outdoor event,” Antone wrote, offering to hold the fair in March and stating: “In a time where diverse cultures need to unit more than ever, WHPDA is hopeful they can be helpful in partnering with the Arizona State Fair to allow our community to safely come together.”

In a run-up to a subsequent meeting Nov. 12 between state and tribe officials, state fair staff drew up a lengthy memo outlining the wide array of issues that needed to be addressed if the fair were to be moved to an 1,800-acre site in an area around the Motorsports Park and Rawhide Western Town.

Even then, concerns were raised about a walking distance of a quarter-mile to three quarters of a mile between the fairgrounds and parking area, a limited water supply, the existence of only one “convention type building,” the fact that all electrical power would have to be supplied by generators.

Other concerns cited in the memo included the fact that workers comp

and insurance requirements for contractors and businesses operation on reservation land “are typically more expensive and a little different than standard Workmen’s Comp.”

Still, on Feb. 25, Meg Anema, executive management assistance for the fair, emailed the exposition board, writing “the future is certainly filled with exciting opportunities.”

Nevertheless, the concerns raised that had already been raised over preparing a site from scratch for an event that has drawn as many as a million people in past years prompted fair officials to decide that a March event was too ambitious.

Taking note of that in its March 25 announcement, Ducey’s office said that by holding the fair later this year, the state could “move forward with fair planning and not risk the event being canceled again due to uncertainty.

“As always, the fair will include agricultural, cultural and performing arts components. Additionally, given the location on native lands, a special focus will be placed on Indian Country and the state’s rich Native American heritage,” his office declared.

Less than a month later, however, the scope of challenges widened.

“While we continue to explore and find alternative and creative solutions to our infrastructure needs, costs continue to increase,” an unsigned memo dated April 20 stated. “We are finding that nothing is impossible, but expenses may prevent it from being viable or obtainable.”

“As costs continue to rise,” it continued, “there is a more prevalent feel of parties questioning the viability of making the fair work at WHPMSP.” The acronym refers to the Motorsports Park.

Both the state and authority “entered into the negotiations agreeing that infrastructure cost would be

absorbed by the Gila River Indian Community,” the memos stated, putting infrastructure costs at between $3 million and $3.5 million with other costs such as lighting, rodeo amenities and concert arenas at another “$1 million plus.”

There were other concerns as well.

While the memo made no mention of weekend traffic disruptions created by the Broadway Curve project, it referred to upcoming meetings involving the Arizona Department of Transportation, state police and various local police and public works departments to discuss solutions to “freeway traffic and street traffic concerns due to large crowd size on normal busy freeways.”

Staff also was uncertain whether a solution could even be found for the fact that neither state Department of Public Safety nor local police have jurisdiction on tribal land.

Noting that DPS and GRIC police were working on a solution, the memo also the tribal police department did not have enough staffing to handle all the traffic and other law enforcement concerns anyway.

The memo also referred to the need for additional septic tanks and the fact that the main water pipe across the fair site was only two inches in circumference and “maybe insufficient.”

Fair staff also struggled to find a donation of dirt for the rodeo to avert a cost of at least $100,000. The rodeo would cost money anyway because bleachers would have to be purchased.

And the memo noted that it probably would be a good idea to “start calendar with other events” since no one had apparently had a firm idea of what else would be going on in the way of rawhide concerts, golf tournaments, home games at the new Phoenix Rising arena or at Wild Horse Pass Casino.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

GAMBLE

from page 1

bricks, mortar and cashiers as they court both seasoned and amateur bettors on everything from professional games to fantasy sports to less popular competitions such as cricket, rugby and Swedish soccer.

“You are correct in that betting alone does not do it,” said Dominic Orozco, chief strategic marketing officer for Gila River Hotels & Casinos.

“It’s an amenity thing that we wanted to make sure we capture wholeheartedly,” Orozco continued. “It was something that we felt is an additional amenity to support …all the gaming things that we have. We felt that we had to take this to a different level and not just offer betting.”

While the three GRIC casinos combined are devoting 15,000 square feet of space to sportsbooks – two thirds of that at Wild Horse Pass Casino – each will be offering its own unique physical environment to attract bettors who want more than the thrill of a wager.

And while the tribe and BetMGM will be ready to offer online wagering on Sept. 9, Orozco said it likely won’t be until November that betting parlors themselves will be completed though some retail service will be on site.

Commercial gaming revenue nationwide reached a record $13.6 billion in the second quarter of this year, the American Gaming Association said last week. With nearly $24.8 billion generated to date for 2021, the association said

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino will have two areas up and running by November where people can place bets on sports games but also enjoy what promises to be an “immersive” and “encompassing” experience, developers say. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

this year is on track to overtake 2019 as the “the highest-grossing year ever for commercial gaming revenue. And 2019 saw revenue totaling $43.6 billion.

The association also reported that sports betting in the second quarter declined by 8 percent to a mere $888

million because of “a quieter sports calendar,” but also said: “The first half of 2021 has already generated more sports betting revenue ($1.8 billion) than all of 2020 ($1.5 billion).”

Within the next five years, that total annual revenue from sports betting is

projected to quintuple nationwide.

Gila River Hotels & Casinos has teamed up with one of the big gorillas of sports betting.

See

GAMBLE on page 6

6

COMMUNITY NEWS

GAMBLE

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

from page 5

During a quarterly earnings call Aug. 4, MGM President/CEO Bill Hornbuckle boasted, "BetMGM remains a clear leader in iGaming, having reached a 30 percent market share in the second quarter.”

Kenneth Manuel, Gila River Hotels & Casino CEO, called BetMGM “the king of sportsbooks” while Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Lewis said, “Building on the successful launch of our new table games at Wild Horse Pass, this new sports betting operation will now continue our successful implementation of our historic new Compact arrangement.”

He was referring to the new agreement the state and Arizona tribes signed earlier this year that helped pave the way for sports betting.

Orozco said Gila River Hotels & Casinos is spending more than $12 million to retrofit portions of its three venues so betters can have a worthwhile experience beyond placing bets and watching games.

“We have taken areas of our casinos that haven’t been necessarily used or utilized for revenue-generating ac-

tivities and are re-fitting them to be sports-betting.

“You will find in these sports-betting parlors, these books, not only that the bar and food and beverage complement is there. You will find a different, more modernized, state-of-the-art type of sports book. So what you’re typically seeing in Vegas is the old traditional type of sports books…. This is a little bit different.”

He said all three casinos will be offering “a very open-air sports book” that will be “very welcoming to the floor.”

“We want to make sure our players can get their bets in as quick as possible, as things are happening,” Orozco said.

At Wild Horse Pass Casino, two separate areas of the second floor will have sports betting operations. To pave the way for one of them, Shula’s Steak House is being relocated; the other book will be housed in what used to be the old disco called Chrome.

In one, a 250-inch LED screen that can be subdivided into as many as nine quadrants for nine separate games will be the center of attention.

“The viewing and the sound experience will be elevated,” Orozco said. “It’s more than just a couple speakers on the

ceiling.”

He said the screen will emit different colors at dramatic points in a game “so that if the Cardinals score a touchdown, you’ll see team colors.”

One venue will have an “all-the-timeavailable sports book” while side with the giant screen “will be more spiritual,” Orozco said.

“You have not only the viewing; you will now have increased bars, you will have a dynamic food offering, we will incorporate two blackjack table games inside the venue.”

He said that casino also may have a “player interactive game” where staff from a local team will narrate live from a DJ booth the action on the screen. A real DJ will provide music when games break to commercials.

Vee Quiva’s sports book will have an outdoor patio “so folks can enjoy fire pits or their meals or whatever in an outdoor setting,” Orozco said.

And at Lone Butte – the casino that typically draws some of the heaviest gamblers because of its location – the sports book will have a special VIP section with “special TVs and special views,” dedicated servers and even special menu items.

At all three sports books, patrons will be able to place bets at cashier cages as well as from their comfortable seating areas.

Orozco said the books at Lone Butte and Vee Quiva will be able to accommodate about 250 people comfortably while its flagship Wild Horse Pass Casino book will be able to handle 400 to 500 patrons.

And none of the TVs at any of the sports books will be smaller than 175 inches.

Patrons will not only have their own menu but Wild Horse Pass also is working on kiosks from which sports book players also will be able to order from any other restaurant within each casino for pickup or delivery.

While it may take until early November to complete construction of the three casinos’ books, Orozco said that by the time the whole NFL hits the field on Sept. 9, “we’re going live” with online betting and some temporary physical area where people can bet on games.

Newbies to sports betting also will be able to find some instructions on the finer points of wagering not only online on Wild Horse Pass’ websites but also from live attendants.

Swim coach kills self after child-sex bust David Tait, the director and owner of Rio Salado Swim Club, said Chen was arrested Friday after downloading an “underground” application to his phone used to solicit child prostitutes.

Police said Chen first requested to meet a girl but change his mind after arriving at an agreed-upon destination.

As he left, he was pulled over by Scottsdale Police.

Tait said Chen spent the night in jail and was released Saturday. He was assigned a parole officer, curfew, ankle monitoring device and had his phone confiscated by police.

“To my knowledge, there was no bail

BY ZACH ALVIRA Sports Editor

Former Chandler High swim coach Bob Chen died by suicide Aug. 8, about 48 hours after he was arrested in Mesa in child-prostitution sting in which 17 other men were nabbed.

Chen, who recently had taken a position as head coach for a program in California, was an assistant coach at Chandler High for three years before taking over as head coach in 2020 after the COVID-19 death of former coach Kerry Croswhite.

Chen was also a longtime coach for the Rio Salado Swim Club, coaching two athletes to this year’s Olympic Trials.

Three police agencies confirmed Chen’s arrest, inclouding Mesa Police Department, the lead agency in the operation. Chen was arrested on four charges, including an attempt to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Former Chandler swim & dive coach Bob Chen, who was with the Wolves for three years before taking over as head coach for the 2020 season, died Sunday by suicide 48 hours after he was arrested for soliciting a child prostitute.

(Courtesy Chandler Swim and Dive)

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or bond; he was released on his own,” Tait said. “We would not have bailed him out.”

A distraught Chen contacted Patrick Tolson, the development team director for Rio Salado, after his release from a prepaid phone.

According to Tait, Tolson interrogated Chen, who denied any acts of this nature taking place with swimmers he has coached in the past.

Chen did admit to soliciting prostitutes in the past, but had said this was the first instance where the female was underage, according to Tait.

“They were looking at each other square in the face but we don’t put any stock in that,” Tait said. “We are going to further investigate in case there are other victims.”

Kristin Adair, who took over for Chen as head coach of the club, went

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

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COMMUNITY NEWS

CANCER

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

from page 1

needs a bone marrow transplant was heart-wrenching but we got through it, and we thought it was a complete success,” explained Ozga.

“If you looked at him and saw him, he’s so positive, so smiley, he looked great, he felt great. So when we went in and I heard this and said, ‘Okay, what next?’ and they said ‘We’re running out of options,’ that was beyond devastating.”

One option mentioned was a clinical trial in Texas at the Texas Children’s Hospital.

The family and their ever-enlarging support group of friends and even strangers prayed he would be accepted.

Last month, they learned that the lifeline of hope remained as Luke was approved into the program, this despite the 13-year-old age minimum.

“Luke will be only the third patient with T-cell leukemia to receive this treatment in the U.S.,” she said. “He has lymphoblastic lymphoma, not leukemia, but we do, however, follow the leukemia protocol because due to the rareness of his cancer, they don’t have a protocol for lymphoblastic lymphoma.”

TCH was the first to offer cell therapy in pediatrics in 2012. The clinical trial to which Luke will enter sometime in August is for an immunotherapy known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for children with advanced acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

This clinical trial is all about life or death,” said Heather. “We had the conversation with both the boys, and Luke just cried and cried and cried.”

“It’s his last chance,” added Joshua.

Heather Ozga paused a moment to wipe away tears.

“And it’s all about money, too,” injected Joshua.

“Yeah it is, but everything is,” his mother replied stoically.

The cost of battling cancer is astronomical, and can easily add to the daily stress. When Luke started chemo, the family learned one of the two medications that were to be taken concurrently during this period was not covered by insurance.

“For 60 pills, it was $7,748,” she revealed. “We obviously need a lot of help, financially.”

Heather Ozga and sons Luke and Joshua have gone through a devastating time since Luke, foreground, was diagnosed with cancer. (Courtesy of the Ozga Family)

In addition to the hospital stays, medications and procedures there are so many other costs the family faces including the loss of income for Heather Ozga who left her job at MD Anderson Cancer Center when her son was initially diagnosed and the upcoming stay in Houston.

It is still undecided if it will be necessary for 12-year-old Josh to accompany the family to Texas Children’s Hospital

I go to our church every night and “prayJoshatand the beautiful cross asking our Father

to save Luke’s life, I was born and raised Catholic and I attend The Grove. I sleep with my rosary, I pray a million times a day. God is so much a part of our lives.

”

Helping the family through this financial morass is Ahwatukee-based nonprofit Armer Foundation for Children.

While donations can be made elsewhere online, Armer Foundation gives all donated money to the family. There are no processing fees, and donations are tax-deductible.

– Heather Ozga

in late August.

“We found out that more than likely Josh won’t need to go to Texas as they will be able to take blood here at PCH and send it there,” said Heather Ozga.

“Only if it’s not good enough, or contaminated, would Josh need to go.”

Ozga anticipates the Houston trial

and hospitalization would require a stay of up to six weeks.

She said it appears a different donor will be used for the next blood marrow transplant that will occur after the CAR T clinical trial. The family is urging residents to research and then enter the Be The Match database to help locate a bone marrow donor for this procedure.

Ozga acknowledges many medical terms are hard for the average citizen to grasp – among them the difference between leukemia and lymphomas.

But when dealing with them month after month, year after year, it becomes a second language, one even Josh has mastered.

“I’ve had to learn more about cancer in the past year and a half than I’d ever want. The meds alone are mind-blowing, along with their side effects,” she said.

“The easiest way to describe the difference between leukemia and lymphomas is that lymphomas are usually masses.”

“When Luke was first diagnosed in December of 2019 he had a huge tumor on the front of his heart that had filled his lungs with tumor fluid and had collapsed his lungs so he literally couldn’t breathe. He was breathing 41 to 48 breaths per minute,” Ozga continued.

“It was awful and it had spread to his lymph nodes in his belly and his kidneys. That’s why his cancer is more

rare and harder to get rid of because it’s aggressive and grows fast.”

While attention is focused on doing everything possible to save her son’s life, Ozga is understandably concerned about the ever-escalating cost of cancer.

“I’m having insomnia and anxiety attacks,” she admitted. “Cancer is so devastating and so expensive. People shouldn’t look at the amount of money donated on the Armer Foundation or GoFundMe pages because I promise you, it’s gone in the blink of an eye.”

Recent figures on fighting cancer indicate one round of chemo can range from $10,000 to $100,000 or more. Luke has had numerous rounds.

Bone marrow transplants are one of the most expensive procedures, with studies showing it can be as high as $200,000 per transplant. Luke has had one and faces two more.

The upcoming clinical trial will add considerably to the costs so far.

As with the chemo medicine, some insurance plans don’t cover those expenses as they are considered ‘experimental’. Such trials can cost $41,000.

As thrilled as she was to discover last week that her youngest son has been approved for the clinical trial in Houston, she is searching for ways to get there, stay there and be strong for her son as he goes through it all in a strange place.

“I’m trying to figure out what sort of costs I’ll have with our trip, but haven’t been able to find out as of yet. I don’t know if food or gas is covered, if our flights or a rental car will be. I’m trying to get answers now so I’m prepared,” she said.

“I’m feeling like we need to drive to be able to bring all the necessary items we will need for our extended stay but concerns about my vehicle’s age and mileage worries me so I’m still trying to work all the details out.”

Even as a single mother, she said she knows she’s not alone. Besides her parents and sister and friends - some of whom she’s never even met, she said her faith makes it possible to keep going every day.

“Josh and I go to our church every night and pray at the beautiful cross asking our Father to save Luke’s life,” she said. “I was born and raised Catholic and I attend The Grove. I sleep with my rosary, I pray a million times a day. God is so much a part of our lives.”

Fundraising is serious business for the family as they face the ensuing months of travel, treatments, and more.

“We need all the help we can get to help save my son’s life,” she admitted candidly. “Anything helps at this point.”

Armer Foundation co-founder and president Jennifer Armer said a blood drive and fundraiser is slated for Aug. 22 with the location announced at a later date, and called for raffle donations.

“I am in need of raffle baskets to help raise funds for Luke to get to the Car-T therapy trial in Houston. And Heather is going to need funds to live off as she’ll most likely have to rent an apartment or some type of housing,” explained Armer.

To help the Ozga family, make a tax-deductible donation at ArmerFoundation.org.

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

9

Gig economy drivers struggle to make ends meet

BY EMILY DISALVO Contributor

Peter Young was napping between blood draws when his ringing phone woke him.

He was lying in a hospital bed as part of a five-day clinical trial that required his blood to be drawn every two hours.

It’s not a job most people sign up for eagerly, but for Young, 27, it seemed like a dream opportunity. His full time job is delivering food for Postmates.

“This will pay a lot more for the time I am spending than rideshare,” Young said. “I’m in a hospital bed right now.

That’s why I was napping – because I am physically beat up.”

Young has been a part of the gig economy, working for rideshare and food delivery apps, for about four years. He used to drive for Uber and Lyft, but since the pandemic, he only has been delivering food.

Although Young relies on the income from Postmates to survive, he said the job’s unreliability is taking a toll on his financial and mental well-being.

“I can’t plan for the future. I can’t be confident in what income I will have in six months, and that is really stressful.”

Gig workers are considered independent contractors rather than traditional employees, so they don’t receive such benefits as health insurance and retirement programs. Many, like Young, are

On a call with investors in May 2020, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reported that COVID-19 had decreased business the previous month by 80 percent. However, Khosrowshahi said 40 percent of active rideshare drivers switched to the Uber Eats platform in April 2020.

Jesenia Rodriguez drove for Uber and Lyft but stopped in March. She switched to DoorDash.

“Due to the way they were paying, I was risking myself for two or three dollars,” she said.

Rodriguez’s rent is subsidized through Section 8 Rideshare and other gig economy drivers held protests across the country last month, demanding better housing, and she receives food stamps to feed herself and her wages. (Special to Santan Sun News) son, but life has not been easy.

She has determined that not security from a particular organizafreelance delivery workers or drivers working at all is a better option finantion and also a lot of the benefits the called to service through such apps as organizations provide people with, they cially than returning to DoorDash.

Lyft and DoorDash.

“I had to pick up in Walmart, three exchange that for being able to have Gig work can give people flexibility different orders for only $3 each,” and freedom, but some experts believe greater control over what kind of work Rodriguez said. “I have to put gas in the they do when they do it and how they it also exposes them to inconsistent, car and if anything breaks down, I have do it,” said Brianna Caza, associate prolow pay and the possibility of exploitato pay for it.

Right now, I am not in that fessor in the department of managetion for the sake of customer conveposition.” ment at University of North Carolina nience. The work became even riskier During the pandemic, Chance McGreensboro. during COVID-19, which put thousands Namara worked full time for DoorDash, During the pandemic, many drivers of people out of jobs. which he said didn’t provide a livable for rideshare were unable to find work In response, efforts to unionize gig driving for Uber or Lyft because of the drivers are underway in several major See on page 16 cities. “While they don’t have long-term risks of getting COVID-19.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Waymo collaborates with nonprofit to deliver help

BY SYDNEY MACKIE Contributor

A recent collaboration between the non-profit organization AZCEND and Waymo, an autonomous vehicle developer based in Chandler, is revolutionizing humanitarian projects in the Valley.

The two operations first connected last summer when Waymo offered to lend their technology and coordination experience to the non-profit.

Now, Valley residents can spot Waymo’s blue-wrapped minivans on their way to bring essentials to Arizona’s citizens.

“As a non-profit, we can’t do our work without partnerships in the community and Waymo has been a great partner to us for over a year,” AZCEND CEO Trinity Donovan explained.

“They’ve helped us with the logistics of getting food bags from our food bank to our senior center where then, our volunteers will transfer those bags alongside our Meals on Wheels meals. So, in addition to the Meals on Wheels, seniors have the ability to request a food bag.”

According to Donovan, since the joint effort with Waymo began, AZCEND has been able to provide over 2,000 meals to homebound seniors.

Donovan said they have seen over a 110 percent increase in need and doubled their usual number of Meals on Wheels deliveries.

“They connected with us to see if we had any needs for deliveries to go from

COACH

from page 6

to Chen’s home before he and Tolson arrived.

Aware Chen had become suicidal, she and Chen’s parents removed anything he could use to harm himself, including his registered gun.

On Sunday, Chen slipped out of the home without his family’s knowledge and used a spare set of keys to access his car. He then drove to C2 Tactical Gun Range in Tempe, where he rented a weapon and used it on himself.

The blue-wrapped Waymo mini-vans are carryign vital necessities to the city's elderly.

(Special to the SanTan Sun News)

one of our sites to the others,” she said.

“We let them know that this would be an opportunity because otherwise, we would need staff or volunteers to drive and get all of the bags stationed then go to the right location.

“It’s great to have Waymo as a reliable pickup method for us, every week they are picking up food bags for seniors which we then get out.”

Now, these volunteers can utilize their time delivering on other routes or helping with the group’s other charitable programs across the Valley.

Those programs include services for families with children who are under 5, those who require renter’s assistance, and individuals experiencing homelessness.

“It’s important for us to be convenient for people who have needs or are in crisis,” Donovan added.

Even with self-driving cars, due to the organization’s many services, programs and locations, AZCEND still needs passionate and dedicated volunteers.

“We need more volunteers to help us with the increase in routes, so it’s a great opportunity for someone who

our plan Monday to contact an attorney and “getIt was in touch with USA Swimming Safe Sport, but he ended up killing himself Sunday afternoon, our first reaction was to protect the kids and get them help. ”

– David Tait

“It was our plan Monday to contact an attorney and get in touch with USA Swimming Safe Sport, but he ended up killing himself Sunday afternoon,” Tait said. “Our first reaction was to protect

the kids and get them help.

“I sent an email Sunday night explaining Bob had committed suicide.

We didn’t release these other details because we wanted the parents to be able to talk to their kids before they went to school.

“On Monday we lined up trained therapists and then Tuesday we had a meeting with parents where shared the details openly, honestly and transparently so everybody could take the information and share it with their children in the best way they know how.”

Tait added he and the other Rio Salado coaches wanted to get the information out to parents to identify other children who may have been harmed.

“We don’t believe there have been other children, we don’t have any reason to believe there have been, but if there were we wanted to find out who they are and get them the proper support,” he said.

Chandler Unified School District spokesperson Terry Locke said the district was made aware of the charges

has a couple of free hours a week during lunchtime,” Donovan said.

“It’s a really impactful volunteer job because often the person who is delivering the meal is the only person the participant will see that day. The meal is important, but the brief social interaction lets our participants know that others care about them.”

Under the most recent guidelines by the Arizona Department of Health Services, vulnerable adults in care homes are allowed indoor visitation if greater than 70 percent of residents are vaccinated but still advise for a six-foot distance, mask requirements and frequent symptom screening.

Over a year, Donovan and her organization have seen that “something as simple as food can help people keep their home, their concentration and reduce doctor visits when they have the nutrition they need.”

Moving forward, AZCEND is determined to continue providing its aid to disadvantaged communities as they have done without pause throughout the pandemic.

“We have such an amazing staff who care about the community and people we serve and so that and our volunteers have enabled us to get through it but it’s still a challenge to provide our services in the safest way possible as the pandemic continues to change. We don’t quite know what will happen next, but we do know people will still be in need of our services,” Donovan said.

against Chen on Tuesday. He was not employed by the district at the time of his arrest.

Jim Culver, the athletic director at Chandler, informed the school’s swimmers of his death on Monday morning.

He was unaware of the charges brought against the former coach at the time.

“We had a meeting this morning with our swimmers and staff on campus to share the sad news,” Culver said. “Our counselors and school administration were present as well as coaching staff.”

Chen’s death rattled the Chandler High community, which was still reeling after the loss of Croswhite last year.

The school’s aquatics complex was named after him in December to celebrate his legacy at the school.

That same month, Chandler swimmer Brisa Vasquez lost both of her parents just hours apart from the virus.

Tony and Lisa Vasquez were part of the team’s booster club.

Tait said while Chen had success as a coach at various levels, there may never be a time in which his legacy can be discussed.

“I told the parents choices have consequences,” Tait said. “One of Bob’s consequences here is this information coming to light. We are going to do the right thing with this information. That comes before any talk about Bob’s reputation or legacy.

“The kids are first, and we are going to protect the kids first. That’s our singular goal right now.”

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

11

Dems, GOP losing out on voters in Arizona

BY BROOKE NEWMAN Cronkite News

The major political parties in Arizona have continued to lose voters since the November election, with strident partisanship “turning off ” voters and driving them to register as independents, analysts said.

The most recent numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office show that the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties all saw drops in registration from the general election through the end of June, while unaffiliated voters made strong gains.

While losses for political parties are expected after an election, political experts agreed, the shift in Arizona is unexpected, even for a state that typically has a significant number of independents.

“Both the Democratic and Republican parties are doing a remarkable job at turning off prospective voters,” said Jason Rose, a Republican political consultant. “The Democratic Party is now the party of Bernie Sanders, and we know who the face of the Republican Party is.”

Requests for comment from the state’s Republican and Democratic parties on the registration shifts were not returned.

Republicans remained the largest party in the state with 1,499,862 registered voters at the end of June, but

that’s down 8,916 voters from the November election. Democrats lost 3,784 voters to fall to 1,374,540 in June.

“It’s hard to envision when the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, will be wildly popular,” said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections. “There’s simply a general distrust with institutions, including official political parties.”

The Libertarian Party had the largest drop proportionally, a 2.7% decline, as it lost 1,021 voters to fall to 37,364 members.

While the parties were bleeding members, the number of unaffiliated voters rose by 52,941 since November.

“Republicans are moving more toward the right, Democrats are moving more toward the left, and there’s no place for people in the middle to go,” said Mike Noble, chief of research for OH Predictive Insights. So they are choosing not to identify with either party, he said.

Experts said that the shift is not unique to Arizona.

“There’s a national and state trend toward more independents when it comes to party affiliation,” Rose said.

Chad Campbell, senior vice president of Strategies 360 in Arizona, said the rise of independents is an ongoing trend that is “mainly a function of D.C.… and the inability to get things done” in Washington.

Arizona’s registration numbers are “really a reflection of the ever-changing mindset of voters and the frustration with traditional partisan politics,”

Campbell said.

Other experts agreed, adding that a national mood following the 2020

the Democratic “andBoth Republican parties

are doing a remarkable job at turning off prospective voters, the Democratic Party is now the party of Bernie Sanders, and we know who the face of the Republican Party is.

”

– Jason Rose

election, frustration with the Senate filibuster, and partisan events in general have all had an effect on the decline in party affiliation.

Paul Bentz, senior vice president of research and strategy at HighGround Inc., said his organization saw a drop in registered Republicans following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. While many expected there would be a shift away from the GOP after Jan. 6, “the trend hasn’t continued at the great speed peo-

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ple thought it would,” Bentz said.

He added that the Republican-led audit of the election results in Maricopa County does not appear to be driving away as many voters as some predicted it would. But since “77% of Republicans support the audit, our polls show,” he would not expect it to drive large numbers of registered voters away from the party.

Noble said that “living and working in the past” with the audit could hinder Republicans as the party tries to provide information and direction to its candidates for upcoming election.

“Any skilled political strategist will tell you that once an election is done you start focusing on the upcoming one,” he said.

But Republicans still have the overall numerical advantage and should not be counted out of next year’s midterm elections, experts said.

“Less voters will show up in a midterm, but Republicans generally will show up at a higher number than anyone else,” Bentz said.

That does not mean the parties can ignore the recent registration declines, however, with analysts cautioning that they should not do anything “too extreme” or “too out-of-step with mainstream America” in the coming months.

“A warning to any of those running for political office in Arizona in 2022 … is that Arizona is very much an independent state,” Noble said.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Though track configurations differ at each site, all the Andretti Indoor Karting sites boast “hairpin turns, up and down elevation changes and long straightaways on our indoor climate-controlled tracks.” (Andretti Indoor Karting)

GOKART

from page 1

is unique to each venue, they all are built with the features that Andretti Karting boasts for its Marietta, Georgia, venue: “Experience the adrenaline rush of our electric go kart races with instant acceleration as you put the pedal to the metal around hairpin turns, up and down elevation changes and long straight-

aways on our indoor climate-controlled tracks.”

Manousos said the sites usually offer two tracks that can be linked together for a different driving experience.

The Orlando, Florida, site, for example, can be rented out and the tracks can be coupled for one big circuit

Touting “the best model of electric karts in the industry, the Biz Kart Ecovolt GP,” Andretti Indoor Karting calls the vehicles “powerful, ergonomic, safe and environmentally friendly.”

“Mini Marios” are available for kids ages 4-7. (Andretti Indoor Karting)

the adrenaline rush of our electric go “kartExperience races with instant acceleration as you put the pedal to the metal around hairpin turns, up and down elevation changes and long straightaways on our indoor climate-controlled tracks.

”

– Stan Manousos

that accommodates 30 to 40 people at a time for a race.

Touting “the best model of electric karts in the industry, the Biz Kart Ecovolt GP,” the website calls the vehicles “powerful, ergonomic, safe and environmentally friendly.”

Beyond the centerpiece attraction, Andretti Indoor

Karting sites offer an array of other entertainment options as well as an extensive dining menu with vegan and gluten options.

Besides a pinball and video arcade and “boutique bowling” with black-lit racing-themed lanes, the venue offers a variety of virtual amusements, includSee

GOKART on page 13

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

GOKART

from page 12

ing racing simulations and games with “advanced graphic technology and full sensory immersion.”

“Andretti’s racing simulators are the most advanced on the market and deliver big-time on thrills and heart-pounding excitement,” the company brags. “It’s so realistic that you actually feel the motion and vibrations of the car, experience the tension in the seatbelt, and hear the sounds of the race track.”

With panoramic screens, the simulators “are the same kind that professional race car drivers use,” the company said, and its “full motion actuators” “give the feel of driving at high speeds.”

Another attraction, called the 7D Xperience, offers “a 3D interactive movie experience with amazing special effects. Up to eight riders at a time compete for the highest score using laser blasters and battling on-screen enemies. You actually feel the earth-rumbling movement and wind,” the website states.

Some venues also offer laser tag, rope climbing and zip lines.

Pricing is similar in all six Andretti venues, which do not charge an admission to enter.

Go-kart racing ranges in price from $23 for a single adult spin along the track on weekdays to a $55 three-race package. Other attractions range in price from $11 for a 10-minute week-

13

games, miniature golf, bumper boats, a couple of rides and laser tag,” Hamann told a Florida newspaper.

By the time they opened their first corporate facility in 2001 in Georgia, “the rest of the Andretti family were involved.”

“The Andretti team is aware that customers today are very sophisticated. At a very early age, they start handling social media and cutting-edge technology. It’s just part of their day-to-day life at home,” Hamann added.

Mario Andretti told Georgia newspapers he “did whatever they needed me to do to make it work” and largely provided financial backing for his Andretti Indoor Karting paid just under $5 million for a 10.2-acre site at Cooper Road and the nephew John and partners.

Santan Loop 202 Freeway. (Special to Santan Sun News) John died in 2020 after a three-year battle with coopened the original Andretti Indoor day laser tag experience to $30 to $35 lon cancer at age 56 and the Karting and Games in Roswell in 1999, for bowling for an hour with up to six Andretti Indoor Karting websites all tie naming it after his friend Mario Anpeople on one lane to a $90 VIP packinto a foundation that supports colon dretti, one of only two drivers to have age that combines one race, six other cancer research. won races in Formula One, IndyCar, the attractions and a $10 game card.

Mario recalled, “John asked myself World Sportscar Championship and Patrons who posted reviews on and Michael if we were interested in travel sites gave various Andretti Indoor NASCAR. joining the venture and as soon as I saw Hamann, who is Manouso’s partner, Karting Venues generally high marks. what they were doing, I said, ‘Absolutesaid he eventually met John Andretti, a While some posts warned of sticker ly.’ You know, we jumped in and helped nephew of Mario and another champishock, the pricing apparently is no and, as time went on, it caught on. I on race car driver. major obstacle: the Orlando, Florida, mean the community just obviously “We decided to build the first venue reportedly draws close to a half started coming to it and taking advanfacility in Melbourne, Florida in 1999: million guests a year. tage of it and it kept growing.” an outdoor facility with go-karts, video Florida developer Eddie Hamann

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Rents unaffordable for minimum-wage earners, study finds

BY EMMA ASCOTT Cronkite News

Full-time minimum wage workers can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state, according to a recent report from affordable housing advocates, and with housing costs skyrocketing in Arizona, many workers are struggling.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual Out of Reach report, those workers in 93 percent of U.S. counties can’t afford a one-bedroom, either. In Arizona, workers would need to put in 73 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom rental.

Excluding weekends, that’s 14.6 hours per day. Still, that’s better than the national average of 97 hours per week, the report said.

The report defines affordability as the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to spend no more than 30% of their income on rent. Workers would need to earn $24.90 per hour for a two-bedroom rental and $20.40 per hour for a one-bedroom. The average hourly worker earns $18.78 per hour, and the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, unchanged since 2009.

In 2019, 13.5 percent of Arizonans were living below the federal poverty level of $25,750 (for a family of four), compared with 10.5 percent nationally.

This year the federal poverty level is

$26,500.

Even under the best of circumstances, rent is unaffordable for most low-wage workers, the report said, and addressing the long-term housing affordability crisis in this country requires increasing rental assistance to all who need it. In Phoenix, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,449 – a 12 percent increase over July 2020 – according to Zumper, which analyzes active apartment listings.

“In most places, $15 an hour isn’t a living wage, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, told Cronkite News. “But it’s more than double where the floor is now. And we know that when you lift from the bottom, everybody rises. So we say $15 an hour now, and index it to

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inflation so that the wage floor will rise with the cost of the things everyone needs to survive.”

Although raising the minimum wage to $15 would help lift people from poverty, American workers deserve more, said Allynn Umel, national director of the Fight for $15.

“Fast-food workers in Arizona and across the country face the mounting costs of rent, food, transportation, child care and so much more every single day,” he told Cronkite News in an email. “$15/hr is the bare minimum that workers anywhere need to survive, which is why fast-food and other essential workers have been out in the streets marching and shouting for $15 for nearly nine years, including McDonald’s workers in Phoenix just this week.”

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, is part of “a bipartisan working group negotiating a raise in the federal minimum wage, and is currently working with Senator Mitt Romney to craft bipartisan legislation,” her office told

Cronkite News.

In March, Sinema voted no on a provision for an incremental raise toward a $15 minimum wage. Her office noted her past support for “an indexed minimum wage in 2006, and supported the voter-approved state minimum wage increase in 2016.” While Sinema gave a thumbs-down, Kelly gave a thumbs-up.

Arizona’s minimum wage stands at $12.15 per hour, but advocates say it’s far from sustainable for the average worker.

Leaders of Fight for $15 said workers have waited too long for a raise, and they’ll continue to strike and march in the streets to demand that lawmakers and employers hear their demands and guarantee a wage they can survive on.

But there could be drawbacks to a $15 an hour minimum, experts warn.

Any attempt to remedy the situation with significantly higher minimum wages will benefit some while others will find fewer available positions or hours reduced in their positions, according to Dennis L. Hoffman, professor of economics at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

“Many employers today are having trouble finding workers even when wages are above minimum wage,” he said. “I believe that the labor market is undergoing significant changes in worker preferences for hours flexibility and type of work, including more options to work from home.”

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15

Silver Alert helps police, families find loved ones

BY GIANLUCA D’ELIA Cronkite News

Cynthia Macluskie has memories of her 3-year-old son sneaking out of their home late at night, while she was asleep.

“At 6 o’clock in the morning, someone’s banging on my door. … I still get goosebumps from this,” she said.

A couple had awoken to find her son, Mark, and the Macluskies’ dog playing near a ravine and the family’s address was on the dog’s collar.

That was more than 20 years ago.

But Macluskie, vice president of the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix, said she knows other families might not be as lucky as she was that night when a loved one with a disability goes missing.

Mark was engaging in a behavior that’s common among youngsters on the autism spectrum: wandering or elopement – a tendency to run off from a safe area or caregiver.

Research shows it’s common in about half of youth on the spectrum; one in four children are missing long enough to cause concern and are most in danger of drowning or traffic injuries.

“I think that happens more than we hear reported because people are embarrassed. They don’t want to admit that it happened,” said Macluskie, who shares her story as a cautionary tale.

“That took a lot of ingenuity for him to get out of our house. He was pretty fast and pretty smart about it.”

In 2018, after lobbying from Macluskie and others in the autism community, Arizona took a step to help address the problem.

The Legislature expanded the criteria for the state’s Silver Alert public notification system to include those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. It was previously intended for missing seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Municipal police departments are able to request a Silver Alert from the Department of Public Safety after they’ve exhausted all available resources, such as distributing missing person flyers, contacting family and friends, and checking area hospitals and jails.

Chandler police Sgt. Jason McClimans said his department is getting more cases warranting a Silver Alert, in part because of the expanded criteria.

In 2019, the department requested a Silver Alert for a 17-year-old with autism, and found him within 48 hours near Cooper Road and Loop 202.

Another Silver Alert was issued last summer for a 13-year-old with a developmental disability. After information about the teen was shared on social media, he was spotted the next day riding the light rail between Phoenix and Tempe.

“I would say once every two weeks, we get a call referencing a Silver Alert,” either for older individuals or those with a disability, McClimans said.

“Sometimes, prior to activating the Silver Alert, the individual will be found, but … probably 50 percent of the time … it may take 12 to 24 hours before that individual is located.”

Similar to the way an Amber Alert notifies the public about child abductions, Silver Alerts allow DPS to reach more

Chandler police have increased training around interactions with people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities through such events as Pizza With a Cop in 2019. (Courtesy of Chandler Police Department)

people via phone notifications, broadcast alerts on TV and radio, and highway signs.

Three years after the program was expanded, Macluskie and other advocates say they’re confident the change was worth it.

The state previously lacked a “coordinated, statewide effort” focused on recovering missing people with developmental disabilities, said Jon Meyers, executive director of The Arc of Arizona, the state arm of a national group that advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“It’s certainly not uncommon for people to wander from one community to the next,” Meyers said. “If there’s no coordinated law enforcement system, it can be very difficult to make sure that everybody’s talking to one another.”

Other states have started to create similar systems. Last summer, Alabama expanded and changed the name of its senior alert system to include adults 18 or older with mental or physical disabilities, and Illinois expanded its state alert system in a similar way in 2019.

At the national level, a 2018 law authorized the U.S. attorney general to establish a national alert network for missing adults 18 to 64 to address situations not covered by Amber or Silver alerts. The criteria include those with special needs or intellectual disabilities.

Overall, the number of people safely recovered after a Silver Alert in Arizona increased from 60 in 2015 to 131 in 2020, said Chrystal Moore, alert coordinator for the state Department of Public Safety.

But it’s impossible to know exactly how often Silver Alerts are used for those with disabilities. The state doesn’t track data specifying the age or reason for an alert, and collecting

statistics is not a requirement of the statute that updated the alert system, Moore said.

Meyers said his group was aware of about a dozen instances in the first years of the law where somebody with an intellectual or developmental disability was found and returned home safely.

“We consider that to be a sign of success,” he said.

Macluskie, of the Autism Society, said the system is vital for local police departments because it provides access to state and federal resources “and a lot of technology that’s not normally available for someone who’s missing.”

“For instance, if you have a Silver Alert, you can use Reverse 911 to the neighborhood where the child’s missing,” she said. “That’s been crucial.”

Reverse 911s allow police or fire departments to send voice messages about an emergency to phones in a particular geographic location.

Despite the successes with the system, Macluskie said she worries that some families and police departments still may not know that a Silver Alert can be issued for those with disabilities.

“There are rural areas where they may not know about this additional resource.”

Meyers said autism groups in Arizona are working to educate individuals, their families and law enforcement officials about encounters with police, including situations where officers find a missing person from a Silver Alert.

“Individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities often have difficulty understanding social cues, interacting with strangers. … They are, in many, many cases, very uncomfortable with things that are not familiar to them,” he said.

“First responders have to be aware that when they come into contact with these individuals, they’re likely to get a response of fear, a response that may include them striking out or acting in ways that can be perceived as threatening.”

About one in five adolescents on the autism spectrum will be stopped and questioned by police before age 21, according to the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Training programs like “Be Safe” aim to improve relationships between police departments and people with developmental disabilities by hosting interactive screenings.

The California-founded program, which has been adopted by police departments throughout Arizona, teaches officers about some common characteristics of autism and facilitates events at which people on the spectrum meet oneon-one with police to learn safety skills.

Some towns also have registries, such as Chandler’s Return Me Safe service, where caretakers can share information about an individual’s disability with a police department before a potential emergency call.

McClimans said it’s a myth that friends and family need to wait 24 hours to report a person missing. There is no waiting period.

And in cases involving a person with special needs that lead to Silver Alerts, the ability to act fast and seek additional resources can be life-saving.

“Being able to activate the Silver Alert, getting it put on social media, getting it put on the news, getting it put on the freeways, and being able to contact (a family) … and say, ‘Hey, we have received a call that your loved one has been located.’ You just see the joy,” McClimans said.

16

GIG

COMMUNITY NEWS

from page 9

income.

“You don’t really make enough to make a living out of it,” McNamara said.

“You don’t really make enough to pay your rent to almost not even pay your utilities, because it’s going towards food, that’s going towards gas, that’s going toward car repairs.”

A spokesperson for DoorDash said 2 million delivery drivers joined the platform from March through September 2020.

Some college students or recent college graduates worked at DoorDash during the pandemic to make spare cash. Wills Rice, a recent college graduate from Scottsdale, said he enjoys the income from DoorDash, but it isn’t his only job and he has no dependents.

“There’s some days where I could make $130 in five hours, but there’s also times where I could make $60 in five hours,” Rice said. “And I think if you’re someone that’s relying on that to pay your bills, to feed your family, to do all that, I don’t think it’s reliable enough because it’s based on when people are ordering food”.

McNamara points to one delivery more than 45 miles away where he netted $15 – with no tip.

A spokesperson for DoorDash reported that 85 percent of “Dashers” are students or have a full or part-time job.

Katie Wells, an Urban Studies Founda-

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

tion postdoctoral research fellow at the Georgetown University Global Cities Initiative, said there is no independent data to support that.

“This is a story that these companies like to tell because that’s an easier sell as opposed to one to say that actually there’s no data showing this vast majority of rides are produced by part-timers,” said Wells, who studies Uber drivers in the Washington, D.C., area.

“In fact, it’s the opposite. The majority of drivers are like those in our study that are full-time. They’re working really hard to support their families and can’t make a go of it.”

Some rideshare and food delivery workers say the app companies have all the power.

“I don’t feel like I have control over anything,” Young said. “They control the flow of my day through an app.

They can pay different amounts at different times a day. They can get me to work when they want me to work.

And rather than having more control of my job, I feel like I have no control over my job.”

When he started driving for Uber and Lyft four years ago, the wages he earned were sustainable, Young said.

He made about $130 in an eight-hour workday minus the price of gas, which was about $20 per day. That averages out at $13.75 an hour.

However, as time went on, the wages Young earned from Uber began to erode. Beth Griffith, executive director

of the Boston Independent Drivers Guild, said the downward trend is industry wide.

“They changed the way they compensate us, and it was done under duress, so in order for us to continue working even with arbitrations and things like that, every time they decide they want to change the contract, you have to agree to it,” said Griffith, who drives for Uber and Lyft.

Griffith said she was making a decent amount of money driving for Uber and Lyft until the pay structure was updated and she was forced to agree to the new terms. Uber got rid of a payment model known as the “numeric multiplier” and Lyft got rid of its model, “prime time,” in 2016.

Under those models, Griffith would work the night shift, earning 1.5 or two times the daytime fare. Under the new plan, drivers were paid per mile and per minute, regardless of the hour.

Uber in 2017 dropped its pay rates per mile to $1.75 from $2.15, and in 2019 to 60 cents from 80, according to accounts from drivers. Uber and Lyft do not publicly report data. Griffith and Young were unsure of the exact amounts but their estimates lined up with the amounts reported by other drivers.

Lyft and Uber, which recently acquired Postmates, did not respond to requests for comment.

“The vast majority of these jobs are extremely low paid and exploitative,” Wells said, “but it’s really, really hard

to figure that out because the costs are so nebulous – like a spreadsheet of 20-some different factors to figure out, what do they get paid? One of our drivers sort of said ... ‘My God, this makes McDonald’s look like a simple job because at least you’re not going to lose anything at the end of your shift.’”

Nicole Moore, an organizer for Rideshare Drivers United in LA, got involved with efforts to unionize rideshare drivers after becoming fed up with the declining pay.

“There’s very little trust between drivers and the apps anymore,” Moore said. “They always spin things to make us think that we’re about to get something great when it’s something when they cut the mileage rate.”

Moore and other drivers could see a pattern emerging, but realized they had no platform to negotiate or demand better rates. And, she said, some full-time drivers are frustrated because they receive no health benefits or paid time off.

“The companies are really trying all over the country to deceive the public and drivers about their sweetheart deals, like a guarantee of flexibility, which is not a guarantee at all,” Moore said.

This story was produced in collaboration with the Walter Cronkite School-based Carnegie-Knight News21 “Unmasking America,” a national reporting project on the lingering toll of COVID-19 scheduled for publication in August.

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MASKS

from page 2

race theory. “You will find the majority of the parents are going to support you for showing the children this is democracy. We may not always agree with the

law but we abide by them. Thank you!”

The ongoing debate about masks comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are soaring across Arizona, including in Chandler Unified.

The latest data released last week by the county health department showed

that in two weeks, cases per 100,000 soared from 139 to 310, though positive new test results ticked down from 13.5 percent to 10.7 percent. Both data sets are well over what they were a month ago in the district. It is unclear if the positive test result decline results from

17

fewer people getting tests.

Other data released last week by the county show that 58.1 percent of all eligible teens and adults in Chandler are fully vaccinated.

The data is not broken down by school district.

Rising cases may impact Arizona hospitals

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

A top doctor at the state’s largest hospital network said the facilities could begin to impose capacity restrictions at the rate COVID-19 is multiplying in Arizona.

In a wide-ranging news conference, Dr. Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer at Banner Health, said the 71 children admitted with the virus last month is double the figure from a month before.

The good news, she said, is most pediatric cases the hospitals have seen so far do not require treatment in an intensive-care unit. But Bessel said that may be only a temporary situation.

“This does not mean that the virus cannot have a serious impact on children,’’ she said, pointing out the experience in states like Louisiana, Florida and Texas where the number of children in ICUs has spiked. In New Orleans, all the pediatric ICU beds were full late last week.

Bessell also stressed that any child getting in-person instruction should definitely be masked but repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether schools should mandate their use.

“The way that we get to that is something that I will leave to others,’’ she said.

But Gov. Doug Ducey has no interest in allowing school boards to make that decision, saying the best solution to the problem is people getting vaccinated.

Spokesman C.J. Karamargin acknowledged Tuesday the vaccine is not available for anyone younger than 12.

But he said his boss remains convinced that this decision should be made not by schools but by parents.

It isn’t just Banner dealing with a new spike of cases.

The state Department of Health Services on Tuesday reported 1,470 in-patient beds statewide occupied by COVID patients, the highest since Feb. 25, before the vaccine was available to most Arizonans.

There is a similar spike in COVID patients in intensive-care units.

What makes that significant is that Bessel said the typical COVID ICU patient ends up staying in the unit for more than a week. And that’s just part of the problem.

“They will be in our hospitals for quite

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a bit of time as they both receive intensive care as well as then recover before they go and be discharged,’’ she said.

The health department also reported another 2,582 cases on Tuesday, making it a full week of new illnesses over the 2,000 threshold. In fact, the agency, filling in data as reports come in, said the figure actually hit 3,117 last week.

There also were an additional 12 deaths reported Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 18,400.

All that goes to concerns about what the future looks like.

“At this time we are operating without capacity constraints,’’ Bessel said. “But I will say with the surge that we’re beginning to experience and we’re reporting out here through the media we are concerned if that trajectory continues.’’

Last year, as cases first spiked, the governor issued an executive order to limit elective surgeries to ensure there is sufficient space for not just COVID patients but others who need more immediate care.

That, in turn, created some financial problems for hospitals who depend on those procedures, like knee and

hip replacements. In fact, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association reported losses of 30% to 40% a month.

“At this time we are managing taking care of those who have COVID as well as those who have non-COVID,’’ Bessel said. “We would like to continue to do that for as long as possible and, hopefully, throughout this surge.’’

Complicating matters is staffing.

Bessel said Banner is raising salaries in a bid to recruit and retain not just nurses but other support staff, including imposing a $15 and hour minimum wage. That compares with the $12.15 set in state law.

The system currently has 1,057 bedside vacancies for registered nurses and 347 of what Bessel called nursing support role vacancies.

There also are plans to bring in about 1,500 “traveling nurses’’ to fill needs.

On one hand, she said, that is not unusual. Bessel said extra nurses are brought in every winter season to deal with seasonal respiratory diseases.

“But the magnitude of what we’re likely going to need due to the COVID surge, of course, is signifcant and concerning at this time,’’ she said.

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Coyotes face hurdles with Tempe arena site

BY HENRY GREENSTEIN Cronkite News

It’s a short declarative phrase in the City of Tempe’s request for proposal, published July 22: “Finally, it will be respondent’s financial responsibility to remediate the land.”

But taken together with a $70 million cost estimate presented in June, it represents a considerable fiscal and logistical burden for the Arizona Coyotes if they seek to develop a new stadium in the East Valley.

The process of environmental remediation – removing contaminants from water and soil – for the 46-acre site northeast of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway on the Salt River will be multifaceted.

Judith Grant Long, a professor of sport management and urban planning at the University of Michigan, said she has seen reports of land costs become much more detailed during her time studying sports venues. But she added that the public might not have a desire to know the intricacies of these estimates.

“People want to know it’s $70 million,” Long said, “but they don’t really want to know how much of that is soilbased, how much of it is water-based, how much of it is trash-based, et cetera.”

The Coyotes acknowledged in a statement on July 22 that it is looking

One of the locations the Coyotes are looking at for a possible move is the intersection of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe. ( Emily Carman/Cronkite News)

at options for a new home, “given our determination to remain in the Valley for many years to come.”

A geotechnical report prepared by Global Environmental Consulting in 2009, included with Tempe’s request for proposal, indicated that the area adjacent to the site (north of Hardy Drive) previously served as a sand and gravel mine. It also had landfill materials buried between 16 and 37 feet below

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the surface.

“That’s where your trouble’s going to be,” said Chris Spengler, who helped lead remediation for Petco Park in San Diego. “The sand and gravel mining shouldn’t be too big of a problem unless they have underground storage tanks for fueling equipment and vehicles.”

The underground situation is also not uniform throughout the land. For example, the report mentions variance in landfill materials between construction and household debris.

“You can’t make a broad statement about the entire site,” said Bruce A. Keyes, of counsel at Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee. “You really have to look at it piece by piece.”

Keyes, who described himself as “completely fascinated by the development of sports facilities on landfills,” has represented several such projects in Wisconsin, including a baseball and entertainment complex (Ballpark Commons), a college sports facility and multiple soccer fields.

Building on fill materials, as in Tempe, presents a veritable minefield of obstacles. Keyes said these include contamination, instability caused by decaying landfill mass, ongoing maintenance and potential methane gas emissions, which can become explosive if not remedied.

Building a sealed facility like a hockey arena on top of a fill site could be particularly challenging on the methane front, he added.

“Open-air and limited closed structures are really good for landfills,” he said. “The Coyotes are talking about something that’s an enclosed structure.

That makes it more complicated, not insurmountable.”

Keyes explained that a hockey arena still doesn’t have a lot of small, confined spaces, which is good for avoiding potential accumulation and contamination.

Given all these potential issues, the remediation process could be even more expensive than the $70 million forecast. Tim Kellison, a professor at

Georgia State University who concentrates on sport in the urban environment, said going over budget is “inevitable” for this kind of project.

He cited examples including Tropicana Field, which nearly tripled in land costs compared to its original estimate, according to a 1990 article in the Tampa Bay Times.

“What tends to occur is an underestimation of just how badly the land is contaminated,” Kellison said. “And, as a result, how much it will cost to actually do a good job cleaning up the site in a way that conforms with numerous environmental regulations.”

Because stadium development projects are so wide-ranging in the scope and nature of their remediation (depending on what lies beneath the surface), the land costs vary widely.

Spengler said his Petco Park project, completed in 2006, cost $8 million over 45 acres. On the other hand, the proposed CalgaryNEXT development was forecasted in 2016 to require between $85 million and $103 million in Canadian dollars ($68 million and $83 million in U.S. dollars), putting it right in the neighborhood of the Tempe site.

Long said $70 million to be paid entirely by the respondent seems high relative to the overall cost of this sort of development. She and Kellison, however, agreed that the city would likely repay this total in kind somehow, with contributions like help through the regulatory process or tax aid.

“My suspicion is, because municipalities or local governments tend to usually pay at least some of the tab of site remediation or environmental cleanups,” Kellison said, “that if the respondent pays for it, they’ll be getting that money back elsewhere, in terms of maybe tax incentives and things like that.”

Long added that having the respondent at least apparently pay for remediation could serve a public relations purpose for Tempe.

“The local politicians will be able to say yes, we got this cleaned up by the private sector … but meanwhile that $70 million actually comes into the deal through another part of the budget,” she said, “because it’s just a lot of money relative to the project cost.”

For Keyes, the prospective site atop landfill materials in Tempe means the continuation of a trend.

“The fact that I’ve worked on a half-dozen of these in the last eight to 10 years, and it seems to be increasing – I just think we’re going to see more of that,” he said.

He added that building on a fill site represents an advanced stage in a city’s development. ​​”As cities are growing up, they would have the dump on the edge of town,” Keyes said. “And that dump on the edge of town is now consumed by the city or the village. And so, it represents some of the last large expanse of land that you have that is available for these types of uses.”

Proposals for development are due August 19.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

S. Chandler homeowners and SRP power line

BY BEN GOTTLIEB Guest Writer

In March 2021, Intel announced a $20 billion expansion in two fabs in Chandler,

Arizona – a move one step closer to making Arizona synonymous with the semiconductor industry.

The expansion is expected to bring 3,000 new high-wage jobs and 3,000 additional construction jobs, while supporting an estimated 15,000 additional indirect jobs in the community. Chandler currently has four factories covering 700 acres, and with the expansion will be add-ing two additional “fabs.”

Production is expected to begin in 2024 and the expansion is expected to reap economic benefits in Arizona to the tune of $8.6 billion.

Such a large expansion, however, requires enormous electricity to power the additional “fabs.” SRP and the City

of Chandler have reached an agreement to share certain costs for extending a high-voltage transmission line through South Chandler to connect to Intel’s Ocotillo campus.

If approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, the high-voltage transmission line will run from Ocotillo Road and Exeter Street to Price and Germann roads. About half of the lines are expected to run underground.

While the City of Chandler and SRP have promised that South Chandler residents living around the lines should not be negatively impacted by the construction, some residents will likely be concerned about potential health effects from living near high-voltage power lines.

In addition to health concerns, residents have also long abhorred living near above-ground power lines, fearing among other things a loss of property value.

Many Chandler residents who live near the proposed overhead line routes

This is a public hearing and representatives are permitted to attend.

After the hearing takes place, the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee then make a recommendation on the project.

The ACC then is expected to hold a hearing in downtown Phoenix at the ACC offices in January 2022 to accept, modify, or reject the recommendations made by the committee.

While the state of Arizona and City of Chandler are expected to economically benefit from the Intel expansion, many residents are concerned about being impacted by new high-voltage power lines.

If you have questions about attending the hearing and voicing your objections or need help strategizing, hiring experts and establishing lines of communication with an SRP attorney who is spearheading the application you can contact Ben Gottlieb at ben@mandglawgroup.com; or call 602-533-2840.

are concerned about the proposed project.

Arizona law requires utilities such as the SRP to obtain a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission for certain projects.

It is a public process and must be followed for projects like the power lines supporting the Intel expansion.

The review process focuses on issues such as air quality, biological resources, cultural and historical resources, geology and soils, water and hydrology, land use, noise, recreation, visual and aesthetics. SRP also coordinates with other local agencies including the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

It is expected that SRP will submit the CEC application with the ACC in late September 2021.

In November 2021, it is expected that a multi-day hearing on the application will be held in Chandler to discuss the details of the proposal.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Chandler gym Fit Society prepares for 10th anniversary

BY DREW SCHOTT Staff Writer

MJ Reavley describes himself as a “pure-blooded entrepreneur.”

He began working in fitness as a personal trainer and eventually rose to vice president of Pure Fitness, which sold in November 2010. During his time at the company, Reavley learned about entrepreneurship and leadership, inspiring him to go out on his own and start a gym.

His project, Studio Fit, gradually developed a passionate fitness community. Reavley built up his company to three stores, but has since sold two of them while maintaining the Chandler location at South Alma School Road.

On August 16th, the gym — now named Fit Society — will celebrate its ten year anniversary.

“This is my baby,” Reavley said. “I live, work and play in Chandler and this is my first love.”

Fit Society offers numerous opportunities for prospective clients. The gym offers both Group and Personal Training, as well as Orientation and Onramp to acclimate new members. With additional services such as Move+Correct — a program with exercises to

Fit Society offers both Group and personal training, as well as orientation and onramp to acclimate new members, along with other services. (Courtesy Fit Society)

reduce or remove pain — and fitness challenges, Fit Society’s philosophy of catering to each individual’s specific needs has contributed to its success.

The goal of connecting, challenging and inspiring people through fitness has created a loyal client base. According to Reavley, the average Fit Society client

stays with the gym for over four years.

He added that three of his employees have worked with him for more than eight years.

“It’s like our family over there,” Carol Summersgil, a nine-year client, said.

“There’s just such a camaraderie and a friendly vibe and everybody’s there to support each other and help out.

It’s a gym that gives back a lot to the community and really promotes the importance of communities.”

The tight-knit community plays a key role in the gym’s functionality during the COVID-19 pandemic— a public health crisis that has led the closing of 25 percent of gyms across the country.

Fit Society moved all its operations online during the opening stages of the pandemic and gave each client one-onone sessions with a coach. In addition to working through exercises and discussing equipment, coaches made sure to check in on the physical and mental well-being of their clients.

Following three closings last year due to local pandemic directives, Reavley recalled the smiles and “Thank Yous” See

FIT SOCIETY on page 26

Young athletes no stretch for physical therapist

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

Ahwatukee natives and residents Dr. Matthew Fletcher and his wife Amy opened their first practice, Fletch Physical Therapy, in Gilbert last spring, and since then the youthful pair has been helping area athletes – and even local seniors – step up their game.

“We’ve got your back,” is a tonguein-cheek phrase Fletcher has used in communicating on Facebook and Instagram.

Yet, it holds true as he works in his modern clinic at Suite M, 1400 N. Gilbert Road, and when he literally hits the road with his fold-and-go physical therapy treatment table.

With area schools either already open or opening soon, Fletcher is geared to helping youthful athletes learn effective ways to minimize risk of injury in their chosen sport, improve their game by targeting specific muscle groups, and if and when needed, provide exercises to safely hasten recovery from injuries.

He is scheduled to visit high schools throughout the East Valley this month with his preventive physical therapy approach to aid athletes perform at their optimum.

As a former Desert Vista High School and college athlete, Fletcher said he learned the hard way the value of a physical therapist’s knowledge and ad-

Left: As a former athlete himself, Dr. Matthew Fletcher knows the value of a physical therapist. Right: Ahwatukee native Dr. Matthew Fletcher and wife Amy, seen here with daughter Evelyn, opened a physical therapy clinic in Gilbert earlier this year.

(Special to STSN)

vice when going gung-ho at sports, even at a seemingly-invincible age.

“I tore my ACL three times in my early twenties while playing basketball in college! And that was when I was in my prime,” he said. “It’s scary to think that even though I was at my strongest, I was still so weak and susceptible!”

Those experiences, from ages 21 to 25, moved Fletcher toward his career in physical therapy.

“Yes, that’s why I became a physical therapist so that I could help other young athletes not have to experience what I did. The injury I had was easily preventable. That’s why I’m all about providing free screenings and watching people’s form while they run to make sure they are doing it safely.”

Fletcher graduated from Brigham Young University Idaho with a BA in exercise physiology with an emphasis

on personal exercise prescription and nutrition.

He then earned a doctorate degree from Loma Linda University, one of the top 10 physical therapy schools in the nation. After receiving his doctorate, he completed 70 hours of a manual orthopedic residency from Ola Grimsby Institute.

He and his wife Amy and their then4-month-old daughter Evelyn - opened their clinic in Gilbert, augmenting their business with what is proving to be a popular mobile therapy program that travels throughout the East Valley.

Amy Fletcher, who serves as president of Fletch Physical Therapy, is a part-time dental hygiene instructor at Carrington College in Mesa. She also teaches weight-lifting classes twice weekly at the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA. “And while the baby naps, Amy’s answering emails, making phone calls and scheduling patients,” Fletcher said of his 30-year-old wife. “Slow-cooked meals are a big deal in our house.”

The pair, Ahwatukee residents, are avid runners having competed twice in the Phoenix Half Marathon and other area running competitions.

“My wife is the one who got me into running. She started having knee problems from all the running since she wasn’t doing any strength training, so I See

THERAPIST on page 26

25

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

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FIT SOCIETY

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

from page 24

when he re-opened Fit Society’s doors.

“Because we choose to… try and do the right thing at the right time all the time in business and make those tough decisions, it paid off,” Reavley said.

“It is really what got us through those shutdowns. There was never a time that people needed fitness and people needed social stimulus responsibility

THERAPIST

from page 24

put her on an exercise routine and now she’s pain free and teaches the weightlifting classes and often subs yoga classes,” said Fletcher.

As a physical therapist, he’s also treating other area runners before injuries hobble them.

A major goal this fall for the 34-yearold Fletcher is helping athletes in high schools throughout the Valley of the Sun, but especially those throughout the East Valley.

“My plan is to travel to high schools to give free screenings for their athletes. These screenings show if the kids’ muscles are strong enough to prevent injury, and you’d be surprised at the results I have found with some of my screenings with young athletes,” he said.

“They might look strong, but quite often some muscle groups are weak, making other muscles overcompensate.

And, do you know what happens when some muscles overcompensate? You guessed it. Injury. If we know that the kids are prone to injury, we can discuss what exercises they can do to strengthen the weak muscles.”

(more than) during the pandemic.”

An annual tradition is already in place for the gym’s decade anniversary. Reavley returns to his training roots by allowing his staff to leave in the late afternoon. He then teaches classes 5-8 p.m.

Families are also invited to attend a pool party and barbeque.

For employee Jacqui Hanford, her ten-year anniversary with Fit Society will come in two months. She joined the gym

in October 2011, shortly after its opening.

The membership director and person in charge of administration, Hanford has the perspective of being a coach and serving in a management-level position throughout her time in Chandler. She believes that Fit Society has become a home for its members, thanks to the strategy of differentiating itself from gyms across the East Valley.

“We put a lot of time and effort

into creating the product and experience that we have,” Hanford said. “We categorize ourselves as the micro gym because we’re smaller, not like the big bucks. And so, we’ve through the years made a concerted effort to make sure that it is more family-feel as opposed to a number-feel.”

“We know your name. We know your goals. We’ve created a culture where people want to come.”

Fletcher said he has found that adults of all ages appreciate the convenience of his mobile physical therapy, as well as the one-on-one private therapy hour.

“We actually prefer treatment in the home because that’s where clients are comfortable, and it really helps us help them when going through their daily activities,” he said. “For instance, if someone has trouble going up and down stairs, we can see what stairs are causing the problem and how we can make adjustments or prescribe exercises.

“We can show them how to use their therabands a certain way on the door or we can see what equipment they have at home and help them how and where they need it. Mobile physical therapy is safe, convenient and a great fit for patients who don’t want the hassle of going to a traditional clinic. We really want our patients to feel understood and comfortable.”

At the Gilbert clinic or by mobile, each client receives a free evaluation.

“At this appointment we discuss what the client is experiencing and what their long-term goals are. We spend an entire hour with our clients.

There are no technicians or assistants,”

Fletcher said.

“It’s one hour with a board-certified physical therapist. We pride ourselves on providing the best treatment and that’s why we give the free evaluation, so that they have time to tell us everything they need,” he said.

“If I’d gotten an hour appointment with my physical therapist after my first ACL surgery rather than being run through a ‘patient mill’ maybe I wouldn’t have needed surgery the second or third time.”

Fletcher admits starting his own practice with he and his wife in their early 30s is both exciting and daunting, yet they are fully optimistic that they can be successful and give back to their community.

“Our goals are to be a contributing member of the community, and I’d love to earn enough money to provide jobs to others in the community who have helped us,” he said.

“My long-term goal would be to see patients one time a week while teaching aspiring physical therapists at a local college. I want to have my business so organized that we can hire anyone on and give them a comfortable and warm environment so they can take care of

their family.”

Family life is very important to the couple, Fletcher said as he looked at a recent family snapshot of he, his wife and Evelyn, now 8 months.

“We want the same for our patients.

We want them to be part of the family and we want them to get to their goals and aspirations,” he said emphatically.

“That young baseball player wants to throw the fastest pitch in their school’s history? We can help them get there safely.

“What about the grandpa that wants to pick up his grandbaby without feeling back pain? We know we can help him and we want to hear about her favorite foods and first words at the appointment. What about the young mom who wants to run her first marathon?

“We have already helped one client qualify for the Boston Marathon. We want to help our patients succeed, whatever their goals may be.”

His needs, he said, are simple.

“I want to provide for my family, give back to the community and prepare the next generation for success,” he said.

Information: fletchPhysicalTherapy. com or 602-492-3019.

Chandler businessman addresses federal workers the greater scientific community.

With representation from across the NIH Institutes and Centers, UNITE aims to establish an equitable and civil culture within the biomedical research enterprise and reduce barriers to racial equity in the biomedical research workforce.

To reach this goal, UNITE is facilitating research to identify opportunities, make recommendations, and develop and implement strategies to increase

BY MONIKA SUBRAMANIAM Guest Writer

Chandler Frank Crump, UPI Loan Fund founder/president, recently spoke before the National Institute of Health UNITE committees and staff on racism, discrimination, diversity, equity and inclusion.

NIH’s UNITE initiative was established to identify and address structural racism within the NIH-supported and

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Frank Crump inclusivity and diversity in science.

These efforts will bolster the NIH’s effort to continue to strive for diversi-

ty within the scientific workforce and racial equity on the NIH campus and within the extramural community.

UNITE comprises of five committees with separate but coordinated objectives on tackling the problem of racism and discrimination in science, while developing methods to promote diversity and inclusion across the biomedical enterprise.”

Given Crump’s national and international business and educational background and experience in organizing diverse groups of people in support of common causes, NIH asked him to present and speak about structural racism within the workplace of governmental organizations and the historical biases based on skin color.

“I am most impressed by NIH’s See

CRUMP on page 28

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BUSINESS

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27

Saving can have a powerful impact on retirement

BY DR. HAROLD WONG Guest Writer

There are only so many variables to any retirement plan: how much you save; your investment return on investment; how much you lose in taxes; and the income generated by your savings when you retire.

There is a final factor, however: losses in future stock market crashes.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Americans averaged a savings rate of 7.6 percent of disposable, after-tax household income. The field of financial planning claims that one should save 10 percent.

One must actually save 20-30 percent of gross income to enjoy the same standard of living in retirement as when working.

This article examines the retirement challenges of a high-income couple that starts saving at age 40. If these numbers are too high for your situation, just reduce the numbers by half or 2/3rds.

Example 1: A married couple has $300,000 gross household income.

If they save 10 percent, or $30,000/

year and earn a 5 percent annual ROI for 25 years, the future value will be $1,503,403. This assumes there are no stock market crashes and no tax, which is of course fantasy land. Moneychimp. com shows that 4.57 percent is the compound growth rate of the S&P 500 stock market index from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2020.

If one retires at 65 and continues to earn 5 percent of $1,503,403, that’s a $75,170 annual income, not counting Social Security.

This is 25 percent of the $300,000 household income when working. One would need a 30 percent savings rate for 25 years to generate a $225,510 annual income. When one adds SS, now income approaches one’s working income.

Example 2: Suppose that the couple in Example 1 have a 28 percent average combined federal and AZ tax rate. Now, the assumed 5 percent ROI becomes a net 3.60 percent due to a 28 percent tax rate.

The couple still saves $30,000 a year for 25 years, but their future retirement fund will drop to $1,226,792 and annual income is $44,164 (3.6 percent of $1,226,792). Not counting SS, this $44,164

retirement income is only 15 percent of their $300,000 working income.

Example 3: Suppose that the couple can earn a 7 percent steady ROI, but pays no tax on that income. In 25 years, their $30,000 of annual savings becomes a $2,030,294 retirement fund.

In retirement, 7 percent of $2,030,294 becomes a $142,120 annual retirement income, which is still only 47 percent of working income.

Example 4: Suppose the household with $300,000 gross income has $50,000 of annual deductions, reducing taxable income to $250,000. In 2021, that would result in $48,042 federal tax and around $7,206 of AZ tax, for a total of $55,248 of income taxes.

If this household does serious tax planning, saves $40,000 a year of tax, and earns an average 7 percent ROI, in 25 years this becomes $2,707,058.

When one adds it to the $2,030,294 retirement fund in Example 3, total retirement savings is now $4,737,352. Retirement income can now become 7 percent ($4,737,352) = $331,614, which exceeds the $300,000 income while working.

If one adds SS that is maximized

by waiting until age 70, SS might be $72,000/year even if the spouse never worked. Now total retirement income is $403,614, or 135 percent of one’s $300,000 income while working.

Conclusions: The above four examples show that substantial income tax savings has a much more powerful effect on one’s future retirement fund and income than ROI. You don’t have to do risky Wall Street investments if you save taxes.

This is why many have to work until age 70 or beyond because of their small retirement income.

Free live seminars and lunch: at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 18 and Oct. 9 at The Old Spaghetti Factory, 3155 W. Chandler Blvd.; Chandler. Topic is “Double Your Social Security & Other Retirement Income and Pay Less Tax.” To RSVP or schedule a free consultation, please contact Dr. Harold Wong at 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@hotmail. com. His website is drharoldwong.com.

Dr. Harold Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/ Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs.

El Taco Santo owners eye Chandler for expansion

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

This has been one busy summer for the founders and owners of El Taco Santo.

Not only did they open a new brick and mortar restaurant in Gilbert last month, but they continued to juggle the booming business at their original Ahwatukee location and rolling the byways with their food truck.

Now they have their eyes on opening a restaurant in Chandler.

Home of the “original Sonoran” style of cooking, the El Taco Food Truck is where this growing dynasty originated.

And it will remain a family-owned and run business, said Cesar Martinez, one of the two founders.

No matter in what new areas they launch new El Taco Santo restaurants – and there are two more currently in the works – they have chosen not to franchise, but to keep all in the family.

“Our goal is to keep Taco Santo as a family-owned business. We’re not looking to become a franchise but we are looking to open in different strategic locations,” said Martinez, ticking off possibilities of new El Taco Santo brick and mortar restaurants in Chandler and Avondale.

“The food truck is still running and will continue as we travel with it throughout the valley at various places and events. This is where we started, and we will never forget about that and about all the support from our family, and customers who become family.”

The shiny midnight blue food truck, now under the supervision of Gilbert resident Fabrizio Rivera, is a popular draw at festivals and events.

Its popularity and reputation grew

lifting signs that it’s catching on.

“Our Gilbert location is going well, little by little we are making customers and fans, and we can see that in the three weeks we’ve been open, people are coming back for more, which is always a good sign,” said Martinez.

His partner, Adrian Felix, has been with him since the beginning and remained through the grueling pandemic year when even opening for business was an on-again, off-again proposition.

A longtime Ahwatukee resident, Felix remembers how difficult the early days El Taco Santo founders and partners Adrian Felix and Cesar Martinez just opened a second brickand-mortar restaurant in Gilbert and plan to open ones in Chandler and Avondale, increasing the of the pandemic transfootprint of their “original Sonoran” style of cooking that began in Ahwatukee with a restaurant and formed even simple matters an ubiquitous food truck. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer) like obtaining supplies into huge hurdles.

“We thought about opening a “It was a big challenge after it regularly served Ahwatukee restaurant, but it was just so expensive. and scary to keep doing business with residents before becoming more wideAnd that’s when we went with a food COVID,” said Felix, who holds a degree ly-known throughout the East Valley. truck.” in accounting. “We were thinking how The start of this Sonoran-style They launched their El Taco Santo are we going to survive. We decided to grilled taco empire began at a backFood Truck, specializing in prime grilled do deliveries and incorporate family yard barbeque when Martinez and his Sonoran-style tacos and homemade packages, whatever it took to stay in longtime friend and partner Adrian salsas on Nov. 13, 2016. business.”

Felix were grilling steak and reminiscing Three years later on Nov. 13, their El Felix, who shares partnership with about their childhood.

Martinez and Hurtado Clark, said all “We were in my backyard grilling and Taco Santo Restaurant opened at 4025 E. Chandler in Ahwatukee. their endeavors are still feeling the talking about meat. Adrian was in meat On July 17, their second brick and effects of the pandemic but they are distribution and I was in catering for 15 mortar El Taco Santo opened in Gilbert pressing on. years. And we wondered why nobody at 835 S. Gilbert Road, on the southeast “We now have Johnny Byrd on the grilled good meat for tacos,” he said. corner of Gilbert and Warner. team in Ahwatukee; he’s a veteran, local “Sure there were tacos, but grilling This location, in what has become a resident who has been a big fan of Taco the steak and pork our way was differtown of gastronomes and the restauSanto since day one,” said Martinez. ent so we said, ‘hey, why don’t we?’” rants they love, has been slower getting recalled Martinez, who holds a degree off the ground, but they’re seeing upin business administration.

See on page 28

TACO

28

TACO

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Santo augments their beer selection with 20 different brands of tequila.

There’s a fine selection of nonalcoholic beverages including fresh agua de jamaica (hibiscus tea), horchata (a rice drink flavored with cinnamon and

sugar), fresh lemonade and the all-time favorite, Mexican Coke. Other soft drinks are also available.

The partners, all of whom hold B.A. degrees in business or accounting, are visionaries with some big plans.

“Our goal is to have a total of six taco shops and two food trucks,” said Martinez. “We’re adding one more food truck this year.”

Each partner offers words of thanks to the communities in which they operate.

“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of support from our constant clients, who in turn, have brought us new clients”, said Martinez. “Thanks to God and all the community support, we keep moving forward.”

“Thanks to so many wonderful people, our team, our families, people who organize and invite us to their communities with the food truck, people who call us to see how we are doing, to all of our customers who support us week after week, we were able to survive during these times of pandemic,” added Felix.

The El Taco Santo Food Truck, serving their loaded carne asada tacos and carnitas, el pastor burritos and more, will be at the Gilbert Feastival Aug. 20 5:30-9 p.m. and the Queen Creek Feastival Aug. 27 the same hours. Tacos, made with carne asada, pork carnitas or barbacoa start at $3 each.

Information: ElTacoSanto.com.

numbers of black and brown PhD’s, researchers and doctors while removing any barriers that may perpetuate structural racism that exclude people of color from professional advancement and leadership opportunities,” he said.

“NIH is moving in the right direction

and I am confident they will become a leader in creating change within the biomedical and scientific communities.”

“Given my travels around the world, I’ve come to realize that America doesn’t know how truly great a country it could be, if it wholeheartedly confronted

structural racism and was fully inclusive in redesigning its society with holistic purpose i.e. diversity, equity and inclusion,” he added. “In doing such, there would be no limit to America’s achievements, rewards and success.”

Information: upiloanfund.us.

from page 27

“He’s just like a member of the family.”

Byrd, who has been at the helm in Ahwatukee for six months, admits that summer temps notwithstanding, this has been a busy season. A Navy veteran, he served as a Spanish linguist for nine years.

Even the Avondale location, which is set to open shortly, and the Chandler El Taco Santo slated for 2022, will be in charge of close friends of Martinez and Felix.

“We’re opening in Avondale with a friend that lives there, and we’re trying to ensure we have somebody that cares, that we know, and that is from the areas where we’re opening,” explained Martinez. “El Taco Santo is not a franchise, we want to offer the same quality in each place. And these people are actively participating in the stores they manage.”

The new restaurants, now offering beer and tequila, are proving to be more sit-down, stay-awhile eateries.

Though Ahwatukee has only beer and margaritas, the newer Gilbert El Taco

CRUMP

from page 26

intention to reach out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) to make students aware of the UNITE initiative and recruit and hire large

El Taco Santo’s gleaming new restaurant in Gilbert compliments the original one in Ahwatukee. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

29

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Arizona College Prep setting standard with new athletic facilities

BY ZACH ALVIRA Sports Editor

When Arizona College Prep first opened its doors on the campus of Hamilton High School in 2007, athletics were a mere afterthought.

The school, which offers students a rigorous curriculum focused on academic success in college, catered to a mere 500 students in its first few years.

Eventually, enrollment numbers began to climb, and space became limited.

ACP made the move to its first standalone facility near Alma School Road and Erie Street, about a mile away from its elementary and junior high campus attached to Chandler High School. It’s there the Knights’ sports programs were born, including the football program run by head coach Myron Blueford.

As the school has continued to grow and the wait list expanded, so did the desire for students to participate in athletics on campus. Once again, ACP was out of space.

“We were definitely out of space,” school Athletic Director Jamie McClure said. “We had kids in every area.

Academically, I think we were always with some of the charter schools. The difference is we didn’t have the facilities. Now, we have this product that has proven to be effective and amazing.”

The district governing board approved the $87 million campus near Gilbert and Ocotillo roads in Chandler.

Construction finished in July just before the start of the new school year.

Along with sprawling classrooms in the large building are new fields and other athletic facilities. The gymnasium at the Erie campus was compact with just a few rows of bleachers on either side. The weight room resembled a small classroom with just a few squat racks and benches.

The softball, baseball and football fields were nonexistent. Even the soccer program, which had a field on campus, used a local Chandler Unified school for its home games, like other programs.

Now, however, the school has two softball fields – one for varsity and

Arizona College Prep head football coach Myron Blueford played a key role in the design of some of the school’s new athletic facilities, including the locker room, weight room and field set to debut on Aug. 27. (Pablo Robles/Staff)

set to open on Aug. 16 along with its new, much larger gymnasium, locker rooms big enough to adequately serve all its sports programs and a junior varsity and varsity baseball field, which will don the Knights’ logo for the first time ever as the program is set for its inaugural season in the spring.

But perhaps one of the most exciting new facilities on campus is the football field. It’s where the ACP program, fresh off its first-ever region championship, will kick off its season Aug. 27 against Sabino. Blueford, while still weeks away, could hardly contain his emotion thinking about his team running onto their field and through the inflatable tunnel for the first time.

“I’ll probably have to come out here early to get all the emotions out,” Blueford said. “I gave them a rundown

of how we are going to come out, a description of the tunnel, when we are going to ring the bell — a new tradition we are starting here — seeing the look on their faces, was what got to me. I think it’s going to be a special moment not only for this team but this school.”

Blueford played a significant role in the design of some of the facilities on campus, especially for the football program. He helped with the team’s field house, which sits on the southeast end of the field, and took complete control over the design of the weight room.

Along with several more workout stations and equipment, Blueford wanted the room to represent the growing sense of pride students have representing ACP on and off the field or court.

The walls will be plastered with purple and silver, the school’s primary colors.

The new weight room, equipped with several squat racks, benches and other equipment, replaces the weight room on the school’s old campus that was the size of a small classroom. (Courtesy Myron Blueford)

Inside a classroom at ACP, which has been designated for Blueford and his team to watch film, a picture of the old weight room is framed. It’s a constant reminder of where they came from.

“I can’t wait for the weight room,” Blueford said. “I’m excited this 2022 class gets to experience it because this is one of the hardest working groups I’ve ever had. When that room opens, there’s going to be a lot of excitement.

They understand where we came from and I think that has motivated them.”

Growing up in Chandler, Pollack always aimed to make a difference in the community. He played baseball at Corona del Sol, right near the border of Tempe and Chandler. He went on to attend Arizona State University where he obtained his Bachelor’s in Secondary Education Mathematics. He later received his Master’s from Grand Canyon.

He and his wife moved back to Chandler just two miles from ACP’s new campus, where he was hired in April.

In late June, the team concluded its first-ever summer camp. This week, they began working on the new field for the first time.

“There’s all kinds of excitement,” Pollack said. “We had such a good turnout this summer and we have that same turnout now. The kids are all buying in.

It’s just a great feeling.”

Having come from Corona and Arizona State, both with top-notch baseball facilities, Pollack was ecstatic when he laid eyes on the field for the first time.

The grass has been well-maintained since it was first installed, and he’s already envisioned the ACP Knight head logo behind home plate this spring.

He’s also become aware of the new sense of pride among students who play baseball but never had the opportunity to represent ACP on the field. Pollack constantly reminds the players he has worked with since he was hired to be thankful for the opportunity they have in the spring.

“We had a couple upperclassmen who know the culture of the school and tried to use their experience to tie in to our program,” Pollack said. “We have a couple seniors and a couple of juniors who are biting at the bit to represent their school on the baseball field.”

The school has a new buzz surrounding it. Not only does McClure expect the athletics programs reach new heights on the field and courts, but she believes the academics — already high at the school — will continue to grow.

ACP now caters to just over 1,200 students with more on a waiting list.

The school has come a long way since it shared space with Hamilton in 2007.

“We’ve never had a baseball or softball field,” McClure said. “We’ve never had our logo on a football field. We’ve never hosted a home track meet. Not only are we getting kids because of our academics, we are getting kids for our athletic facilities and it’s my goal to provide those same academic opportunities for our athletes.”

30

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For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Chandler veteran trying to save others from suicide

BY KEVIN REAGAN Contributor

CaS Facciponti had reached a breaking point in 2013.

The military officer had been told by her superiors that she had to retire due to a lingering combat injury she sustained in Afghanistan.

Facciponti was reluctant to leave the service after devoting so much of her life to it and fought the order but the West Point graduate was told that her 10-year military career was effectively over.

“It was the only fight I had ever lost,” she said. “It was almost like a sense of failure.”

Facciponti struggled to readjust back to civilian life and felt like she no longer had any sense of an identity.

“It was like a shadow of me and a dark, dark shadow,” she recalled.

Facciponti realized she had to save herself by making a change and decided she needed to find a way to continue serving her country.

Instead of saving soldiers on a battlefield, Facciponti used her expertise to save veterans from their inner battles.

Four years ago, Facciponti co-founded a nonprofit in Chandler that specializes in assisting veterans and their family members in navigating the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and

reduce the societal stigma often associated with mental illness.

It’s work that appears to still be needed as the nation continues to grapple with a significant number of veteran suicides each year.

More than 6,400 of the nation’s veterans died by suicide in 2018, a rate that was slightly higher than the year before.

Arizona’s veteran-suicide rate is significantly higher than national rates, with the state reporting more than 220 deaths in 2018.

Facciponti’s small team of volunteers CaS Facciponti of Chandler helps veterans encourage veterans to calm their minds avert suicidal tendencies. (File photo) by reconnecting with nature, adopting a service animal, or trying out a new avoiding thoughts of suicidal ideation. hobby. Volunteers additionally partner Known as Operation Shockwave, the with other organizations to help veterlocal organization attempts to shrink ans obtain basic living needs or resolve Arizona’s rate of veteran suicides by ofoutstanding claims with the Veterans fering educational workshops, therapeu- Health Administration. tic activities, and a safe place for service “I really wanted to start something members to share their struggles. that kind of closed the civil-military gap Facciponti said the nonprofit’s name and educated people,” Facciponti said. fittingly describes the seismic intervenA native of New York City, Facciponti tion that’s sometimes needed to rescue a credits her lifelong passion for public serveteran from the despair of their trauma. vice to her parents, both of whom worked “We can’t save lives doing ripples,” as civil servants and instilled in her a strong she said. “We have to save lives through sense of sacrifice and patriotism. shockwaves of helping one another.”

After getting out of the military Operation Shockwave attempts to and relocating to Arizona, Facciponti offer veterans a sense of community noticed how other veterans seemed to by hosting events and classes that can lack a sense of direction in their lives

and were routinely teetering on the edge of crisis.

Her nonprofit started out teaching mental health workshops, but Facciponti discovered there was more that needed to be done to service veterans.

There were opportunities for healing being wasted, she said, because veterans weren’t aware of all the coping mechanisms that could help them overcome their trauma.

Now the nonprofit has dozens of veterans participating in programs that have them discovering the simple comfort of picking up a book or spending time with a dog.

“If they’re willing to put down the gun, and pick up a leash -- that’s all I can hope for,” Facciponti said. “One day, one veteran at a time.”

The goal of Operation Shockwave is to convince every veteran that they’re deserving of a loving, fulfilling life, Facciponti added, but they just have to be willing to reach out for help before it’s too late.

“I wish people would understand that they need to check in before they check out,” Facciponti said.

Veterans experiencing suicidal ideation can contact the national hotline by calling 1-800-273-8255 or texting 838255.

More information can be found at operationshockwave.org.

Artist, therapist team up on kids’ motivational book

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

Though their occupations are very different, Lisa Sterne of Glendale and Suzanne Whitaker of Ahwatukee have spent years engaging and inspiring children.

Sterne is a master’s level therapist who specializes in child development and parent-child relationships while Whitaker is an artist and muralist who has painted dazzling murals in corridors and classrooms of elementary and middle schools throughout the Valley.

Now, they are collaborating on a series of four picture books to help kids ages 7 to 13 turn some of the challenges typical for their age into opportunities for developing a strong sense of self.

Written by Sterne and illustrated by Whitaker, all four books are focused around a cat named Onyx.

Their first book, titled “What If I Try? A Book About Creating Yourself” and due out next month, addresses the frustration or timidity that can arise when a child wants to achieve a goal or skill that may initially elude their mastery.

“It’s basically the idea of speaking to kids about what do you do when you aren’t so good at something but you want to give it a try or you want to learn about it,” Sterne explained. “Or where do you go to ask for help to learn more about something you’re interested in but you might not be ready for yet?

“So, it’s helping kids deal with those insecurities and encouraging them to

Therapist Lisa Sterne of Glendale and artist Suzanne Whitaker of Ahwatukee show some of the illustrations for the first of their four motivational books for children that will be built around a cat named Onyx. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

just do what makes them happy even if they aren’t that good at it. Who cares?

Maybe you won’t make the choir but you can still enjoy singing, for example.”

Sterne said such self-doubt and frustration often fronts children who are diagnosed autistic or with an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Sterne believes that empathizing with children and earning their trust is the key to their healthy development, even in spite of trauma.

This book and the series will focus on building resilience and communication, both of which develop children with a strong sense of self, she added.

For example, the second book will deal with sadness while the third will focus on

feelings of being overwhelmed by life and the fourth will address uncertainty.

Once Sterne completed her first story, she needed an artist to illustrate it.

She looked no further than Facebook, where she had met Whitaker through several shared interests.

Sterne not only saw Whitaker’s work but also had seen a drawing of her pet black cat, whose name is Onyx.

Soon, the project was set in motion.

“What was really funny was Lisa and I met and I told her some of the rough ideas that I had for each page and how to break it out; it was not the way she saw it,” Whitaker recalled.

“So some of the things were really easy to visualize - like some of the words

that she had. I knew what Onyx would be doing in that situation. And some of them were a little harder to get to, and had to be reworked a couple of times.

As Onyx grapples with his own insecurity, he gets inspiration from animal friends all cast by Whitaker with the same kind of inventiveness and warmth that have made the characters on her school murals a hit with legions of kids.

Assisting the two women in publishing and marketing the first of Onyx’s journeys is Nadeen Hathaway of The Marigold Agency, which specializes in business growth strategies.

Whitaker also credits Hathaway with helping the flow of the book and the intermingling of Sterne’s words and Whitaker’s images.

While the book won’t hit the market until next month, Sterne and Whitaker have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $7,000 to create enough copies to donate to schools and nonprofits that work with children.

Indiegogo is a platform where creative people raise funds for works in progress and so far, Sterne and Whitaker are about a third of the way to their goal.

On Indiegogo, people can buy the book, make a donation toward its wider distribution and even buy stickers and totes bearing Onyx’s face.

To order the book or help Whitaker and Sterne with their plan for its mass distribution, go to OnyxSays.com or indiegogo.com/projects/what-if-i-try-amotivational-children-s-book#

32

NEIGHBORS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Honora Norton named Rotarian of the Month SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes has named its spokeswoman, Dr. Honora Norton, as its August 2021 Rotarian of the Month.

“We were very fortunate when in May 2021 Honora joined our club, as a transfer from Rotary Club of Scottsdale,” Sun Lakes Rotary President Jon Lyons said.

“The club considers her to be an outstanding club member. She has been a Rotarian since 2002. Her working career was spent mostly in information technology management and consulting within domestic and international organizations; within a wide-variety of for profit, non-profit and faith-based organizations; and she has been a small-business owner.”

Now retired, the Wisconsin native lives in Gilbert’s Trilogy at Power Ranch with her husband Mike Elert.

Norton holds a doctorate in ministry and her dissertation/book was titled “Stewardship Is Spirituality.”

She has held leadership positions within various community non-profit boards and currently serves on Catholic Charities Community Services Emeritus Board after completing a two year term as CCCS’s Board Chair.

Norton is a past President of the Scottsdale Airpark Rotary Club and a past Rotary International assistant governor; holds multiple RI Paul Harris Fellows; is a member Rotary’s Bequest Society; serves on RI’s District 5495 Committee of Public Image; and is an

Omar Frederico won a $2,000 scholarship from the Sun Lakes Rotary Club. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Dr. Honora Norton, who handles public relations for the Sun Lakes Rotary Club, was named the club’s August Rotarian of the Month. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

advisor on The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona Board.

She serves as a club social media administrator and, has begun to establish onsite connections with Chandler United School District and East Valley non-profit organizations.

Meanwhile, the club has partnered with The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona to award a $2,000 vocational scholarship to Omar Federico.

RCSL Rotarians Gary Kay and Jon

Lyons interviewed Frederico and said he is employed at a small company where he is helping the owner on small jobs that involve welding and applicable job setups.

He will be starting a one-year welding program at East Valley Institute of Technology.

“Omar’s current passion is welding and learning the business from his boss,” Lyons said. “He is a very dedicated young man who has a great work

ethic and wants to ‘earn his way to success.’”

The vocational fund’s mission is to ensure a revenue stream which will continuously fund vocational education grants requested by struggling Arizona residents who demonstrate the desire and will to enable themselves to thrive To learn more about being a TRVFA donor: trvfa.org.

For more information about Rotary Club of Sun Lakes membership and projects – see www.sunlakesrotary.com.

Meetings are held on Tuesdays via Zoom and onsite at Saguaro Room of Sun Lakes Cottonwood Country Club, 25219 SE J. Robson Blvd., Sun Lakes.

BackFit Health fundraiser benefits Children’s Hospital SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

BackFit Health + Spine is holding its second annual For the Kids fundraiser benefitting Phoenix Children’s Hospital after the inaugural event last year raised more than $40,000.

For the Kids is a giveaway fundraiser, with BackFit collecting donations online and in person in exchange for service giveaways. It has clinics in Chandler and eight other Valley communities.

“Phoenix Children’s holds a very special place in my heart,” said Vice President and BackFit co-founder Dr.

Yasmin Rahimi.

“They were there when my daughter was born and needed them. Thankfully, her operation was small and she is a thriving 11-year-old. They are saving kids every day all over the world. Being in the healthcare field, we can do our part to fundraise and make a difference.”

This year’s funds will go directly towards a much-needed C-arm for Phoenix Children’s Mercy Gilbert East Valley Campus. The medical tool is an imaging device that is based on X-ray technology.

The name is derived from the C-shaped arm used to connect the X-ray source

and X-ray detector to one another.

The fundraiser runs through Sept.

17. Current, new and non-patients can come into any clinic to buy a cutout in the shape of a hand for a $5 donation.

For each $5 donated, people can pick from several instant win prizes such as a 60-minute massage, free adjustment, free B-12 injection, free exam and more.

Those who donate will also get one raffle ticket per $5 donation that is entered for the grand prize of a weekend trip for two to Sedona and a Jeep tour.

“We are so grateful for the partnership with Backfit Health + Spine,” said

Steve Schnall, senior vice president and chief development officer of Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. “The C-Arm can be a life-saving device and is crucial to help those who need it most, our patients. With their generous contribution, the impact will be felt for years to come.”

Co-founded in 2002 by chiropractors and siblings Dr. Rahimi and Dr. Radman ‘Radi’ Rahiminejad, the duo believes in identifying the root cause of pain to heal disease and proactively prevent future injury and illness. Information: backfithealth.com or 480-534-4235.

Nonprofit helps parents, kids escape drug abuse

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

“Teen drug abuse and addiction can invade any home anywhere, no matter how ‘good’ that home life is. ‘I thought it would never happen to my family’ is the common refrain among parents in crisis.”

Gary Mirich, a long-time Ahwatukee resident, penned those words to explain how and why he and four other

families founded the Fingerprints Foundation three years ago.

Mirich and his wife Kerry experienced the sucker punch that many parents have had to deal with – or could someday – as the epidemic of drug abuse engulfs the young, some still in elementary school.

The couple share their story because their daughter, now 22, has been drugfree since 2015.

The painful years that precede that

year are engraved on their hearts and minds, leaving them with a passion to help other parents find a way out and heal as a family.

“As a family, we had the kids in sports, theater, and church from the get-go. Our home never had alcohol or drugs, and our kids knew we stood against drug use,” recalled Mirich.

“Our daughter began secretly drinking and experimenting with drugs around age 13. By 16, when our suspi-

cions were confirmed, she had used pills, pot and LSD.” When they found out, the world as they knew it collapsed.

“As parents who recognized our own personal powerlessness to change our child’s behavior, we eventually realized we were way out of our league. We didn’t have the tools to best help our daughter, or the damage being done to See

FINGERPRINT on page 35

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

Saving lives are crisis responders’ passion

BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE Staff Writer

Every moment across the region, tireless mental health professionals answer calls for help from people of all ages who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

Terros Health’s team of frontline heroes meet these individuals wherever they are to provide assessment, intervention and connection to ongoing care resources.

For Mesa resident Molly Fisher-Foster, saving these lives is its own reward.

“The reward comes from within,” she said. “There are days where I go home and know that I was able to make a positive difference in someone’s life.”

Fisher-Foster has been at the center of delivering mobile crisis services for Terros Health for more than 23 years, addressing mental health emergencies involving suicidal thoughts, self-harm, potential harm to others, trauma, loss, substance abuse, increased depression or anxiety, and more.

Once dispatched, Fisher-Foster works with a partner to stabilize individuals in crisis and provide mental health services to them no matter their location or situation.

“Every day is different,” she said.

“When you think you’ve seen everything you haven’t because there’s another day.”

Fisher-Foster recalled how once an elderly woman with physical and mental health conditions walked out of a skilled nursing facility in Massachusetts and boarded a bus for Arizona.

The woman, who had feeding tubes, was unable to take her medications or had had no food or water for four days. After receiving the call, Fisher-Foster was able to meet her and get her the help she needed.

It’s a taxing job, but one that reaps big rewards when there’s an opportunity to change someone’s life, she said.

She compares situations like these to solving a puzzle, putting all of the pieces together to help people become whole again.

Fisher-Foster especially does well with grief calls, she said.

“People who are suffering and in crisis or in grief will always remember what you said to them, how you treated them and how they felt when you left,” she said.

Fisher-Foster emphasized the importance of being present and unafraid.

Listening to people and providing compassion and companionship is key.

She has stayed with individuals as their loved ones passed, joined in prayer circles and attended funeral services.

“It’s important when we can leave knowing we’ve provided some comfort and help to someone,” she said.

The work of frontline heroes like Fisher-Foster that has contributed to the success of mobile crisis response in Arizona. Thanks to their work - as well as continuous system improvements, extensive training and collaboration - Arizona and Maricopa County have become gold standards in mobile crisis response.

“We have the largest, most supported and well-funded crisis system in the

country,” said Justin Chase, president and CEO of Solari Inc. Trained clinicians answer calls to stabilize and resolve challenges that individuals face, but in the event that they are not able to stabilize the situation over the phone mobile crisis teams are dispatched.

Maricopa County’s community stabilization rate – the benchmark for keeping mobile crisis patients out of the hospital – now stands at 80 percent compared with a national guideline of 70 percent.

About 2,000 mobile crisis teams are dispatched per month throughout the Valley with an average response time of fewer than 30 minutes, said Pat Norris, clinical manager of Terros Health.

An 80 percent stabilization rate essentially means that 1,600 people don’t go to the hospital every month. This takes pressure off inpatient facilities by diverting people who don’t need to be there.

One reason Maricopa County’s mobile crisis system is so successful is their two-clinician team model, Chase said. Other models like the co-responder model where a police officer goes out with a clinician have a stabilization rate below 50%.

“There’s a difference when you bring a gun and a uniform to a scene,” Chase said. “There’s a power dynamic there so the success rate is less.”

Other crisis systems may be left with their last resort of dispatching law enforcement, which is not in the best interest of the individual or a safe environment, Chase

said. Those in crisis may end up in emergency departments or facility-based care that have lower success rates.

This experience can also be demoralizing or dehumanizing for the individual as critical compassion is lacking.

“Our teams are independent,” said David Obergfell, senior director of crisis services at Terros Health. “We partner with first response upon request and as part of the system of care but we are an independent unit that can respond anywhere without law enforcement to deliver psychiatric assessment, health intervention, connections to care and on-site stabilization support.”

They assess the individual’s needs to see what services can be applied at the right time and partner with them to change how things are operating in their current environment for better long term outcomes.

Another important aspect of mobile crisis success is following up with individuals. “A crisis episode isn’t just the time we come out,” Obergfell said.

“There’s a next day.”

Terros Health follows up the next day with the people they helped to see how they are, remind them that they are not alone, and provide any additional care to prevent another crisis from happening, Obergfell said.

“We’re not just here to save you, but we’re going to partner with you,” Obergfell said. “We don’t save people, we join people in recovery.”

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FINGERPRINT

from page 32

our family,” he said.

“No matter what, though, there is hope and lots of it, through recovery.

His family found recovery through an Enthusiastic Sobriety program that specializes in the unique needs of teen addiction and recovery over a longer time period rather than the typical 30 days of counseling often offered by recovery programs.

“My daughter is now six years sober and continues to provide experience, strength and hope to others in their recovery journeys,” said Mirich.

The other parent founders of the Fingerprints Foundation had also floundered with helping their addicted children. So, they banded together to direct other suffering families to Enthusiastic Sobriety programs like The Pathway Program in Tempe.

“As parents, our gratitude for the gift of our children’s sobriety as a direct result of Enthusiastic Sobriety compelled the five of us to start the Fingerprints Foundation. Our purpose is to help more families find their miracle through Enthusiastic Sobriety,” stated Mirich.

Enthusiastic Sobriety programs show teens and young adults involved with drugs that their lives can be fun while sober.

Describing Enthusiastic Sobriety as “specializing in the unique needs of teen addiction and recovery over a longer period of time,” he said the programs “work with the rebellion of youth that’s present even before they become young drug abusers.”

“We found the Enthusiastic Sobriety approach was what our family needed.

It’s amazing how creative they are in showing the kids there’s a better option in being sober.”

Mirich pointed to numerous studies showing the adult brain is not fully formed until about age 25, and prior to that, behaviors can be impulsive, rebellious, pleasure seeking and self-centered.

In other words, along with peer pressure, it creates the perfect storm for experimenting with or falling into the abyss of drug abuse.

Enthusiastic Sobriety, an approach developed in 1972 and founded upon the 12-Steps of Recovery made popular

by Alcoholics Anonymous, focuses on teens ages 13-17 and young adults 18-26.

“Our experience has shown that while traditional methods of treatment and recovery may prove extremely beneficial to adults, young people tend to struggle in these settings. This leads to the modern issue of young people who are chronically in and out of treatment,” explained Mirich.

The Fingerprints Foundation website points out that the Enthusiastic Sobriety approach meets the young person “where they are, and tapping into things that do motivate them: fun, peer acceptance, and the possibility of enjoying their lives and their accomplishments.”

“They offer kids something better than drugs; acceptance, community, and an opportunity to serve others,” said Mirich. ““We’ve witnessed these young people get into recovery and stop harming themselves and their families, and it’s just phenomenal. And when they start helping others to get and stay sober, it’s

nothing short of a miracle.”

And to help young people and parents pay for programs like Pathway, the Fingerprints Foundation was born as an all-volunteer nonprofit in 2018.

The goal of the foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit formed in 2018, is to increase awareness of programs such as Pathways.

Mirich estimates costs for any recovery program can range anywhere from $7,000 for outpatient to $18,000 for residential. Helping them with full or partial scholarships is the reason behind the nonprofit launching their upcoming inaugural Golf for Recovery fundraiser.

“To miss out on your child being a part of Enthusiastic Sobriety because of lack of finances is sad to contemplate. In fact, a lot of people have used their 401K by the time they get here.

We provide our scholarships to families based on need.”

The need for Enthusiastic Sobriety has never been greater said Mirich.

“Overdose rates in Arizona have risen dramatically. In 2018 studies show deaths involving mainly fentanyl increased nearly twofold with 522 deaths in 2018. What’s scary is the stats only go through 2018.”

Experts believe drug abuse deaths have increased dramatically with the mental and emotional impact of the isolation brought on by the pandemic.

Mirich decried the “modern normalization of drug use”.

“You can see the overall acceptance of drug use with the proliferation of laws relaxing it,” he said. “In high school and college, even younger, you’re looked upon as a freak if you don’t try drugs.”

And that increase is why fundraising is more important than ever.

On Sept. 26, the Fingerprints Foundation is hosting its inaugural Golf for Recovery fundraiser at the Superstition Springs Golf Course in Mesa, the scramble format tournament begins at 7:30 a.m. and includes a barbeque lunch buffet.

Besides wooing golfers, the Fingerprints Foundation is seeking sponsors at several levels and donations for gift bags and the event auction.

“COVID was hard on a lot of nonprofits, and we felt the hit, too, so we’re hoping to get a good response on this fundraiser,” said Mirich. “We’d love to be able to raise $20,000 so we can offer more scholarships.”

All Golf for Recovery proceeds go to support the mission of the Fingerprints Foundation: “Providing awareness of and access to enthusiastic sobriety treatment and support groups for all those who need them” The very name of the foundation is encouragement for a life lived at its best, explains Mirich.

“We call ourselves the Fingerprints Foundation because of an important affirmation that the kids and parents learn in recovery: ‘Everyone has a fingerprint that is unique to themselves. In our lives we touch many things and many people.

And our fingerprints can leave a mark that we reached out to those who needed help. What will your fingerprint show?’

Mirich added, “We hope to leave a fingerprint of hope and life change.”

Information: thefingerprintsfoundation.org.

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For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Valley Youth Theatre show features Chandler actress SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

When Valley Youth Theatre streams its VYTal Affair-athon fundraiser on Aug. 21, Chandler residents may recognize a familiar face on VYT’s stage.

Jessica Wastchak has been singing and dancing across the Valley since she was 5, most recently performing the lead role of Katherine Blake in Hamilton High School’s production of “Freaky Friday.”

She will give one last performance before she leaves Chandler to begin her freshman year at New York University.

And it’s only fitting that her final act benefit VYT. “VYT has been a constant in this crazy COVID time,” said Wastchak, who has performed in six VYT productions and is part of VYTeens, the theater company’s teen show choir. “I’m grateful for everything they have given me in the last few years and want to help in any way I can.”

She’s not the only one who feels that way. Indeed, performers and alumni from productions over the past three decades jumped at the opportunity to participate in the fundraiser.

The eight-hour, Jerry Lewis-style See

ACTRESS on page 37

Chandler actress Jessica Wastchak, seen here playing Mae Tuck in “Tuck Everlasting,” is one of the stars in the Valley Youth Theatre’s virtual fundraiser Aug. 21. (Courtesy Valley Youth Theatre)

Gilbert native credits hometown for music career

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Staff Writer

Lindsey Stirling has just about done it all in her young career.

She began her career as a contestant on “America’s Got Talent” and subsequently saw her albums go gold and platinum. Recently, she authored and illustrated a comic book.

However, she attributes the origins of her creativity to growing up in Gilbert.

“My parents also always encouraged creativity in our home, which is what made me not afraid to be a dancing violinist,” she said.

Stirling has nothing but fond memories of growing up in the once-rural town.

“I am so grateful for my childhood,” Stirling said. “When I was growing up, I was surrounded by dairy farms and alfalfa fields. I’d spend my summer playing in ditches with my friends in our ripped jeans. It was so fun.”

She also fondly recalls working at a young age.

“I was taught to work hard as a kid,” the Mesquite High School graduate said.

“My parents didn’t have a lot of money. My friend, Johnny, and I would find ways to make money by doing chores for people.”

Stirling saved up to buy fabric, so she could make creative clothing, add Beanie Babies to her collection and purchase

a Nintendo 64 console.

“The creativity of finding ways to work allowed me to discover my self-motivation.” Stirling said.

Her creativity and self-motivation can best be shown by her latest album and most daring concept titled “Artemis.”

“I got really excited when I came up with the concept of basing the album on Artemis, the goddess of the moon,” she said. “Then I came up with more of a story and the characters had depth to me, so that inspired the comic book.”

The accompanying comic book will have six issues out by the time she hits the road and will offer fans a visual experience.

“I really wanted people to have the album, the comic book and everything else to be out by the time I hit the road so that people could have the whole story by the time the tour begins,” she said.

The “Artemis” began July 23 and will make the rounds of the country. Its stop at the Arizona Federal Theater on September 1 has Stirling most excited.

“It’s been really fun to grow in a place that is my home and play at venues that I used to see bands at,” she said. “It’s always really fun to play in my hometown.”

More than anything, she is excited to be able to play shows for the first time since “Artemis” hit shelves.

“Since I’ve had time to re-evaluate See

STIRLING on page 38

Violinist Lindsey Stirling credits growing up in Gilbert for her career.

(Photo by F. Scott Schafer)

ARTS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

ACTRESS

ment to inspire young people to be the best they can be – on stage and, more importantly, in life.”

Most of the performances were pre-recorded in July.

In addition to vocal performances, the event will include live Zoom interviews with alumni, multi-track numbers and a few surprise guests.

A highlight of the fundraiser is the 21-year reunion of the cast of West Side

from page 36

telethon will feature live and recorded interviews and performances from nearly 100 current “VYTkids” and alumni cast members – including stars of stage and screen like Broadway’s Nick Cartell, who recently completed a twoand-a-half-year run as Jean Valjean in the National Tour of “Les Misérables.”

“This event is an opportunity to showcase the incredible talent in Phoenix to people around the world,” said Bobb Cooper, VYT’s longtime artistic director. “The cast for this fundraiser includes performers as young as 9 years old, seasoned professionals who were in our shows 30 years ago and everyone in between. It’s going to be a day of amazing performances.”

The fundraiser will stream live from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at vyt.com and on facebook.com/valleyyouththeatre.

Facebook Viewers can tune in and out anytime throughout the day.

Wastchak will perform “What Baking Can Do” from the beloved musical “Waitress.” She certainly is one to watch: at just 18, she already has won multiple National Youth Arts awards for her performances and hopes to make it big on Broadway.

The opportunity to perform in VYTal Affair-athon is especially sweet for Wastchak considering the challenges of the last year.

“I went from being extremely busy to not having anything on my calendar

37

Hook, Brad Perry and Carey Peña.

The fundraiser will also include a silent auction featuring travel, entertainment, skin care, spa, hotel, food and beverage and dozens of other packages.

“This fundraiser will jump-start the next phase of Valley Youth Theatre,” said Cooper.

Indeed, the theater just announced its return to live performances. VYT will stage “Spookley the Square Pumpkin, The

This event is an opportunity to showcase the “incredible talent in Phoenix to people around

Jessica Wastchak in less than a week once the pandemic hit,” she said. “It was a major life shift, but there was a silver lining as I headed into the college audition process.

“There was nothing to stop me from focusing only on training and I ended up getting accepted into my dream school, NYU, to study music theater. I am so excited to perform in VYTal one last time before I leave.”

The virtual event replaces the 27th annual VYTal Affair, the theater’s biggest annual fundraiser. It’s the second year the COVID-19 crisis prompted VYT to take the event online.

Said Cooper, “We are truly grateful for the swell of support we’ve received over the last 18 months. It has touched our hearts and reaffirmed our commit-

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– Bobb Cooper

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Five alumni performers from the original production – Nick Cartell, Katie “Rex” Casey, Chris Ciccarelli, Sharie “Combs” Nievar and Ian Sidden – will come together for a virtual performance of the powerful “Tonight Quintet.”

Each hour of the telethon will be hosted by a local celebrity, including Yetta Gibson, Gina Salazar Hook, John

Musical” from Oct. 1-31. Rounding out the season are the 25th annual production of “A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Junie B. Jones, The Musical” and “High School Musical.”

High-profile performers who got their start at VYT include Emma Stone, Jordin Sparks, Kimiko Glenn, Chelsea Kane, Max Crumm, Matt Dallas, Columbus Short, Nick Cartell and Sam Primack.

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ARTS

STIRLING

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

people react to it as you play it.”

The thing Stirling cites as being the most exciting part of a show is the roar she hears from the audience when she queues up a fan favorite song.

“It’s always fun when an intro to a song starts and you hear the audience react because they know what’s coming, and that’s kind of impossible to achieve when you’re touring an album that’s just come out,” she said. “I do think that there will be a different reaction now that people have had time to fall in love with these songs.”

Stirling also plans to give fans the ultimate visual experience of her latest work.

“For me, ‘Artemis’ wasn’t about music, it was about characters and the story,” she said.

While she is anxious to get back on stage, her mind is always working. She hopes to continue writing after the tour, but in a completely different style.

“I really enjoyed the comic book, it opened up a whole new world for my mind and I have other stories I want to write,” she said.

from page 36

the shows we played on the ‘Artemis’ tour in Europe, I’ve looked at the audience reaction to the album and have switched up the show based on what people were gravitating toward,” Stirling said.

so grateful for “myI am childhood, when I

was growing up, I was surrounded by dairy farms and alfalfa fields.

I’d spend my summer playing in ditches with my friends in our ripped jeans. It was so fun.

”

– Lindsey Stirling

“It’s been cool to have seen how the fans have reacted to the album and the videos now that it’s been out for over a year.”

She plans to curate a setlist of newer songs, many of which for the first time ever.

“I will be playing some new songs that I have not played live before,” she said.

“It’s always fun to play a song live for the first time because it gives you a new relationship with the song once you see

IF YOU GO

Lindsey Stirling’s tour began last month and will land in Phoenix Sept. 1.

(Photo by Sydney Takeshta)

Get your student back on track.

Registration now open for Summer School and the 2021-22 School Year.

480-963-2313 newvistasaz.com

WHAT: Lindsey Stirling WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1 WHERE: Arizona Federal Theater 400 W. Washington Street, Phoenix COST: Tickets start at $29.50 INFO: lindseystirling.com/tour or ticketmaster.com

39

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Savagery goes unabated in our ‘civilized’ world RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D. Guest Writer

For over two thousand years anti-Semitism has developed and flourished.

There have been pockets of time when all was right with the world, but then old prejudices resurfaced. Time and again we have witnessed the scapegoating of people appearing to be different.

If we learned anything from the experience of the second World War, it was that virulent anti-Semitism gained respectability because of the pronouncements made and encouraged by madmen determined to bring havoc and destruction into the forefront of everyday living.

And because of the complacency of the civilized world over 70 million people were sacrificed on the altar of intolerance.

Today seems to be no different.

We witness in our higher education academies how our children are confronted with the most blatant display of inhuman behavior. The venomous words that are uttered are not only from teachers but students as well.

University professors and students

use hatred as a form of learning to justify this obtrusive conduct. Politicians seem to have joined in the chorus of distrust and hate filled expressions. Political correctness has superseded logic and reality.

We are so preoccupied with being sensitive to the feelings of others, we forget that this can and has led to the most virulent display of hatred.

Ever since its founding, the world has been preoccupied with tiny little Israel.

The media thrives on the murder of its innocent people as though it were a just punishment for some contrived theory of deicide.

Read the newspapers or watch television and time after time Israel is in the forefront of the news of the day accused of the same atrocities that are raged against its people.

Nowhere will we find the stories of Israel’s humanitarian aid to the Palestinians or the discovery of new methods of medical treatment.

We cannot find a mention of the technological contributions to the betterment of humanity, or the rush to aid others in distant lands. Age-old distortions are prevalent.

Here in our little corner of the world we are also experiencing events that

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test our endurance and fortitude. We lose good friends and family members.

We are recuperating from traumas that have turned our lives upside down.

We have emotional ties to our fellow countrymen who are sacrificing more than we can truly imagine.

Over 600,000 Americans have succumbed to the dreaded coronavirus with more yet to be. We witness tragedies such as that which occurred in Florida and wonder about the value and purpose of life.

It wasn’t that long ago when there were hundreds of homicide bombings in Israel; countless people murdered in Russia; innocent people, workers, laborers, journalists, beheaded and gruesomely displayed on television; explosives attached to children and applauded by adults with a stimulus of money and the promise of heavenly rewards.

Is this the same heaven where God resides, where angels sing of the glory of the divine?

The savagery goes unabated because the so-called civilized world looks the other way. Maybe if we close our eyes, it will go away. And now the allies of these barbarians are learning that alliances mean nothing and that there is no immunity to this wave of inhumanity.

How can reason prevail when hate is taught in the classroom? How can the brutality end when it is fostered in the home? What can we say or do when mothers and fathers willfully and gleefully send their children to die for a cause they do not even understand?

How do we make sense of it all when our elected officials join in the chorus of rejection?

Our prayer should be that America remains safe as the storm continues to rage. Our dream should be that the Middle East be secure so that contentment will reign. Our hope should be that a caring and loving God would protect our service men and women.

And our fervent wish should be that our leaders would find a way to bring an honorable end to this nightmare.

Anti-Semitism is alive and well, and with it prejudices against all who seem to be different. Is this what we leave those who follow? And as it has been written, if we ignore the vitriol and the hate and say and do nothing, there may come a time when everyone will face it as well and there will be no one to speak out.

Rabbi Irwin Wiener D.D., is spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation.

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42

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

With JAN D’ATRI Contributor

Grilled Ahi makes for great salad You too can make these tasy refreshments. See the story below for recipes.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

Scratch kitchen the key to Firebirds’ success

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Staff Writer

Before the pandemic, business was strong for Firebirds Wood Fired Grill’s Arizona locations in Peoria, Gilbert, Chandler and Tucson.

Then COVID-19 hit, and the casual eatery was forced to pivot to takeout, but the foodies have since returned to the dining rooms to show their support.

“True to our roots, we’re cooking over an open flame to give it that smoky flavor,” says Stephen Loftis, vice president of marketing. “A lot of folks don’t know we are a scratch kitchen.

Everything is made that day from scratch — including the sauces. If you want a 32-ounce cut of prime rib or salmon that’s filleted a particular way, we can do that.”

Founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill serves classic American cuisine infused with a proprietary blend of bold flavors, fresh herbs and spices.

Complementing hand-cut steaks, seafood and signature specialty dishes, Firebirds offers daily scratch-made soups, entrée salads, fire-grilled burgers and desserts. Pricing ranges from $15 to $18 for lunch, and $28 to $32 for dinner per person.

“We feel like we have some of the best burgers out there,” Loftis says.

“They come with different toppings.

There is a total of eight burgers on the menu. We also have salads, sides, beverages and dessert offerings.

“We’ve become a neighborhood favorite,” Loftis says. “It’s the lunch spot everyone agrees on and a dinner invitation no one passes up.”

The rollercoaster pandemic has caused supply chain challenges for wings and seafood, primarily, he says.

“From a labor standpoint, we’re getting folks to work, but it’s been a real, real struggle,” Loftis says. “As a business, there’s a balance in trimming the business to accommodate the lack of labor.”

Along with entrées, charity is important to Firebirds.

Each location supports Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation by donating $1.25 from the sale of every Firebirds

fresh-squeezed lemonade to fund the fight against childhood cancer. To date, Firebirds has donated more than $1 million to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

“Everybody loves the concept,” Loftis says. “Everybody’s been very, very receptive.”

Firebirds is known for its steaks and chicken, but it has an extensive bar with creative mixologists. For the summer, it has a slate of refreshing drinks to help us cool down in the summer.

The restaurant shared the secrets behind its blackberry margarita and summer sparkler.

Blackberry Margarita

Ingredients: 1 ounce Blackberry Puree Syrup 4 ounces sour mix (Firebirds makes its own fresh in house, but sour mix is available at local grocery stores) 1/2 ounce nonalcoholic triple sec 1 1/2 ounces Espolon Blanco tequila Lime for garnish Ice

Directions: Measure all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and add a generous scoop of ice. Cover and shake 25 times.

Fill a frosted mixing glass with fresh ice.

Using a strainer, strain the shaken mix over the fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel. Cheers!

Summer Sparkler

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces Bedlam Vodka 1 ounce Cointreau 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 1 ounce cranberry juice 2 ounces La Marca prosecco Ice Orange peel as a garnish Directions: Measure and pour all ingredients into a mixing glass, except for the prosecco.

Fill glass half full of ice, cap with a mixing tin and shake 25 times. Strain into a champagne flute, top with 2 ounces LaMarca prosecco. Garnish with orange peel twist.

There is the classic Salade Nicoise with its lovely composition of tuna, tomatoes, sliced eggs, olives, potatoes, haricots verts and anchovies - or variations thereof. The tuna is generally canned, and there is very little in the way of lettuce leaves.

Then, there is the more updated trend, the Ahi Tuna Salad, with its delicate strips of seared fresh ahi tuna, arranged in overlapping slices and serve on a bed of lettuce often with a wasabiIngredients for the salad: 4-6 oz fresh Ahi Tuna steak, carefully cut in 1-inch cubes Sea salt and course ground pepper 2-3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 ripe avocado, cubed 1/2 small red onion, sliced paper thin 1/2 cup red pepper, diced 1/2 cup yellow or orange pepper, diced 4 medium tomatillos, quartered 3-4 cups arugula (or Mesclun or Spring Mix) 1/2 cup no shell pepitas (pumpkin seeds), roasted and salted* (See Jan’s notes) 1/2 cup wasabi green peas* Directions

If using raw almonds instead of marcona almonds, blanch almonds in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and remove skins. Pat dry. In a small skillet over medium high heat, roast almonds in enough oil just to coat the almonds until lightly toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt.

Set aside.

Brush the tuna steak with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and press into steak.

Cut steak into one-inch cubes.

Heat oil in skillet and cook cubes on high heat until seared on all sides.

soy- mustard drizzle or honey ginger vinaigrette.

Combine the best of both salads, add a rainbow of color and crunch, and you have a hearty, healthful main meal dish with the unusual twist of fresh tuna served, not in slices, but rather in cubes to get the sear on all sides. If your New Year’s resolution is to eat healthy and somewhat preservative-free, the Grilled Ahi Tuna Salad is your creative and crunchy kick starter in a bowl!

1/2 cup Marcona almonds* (or blanched and toasted raw almonds) Ingredients for the dressing: 1/2 cup olive, avocado or grape seed oil 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon lime juice 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced (optional) 1 garlic clove, minced Dash of hot sauce 1/8 teaspoon salt

about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion, red pepper and yellow pepper, tomatillos, arugula or greens, pepitas and wasabi peas, almonds and tuna cubes.

In a food processor, blender or with a whisk, mix together dressing ingredients until well combined.

Drizzle dressing over salad and gently toss. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Jan’s Notes: I found pepitas and wasabi peas at Whole Foods and Sprouts. Marcona almonds can be found at Whole Foods, Aj’s Fine Foods, and select grocery stores.

For more great recipe ideas and videos, visit jandatri.com.

43

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

FIND YOUR PURPOSE Keeping College Affordable GENEROUS SCHOLARSHIPS

GCU traditional campus students received over 157 million dollars in scholarships in 2020.

Find out what scholarships you qualify for by uploading your unofficial high school or college transcripts to gcu.edu/myoffer.

AFFORDABLE TO ATTEND

GCU traditional student pays an average of $8,600 for tuition.*

GRADUATE WITH LESS DEBT

GCU students graduate with less debt than the national average.**

INCOMING TRADITIONAL STUDENT GPA OF 3.55 Fall 2019 incoming students.

#19 BEST COLLEGE CAMPUS IN AMERICA IN 2021 Rated by Niche.com.

VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON TOURING OPTIONS

Campus is open for individual tours or you can participate in a virtual GCU LIVE Tour from your home.

Visit gcu.edu/TOUR for more information.

APPLY FOR FREE TODAY!

apply.gcu.edu | 855-428-7884

*Average tuition after scholarships is approximately $8,600. Scholarships may be awarded based on 6th semester transcripts. At the time in which final, official transcripts are received, GCU reserves the right to rescind or modify the scholarship if it is determined that eligibility was not achieved. GCU reserves the right to decline scholarship awards for any reason. If a student does not meet the minimum renewal criteria, their scholarship will be forfeited. GCU reserves the right to change scholarship awards at any time without notice. If a student does not meet the minimum renewal criteria, their scholarship will be forfeited. Prices based on 2019-20 rate and are subject to change. **GCU students graduate with less debt on average ($18,750 according to College Scorecard) than the average at public and private nonprofit universities ($28,650 according to 2017 data from the Institute for College Access and Success).

Please note, not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities. Program availability is contingent on student enrollment. Grand Canyon University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Pre-licensure nursing students who begin or resume attendance in Fall 2020 and beyond will be ineligible to utilize most GCU institutional aid/scholarships for tuition and fees once accepted into the clinical portion of the program.

Important policy information is available in the University Policy Handbook at https://www.gcu.edu/academics/ academic-policies.php. The information printed in this material is accurate as of JULY 2021. For the most up-to-date information about admission requirements, tuition, scholarships and more, visit gcu.edu. ©2021 Grand Canyon University 21GTR0681

44

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 15, 2021

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