SanTan Sun News 08-16-2020

August 16, 2020 | www.santansun.com

Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

Chandler voters make history, gird for fall First Black woman elected Battle royale looms in to Chandler City Council LD17, county seat races

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

Political newcomer Christine Ellis has become Chandler’s first Black woman to be elected to a seat on the City Council.

Official results from the Aug. 4 primary election show Ellis led with 19 percent of the vote in the six-way race for three seats.

Ellis was one of three candidates who met the threshold for outright claiming a council seat without needing to face a runoff election Nov. 3.

The other two are Councilman Mark Stewart, and entrepreneur OD Harris, both of whom have earned 17 percent of the vote.

The three other candidates – Rick Heumann, incumbent Councilman Jeremy McClymonds and Beth Brizel – each trailed Harris.

Heumann and McClymonds took 16 percent of the vote and Brizel garnered 15 percent.

Even before the City Clerk declared any winners, Ellis said she already was advised the day after the Primary Election advised by Mayor Kevin Hartke and City Manager Marsha Reed that she would be joining the City Council.

Ellis garner 26.171 votes, according to official results, while Stewart got 23,794 and Harris received 23,227 in an election in which only about a third of Chandler’s registered voters cast ballots.

“It’s been a wonderful race,” Ellis said the morning after the election. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Ellis, who has primarily worked in the healthcare industry, said she’s proud to potentially add some diversity to the all-male council and make history by being the first Black woman elected to local office.

“As a Black woman, it is very important to me,” she said. “The people of Chandler felt this is the time to make it See

COUNCIL-ELECT on page 6

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

Just because the City Council races have ended doesn’t mean Chandler voters will be on the outside looking in this fall when it comes to hot campaigns in their own backyard.

Beyond important races like President and U.S. Senate and other top-ballot contests, the Legislative District 17 and County Supervisor District 1 campaigns will offer politics junkies plenty of drama.

Democrats have targeted LD17 as a “flippable” district in their quest to take control of the State Senate and are pouring money into furniture store owner Ajlan “A.J.” Kurdoglu’s campaign to deny Republican Sen. J.D. Mesnard a second term.

At the same time, Chandler Realtor Liz Harris is hoping to do the same to Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, the only Democrat vying for one of two State House seats

in a district where Chandler restaurateur Jeff Weninger appears a virtual certainty to keep that seat for Republicans.

Meanwhile, Tempe community activist and nonprofit leader Jevin Hodge is mounting a well-funded effort to give Chandler Republican Jack Sellers a run for his money as Sellers tries to win his first four-year term in a seat to which he was appointed two years ago.

With control of the State Senate possibly in the balance, Democrats are again targeting Mesnard – this time with a newcomer to the political scene.

Kurdoglu, a native of Turkey and an engineer with an MBA from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management, is the owner of the Homemart furniture and interior design store.

He notes on his website that Mesnard lost to Steve Weichert in 2018 by one percentage point – a margin of 1,744 votes.

See

LEG-ELECT on page 4

Police here break cold case with first family tree search

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

Sheila Minder helped distribute laptops two weeks ago to hundreds of Chandler Unified families in advance of the beginning of online learning for all students. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

Chandler Unified sets Oct. 13 for campus reopening

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

Chandler Unified School District has decided not to risk potentially exposing students to COVID-19 and is delaying the reopening of its campuses until October.

Thousands of the district’s students had been expecting to return to their

schools this week, but Chandler Unified will now forgo in-person teaching until the second quarter, which starts Oct. 13.

The district will wait until late September, however, before signing off on that reopening date.

Superintendent Camille Casteel said the decision to delay reopening was a See

SCHOOLS on page 2

Advancements in DNA testing led Chandler Police Department to arresting a Phoenix man on charges he sexually assaulted a woman 29 years ago by forcing his way into her apartment at gunpoint.

The arrest marks first time Chandler Police broke an unsolved case by searching family DNA databanks – a method that has helped other agencies to make arrests in major cases that stymied them for decades.

Gary R. Young, 65, was taken into custody on Aug. 5 for crimes he allegedly committed nearly three decades ago around the Valley.

In addition to the sexual assault of

a Chandler woman, Young’s DNA has been traced to the 1992 rape of another young woman in central Phoenix.

Although investigators had recovered biological evidence from both victims, investigators did not know that the two crimes had a common perpetrator until the early 2000s and no suspect could be immediately identified based on DNA profiles police already had on file.

Young, who has a criminal history dating back to the late 1970s, managed to go undetected for decades because his DNA had never been located in any type of law enforcement database.

Chandler Police reopened the case earlier this year, utilizing genetic genealogy techniques.

F E AT U R E STO R I E S City may provide kids internet hotspots . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . .Page 5 Local man launches mobile fantasy game. . . . . . . . BUSINESS . . . . . . . Page 26 New school sports schedule unveiled . . . . . . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . Page 33 Chandler man helps couple in need . . . . . . . . . . . . NEIGHBORS . . . Page 35 Old West restaurant in new hands . . . . . . . . . . . EAT . . . . . . . . . . . Page 46

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COLD CASE on page 10

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COMMUNITY NEWS

SCHOOLS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 1

difficult one that she knows will surely distress many parents.

“It came down to the risks for our children,” she said at the most recent Chandler Unified Governing Board meeting Aug. 5.

At that meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution that only allows in-person instruction to resume if COVID-19 data meets specific benchmarks set by Arizona’s public health officials.

Earlier that day, the Maricopa County Public Health Department released a set of metrics to help districts decide when they can safely allow in-person teaching again.

And in a press conference hours before the Chandler Unified board met, Marcy Flanagan, executive director of the county Department of Public Health, said it was unlikely campuses could reopen by next week.

Flanagan said county health officials have been meeting with a work group of top administrators from public and private schools to discuss data-driven benchmarks rather than a specific date for reopening campuses.

“Given the benchmarks discussed with our work group and benchmarks that we believe a DHS may consider,” Flanagan said, “We are not currently meeting those benchmarks to have our schools fully reopen and go back to in-person teacher-led classes.

“I wouldn’t provide a date certain” for reopening, she said, but rather would look at benchmarks – such as the level of reported new virus cases.

The day after the board met, the state Education Department also released metrics to help districts decide when it is safe to open.

Tempe Union also has deferred classroom learning until Oct. 13, though officials said they might move up that date if the coronavirus threat begins to ebb.

Chandler Unified said it will decide

Left: County health department Executive Director Marcy Flanagan said reopening is not advisable. (Facebook) Right: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman released guildelines to help school districts determine when it is safe to reopen campuses. The health-data-driven guidelines also have been buttressed by the Maricopa County Public Health Department, which has been conferring with a working group of school leaders, including Mesa Schools Superintendent Dr. Andi Fourlis.

(Capitol Media Services)

ber Lindsay Love that could put Chandler Unified’s 47,000 students at risk – 10,000 of whom live in Gilbert.

“We do want children back but we want children to be back safe,” she said.

“One loss is too many at this point.”

The board acknowledged the psychological impact on students by not learning in a familiar environment among their peers. But members said the physical safety of student and staff must be the district’s first priority when deciding how and when to reopen schools.

The district said it will be offering

We do want children back but we want children “ to be back safe, one loss is too many at this point. ”

– Lindsay Love

on Sept. 23 whether the state and county health metrics have been satisfied enough to allow for in-person teaching to start during the second quarter.

Though CUSD chose to delay reopening before even seeing the state’s metric guidelines, district leaders felt families were owed a decision sooner rather than later.

Board member David Evans said Chandler Unified couldn’t afford to wait any longer for the state to offer guidelines for reopening.

“We have to move forward now and allow people the time to prepare,” Evans added.

His colleagues echoed a similar sentiment, saying they wanted to offer parents and students some stability in a chaotic situation.

There are still too many unknowns about the pandemic, said board mem-

free on-site learning opportunities and support services to students who absolutely need a place to go during the school day.

No specific details on who qualifies for these services were immediately available.

The decision to delay reopening schools was made the same day CUSD students officially started the 2020-2021 school year by logging online into their virtual classrooms.

But the reaction from parents to Chandler’s first day of digital school was mixed.

Some felt their child moved through their online classes smoothly, some reported a few technological hiccups and others were outright frustrated.

Jennifer Valencia, whose daughter is enrolled in the district’s Chandler Online Academy, said the first day was rough due to several technological

glitches.

“Classes weren’t all uploaded in the system, some classes have no teacher assigned yet, and things would randomly disappear from the platform while she was trying to complete them,” she said.

CUSD said it is attempting to resolve these technological issues quickly and has set up a special call center where families can ask questions or report problems they’re having with the online platforms.

What makes the predicament even more confusing is that the online experience for each CUSD student is not the same.

The pupils who had elected to return to in-person learning on Aug. 17 will receive what the district calls “virtual learning,” which is separate from what students enrolled in the Online Academy is experiencing.

Virtual learning would be like taking the schedule and coursework of any Chandler High School student and putting it online, said Larry Rother, the district’s senior executive director of K-12 services.

These virtual students are assigned teachers they expect to have back at their homesite and teachers correspond directly through Google Classrooms to teach lessons and hand out assignments.

The Online Academy is different because it operates with a specific curriculum developed by Florida Virtual School and students interact with teachers assigned specifically to the Academy, Rother added.

Before CUSD decided to delay in-person learning, it had about 13,000 students electing to stay enrolled in online school for the first quarter and 2,500 were planning to continue learn-

ing online for the whole school year.

Online Academy secondary students work at their own pace to get through six assigned courses and can virtually chat with online instructors.

The Academy’s elementary students are given a more structured schedule with times set out for when they’re expected to start and finish a lesson.

Students are guaranteed to have at least three live interactions with an Academy instructor each day.

If a student wants to switch to in-person learning for the second quarter, Rother said they would return to their respective campus and be assigned new teachers.

“Our hope is to make the transition as seamless as we can for students who leave Chandler Online Academy and come back to the homesite,” Rother said.

The district is trying to ensure that online learning the semester will be an improvement over the last quarter of 2019-20, Rother added.

Besides the need to pull an online program together quickly back then, he said the district had not even known how many students had access to a computer at home, forcing some families to rely on paper assignments they’d have to regularly pick up from their school site.

Chandler Unified has since spent millions purchasing hundreds of extra laptops for the upcoming school year and officials said they are trying to avoid the need for paper packets.

Last week, CUSD handed out more than 5,000 laptops to families who had requested one and more devices should become available in the near future.

Casteel encouraged parents not to withdraw their children out of enrollment and promised CUSD would resolve any issue arising from online learning.

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

3

State unveils school reopening guide

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

State health officials have laid out a three-part test for when they say it is safe for schools to reopen, in full or in part.

In essence, the guidelines say it will be safe to again have kids in the classroom when: • Fewer than 7 percent of area residents tested for COVID-19 test positive for the virus; • The number of people showing up at local hospitals with COVID-like symptoms is less than 10 percent of all visits; • A rate of infection drops below 100 cases for every 100,000 residents.

Exceeding even one of those, according to state Health Director Cara Christ, indicates that schools should remain shuttered.

But even that last category comes with an escape clause of sorts. Schools could still meet that specific benchmark if there has been a decline in the weekly average in the number of cases for two consecutive weeks, even if the infection rate tops 100 per 100,000.

Arizona is not there yet.

“We think it’s going to be several weeks before any county meets those benchmarks,’’ said state Health Director Cara Christ. “But we do see it trending down within the next month.’’

And Marcy Flanagan, executive direc-

tor of the county Department of Public Health, said it was unlikely campuses could reopen by next week.

Flanagan said county health officials have been meeting with a work group of top administrators from public and private schools to discuss data-driven benchmarks rather than a specific date for reopening campuses.

“Given the benchmarks discussed with our work group and benchmarks that we believe a DHS may consider,” Flanagan said, “We are not currently meeting those benchmarks to have our schools fully reopen and go back to in-person teacher-led classes.

“I wouldn’t provide a date certain” for reopening, she said, but rather

would look at benchmarks – such as the level of reported new virus cases.

Christ had no predictions either.

She emphasized these decisions generally are going to be made on a county-by-county level, meaning kids could be back in school in one county while those in the adjacent one have only online learning.

Flanagan said the county will soon be releasing a new COVID-19 breakdown that will show positive cases by various geographical areas, including ZIP codes and school districts.

The question now is whether any of the more than 200 traditional school districts and charter schools actually will follow the guidelines.

Nothing in the standards is mandatory. And local school officials are free to reopen even while infections rates are high – or remain closed even past the point when the risk is minimal.

Several districts already having announced they don’t intend to have in-person classes until the middle of

October – including Chandler Unified and Tempe Union.

“There are local circumstances that schools may choose to either open earlier or stay closed longer,’’ Christ said.

“It really is left up to that local education agency in consultation with their local public health.’’

But state schools chief Kathy Hoffman is discouraging too much individual choice.

“Schools should adhere to these benchmarks,’’ she said. “And school boards should be held accountable by their community members to follow the public health recommendations.’’

“I fully support these metrics,’’ she said. “It gives us a goalpost of where we need to see the numbers.’’

The standards actually are divided into three categories.

First – and most severe – are conditions that the health department say creates conditions for “substantial community spread.’’

Those are the numbers outlined in the basic three-part standard. In those cases, any area unable to meet all three criteria should keep their schools closed and all instruction should be online.

A second category involves lower rates of infection and positive test results.

In those cases, the standards say that schools can reopen in limited fashion See

METRICS on page 6

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4

COMMUNITY NEWS

LEG-ELECT

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 1

At the time Mesnard was in his first Senate race after being been termed out of the House after eight years, the last two of which were spent as House Speaker.

The County Recorder’s latest voter registration figures for the district show Republicans have an advantage over Democrats 55,706-46,055 with 49,077 registered without either party affiliation.

Despite those figures, Charles Fisher, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, posted recently on Twitter, “Those are the exact type of districts we see flipping all across the country.”

Added Kurdoglu on his campaign website: “We have an amazing opportunity to bring new leadership to the Arizona State Senate. My race has received national attention.”

In the race for cash, both Mesnard and Kurdoglu have attracted some national attention, according to their latest campaign finance reports to Secretary of State.

Kurdoglu has amassed a total $60,464 and spent $8,666 so far. Among his largest contributors are Henry Van Amerigen, a New York City real estate developer and philanthropist who donates heavily to candidates favoring legalized marijuana and LGBTQ rights, and Broadway theater producer Edward Snowdon, who also supports candidates championing gay rights.

Ajlan A.J. Kurdoglu

J.D. Mesnard

Jack Sellers

Van Amerigen donated $5,200 and Snowdon kicked in $2,000 to Kurdoglu’s campaign.

Kurdoglu also garnered a $5,400 donation from the Future Now Fund, which supports progressive candidates across the country, $1,500 from the Arizona Education Association PAC. Mesnard’s campaign has collected $79,405 since Jan. 1, Jennifer Pawlik Jeff Weninger Jevin Hodge 2019, and so far has spent only $2,444.

Among his larger contribuPACs that kicked in $1,000 to taxes, also contributed $5,000. tions was $5,000 from Carleen Brophy Mesnard’s reelection effort include PinMesnard’s filings also list a $5,000 of Wyoming, the wife of Dan Brophy, nacle West, Greater Phoenix Chamber, donation from Jason Mayor, president a Phoenix commodities trader who Arizona Bankers Association, Farmers of MTI Tech Solutions in Chandler. moved to Big Sky Country and is treaEmployees & Agents and Wellcare His larger political action commitsurer of the Goldwater Institute.

Health. tee support includes $2,000 from the The Freedom Club in Minnesota, In the Aug. 4 primary election, Southwest Gas PAC, $1,500 from the which supports candidates and causes Raytheon PAC, $1,200 from the Prudenfavoring limited government and low tial Financial PAC. on page 7 See

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LEG-ELECT

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

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City eyes $250K on internet access for needy students SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The city of Chandler is planning to spend $250,000 on improving internet access for local school children required to take their classes online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A plan was brought before the Chandler City Council last week that authorizes spending funds on up to 1,000 mobile hotspot devices for students in the Chandler Unified School District.

All 47,000 of the district’s students started taking virtual classes this month after CUSD decided not to have students taught in classrooms until at least October, prompting administrators to scramble to ensure they all have the technological capabilities to learn online from home.

Superintendent Camille Casteel informed the city last month CUSD had already spent $3 million of its federal aid money on buying a bundle of new laptops for teachers to take home and use for virtual learning.

But her district was still in need of hotspot devices for students who don’t have the ability to connect to the internet from home.

“One of our biggest challenges is internet access for students,” Casteel wrote in a letter to the city. “These devices will serve our students north of the Loop 202 and I know you are aware of the challenges these families face.”

Neighborhoods in the northern part

of Chandler are located in ZIP codes where the average household income is significantly less than the city’s southern neighborhoods. Many Chandler Unified Title I schools, – a designation for schools whose student population largely comes from low-income families – are located north of the Loop 202 freeway.

When schools first started shutting down in March, school districts struggled to quickly shift students over to an all-digital learning format. Administrators weren’t sure how many students needed computers nor if households had the ability to connect computers to any type of network.

Chandler Unified opened up the parking lots of its high schools for students in desperate need of an internet connection to finish up their last few weeks of the spring semester.

Students were instructed to park in specific locations where they could connect to the district’s wireless network for a few hours each day.

Elected officials called upon the private sector to help solve Arizona’s digital divide by asking tech companies to donate hotspot devices to needy students living in rural areas.

In April, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said her

office would be awarding 200 donated hotspot devices to needy students throughout the state and asked private companies to consider donating more devices until the pandemic subsides.

But it appears the demand for internet access continues to outpace supply and school districts have turned to their local municipalities for help The city’s $250,000 allotment to Chandler Unified would be enough to provide 12 months of internet service on at least 1,000 hotspot devices.

To pay for the devices, the city has proposed giving CUSD a portion of the money Chandler recently received through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Earlier this summer, Arizona doled out $30 million to the city to help alleviate some of the economic hardship caused by the pandemic.

Most of Chandler’s funding will be handed out to local businesses or spent on improving the city’s tech infrastructure.

Chandler City Council decided to save about $10 million of its CARES Act money in reserves for any unknown expenses that may arise as the pandemic continues to unfold.

Councilman Matt Orlando recommended giving some of the money held in reserves to CUSD for purchasing the hotspot devices. If approved, the transfer would leave the city with about $9.6 million left in its savings account.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

COUNCIL-ELECT

from page 1

happen.”

Coy Payne was the city’s first Black resident to get elected to the council in 1983 and later served two terms as Chandler’s first and only Black mayor.

Only 10 women have served on the council over the last century – the last being Nora Ellen, who quit midway in her second term for an unsuccessful run for the state House of Representatives.

Ellis said she was not aware of any Black women attempting to run for local office in previous elections.

Chandler’s lack of diversity didn’t discourage Ellis, she said, and only motivated her to campaign harder.

“I knew I was going to be able to make history being the first Black woman to be on that council,” she said.

A native of Haiti, the candidate said she’s also is excited to represent her home country from a position of elected office.

Ellis started campaigning early on and spent the last year attending community events, hobnobbing with local leaders and staying active on social media.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t detour Ellis from her objectives and may have made her messaging more appealing to voters.

Ellis said her campaign tried to always convey a genuine and authentic message – something she thinks may have been attractive at a time when the world has been turned upside down by a global health crisis.

“People needed hope and I came across as a very hopeful person,” said Ellis, who plans to prioritize Chandler’s response to COVID-19 once she’s on the council.

Ellis didn’t make it through the election completely unscathed by critics.

An investigation into the candidate’s finances was launched last month after a Chandler resident accused her of improperly accepting campaign contributions from private businesses.

Arizona law strictly prohibits a business from financially supporting candidates and Ellis reported getting donations from local companies on her campaign spending reports.

Ellis has previously said it was not clear to her campaign team whether some of these donors were actual companies or a limited liability partnership.

METRICS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 3

for “hybrid’’ education. That could involve students in school part of the day and online learning the rest of the day, or even having students attend on alternate days.

But there still are restrictions, including not just the physical distancing that the health department wants – six feet between desks – but also allowing for screening individual students for symptoms, closing communal spaces like cafeterias and mandatory face coverings.

It is only when the infection rate drops below 10 cases per 100,000 residents, fewer than 5 percent of tests come back positive, and fewer

Mark Stewart

OD Harris

Christine Ellis

She’s indicated she will return any donations that may have been improperly given.

City Clerk Dana Delong said Ellis has amended her campaign finance reports and that her office is in the process of reviewing them.

The city will then make a decision on whether any legal enforcement needs to be taken against the candidate.

Those suspected of violating Arizona’s finance laws may be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor offense.

The outcome of the election appears to have signaled a desire by Chandler voters for some new perspectives onto the council.

An incumbent and a former council member were both outperformed by Ellis and Harris, two newcomers who had never run for local office before.

McClymonds, who earned 4,550 fewer votes than Ellis, had a somewhat underwhelming performance at the polls – especially considering the amount of cash his campaign has spent in recent weeks.

Finance records indicate that McClymonds spent about $41,000 – more than any other candidate – on advertising and campaign materials between April and July.

McClymonds was appointed to fill a council seat in 2018 and ran his first campaign this year. Not long after his appointment, McClymonds got to work on campaigning for re-election and

gathered about $42,000 in contributions throughout 2019, records show.

Although McClymonds and Stewart often share similar viewpoints and vote the same on most matters brought before the council, Stewart garnered 2,100 more votes, according to unofficial results.

During a candidate forum sponsored by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce in May, Ellis and Harris notably disagreed with Stewart’s opinion that Chandler already offered enough public transportation options.

Stewart and McClymonds also said they would not support any future bond initiatives taken by the city, but Ellis and Harris approved of this possible prospect.

“This election cycle is very different than any other election cycle,” said Heumann, who served two terms on Council before being termed out.

He has spent the last four years in a variety of public and community activities, including chair of the city Planning and Zoning Commission and the Chamber’s public policy committee.

Heumann said for a few days was holding out hope for the prospect of a runoff election against Harris, who only had a slim margin above the threshold needed to win a majority.

But Heumann also was prepared the day after the election to accept whatever final tally is made by election officials.

The COVID-19 pandemic added some unexpected dynamics to this year’s election, Heumann said, though he added that there is nothing he would have done differently this year about his campaign.

Heumann said he’s the type of candidate who enjoys knocking on doors and meeting strangers at community events – activities that suddenly became impossible when the pandemic hit and residents were encouraged to stay home.

The civil unrest recently seen across the country as a result of Black Lives Matter protests could have additionally swayed the decision of some local voters to seek more diverse candidates, Heumann added.

“I can’t speak for the voters exactly but that obviously had some kind of an influence,” he said.

Another factor impacting this year’s election could have been turnout, which was slightly higher than the 2018 primary election. About 45,500 ballots were cast two years ago in Chandler city races and this year voters turned in more than 55,615 ballots.

Councilman Sam Huang, who chose to run for a seat in Congress instead of another term on the council, ended Election Night nearly 30-percentage points behind Dave Giles in the race for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District. Huang’s council term will conclude at the end of this year.

than 5 percent of hospital visits are for COVID-like symptoms that it is considered safe to go back to traditional instruction.

But even then, the health department protocols call for enhanced cleaning, working with students on hand hygiene and “proper respiratory etiquette,’’ monitoring absenteeism and proper ventilation of classrooms and school buses.

That last category, Christ acknowledged, presents some unique challenges in newer buildings where windows do not open. But she said there are ways of tweaking the ventilation system to get more fresh air into the system.

One big issue is that the executive order issued by Gov. Doug Ducey requires schools to open their doors by Aug. 17 for students who need somewhere to go.

Hoffman said that’s mainly designed as a “safety net’’ for students with special needs, things like special education students and counseling services with kids with mental health needs. She also said some districts intend to offer space for children of “essential workers.’’

But she conceded that, under federal laws, schools which are not yet offering full-time or hybrid classes will not be able to turn away any child who shows up at their door – even if they do not fall into one of the eligible categories.

Hoffman said, though, that schools need not provide that space in traditional classrooms. She said some districts are working with local Y’s and Boys and Girls Clubs to provide somewhere safe, complete with computers so that these students still can partici-

pate in online learning.

“It will not be babysitting,’’ she said.

Christ said, “We know that some parents are not going to be comfortable sending their kids back until there’s a vaccine or until there’s minimal spread.”

“We do feel it’s important to get kids back into the classroom,’’ she added.

There is a potential complicating factor.

“Despite schools’ best efforts to retain their teachers and find ways for them to feel comfortable for them to teach in this incredibly challenging environment and challenging times, there are increased rates of teachers resigning,’’ Hoffman said.

And all this, Hoffman said, comes on top of what’s already a “very severe shortage’’ of qualified teachers in the classroom.

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

LEG-ELECT

from page 4

Kurdoglu received 22,858 votes to Mesnard’s 25,456 – the biggest primary tally among all five LD17 candidates, according to unofficial results.

Three-way race for 2 seats

The House race in LD17 includes a Republican political newcomer, Chandler Realtor Liz Harris, who says on her website that “liberals are moving into Arizona and attacking everything that makes the state great.”

“We need to make sure we don’t let this leftward push ruin everything that’s working in Arizona,” she states.

But Harris has her work cut out for her, judging by not only campaign contributions but apparently even support within her own party.

In the primary election – where voters didn’t necessarily even have to cast a ballot because there was no race – incumbent Republican Jeff Weninger captured 23,082 votes – slightly less than the 23,491 that Democrat Jennifer Pawlik received in her bid for a second term. Harris garnered 19,418 votes.

Both the Gilbert and Chandler chambers of commerce also have endorsed Mesnard, Weninger and Pawlik.

Pawlik’s financial support is close to Weninger’s, according to their latest campaign finance filings, while the amount Harris has collected so far doesn’t come close to either of them.

Weninger, a former two-term Chandler City Council member who

will be termed out if he wins his fourth race this year, leads the race for campaign cash after collecting $129,647 and spending $14,106.

Pawlik has garnered $108,407 so far and spent $16,511, campaign reports show.

Harris has reported $30,325 in contributions – including $11,127 of her own money – and has spent $8,188, raccording to campaign filings.

We need to make “ sure we don’t let this

leftward push ruin everything that’s working in Arizona.

”

– Liz Harris

Weninger has received a number of four-figure donations from political action committees, with the biggest contribution from the Arizona Leadership Fund, which supports conservative candidates in Arizona. Its contributions to Weninger total $5,200.

Other large donations are PACs belonging to Raytheon, $3,000; General Motors, $2,000; the Land Title Association and Arizona Restaurant Association, $1,500 each; and Prudential Financial, $1,200.

PACs contributing $1,000 to Weninger include CVS Health, Arizona Bankers Association, Union Pacific, Cox,

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Pawlik’s single largest financial backer has been a national organization called Flippable, which has targeted 10 states’ legislatures now controlled by Republicans and, as their name suggests, is supporting Democratic candidates. Flippable has donated $10,400 to Pawlik’s campaign war chest.

She also has received $5,400 from the Future Now Fund and $2,600 from Emily’s List, a national organization supporting female progressive candidates.

She also has received $5,200 from William G. Roe, a retired Florida citrus industry executive.

Pawlik’s largest PAC support has come from Southwest Gas, $2,00; Arizona Pipe Trades 469, $2,600 and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99, $2,500.

County supervisor race battle

Jack Sellers, a former two-term Chandler City Council member and chair of the State Transportation Board, is seeking his first four-year term on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors after he was appointed two years ago to replace Denny Barney, who quit to become president/CEO of the Phoenix East Valley Partnership.

He’ll be battling Jevin D. Hodge, who is trying to become the second Democrat on the five-man board.

The son of Tempe Union High School Governing Board Berdetta Hodge –

who is seeking reelection this year – Jevin is the national engagement director and Phoenix operations manager for Washington, D.C.-based LINK Strategic Partners, a strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and social impact consulting firm.

Hodge also chairs the Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, is the former president of the Tempe Union High Schools Education Foundation and sits on the boards of several non-profit charitable institutions around Arizona.

In the primary election, unofficial results show Hodge and Sellers were neck-and-neck in Supervisor District 1, which has 187,079 registered Republican voters to 166,349 Republicans and 169,234 voters not registered with either party.

The Aug. 4 election produced 73,801 votes for Sellers and 79,707 for Hodge.

Hodge also is leading the race for cash, amassing $117,184 in donations since Jan. 1, 2019. He has spent $60,559 and is starting his fall campaign with $56,624.

Sellers has collected $73,245 and spent $28,289 and is entering the fall campaign with $44.955.

Among Sellers largest contributors is East Valley strip mall developer Michael Pollack, who has donated $6,450 and Mike Ingram of El Dorado Holdings, $3,300.

Hodge’s larger supporters include Scottsdale philanthropist Nestor Guzman, who has donated $5,000, and Los Altos, California, physician Dr. Karla Juvelson, who kicked in $2,000.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Chandler Museum offers a boxload of fun, learning SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

With social distancing and even shutdowns, this have not been great days for arts venues – including museums.

And even while museums are open, many people are reluctant to venture out for very long.

So, the Chandler Museum is offering something that enables them to have some fun and learn a little about history as well.

It’s called “Museum in a Box: Family Edition” Calling it “the newest fun and educational offering from the Chandler Museum,” the city said in a release that the box offers parents and children a selection of “three to five at-home activities centered on a historical theme.”

With a theme “Build It! Frank Lloyd Wright in Chandler,” there are three activities and a book that give kids a chance to explore architecture.

Users will design a city, test their building skills with edible construction supplies and review shapes hidden within authentic Wright drawings.

The book, title “Who Was Frank Lloyd Wright?” is from the popular Who Was? book series.

All of the supplies needed to complete the activities are conveniently included in the box.

Wright and A.J. Chandler, the city’s founding father, became business partners in the late 1920s. After they

The family-oriented Museum in a Box is the first of several that the Chandler Museum plans to offer. This one is especially good for kids 7 to 10 years old.

(Chandler Museum)

met for the first time, and Chandler had outlined some of his grand schemes, Wright wrote a letter back, which is recounted in his autobiography: “I see in you a man worth a man’s time to work one’s best with.”

They made a plan to build a grand hotel that in what is now Ahwatukee, though that never materialized.

Nevertheless, Wright left an indelible impression on modern architecture and youngsters can get a taste for it with the Museum in a Box.

“Build It!” is best suited for kids 7-10 year old.

“This is a winner. The box is perfect for the way we work in our homeschool,” said Britain Earl, art instructor and mom of five. She tested the box with her kids before it went into production.

“Families who tested the boxes reported that they learned something new, had fun, and were inspired to do additional learning about Frank Lloyd Wright after completing the activities,”

the city said in a release.

Added Tiffani Egnor, education coordinator at the Chandler Museum: “These boxes are a great way to explore culture, history and art from home.”

“We are excited to provide them for families looking for fun, educational, and screen-free activities,” she said.

Additional boxes are currently in development, including a Día de los Muertos themed box to accompany the upcoming traveling exhibition “A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead in Southern Mexico,” as well as Date Night boxes designed for adults.

“Built It! Frank Lloyd Wright in Chandler” boxes cost $18 and are available at the Chandler Museum Store, 300 S. Chandler Village Drive. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

The facility is closed on Mondays.

Information: chandleraz.gov/museum, or by calling 480-782-2717.

Chandler Museum is an innovative learning environment where the community comes together to share our stories, store our cultural heritage and experience Chandler as a people and place. The vision of the Museum is to be the community’s principal resource to explore its people’s history, culture, and place in a rapidly changing world of today – within and without the walls of a building. More information online at chandleraz.gov/museum.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

9

Ducey visits with Trump amid high political stakes

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Gov. Doug Ducey’s meeting with President Trump two weeks ago came as both are seeking to write a new narrative about their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the president, the opportunity for each to praise the other is political survival. Arizona’s 11 electoral votes could prove crucial in Trump’s reelection bid.

That was underscored by a photo-op at the White House with the pair chatting in front of a chart listing all the federal aid and medications provided by the federal government to Arizona.

But it goes beyond Trump’s own future. Also at stake is the bid by Martha McSally to hang on to the Senate seat formerly held by John McCain – a seat to which Ducey appointed her.

Ducey’s concerns for his own image are less immediate. With no gubernatorial race, he has no need to defend his handling of the virus until he decides what he wants to do after leaving office at the end of 2022.

Still, there are more immediate crucial issues.

The governor has a personal stake of sorts in the McSally campaign.

His appointment of her came after she was unable to win a Senate campaign of her own in 2018, with Arizona voters preferring Democrat Kyrsten

Gov. Doug Ducey visited with President Trump at the White House Aug. 5 and the President praised him for his work to curb the pandemic in Arizona. (YouTube)

Sinema.

A defeat this year could be seen as a message that voters believe Ducey made a mistake in appointing her following that defeat and giving her anoth-

er shot at statewide election.

Ducey also faces the possibility of becoming a true lame duck for the last two years of his administration if Democrats manage to take control of either

– or both – chambers of the Legislature.

Democrats need to oust just one of the 31 Republicans to force a coalition See

DUCEY on page 23

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Chandler couple sue over kids' removal

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

A Chandler couple whose sick child was forcibly removed from their home last year after choosing not to take them to the hospital is suing city and state officials for violating their constitutional rights.

Brooks Bryce and Sarah Beck filed a lawsuit in federal court last month that accuses Chandler and Arizona Department of Child Safety officials of “unlawfully” taking custody of their three children during a series of chaotic events in February 2019.

The couple’s case attracted extensive media coverage after videos and photos of Chandler Police raiding the family’s home went viral.

State lawmakers condemned the incident and it reignited a political debate about how much power social workers should have when it comes to protecting vulnerable children.

Bryce and Beck are seeking at least $2 million in damages for the emotional distress they claim they suffered as their children were taken away.

“They want to stand up and make it known these guys were horrible in their treatment of this family,” said Shawn McMillan, the family’s attorney. “It never should have happened.”

The incident began Feb. 25, 2019 after the couple’s 2-year-old son spiked a fever of 101 degrees.

Beck did not think he was in immediate danger and elected not to take him to the hospital, according to the lawsuit.

COLD CASE

Sarah Beck and Brooks Bryce are suing the City of Chandler for a police raid in February 2019 that ended with social workers removing their children from their home for reasons the couple said were unwarranted. (File photo)

Out of an abundance of caution, Beck had the boy examined at the offices of naturopath Jaclyn Bain, who doesn’t hold a medical license in Arizona.

Bain’s assistant first got a reading of 102 degrees. Then Bain herself purportedly got a temperature reading of 104 degrees from the child.

The rising temperature prompted Bain to instruct Beck to take her child to a hospital for treatment.

from page 1

Investigators essentially tried to work backwards by combing through family trees to find someone biologically related to the suspect.

Biotechnology companies like 23andMe, which helps customers find longlost relatives, have become a valuable tool in recent years for law enforcement agencies by opening up a massive network of undiscovered DNA profiles.

Several high-profile cases have been solved by tracing suspects through a family member who had voluntarily uploaded their DNA into these genealogical repositories.

Sgt. Jason McClimans said Young’s arrest is the first Chandler Police has made by using familial DNA testing.

The agency’s detectives have submitted a couple unsolved cases to undergo genealogical testing in recent years and the 1991 sexual assault is the first to end in an arrest.

The assault took place on the night of Nov. 8, 1991 at an apartment complex near Dobson and Frye roads.

According to court records, a woman heard a knock on her door by an unknown man dressed as a paramedic. He forced his way into the woman’s apartment and bound her wrists with duct tape.

The man then blindfolded the woman and gagged her with a cloth to muffle her screams, tied her wrists to a bed-

Gary Robert Young post and proceeded to cut her clothes off with scissors.

The woman claims she was assaulted for about two hours before her assailant fled the apartment. She also reported that the man videotaped the assault.

A year later, a similar incident was reported in Phoenix after a woman reported being abducted and assaulted by a stranger claiming to be a private detective.

The victim alleged she was approached by a man professing to be investigating a series of arson cases and

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have called into question Bain’s temperature reading, deeming it “erroneous” and illogical when compared to all the other readings done on the child.

Beck claims she checked her son’s temperature after leaving Bain’s office and got a reading of 101 degrees, court documents state.

Because it appeared to Beck her child was not sick enough to warrant a

hospital visit, the mother elected not to follow Bain’s advice.

“Given (the child’s) rapidly improving condition, Beck did not want an expensive and unnecessary hospital bill,” the lawsuit states.

As the child’s symptoms continued to subside, Beck called Bain to inform her she wouldn’t be taking the toddler to the hospital. Bain did not agree and

asked to interview her. He grabbed the woman, bound her feet with tape and forced her inside a parked car.

The man drove the car to a residence and took the woman into a bedroom, where he sexually assaulted her.

The victim recalled being placed inside another vehicle and was driven to an alleyway. Witnesses reported seeing the woman run out of the van screaming for help.

Statements gathered by the two victims described a perpetrator with similar physical characteristics. But the cases were not linked together until DNA testing in 2002 confirmed the assaults were likely committed by the same man.

Earlier this year, investigators began searching for family members of the rapist by scanning DNA databanks for profiles with genetic links to the suspect.

This method of DNA testing was successful in arresting and convicting Joseph DeAngelo, who recently pleaded guilty to committing a series of heinous rapes and murders around California in the 1970s.

DeAngelo, also known as the “Golden State Killer,” was detained in 2018 after investigators traced his DNA through distant relatives who had their genetic material cataloged in an online DNA bank.

It reportedly took investigators months to narrow down several family trees until they reached DeAngelo by

eliminating other relatives as possible suspects.

Familial DNA testing was additionally utilized to arrest a Chandler man last year for a series of crimes committed around the Midwest in the 1990s.

Samual Legg, who lived at a Chandler group home for the last few years, has been identified as a possible serial killer after his brother’s DNA was connected to a murder suspect’s profile, resulting in Legg’s arrest last February.

Chandler Police zeroed in on Gary Young from a list of possible DNA matches after discovering he had lived in the Phoenix area when the two assaults occurred.

Investigators later learned he had previously owned a car similar to the suspect’s and worked in Chandler as a delivery driver in the early 1990s.

But investigators still only had the DNA of Young’s relatives to compare to the suspect’s genetic profile and needed to find a way to get a DNA sample from Young in order to determine whether he was an exact match.

Chandler Police surveilled Young around his Phoenix home until they saw him discard a cigarette butt on the ground.

Investigators quickly retrieved the object and saliva left on the cigarette allegedly matched the suspect’s DNA profile. Young was taken into custody a couple weeks later and charged with multiple felony offenses for both the Chandler and Phoenix assaults.

See

SUIT on page 12

11

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

SUIT

from page 10

reported the couple to DCS. Arizona law requires most medical workers to report suspected instances of child abuse. If they don’t, then they could become subject to criminal enforcement or have their license suspended.

Some states specifically require naturopaths to report abuse, but Arizona’s list of mandatory reporters doesn’t include naturopathic practitioners like Bain.

On the night of Feb. 25, the family invited a friend who is a registered nurse to come to their home and examine the boy. The nurse determined his health was not in danger and did not recommend taking him to a hospital.

Around midnight, Chandler Police visited the family’s home and asked to come inside. The parents told the officers their son was feeling better and not in any danger, then invoked their right to not have police officers search their home without a warrant.

A court order filed by DCS was signed by a judge shortly after midnight and allowed authorities to take custody of the boy.

The plaintiffs argue the court order was obtained “fraudulently” because social workers gave the judge misleading information.

For example, DCS claimed Beck had not attempted to obtain a second medical opinion about her child’s health and insisted the family refused to talk to police officers.

After obtaining the court order, officers donned tactical armor and stormed the family’s home.

Beck, who was pregnant at the time, claims officers pointed weapons at her as they seized custody of her sick son.

Chandler Police have previously said the forced entry was necessary in order to tend to a child who may have had a dangerous illness and that officers were acting under legal authority of a court order.

But the family claims the boy’s medical condition was not severe enough to justify the presence of law enforcement.

Paramedics at the scene evaluated the child and determined he only had a 100-degree fever.

Despite the child’s mild symptoms, a DCS social worker instructed officers to seize custody of the couple’s two other children even though the court order only allowed them to take the

sick child.

DCS later filed a petition in court arguing the agency had authority to take all the family’s children without a warrant because the couple’s home was “too dirty,” court records show.

More specifically, social workers claim they observed crumbs on the floor and clothes piled up in the family’s living area.

The plaintiffs believe these conditions don’t validate the unwarranted seizure of someone’s children.

“These are clearly not conditions that pose any risk of serious bodily injury or death, let alone the immediate risk of serious bodily injury or death that is required in order to lawfully seize a child without a warrant,” the lawsuit states.

The couple further fault police officers for not questioning the unwarranted seizure of the couple’s two other children.

The three children were later placed in foster homes and authorities tried filing criminal charges against Beck and Bryce.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute them for child abuse, citing the unlikelihood of obtaining a conviction.

All three children were reunited with their parents a couple months later. In July 2019, the Maricopa County Juvenile Court dismissed a dependency case against Beck and Bryce.

The parents claim they were subjected to months of emotional distress over a situation that turned out to be minor.

“All that was ever proven was that (the child) had a mild fever and a common cold – which his mother was addressing with an appropriate level of concern and care,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit accuses police of excessive force, unwarranted seizures, judicial deception and unlawful deception.

McMillan said this case demonstrates how Arizona tends to overreact to an abuse allegation without getting all the facts first.

There was no emergency at any time, the lawyer said, and the confrontation could have been avoided through some simple communication between DCS and the family.

“There’s just a lot of ways this could have been resolved without the heavy-fisted hand of the government,” he said.

The city declined to comment on the pending litigation.

t o G ws? e N

Contact C t t Paul P l Maryniak Marynia M y iak att 480-898-5647 480 898 5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com ppmaryniak@tim y i k@timespublications.com espublications p bli ti com

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

13

Around Chandler Chandler center seeks teens for Youth Arts Council

The Chandler Center for the Arts is accepting applications for its 10th class of Youth Arts Council participants.

Members get a chance to focus on arts appreciation, community service and the development of leadership skills in order to become advocates for the arts and well-rounded community leaders.

A free program that helps bolster college applications, the Youth Arts Council is a component of the larger Connecting Kids initiative. In that initiative, Chandler Center for the Arts provides youth with an array of opportunities to experience both performance and visual arts.

“We have had an incredible group of students over the years and we’re excited to welcome more talented, thoughtful youth to the program this year,” said center General Manager Michelle MacLennan said. “Through the Youth Arts Council, teens have the opportunity to engage with the arts on a deeper level, navigating through hands-on, practical situations we experience at the center, while we are given the good fortune to learn what is important to our young art advocates and leaders of the future.”

During the six-month program, 15 teens will engage in 13 two-hour online sessions that provide real-world insight into a performing arts center.

Expert speakers and problem-solving projects help teen participants

complete the program with increased knowledge of career opportunities in the arts, financial responsibility, leadership skills, small and large group dynamics, as well as public relations and marketing for the arts.

Applications are being accepted now through Sept. 4. Candidates must be between ages 13-17 and will be interviewed online Sept. 9. The first virtual session of the program will be on Sept. 16.

To apply: chandlercenter.org/YAC.

Part of S. Chandler strip mall sold for $2.37 million

A Los Angeles real estate investor has bought a retail building in a strip mall near Chandler Airport for $2.37 million.

According to vizzda.com, a Valley real estate tracking website, Romulus Properties sold the shopping center on the northwest corner of Germann and Gilbert roads to Jeffrey Mellichar last month.

The property was described as a 3-year-old building with 3,572 square feet of retail space on 1.13 acres of land.

G.A.I.N. award nominations sought by Aug. 14

Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and the city Neighborhood Programs Office, in partnership with the Chandler Police Crime Prevention Unit, encourage neighborhood watch groups that participated in last year’s G.A.I.N. (Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods) events to submit a nomination for the Mayor’s Neighborhood Excel-

lence Awards.

The awards recognize neighborhoods for their dedication to creating community through events, increasing neighborhood involvement and developing the next generation of leadership.

Prizes for the winners will be applied towards the 2021 G.A.I.N. events as this year’s G.A.I.N. The outgoing members of the Chandler Youth Arts Council found their activities have been experience rewarding. (Chandler Center for the Arts) canceled due to the pandemic. their homes.

Nomination forms are now available “Book It! Back to School” offers for completion online at chandleraz.gov/ 45-minute appointments to access free MNEA. There are two categories available: Wi-Fi, desktop computers, quiet study Mayor’s Choice Award and the People’s areas, and printing, scanning, faxing and Choice Award. Completed nominations copying tools. are due no later than 5 p.m. Aug. 14.

Libraries have been closed to the public Online voting for the People’s since July 1, but offer in-person hold-pickChoice Award will run Aug. 21-Sept. 11 at up service and returns in the lobbies. chandleraz.gov/MNEA. The winners will Appointments start on the top of the be announced on Hartke’s Facebook hour during normal hours of operation. page Sept. 21.

Each reservation is for 45 minutes and Information: 480-782-4354, or email all patrons must exit after they’re done. neighborhood.programs@chandleraz.gov. Masks must be worn at all times and social distancing practices must be followed Chandler Library offers tech Reservations can be made up to 24 services for students hours in advance through the chandlerChandler Public Library is introduclibrary.org website. If someone cannot ing a reservation system to provide acmake a reservation online, they can call cess to select library technical resourc480-782-2800 Monday through Wedneses to students who may not have access day between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 9 a.m.to certain educational necessities in 5 a.m. Thursday and Friday.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Chandler mom co-authors book on infertility SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A Chandler author and mom who has written in the past about the struggles of infertility and miscarriage has co-written a new book.

Author and counselor Evangeline Colbert also has teamed up with Maria Mwangi to host a virtual “fertility event” Aug. 22, which is National Rainbow Baby Day, with speakers who will discuss what they call “the oftentimes lonely struggle with infertility/miscarriage.”

Speakers include La’Vista Jones, Erica Moore, Ansonya Burke, Angela Williams and Jennifer and Tatum Shank. Tickets and more information are at ConceivedByGrace.com.

La’Vista Jones is a well-known local blogger who helps women who own busiensses.

Williams worked with Colbert on a book, released early last year, titled “Borrowed Hope: Sarah’s Story of Triumph Over Infertility” as the first in a series of books aimed at bringing comfort to women who have struggled with infertility and miscarriages by examining the struggles with infertility that are recounted in the Bible.

Colbert, a certified professional life coach, also previously authored a fertility devotional called “A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility.”

Now, she and Mwangi, an event producer and sales director for Live Nation, have team up on a book titled “Con-

Evangeline Colbert ceived by Grace Pregnancy Journal,” which aims to help women “combat the fear and anxiety that occur when they’re finally pregnant after those grief-filled experiences.”

Though Colbert now has three children, she experienced the pain and struggles of infertility early on in life.

“Pregnancy after infertility, miscarriage, or infant loss can be both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time,” she said.

Colbert said her and Mwangi’s “personal struggles and victories” prompted them to write the pregnancy journal.

“This pregnancy journal is one with purpose – to help women fight fear, stay positive and celebrate what should be one of the most wonderful, magical

times of life.”

The paperback book, which available on Amazon.com, provides weekly scriptures and a prayer for each week of pregnancy; promotes focusing on God’s promises when faced with anxiety; and “helps the reader envision the growth of their baby, record maternity changes, cravings, thoughts and wishes,” according to Colbert It also involves dads in the journaling process, provides “wisdom insights about motherhood and marriage” and “encourages the reader with easy, fun, and celebratory activities” – partly through coloring exercises.

Colbert said a reader told her, “As a woman who struggled to retain pregnancies, when we learned that we were pregnant again, I knew I wanted a resource that would not only help me document the journey but keep me grounded. Conceived by Grace did just that.

“I not only got to have all the cute ‘bump dates’ on the baby’s growth, but I was also able to in my own space, be vulnerable and honest with my own anxieties while being encouraged by God’s promises,” Colbert quoted the woman as saying.

Colbert, an 18-year Chandler resident who holds an electrical engineering degree as well as coach certification and her husband have two sons and a daughter.

They had been married four years before they decided to have children.

“I did not get pregnant during the first year of ‘trying,’” Colbert recalled.

“After numerous tests, I was diagnosed with ‘unexplained factors’ of infertility.

In other words, they didn’t know why I wasn’t getting pregnant. We were both believers in Jesus. Freeman and I decided not to go the route of infertility treatments and to trust that God would make things work in my body as they should.

“After two years, a few negative pregnancy tests and many months of disappointment and grief, I finally got pregnant with our first child.”

Colbert said the problem’s breadth is staggering.

“Over seven million Americans deal with infertility,” Colbert said. “That equates to roughly one in eight married couples. Most of them suffer silently, being too embarrassed to share their plight. Male-factor infertility is almost as prevalent as it is for women. When I’ve talked about the book, invariably, people have told me that they, or someone they know, had experienced infertility.

“Hope is the one thing that needs to prevail because it helps people believe in possibilities,” she added. “My goal is to encourage people to not ignore the spiritual aspect of infertility. Trusting that God is working behind the scenes on your behalf builds hope. I want them to see how hope can help them experience victory in their circumstances.

Colbert can be reached at Evangeline@EvangelineColbert.com.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

CUSD Board member in online controversy SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

Chandler Unified School District board member Lindsay Love is defending statements she recently made suggesting she believes “politeness is white supremacy.”

Love, who is African-American and often the center of online controversy, attracted a significant amount of criticism last week after posting a statement highlighting her thoughts on how society should disrupt systems of racial oppression.

“Politeness is white supremacy,” Love wrote. “Every time you prioritize politeness and civility over everything in a conversation, you are complicit in upholding white supremacy.”

Many parents and community members quickly condemned Love’s rhetoric, calling it a form of racism itself.

Some commenters made threats to recall her from elected office.

Justin Flitton, a Queen Creek resident, has started an online petition to oust Love from the board because he found her statement “disturbing.” As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 people had signed the petition.

But Love isn’t bowing down to her critics and shrugged off threats to thwart her from finishing the two years she has left remaining on her term.

“If all of this bothers you and makes you want to recall me, then cool,” Love

CUSD Governing Board member Lindsay Love stirred up a hornets nest online with some posts. (File photo)

wrote in a follow-up statement.

“But then we know what the motivation truly is, which is upholding white supremacy and masking it as polite disagreement with the Black woman you’ve accused of ruining the district.”

Love further explained how her original statement regarding white supremacy was meant to highlight how silence and inaction has long allowed discriminatory policies to be the norm in American culture.

She argued that politeness and civility allowed for the indoctrination of Native American children in American board-

ing schools during the late 1800s and the passage of discriminatory Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in Southern states up until the 1960s.

Love said the negative reaction to her original statement only reinforces her point that bigots will try to stop anyone who disrupts the status quo.

“All of the attacks only continue to prove my points about the insidious nature of white supremacy and the weaponizing of politeness to silence marginalized groups,” Love wrote.

Some other elected officials have come to Love’s defense by publicly pledging their support for the school board member amid the backlash.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, declared herself one of Love’s supporters and described the attacks against Love as “slander.”

Love has been known for not being afraid to express her opinions online and during school board meetings – even if it results calls for her to step down.

Members of Purple for Parents, a grassroots organization that formed in reaction to the statewide teachers strike in 2018, demanded Love resign in January after she got into a Twitter fight with one of the group’s members.

She was chastised for blocking some of the group’s members from her Twitter account – an action the courts have deemed unconstitutional for an elected official.

Love has since formed a separate so-

cial media account intended to represent her official position as a school member.

The Purple Parents group has further insisted Love abstain herself from any votes involving the district’s sex-ed curriculum due to her association with Planned Parenthood.

The criticism hasn’t intimidated Love out of vocalizing her beliefs online or from making decisions as a school board member that might upset the district’s parents.

Last month, Love was one of two board members to reject a plan for reopening Chandler Unified’s campuses because of concerns she had about students and teachers contracting the COVID-19 virus.

The district later reversed the plan by delaying the reopening of schools until October.

Barbara Mozdzen, the school board’s president, recently said Love and other board members still have constitutional rights to free speech that must be protected. But any personal comments made by a board member should not be interpreted as being representative of the district, she said.

“The comments made by individual board members do not represent the opinions of the Governing Board as a whole or the administration,” Mozdzen emphasized earlier this month.

Three seats on the CUSD board are up for election this November.

Mozdzen and two newcomers and running to fill the seats.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

CITY OF CHANDLER INSIDER

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

COVID-19’s impact on Census causes concern CITY OF CHANDLER

Our world changed dramatically when COVID-19 hit. Its impact has been far reaching, and everyone has had to pivot the way business is conducted — including the 2020 Census.

The U.S. Census, which happens every 10 years, is a count of every man, woman and child living in the United States. The Census is important to every community, as the results will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities every year for the next decade. An accurate count is vital. In fact, a one percent undercount statewide could result in the loss of $620 million in federal funding for Arizona over the next 10 years.

For Chandler, Census preparations started as early as 2018 with plans to wrap up the 2020 Census outreach this past May. With COVID-19 still a major issue, the U.S. Census Bureau authorized Census operation efforts to continue through Sept. 30, which was recently moved up from Oct. 31.

For Chandler residents who have already responded to the Census, we thank you. We kindly ask you to remind your friends and family to be counted and complete their Census form as soon as possible.

The Census operations will now enter a new phase as Census takers are now going door-to-door to follow-up on Chan-

sus@subscriptions.census.gov) in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond. The emails will go to households with contact information on file with the Census Bureau that are in census block groups with a response rate lower than 50 percent. This will continue through September and will include households who may have already responded.

The U.S. Census Bureau also announced Volunteer Chantal Van Klompenberg, left, helped door-to-door Census canvassing while an unidentified worker hung door hangar that their outreach may reminders on 1,300 Chandler homes. (City of Chandler) include text messages.

As more information becomes available, chanbags and other equipment with the dler households who have not responddleraz.gov/census will be updated and logo.

If you still have questions about ed. The easiest way to avoid a knock at information will be shared on the City’s their identity, contact the Regional the door is to complete your Census Census Center at 972-510-1800 to speak social media sites. online today at My2020Census.gov or on To see Chandler’s response rate comwith a Census Bureau representative. the phone by calling 1-844-330-2020. pared to another cities and states, visit It’s important to note that Census The Census questionnaire also is 2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html. takers will wear masks and follow local available in different languages. Resipublic health guidelines when they visit You also can see a map at chandleraz. dents may visit chandleraz.gov/census gov/census that highlight the response your home. for a list of phone numbers available rates for different areas of Chandler.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

SUMMERTIME! IT’S THE BEST TIME TO REMOVE

WISDOM TEETH! Judge rejects challenge to legal weed initiative

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Voters who signed petitions to legalize the recreational use of marijuana were not misled, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Smith ruled Aug. 7 and the measure can be on the ballot.

In a 15-page ruling, Smith rejected claims by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy that the 100-word summary on the initiative omitted principal provisions and was misleading.

“At 100 words, the summary also cannot include everything,’’ he wrote. “that is why the full initiative must accompany the petition.’’

And Smith chided foes for suggesting that voters might not understand all the implications of what the measure would do, things like changing laws on advertising and altering laws on driving under the influence of drugs.

“This initiative is plain: It wants to legalize recreational marijuana,’’ the judge wrote.

“That is the principal provision,’’ he continued, the key thing that has to be in the description. “It is unlikely electors signing these petitions would be surprised by cascading effects of legalizing a formerly illegal substance.’’

Lisa James, who chairs the group trying to keep the measure off the November ballot, said an appeal is likely.

The measure would allow adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana or 12 plants.

It would impose a 16 percent tax on sales that supporters say would generate about $300 million a year for community colleges, public safety, health programs and for road construction and repair of roads.

But James said the summary does not provide some crucial details, like the fact it would legalize not just marijuana in its leafy form but also more concentrated resins.

Smith, however, pointed out that resin is part of the marijuana plant under Arizona law, saying he doubts that

voters are likely to be confused since resin is legal under the state’s existing medical marijuana law.

James also said it’s not made clear that if the measure becomes law that people could legally drive with metabolites of marijuana in their system, with the test being whether they were “impaired to the slightest degree.’’

Foes said that fails to disclose that people actually would be able to drive legally with metabolites of marijuana in their body, essentially what’s produced by the body as the chemical breaks down.

Smith called that irrelevant, pointing out court cases which already say that medical marijuana patients with metabolites in their blood, evidence of earlier usage, can’t be convicted of driving under the influence of drugs absent a showing of impairment.

“An elector signing a petition to legalize recreational marijuana would more likely be surprised if the initiative did (ITALICS) not (ROMAN) decriminalize driving with any amount of metabolite in one’s system,’’ Smith wrote, just as people can’t be convicted of drunk driving simply because there are metabolites of alcohol in their blood.

Smith was no more impressed by arguments that legalizing marijuana for adult use might result in minors being exposed to advertising for the drug.

“Voters will not be surprised that sellers may advertise a now-legal product if the initiative passes,’’ the judge said. He said that’s no different than other adult products, “from medical marijuana billboards to condom commercial to ubiquitous beer advertisements.’’

Anyway, Smith said, sales to minors would be prohibited and the initiative bars selling or advertising marijuana products that imitate children’s food or drink brands.

The judge stressed that it is not his job to decide whether the initiative is good or bad. And he said many of the objections of foes are “policy issue best left for voters or elected representatives.’’

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Share the Road campaign pushes for vehicle safety

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Staff Writer

Jennifer Canziani was riding her motorcycle north on Scottsdale Road and was nearly to Cave Creek when tragedy struck.

A woman who was playing with gadgets in her boss’ car swerved near Canziani, whose husband saw it all through a rear-view mirror.

“My husband was in front of me and I said, on the microphone, ‘I don’t think that girl is going to stop,’” said Canziani, a Red Mountain High School graduate who now lives in Maricopa.

“I looked over and it was like our eyes clicked and everything went in slow motion. I went sliding and she sped off. I was out of my body and watched myself get attached to her car and drag me. I just closed my eyes.”

When everything stopped, Canziani’s jacket was ripped apart and her shoe was off. She was afraid to look at her leg.

“The whole leg was shattered,” said Canziani. “I had pins and plates in there.

I couldn’t walk for almost six months.

When I started walking in rehab, my bone shifted in my knee, so I kept tearing my meniscus and ACL. In seven months, they had repaired it four times.”

Last year saw a record number of motorcycle fatalities – along with more than 3,000 motorcycle and 123,000 vehicle crashes in which people were hurt.

The Share the Road campaign is a

of Highway Safety, Law Tigers, RideNow and Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation.

Gov. Doug Ducey recently said the time is now to focus drivers and riders on the critical importance of sharing the road with respect and being completely aware of their surroundings.

The nonprofit Arizona Motorcycle Safety & Awareness Foundation and its partners – healthcare, insurance, legal, police departments, corporations, Red Mountain High School alumna Jennifer Canziani lost a leg as the result of a serious injury in a motorcycle accident. Now she's leading the charge for small business and the motorists and motorcyclists to be more accomodating to each other on the Arizona Governor’s Ofroad. (Special to the San Tan Sun News) fice of Highway Safety – also stress the need for statewide public awareness effort aimed Arizona motorists and at focusing Arizona motorists on the motorcyclists to avoid distractions. critical need to be undistracted when According to foundation Executive Didriving and to train motorcyclists how to rector Mick Degn, Share the Road leaders ride more defensively. promote the need for drivers/riders to This multipronged movement, which share the road and to be more aware of is geared to reduce the number of their surroundings as they travel. crashes and fatalities on Arizona roads, is Efforts include public safety outsupported and promoted by the Arizona reach and community grassroots efforts Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, including billboards, police safety events Arizona Motorcycle Safety & Awareness and working with social media.

Foundation, Dignity Health, Arizona Trau“Our program is the only one of its ma Association, the Governor’s Office kind in the United States,” Degn said.

“We need everyone’s support and involvement to continue to increase awareness. Just as importantly, we want to work with Arizona businesses to develop driver/rider safety awareness ideas and initiatives.

“After all, the people sharing our roadways are your family members, customers, friends and colleagues. Their lives matter as does their safety and the safety of others.”

One day, Canziani’s orthopedic surgeon told her he would stop repeatedly fixing her leg and encouraged her to stay in a wheelchair.

“I’m not the type to stay in a wheelchair,” she said. “I asked for my other options. One was a knee replacement, but he couldn’t do it because my leg had too much damage. He said I needed a better orthopedic surgeon.”

He referred Canziani to another doctor, who also said her leg was too damaged.

“I don’t know if there’s a doctor in town who can do it,” she recalls him saying. “I was giving up hope. I was thinking I was really going to have to stay in a wheelchair. My kids were in high school, about to graduate, and start their lives.”

The next orthopedic surgeon was confident, but Canziani had her doubts.

In four years, she had 13 surgeries. This doctor told her everything was all right, but she had an undiagnosed yeast infecSee

ROAD on page 23

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COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

21

Governor gives guidelines for gym reopenings

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Under pressure from a court order, Gov. Doug Ducey has agreed to provide a “roadmap’’ to allow not just gyms and fitness centers to reopen eventually but also movie theaters, water parks and even some bars.

But not just yet.

Under the plan gyms and fitness centers could reopen at 25 percent capacity when the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in a county drops below 10 percent of all tests administered for at least two weeks in a row.

It also requires the rate of infection to be less than 100 cases per 100,000 residents and fewer than 10 percent of those showing up at hospitals have COVID-like symptoms.

At that same point, movie theaters, water parks and tubing operations could operate at 50 percent.

And any establishment licensed as bar also could operate at 50 percent capacity. but only if the agree to certain conditions. They would have to be operated like a restaurant, meaning no dancing, people being seated by a host, and no milling around and mixing.

Gyms at fitness centers could get back to half capacity when fewer than 5 percent of tests come back positive, the number of cases drops below 10 per 100,000 and fewer than 5 percent of hospital visits are COVID-related.

Mountainside Fitness' south Chandler gym has been empty for weeks under Gov. Doug Ducey's indefinite shutdown of fitness centers.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

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residents testing positive for the virus drops below 3 percent for two weeks in a row. By comparison, the most recent figure statewide is 12.5 percent.

Even when a county hits the 3 percent figure – that point at which other businesses will be allowed to operate at full capacity – the system set up by state Health Director Cara Christ would keep bars and nightclubs at just 50 percent. She said the special treatment is merited.

“We know that these are high risk for transmission,’’ Christ said.

So when would they be allowed to return to normal operations and full capacity?

“When a therapeutic (treatment) or a vaccine is established, then we would reconsider that,’’ Christ said. “We know that getting to zero is probably impossible with COVID-19 until we get a vaccine.’’

In essence, what was announced Monday sets up a dual process for facilities that have been shuttered until now.

One is that checklist of sorts, similar to what was announced last week to determine when it is safe to reopen schools. That includes that three-part test of positive test results, hospital visitations, and a two-week downward trend in new cases.

Christ said these “metrics’’ will be

determined on a county-by-county basis.

She said Monday that it appears Yavapai County already has reached that point. And Cochise and Coconino counties may be close.

Everywhere else, Christ said, will be determined with data posted each week.

Pima County, she said, is “really

a waiver, but with no guarantee one would be granted.

That follows an order last week by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason who said that gyms and fitness centers, shuttered by the governor on June 27, are entitled to “due process’’ to prove they should be allowed to open -- even if state health officials conclude that local conditions

order only gives the gyms a chance to apply “forThereopening, it does not order that any fitness center be opened or that anyone be immediately put back to work. ”

– Timothy Thomason

close’’ – but Maricopa County, not so much.

Even when the infection rates hit the targets, though, that does not allow businesses to automatically reopen.

Owners first will need to attest that they are willing to abide by certain guidelines, ranging from occupancy and masking to certain cleaning requirements and physical distancing.

The other option is what amounts to an alternate path of sorts for businesses which are located in counties where conditions have not yet reached the point that they can begin the process of reopening. They could petition for

do not warrant it.

Under that alternative, Christ said, owners could try to make the case that their own plans for safe operation mean they would not endanger public health. So, for example, she said they might agree to operate at an even more reduced capacity or might have regular testing of employees.

The question that remains is whether what was announced Monday complies with what the judge ordered.

Attorney Joel Sannes who represents Mountainside Fitness – and who got Thomason to order that gyms and fitness centers be provided with due

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process – noted that Christ said it could take up to 15 days for her agency to issue a ruling.

And then, if the business was not satisfied, they would have to take the case to the Office of Administrative Hearings and, eventually, to court.

That, he said, may not provide businesses with true due process.

Thomason, in his ruling, did give wide berth to the decisions being made by Ducey and Christ.

“It is not the function of the judiciary to second-guess policy decisions on matters of public safety,’’ the judge wrote. But he said it is his role to ensure that the constitutional rights of business owners are protected.

“The injuries to these businesses have to be staggering,’’ Thomason wrote.

“The order only gives the gyms a chance to apply for reopening,’’ he continued. “It does not order that any fitness center be opened or that anyone be immediately put back to work.’’

Daniel Scarpinato, the governor’s chief of staff, said businesses were involved in coming up with the standards announced Monday. He called it a “data-driven approach.’’

“We do want our businesses to open back up when it’s safe,’’ he said “We think the best way to do that is to take a cautious approach,’’ Scarpinato continued. “If we can stay the course, keep the numbers going in this direction, that’s how we really make sure that businesses to stay open.’’

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in the House; picking up two seats would give them absolute control.

The Senate is a bigger hurdle, with Democrats having to move two seats into their column for a tie and three for a majority.

And all this comes as both Trump and Ducey are under fire from multiple quarters about how they have handled the COVID-19 outbreak.

For Trump, the issues center around his denial for months that there was a problem and his insistence that it would go away. Then there were the mixed messages, with the president at some points saying governors should bow to his leadership and then saying this isn’t a federal problem.

He still faces scrutiny as his own health experts continue to publicly disagree with him about the best course of action.

ROAD

Ducey waited until late March to declare an emergency. But it took him a few more days to close schools.

And it was only after Tucson and Flagstaff moved to shutter bars and restaurants and other non-essential businesses that the governor followed suit.

And only at the end of March did he issue his order to have people stay at home other than to participate in ``essential activities.’’ Even then, he not only refused to impose a statewide requirement for masks but threatened local governments who wanted to impose their own.

Finally, in June, he relented, gave the go-ahead for cities and counties to act.

Potentially more significant was Ducey’s decision to not only lift that stay-at-home order in May but allow both restaurants and bars to reopen if they would promise to limit capacity and promote physical distancing.

On May 16, the day the stay-at-home order expired, there were 485 cases of

the virus reported. Two weeks later, it had risen to 743.

But the worst was yet to come as customers flooded the newly reopened bars.

New cases peaked at 5,458, the date that Ducey finally admitted he made a mistake in allowing bars to reopen.

He also decided at that point to again shutter gyms, fitness centers and water parks and forbid movie theaters from reopening.

Asked if he screwed up in his original decision, Ducey responded, ``We’re fixing it.’’ The governor also has his share of critics from his right who question his continued closure orders and the fact that he has not ordered schools to reopen for all in-classroom instruction.

Instead, Ducey deferred to local school districts to make that decision, using yet-to-be-released "metrics" from the state Department of Health Services.

There even are discussions at the Legislature among some members of his own party about revisiting the emergency powers they gave him – if not now, then after this crisis is over.

And then there have been the court battles.

Ducey managed to beat back a bid by a Flagstaff resident to get a federal judge to rule that the stay-at-home order was an invasion of his rights.

And he also prevailed in the first two legal efforts by gyms and fitness centers to reopen.

That changed earlier this week when a judge declared that closure without some ability to show they can operate safely violated the due process rights of the owners.

And there is a separate claim pending at the Arizona Supreme Court by the owners of more than 60 bars throughout the state that the law giving Ducey the emergency powers to keep them shuttered is unconstitutional.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Chandler beer/alcohol caterers weathering the pandemic

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

Saint Patrick’s Day 2020 was to have been a big day for Neal and Kinsey Kendrick.

Not only was it their 12th wedding anniversary, but they had also organized a celebration that, of course, couldn’t happen.

“We actually had a tap truck cul-desac party planned but unfortunately had to cancel, Neal said. “It was a bummer but I still enjoyed a green beer with my beautiful wife.”

The week of the St. Patrick holiday was also to have brought a bit of business with numerous parties and private events on tap for the company that the Kendricks had launched a decade before.

In that period, the Ahwatukee couple had grown their Chandler business, Liquid Caterers, into a burgeoning concern with related businesses that the 1997 Mountain Pointe High School grads oversaw.

Life was busy, hectic, but good.

Following the trajectory of success that they had experienced already through their nose-to-the-grindstone work, the future looked bright.

But in mid-March, Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with the

Since the pandemic struck, Neal and Kinsey have had to keep their beer-on-wheels operation grounded, but that hasn’t stop the Liquid Caterers owners from findign other ways to do business.

(Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

unprecedented stay at home order put in place, public and private gatherings – the lifeblood of their various businesses – were no longer possible.

“Since St. Patrick’s, we’ve had well over 200 events canceled, so it’s been devastating,” said Kinsey Kendrick.

Liquid Caterers began more than 10 years ago as the couple faced a life-changing decision point. Neal had been laid off from his sales job, and Kinsey, who also worked in sales, realized she wanted more time with their first born.

“Little did we know that when you decide to run your own business you tend to trade your 40-hour work week for a 24/7 venture,” Kinsey chuckled.

That’s when their first business, Couple of Bartenders, or CoB, was born.

“We started Couple of Bartenders after I got laid off. At first it was just for friends of the family, but then it grew to friends of friends and from there we added other bartenders, moved from our Ahwatukee garage into offices and decided to grow and go all in,” Neal recalled.

“All in” included their exceptionally-successful business featuring the mobile Tap Truck, a 1966 Chevy C-10 panel truck named Alice Marie for Neal’s late mother. The fully-enclosed truck See

CATERER on page 32

Chandler entrepreneur launches fantasy game

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

Kyle Aulerich’s new mobile-based fantasy game, Mythion Adventures, challenges players to journey through a Narnia-like dreamscape by making a series of fateful decisions at nearly every turn.

Should the player go down one tunnel over another? Should they pick up a mysterious amulet? Do they investigate the strange voices they hear in the dark forest?

All these choices are in the hands of the player and each result in an outcome that will radically change the course of their journey.

“Sometimes the decision seems logical but you run into unexpected surprises sometimes,” Aulerich said.

One of those unexpected surprises, the Chandler resident said, may involve the character’s sudden death -- pushing the player back to the game’s beginning and forcing them to start again.

Aulerich said each of the game’s 15 adventures are almost like a puzzle in which a player will only reach their final destination by making the correct chain of choices.

Chandler resident Kyle Aulerich is building a new mythical empire in the footsteps of Game of Thrones or Star Wars with his mobile fantasy game called Mythion Adventures.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

The game requires a bit of trial and error, he added, to figure out where mistakes are being made and going back to fix them.

“You kind of have to make the right sequence of decisions,” he said.

Mythion Adventures, which launched last month, has been Aulerich’s passion project for the last couple years and was born out of his desire to create a game that resembled the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books

he devoured as a child.

He had spent years working as a software developer, but had never tried to enter the gaming industry until last year.

While driving to work one day, Aulerich said he pondered the idea of playing an interactive, mobile-based game that emphasized story over strategy.

Characters would be fully developed and their fates would be at the hands of the game’s players.

It was a concept that felt familiar to Aulerich, yet innovative enough to possibly offer something new to gamers.

“I don’t think I had ever heard of that before,” he said.

He assembled a team of writers and illustrators and got to work creating a fantasy world where characters could explore its intricacies through a series of adventures.

Aulerich’s self-funded venture resulted in the creation of Aulain, an imaginary land full of uncanny creatures and malevolent forces.

The world is akin to those in “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings,” Aulerich added, and adopts elements of the fantasy literature his team of creators See

GAME on page28

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Kellie James

Lance Brace

Mary Nollenberger

Angela Tauscher

27

Benjamin Gottlieb

Experts: Area housing market like ‘the wild west’

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

The SanTan Sun News recently met virtually with five experts to discuss the residential and commercial real estate market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The experts included: Attorney Benjamin Gottlieb, of the real estate law firm MacQueen & Gottlieb; Kellie James, of Prime Lending Chandler; Lance Brace, of Bennett Property Management; Mary Nollenberger, a commercial real estate specialist for SVN/Desert Commercial Advisors and Angela Tauscher, a Realtor with West USA Real Estate Chandler. A related discussion is in today’s business section.

We still seem to be in a very strong seller’s market. How long do you think it will continue?

Angela Tauscher: We’re putting consistently under contract every seven days 7,000 and 8,000 homes …and we’re closing between, I’d say, about 2,000 and 4,000. I think the highest I’ve seen honestly is the 4,000 and I’ve been tracking it every single week since COVID started. ….As you know, a full-time Realtor sells maybe 20 residential houses a year. I think our team has sold 30 in the last three months. It has been crazy out there. It’s literally the Wild West.

Anything that we’re putting in under the $500,000 price point, we’re having anywhere from 10 to 30 showings in 24 hours. It doesn’t matter if it looks like a dog or if it’s the most beautiful home on the block. …More commonly, I’d say if it’s anything under probably $450,000, we’re getting 10 to 15 offers on every single house. We put in a cash offer for a $750,000 listing last week.

We were outbid by a $775,000 loan that waved the appraisal.

We have a million-dollar home right now that we had multiple offers on and they had tons of activity. So, it is challenging on the buyer’s side. We’re having buyers that are getting discouraged –especially if they need any concessions in any way shape or form, they just aren’t getting them.

Do you see this continuing indefinitely?

Tauscher: I think we have a serious issue with our shortage of inventory.

A lot of people are scared to put their homes on the market because they don’t want people in their homes. I think what happened is as people got a little more comfortable when things

were opening up, they were more willing to maybe put some stuff on the market.

But when the numbers spiked, now we’re seeing some people withdraw and get scared again. So, there’s a real challenge there.

From what I’m seeing, people are stuck at home. They’re bored. There’s nothing better to do but talk about “what should we do?” “Should we add this gold-plated wall just because interest rates are so low?” “Maybe we should just sell and right now, then we don’t do refi. We get this incredible interest rate and we get a step up for the exact same payment of what we were already working with.

I think there’s a massive urge to move out there right now. We just don’t have the inventory, which is creating the stoppage. However, I think the whole (mortgage) forbearance thing that went out there early on, there was a lot of miscommunication and I think when those catch up – in 18 months or two years – I think we’re going to start seeing some situations with those people. Maybe Kellie can speak to this whole (mortgage) deferment thing.

Kellie James: I was on a market update call and 435,000 people that were taking advantage of forbearance caught their mortgages up in just the last week. …I did talk to clients that had money that chose a forbearance option even though they didn’t need to.

My caution is, you’re going to have to catch up on these payments and so those that cannot, it’s really more giving the client time to sell their house. If you can’t afford the house, it’s not a free pass. It’s giving you time to sell it without damaging your credit if you are not going to get your income back.

Then the question becomes where are you going to go. But we don’t think that interest rates are going to go up.

For some reason, they’re not really following the normal trend. As the stock market goes up and gets improved, our interest rates should go up a little bit.

That’s not happening, maybe because of all this liquidity the government is injecting into the market.

Once we get a vaccine or some light at the end of the tunnel, that is when we expect that the rates will go up. But who knows when that will be?

Lance, you’re on the property management side. How would you assess the current state of the rental apartment and housing market right now?

Lance Brace: The prices are going up pretty quickly even through the last couple of months. A lot of my clients have opted to be more cautious, trying to keep their existing tenants in place.

So, we haven’t been asking for big rental increases on existing rentals.

But with new leases put on the market, we’re seeing increases upwards of about 10 percent on single-family houses. I have houses that 10 years ago I was leasing for $600 and are now leasing for $1,500. So that’s a huge increase, obviously, since the recession.

How about forbearance on the rental scene? Have you seen a lot of people asking for some time to catch up on their rent?

Brace: I have seen an increase in tenants asking for payment arrangements to pay the rent for the month. We’re not charging late fees right now because of the governor’s executive order. When this all started, we made the decision that we didn’t want to participate in an eviction crisis, seeing as how many people were going to be out of work and especially in the lower-income rentals…

I manage about 140 properties. I have had an increase in the number of tenants asking for payment arrangements, but so far, I’ve only had one go into the following month before they had made the full payment….We’re not seeing a huge increase in delinquency where tenants are not paying other than just making payment arrangements.

Ben, with the feeding frenzy out there to buy homes, do you have clients who buy a house sight unseen and then have buyer’s remorse once they walk in?

Ben Gottlieb: As a law firm we tend to see things when they go bad. We don’t get the cases on the front end where they’re seeking our advice. We typically get it on the back end when there’s a seller non-disclosure issue. We are seeing a reasonably constant flow of non-disclosure cases. Even prior to the pandemic, though, that’s normal.

What about as far as nonpayment of rent is concerned?

Gottlieb: A lot of landlords and tenants have entered into payment plan agreements, whether it’s a partial payment plan or some other payment arrangement. Even though landlords technically have the legal right to file an eviction lawsuit during this period that the executive order is effective, many landlords are opting not to because

they know that they cannot forcibly dispossess the tenant….

We’re seeing landlords wanting to be strategic on this, like Lance alluded to, and avoiding filing eviction lawsuits if they can try to work something out and not throw someone on the street during this difficult time.”

What about for the landlords, what’s their protection?

Gottlieb: On the federal level, the suspension of foreclosures in federal mortgages has been extended to Aug. 31. …On a statewide level, I think one of the big issues is that there is a $5 million rental assistance fund that the landlord could have gone back to get some assistance but that money has been slow to get out. One of the issues is that the stimulus money is not getting out to both landlords and tenants quick enough.

What about commercial tenants?

Gottlieb: On the commercial side, things are a lot different when it comes to evictions. The Legislature enacted a landlord-tenant statutory scheme that applies only to residential tenants and is designed to provide some extra legal protections for tenants.

On the commercial side in most cases, a court eviction action is not even required. Typically, commercial landlords will execute on what’s called ‘a lockout remedy,’ where they merely just change the locks. The only time a landlord commercial landlord would be hesitant to do that is if they’re concerned that the tenant may sue or have certain claims against the landlord for wrongful lockout or if the lease prohibits such a remedy.

Furthermore, you had the commercial eviction executive order that expired back in May and that is now been expired for a while. But while that executive order was in place, a lot of commercial landlords and tenants worked out forbearance agreements and other types of arrangements that are still in effect as of today, even though they were worked out a couple of months ago.

With commercial properties, have businesses been able to stay alive?

Mary Nollenberger: What we found in at least the first quarterly earnings call is that they were collecting somewhere between 50 and 75 percent of rent at that time. A lot of the See

ROUNDTABLE on page 30

28

GAME

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 26

enjoyed as children.

“We’re trying to build something that we would enjoy playing ourselves,” he said.

Mythion’s first 15 adventures comprise only the first installment of what Aulerich plans to roll out over the next couple years.

Those adventures take place in one fragment of Aulain, he said, so there will be much more for players to explore in the near future.

Adventures can be played solo or in teams of three. Players can partner with two friends and the trio take turns making decisions as they navigate Aulain’s terrain.

The goal of Mythion Adventures is to continue creating engaging content and not have players get stuck on an endless loop by repeating the same ad-

Graf is one of the characters in Mythion Adventures, a bartender in a tavern called the Brook & Raven.

ventures over and over, Aulerich added.

“We want to confirm to our players that we’re invested in this for the long haul,” he said.

Mythion also comes with plenty of literature that detailed backstories on Aulain’s inhabitants. Players have the option to read short stories about the world’s characters while completing their adventure.

Aulerich said he wanted to prioritize Aulain’s folklore as the game’s driving force rather than have players obsess over competing against each other to win some arbitrary prize.

“It’s not about racking up points,” he said, “We’re not trying to push that dopamine button in people’s brains.”

The game’s stories are meant to be enjoyed like any other piece of literature, he added, and will hopefully spur a love of reading among the game’s younger demographics.

Aulerich said his 12-year-old son has already become completely enveloped

by Aulain’s lore. The stories have unexpectedly turned out to be the perfect distraction during the COVID-19 pandemic, he added, by providing a fantasy escape for his son.

Aulerich hopes Mythion Adventures could potentially be an escape for other gamers who are feeling isolated by the pandemic’s lingering impacts.

The community is longing for a sense of belonging during this troubling time, he said, and this game offers them a chance to traverse a world that’s far removed from the pandemic’s darkness.

If COVID-19 continues to drag on for the foreseeable future, then Mythion’s creative team has already generated enough content to further expand Aulain’s boundaries and keep players engaged for the coming months.

“It is like we’re writing one big novel for the next couple years,” Aulerich said.

Mythion’s monthly subscription costs $7 and a book of Aulain’s short stories is available on Kindle and Amazon.

Chandler clothing company inks deal with ASU, UArizona SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

Chandler apparel and lifestyle company State Forty Eight has become an official licensee for Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, becoming the first to create co-branded apparel with both universities.

The company has debuted four new co-branded T-shirt designs for Sundevil and Wildcat fans.

“Achieving licensee status with ASU and UofA is a tremendous accomplishment for us,” says State Forty Eight co-founder and CEO, Michael Spangenberg. “The demand for Arizona collegiate designs has been high for many years so we’re excited to finally be able to launch it.”

Spangenberg and Stephen and Nicholas Polando formed the company in 2013 wout of what they call “a shared passion and appreciation for the great state of Arizona.”

They don’t look at their apparel as simply clothing but rather a representation of “a lifestyle, a sense of communi-

ASU and UArizona fans might like the Sun Devills crew neck shirt, left, or the Beardown tank top designed by Chandler’s State 48 apparel cmpany. (Courtesy State 48)

ty, and is an expression of pride.”

With apparel for sports fans as well as outdoor explorers and fashion-conscious Arizonans, they design their gear for both comfort and style, they say.

“Above all else though, State Forty Eight is about redefining the status-quo

and inspiring others to rise up and stand for something they believe in, and the logo serves as a reminder to proclaim your passions but never forget where you came from,” Spangenberg said.

State Forty Eight began the process of getting licensing approval in 2019 from

UArizona and ASU in what he called a lengthy but worthwhile process.

The licensee deal gives State Forty Eight the right to manufacturer and supply products bearing the name, logo or trademark of each university for a year with the option to reapply.

“With this partnership we can now provide students, fans, and alumni a way to properly support their school and the state of Arizona, all at once,” said Spangenberg.

The new designs include options for men and women and all four are now available for pre-order online.

They include ASU Sparky and UArizona Wildcat designs in a unisex crew neck and racer-back tank top; the ASU pitchfork design in men’s and women’s crew neck; and a UArizona Beardown design in crew neck and tank top.

The company is also working on more designs and plans to roll out other products, like stickers and hats, next year.

The shirts retail for $32-$34 and can be found at statefortyeight.com.

Pedal Haus names Jared Porter culinary chief SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

Fork & Dagger Hospitality, which operates Pedal Haus Brewery in Chandler, has named Jared Porter director of culinary operations.

Porter will oversee all aspects of the growing restaurant group’s food operations including menu development, ingredient sourcing and culinary team management.

“As a longtime Valley resident with deep ties to the culinary community, it is an incredibly exciting opportunity to join Julian Wright and the Fork & Dagger Hospitality team as they continue to grow their influence on Arizona’s food and beverage landscape,” Porter said.

“I am looking forward to being a part of the already award-winning team at Pedal Haus Brewery as well as all future concepts within the hospitality group.”

Jared Porter has developed a much-lauded history in the Valley’s restaurant industry for his inventive dishes. (Courtesy Fork & Dagger Hospitality)

Porter began his career attending the Art Institute of Phoenix on a full scholarship more than two decades ago.

He has worked for several of the Valley’s most iconic restaurants, including Vincent’s on Camelback, Fiamma at the James Hotel and Michael’s at the Citadel.

“Porter has also shown an impressive track record for opening new concepts,” the company said in a release, noting that he was instrumental in the opening of La Grande Orange Grocery in Arcadia, Olive and Ivy in Scottsdale and his own Clever Koi in 2013, which now boasts locations in Phoenix and Gilbert.

Most recently, he served as the executive chef at Buck & Rider, then as general manager for LGO Group, where he is credited with driving that hospitality group’s revenue to its highest point in the company’s history.

“We are honored to have Jared bring his extensive culinary expertise to our hospitality group to further enhance our restaurants’ menus and culinary experience,” said Fork & Dagger founder and CEO Julian Wright.

“His depth of knowledge has already proved invaluable and we are thrilled to have him join our team as we continue to bring more great restaurants to the Valley.”

Pedal Haus Brewery concept opened its second location in Chandler in February and will open a Phoenix location next year.

Pedal Haus has won over 32 medals and awards, including a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2018 and Best Brewery in the United States at the 2019 Copa Cerveza de Americas.

Brew Master Derek Osborne manages the beer lineup at all locations.

Information: Pedalhausbrewery.com.

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

EV sisters sharing their love of wine

BY ANNIKA TOMLIN Staff Writer

Shayla Smith and her sister, Shaunna Cooper, share a passion for wine.

The siblings wanted to tell the world about their love of vino, so they created Wine Spencer, a contemporary wine brand to inspire people to decant and appreciate wine, in September 2019.

Smith and Cooper host events, private occasion and social celebrations to help others imbibe.

Smith and Cooper, who pursued WSET Level 2 wine certifications, named the company after a well-used family moniker.

“Our dad, his name is Spencer,” said Cooper, who lives in Mesa. “His dad was named Spencer, so he is a junior. Then, our mom, her dad’s name is Spencer and then our grandfather on our mom’s side is named Spencer. It is a name that has been in our family and we really wanted to pay respect to that.”

The wine blog was a steppingstone for the sisters on their journey to putting their business together.

“I think for me the wine blog was just an introduction to wine but to really understand the way to taste wine you need an in-person tasting. It’s the best way to go about it,” Smith said. “Now we are doing virtual tastings but it’s still having that conversation with people about the aromas, about how to properly taste wine and I think you don’t really get the interaction in a blog, and so [it’s important] to create that dialogue.”

Mesa sisters Shaunna Cooper, left, and Shayla Smith are sharing their expertise in wine and offering eight specific wine experiences.(Special to the SanTan Sun News)

Wine Spencer offers eight specific guided wine experiences: Wine 101; Old World vs. New World; All White Everything; All Red Everything; Let’s Get Bubbly; South African Wine Tour; Black Winemakers/Wineries; and Rosé All Day. They also offer a create-your-own option along with restaurant partnerships and private event food and wine pairing consultation.

“I lived in South Africa for four months and so the South African Wine Tour is really fun for me because I can talk about my experience being in South Africa and some of the reds that are native to South Africa like Pinotage,” Smith said. “It allows me to expose people

to a new grape variety that they might not have tried before. Being able to introduce them to a wine that is pretty affordable and high quality is nice.”

Cooper added, “I think Wine 101 is a great class to teach because you are introducing people to wine and I think that people that don’t drink wine don’t drink it because they don’t understand what type of wine to order.

“They just don’t really know what type of palate they have. Do they like dry wines? Do they like sweet? Just by them trying to break it down and have them understand what they like versus what they don’t like is something that I enjoy.

It just kind of expands their knowledge in wine and gets them interested in the world of wine as well.”

The sisters agreed that they enjoy sharing milestones with their guests.

“During the tasting it allows us to be part of other people’s milestones,” said Smith, a New York resident. “Helping to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and bridal showers and engagements. That has been nice to be able to help people celebrate important moments in their life.”

A wine experience includes tasting between two to five wines under the specific category that was chosen. Each class begins with overall knowledge of how to get from grape to the bottle and then dives into the details of what people are tasting, smelling and seeing. “(We are) trying to get them to understand what they are tasting in their mouth,” Cooper said. “Is it the acidity?

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The body? What types of aromas are they smelling? We really try to focus on the five S’s, which are see, swirl, sniff, sip and then savor.”

The hardest part of doing the classes during a pandemic is having to find places that sell the same wine in different states for virtual classes.

Virtual classes for up to five people are $150 and for up to 10 people it is $250. The sisters will continue hosting virtual classes but would like to one day be able to do events at wineries and vineyards locally and internationally.

“We are originally from Los Angeles and so I think doing pop-up tastings in LA would be a fun thing to do for people who might be following us, but they want to do an in-person tasting post COVID,” Smith said.

Smith is interested in pursuing a Spanish wine certification, while Cooper would like an Italian wine certification.

Both are hoping to plan seven-day international trips around getting their certifications that could include others to make it a full wine experience.

“With a wine tasting, I know that there are some brands out there where they bring specific wine and you know they are really trying to get you to purchase the wine after the tasting. That is not our structure,” Cooper said. “It is really based on an unbiased opinion. We are not selling anything other than our services.”

For more information about Wine Spencer look up the sisters on Instagram @ winespencer or go to winespencer.com.

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BUSINESS

ROUNDTABLE

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 27

restaurants that have had to pivot very quickly to take-out and delivery-only were affected but we also saw in what’s called “the triple net investment category,” which are the quick-serve and drive-through restaurants – a lot of them were posting year-over-year increases of somewhere between 27 and 32 percent.

Then a lot of the sit-down restaurants put that into place very, very quickly and even began to develop family meal take-out packages and those that implemented strategies very quickly have actually survived the reopening quite well.

What we also see in the domino effect as the landlords were provided forbearance on their mortgage arrangements with their lenders, they very quickly shared that without even being approached by tenants and offering to help them through at least that first 90day window.

We’ve helped implement strategies with landlords to say there can be a benefit to both sides here and we’ve negotiated blend-and-extend kind of situations where the landlord can add a forbearance onto the back end of the lease or can negotiate reducing base rent in exchange for an extension or a lengthening of the lease term by a couple of years and offering kind of a menu.

Conversely what we’re seeing in some of these large-scale property owners is that there’s been a lot of opportunistic behavior on the part of some large national tenants that are just in a position to say, “We’re just not going to pay rent” and walk and because they can.

So, landlords are struggling with opportunistic tenants who really don’t need forbearance and then strategizing with tenants that really do need the help to be able to help them through this time.

Obviously, the fitness industry has been front-and-center in the media over the past month couple of weeks. And a lot of the smaller fitness users are finding ways to continue either online or in outdoor situations. Then, with PPP funding, I have a number of landlords who put tenants on special arrangements and when that funding arrived, they came back and said, “I don’t need the arrangements that we made any longer.”

How do you see the market for commercial and office space in this region?

Nollenberger: The East Valley for me is home, where I live and I do my work.

The vacancy rate is just under 7 percent in those areas as opposed to other areas of Metro Phoenix that are in the 20 percent and 30 percent vacancy range.

Chandler and Gilbert are rising communities that are experiencing a ton of influx from California businesses.

For example, State Farm in Chandler – they are recruiting from 42 markets to bring employees just into that tech cor-

t? o G ws Ne

ridor in Chandler. Chandler and Gilbert are experiencing growth at a rate that another municipality can’t compare to.

Why is that?

Nollenberger: A lot of the tech business placement and then housing follows those jobs. The Tempe Town Lake has huge employment expansion; Chandler has huge expansion. Chandler’s population is slightly larger than Gilbert’s but Gilbert has been voted one of the nation’s friendliest cities to move to.

There’s so much positive press for the East Valley. When people from out-of-state talk about what’s happening in Arizona specific to COVID, our East Valley cities are really in a different category because of the bulk of business and people wanting to escape the California tax situation.

There’s incredible commercial tech and new jobs in the Apple Command Center and far east Mesa in the Gateway District There’s tons of jobs. And then Eastmark has provided a great option for affordable housing but in a community that is so vibrant.

Queen Creek used to be the option for people that didn’t mind driving as far but wanted more affordable housing. Now, every restaurant, every commercial retailer that that wasn’t there before is there now. So you’ve got dining options. You’ve got shopping options. You’ve got entertainment options.

The entire East Valley is just vibrant in a different way than any other area.

Tauscher: I agree with Mary completely. I live in Queen Creek myself and have been there for the last 12 years and we used to be basically the redheaded stepchild and now it’s the place to be.

I mean we have everything – from our own Harkins now. They’re building a Fat Cats. Trader Joe’s is going in the same parking lot right next to Target and Barrio Queen.

I think the thing about the Queen Creek-Mesa corridor is that there’s so much newness. It just feels fresh. It’s close to an airport for a lot of people that don’t mind taking going into one of the smaller airports. The 202 is right there. There’s just a lot of navigational options there. You go to Maricopa, which is also growing at a rapid rate but you’re trapped – one way in and one way out.

Nollenberger: From the commercial landscape view, we’ve had a lot of conversations about the future of retail jobs. And of course, it used to be recession-proof, and then it was internet proof and now it’s COVID-proof.

We’re looking at how Target spends.

Target spends millions implementing inventory and digital control systems and put them in place before they needed them so that people could order online and could choose either in-store pickup or delivery. Walmart jumped on that strategy with pickup and delivery options. Those companies are going to be rewarded for having that technology in place.

So we have to take a look at the grocers who have not implemented those strategies and how that might in long-term affect their viability….We’re looking at retailers and how they are changing strategies to not only survive but be competitive in the future with all those factors affecting their future.

Would you say that restaurants took a greater hit than small retail businesses?

Nollenberger: Absolutely. I think that restaurants are following the protocol and requiring masks and distancing. I look at numbers occupancy numbers with clients of mine.

Lease rate occupancy cost can’t be more than 8 percent and now, with the decrease in their volume and having to comply with distancing and close every other table, they’re having to look at strategies to increase their monthly cash flow opportunities, and how are we going to navigate this. When you look at that business owner that is complying and then a bar that has no social distancing protocol going on, a survivability factor can’t be equal when the conditions are so different.

How about office space?

Nollenberger: Office space is going to go one way or the other – it’s not going to be static. Either office space is going to go larger to provide different spacing and cubicles are going to have to be sequestered to provide privacy or they’re going to downsize because people are going to continue working remotely.

With the increase in remote working, do you see a change in the demand for office space in the region?

Nollenberger: Buildings are pretty committed before they ever go vertical. There’s very little office space that’s built speculatively. There are a lot of people that want to reach out to their office setting…There are people who can’t wait for that – for office to be office and home to be home.

What is the state of strip malls in your experience?

Nollenberger: With every crisis comes an opportunity. There are a number of investors that thrive in a down market and that’s where all of their purchases occurred and they are not in their most driven mode when the market is where it’s been with contraction.

There was a time when being a grocery-anchor or big-box anchor was just preferable and, honestly, now for many investors, part of being internet-proof is having smaller spaces and not about the anchor and junior anchor space being vacant.

We just sold an unanchored Scottsdale site. It was under contract within two weeks of our listing and it closed 30 days early.

I was on a conference call with an investor yesterday who said, “When I saw this post card and that this property was sold, I realized that I missed this opportunity.”

New home construction: I’ve read

that that’s not keeping up with demand. Is that still going to pose a struggle for people looking to buy a home?

Tauscher: We just put two different clients in a new build in a Fulton Queen Creek. The sales guys were telling me they’d been open like six weeks and they’d already sold a hundred homes.

We’re seeing the same thing everywhere. with the builds. It is unbelievable….If they start out with five lots available, they’re probably not going to have five lots available by 3 in the afternoon. It truly is a problem.

I think part of it is that we don’t have enough and I think part of it is, again, people are bored and they figure well, they have nothing better to do because they’re all working from home.

So, they’ll just go take a lunch hour and they just want to go see a model because it’s fun and they literally can make a field trip of it. …They go in there thinking “I’m not going to do a new build” and they fall in love with the staging and the next thing you know, they’re signing a contract and they’re buying a new-build. …Now, there’s that weird timing issue where we are having a lot of people needing short-term rentals because the builder wants that house sold within the next week or two of going under contract and the home’s not going to be ready for six or seven months.

There’s not a lot of great viable options for people to go to so there’s been that a disconnect for short term rental situation.

It seems though from both the commercial and the housing side that at least the East Valley region is a little bit better positioned even during this pandemic than a good bit of the country. Is that safe to say?

James: Absolutely I can work 24 hours a day.

Brace: What I’m seeing a lot is increased demand for four-bedroom houses in a rental whereas before it was three bedrooms. …I’m having people calling me asking if they can install secure phone lines and things like that so they can take credit-card payments.

I’m really seeing that across the board and I think that moving forward, we’re going to see increased demand for bigger houses in rentals because of that: people needing office space.

Does the uncertainty surrounding this virus concern you long-term?

Brace: I don’t have any fear about that, largely because people always need a place to live…At the end of the day, there’s always going to be demand for rentals. That’s why I personally invest in rentals myself.

Tauscher: I feel the same way. …I spoke with one of my investors yesterday who owns a small Chinese-food restaurant. He said he made that conversion very quickly to get the food out in a different way and he was terrified that first couple of weeks, but he said ‘I’ve had more banner days in the last two months’ than he had in the last 10 years of being in business.

Contact Paul C Contact Paul P l Maryniak Maryniak M y i k at at 480-898-5647 480 898 5647 or or pmaryniak@timespublications.com p pmaryniak@timespublications.com pmaryniak@timespublications y i k@ i p bli i com

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

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Roth IRAs make more financial sense for your retirement

BY HAROLD WONG Contributor

Trillions of dollars are held in traditional IRAs and 401(k)s.

However, this creates a ticking tax time bomb because any money withdrawn is taxed as ordinary income (think wages or profits from any small business you own).

You got a tax deduction from your original deposit and your earnings were tax-deferred until you pulled money out, typically in retirement.

If you had deposited $250,000 over the decades while working and were lucky enough for it to be worth $1 million at retirement, all $1 million will be taxed as ordinary income when you spend it.

In contrast, with a Roth IRA, the whole $1 million is tax free if you follow two rules: you wait until age 59.5 or older to withdraw funds; and you have had your first Roth IRA account opened for at least 5 years. You are allowed to convert as much or as little of your traditional IRAs or 401(k)s in any given tax year.

Example: You have $1,000,000 in your traditional 401(k) and decide to convert $500,000 per year over the next two years. Assuming you have no earnings or losses during this period, this will create $500,000 of taxable income in each year.

You would either have to pay this tax; or you could invest in alternative

energy business equipment and use the 26 percent tax credit and Section 179 immediate expensing provision to offset the tax. Once you have done the Roth IRA conversion, here are three major benefits: There is no taxation, no matter how much you earn, for the rest of your life and your spouse’s life; and the first 10 years for any heirs (typically kids or grandkids). Imagine that you have $1 million in a Roth IRA when you retire at age 65.

Suppose it grows to $4,048,934 when you are 89 (which is only a 6 percent average compound growth rate). You or your heirs would be able to spend this

money with absolutely no income tax.

In contrast, if your $1 million traditional IRA or 401(k) grew to $4,048,934, at a combined federal and state tax rate of 40%, you would owe $1,619,574 of tax.

There is no required minimum distribution from a Roth IRA. In contrast, RMDs are required for any traditional tax-deferred retirement account, such as IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and the 457 thrift savings plan once you turn 72.

If you have been a good saver, you are being forced to distribute $10,000 or more of annual RMDs and it increases every year.

Many of my clients who were good

savers don’t need the RMDs to live on and wish they were not forced to take them. They did not want the extra taxable income.

When you are retired, you no longer have your job income and every dollar counts more. Example: You are a married couple, age 70 who have $100,000 of taxable income, less $27,400 standard deduction equals $72,600 of federal taxable income.

They will owe $8,317 of federal tax and about $1,973 of Arizona tax. Losing $10,290 to taxes every year might impact your bucket list fun. In contrast, if most of your income was from Social Security and your Roth IRA, you would owe very little tax.

Most people want to have a free and clear house when they retire. The time to pay an expensive mortgage is when you have your job income. The same thinking should apply to your IRAs and 401ks.

You want a free and clear retirement account, meaning a Roth IRA when you are retired because there is no tax when you spend that money.

Free information on retirement planning, solar business investments, and tax savings can be found at drharoldwong.com or.solarbusinessinvestments.com. RSVP at 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@hotmail.com.

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

WATCH LOCAL WATCH LOCAL LIVE ONLINE LIVE ONLINE

FIND THE LATEST IN YOUR DISTRICT & WATCH ON YOUTUBE. Citizens Clean Elections Commission hosts virtual legislative debates across the state, for you to see where candidates stand on the issues that matter to you. Find the debate schedule FINDquestions THE LATEST YOURthe DISTRICT WATCH ON YOUTUBE. or and submit before IN or during debate at&AZCleanElections.gov/debates call 877-631-8891 for more information.

Citizens Clean Elections Commission hosts virtual legislative debates across the state, for you

to see where candidates stand on the issues that matter to you. Find the debate schedule and submit questions before or during the debate at AZCleanElections.gov/debates or 5_CCEC_EastValleyTribune_10x4.9.indd 4_CCEC_EastValleyTribune_10x4.9.indd 1 call 877-631-8891 for more information.

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BUSINESS

CATERER

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

from page 26

houses kegs of all sizes with five taps located on the passenger side capable of dispensing beer and wine and even specialty cocktails or mocktails.

Finlay Ray, their smaller yet classy 1964 Cushman Tap Cart, was the newest member of their fleet family, with four taps artfully presented on light wood paneling. Its size made it easier to fit into smaller venues.

There, too, the vehicle’s name had significance. Finlay is the name of Kinsey’s grandfather and one that many in the family, including Kinsey, have as their middle name.

Though Kinsey feels the word “pivot” is being overused in the pandemic, admitted it aptly describes what she and her husband have had to do to keep their businesses viable.

“We’ve had to pivot due to the effects of the pandemic on our business,” she said. “It’s brought us back to the core of mixology. We’re really coming back to the basics.”

If there is one aspect of the youthful owners of the company that remains incontrovertible in the confusion wrought by COVID, it is their tenacity for optimism.

“I think I’m more of an eternal optimist, but Neal is optimistic, too. He’s just more pragmatic,” said Kinsey. “We make a good team.”

Neal said they remain hopeful for an improved post-Covid future where

The Finlay Ray mobile beer bar is a 1964 Cushman Tap Cart that Liquid Caterers use for smaller vanues.

(Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

they’ll see an uptick in business.

But they remain hard at work in the meantime.

“We’ve kept our offices and warehouse in Chandler, and are currently working on developing a schedule for our virtual classes,” said Neal.

“We do still have events scheduled for the fall but currently live events have been put on pause and in the fall the guest counts for events plus the number of overall events have been drastically reduced. We are essentially doing less than a quarter of what we would typically do during the months of October through December.”

Their pristine vehicles currently sit idle, but Neal and Kinsey Kendrick do not.

They’ve pivoted.

Liquid Caterers is now running online weekly Virtual Cocktail Classes in which they illustrate how to mix up some classic cocktails. Some classes focus on a specific spirit. A July class featured rum and various rum recipes as well as background on the spirit.

“We’re teaching people how to prepare unique cocktails and even basics like how to make a simple syrup at home,” explained Kinsey, adding that Facebook customers can get a discount

code when signing up for a class or get one class free when registering for three classes.

Liquid Caterers’ Cocktail Infusion Kits, a proprietary blend made with all-natural ingredients, are offered online and come with instructions and recipe cards. The company even offers local pickup at their Chandler offices so customers can save on shipping costs.

The company is still offering their gluten-free, kosher and vegan edible garnishes for fancied-up cocktail toppers.

And even if they can’t gather with clients for holidays, their Facebook page is awash with ideas for at-home celebrations. Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day provided opportunities for cocktail creation sessions, gift box ideas and more.

For now the couple, who have two sons ages 11 and 7, are focusing on the virtual side of their business.

“We’ve had many of our wedding events scheduled for September and October postponed, some for a year,” said Kinsey. “But we’re doing our best to stay focused on the positive.”

“It was pretty devastating how quickly it all came to a halt, but all in all I like to keep a positive tone, adapting and changing our model to accommodate the current state of the union with our virtual offers,” said Neal. “But we’re really looking forward to getting things going again in person soon” Find out more about Liquid Caterers, CoB and more at LiquidCaterers.com and on Facebook.

Local couple finds success scooping dog doo SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

As the CEO of an artificial intelligence software company, it’s not uncommon for Bob Dailey to be on a conference call with customers or his India team.

It’s what else the Gilbert man might be doing when he’s on those calls that’s unusual.

He could be driving to someone’s home to pick up dog poop.

Dailey and his wife Janet own a franchise called Pet Butler, a nationwide company that provides services like pet sitting, walking and chauffeuring – and removing pet waste and disinfecting backyards for homes and residential complexes throughout the Valley.

Though they both have fulltime jobs – Janet is a curriculum counselor for homeschooling families across the country – they added another revenue stream to their household after their adult daughters relocated to Gilbert from California, inspiring them to make a bold move of their own.

“I wasn’t ready to fully retire,” Bob said. “I wanted a ‘guy in a truck’ business – something that was hyper-local, small and had a subscription component to it. This was a perfect fit in a burgeoning industry, pet supplies and services.”

Bob says he and his wife handle dual responsibilities with ease, even though it requires a balancing act sometimes with their other job responsibilities –

chise in January 2016 when the then-9-yearold franchise had four trucks and 370 active customers.

Since then, the Daileys have doubled the number of their trucks and almost have doubled their active customers, about Though Bob and Janet Dailey of Gilbert have successful careers in the corporate world, they also have 95 percent of found success running a Pet Butler franchise that, among other things, rids pet owners’ yards of dog doo. whom are resi(Special to the SanTan Sun News) dential.

“When we and even though their side gig raises a first started, we’d tell people about few eyebrows among their colleagues. our service and most people had never “I’ve been on conference calls with heard of such a thing,” Bob said. “Nowaour India team, or with customers, days, we get that reaction about 10 to 15 while driving my Pet Butler truck to a percent of the time. Notwithstanding customer’s house to scoop dog poop,” the pandemic situation, people are genBob said. “The people I work with from erally super busy, so the convenience both companies get a kick out of know- of a service like ours is compelling for ing that I’m involved in both companies. them.”

“It’s definitely an interesting span Bob worked as an internal auditor between the two. The funny thing and transitioned to healthcare inforis that the fundamentals of sound mation systems before becoming a management, treating employees and divisional COO for a global financial customers right and building a company services firm. for growth and scalability are the same He joined the artificial intelligence – even if the details are different.” company Axis A.I. Innovations – a The Daileys, who are in their early cloud-based software service that 50s, purchased their Pet Butler franextracts document data and serves the

mortgage, medical shipping and oil/gas industries.

Janet also worked as an internal auditor and programmer/analyst for two large corporations before leaving to homeschool their two daughters.

They were attracted to Pet Butler because they liked its modernized business model with protected territories that foster growth and recurring revenue.

And they felt the potential for growth was strong, given that roughly 85 million U.S. families, or 67 percent of households, own a pet, according to a recent survey by the American Pet Products Association.

In the United States, pets include 90 million dogs and 94 million cats. In 2018, pet services accounted for $72.56 billion spent and was estimated to grow to $75.38 billion in 2019.

Three of the four employees who were with Pet Butler the day the Daileys took over are still with the company and the couple attribute their success to following their belief in treating customers and employees right.

“This is a people-centric service business,” Bob said. “The only way to grow the business is by having passionate and reliable people on your team who can grow with you. Your organization must become a place where people want to work and want to stay. You are serving them as much or more than you are serving your customers.”

Information: petbutler.com.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

AIA releases updated fall sports schedule

BY ZACH ALVIRA

Sports Editor

The future of fall sports in Arizona became clearer earlier this month as the Arizona Interscholastic Association released a revised schedule following a special Executive Board meeting. But whether that will change again may become clearer after a meeting this week by the board, called after NCAA conference schools began canceling fall sports.

As presently scheduled for Arizona high school sports, boys and girls golf will be the first teams to officially begin practices, as they will hit the fairways on Aug. 17 with the first competition slated for Sept. 7. Cross country and swim and dive were pushed back a week to Aug. 24, with official competition beginning Sept. 14. Badminton, fall soccer and volleyball will begin practice on Aug. 31 and games Sept. 14, 16 and 21, respectively.

Football, the sport that poses the biggest risk to spread the coronavirus due to its level of contact, will now begin its first day of official practices on Sept. 7, with the first week of competition on Wednesday, Sept. 30 for freshman and run through Saturday, Oct. 3 for varsity teams.

“The health and safety of our student participants, coaches, officials and essential personnel, including volunteers, is the primary concern for the return of interscholastic athletics and activities,” AIA Executive Director David Hines said in a release. “We are very grateful to those who share our commitment of a return to these highly beneficial educational activities and athletics.”

The amended schedule comes after a state-wide survey the AIA sent to all of its member schools to identify which schools felt comfortable allowing sports to return during the fall semester. Over 250 schools answered the surveys, most of which were in favor of hosting a fall sports season.

All fall sports will have an amended schedule, which will result in a reduced number of games and later championships. The AIA announced the updated schedules would be revised and released by conference leaders in the coming days or weeks.

Football appears to follow the schedule proposed to Hines and the AIA Monday by the Arizona Football Coaches Association, which called for practices to begin after Labor Day and games the week of Oct. 2 and gained support from more than 100 coaches.

The proposal offered an eight-game schedule with an eight-team postseason tournament for all conferences and the Open Division at the end of the season.

It also called for the removal of the Thanksgiving bye week and an optional ninth game for teams who do not make the postseason.

The AIA announced the football season would conclude on Dec. 11 and

The Arizona Interscholastic Association announced Wednesday afternoon a revised fall sports schedule that pushes all sports but golf back on the calendar. Football will begin official practices Sept. 7 and games on Oct. 2. (Pablo Robles/Arizonan Staff)

12 for the 4A-6A conferences and Open Division, thus eluding to an eight-game regular-season schedule and eight-team playoff format. The 1A-3A conferences are currently discussing possibilities for the length of regular season and an ideal date to host state championship games, according to the AIA. It is unclear if the AIA will allow teams who do not make the postseason to schedule other non-qualifiers at the end of the season as the AzFCA proposed.

“We owe it to our members to provide a direction,” said Toni Corona, the Executive Board President and Safford Athletic Director. “It may be challenging to get everything going for all the schools at one time but with good communication, we can provide the best possible experience for our students in this unprecedented time. This Board and the AIA staff will continue to provide information and guidelines as we proceed.”

Especially for football, the timeline will allow schools who are still restricted from participating in summer workouts on campus to be ready for the start of the season.

Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Higley and Tempe Union districts have allowed teams to return to campus for workouts in some capacity. Most of which remain in the first phase of their respective district’s return-to-play guidelines, which calls for conditioning drills.

Gilbert was the first to make such a move. Tempe Union made the move this past week and announced it would have a full discussion on sports with its

governing board on Aug. 18.

However, schools in other parts of the Valley just recently started summer workouts. Phoenix Union schools were restricted from any activities up until two weeks ago. Brophy announced it would not move past phase one until September. Schools in southern Arizona are still unable to work out.

“Although the many school districts represented in the AzFCA membership have issued varying rules within their districts, the proposed October 2 date of first varsity competition appears to provide the schools with the sufficient opportunity to comply district guidelines and adequately prepare their

teams for a full competition season,” the proposal from the AzFCA read.

The AIA stressed this new timeline is subject to change based on guidance from national, state or local health officials.

The amended fall schedule, if it stands, will result in a week delay to the start of winter sports. At this time, it’s unclear whether it will have an effect on the spring season, which was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.“We would like to thank our member schools and our school communities for their patience as we worked through the challenges to develop this plan,” Hines said.

Below is a detailed look at the new fall sports schedule released by the AIA Golf First practice – Aug. 17 First competition – Aug. 24 Championships – Oct. 26-29 (Div. I), Nov. 2-5 (Div. II) Cross Country First Practice – Aug. 24 First Competition – Sept. 9 Championships – Nov. 12-13 Swimming & Diving First Practice – Aug. 24 First Competition – Sept. 14 Championships – Nov. 5-7 Badminton First Practice – Aug. 31 First Competition – Sept. 14

Championships – Nov. 7 (Individuals), Nov. 9-12 (Teams) Fall Soccer First Practice – Aug. 31 First Competition – Sept. 16 Championships – Nov. 4-7 Volleyball First Practice – Aug. 31 First Competition – Sept. 21 Championships – Nov. 12-21 Football First Practice – Sept. 7 First Competition – Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Championships – Dec. 11/12 (4A-6A & Open)

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Public art helps shape Chandler’s character

BY COUNCILMAN TERRY ROE Guest Writer

Chandler has a long-standing commitment to high standards in creating and preserving safe, beautiful and vibrant neighborhoods and public spaces.

Through the Council’s Strategic Framework, a renewed focus on arts and culture was born, resulting in projects that incorporated innovative

of a community. It fosters pride, creates a sense of place and makes communities more inviting.

We are focused not only on aesthetics but using public art in functional ways. We are using art to connect developments and neighborhoods and to increase mobility.

For example, through thoughtful planning we have created a pathway for patrons to walk from the north end of Downtown to the new developments in the south without having to utilize the

elements to re-imagine spaces.

One focus area for installing public art was Downtown.

The projects implemented blend history with new development, promote walkability throughout the Downtown and add vibrancy to underutilized spaces to create a destination for visitors, businesses and residents.

It serves as a reminder and celebration of both our past and our future as the Community of Innovation.

Public art helps shape the character

main road.

To promote usage of this pathway, murals were used to turn blighted alleys and breezeways into vibrant and inviting spaces and other public art pieces, like the selfie station on Chicago, were installed as destination pieces to visit along the route.

These and many other public art pieces can be enjoyed in-person or digitally through the City’s interactive art tour at gis.chandleraz.gov/PublicArtTour.

How to make online learning at home effective

BY DR. STEPHANIE MUSSER Guest Writer

With the new school year beginning, the learning environment will look different for teachers and students alike. It seems every school and parent across the country is handling the COVID-19 crisis independently.

For those taking the virtual school approach, there are a few key factors to consider.

With a little extra thought and work, parents can create an optimal at-home learning environment full of enriched, authentic learning experiences and real gains for students. To fully harness the opportunity, think about the following: Teamwork. Families have an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate a successful learning environment together. As a family, set priorities by talking about what you value, desire, and commit to craft clear agreements, expectations, and pathways of communication.

Talk about the roles and responsibilities that each holds and the challenges you face. When you bring it all together and put energy behind it, the result will be greater.

Atmosphere. The home-school atmosphere should reflect a positive, dedicated learning space that honors

the classroom.

The working area should be defined, quiet, clean, organized, and equipped.

This way, students can focus on the assignments and make the most of their time.

Put away technology that isn’t necessary for school. A quiet, non-distracting space will keep students on track on a day-to-day basis.

Remember to schedule time away from the screen in general. Ample play, person-to-person dialogue, and rest are key requirements of the learning process.

Supplies and resources. Every grade level has certain supplies that will be necessary for completing assignments and participating in general. Ensure students have access to a device with a camera and microphone and reliable Wi-Fi connections.

Without these in place, students will be unable to access their teacher, their curricular resources, or submit assignments.

Routines. Children work best with clear and consistent routines and procedures. Set these up together and stick to them. Start the morning strong,

and build plenty of playtime and downtime throughout the day.

Have breakfast, lunch and dinner planned and adhere to a planned sleep schedule.

Partnerships. Many families find strong value in banding together in small neighborhood groups to not only engage in learning but also care for and supervise children when needed.

This new “Parent Pod” model is rapidly gaining momentum and for good reason. Small group learning, fueled by the school curriculum and enhanced by parent-teachers, subject experts, and specialty vendors, can provide an unmatched learning experience for students.

It also provides a great structure for socialization with peers.

Virtual learning, to some extent, appears to have staying power; but we can channel the challenge into something good for both students and their families.

It can bring us closer – not only within families but also between home and school. No matter what life hands us or the direction schools take, building the partnership among the teacher, student, and parent is always best for nurturing the growth and development of school-aged children.

- Dr. Stephanie Musser is founder and CEO of Candeo Schools. Information: Caneoschools.com.

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For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Desert Financial CEO surprises couple in need

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

Chandler resident and Desert Financial Credit Union CEO Jeff Meshey helped a young couple cross the finish line in a fundraising effort to help them extend the life of their two terminally ill children.

Ahwatukee parents Dave and Kendra Riley weren’t quite sure what to expect when they accepted a request for a Zoom meeting with Meshey last month.

The parents of three daughters – two of whom are in a life-and-death struggle with a rare and highly-aggressive terminal brain disease – have had their lives upended as they seek avenues to prolong their two youngest daughters’ lives.

Aided by the Ahwatukee-based Armer Foundation for Kids and a GoFundMe account set up by relatives, the family scurried to raise $500,000 to enable them to quickly move to Italy to obtain treatment.

It was a daunting goal, as the AFN detailed in a story July 9.

“Desert Financial reached out to me on Facebook after their CEO Jeff Meshey read about our story,” Kendra Riley said. “All we knew before our Zoom chat with them was that they wanted to hear more about our situation, how things were going, and that they were interested in helping through their Random Acts of Kindness program.”

Meshey – a father of four girls, two in college and two in elementary school – said he was moved by the story.

“It was because I have four daughters that their story really moved me, so I wanted to help anyway I could,” said Meshey. “You would do anything you could to save your children.”

Since its 1939 founding, Desert Financial, formerly Desert Schools, has been committed to giving back to the

The plight of Dave and Kendra Riley and their two youngest daughters moved Chandler resident and Desert Financial Credit Union CEO Jeff Meshey.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

communities they serve.

With 47 Valley locations, including one at 4940 E. Ray Road in Ahwatukee, Desert Financial recently surpassed the $1 million mark in donations for this year alone and one its philanthropic program is called Random Acts of Kindness.

It was through Random Acts of Kindness that the Rileys received their unexpected donation of $10,000.

“I was a bit nervous about the Zoom call because I didn’t know how they would react because they don’t know

us and we didn’t know them. I was very touched to see their reaction,” admitted Meshey.

The couple’s plight had been detailed in a story in the Ahwatukee Foothills News, a sister paper of the SanTan Sun News.

Since AFN reported on the couple’s plight, the community has stepped up to help the family – and have given the Riley family a ray of hope.

“Thanks to some very generous private donations, in addition to Desert Financial and other local companies

such as Sanderson Lincoln Ford and Sunland Asphalt, we’ve nearly reached our goal,” said Kendra.

“Italy is very well within our reach now and we cannot thank the community enough for their support. Keira’s life has depended upon it and we cannot wait to one day see her walk, talk, run and play as any other child would,” she said.

“By next week we hope to get our See

RILEY on page 37

Sun Lakes Rotary honors Casteel High teacher SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A Casteel High School special education teacher has been named the Sun Lakes Rotary Sandy Lundberg Educator of the Year.

Michelle Capriotti received the award, which is co-sponsored by Intel in memory of the school’s first principal, who passed away in 2018.

Finalists for the award were Alicia Cox, who teaches sports medicine through Casteel’s Career and Technical Education program, and Cheryl Butler, the English Language Learning coordinator at Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary School in Chandler.

According to he biography on Chandler Unified’s website, Capriotti holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and child development from St. Mary’s College of California and a master’s in

Michelle Capriotti is the Sun Lakes Rotary’s Educator of the Year. (Sun Lakes Rotary)

education from Arizona State University. She is working on a second master’s in educational policy.

She was in elementary education for 15 years before joining the Casteel High special education team in the past year.

Capriotti also is vice president of the Chandler Education Association and actively involved with Special Olympics of Gilbert and the Queen Creek Center for the Performing Arts.

She lists her motto as “Every child is gifted. They just unwrap their packages at different times.”

Grace Wilson-Woods, chair of the Rotary Club’s Sandy Lundberg Educator of the Year Award Committee, said, “Because of the quality of the candidates for this award, the decision is never easy, but the committee does a wonderful job reviewing the applica-

tions to select the honoree.”

“We know that the commitment, dedication and expertise these teachers bring to the classroom means the students in the Chandler Unified School District are certainly the biggest winners,” Wilson-Woods added.

Currently, Sun Lakes Rotary holds weekly Tuesday meetings for its more than 80 members through Zoom, alternating between 7 a.m. and evening 5 p.m.

Among the projects supported by Sun Lakes Rotary are education through schools in the Chandler Unified School District literacy through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and water access and sustainability through the Navajo Nation Water Project.

Information: sunlakesrotary.com or facebook.com/groups/SunLakesRotaryClub.

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NEIGHBORS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Area photographer shoots to give back

BY CECILIA CHAN Managing Editor

Ten days after he turned 60, Jeff Dewey got a pink slip from Oracle.

The former senior account executive was one of the millions of workers across the country sent to the unemployment line by COVID-19’s stranglehold on the economy.

“I was in the software business for 32 years,” Dewey said. “Customers weren’t buying and they cut back and I was one of the ones they cut.”

To help Dewey and others in the Valley get back on their feet, Gilbert professional photographer Cari Hall recently took their headshots for free.

Hall was part of a single-day initiative spearheaded by Headshot Booker, where 200 photographers in pop-up studios nationwide took pictures of 10,000 people out of work so they can post it on LinkedIn to find a job.

According to the online job and networking service, a profile picture is a key element of a person’s LinkedIn presence and that research found a profile with a headshot is 14 times more likely to be viewed by others.

“It’s huge,” Hall said. “This is the first digital handshake.”

A longtime professional photographer, Hall switched to taking headshots four years ago with her company Head-

basic headshot and some photographers charge upwards of $200 to $400, according to Hall.

“The biggest thing here is people who are out of work, it’s hard for them to see an end to this corona thing,” she said. “It’s frustrating. Hopefully we can do something, maybe get someone in front of the camera and give them some confidence and excitement.”

The 10,000 Headshots initiative is the brainchild of Tony Taafe, who co-founded Headshot Booker with renowned portrait photographer Peter Hurley and national event photographer Lauren Lieberman.

Taafe, who has a photography studio in Scottsdale and in Los Angeles, was taking headshots in Las Angeles for the Gilbert Photographer Cari Hall helped job-seekers by donating her time and talent to taking professional head shots they could use on event. One other Valley LinkedIn as they look for work through the social media site. online (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer) photographer dropped out, leaving Hall and two But she knows others haven’t been shotProsAZ.com. photographers in Tucson shooting for as fortunate and wanted to volunteer She has felt the pandemic pinch in her business but stayed afloat by shoot- her labor and equipment for free.

See on page 38 Normally she would charge $150 for a ing real estate assignments.

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37

RILEY

from page 35

medical visas and book travel and lodging.”

She said the medical team at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, is tentatively planning to begin Keira’s treatment no later than mid-August.

Dave and Kendra Riley’s two youngest daughters – Olivia, 2, and Keira, six months – both have metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a genetic brain disease that presently has no cure.

After months of waiting due to COVID delays, test results received in June revealed the couple’s older daughter, Eva, like her parents, is a carrier and will be unaffected by the genetic disease.

No parent should “ ever have to see their

child suffer in this way and have to say goodbye to them so soon.

”

– Kendra Riley

The Riley family story is all the more heartbreaking as the couple had undergone DNA testing done before having children. MLD was among the negative results from the tests.

The couple learned too late that the testing targeted the five most preva-

Jeff Mashey surprised Kendra and Dave Riley ina Zoom meeting by presenting them with a $10,000 gift to help them move to Italy, where they can get rare treatment that will extend the life of one of their two terminally ill daughters.(Special to SanTan Sun News)

lent gene mutations that lead to MLD. As they painfully discovered, there are many more.

Both Dave and Kendra Riley express hope that their experience will mean expanding the scope of the genetic testing for leukodystrophies.

“No parent should ever have to see their child suffer in this way and have to say goodbye to them so soon,” said Kendra.

It has been a long haul for the parents and their children.

Kendra was expecting her third daughter when, last November, the couple observed their normally active Olivia having difficulty walking.

An odd vibration in the iris in one of her eyes further heightened their concern.

Their pediatrician referred them to an ophthalmologist who ordered an MRI. The test showed vanishing white

matter in Olivia’s brain.

After one neurologist suggested waiting a year to see how their daughter progressed, they sought another opinion.

The second neurologist was Dr. Vinodh Narayanan of Arizona Pediatric Neurology & Neurogenetics Associates who confirmed Olivia had MLC, which destroys the protective fatty layer surrounding the nerves in the central nervous system, aggressively taking away motor function and other abilities.

Their toddler has already lost much of her vocabulary and continues to have difficulty walking. Her parents say she suffers pain daily.

“When symptoms show early in life, such as in Olivia’s case, most children aren’t expected to live past 4 to 6 years old,” said her mother “Keira, however, is not symptomatic yet, and we must act quickly to save her life.”

The Riley family currently travels weekly to Iowa for an MLD clinical trial for symptomatic patients that hopefully can slow the progression of the disease.

At the same time, they’re making plans to move the family to Milan in hopes of seeking gene therapy treatment for baby Keira while pursuing weekly treatments for Olivia in France.

And that is what Desert Financial Credit Union’s $10,000 Random Acts of Kindness gift, along with other donations - many from individuals the Rileys have not yet met – is helping to provide.

In the interim, the couple tries to balance their professional lives with all the mechanizations of moving to Italy.

Kendra, owner of Dawning Public Relations, has two employees helping run her business while David, a financial advisor at Strategy Financial Group is working with current clients remotely.

Chandler teen helps feed healthcare workers

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

A Chandler teenager spent her summer raising hundreds of dollars to buy meals for local healthcare workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eliana DeTata, 16, has collected nearly $2,500 in donations to buy meals from local restaurants for nurses and doctors working the graveyard shift at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center.

Eliana spent the last couple weeks delivering more than 200 burritos from Serrano’s Mexican Restaurants and 160 macaroni-and-cheese bowls from Gilbert’s Elbows Mac N’ Cheese.

The Hamilton High School student said she was inspired to spearhead the philanthropy project after reading an emotional Facebook post written by Renee Lopez, a local nurse, about the strain COVID-19 was afflicting on her hospital’s staff.

“We are placing 2-4 patients in a single patient room, creating makeshift hallway rooms, turning storage closets into rooms, and we are beyond stretched thin,” the nurse wrote.

Lopez claimed her hospital had already hit its maximum capacity and their parking lots were having to hold lines of patients waiting to be seen in the emergency room.

“Daily decisions are being made as to who will get resources to live, and who will not,” the nurse added.

Eliana said Lopez’s brutal honesty about working under the conditions of

Eliana DeTata, a Hamilton High student and Chandler resident, foreground, has been collecting money to deliver meals to healthcare workers who have been on the front lines of the pandemic. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

a pandemic motivated her to find a way to help out the medical community.

She then stumbled upon articles about residents in New York City dropping off catered meals at hospitals and decided she would try to do the same in Chandler.

“I loved the idea and wanted to do that here as COVID hospitalizations were rising here in Arizona,” Eliana said.

Eliana said she has attempted to

maintain a positive attitude throughout the pandemic and has been uplifted by how so many people were inclined to help her complete her project.

“This project brought me joy and appreciation during this time because all of my family, friends, and even strangers were so willing to help in any way they could,” she said.

Eliana said she has never undertaken

a charity project on this scale before.

Yet, she didn’t feel intimidated about venturing out and asking others for help during the process.

It turned out there were lots of people eager to support her mission in any way possible, she said.

The local restaurants were willing to stay open longer and prepare food late at night so Eliana could drop meals off during a hospital’s graveyard shift.

“They also worked with me so I can stretch my money to provide as many meals as possible,” she added.

The teenager said she’s not sure how long she’ll continue fundraising and delivering meals to the hospital.

Though she has received support from so many other people in the community, she realizes her project may become harder to sustain the longer the pandemic drags on for.

“I loved reading all of the appreciation from the nurses, but I don’t know how to raise money ongoing, especially during a pandemic,” Eliana said.

Even if she’s not able to continue the charity project, Eliana said she hopes it may have the lasting impact of encouraging people living in other cities to support their healthcare workers in whatever way they can.

“I hope my efforts may inspire someone else in the community to do something similar, like I was inspired by the woman in New York,” she added.

Eliana is still accepting donations through a page on GoFundMe.com.

38

NEIGHBORS

PHOTOGRAPHER from page 36

Arizona.

The 200 hand-picked independent photographers in 50 states were limited to 50 participants in order to allow for social distancing. The estimated value of their work for the event was pegged at $2.5 million.

Those who signed up for their 10-minute session also were given access to a private Facebook group, where they were given tips on how to pose and get a great headshot.

Hall said a well-taken headshot conveys to potential employers that a person is approachable, confident and competent, adding “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Hall was fully booked for the nine hours July 22 with 50 participants who showed up at The Forum, a co-working space in Chandler that provided the studio space. People wore masks until their portrait was taken.

First up was Nate Byrd of Mesa.

The 24-year-old at EOS Fitness decided he should consider other job options – perhaps in the healthcare field – after the governor closed gyms a second time.

“This is an excellent opportunity,” he said. “I’m happy to find out about it.”

He was called into the makeshift studio, with a screen and light units.

Hall climbed onto a step stool and called out instructions for him.

“Imagine you have a string coming

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

photos.

“I’m impressed,” he said, scrolling through the pictures. “They look good.”

Dewey, who drove from Peoria, said the trip was worth it.

He planned to use the new headshot for a website he and his wife set up a year and a half ago for their company. The couple work with manufacturers and sell their products on Amazon.

Dewey said the Amazon gig was a side business but now it’s become full time, making it important he had a good picture of himself on the site.

His wife had a professional headshot from Jeff Deey took advantage of Cari Hall’s generosity and got a professional head shot he can use on LinkedIn as he looks for a new job after her real estate job while losing his during the early stages of the pandemic. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer) his “looked cheesy.” It was from a photograph off the top of your head,” she told Byrd. hero, what does that look like?” Halls of him at a party and his wife tried to said, eliciting a toothy smile from Byrd.

“Shoulders back. I want you to bring erase the background and it looked like After each shoot, Halls sent the your head forward to me but don’t lean his head was cut out, he said. unedited photos directly to the particidown. Push your glasses all the way up.

Despite being on her feet for most pants’ cell phones.

Now have a smile.” of the day, Hall said she was honored Dewey, who said he doesn’t take After a few shots, she paused and and excited to take part in the event. gave him a paper towel to wipe his fore- good pictures, was immediately put at “Shooting 10,000 headshots in one ease in front of the camera. head to reduce the glare. Pre-Covid-19, day in the middle of a pandemic is “You have a great smile,” Hall told she would have make-up available and insane,” she said. “But we will help as worked alongside a makeup artist when him. “I love this. You look like a supermany people as possible get back to model over there.” shooting a client, Hall said. work, help them have some hope for Dewey immediately downloaded his “OK, I need the nice guy, the superthe future.”

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

39

40

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Film documents Chandler in the pandemic

BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

A new documentary has been released online that profiles how Chandler leaders have been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hour-long “COVID-19 vs. Arizona – Our Stories” comprises interviews with elected officials, law enforcement officers and others.

Betty Ramirez, a local business owner and vice president of the Chandler International Film Festival, produced the documentary to provide Chandler residents a local perspective on how the city has reacted to the ongoing health crisis.

“The best thing you can do is just listen to people,” she said. “Everybody has a unique story.”

Chandler has spent the last five months struggling through a calamity that’s shut down schools, businesses and public buildings.

Ramirez’s film offers a glimpse inside the minds of local leaders and front-line workers who have had to make tough decisions and toil with the pandemic’s widespread impact.

Ramirez, who’s lived in Chandler for the last 14 years, said she wanted to

Local business owner Betty Ramirez's first documentary details how Chandler leaders dealt with the pandemic's onslaught.

(Special to the Arizonan)

offer an uplifting view on the pandemic with a film that offers a hopeful message.

The first-time filmmaker said she wants the documentary to spur viewers into action and think about how they can help their neighbors weather

through the pandemic.

“We need to work together,” Ramirez

said. “We have to work together to come out of this thing.”

The film features interviews with Mayor Kevin Hartke, Councilman Mark Stewart, Police Chief Sean Duggan, Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins and Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who tested positive for COVID-19 in June, was also interviewed for the documentary. He’s earned much notoriety during the pandemic for defying Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order by refusing to enforce it.

“Wear a mask, stay at home until you are comfortable to come out,” Lamb says in the documentary. “But we have to get back to what we’re doing because if we don’t – we won’t have anything to go back to.”

Ramirez said she was See

DOCUMENTARY on page 41

Among the artwork that will be auction is, from left, “Serene,” mixed media by Judith Rothenstein-Putzer of Scottsdale; “Teamwork,” an oil painting by Kathy Snapp, Cave Creek; and “King of the Range,” pastels by Beverly Bradshaw, Carefree. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Online art auction helps more than just artists SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

With galleries closed and art shows canceled, patrons can support artists from the comfort of their homes by taking part in the Creative Connections Fine Art Online Auction next month.

Supporters will also help the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which is helping to feed people impacted by the pandemic.

More than 40 artists from Arizona as well as the United States including Texas, Washington State, New York and

Florida are participating.

Fine art in all mediums, including paintings, glass, fiber, jewelry, mixed media and more will be available for purchase with free shipping offered to the contiguous 48 states.

This is the second fine art online auction organized by artist Nancy Breiman of Scottsdale.

“Artists have limited ways to show and sell their art during the current pandemic,” Breiman said. “And going online is a safe and easy way to introduce collectors to new artists they would not

see in a single gallery or show.”

Breiman said he is proud to partner with World Central Kitchen, which was founded by Chef José Andrés and his wife in 2010 to “create smart solutions to hunger and poverty.”

They have activated hundreds of restaurants and kitchens to feed those in need during the pandemic, including medical professionals on the front lines and on the Navajo Nation.

In the past it has helped devastated communities recover and establish resilient food systems and has served

over 30 million meals to those impacted by natural disasters and other crises around the world in countries including Albania, the Bahamas, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Mozambique, Spain, Venezuela, and the United States.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, its team of “food first responders” has activated hundreds of restaurants and kitchens to feed marginalized and vulnerable communities with individually packaged, fresh meals in communities See

AUCTION on page 41

ARTS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

DOCUMENTARY

from page 40

interested in interviewing subjects who could offer a first-hand account of what it’s been like grappling with COVID-19 from a leadership position.

“Every single human is unique,” she said. “Everybody deals with this situation in a different way.”

Ramirez, a native of Mexico, admitted that she hasn’t always had much of an interest in filmmaking and envi-

AUCTION

from page 40

that need support – including children and families and deliveries to seniors who cannot venture outside. WCK is now active in dozens of cities providing over 150,000 fresh meals a day.

“Traditional safety nets like school

41

sioned producing a documentary.

Her family’s business, Zerimar Medical Equipment Services, has been

staying busy throughout the pandemic repairing equipment that’s desperately needed to keep medical facilities open.

The thought of making a film during this hectic time hadn’t dawned on Ramirez until she began wondering how her friends and neighbors may be searching for some inspiration amid the pandemic.

The public probably wants to know from their leaders what’s really going on, Ramirez said, and a documentary could be the perfect medium for delivering that message.

The filmmaking experience has now inspired her to consider producing more videos on other topics she’s passionate about.

“I’m not the type of person to just stay home,” Ramirez said. “You need to go out and see how you can help people.”

Ramirez said any proceeds made from “COVID-19 vs. Arizona” will be donated to the Chandler International Film Festival, which intends to host its next annual event in late January. The documentary can be screened on Vimeo.com for $10.

feeding programs, city services and food banks are struggling to meet basic needs,” the nonprofit says on its website. “#ChefsForAmerica is making a key connection between people who need meals and restaurant workers and drivers who need to earn a living.”

“Our country is suffering right now,” Breiman said. “Extreme temperatures,

hurricanes, quarantines and fear are causing mental and emotional strain on everyone.

“It is my hope that bringing the beautiful and affordable works of art from the auction into the viewer’s home will provide a small respite and at the same time, our proceeds can make a difference to those in need.”

Art patrons and collectors may view and register free beginning Sept. 16 at is.gd/fall2020auction.

Preview videos will be shared at creativeconnectionsfineart.com prior to the start of the auction, which starts at 6 a.m.

Sept. 20 and runs through 8 p.m. Sept. 27.

For details, email Breiman at nbreiman@gmail.com.

We need to work “ together, we have to work together to come out of this thing. ”

– Betty Ramirez

Simkins jumped on Netflix’s ‘The Sleepover’

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Staff Writer

Actor Maxwell Simkins felt there was something special the first time he read the script for Netflix’s “The Sleepover,” which debuts on Aug. 21.

“It was really out there,” said the 13-year-old Philadelphia native.

His father, John, added, “The script and the story was something we really enjoyed and we’re grateful to have the opportunity.”

In the family adventure-comedy, Maxwell plays Kevin, the brother to Clancy (Sadie Stanley). The two discover their stay-at-home mom, Margo (Malin Akerman), is a former high-end thief in a witness protection program.

When her mom and dad (Ken Marino) are kidnapped, the siblings must team up to rescue their parents in one night. Directed by Trish Sie (“Pitch Perfect”), the fast-paced “The Sleepover” also stars Joe Manganiello as Margo’s former flame.

John says Kevin is a lot like his son.

“They’re both really outgoing and adventurous and kind,” he said. “He was able to use his own experiences and personality with Kevin.”

Maxwell, who steals the show in “The Sleepover,” isn’t so sure.

“My character is a little more over the top,” he said. “He’s like me after a Capri Sun or two.”

Maxwell has been acting since he was 6 years old, when he starred as Caleb in the Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas film “And So It Goes.” He’s inspired by the late Cameron Boyce, who died at age 20 in July 2019 due to complications from epilepsy.

“I’ve been an actor ever since I saw Cameron Boyce for the first time,” he said.

“I was really bullied at times. I want to make people laugh, just as he did. That’s the goal.

“I actually met him once. I almost peed myself. It was an out-of-body experience. He was so nice. It’s so tragic.”

Maxwell not only wants to make people laugh, but he wants to entertain them. He’s been rapping for a bit.

“My mom shared the movie ‘8 Mile’ and there’s just something about they use poetry to express their thoughts,”

Above: “The Sleepover” stars, from left, Sadie Stanley (Clancy), Maxwell Simkins (Kevin), Lucas Jaye (Lewis) and Cree Cicchino (Mim). (Claire Folger/Netflix) Right: “The Sleepover” stars, from left, Cree Cicchino (Mim), Sadie Stanley (Clancy), Lucas Jaye (Lewis) and Maxwell Simkins (Kevin). (Claire Fogler/Netflix)

he said about rapping.

“I just fell in love with it immediately.

Ever since then I’ve been inspired by Dr. Dre and Rakim and Nas—all the original rappers. The OGs really influenced me.”

Up next for Maxwell is the Disney+ series “The Mighty Ducks,” a reboot of the 1992 movie.

“I’m from Philly, so I skated a bit back east,” he said. “They did put me in a boot camp for skating in Vancouver and we’re going to do it again.”

In the meantime, Maxwell hopes fans enjoy “The Sleepover.”

“I hope everyone learns from the movie that, through thick or thin, friends will be friends and family come first,” he said.

42

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

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43

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

God bless the healers, soothers who are helping us

BY RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D. Guest Writer

Day after day we learn about heroic episodes being accomplished by the few for so many.

The doctors, nurses, hospital workers, custodians, delivery people, people who collect our refuse, the mail delivery people, all join together to complete our living experiences.

There are the police, fire department, the clerks who serve us in the various areas of commerce – the lists are endless and probably incomplete – but still they carry on ensuring that our lives thrive in an atmosphere of severe difficulties.

We read and hear about “Our Heroes.” We see signs, we acknowledge these defenders of our sanity – and yet, we certainly do not do enough.

Most often they are invisible to us as we take them for granted. And then we learn that some of them perish as they march into harm’s way to ensure that we are safe and secure. I am reminded about something Albert Einstein once wrote: “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there

is one thing we know: That we’re here for the sake of others. Above all, for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countess unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.

“Many times, a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”

I could not help thinking as I read these words how much of an impact, we have on the lives of those we come in contact with each and every day. We will probably never to what extent we truly comfort those in need or help those looking for togetherness.

The men and women who march into the fray to relieve the pain and suffering, to offer comfort and solace, are the

heroes to whom we owe so much. They take their obligations and oaths seriously without concern for themselves, they isolate themselves from family and friends to ensure that we are safe and secure with no concern for their own safety.

I have witnessed first-hand these messengers from God, these healers and soothers. I have seen the results of their efforts as I speak to those afflicted and comforted.

Can we do enough, can we do more, to express our gratitude?

Perhaps we will never sufficiently be able to thank them, but we must try.

When this nightmare is over, we should join together in our respective houses of worship, and even collectively, to congratulate all who helped us through these difficult day and months.

Now, however, when we see someone who is in the forefront of combating these tragedies, stop and thank them. It is s small gesture, but one that will give them pride in knowing they mean something to us, and those we do not even know.

God bless all of them. Surely God has blessed us by sending these angels of mercy.

Rabbi Irwin Wiener is spiritual leader of the Sun lakes Jewish Congregation.

Chandler United Methodist Church Making and Deploying Disciples for over 100 Years.

Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.

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44

DIRECTORY

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

Call us at 480-898-6465 or email classifieds@santansun.com AIR CONDITIONING/HEATING QUALITY, VALUE and a GREAT PRICE!

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• Weekly, biweekly, tri-weekly, or monthly; same talented crew each visit • Flexible, customized services to meet individual needs of each client • GREEN eco-friendly products used to clean and sanitize • Move-in/move-out and seasonal deep cleans • Small, family-owned company with GUARANTEED high quality services • Always dependable, excellent references, bonded, and insured

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DIRECTORY

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

45

DIRECTORY / CLASSIFIED PLUMBING

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Plumbing C O • A licensed plumbing contractor for over 40 years • No Employees - Owner operated • Specializes in water heaters and all plumbing repairs • Located in Chandler

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48 YEARS In Business Since 1968 ROC#153202/213278

% Financing 0% Financing Fast* 020% Fast* 20% *Call for details. *Call for details.

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BIG JOHN'S CARPET CLEANING Our truck-mounted steam cleaning system will deep clean your carpets, ridding them of unwanted dirt, bacteria, fungus and chemical residues.

Upholstery cleaning also available.

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For a clean and healthy carpet, call 480-786-6610 John Downs, Owner/Operator Ocotillo Resident.

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A+ SPRINKLER REPAIR SERVICE Are you tired of fixing drip system leaks?

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CEMETERY LOTS St. Francis Cemetery Plots (48th St/Oak) 3 companion plots, section STA, plot 74, row 2, spaces 2, 3, 4 $5500 each o.b.o. easy to find.

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LIFEGUARD

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CB

ANSWERS: 1. Wheel barrel is missing, 2. there is a wheel in the dirt on the left, 3. girl’s watering can is now a crock pot, 4. path is now a snake, 5. small tree in girl’s hand is now a stalk of celery, 6. lower right dirt pile has changed into a sea turtle.

The more layers of protection you have around water, the safer your child is.

46

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Gilbert woman now co-owns legendary Tortilla Flat

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Staff Writer

Katie Ellering, one of Tortilla Flat’s new owners, isn’t about modernizing the remnant of the Old West town.

She and her fiancé/operations director, Chris Field, just want to bring a fresh look to the tourist attraction, which boasts a population of six.

“The most important thing to remember is we—the owners—are temporary,” said Field, who lives in Gilbert with Ellering.

“We’re transitioning what Tortilla Flat was into the 21st century. We’re not a sports bar or a strip mall that’s going to be gone in 10 years. This is a historical Arizona property that will be here for another 100 years,” Ellering said, adding: “Our goal, as caretakers, is property maintenance and we want to keep the look and the feel and provide programming to make sure we’ll be able to pass it on.”

Ellering has owned it since September with partners Ryan Coady, Tom Misitano and Dale Evans.

“We thought this was such a unique thing and we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this,’” Ellering said. “We got together and made it work.”

So far, the team has upgraded the kitchen and the food on the menu,

The saloon at Tortilla Flat is known for its saddle bar stools and good food.The new owners, including Katie Ellering of Gilbert, intend to add some fun features as well. (Special to the Arizonan)

except – Ellering and Field are quick to add – the famous chili recipe that’s been around since the 1940s.

“It’s a time-honored tradition and that will not change,” she said.

The chili, which is also found on the chili dog, is part of a hearty American menu that includes the Mucho Macho nacho ($15.99); Roosevelt Dam Good

wings ($7.99 starting price); Gaucho cheesesteak ($12.49); Ol’ Faithful BLT ($11.49); chicken street tacos ($12.59) and fajita salad ($14.39).

“We have great food,” Field said. “We do. Is our food better than what you’ll find elsewhere? Maybe. We’re trying to create an experience. It’s a little gem of an experience.”

After having a meal in the saloon, guests can head to the Tortilla Flat General Store and Ice Cream Shop, where they can enjoy its well-known prickly pear gelato, or take home prickly pear barbecue sauce or a Tortilla Flat “Killer Chili” packet.

The owners have heard plenty of heartwarming stories from visitors to Tortilla Flat. They see children dressed up as cowboys and cowgirls and the awe on their face when they’re out there.

“They’re used to growing up in the city and when they come out here, they play in the dirt and see cactus everywhere,” she said “They have a lot of fun. They have a lot of fun with the dollar bills, too.”

“I got a letter a few months ago that had a dollar bill in it. A young kid had taken one of the dollars off of the wall (at Superstition Saloon and Restaurant) and had written us a letter of apology and sent us the dollar bill back. It was really cute.”

The couple have been visited by folks who have donated the collectibles that fill the saloon, like the saddles that sit atop hand-carved bar stools and worn leather goods that are tacked to the walls.

One of the fun parts of Tortilla Flat is its history and games. Field explained in the frontier days, if there were more than 100 permanent residents, you were considered a town or settlement and you’re officially on the map.

“Tortilla Flat was never big enough to have that prestige,” he said. “We were big enough to have a post office. Because of that, there’s no real town hall records or building plans. Most of what we know about Tortilla Flat has been assembled by different people who were here.”

No one knows the real story behind the name, Tortilla Flat. But one is believable, Field said. It’s understood that it came from a family who was caught in a monsoon in the 1930s in the area. After being stuck for a couple days, all they had left was masa and water.

“They were down to eating tortillas for the last couple of days,” he said. “So, they called it Tortilla Flat.”

A man who visited in the early 2000s said he lived there when he was a child.

He sketched a picture on a napkin of the town before fires and floods ravaged it. It included the Goldbrick Motel, which was constructed from mud bricks manufactured on-site out of clay in the ground and then mixed with gold-dust from the local miners in the Superstitions at the time.

The kitchenettes in the motels were rented to tourists until 1987 when a fire destroyed the entire town. A building that replaced it houses the gift shop and post office.

“Every time it rains, we have a little creek alongside the property,” he said.

“You can see little shiny flecks.”

Other stories revolve around the items that adorn the walls of the saloon.

“One of the funny things is, maybe a month ago, there was a couple here who were like, ‘Hey, that stuff right there is ours—that gun and jacket. We donated that,’” Ellering recalls.

“People are so proud to have their things up on the wall and just be a part of history. There are some really cool, fun stories and things that happen out here.

Tortilla Flat is a self-sufficient little town, according to Ellering.

“We’ve got a sewer plant. We’ve got a water plant. We do process our own water,” she said. “However, we don’t even have a phone line. We can’t get a landline here. So, when people call us, they don’t know that they’re calling a cellphone because we don’t have a landline. We can’t get the internet.”

Field and the all-female leadership team – Ellering; restaurant manager Renee Lockhart; restaurant supervisor Marba Carroll; and kitchen manager Kaleena Gallegos; and retail manager Stephany Duarte – are planning some improvements.

They include painting signs and creating a town newspaper with treasure hunts for kids, a historical crossword puzzle and stories of Tortilla Flat.

“It’ll be all silly advertisements, like period pieces,” Field said. “I have this really fun idea.”

Field said Tortilla Flat, which also houses a museum, is perfect for a day visit for Valley families during the pandemic.

“You don’t have to commit to a day of travel or two days of travel,” he said.

“You can spend a half day with us and get away from all the craziness.

“Our goal is to take what’s here and just make sure that it looks fantastic, it’s in repair so people can create memories with their families long after we’re dead and gone.”

Information: tortillaflataz.com

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020

47

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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 regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (800-621-7440; http://hlcommission.org/). 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 MARCH 2020. For the most up-to-date information about admission requirements, tuition, scholarships and more, visit gcu.edu. GCU, while reserving its lawful rights in light of its Christian mission, is committed to maintaining an academic environment that is free from unlawful discrimination. Further detail on GCU’s Non-Discrimination policies can be found at gcu.edu/titleIX. Š2020 Grand Canyon University 20GTR0232

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | AUGUST 16, 2020