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www.ahwatukee.com
END OF A DREAM
Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018
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MOVIE MAGICIAN
@AhwatukeeFN
FDA warning comes late amid EV vaping epidemic BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer
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@AhwatukeeFN |
moking in the boy’s room has morphed into vaping in the boys and girls’ room as the national e-cigarette vaping epidemic engulfs East Valley schools — possibly making teenagers a new generation hooked on nicotine. Two East Valley school districts began fighting back before the U.S Food and Drug Administration last week declared teen vaping a national epidemic and took aim at e-cigarette manufacturers, threatening them with additional regulation and forcing them to come up with plans to stop minors from buy-
ing e-cigarettes. Acting on the results of an undercover sting operation, the FDA also issued 1,300 civil fines and a warning letter to retailers that illegally sold the e-cigarettes to minors. But the FDA warning comes well after hundreds of kids even in East Valley middle schools have been caught up in vaping. “There has been a noticeable increase of vaping occurring with our students this year, both on campus and off campus,” Gilbert Public Schools warned parents in March. “This is not exclusive to GPS; it is occurring on campuses everywhere in our area, state and nationwide.” At a forum sponsored by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce in June,
two area superintendents — Kevin Mendivil of Tempe Union and Jan Vesely of Kyrene — both said vaping had become an enormous problem. While Mesa and Chandler, like all districts, forbid all forms of tobacco use, it is unclear if they have taken any special measures to curb vaping among their students. But Kyrene and Tempe Union are trying to fight the dangerous trend. Kyrene is leading the state by becoming the first district in Arizona to test a new kind of monitor. Kyrene officials are installing the monitors in the bathrooms of Aprende MidSee
VAPING on page 10
Blind Ahwatukee teen undaunted by football — or sailing
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LIVING HER DREAM
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THUNDER ROLLS ON
BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor
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ust when you think Ahwatukee’s Adonis Watt can’t surprise you anymore, the 14-year-old ups the ante and does it again. Watt began losing his sight at age 5, and the congenital glaucoma had him totally blind by the time he was 6. Even then, it wasn’t enough to stop the intrepid youngster from excelling at Kyrene del Milenio Elementary starting in second grade after spending much of his first grade year conquering braille at the Foundation for the Blind Children in Phoenix. Nor did he let his blindness keep him from playing football with the Southeast Valley Football League while in elementary school. And at Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School, Adonis excelled on the wrestling team. Fast forward to this year, his freshman year at Brophy Prep. He’s a running back on the Open Houses: freshman football team and is preparing for (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer) a six-day Caribbean sailing experience in Blindess doesn’t stop20th 14-year-old Watt of Ahwatukee from playing football for Brophy Prep or Saturday, February atAdonis 9:00am deciding to join a Carribean sailing adventure.
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