The Chandler Arizonan October 16, 2022

City, residents opposing county housing project

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Chandler of�icials have been trying to �igure out ways to bring affordable housing to the city for months. Now, there is a proposal to do just that and they’re opposing it.

They aren’t alone, either.

Homeowners are organizing to stop The Landings on Ocotillo project, in which developer Dominium Management would

Dominium Management and Maricopa County are listed as co-developers of the controversial multifamily and senior complex proposed on county land in Chandler. (Special to the Arizonan)

bring 518 affordably priced apartments to an area near Hamilton High School.

The developers, having faced similar opposition in other Valley cities, are marching forward.

They want to build the units on Ocotillo Road just east of the railroad tracks, not far from Arizona Avenue. They are proposing a 336-unit multifamily complex and a 182-unit senior

��� LANDINGS ���� 18

Aiming high

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Nearthe end of a presentation on the results of Chandler’s long-awaited Diversity, Equality and Inclusion study, one City Council member said it appeared to contain mostly good news.

“From what I’m seeing here, … we don’t have a major issue glaring, systemic racism,” Councilman Rene Lopez said. “There’s groups out there that don’t feel like they’re purposely being excluded.”

Not so, said Regina Romeo, the consultant brought in to explain the results of the study that Council approved in October of last year.

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Romeo, the Diversity Equality

Leonardo Ollervides, 8, played ring toss with pumpkins at the Chandler Contigo Kicko Festival last month. The festival, which ended yesterday, celebrated the city's Hipsanic community. (David Minton/Arizonan Sta Photographer)

Consultant offers mixed view of Chandler's diversity efforts

County pound poster dog’s death suggests problems

BY CECILIA CHAN Staff Writer

Whether Rookie’s death could have been prevented had the county not ter minated the team is debatable.

Rookie

was the face of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control’s part in a national campaign early this year as it tried to ease overcrowding at its Phoenix and Mesa shelters.

Described as “a giant pup who loves to run zoomies in the yard and play out side, but what he really loves is getting attention,” the 3-year-old Rottweilermix was photographed smiling as his head was being scratched.

Four days after the Bissell Pet Foun dation’s national Empty the Shelters campaign ended on May 15, Rookie was euthanized.

His mental health had declined after an administrative reorganization that disbanded the county shelter system’s behavioral team.

“Basically, it’s stressful at the shel ter,” said Kim Schulze, the shelters’ for mer county behavior and training team manager. “Lots of dogs don’t do well and start to deteriorate.”

Rookie, a 3-year-old Rottweiler-mix, was the Maricopa County’s poster dog for a nationwide campaign to ease shelter overcrowding. But four days after the campaign ended, the dog was euthanized. (Special to the STSN)

But animal advocates said its disman tling was a bad idea.

That and other alleged conditions have prompted a petition calling for reform at the shelter.

Behavior team dismantled

The county hired Schulze in June 2017 after she had been volunteering there since 2014. She took a substantial pay cut to oversee a team of seven, assessing cats and dogs coming into the two shel ters in Phoenix and in Mesa and keeping them mentally and physically healthy during their stay.

“Maricopa County takes in an ex tremely large number of animals and needs behavioral support to make those decisions as to which dogs can be safely placed, which can be safely cared for (and) which dogs can make certain im provements,” Schulze said.

“When the behavioral team started, we

started to do enrichment, giving treats in the kennels, starting to do playgroups and working with animals that needed extra help to be adoptable.”

Schulze and her team were reassigned under a new structure instituted last November by Assistant County Manager Valerie Beckett, then serving as interim animal care director.

“She changed my position to training manager,” Schulze said. “So instead of assessing the behavior of animals, I was training staff. She said she wanted ev eryone to be a shelter expert.”

Forbidden from performing assess ments on some of the more challenging animals, Schulze felt her hands were tied and resigned in May. She now works for the Seattle Humane Society.

County officials defended the restruc turing.

“It’s important to us to have staff mem bers who understand behavioral issues in our pets,” said Kim Powell, spokes

woman for Animal Care and Control in an email. “In fact, our goal is to have more of them.

“But the behavioral team as a whole did not have a formal training protocol and lacked data to identify if it was helpful intervention in its present state, so we re-structured.”

Schulze disputed Powell’s assessment of her team.

“The behavior team had protocols for training behavior staff,” she said. “There were three levels within the behavior team …Each level had different duties within their job description that aligned with their level of animal behavior experience, knowledge, and skills.

“On-the-job training consisted of daily interactions with animals with opportunities for feedback and shadowing with more skilled and knowledgeable handlers.”

Schulze said that learning about animal behavior is an ongoing process and that the county shelter needs positions dedicated to animal behavior.

Shelter associates can’t be expected to become experts in behavior because they don’t have time during their work day of watering, feeding and cleaning to dedicate to the learning process and they may not have the skills or desire to learn more about animal behavior, Schulze said.

And, she questioned how the county was recruiting staff with behavior experience when “behavior” isn’t in any of the job postings.

Lorena Bader, vice president of the nonprofit Four Paws and Friends, believes had Schulze and her team been in place, Rookie would have had a fighting chance.

“If the team was in place, (Rookie) would be getting out every day or every other day,” Bader said. “If he was deteriorating, they would have done more to make sure he stayed healthy until he got out of the shelter.”

Petition seeks changes

Bader is circulating a petition drive on change.org demanding the county Board of Supervisors and administration “provide proper medical and behavioral care for the animals in their charge.” As of Sept. 28, it had garnered 22,012 signatures.

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Volunteer Sarah Loman hands out treats to Hawkeye, an American Bulldog/Great Dane mix at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. County officials say they need more volunteers at that shelter and their other one in Mesa. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

The county used this poster during a nationwide campaign to spur adoptions by waiving fees. Rookie, the dog in the poster, was euthanized four days after the campaign ended

Arizona law provides for the creation of county shelters and requires that any impounded animal be given “proper and humane care and maintenance.” Other than that, there doesn’t appear to be any oversight of shelter operations.

Bader, a retired Corona del Sol High School chemistry and physics teacher, detailed a number of what she called “shelter failings,” and backed as many as she could with department records she obtained through public records re quests.

She said she’s contacted veterinarians who left the county but they were fearful of possible retribution from their former employer.

Bader’s complaints also included that MCACC harbored a hostile work envi ronment, had low staffing and morale and a high-turnover of staff.

Bader said she volunteered at the shel ter from 2016-19 until she was fired for sharing a photo of temperatures topping 100 degrees in the shelter. She still keeps in contact with some volunteers there.

“The kennels are not always cleaned

because there’s not enough staff,” Bader said. “It’s not like they never get cleaned but they’re so short-staffed they’ve started not to do deep cleaning. They just started spot cleaning, which is not OK when you have infectious disease in the shelter and have distemper.”

She also said that dogs “don’t get out of their kennels for weeks at a time,” which leads to behavioral problems.

“If they’re lucky they get out once ev ery five days for a walk or yard time. If they get sick, they sit in their kennel for two weeks with kennel cough. Some

dogs in the medical wing are in there one month and not getting out.”

Rookie’s sad end

County records show Rookie came into the shelter Jan. 24 as a stray and was considered “friendly but skittish, allows all handling.” He was vaccinated, neutered and microchipped in anticipa tion of adoption.

Rookie’s behavioral assessments on Jan. 25 and Jan 29 stated that he was a friendly dog who “thinks he’s a lap dog and wants lots of attention” and that he might be house-broken.

A Feb. 3 assessment, however, began noting he was nervous and agitated and did not want to re-enter his kennel.

A Feb. 26 evaluation reported Rookie fought with a dog in a neighboring ken nel and on March 9, he was “barking, growling, snapping teeth, lunging at other dogs.”

On March 12 the records showed that Rookie was “very stressed, pupils dilat ed and red eyes, panting... Dog is dete riorating in kennel and stressed out,” a memo stated. “Needs outlet.”

Small dogs fill kennel crates at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

In the shelter’s paperwork, it was reported that a plea was sent out on Feb. 26 and again on March 3 asking fosters to help Rookie.

By May 11, Rookie’s behavior was updated to “urgent.”

“Dog is stressed out and over-aroused in kennel, barking, jumping, panting, kennel fighting,” the memo said. “Dog is unable to fully settle with handlers in yard. Needs outlet. May be at risk of euthanasia on May 18 or sooner if warranted.”

Rookie’s records showed he wasn’t walked daily. In February, he had four walks but then because he was being treated for kennel cough, he was caged for 14 days until the antibiotics were finished, Bader explained.

But the pattern repeated itself with four walks in March, four in April and three in May.

Stimulation keeps dogs healthy

Experts say that shelter dogs need daily physical and emotional stimulation to deal with the stresses of kennel life and that exercise in general helps dogs avoid

boredom, which leads to destructive behavior.

And, according to Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters released by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, “Dogs must be provided with daily opportunities for activity outside of their runs for aerobic exercise (and) for longterm shelter stays, appropriate levels of additional enrichment must be provided on a daily basis.”

Powell said, “Unfortunately, we sometimes have over 800 dogs in our care at the two MCACC shelters and not every dog can get out for a walk every day, which is why we desperately need volunteers to help our staff with cleaning kennels, daily enrichment, and of course, walks.

“Staff cannot get to every dog in addition to their other duties,” she said.

Powell added, “Our current director has been one of MCACC’s longest serving volunteers and he has seen volunteer engagement wax and wane over the years. We really need more volunteers to sign up for walks to help us get the hundreds of dogs out for walks every day.”

She also denied Bader’s claim that in-

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kennel enrichment is sporadic.

Bader said while the Arizona Humane Society gives five different types of enrichment daily to animals for their senses – eat, smell, feel, hear and see – that’s not the case at the county shelter.

“At the most at MCACC, they get one of those and it’s often someone walks through the kennels and sprays lavender or goes through and blows bubbles or gives milk bones,” she said.

Powell said Bader’s claim isn’t true.

“Animals receive enrichment every day, including Kongs, food-feeder puzzles, scent enrichment, rawhides, sometimes even music,” Powell said. “There is an enrichment board outside of the first door to the left of the volunteer hallway for specifics.”

Kongs are enrichment toys filled with treats that help relieve a dog’s stress and boredom.

Bader shared a Sept. 12 email from Director Michael Mendel, who stated he was pausing all public group walks and public enrichment stuffing events, effective Sept. 16.

“The two organizations, Four Paws and Friends and Hope Whispers, have

been told that we may not fill Kongs, pass out enrichment or to conduct public dog walks,” Bader said.

“Four Paws does the walks at the West shelter weekly and Hope Whispers does them at the East shelter. We typically get 60-100 dogs out for a 20-30-minute walk. It is often the only time they get out for a week.”

Four Paws also have been buying and stuffing Kongs for the shelter for about a year.

Mendel said while the shelter appreciated the help from volunteers, there were “several incidents that prevent these activities from continuing at this time.”

Examples he gave of “safety-related” incidents included participants wearing inappropriate and unsafe clothing such as shorts for dog walking and displaying unsafe behaviors such as putting their faces close to the faces of unfamiliar dogs for pictures during the walks.

Mendel added that there also have been some recent social media postings of “potential vandalism threats to-

TU OKs Yaqui language studies in its curriculum

BY BRIANNA LEE Arizonan Contributor

The Tempe Union High School Dis trict Governing Board has unani mously adopted the study of the Ya qui language into the district’s curriculum.

Board members approved adding the language to the course catalog for the 2023-2024 school year because they had seen the impact that not having the lan guage was having on the students from Guadalupe.

Adopting the Yaqui curriculum will significantly help those students, board member Sarah James said.

Guadalupe was founded by the Yaqui Tribe in 1975. A tiny community between Ahwatukee and Tempe that is less than a square mile, it has a rich history with tra ditions that often use the Yaqui language.

But James acknowledged many people have never heard of the tribe and that she herself had gone to school with many Gua dalupe residents and yet had no familiari ty with the community or those traditions.

Tempe Union officials say adopting the Yaqui language into the district’s curriculum not only acknowledges the unique history of the Guadalupe, but also the students from that community who attend district schools. (Special to the Arizona)

“I grew up very close to Guadalupe, and it wasn’t until I was past my student teaching that I started learning about the cultures and what occurs during certain religious holidays,” James said.

She said that when she was student teaching, she would notice that certain

children were missing on test days or were not prepared because they were so involved with their indigenous communi ties. However, she never noticed or real ized that was the reason.

“They were doing something that was a part of their culture, and as a teacher, the

more we know, the more we are enriched and the more understanding we have of other people’s lives.”

Nicole Miller said she has a special in terest in the Yaqui language and how she hopes the adoption of it in Tempe Union high schools will impact other Arizona school districts.

“I suppose just bringing visibility; we thought we heard one of the students talking about how she felt like their own culture was being lost, and so being able to make them feel seen is very important, and hopefully, other schools will under stand that too,” said Miller.

Board President Brian Garcia said he cared a lot about helping the community regain some of the pride he believed it has lost. Including Yaqui language studies in the district curriculum, he said, would be a good first step to helping restore that pride and preserving the community’s traditions.

“Representation matters, and I think that we are setting a good example for oth

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Inclusion program leader for CPS HR, the consulting company hired to do the study.

She said that since this is the city’s first DEI study, it provides a baseline to measure improvement. Romeo added that diversity, equality and inclusion comprise an ongoing issue that must continually be addressed.

One major issue not specifically part of the study – but looms over the results and what Council will do with them – is a non-discrimination ordinance. Chan dler is the largest city in Arizona with out one and council members have been facing pressure to change that.

Romeo said the topic came up often during roundtable discussions with a panel of 25 diverse community leaders who were broken into subgroups of five that met at least twice to discuss specific topics. They also met as the larger group twice.

“The NDO gets its own slide because this came up in pretty much every group,” Romeo said. She said she in formed the groups that was a decision for Council and it was not her role to ad

Though less than a third of all City of Chandler employees responded to a survey of their feelings about how the city and their supervisors handled issues of diversity, equali ty and inclusion, some City Council members were concerned that so many respondents felt negatively about the way those issues are handled the city at large and their own department and supervisors. (CPS HR)

vocate for or against an NDO.

“There were people who were (say ing), ‘We need an NDO today, we don’t want to leave this group without having an NDO,’ Romeo said. “And then on the other end, there were people not under standing what an NDO was. And then everything in the middle.”

The final recommendation was for Council to provide an official stance on

a non-discrimination ordinance. The is sue first came up in the summer of 2020, when the city’s Human Relations Com mission called for an NDO.

Mayor Kevin Hartke instead offered a non-binding proclamation, saying Chan dler embraces its diversity and discour aging discrimination.

A non-discrimination ordinance would codify stopping discrimination by any local businesses. Usually, any complaints would be addressed and there would be consequences for any businesses that do discriminate. Hartke said during the 2022 campaign he opposed an NDO be cause he felt such ordinances were too complicated.

The Chandler Chamber of Commerce has called for an NDO and the makeup of the next City Council likely will have an impact on the ordinance’s prospects.

NDO opponents Lopez and Vice Mayor Terry Roe will leave and be replaced by two NDO supporters, Angel Encinas and Jane Poston. Councilmembers OD Harris and Matt Orlando have indicated their support for an NDO, so they will have enough votes to pass one then.

for residents, but few replied.

For the internal survey, they asked all city workers to complete the form. Only 32.9% did, which Romeo said was disap pointing. They also met with five focus groups with a total of 75 employees par ticipating in.

Romeo said many of the suggestions from the groups, especially external groups, involved actions the city has already taken, such as starting a youth group. The city has a youth commission.

She said the city needs to do a better job informing citizens of its programs and what they are already doing. Ro meo also said that no matter how well the city improves its marketing, many citizens are just too busy with their own lives to know what it is doing.

It was the fact that the city is already doing many of the things the groups rec ommended that led Lopez to conclude the results were mostly positive.

The internal employee survey pro voked some reaction form council mem bers, especially one finding that showed 13.1% of city employees strongly dis agreed or disagreed on key diversity topics. Those topics include whether the city recognizes staff diversity and values it, whether it encourages differ ent viewpoints to share and whether it provided opportunities for people of all backgrounds.

In a related survey, an average 17.6% of city employees who responded felt the city had a clear vision of diversity equality and inclusion, whether it influ ences city service delivery and whether DEI discussions were promoted by su pervisors.

“Thirteen percent of our organization strongly disagrees, or disagrees, that we’re not being the best we can be inter nally,” Councilmember Harris said. “So what I would like us to do is look further into this and figure out what those con cerns are. Why do they feel that way?”

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But that’s still months away and the current Council could pass a businessfriendly NDO that has little in the way of enforcement instead of waiting until a stricter NDO could be considered after Jan. 12.

There were a few parts to the DEI study. First, CPS HR interviewed top city officials, including council members and City Manager Joshua Wright, then con ducted internal and external surveys.

The external survey was posted online

Council concluded the work session by saying the city needs to do a better job highlighting some of the programs that are already in place. Members also intend to talk about how to handle a pos sible NDO at a later date.

The focus groups had a series of rec ommendations, including promote dis cussions of diversity, equality and in clusion in the workplace, develop and

CPS HR, the consultant hired by the city to study diversity, equality and inclusion in Chandler, conducted a survey of city employee attitudes on the issue. This chart shows that 17% of the respondents didn’t think the city paid enough attention to those issues on a variety of levels. (CPS HR)

DIVERSITY

communicate a clear vision of it, ensure cultural sensitivity in the workplace, evaluate service delivery through a DEI lens, and promote and expand profes sional and employment opportunities for diverse communities.

CPS HR also said those recommenda tions reflected common themes from

the employee survey results and should be considered by Council as goals in the formulation of any policy on diversity, equality and inclusion.

The consultant also said the city’s ex ternal goals should include partnering with nonprofits to connect resources and enhance city services and “develop ac tionable/visible responses to identified needs (and) take feedback seriously.”

er unions that we, as a district, believe that representation matters, not only in our district but in all of Arizona,” said Miller.

Last year, both Kyrene and Tempe Union governing boards adopted a “land ac knowledgement” read at the beginning of its meetings that reminds the public that district facilities sit on the ancestral lands of two Native American tribes – the Akimel O’odham and Piipaash – the dominant tribes in the Gila River Indian Community.

Many government entities and or

ganizations of all kinds adopt land ac knowledgements that are read at public meetings and even included in official cor respondence.

Dr. Traci L. Morris, executive director of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, told the AFN that such acknowledgements are “appropriate and respectful.”

She noted, “There are many Native Americans living in (the) district that will be honored by this acknowledgment.” 

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City settles lawsuit, now owns downtown garage

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

The City of Chandler has settled a lawsuit and taken possession of the parking garage behind the LOOK Dine-In Cinema downtown.

The Overstreet Parking Garage opened in 2019 and the city had planned on purchasing it. However, the builder of the garage claimed the city missed a deadline to complete the purchase and wanted to hold on to the property and continue to lease it to the city.

“Kelly, great job to you and your team and our legal department for pulling this together, it’s a smokin’ deal for the city,” Councilman Mark Stewart told City Attorney Kelly Schwab. “Let me just break it down to numbers here. We got a great parking garage for community parking.”

“It’s a nice parking garage over by LOOK’s that will continue to be able to provide free parking downtown for all of our residents and people that love visit Chandler,” Stewart added.

The two sides agreed for the city to

purchase it for $9.625 million. That’s about $1 million more than the city intended to pay the developer, DT Chandler. However, the developer intended to charge the city $65,000 a month in rent over the 27-year lease, which would

have cost $21.2 million.

DT Chandler had filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court a year ago, claiming the city had to notify the developer it intended to exercise its option to purchase the garage for $8,690,351 in

writing at least 30 days before the third year of its lease ended.

According to DT Chandler, that would have been Aug. 12, 2022. It says the city notified them in writing on Aug. 27.

The city then countersued the developer, saying the lease “represents only a portion of the overall dealings between the parties” and that the lease “must be read in conjunction with” development and option agreements.

The city also says the document the plaintiff attached to the complaint “does not bear the stamp of a document recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and which the City considers the official version of the document.”

Chandler officials also claimed the pandemcic played a role in the delay.

In another counterclaim, the city said DT Chandler had agreed to extend the deadline for exercising its option to October 2022 and accepted a sale price of $8.8 million.

In the end, the two sides agreed to go through with the sale and transfer to the City of Chandler for just under $1 million more than the price in the original agreement.

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The Overstreet Parking Garage downtown is now officially owned by Chandler after the city resolved a lawsuit over how much it had to pay for it. (Cawley Architects)

Kyrene teachers show high performance, job satisfaction

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Arizonan Executive Editor

At a time when many Arizona school districts started this school year struggling – and continue to struggle – to fill dozens of teaching positions, Kyrene has no teacher vacancies –partly because 85% of those who worked for the district last year returned.

And the data presented recently to the Kyrene Governing Board suggests that the fact so many returned is a good thing for parents and students: vast majority were rated “highly effective.”

Amid new challenges in the competition for students now that Arizona’s universal school voucher system has become law (see page 18), board members hailed the data presented by Lisa Gibson, the district’s executive director of talent management.

“Those are just really great numbers,” board Vice President Margaret Pratt said. “It’s not surprising, but it is always nice when the numbers reflect what we see, feel and know to be true.”

Likewise, board member Wanda Kolomyjec said the results of teacher and principal evaluations “reflect what I hear from the community, from the parents and the students, about how they feel about our schools and our teachers and our principals. So congratulations to all of them out there that we can stay so positive through such a difficult time.”

To some degree, the district’s experience with keeping teachers wasn’t a surprise, since Kyrene for the last five years has seen a teacher retention rate of between 85% and 92%.

In the 2021-22 school year, Gibson said, Kyrene employed 911 teachers prior to Jan. 1 and of this group, three worked directly for the district’s private staffing agency and 33 had one-year contracts because they weren‘t working fulltime.

Gibson said 875 teachers from that total signed up to work in the current school year, leaving 114 – 12% – who opted not to return. Of those, 43 opted out of renewing their contracts for family reasons or because of the commute and 30 others either changed careers or

employers, mostly because of job-related stress or medical reasons.

The remainder who opted not to return cited various reasons like “inadequate salary, lack of opportunity, dissatisfaction or continuing their education,” Gibson said.

“The strong retention rate creates a stable foundation for student learning, supporting the transition of bringing onboard individuals starting education or joining Kyrene from other experiences,” she said. “This is considered a strength for our community.”

Although the 85% retention rate last school year was the lowest in the last five years, Gibson said, “We are still stable, considering the global pandemic and that the nation is experiencing a teacher shortage.”

To illustrate that, she noted that a state survey answered by 130 of Arizona’s 207 school districts showed that 2,577 of 42,790 teaching positions were unfilled at the beginning of the current school year.

Kyrene began the current school year looking to fill a mere 17 of 868 teacher positions. Only six were actual teaching positions while the rest were classroom resource staff.

Put another way, while Kyrene started the current year with only 2% of its teaching positions unfilled, the statewide rate of unfilled positions was three times greater.

“That is more (filled positions) than we’ve ever had before,” she said. “When I hear comments from other human resource directors across the East Valley, I feel pretty fortunate that we had 17 unfilled positions.”

Gibson had more good news on that front: “All of our current positions are currently filled.”

She added that some of those 17 posts are filled by contracted employees and others by long-term substitutes. Some of the latter are in the process of getting an emergency teaching certificate or joining a teacher-in-training program “because some of them love being at their school site so much.”

Kyrene also reported to the state that the vast majority of teachers who have stuck with Kyrene exceeded the district’s

new, higher performance standards that went into effect in 2021-22.

Of 911 teachers last school year, 643 teachers were rated “highly effective” and 274 who were judged “effective,” Gibson said.

The rest failed to meet minimum perfor mance standards and were either placed on a professional improvement program or quit.

Gibson said evaluations are based on “walk-through observations, formal ob servations and in the screening of final evaluation.

“The final evaluation score is a com

POUND from page 6

wards staff and/or property,” which he acknowledged wasn’t coming from Four Paws and Friends volunteers.

The shelter director also cited an inci dent when a group of volunteers over stuffed Kongs, which he said “can cause many dogs to lose interest in enrich ment activity.”

He added that the shelter had to throw out over 300 Kongs donated by Four Paws because they were “too full, uneaten, and unable to be fully cleaned for reuse.”

“We have recently looked into pur chasing additional Kongs and the pricing went up, so we were waiting,” Mendel said, adding that the group can help in other ways such as joining the volunteer program, becoming fosters or buying prepackaged items such as dog biscuits, hot dogs and bully sticks.

Rookie’s death caused such an uproar that Mendel, who was hired in March to oversee Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, responded.

Mendel in his post noted MCACC at the

bined score of a teacher’s individual per formance score and their school-wide data score, which is also known as an Aca demic Progress score,” she explained. “The individual performance score accounts for 80% of a teacher’s final evaluation, and it is derived from coaching opportunities throughout the year, which include walkthrough and formal observations.”

Likewise, all the district’s 26 principals met performance expectations, with 22 rated “effective” and the other four “highly effective.” Schools were not identified.

The four areas of principal evaluations include “data driven decisions, curriculum and instruction, collaboration and feed back in school climate,” Gibson said. 

time had approximately 695 animals, stressing the county’s capacity for care. He said the shelters were seeing more and more people surrendering their pets because of homelessness.

“We are seeing more animals with in creasing dangerous behaviors, especial ly in the East Shelter,” Mendel wrote May 23. “While MCACC’s intention is to save every animal that comes into our care, I must weigh the safety risk to staff, vol unteers, and the public.

“Dogs that receive deadlines are those struggling in the shelter environment and deteriorating.”

He said Rookie received a seven-day deadline and was up for adoption on the shelter’s portal.

“His deadline passed,” Mendel said. “No one came to rescue.”

The last evaluation on May 15 for Rookie said he was walking well on a leash, took his treats gently, jumped up to solicit attention from his handler and had no issues on returning to his kennel. He was euthanized four days later at 2:29 p.m.

A wide area of Salt River Project’s overall water distribution system would benefit from its plan for handling excess water at Roosevelt Dam. The area shaded in purple covers municipalities that could benefit from the utility’s plan.

Chandler joins SRP’s Roosevelt Dam project

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Water is such a precious resource that some Valley cities, including Chandler, are paying tens of thousands of dollars just for the possibility of increasing their supply for a limited time.

Chandler City Council voted to pay more than $61,000 to be part of a Salt River Project study that wants to increase water supply after a flood from 20 to 120 days. By paying to be part of the study, the city would get about 5% of that water – if the plan is approved by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers.

“I think it’s great idea,” Councilman Matt Orlando said at the Sept. 22 meeting. “Of course, it gets water flowing as well, and obviously we’re all concerned about water.”

The project focuses on Roosevelt Dam, which is the oldest dam built as part of the federal reclamation program. The dam was renovated in the 1990s and is now 357 feet tall. However, the water level of Roosevelt Lake is only allowed to reach 290 feet, leaving space for major flood events.

In the case of a major flood event that rises the level of the lake past 290 feet, Salt River Project has 20 days to release

enough water to lower the level back to its goal height. SRP is hoping to get permission to extend that time to 120 days, allowing it to release water more slowly so its partner communities can store it for their own use.

“We’ve been looking at how we can maintain safety while improving our ability to manage water supplies, what we identified was just an incremental change in these operations in the first five feet of that 24 vertical feet of flood control space,” said Ron Klawitter, the senior principal for water systems projects at SRP.

Klawitter said there are two zones left free above the water level for safety, because water flowing over the dam is the worst-case scenario. The first immediately above the water level is a 24-foot level for flood control. That can handle most 100-to-200-year flood events.

Klawitter said that the 45 feet above that could safely handle a 2,000-year flood event, though he also said there’s not enough water flowing down the Salt River to fill Roosevelt Lake that high.

Under the proposed change SRP is asking approval for, the utility would still open the dam’s flood gates and allow most of the excess flood water to travel downriver in the first 20 days. However,

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once it was five feet above the goal, SRP would slow the flow and have the extra 100 days for cities like Chandler to get a share of that water to store or use however they see fit.

The study costs $1,211,549 and there are 14 entities joining SRP to be part of it. The cost to Chandler is $61,347. The partners met to work out how much water they would get and then paid the same percentage of the cost.

Klawitter said the percentage depended on how much water each entity could handle in those short time spans. Chandler agreed to 5.06%. Smaller cities, such as Avondale (7.83%), could take more and will pay more for the study.

What SRP is asking for seems quite small compared to the $1.2 million price tag for the study. Klawitter said a lot of expertise went into coming up with the plan.

“The main cost drivers are the risk assessment,” Klawitter said. “So it was a whole team of engineers that spent about a year evaluating the proposal. This is just really understanding that the impact if a safety issue existed.

“The Phoenix metropolitan area has

The Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River and Tonto Creek located north east of Phoenix.

over five million people living downstream of this dam. So we worked with the Bureau of Reclamation and the partners had to fund a team of reclamation engineers to do a very, very specific risk assessment of this proposal,” he continued, adding:

“They looked at what happens if an earthquake occurs. Well the dam has

more water in it to conclude that there is no increase in risk. They did flood-routing analysis to make sure that we could properly pass the flood downstream. So there was a lot of care and careful technical eyes on this proposal to ensure that all citizens downstream and all resources downstream would maintain safety.”

Flood water distribution list Here are the 15 entities involved in the Salt River Project’s Roosevelt study and what percentage of the excess flood water they will be entitled to:

• Avondale, 7.83%

• Chandler, 5.06%

• Gilbert, 3.86%

• Glendale, 5.06%

• Mesa, 4.42%

• Peoria, 2.30%

• Phoenix, 18.41%

• Roosevelt Irrigation District, 10.13%

• Scottsdale, 2.49%

• Tempe, 2.49%

• Roosevelt Water Conservation District, 10.51%

•Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District, 4.60%

• Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, 5.52%

• Freeport Minerals Corporation, 2.76%

• SRP, 14.73%

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living complex on about 25 acres. The price per month for a unit would likely be between 8%-to-12% lower than current market rates, they said.

City officials have made it clear they do not want the project in that location, which is part of their airport jobs corridor.

Residents who are opposing the project say in online forums they do not want subsidized housing that they fear would bring in illegal immigrants and unsheltered people, lowering their property values.

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The land in question is not city land, but is an unincorporated part of Maricopa County that is surrounded by city land. As such, the final determination of the project’s fate currently rests with the county Board of Supervisors.

However, the developers initially said they planned to seek annexation by the city, and the county planning office has encouraged them to follow through with that since they will be relying on city services for utilities.

The city’s stated opposition to the plan may have changed that.

“The location of the proposed multifamily development does not conform to the City’s General Plan, Airpark Area Plan and economic development goals,” City Planning Manager David de la Torre wrote in an email.

“For this reason, the city communicated to Maricopa County and the developer that it does not support multi-family at the proposed location. The city met with the developer to discuss alternative sites in Chandler. However, the developer elected to proceed with its application to seek approval for developing the site through Maricopa County.”

Documents submitted to the county show the proposed layout of units in the complex. (Special to the Arizonan)

the surrounding properties less desirable to industrial developers due to their close proximity to residential.”

That’s not the issue that has residents upset.

Rick Heumann, the chairman of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said he suspects there is a lot of misinformation floating about in the community regarding this project. Even though this is a county issue, he planned to meet with one of the lawyers representing the developers to find out the facts.

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Chandler is actively marketing the area surrounding the airport as an employment corridor, where officials want businesses that will bring jobs to the city. The city land near this proposed site is zoned for industrial use.

De la Torre said the city objects to a residential project built on the county island because the people who move in will likely object when industrial facilities are built next to them that might be loud or bring in a lot of traffic.

“Industrial operations need to be located in areas where they are free to run their operations without impacting residential areas,” de la Torre wrote.

“They don’t want to have neighbors complaining about their operations. If the subject site were to be changed from industrial to residential, it would make

“I’m hearing things like – I’ll be real blunt –‘It’s gonna be housing for illegal immigrants, or homeless housing,’ Heumann said. “I’m actually going to meet with the zoning attorney to see if it’s workforce housing.

“And honestly, if it’s pure workforce housing, that is something that’s desperately needed in Chandler: It’s the teachers, it’s the McDonald’s shift manager, it’s people who work for the city who can’t afford to live in our city. Everything that is being built in our city is great, but a two-bedroom apartment in some of these places will cost over $2,000.”

Heumann said his meeting with the zoning attorney for the developer was scheduled for Oct. 13.

A nearly identical project by the same developers was proposed for Surprise and ran into stiff opposition.

Surprise City Council ultimately ap-

Get

withus!

the project. However, residents

give up and have collected sig natures to get a referendum that would overturn the 4-3 council vote.

There, the developers said the housing

be affordable, with the price set by

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

HUD publishes a fair mar ket rent rate for each county annually.

HUD’s fair market rent rate for Mari copa County is $1,467 for a one-bed room unit, $1,740 for two bedrooms and $2,386 for three.

According to Rent.com, the average rental price in Chandler is $1,660 for one bedroom (11.6% more than HUD’s fair market rent rate), $1,912 (8.9% more) for two bedrooms and $2,588 (7.8% more) for a three-bedroom unit.

Owen Metz is the senior vice president and project partner for Dominium, was on vacation and unable to do a full interview for this story. He did, however, give a statement about the Landings on Ocotillo project.

“We are proceeding with re-zoning in the county for a wonderful housing development in a location that has medium density resi dential across the street,” he wrote. “We are

The Landings on Ocotillo would bring a 336-unit multifamily complex and another senior com plex with 182 units to 25 acres on Ocotillo Road near Arizona Avenue. (Special to the Arizonan)

committed to help solve the housing crisis here in the Valley and provide much needed housing diversity to this part of the region.”

As is usually the case with development projects, there will be a public hearing before the proposal goes to the county Planning and Zoning Commission. No date has been set yet, but Heumann said it will likely be in early December.

The land is owned by a Wyoming doc tor and his wife, Shah and Hina Urvish.

Dominium Apartments and the Housing Authority of Maricopa County are listed as the co-developers.

Dominium, a Minnesota company, has been managing affordable housing apart ments around the nation since 1972 and manages more than 38,000 units.

It operates a senior living facility in Mesa, and is building a Goodyear complex that is similar to its plans for Chandler. Neither of those projects faced the opposi

tion the company experienced in Surprise.

The Chandler residents who are or ganizing to oppose the project plan to meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the community room at the Chandler Police Department’s downtown building.

Maricopa County Planner Daniel John son said his team is aware of the city’s opposition to the project.

“We will take that into consideration and will be reflected in my report to the Planning & Zoning Commission for their consideration,” he said.

A statement from Supervisor Jack Sell ers office said Sellers is waiting for the planning office to vet the proposal.

“Supervisor Sellers is aware of the pro posed development in Chandler,” wrote Di ane Hilow, deputy administrator for Sellers.

“As with all Planning and Zoning issues within District 1, the Supervisor will seek in put from a city near any proposed develop ment. In this particular case, the comments from Chandler will be an important part of the decision-making process,” she said.

“The proposal must first be vetted by the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission where proponents and those in opposition will have an opportunity to participate in a public hearing.”

Spending cap looms again over school districts

BY J GRABER Arizonan Staff Writer

While school districts in Gilbert and throughout Arizona are worried they will have to grapple again with a voter-imposed cap on their spending next spring, it will be up to the next Legislature to do something about it.

The Aggregate Expenditure Limit caps what school districts around the state can spend in a year to a 1980-level plus 10% adjusted for inflation.

The limit was given a one-year hiatus by the state Legislature in the 11th hour earlier this year, but it is still in place without waivers. That means Arizona’s schools won’t be able to spend much of the $1 billion budget increase lawmakers gave them this year, school officials say.

“If the Legislature doesn’t take action before March 1 of 2023, our district, as will every other public district that’s not a charter district, will have to amend

State Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale, said he and many of his colleagues haven’t dealt with the spending cap because they’re angry that so many local school officials fought the universal school voucher program. (file photo)

their budget to reduce the budget by the amount we are over on a percentage

basis,” Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel told his governing

board last month.

Noting that meant a potential $28 million budget hit, Menzel said Gov. Doug Ducey is not quite living up to the promises he made last year when the state budget was passed.

Ducey vowed to hold a special session of the Legislature to address the aggregate expenditure limit, but that has not yet happened.

“We still don’t have one promised,” Menzel said. “Some reports are that the Governor has said there are three conditions which were not necessarily the case at the time of the handshake agreement before.

“That would be it – 1. it has to happen, so some sense of urgency (by lawmakers), 2. that we have support from the House and Senate leaders (to pass a waiver) and 3. that you can confirm that it will pass – with a two-thirds vote. That means 40 representatives and 20 senators.”

There have also been reports that Ducey was waiting until the lawsuit surrounding Prop 208, the Invest in Education Act, was finished, Menzel said.

But the Supreme Court ruled last month that the act, which adds a 3.5% tax on all income over $250,000 (or $500,00 for joint filers), is likely unconstitutional, though it left it up to the trial court to determine that.

“That has happened so that’s no longer an issue,” Menzel said. “Some others have raised new questions about whether or not the referendum on ESA (Empowerment School Accounts) gets on the ballot because signatures have been collected, whether that was a deal breaker … there are a lot of moving parts and pieces here and some of it is political in nature.”

ESAs are $7,000 vouchers given by the state to students who do not want to attend traditional public schools. The Save our Schools coalition failed to garner enough petition signatures for a 2024 referendum on the measure.

“While the governor encouraged us to spend the money when he made his budget statement, signed it, talked about the historic increase in public education, it was a $1 billion historic increase and that this should be spent on classroom teachers,” Menzel said. “That all could go away in a heartbeat if action isn’t taken.”

C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Du-

cey’s office, said the governor is waiting for an assurance that a waiver of the expenditure limit would pass in the Legislature before calling a special session. “We have seen no indication there are the votes.”

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, reports that outgoing House Majority Leader Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) said there would be no special session and that the issue would be dealt with in January.

“I think part of the reason is that the votes aren’t there,” Kavanagh said. “I’m speculating but a lot of members were extremely upset with the Save Our Schools” effort to kill or at least postpone implementation of the universal school voucher program.

Kavanagh noted that in the past he’s voted to waive the expenditure limit, “but like a lot of (legislators), I have concerns that the education community is refusing to take this back to the ballot to have the cap either raised or eliminated.

“They have enough money to send the vouchers to the ballot but the important spending cap, they don’t want to deal with. Some people speculate that’s because polls have shown that voters

would not eliminate this cap.

“This cap was passed by the voters and it did give the Legislature the power to waive it but not every year, I mean, not every time,” Kavanagh said. “This has to be dealt with by the voters. A lot of legislators are concerned about continually overriding the will of the voters … when the education people don’t want to go back and have it settled by the people who created it.”

School boards across the state are gunshy about spending the extra money in this year’s budget until they get the expenditure limit waiver, said Christopher Kotterman, director of governmental relations for the Arizona School Boards Association.

“They understood (the agreement for a special legislative session) to mean before the next Legislature comes in,” Kotterman said.

“Obviously that hasn’t happened yet and school districts are anxious about this because they got a significant increase in their budgets, which they are grateful for,” Kotterman added, “but some of them feel they can’t fully commit the money until they are sure the Legislature is going to override the expenditure limit because they don’t want to have to cut it after the fact.”

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Bright Beginnings teacher John Mahnke challenged his students – including, from left, Ja vier Marin, Tyler Bronner, Giovanni Marin, Jilayn Doughty and Sloan Doughty – to try to run, walk, bike and/or swim 100K by Oct. 29 to match the his 100K run. (David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)

Chandler teacher turns 100K run into class project

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Bright Beginnings School teacher

John Mahnke recalls a time he went back home.

“I graduated from college in 1992 and by 1997. I was not exercising very much,” the Chandler school physical ed ucation teacher said. “And I remember going home, and my dad’s like, ‘Boy, you kind of let yourself go a little bit.’

“I was living by myself, single guy, who never looked in the mirror. This is my comb, this is my brush. I was eating Wendy’s, Burger King, everything you could think of. I got on a scale and it said 325 pounds.”

Mahnke decided to make a change.

He started out walking, and eventually began running. At the end of this month, he plans on competing in a 100K race.

And since he’s a physical education teacher, Mahnke decided to turn the event into a class lesson.

“Sometimes you need motivation oth er than just you getting out of bed, go ing for a run because you want to do it,” Mahnke said. “And so, I thought if I tell the kids, I’m going to do it. I got to do

it. I can’t back out now. When I started talking to them about doing it, I couldn’t believe how excited most of them were.”

Their excitement led to a class proj ect: To help motivate their teacher, his students would try and complete about 100K themselves. That’s more than 60 miles. How they do it is up to them –walking, running, biking or swimming.

“Crazy,” fifth-grader Tyler Bronner said when asked what he thought when his teacher told him about his race. “I thought it was pretty cool.”

Tyler completed his 60 miles by walk ing, running and biking. He said it took him three-and-a-half weeks. Javier Marin said he also completed his 60 miles by walking and running in four weeks. He said he plans to keep exercising.

“Because it gets my energy out,” Javier said. “And it’s like, it gets me fit.”

“As a physical education teacher my overall objective of school for K through six is to get kids active for the sake of being active, not because some referee or their parents tell them they have to,” Mahnke said.

“Javi and Tyler are very active kids.

But we have some kids who I would have thought, because I told them you don’t have to do this, they wouldn’t. And they’re turning their mileage in, and their parents are emailing me: ‘I can’t believe he wanted to go for a walk after dinner today.’”

Third-grader Jilayn Doughty is half way through her 60 miles. She said she’s mostly swimming and running in her backyard.

“It’ll take about another month,” Jilayn said. It took her five weeks to complete the first 30 miles.

This is not the first long-distance race for Mahnke. He’s competed in mara thons and once ran in a 50-mile race in Wisconsin. It was not a fun experience.

“Raining sideways off of Lake Michi gan,” he said. “Maybe 45 degrees, freez ing. It was so cold at every aid station they had chicken noodle soup for you to drink. I got to the finish and I’ve never been shaking so bad because you’re fro zen. They just hauled you into a tent and throw blankets on you, and I’m like, ‘No, never ever, ever, ever again.’”

The 100K race on Oct. 29 in the Foun tain Hills area is actually the shorter race. The organizers, Aravaipa Running, are also staging a 100-mile race. There is also a 31K race for those looking for something less challenging.

One of the top goals at Bright Begin nings is to teach their students to have good character. As such, students are on the honor system for reporting their miles. Not every student is participat ing and Mahnke is keeping track of how they are doing in the school’s hallway.

He gave each student a cutout boy or girl that represented them, asked them to color it, and it advances when they do. Mahnke says he’s getting enough emails from parents that he knows his students are actually doing the distances they re port.

“I’m going to trust that you’re gonna write down the miles that you did and we’re all going to take you for what you say,” he told his students. “So it’s going to build trustworthiness and responsibil ity. Some parents have said, they go for a three-mile bike ride every day. We kind of incorporate that into it as well with the character building.”

Bright Beginnings teacher John Mahnke is keeping track of how his students are doing by giving them cutout and having them color it. Each time they complete a segment of their effort to run, walk, swim or bike 100K, the cutout advances. (David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)

Corvette Club bringing annual charity car show to downtown

The Corvette Club of Arizona will be hosting its 22nd Annual “Chevys in the Park” Charity Car Show 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 30 at A.J. Chandler Park downtown. The club invites all owners of Chevy cars and trucks, or those vehicles that are pow ered by a Chevy engine, to participate.

The Corvette Club of Arizona will do nate $10 from every registered car to Packages From Home, a nonprofit that provides personal care and support items to active U.S. military abroad and veterans. In the past 21 years the Cor vette Club of Arizona has raised over $30,000 for this worthy charity.

Entries are judged by the participants and awards are presented for each class. There will also be special awards for Best Paint, Best Engine, Best Interior and overall Best of Show.

Pre-registration for the show is $35 and the form must be received by Oct. 23. Day-of-show registration is 8-9:30 a.m. and costs $40. Entries are limited to

the first 150 cars.

Information and forms: Ron Gliot, 779777-0857, ShowChair@CorvetteClubo fArizona.com. Show is free to the public.

Chandler Gilbert Community College slates Empty Bowls sale

Chandler-Gilbert Community College and AZCEND will hold their ninth annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for a local food bank 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 25 at CGCC’s Student Pavilion.

AZCEND provides food and other re sources to residents of Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, and surrounding areas.

The ceramics department provides handmade bowls created by students throughout the year. There is also a si lent auction featuring select art pieces f that will open on Oct. 17 and close at 6 p.m. Oct. 25.

With the purchase every bowl, attend ees will receive a cup of soup that’s made as a minimal calorie meal to emphasize how many people around the world live on only 300 calories per day. It’s literally

food for thought.

Information: azcend.org.

Chandler Mayor’s disabilities panel holds golf tournament

The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities’ 26th annual Chandler Golf Challenge will begin at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 11 with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start at the Bear Creek Golf Club, 500 E. Riggs Road, Chandler. Proceeds support its scholarship fund.

Presented by longtime sponsor Dig nity Health of Arizona, the tournament includes 18 holes of golf, followed by a catered dinner.

Golfers will also receive a golfer gift and have a chance to enter on a raffle for an assortment of items ranging from golf foursomes and sports memorabilia to themed baskets and dinners at some of the area’s finest restaurants.

The tournament contributes nearly $10,000 each year towards Chandler Parks & Recreation’s efforts to support more than 300 children and adults with

intellectual and developmental disabili ties and their families living in Chandler and neighboring cities.

Participation in the “all-inclusive” tournament is $95 for individual golfers, $380 for foursomes, and $425 to be a tee box sponsor and a host a foursome.

To register or for more information: chandleraz.gov/golfchallenge.

City to host Spooktacular on Oct. 28 in A.J. Chandler Park

The City of Chandler plans to host its Spooktacular event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 28 at A.J. Chandler Park. Admission to the Downtown event is free.

Residents are encouraged to come in costume for candy and carnival games. In addition to the trunk-or-treat there will be a costume parade and Halloween dance party.

Annual Pumpkin Dunk scheduled for Oct. 29

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Registration is open for the city’s annual Pumpkin Dunk, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29 at Mesquite Grove Aquatic Center.

The city transforms the heated pool at Mesquite into a floating pumpkin patch.

Families can dive in to dunk for pumpkins that they will be able to take home and carve up for Halloween and participate in a costume contest.

Hooked On A Feeling to headline Sonoran Sunset Series

The Sonoran Sunset Series returns on Oct. 20, giving Chandler residents a free outdoor concert at Veterans Oasis Park, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Road.

Hooked on a Feeling is scheduled to play from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Residents can bring blankets, lawn chairs and coolers to enjoy hits from the 1950s.

Darwin Wall realty team slates annual pub crawl in Chandler

People can “raise a glass for charity” and help a breast cancer victim by sign-

ing up for the annual Save Second Base Pub Crawl sponsored by the Darwin Wall Real Estate Team of Chandler.

“We will be partying for a cause in Downtown Chandler,” Wall states on his charity drive’s website, stating that among participating bar in the Oct. 2122 event are SanTan Brewing, Murphy’s Law, Bourbon Jacks and The Stillery.

For a $65 ticket, participants get a free drink at each participating bar, a t-shirt and swag bag.

Save Second Base Pub Crawl is an approved nonprofit and all proceeds go towards a breast cancer victim who has not yet been named. In the past, the firm has raised thousands of dollars annually with the pub crawl and are then donated to a woman who needs financial help in her breast cancer fight.

Tickets can be purchased at savesecondbasepubcrawl.com. Information: brooke@darwinwallteam.com.

Zombie Apocalypse tennis event coming to tennis center

Zombies will be taking over the Chandler Tennis Center on Saturday, Oct. 22. The city is hosting Play for Life, Zombie

Apocalypse from 6 to 9 p.m. Double partners will try to stay alive on the court until the end to win prizes.

Zombie costumes must not obstruct the wearer’s ability to play.

Chandler Railroad Museum gearing up for Fall Rail Fest

Train lovers, history buffs and people of all ages are invited to climb aboard and explore the glory days of local and long-distance travel on America’s railways during the Fall Rail Festival in Chandler.

The celebration is 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Arizona Railway Museum, 330 E. Ryan Road. The free public event is hosted each year by volunteers of the museum, which is located on the southwest corner of Tumbleweed Park in Chandler.

The Fall Rail Festival will include displays of artifacts and memorabilia, tours of vintage railcars and a large sale of railroad books, magazines, and timetables at very affordable prices. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

The museum’s standard entrance fee

is waived but donations are appreciated. Visitors should access the event on Ryan Road, from Arizona Avenue or McQueen roads. Parking is free.

The Arizona Railway Museum is normally open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, September through May. It is closed during the summer. For more information, visit the Arizona Railway Museum website or call 480-821-1108.

City seeking groups to present at Chandler Innovation Fair

The city is inviting science-oriented groups and businesses to participate in its annual Chandler Innovation Fair in February. Anyone interested in being an exhibitor for the Feb. 25 event in Downtown should visit chandleraz.gov to apply.

GetConnected

Food bank clients increase as store prices soar

BY SCIANNA GARCIA

As the line of cars awaiting grocer ies wrapped around the building, parking lot attendants used or ange cones to close the entrance to the food bank and keep the line from snarl ing traffic on busy Thomas Road. That sent recent arrivals circling the block until the lot reopened.

This is the new normal for St. Mary’s Food Bank in central Phoenix as the number of people in need has risen sharply along with inflation.

“Right now, we’re seeing over 900 families a day come to this one location, and we have hundreds (of distribution locations) across the Valley,” said Jerry Brown, director of media relations for St. Mary’s Food Bank. “The number of people who are coming to the food bank is overwhelming, and it’s a number that we have not seen in our history.”

At the two main food banks in Phoenix and Surprise, St. Mary’s saw a daily aver

age of 1,239 families in the first 12 days of September, the latest data available. Brown said the influx is a direct ef fect of inflation, which has hit Phoenix particularly hard. In the Phoenix metro, food prices have increased 14.1% over the past year, with food-at-home prices rising by 15.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Once the pandemic subsided last year, so did the number of people who came,” Brown said. “We’ve been around for 55 years, and we have never served 150,000 families a month – until last month (August).”

In the first two weeks of September, St. Mary’s already was trending 6% higher than in August.

People are allowed to come once a month for emergency food boxes that in clude such staples as vegetables, canned fruits, pasta, peanut butter, tomato sauc es, beans and rice. St. Mary’s has had to cut down on the number of items per box to ensure all items are available.

Although the emergency boxes are not meant to provide meals for an entire month, families can come as needed to receive items donated by grocery stores, such as meat, cheese, eggs, ice cream and soft drinks.

Raymond Gonzalez, 56, said he’s been coming to St. Mary’s occasionally for about three years, but only when he finds himself in need.

“I work, and with rent and my medical bills, this really helps me when I come a few times a year,” he said.

To accommodate the crush of fami lies in need, St. Mary’s has expanded its Monday through Friday hours. During the pandemic, it began using delivery services, such as DoorDash, to provide food to those without transportation. The services now are being used for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Now that federal pandemic assistance has subsided, the food bank relies solely

on donations of food from individuals and grocery stores, and on monetary do nations from the public. It’s in desperate need of both right now.

“St. Mary’s is buying a lot more food than they had this time last year, and that food is more expensive than it’s ever been,” Brown said.

St. Mary’s has yet to turn anyone away, he said, in part because the staff predicts what’s to come in upcoming weeks and months to make sure there’s enough for everyone.

Bonnie Harvey, who has volunteered at St. Mary’s Food Bank since 1997, blames the economy for the increasing number of people in need, but she’s grateful to see people willing to lend a hand.

“It’s hard on people right now,” Harvey said. “But a lot of people have stepped up to volunteer since the pandemic, es pecially because they know the prob lems people are facing.”

Volunteers have begun to return after a steep dropoff during the pandemic, but St. Mary’s still struggles to keep up with the traffic.

Many volunteers are being asked to stay past the end of their shifts to fill va cant positions.

In addition to volunteers, the food bank desperately needs food and monetary donations. Every dollar donated provides seven meals, which breaks down to about 14 cents a pound, Brown said.

He said the No. 1 priority of the food bank is to be able to provide every per son a meal.

“One thing that’s really important to us is that we feed people so they don’t get sick,” he said. “If you don’t have mon ey to feed yourself, you don’t have mon ey to go to the doctor, either. We want to feed people in a healthy way and to help them get through what’s a very difficult time for a lot of people.”

Although he hopes to see an economic shift, Brown said St. Mary’s Food Bank is bracing for continued hard times ahead.

“I think things have to turn around in the economy before they turn around here,” he said. “It’s been a very difficult summer, and it’s rolling into what looks to be a very difficult fall because the numbers have not abated in any way, they’ve only gone up.”

Three lines of vehicles wait for groceries at St. Mary’s Food Bank in central Phoenix on Sept. 26. (Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)

Chandler Medical

Chandler Medical

Building

Dobson

Medical

Medical

W. Thomas

W. Thomas Rd.

490, Phoenix,

Phoenix,

Medical Center

Medical Center

E. Princess Dr.

E. Princess Dr.

117, Scottsdale,

117, Scottsdale,

New-home buyers can sue builders over defects, court rules

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

and equally aware of the risks and terms.

cy clearly outweighs enforcement.’’

Buyers

of new homes are entitled to sue builders for hidden defects for up to eight years -- even if they have signed contracts waiving that right, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

In a ruling with wide implications, the justices said that the common law “implied warranty of workmanship and habitability’’ recognizes the fact that home buyers are not experts in all the things that are required in constructing a house.

“A homebuyer must ... rely heavily on the builder-vendor’s knowledge of construction quality, as builders are skilled in the profession, modern construction is complex and regulated by many government codes,’’ wrote Justice Ann Scott Timmer. “And homebuyers are generally not skilled or knowledgeable in construction, plumbing, or electrical requirements and practices.’’

She acknowledged that, in general, people are legally entitled to sign contracts de�ining the responsibilities of each. That presumes both parties are “sophisticated’’

But in cases of new homes, Timmer said, there is an “inequality in bargaining power’’ between the builder and the buyer.

“The implied warranty was created in recognition of this disparity, and undoubtedly re�lects the homebuyers’ reasonable expectations that a newly constructed home would be properly designed and built,’’ she wrote.

Wednesday’s ruling was not unanimous. Justice Kathryn King said it runs afoul of the state’s public policy favoring freedom to contract.

And King, joined by Justice Clint Bolick, pointed out that right of implied habitability exists nowhere in state law. Instead, she noted, it was created by a 1979 ruling of the State Court of Appeals.

Timmer said that’s irrelevant, noting subsequent state laws have implicitly af�irmed that decision.

“The freedom to contact has long been considered a paramount public policy under common law that courts do not lightly infringe,’’ Timmer wrote. “But courts will refuse to enforce a contract term ... when an identi�iable public poli-

That public policy, she said, goes back to 1979 when the state Court of Appeals eliminated what she described as the “buyer beware’’ philosophy of new home purchases, replacing it with the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability.

“The warranty is limited to latent defects that are undiscoverable by a reasonable pre-purchase inspection and service to protect innocent purchasers and hold home builders accountable for their work,’’ Timmer said.

On the other side of the issue, the justice said, is “diminished interest’’ in enforcing waivers of the implied warranty like the one at issue here.

“Modern homebuilding frequently occurs in large-scale developments, leaving the buyer to either purchase the home under terms directed by the builder-vendor or forego the purchase altogether,’’ Timmer said. And in this case, she said, Zambrano signed the purchase agreement and accepted the warranty terms “with no variation to the preprinted terms in either document, without representation, and without any nego-

tiation about warranties, suggesting she was in a take-it-or-leave-it situation.’’

Also weighing in favor of the implied warranty, Timmer said, are the “multiple ways’’ it protects buyers.

“Warranting that a home was built using minimum standards of good workmanship conforms to a homebuyer’s reasonable expectations,’’ she said. And Timmer said it “discourages the unscrupulous �ly-by-night operator and purveyor of shoddy work who might otherwise blight our communities.’’

Timmer acknowledged that an unhappy purchaser can �ile a complaint against a builder’s license with the Registrar of Contractors and potentially get money from a recovery fund. But she said this is no substitute for enforcing the implied warrant, noting recovery fund payments are capped at $30,000 and do not reimburse for other consequential damages.

And there’s something else.

Timmer pointed out those who buy older homes have an opportunity to determine how it has “withstood the passage of time,’’ something not available to new home buyers.

PRIORITIES AS A REALTOR:

Work

Chandler Girl Scout earns Gold Award

BY JUSTIN LIGGIN Arizonan Contributor

Asstudent body president at Hamilton High School, Girl Scout Megan Finder noticed that hard working classmates often went unrec ognized despite their big impact on the school’s community.

To earn the prestigious Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts, the Hamilton alumna came up with a project and an award of her own to uplift her fel low classmates.

“This project is important to me be cause I wanted to find a way to advo cate for individuals who may not have a healthy school relationship, but still make a difference in their community,” she said.

She developed the Husky Shadow Award to recognize students who work behind the scenes to impact their school community.

To be selected for the award, seniors who fit the criteria are nominated by the security teams that work at the school and interact with students every day.

“These recipients may not be club presidents, team captains, star athletes or academic finalists, but rather stu dents who are persistent and optimistic,” Megan explained. “This unique selection from behind-the-scenes staff members allows the process to become full circle.”

With the project being met with ac claim from classmates, students and staff, it has proven to be a big success and a way to recognize the everyday achievements of students on campus.

“Everyone has their own story and I learned how important it is to put every one on the same level,” said Megan. “This project was a long process, but so worth it in the end!”

The Husky Shadow Award has since been extended to all six high schools in Chandler Unified School District.

In addition, Megan has also received nu merous awards for her Gold Award proj ect including the Sherry Cancino Hands of Service Award from the Chandler Service Club, the Desert Financial Community Ser vice Scholarship, and the Chandler Educa tion Foundation Impact Scholarship.

“My classmates and parents who be came aware of this award all unani mously agree that this award is needed, especially in such large district high schools,” Megan said.

“My peers and I are excited to see this program launch fully in the next few years across the district.”

A Girl Scout of 12 years, Megan feels empowered by the organization to make a difference in the lives of others while finding herself – and some lifelong friends – along the way.

“Girl Scouting has been the absolute best experience. I am happy to say I have

d’Vine Gourmet owners open a boutique event venue

BY GERI KOEPPEL Contributor

d’Vine Gourmet retail shop in downtown Chandler is a mecca for many things — fancy food and wine, desert-themed gifts, homemade candy and snacks, gift baskets and more — and now it also boasts a bou tique event space around the corner at 96 W. Boston St. called Chandler Pops!

Andrew and Denise McCreery, who own both d’Vine Gourmet and Chandler Pops!, opened the 600-square-foot ven ue as a community space.

They’re hosting bunco parties, wine tastings and “date night” dinners that are open to the public. They also will book other events that anyone can at tend, such as mimosas and macramé parties or sip-and-paint nights.

“The one thing we’ve learned about COVID and post-COVID is that people want to gather together,” Denise said. “There’s a million things we could’ve done with that space. It’s a place to gather.”

Chandler Pops! also rents by the hour for private “micro events” such as birth day parties, baby showers, board meet ings, classes, clubs and more. Capacity is about 40, or 30 seated comfortably.

“We hope the majority of our events will be open to everybody,” Denise said.

The private rental fee for Chandler Pops! starts at $90 an hour and includes chairs, tables, a big-screen TV, surround sound, craft sink and private bathroom.

Renters can bring their own decor, food and drink, including alcohol, or an

Chandler Girl Scout Megan Finder earned Scouting’s highest award for girls by devel oping a unique award program at Hamilton High. (Special to the Arrizonan)

Andrew and Denise McCreery have opened a venue called Chandler Pops! behind their d’Vine Gourmet store in downtown Chandler. (Geri Koeppel/Contributor)

Women Who Care supports community clinics

BY ANGELA SIMS Guest Writer

Approximately 11 percent of the total population of Arizona were uninsured in 2020, according to statista.com.

The U.S. Department of Health and Hu man Services notes, “Uninsured adults are less likely to receive preventive services for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular dis ease; and children without health insur ance coverage are less likely to receive appropriate treatment for conditions like asthma or critical preventive servic es such as dental care, immunizations, and well-child visits.”

Sonoran University’s Sage Founda tion for Health (formerly SCNM Sage Foundation) exists for the sole purpose of providing healthcare to underserved family and children in Maricopa County.

The Sage Foundation provides fund ing to six community clinics in Maricopa

County.

The clinics are staffed by licensed physicians and third- and fourth-year medical students from Sonoran Univer sity of Health Sciences, a fully accredited university in Tempe that offers degree programs in naturopathic medicine and nutrition.

At the community clinics, physicians and students treat chronic and acute health conditions using both conven tional and alternative medicine, such as clinical nutrition, supplements, botani cal medicine, acupuncture, and home opathy, at little to no cost.

Sonoran University’s Sage Foundation steps up and fills the need for medical care when families who cannot afford health insurance may otherwise not re ceive it.

Patients include families in impover ished school districts, domestic violence survivors, women and children experi

Celebrating a check presentation by 100+ Women Who Care to Sonoran University’s Sage Foundation for Health are, from left: Katherine Katz, Kayte Nettles, Danica Cullins, Paul Mittman, Kim Tarnopolski, and Crissy Haidos. (Courtesy 100+ Women Who Care)

in-house specialist can arrange for that. It has a keypad for access from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, and a large free municipal parking garage is less than a block away.

Prior to the pandemic, d’Vine Gourmet held monthly wine, beer, cider or sake tastings in the shop starting the day they got their liquor license in 2010. Andrew, a sommelier, led the sessions.

Starting soon, they’ll offer an expanded version of that idea monthly at Chandler Pops! called “A Taste of Downtown Chandler” featuring dishes by neighboring restaurants paired with wines or other adult beverages. The first one will include tapas plates from BlackSheep Wine Bar & Merchant, Pedal Haus Brewery and more.

“It’ll be a great way to collaboratively show off all of the partners downtown,” Denise said.

The cost for the tastings will vary from about $30-90, depending on what’s being served, Denise said, and tickets will be sold online. The website and Facebook page will list a calendar of events.

Nikki Janulewicz of Gilbert attended a bunco party at Chandler Pops! in September.

“My adult daughter and I went and met a bunch of people we had never met before, which was a lot of fun,” she said. “And it was all different ages, which was kind of cool, too.”

Janulewicz said Andrew matched wines with peoples’ preferences. “They’re very accommodating and hands-on,” she said. “They just put on such a fun night. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. They’re very welcoming.”

Denise said the night was a “huge hit,” adding, “We had 24 strangers show up and 24 friends leave.”

The business has come a long way since its humble start Oct. 3, 2003. Andrew was in the wine business and Denise worked in software, but she was bored.

One day, she experimented with some wine Andrew brought home and “literally turned wine into jelly,” she said.

The couple would load up their two kids — Kate, now 23, and David, 22 — and peddle their jars at local farmers

markets and street fairs. One day, AJ’s Fine Foods asked if they could sell their wares wholesale, and eventually the jellies landed on store shelves statewide.

Before long, customers were walking into d’Vine Gourmet’s commercial kitchen in Tucson asking for gift baskets.

“We pretty much let our customers tell us where to go in our business,” Denise said. “Every time they had an idea, we said sure.”

In 2004, d’Vine Gourmet opened a few hours a week in Tucson retailing their award-winning caramels, chocolates, nut and snack mixes, mustards and gift baskets, which are still their number one seller.

Andrew still worked for a wine distributor at the time and got a promotion in 2008 that required the family to move to the Valley. After a year of commuting once a week, Denise opened a store at Riggs and McQueen roads in south Chandler.

She still used the Tucson kitchen, but closed it in 2013 and moved it to Fulton Ranch.

After the pandemic hit, the McCreerys considered operating online only. But the City of Chandler was keen on preserving retail on the historic square, and as it happened, Andrew lost his corporate job as vice president of fine wines in 2020. So the couple joined forces and moved d’Vine Gourmet to 72 S. San Marcos Place in September 2021, where it has an on-site kitchen.

Now, Denise is the creative director while Andrew serves as general manager.

The 5,000-square-foot store — double the size of the previous location — is a gift bonanza, selling T-shirts, glassware, cheese boards, books, pillows, art, knick-knacks, packaged foods and beverages in addition to its own housemade treats.

Andrew calls the wine shop at the back of d’Vine Gourmet his “play area” where he curates an impressive selection of more than 100 wines that aren’t always easy to find at prices that beat the big box stores.

Andrew is “the best at finding boutique wineries and family-owned winners that have stories,” Denise said. “This is a small but mighty footprint

Stay Connected

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kept my friends from my kindergarten and first grade troops including my best friend. Having our moms as our troop leaders has made such a difference in my life. They continue to motivate us through all our projects and journeys,” she said.

Megan’s Gold Award also establishes her as a trailblazer in her community and a changemaker whose impact will be felt for years to come.

The Gold Award is not only the most prestigious award in the organization, but it also helps a Girl Scout distinguish themself in the college admissions process, earn scholarships and even enter the military at a higher rank, all while leaving a legacy.

Megan currently attends Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in management and sports business, and plans to receive a master’s degree in sports law.

small but eclectic wines with a nice

Arizona.”

“There was no sense in Andrew going

for the distributor, given

wine and sales knowledge, she said,

“Andrew stepped in and it was per-

we keep our com-

If you go

Chandler Pops!

96 W. Boston St. chandlerpops.com; 480-477-3202;

D’vine Gourmet

72 S. San Marcos Place stores.dvinegourmet.com; 480-275-5320

d’Vine Gourmet hosting 2 authors, illustrator

Twopublished authors and an illustrator will speak and sign books at d’Vine Gourmet, 72 S. San Marcos Place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22.

They are: Chandler resident Laurie Fagen, author of “Behind the Mic Mysteries,” carried at d’Vine Gourmet; Bonnie Lou Coleman, who illustrated

the children’s book “No More Pigs in the House” written by her brother, Kenneth Allen Coleman; and “Turkey Savvy” cookbook author Jessica Williams. The event will include food, readings, giveaways and personalized book signings.

Fagen’s three crime fiction novels, “Fade Out,” “Dead Air” and “Bleeder,” are set in Chandler and feature a

young radio reporter who covers the crime beat, helps Chandler Police solve cold cases and writes campy murder mystery podcasts.

Coleman, a long-time area artist, musician, and art and music instructor, created the images for her brother’s true story about his beloved pet pig, Princess Tocina, a fun, smart

and treasured member of their family.

Williams, a Chinese American who grew up in Hawaii eating rice and dim-sum on Thanksgiving, learned to cook an entire turkey dinner with the trimmings when she married her Caucasian husband from Michigan.

Information: Laurie@ReadLaurieFagen.com.

encing homelessness, those living with HIV/AIDS, and others recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Students and physicians from So noran University provide nearly 9,000 patients visits each year for both pri mary care and specialized patient visits.

The students who cover these shifts get a unique opportunity to provide treat ment and gain skills and experience in a community healthcare setting, working with a diverse patient population.

They help their patients to restore their health, and to improve self-care through daily diet, exercise, and stress reduction treatment plans.

The life-changing, life-saving work the Sage Foundation provides is made possible thanks to generous support from the com munity.

Last month, the East Valley members of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun donated $10,050 to the Sage Foun dation.

100+ Women Who Care comprises women who meet quarterly to learn about local charities and choose one charity to receive a donation of $100 from each of the members.

By pooling their money together, 100+ Women Who Care can make sig nificant donations to Valley charities, making a noticeable impact for the non profit recipient each quarter.

This donation will help offset the high costs of lab tests, medical supplies, pharmacy items, and other necessary supplies to keep the community clinics running and ensure they can provide high quality healthcare to thousands of patients each year.

“The donation will go towards pro viding free care for underserved popu lations in Maricopa County. We are in credibly grateful for the support 100+ Women Who Care has shown us,” said Kayte Nettles, director of development at the Sage Foundation.

More information on the Sage Founda tion’s community clinics: sage.sonoran. edu.

100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun will hold their next quarterly giving circle in the East Valley at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at Audi Gilbert. Members and guests are welcome. Visit 100wwcvalleyofthe sun.org for more information and to reg ister.

Ob uaries

480-898-6465

obits@TimesLocalMedia.com

Deadline: Wednesday by 5pm for Sunday

Julie Shill passed away peacefully on Oc tober 9, 2022 at the age of 56 with her children and husband. A lifelong advocate of service, Ju lie found ways to help others as a daughter, sister, mother, physical therapist, and cancer patient.

Julie was born to her parents LaRene and Wynn and is the oldest sister among her siblings Ron, Cherie, and David. She partici pated in many activities in high school such as cheerleading, diving, and choir. During that time, she also became an All-American gymnast.

Julie always valued education. She got her BS in psychology from BYU in 1988 and her MS in physical therapy from TWU in 1998. Julie began getting her PhD in physi cal therapy in 2014 before her cancer diag nosis and chose to finish her program while also going through cancer treatment. She graduated with her PhD in December 2019.

Julie worked as a physical therapist with many different age ranges. She worked with children at Plano ISD, adults while working at various home health compa nies, and with babies at Cranial Technol ogies. Julie treasured the connections she had with the people she worked with and celebrated their successes every step of the way.

While going through her cancer treatment, she found great value in finding simple joys

every single day. She treasured all the con nections she made along the way like doc tors, volunteers, and her peers in her cancer support group. Julie was an active support er of other cancer patients around the world and connected with them online. She found joy and support through helping others on their own journeys.

Of all the things she has been involved in, the role she is most proud of is as a wife, mother, and grandmother. She married her husband Curt Shill in 1987 and became a mother a few years later to Ryan and Chris tie. She celebrated when her son Ryan married his wife Melissalyn and became a grandmother to Oliver and Aurora.

Last, but certainly not least, Julie loved her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, walked with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and spilled that unconditional love to everyone she met.

A funeral service was held Saturday, October 15, 2022 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2401 Legacy Drive, Plano, Texas 75023. Following the service, a procession made its way to Rid geview Memorial Park, 2525 Central Ex pressway North, Allen, Texas 75013 for a committal service.

The family received family and friends during a visitation on Friday evening. at the Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013.

Beverly Luhrs Straight

Beverly Luhrs

Straight was born January 14, 1931 in MO, and died in Mesa, AZ, Oct. 1, 2022. She was preceded in death by her parents, Emma Viets Luhrs and Otis Luhrs, and her husband, Donald Straight, Sr. She is survived by her children Debbie Stevenson and Don Straight, Jr., both residing in TX. Her surviving siblings include Eva Lambrecht, Marilyn Howell, and Barb Heitman. She lovingly enriched the lives of her 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Bev graduated from Northwest Missouri State University and worked in the social services field for over 30 years, influencing the lives of many people. She was a very active member of Victory Lutheran Church, serving as a Stephen minister sponsor and caregiver. Bev was a special person with a loving heart and will be missed by many!

Services will be held at Victory Lutheran Church, Mesa AZ Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

Need help writing an obituary?

We have articles that will help guide you through the process.

Deadline for obituaries is Wednesday at 5pm for Sunday. All obituaries will be approved by our staff prior to being activated. Be aware there may be early deadlines around holidays.

Call 480-898-6465 Mon-Fri, 8:30 - 5pm if you have questions.

Visit: obituaries.EastValleyTribune.com

Julie Shill

Matty G’s owners hopes to build loyal customer base here

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Some of the regular customers at The Local in downtown Chandler were unhappy to learn its owners were shutting down and selling to some one else.

“Well where the heck am I going to watch football now?” one regular wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “Sure going to miss your awesome breakfast tacos!”

Matt Gorman hopes to build that kind of loyalty as his Matty G’s Steakburgers & Lobster Rolls opens in the space that once was home to The Local at 55 W. Chicago Ave.

“The Local was going to sell to some body, and we hope they really like us,” Gorman said. “I think our quality of food is going to be something that they’ll en joy. We were voted best burger place in all of Phoenix in March of this year, so we

got some good things going.”

Chandler will be the sixth Matty G’s to open in Arizona, joining locations in Mesa, Gilbert, Flagstaff, Scottsdale and Phoenix.

“My wife and I love coming to down town Chandler,” Gorman said. “And when this spot popped up, or when we found it, we jumped on it.”

Gorman said customers will enjoy the variety of offerings at Matty G’s. In addi tion to the steakburgers, they obviously offer lobster rolls, chicken, hot dogs, sal ads and wraps. Gorman said they have 67 items on their menu.

But the food is only part of the Matty G’s experience.

“A lot of places today, you’re going to come in and be just a number,” Gor man said. “‘Hey, thanks. Nobody cares.’ We’re going to joke with you. We try to know you. We can’t know everybody, but

Chandler couple in the swing offering tennis, golf lessons

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Lynsey

and Drew Breivogel said they had no intention of opening their own business when they moved to Chandler during the pandemic.

It was a case of been there, done that.

However, those plans changed for the former Seattle residents when the chap ter director for TGA Premier, a nation wide franchise offering tennis and golf lessons, notified all his parent-clients that he intended to sell his business and asked if any of them were interested in buying it.

“Not at all,” Lynsey said when asked if starting their own business was the plan.

“We were never set in stone on our ca reer paths. As we’ve had kids and moved houses and moved states and stuff, we

didn’t really have any one specific thing that we were tied down to, or that we said all we have to do is this. So just hav ing an open mind and seeing the oppor tunity and taking it has been just a huge blessing.”

The Breivogels had built from scratch a home improvement business in the Seattle area that was thriving. Then, the pandemic arrived and the price of lum ber soared.

After relocating to Chandler, Drew took a job to be a golf pro at Sunbird Golf Club and the couple enrolled their 8-year-old son in TGA for tennis lessons.

That’s when they got the email about a business opportunity.

“We talked about it, and we had a price in mind,” Lynsey said. “And if it was, at this price, or lower, then we’ll consider Chandler residents Lynsey and Drew Breivogel own the TGA Premier franchise for the Phoenix East region and offer tennis and golf instruction. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Matt Gorman has opened his sixth Matty G’s Steakburgers and Lobster Rolls at 55 W. Chicago Ave. in downtown Chandler (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

we try to meet you and talk to you. We might not remember everybody’s name, but pretty much remember a lot about what their family is or their kids and what happened. We want to be a local spot where you feel comfortable.”

And there is a definite sports vibe, with TVs on the walls to watch games and a number of jerseys as decorations. Gorman said they are carrying some thing over from The Local.

“We’ll still continue the bar aspect with both inside and outside,” he said. “We have six beers that we actually brew ourselves and that we hope everybody takes part in. But we are going to be a family restaurant that has really good food, with the ability to have an alcohol beverage as well.”

Brandon Marvin is one of the manag ers who will be running the Chandler location.

“Yeah, I used to live here. I used to live across the street,” Marvin said. “Actually, I was going to The Perch when this build

ing was just six pillars in the woods. So it is kind of crazy to think you know, 10 years later actually, I’m helping run this building.”

Before opening the first Matty G’s in

2016, Gorman ran a sushi restaurant. He said he got the idea to combine burgers and lobster rolls from TV.

“I was watching The Profit (TV show on CNBC) one day and they had a lob

ster roll guy on their food truck and he’s making a killing,” Gorman said.

The idea has been a success. Gorman said despite the slowdown the entire in dustry experienced during the pandemic, they’ve been able to grow. And he plans to keep expanding, both in the Valley and outside of Arizona, mentioning Tennes see, Utah and Texas as possibilities.

Another state may depend on where his son wants to go to college.

“My kid is about to go to college in two years,” Gorman said. “So I told him wherever he wants to go to college, I will open a restaurant and he can work there for a year so he can get in-state tuition. Then he can go to four-year school a lot cheaper.”

Opening the Chandler location took longer than Gorman thought it would. But he hopes both fans of The Local and new customers will come to appreciate what Matty G’s has to offer.

During the interview, a man walked in and looked around the empty restaurant that wasn’t open at the time and said, “I just came for some tacos.”

it, and if it was above then it just wasn’t meant to be. So it was lower than what we thought and we went and asked about it, and a month later, it was closed.”

Drew said children can learn a lot from sports that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.

“We get to teach them the sport and most of them have never touched a rack et or a club, but we also get to teach them the etiquette and the rules of the game,” Drew said. “Golf especially is very simi lar to life, right? Because there’s multi ple holes, you’re going to make mistakes,

right? It’s what happens when you make that mistake, don’t compound that error, right? Don’t make another mistake.”

So far business has been booming, so much that the couple is looking to hire more coaches.

Most of the business is teaching ten nis and golf at schools in the East Valley. They work with the Higley, Gilbert and Kyrene school districts as well as char ter and private schools. They also run a number of camps for students looking for more instruction.

Lynsey said they intend to expand, es pecially in offering private lessons. Drew said they’ve had some parents who have

enrolled their children for multiple camps. As a thank you, he’s offered them a free private lesson.

“We hope to continue to do that no matter how big we get,” Drew said.

The big challenge now to growing their business is finding coaches. Lynsey said they will train anyone willing. Since they would be working with children, all coaches must undergo a background check.

Lynsey said working with TGA, which has chapters around the nation, has been great.

“[We’ve had] amazing support,” Lyn sey said. “The CEO, or the CFO, I can text

them. They’re an open book, they are there if there are any issues.”

Drew said now that he’s both started a business from scratch, and bought an ex isting business, the latter is a lot easier. However, there are still pros and cons.

“It’s like buying a house, right?” he said. “You know, and then being forced to live in that house for like three months.

You can’t paint the walls, you can’t paint the trim, you can’t change the doors. You have to live in it like that for a little bit, which is fine.”

But they will slowly make the business theirs, Lynsey said.

Information: playtga.com/EastPhoenix

Upfront Fees

Football and baseball memorabilia adorn the walls inside Matty G’s. Matty G’s Steakburgers and Lobster Rolls’ newest location in downtown Chandler. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

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Stock market declines. On Sept. 26, the S&P 500 Index reached a new low for 2022 and the Dow-Jones Index dropped 329.60 points, or 1.11% to 29,260.81. This is down about 20.4% from its Jan. 4 closing high and so is officially in “bear market” territory.

Many financial institutions and managers of multi-billion dollar stock funds predict that the stock market could drop another 20-30% if the Fed keeps increasing interest rates to fight inflation.

this year and released new economic projections showing a significant slowdown in the economy later in 2022 and 2023.

We are technically now in a recession, because the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has been negative for the first two quarters of 2022. A number of large companies, such as Bank of America, FedEx, and GE predict a recession in 2023 with rising unemployment due to the Fed increasing interest rates substantially.

Here are some financial implications.

Action step: An increased recession means higher unemployment, less economic activity, and a declining real estate and stock market. Consider increasing your savings to cover at least 12 months living expenses and decreasing your exposure to bond and stock market holdings.

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There has been a sharp increase in existing home purchase contracts that have been canceled.

For a $500,000 mortgage at 3% amortized over 30 years, the monthly payment is $2,102 vs. $2,983 at a 6% interest rate. The $880 monthly increase equates to a 42% increase in one’s mortgage payment.

If you want to sell your vacation or rental house, do it now and be prepared to lower your price and pay some of the buyer’s closing costs. The Phoenix Metro

Consider lowering the percentage of your financial portfolio that is in bonds or stocks, because higher interest rates historically cause both asset classes to drop.

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The Inflation Reduction Act will allocate $370 billion in green energy projects.

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schedule a free consultation, contact Dr. Harold Wong at 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@ hotmail.com. His website is drharoldwong. com.Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/Berkeley.

Sports

Shaun Aguano wins first game as ASU coach

BY ZACH ALVIRA Arizonan Sports Editor

ShaunAguano watched eagerly as a Hail Mary from Washington quarter back Michael Penex sailed toward the end zone as time expired.

Once he and the crowd saw the ball fall to the ground, chaos ensued. Aguano jumped in the air and turned to see the Arizona State fans celebrating the Sun Devils 45-38 upset victory over the No. 21 Huskies Sat urday afternoon in Tempe.

He was then mauled by coaches and players to celebrate his first win as the in terim coach.

“When I saw the ball hit the ground I turned around and I just wanted to look and see the fans’ reaction,” Aguano said. “I remember the same fans a couple games before who were booing and weren’t hap py, and they should, we weren’t doing well. But I wanted to take a quick look – 10 sec onds – and see their happiness.

“We made a lot of people smile in Ari zona. That’s huge for me because I con

sider myself an Arizonan. We made a lot of people happy tonight and tomorrow. That makes me feel good.”

Aguano’s first win leading the Sun Devil football program came nearly three weeks after he was announced as the interim head coach. After a loss to Eastern Michigan at home, former coach Herm Edwards relinquished his position as head coach with the team.

That opened the door for Aguano to take over, but it came during a three week stretch that, on paper, was brutal for the Sun Devils.

Arizona State started the Aguano era with a lopsided loss to Utah. The Sun Dev ils then went on the road and lost to USC.

That set the stage for Washington at home. The Huskies were coming off a beat down from UCLA and Arizona State’s de fense stepped up while the offense got into a groove behind backup quarterback and Arizona native Trenton Bourguet.

“Absolute trust,” Aguano said of Bourguet. “That’s at every position. The kids know I will never skip a beat in putting the next person in because I trust all the guys on our team.”

Arizona State starting quarterback Emory Jones left the game in the second quarter with a head injury after he was targeted by a Wash

ington defender. Bourguet entered the game and looked poised and confident in the pocket.

The former Marana High School star led the Sun Devils up and down the field against Washington, as he threw three to tal touchdown passes and completed 15 of his 21 pass attempts for 182 yards. It was an opportunity that he had waited pa tiently for, and for it to come with a former Arizona high school football coach leading the way made it more special.

“I’ve prepared the last four years as if I’m the starter,” Bourguet said. “You’re always a play away and I’ve always been told that. I prepared like the starter all week and at the end of the day you come out victorious against a really good Washington team. It was a lot of fun.”

One of Aguano’s promises when he took over as interim head coach was to recruit Arizona high school athletes. He grew to love the state and talent that comes out of it every year from his 20 years at Chandler High School, where he was head coach for eight and led the Wolves to three state ti tles and an overall record of 88-19.

Aguano, who at times became emotional in his postgame press conference Saturday, dou bled down on his promise to recruit the state.

He spent the first two weeks of his tenure

out at local Friday night games. And he made sure to remind media Bourguet and former Red Mountain star and current Sun Devil left guard Ben Bray, who came in for one of Arizona State’s injured starters, were both local recruits.

“He’s an Arizona kid that has come in and won one of our biggest games,” Aguano said. “We can win with Arizona kids. I want to keep Arizona kids here. (Bourguet) just amplified that for us.”

The win for Arizona State sets a new tone for the program entering its bye week. Play ers have bought in to Aguano’s “Ohana” cul ture, which extends from his Hawaiian back ground. Now, fans are starting to buy in, too.

Many were pleased on social media fol lowing the Sun Devils’ upset win. The Ari zona Football Coaches Association, made up of several high school coaches across the state, expressed their support to have Aguano in the driver’s seat moving forward.

“Coach Aguano is a man of high character we feel will do an outstanding job repre senting Arizona in a number of ways,” wrote Jason Jewell, the president of the AFCA and head coach at Brophy. “One, in particular, is fostering genuine relationships with high school coaches across the state of Arizona. That has been absent for many years from previous head coaches at ASU.

“Obviously, it is up to you to decide if Coach Aguano is the man that will ulti mately lead ASU in the future, but please know that he has the backing of every sin gle football coach in the state of Arizona.”

Aguano, in his postgame press conference, thanks fans, his players, coaches and the me dia for their support during a difficult time.

The win was a culmination of the effort put in by everyone involved after a difficult three weeks.

“I look back and ask if this is one of the greatest days in my coaching career and I say, ‘Absolutely,’” said Aguano, who was given the game ball by President Michael Crow and Athletic Director Ray Anderson.

“I feel like I’m the richest man in the world right now … just because of the wealth of love these kids have given me.

“This is a huge win for this program.”

Aguano was greeted by Arizona State President Michael Crow and Athletic Director Ray Anderson following the Sun Devils’ win over Washington. The two handed him the game ball to celebrate his first win as interim head coach. (Andy Silvas/Arizonan Contributor)

Former Chandler coach and current Arizo na State interim head coach Shaun Agua no led the Sun Devils to an upset victory Saturday afternoon in Tempe over No. 21 Washington. (JJ Digos/Arizonan Contributor)

Underground Railroad musical to debut here

BY SRIANTHI PERERA GetOut Contributor

Southern

California creative Ashli St. Armant had a plan to write a musi cal about the Underground Railroad.

She had not found the setting for it until she visited Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, where some of her ancestors worked as slaves in the 1700s.

Two rows of magnificent oak trees cre ate a grandiose front pathway and the tour guide remarked, “Can you imagine what these trees have seen and witnessed?”

“That was it for me,” St. Armant said. “My ancestors walked in, and they were like ‘we got this!’”

Her ancestors will possibly be ap peased when the Chandler Center for the Arts premiers “North, The Musical” in early November.

Chandler joined three other cities na tionwide to commission St. Armant’s theatrical debut, which she created and

Ashli St. Armant has used her multitalents, creative community and personal drive to present “North, The Musical,” which comes to the Chandler Center for the Arts in November. (Steve Lorentzen.)

directed and sis produced by actor Isa iah Johnson of “Hamilton” and “The Col or Purple”

But St. Armant has set her sights on

Broadway.

A composer, musician, jazz vocalist, musical theater playwright, author and youth educator among other skills and talents, St. Armant began her career as a pre-school music teacher and soon started writing content for young audiences.

A rambunctious only child, she grew up with many children around because her mother ran a home daycare center. Musical instruments, make-believe and children’s entertainment were part of the culture of her home.

She could not escape the influences of her childhood.

As a teen, she wanted to be a star on Broadway. She still feels it is within her reach, although the path has been circu itous, with a lot of distractions.

“I feel like Dorothy: she has these dis coveries and makes new friends along the way, she has distractions, and feels it a waste of time, but at the end she real izes that was really the point of the jour

ney,” she said.

“That’s how I feel about my journey towards Broadway, too. I believe it’s go ing to happen. I’ve had these extremely fruitful and fulfilling experiences along the way,” she added.

St. Armant is buoyed by the response to “North” so far. She drew on her multi faceted aptitudes and her creative com munity to assemble it and rates it as her biggest accomplishment yet.

“It’s been the biggest feat even to get it to this point,” she said. “It’s the biggest team I’ve had to build, the most money I’ve had to raise, the biggest reach in terms of the audience we’re trying to reach across the country, and also trying to get into Broad way and making those connections.”

Justifiably, she is also proud of it.

“I’m proud of everything I do, but this, for sure, is the most personal thing I’ve ever created,” she said. “To see so many

EV is home to nation's first indoor cornhole venue

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

Twoweeks may not sound like a long time, but when Gilbert’s Hole 9 Yards owners had plans in place for a festive grand opening on Sept. 16, supply-chain issues delayed the permit ting process.

That scuttled a weekend when Ameri can Cornhole League pros from around the country planned to join local aficio nados of the game for a celebration.

More delays ensued, but the big day fi nally arrived Sept. 30, when Dr. Todd Kis icki of Mesa and Queen Creek resident Nic Feinsten opened the 20,000-squarefoot venue at 868 N. Gilbert Road, where players have 26 lanes to play or watch others while sipping a beer and grab bing a burger from Hole 9 Yards’ full

kitchen and bar.

“We are excited that we are finally open after all the planning and prepa rations that have gone into the project,” Kisicki said.

Kisicki has been an enthusiastic fan of the sport, which began as an elevated form of the old bean bag tossing game and has elevated into a sport that could one day be an Olympics event.

As the owner of KB Kornhole Games, a cornhole-centric business that hosted hundreds of events throughout the Valley since its inception in 2015, Kisicki well known throughout the state as he’s hosted the Arizona State Cornhole Champion ships since 2016. Feinstein is an ACL-sanc tioned pro who is a leader in the sport.

Last year’s state championships at Me

Todd Kisicki of Mesa, left, and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek have put Gilbert on the map with lovers of the hugely popular outdoor game called cornhole by opening Hole 9 Yards, apparently the nation’s first indoor venue for the game. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

people get something out of it, to appre ciate it already, and it hasn’t even really even gotten into the stage.”

How did Chandler, which is not on the path of the Underground Railroad, get involved in premiering the musical?

Michelle Mac Lennan, general man ager of Chandler Center for the Arts, said that she became acquainted with St. Armant after she performed a virtual concert through the Dandelion Artists agency during the pandemic. For the concert, St. Armant was wearing the hats of childhood education specialist and artist, working as Jazzy Ash & the Leaping Lizards.

“We fell in love with her voice, im mense talent, joy and energy,” Mac Len non said.

Post-pandemic, the center met with the Dandelion Artists producer Sarah McCarthy.

“She shared Ashli’s new project and the rest, as they say, is history,” Mac Len nan said.

The Chandler Center for the Arts com missioned the musical along with the Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan sas, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and Playhouse

Square in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Chandler Center’s agreement in cluded an initial investment of $40,000, Mac Lellan said. In turn, the CCA will host the Arizona premiere on Nov. 4 and have rights to return the production in the 2023-24 season as part of the na tional tour.

“North’s” original score features jazz and Black roots music and an uplifting

story set against the backdrop of the Underground Railroad, a historical net work that helped slaves flee to Canada in the years before the Civil War.

The musical’s characters, Lawrence and his mother, Minnie, escape the Deep South and travel North to find freedom. They travel through Louisiana’s bayous, bustling New Orleans, and the young town of Lawrence, Kansas. The story

levels, private gatherings and open-lane rentals.

reflects the optimism, bravery, wonder and suspense of freedom seekers.

“North” absorbs St. Armant’s personal family stories.

She learned about the community of Maroons, people who escaped slavery but instead of traveling north, hid in the bayous of the forests. An acquaintance sent her a book, “Slavery’s Exiles,” that contained a passage about a man named Tam, a community leader who was called “the brave one.” He would work for nonslave owning plantation owners and be brave enough to collect money.

“The passage said he was enslaved on the same plantation that my fam ily members were enslaved in, in an ac count from 1780. He’d run away from the St. Armand Plantation,” she said. “It was pretty shocking to read that.”

Tam became a primary character in the show.

There’s also the coincidence of her name. She had changed her name to reflect the maternal line of her family, Armand. The change was done before she read the book. The slaves took the names of their masters, but were denied the “Saint” on their name.

“I learned my last name was Armand. I

sa’s Bell Bank Park was organized by Kis icki and became the largest state champi onship cornhole event in the nation with an estimated 410 players, ages 8 to 80, competed in 15 different divisions.

Now national director for the Ameri can Cornhole League, Kisicki didn’t start out aiming to be one of cornhole’s most enthusiastic advocates.

He earned his doctorate at Arizona State University in education technol ogy and taught there until he left to fo cus solely on his burgeoning KB Korn hole Games business with his wife of 16 years, Erin.

This summer, he often was jetting around the country and around the world, hosting cornhole tournaments in Europe, Canada as well as South Caro lina and California and overseeing more than 300 ACL directors nationwide.

He and Feinstein hatched their idea for Hole 9 Yards (H9Y) in 2019 and their concept picked up momentum during the early days of the pandemic.

By the time they opened, they not only had added a bar and full-service restau rant to their plan but also a retail section where people can buy cornhole gear and equipment.

They’re convinced they’re tapping into an activity that seems to have unlim ited potential and will be making Hole 9 Yards available for league play at all skill

When he and his wife sponsored their first commercial cornhole event on April 11, 2015, they figured their business would be strictly a part-time, weekend gig.

“I had no idea KB Kornhole Games would ever evolve to where it is today,” Kisicki said.

“While it was initially meant to be something we could do as a family, I quickly realized that starting and running a business required a lot of effort and sac rifice and not everyone was in a place in their lives to dedicate the time that was needed to make it successful,” he said.

“So I ran with it, slowly growing it to a point to where it was consuming a lot of my extra time and eventually taking some of my concentration away from my full-time job.”

In December 2016, he recalled, “I de cided to gamble on myself and jump all into the business, leaving the industry that I had spent the first 15 years of my adult life behind.”

Erin Kisicki left her full-time career

as a director of training in behavioral health services, on Sept. 2 so both hus band and wife can focus efforts on grow ing Hole 9 Yards, the national and inter national business of cornhole, and their daughter, Kora.

“Erin started the KB Kornhole busi ness with me in 2015 but with her fulltime job, she wasn’t active in the day-today operations though she helped me run the events for the first two years,” explained Kisicki.

“After a while, her job, plus having a toddler, and then me dragging her to events every weekend, took its toll and she stepped back from KB so that we didn’t have to ship our daughter off to family every weekend.”

“Our daughter, Kora, is now 8 and wants me to give her a job at Hole 9 Yards,” he chuckled.

Kisicki partnered with Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek to lead the design, oversee the renovations and handle the business’s social media and marketing. Feinstein will

“North, The Musical” marks Ashli St. Armant’s theatrical debut. (Courtesy of Audience Magnets)

Players heave bags at Hole 9 Yards, a new indoor cornhole venue opened by a pair of the sport’s devotees, Dr. Todd Kisicki of Mesa and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

Good info is a good thing.

Get the best info about the Broadway Curve Improvement Project and upcoming road closures with “The Curve” app. Download to your phone today or visit i10BroadwayCurve.com and #StayAheadOfTheCurve. When complete, the project will improve your commute and help support our growing economy.

changed it to St. Armant, the original last name from France,” she said, reflecting the French Saint Armand, the patron saint of beer, wine making and hospitality.

Because of these and various other chance occurrences, St. Armant feels a spiritual connection to the show she is creating.

“I don’t think it’s by accident that this information came to me, that he (Tam) was also enslaved in a plantation that my family members were also enslaved on,” she said. “And because of the nature of our history here in the States, we really don’t know our family lineage past four or five generations max because our history was erased for us, our last names were taken, and all that.”

“I can’t know for sure, but I think I know,” she continued. “At the very least, he shares an experience that my ancestors have also experienced on the same land.”

CORNHOLE

help spread the word of cornhole, H9Y and industry news affecting Arizona.

“I never really needed to market with KB Kornhole Games with most of my events coming from referrals, but now with a large venue and most time slots to fill, Nic fills a void with his strong skill set that gives us a dedicated social media and marketing plan to attract new people to the sport,” said Kisicki.

As national director for the American Cornhole League, international expansion is Kisicki’s focal point. A goal of that expansion is prepping the way as a future sport in the Olympics.

If you go

What: “North: The Musical”

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 5.

Where: Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler.

Tickets: $32 and $42, $15 for youth.

Information/sales: chandlercenter. org/north or 480-782-2680.

Connected Events:

10 a.m. Oct. 22 at Chandler Public

Library: “The Underground and Overground Railroad” presented by Dr. Tamika Sanders.

Nov. 4 I the Gallery of the Chandler Center for the Arts, opening night cast reception after show for ticketholders.

Nov. 5 at CCA: “North: The Musical Talk Backs,” following both the Saturday performances.

“My role with the ACL is to help develop the competitive side of the sport in these countries. There’s also the WCO –the World Cornhole Organization – and they’re the ones who are responsible for getting the sport to the Olympics,” said Kisicki, currently a board member with the nonprofit WCO.

“Cornhole is a universal sport that anyone can play,” said Kisicki. “The wonderful part of the sport is that you can have young children, women, men and seniors all playing in the same event with no competitive advantage.”

An eleven-mile stretch of Interstate 10 between Loop 202 and I-17.

If that seems a reach, consider skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and now breakdancing – all Olympic competitive events.

It takes some doing to be included, said Kisicki.

“To be considered for involvement in the Olympics, a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in no fewer than 40 countries and on three continents.

To see that cornhole is established in other countries is a major task for Kisicki.

“One of my roles with the American Cornhole League is international development, and working with cornhole leaders in other countries to develop competitive cornhole in their countries.,” he said.

Televising cornhole has already proved a successful draw. ESPN and their related channels began broadcasting cornhole tournaments in 2017, and in early September, CBS covered an ACL Pro Shootout Tournament during prime time.

Even with the success of competitive tournaments, Kisicki cleaves to the tagline he originated in 2015 for KB Kornhole: “Bringing people together, one kornhole at a time.”

He said he’s seen newcomers come to give the sport a try-out, then continue coming to events as they make new friends and become a part of a community of enthusiasts.

The H9Y owners hope the 26 lanes at their H9Y Gilbert venue will expand that community with people of all ages and skill levels.

Information: Hole9Yards.com.

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NOTICE OF COURT HEARING Case No. 21CH010281 1. Petitioner (Employer) a. Name: CITY OF SAN JOSE Lawyer for Petitioner Name: YUE-HAN CHOW State Bar No.: 268266 Firm Name: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, CITY OF SAN JOSE b. Address: 200 EAST SANTA CLARA STREET, 16TH FLOOR City: SAN JOSE State: CA Zip: 9511 3 Telephone: (408) 535-1900 Fax: (408) 998-3131 E-Mail Address: cao.main@san joseca.gov 2. Employee in Need of Protec tion Full Name: AMBER ZENK 3. Respondent (Person From Whom Protection Is Sought) Full Name: WILLIAM GARB ETT 4. Notice of Hearing A court hearing is scheduled on the request for restraining orders against the respondent Hearin g Date 11/30/2021 Time: 9:00AM Dept.: 4 5. Temporary Restraining Orders a. Temporary Restraining Orders for personal con duct and stay away orders as requested in Form WV-100, Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, are: (1) All GRANTED until the court hearing. 6. Service of Documents by the Petitioner At least five days before the hearing, someone age 18 or older–not you or anyone to be protected–must personally give (serve) a court file-stamped copy of this Form WV 109, Notice of Court Hearing, to the respondent along with a copy of all the forms indicated below: a. WV-100, Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (filestamped) b. WV-110, Temporary Restraining Order (file-stamped) IF GRAN TED c. WV-120, Response to Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (blank form) d. WV-120-INFO, How Can I Respond to a Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders? e. WV-250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail (blan k form) Date: 09/20/2021 /S ERIK S. JOHNSON To the Petitioner - The court cannot make the restraining orders after the court hearing unless the respondent has been personally given (served) a copy of your request and any temporary orders. To show that the respondent has been served, the person who served the forms must fill out a proof of service form. Form WV-200, Proof of Personal Service, may be used. - For information about service, read Form WV-200- NFO, What Is "Proof of Person al Service"? - If you are unable to serve the respondent in time, you may ask for more time to serve the documents. Use Form WV-115, Request to Continue Court Hearing and to Reissue Temporary Restraining Order. To the Respondent - If you wan t to respond to the request for orders in writing, file Form WV-120, Response to Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, and have someone age 18 or older–not you or anyone to be protect–mail it to the petitioner. - The person who mailed the form must fill out a proof of service form. FormWV-250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail, may be used. File the completed form with the court before the hearing and bring a copy with you to the court hearing. - Whether or not you re spond in writing, go to the hearing if you want the judge to hear from you before making an order. You may tell the judge why you agree or disagree with the orders requested. - You may bring witnesses or other evidence. - At the hearing, the judge may make restraining orders against you that could last up to three years and may order you to sell or turn in any firearms that you own or possess. Request for Accommodations Assistive listening systems, computer assisted real-time captioning, or sign lan guage interpreter services are available if you ask at least five days before the hearing. Contact the clerk's office or go to www.courts.ca.gov/formsfor Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities and Response (Form MC- 410). (Civ Code, § 54 8) ORDER ON REQUEST TO CONTINUE HEARING Case Number: 21CH010281 Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA 191 N. FIRST STREET, SAN JOSE, CA 95113, DOWNTOWN SUPERIOR COURT 1. Peti tioner (Employer) CITY OF SAN JOSE 2. Respondent WILLIAM GARBETT 3. Next Court Date b. The request to resched ule the court date is granted. Your court date is rescheduled for the day and time listed below. See 4-8 for more information New Court Date 12/06/2022 Time: 9AM 4. Temporary Restraining Order b. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is still i n full force and effect. (1) The court extends the TRO previously granted on 09/20/2021. It now expires on (at the end of the court date listed in 3b). Warning and Notice to the Respondent If 4b is checked, a temporary restraining order has been issue d against you. You must follow the orders until they expire. 5. Reason Court Date is Rescheduled c. The court reschedules the court date on its own motion. 6. Serving (Giving) Order to the Other Party The request to reschedule was made by the: a. Peti tioner (Employer) (3) You must serve the respondent with a copy of this order. This can be done by mail. You must serve by: 10/01/2022. 7. No Fee to Serve (Notify) Respondent NOT ORDERED Date: 09/06/2022 /S/ Sunil R. Kulkarni, Judicial Of ficer Clerk's Certificate I certify that this Order on Request to Continue Hearing (Temporary Restraining Order) (CLETS TWH)(form WV-116) is a true and correct copy of the original on file in the court. Date: 09/06/2022 M. SORUM, Clerk o f the Court ORDER FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA Case No. 21CH010281. CITY OF SAN JOSE, a charter city, Petitioner v. WILLIAM GARBETT, an individual, Re spondent. Date: September 6, 2022 Time: 9 00 a.m. Dep't: 4 Exempt from Filing Fees (Govt. Code § 6103) After reviewing the Application for Order for Service by Publication of Petitioner City of San José, and it satisfactorily appearing therefrom that Petitioner has made reasonably diligent efforts to personally serve Respondent, WILLIAM GARBETT, and that Respond ent is a necessary party to this action and is both aware of this action and the contents of the Petition; and IT FURTHER AP PEARING that a Notice of Court Hearing (WV-109) (the "Notice") has been filed in the above-entitled Court action, said Re spondent cannot, with reasonable diligence, be served in any other manner specified by sections 415.10 through 415.40 of the Code of Civil Procedure. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that service of the Notice be made on Respondent WILLIAM GARB ETT by publication thereof in the Mesa Tribune a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Maricopa, Ari zona, as well as in the San Jose Post-Record, a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Santa Clara, Cali fornia, hereby designated as the newspapers most likely to give said Respondent actual notice in this action, and that publica t ion in both newspapers be made at least once a week for four (4) successive weeks. Date: 09/06/2022 /S SUNIL R

K ULKARNI, JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21/22

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 16, 23, 30, Nov 6, 2022 / 49817

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