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BASKETS OF LOVE
Thursday, November 25, 2021
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TU walks back SRO abolition, opts for safety study BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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he Tempe Union High School District Governing Board on Nov. 17 walked back its resolution to remove school resource of�icers from all campuses by the time the next school year began. Confronted by opposition from the district’s six high school principals, at least �ive former board members, the Tempe Police
Department and numerous parents, students and others, the board decided to spend the next year studying the divisive issue that included something that had not been done prior to the board’s Oct. 13 vote: survey students, teachers, parents, and community members; study actual data; and examine current and model school safety plans. The goal of a committee undertaking that study will be to recommend model safety plans and policies as well as “explore grant
funded options for any additional partnerships or positions that would add to the physical and psychological safety of our students.” The resolution charges the committee with “recommending various models of safety plans ranging from those that include the district’s current usage of SROs with modi�ications based on Ad Hoc Committee input
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Ahwatukee man proud of freedom �ighter role BY MIKE SAKAL AFN Contributor
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PLAYOFF WIPEOUT
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LIGHT UP THE ZOO
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hen Andras Pongratz celebrates Thanksgiving today at the Chandler home of his son, Joe Pongratz with 33 family members, he has many things to be thankful for. “I’m thankful for my family, �irst and foremost,” Pongratz, 82, of Ahwatukee, said. “I am thankful to be in America and I am thankful for my freedom and being able to go back to Hungary.” Pongratz recently returned from Budapest, where he spoke to thousands of people marking the 65th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Pongratz was one of seven siblings who helped lead the ‘56 revolt against the Russian Communists as anti-sentiment against the oppressive government boiled over on Oct. 23,1956. The massive protests escalated into nearly two weeks of �ierce �ighting in the streets of Budapest and some of Hungary’s
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Ahwatukee resident Andras Pongratz and his entire family fought in the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and is grateful for the freedoms he enjoys in America. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)
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