Ahwatukee Foothills News - 6.30.2021

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HOUSING TIMELINE

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

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@AhwatukeeFN

Kyrene calls for override election Nov. 2

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

P

@AhwatukeeFN |

I

n a surprise move, Kyrene Governing Board last week unanimously called for a special 15 percent maintenance and operations override election Nov. 2.

Earlier in the meeting, the board also gave preliminary approval to a balanced budget for the fiscal year beginning tomorrow, July 1, that could have required major program and staff cuts had it not been for an influx of federal pandemic relief money.

Independence Day parade here, but fireworks are history

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

While the two actions are not directly related to each other, they both underscore the delicate balancing act Kyrene Chief Financial Officer Chris Hermann has had to walk this year.

Dwindling enrollment and Arizona’s traditional underfunding of public education have exacted a toll that was further exacerbated by the pandemic, according to observations by the administration and various Kyrene Governing Board members.

If approved, the override would continue at least $13.5 million in additional annual revenue used to keep class sizes small; pay for spe-

cial middle school electives like band, chorus and even physical education; and fund student support services ranging from speech, vision and other physical therapy to academic and behavior support services.

Translated another way, according to Hermann, those override dollars pay for a fifth of the district’s 1,000 teachers.

“That’s a scary number,” said board member Michelle Fahy during a June 17 meeting between the Governing Board and the citizens

Welcome return

see KYRENE page 12

Though some rain took the edge off the searing temperatures, that didn’t stop Micah Newkirk, 13, Kaeden Newkirk, 7, Marcia Newkirk last Thursday from using Pecos Pool – a welcome change from last year at this time, when all Phoenix pools and parks were shut down all summer because of the pandemic. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

A

ndy Hayes doesn’t know how many families will show up at 7:30 a.m.

Saturday, July 3, for the 22nd annual Fourth of July Children’s Parade co-sponsored by the Mountain Park Ranch HOA and the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce.

“It could be 100, it could be 300,” said Hayes, the Chamber executive director.

Regardless, he’s prepared: Local businesses – like Cold Brews and Cheeseburgers, CKs, Dairy Queen, Andy’s Frozen Custard, Native, to name a few – have given him 1,000 gift cards and gift certificates.

He’ll be giving them out as prizes for best decorated tricycle, scooter, wagon and bicycle,

see FIREWORKS page 19

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.

Times Media Group: 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219 Tempe, Arizona, 85282 Main number: 480-898-6500 Advertising: 480-898-5624 Circulation service: 480-898-5641

PUBLISHER Steve T. Strickbine

VICE PRESIDENT Michael Hiatt

ADVERTISING STAFF National Advertising Director Zac Reynolds 480-898-5603 zac@ahwatukee.com

Advertising Sales Representatives: Karen Mays, 480-898-7909, kmays@ahwatukee.com Laura Meehan, 480-898-7904, lmeehan@ahwatukee.com

Classified:

Elaine Cota, 480-898-7926, ecota@ahwatukee.com

Circulation Director:

Aaron Kolodny 480-898-5641, customercare@ahwatukee.com

NEWS STAFF Executive Editor:

Paul Maryniak, 480-898-5647, pmaryniak@ahwatukee..com

GetOut Editor:

Christina Fuoco-Karasinski, 480-641-4518, christina@timespublications.com

Sports Editor:

Zach Alvira 480-898-5630, zalvira@timespublications.com

Designer: Ruth Carlton - rcarlton@timespublications.com

Production Coordinator:

Courtney Oldham 480-898-5617 production@timespublications.com

Reporters:

Tom Scanlon, 480-278-6903 tscanlon@timespublications.com Wayne Schutsky, 480-898-6533 wschutsky@timespublications.com Cecilia Chan. 480-898-5613, cchan@timespublications.com Ahwatukee Foothills News is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader. For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@ azintegratedmedia.com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@ azintegatedmedia.com.

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Blandford sees homes on State Land in 2024 AFN NEWS STAFF

D

on’t expect houses on the recently sold 373 acres of State Trust Land in Ahwatukee for about three years.

That’s the word from Blandford Homes, which through a subsidiary won bidding earlier this month for the land along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues by shelling out a whopping $175.5 million.

And the homebuilder isn’t interested in helping Club West find a solution for its golf course – a suggestion floated by some board members.

"While we completely understand Club West’s and surrounding communities concern over having the course operational like it was in its glory days, we are not in the golf course business,” Blandford spokeswoman Lori Anderson said.

“We do wish them luck and hope they can find a resolution to this for their community.”

There was some thought by board members that Blandford might see the Club West course as an amenity for its residents on the state land and therefore help finance its restoration.

As for the development of that state land – most of which is already zoned residential and can accommodate an estimated 1,050 houses – Anderson said, “It is much too early to have details available for this project as it’s in the early stages of planning.”

“We look forward to creating another high-quality master-planned community in the highly coveted Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood,” Anderson said, adding, “Blandford Homes has been very interested in this area for many years.”

“Confidence in the economy, housing market, housing indicators and this specific location led to the ultimate decision to acquire this property,” she said.

Anderson also noted Blandford is “currently building out our Palma Brisa community” on Frye Road and Desert Foothills Parkway.

The homebuilder paid Tempe Union High School District $23 million for 63 acres at that site, where it has built a 178-home gated community.

Anderson said Blandford is currently building a team of consultants for the state land development that “will lead the land planning, design theming and engineering efforts to work through the City of Phoenix.”

The land already is zone for single-home construction except for 44 acres zoned for multifamily and 11 more for commercial development.

Thus, there won’t be any need for public hearings on Blandford plans. The work with the city will involve the conventional permit application process all subdivision builders go through.

see LAND page 6

NEWS

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NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

MCC developing app to help troubled teens

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

H

elp for Arizona teens in crisis and mental or emotional duress could one day become only a touch away.

Students and faculty members from Mesa Community College and the multicommunity college Maricopa Information Technology Institute - East Valley are developing a mobile app that aims for two separate but related functions.

Teens in crisis or under duress can quickly find mental health or other professionals. And people of any age can report teens who may pose a danger to themselves or others.

The project began after Mesa Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Sally Harrison and Chandler educator Katey McPherson – both vocal advocates for teen suicide prevention and mental health wellness – presented the college’s IT-related faculty with a Utah app that has produced stunning results.

Called SafeUT, the smartphone app is a statewide service that provides real-time crisis intervention to Utah’s students, parents, and educators at no cost.

Developed under the auspices of the Utah Legislature and governor, it enables students in crisis to open a two-way messaging service with master’s level clinicians, call a crisis counselor directly, or submit confidential tips to school administrators on bullying, threats, violence and other etc.

Master’s level crisis counselors man it 24/7/365 and, according to a report by the University of Utah, it “has been recognized nationwide for its effectiveness in saving lives and de-escalating potential school incidents.”

Schools have the option to enroll in the Utah service and by the end of the 201920 school year, more than 87 percent of all public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities were signed up.

The MCC project is still in development, although McPherson said, “Our hope is to pilot it in three Mesa Public Schools in the next year and from there hopefully it would grow statewide. It will be a long three-to-five-year process to roll out and work out bugs.”

“What I love most is that kids can chat and text into seven University of Utah clinicians that can intervene and make an ac-

The staff leading the app’s development include, from left: Front row: Mike Bogner, Technopreneur Experience lead programming professor; Diane Meza, director of Maricopa IT Institute - East Valley; back row: Dr. Angeline Surber, Mesa Community College Computer Information Systems chair; Dr. Deb LaVergne, MCC Computer Information Systems Program director; and Helen Bland, Computer Information Systems administrative specialist senior. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer) tion plan with the kid’s parents or family or just listen,” she said. “It is widely used by kids – lots of success.”

The Arizona app, called ReachOutAZ, is still in development but a demonstration of the prototype can be viewed at youtube. com/watch?v=Dop1XTlHOkA.

The ReachOUtAZ app is still in development but people can see a demonstration on YouTube. (Special to AFN)

In the video, the narrator explains that the pilot program would target students in grades 7-12.

One Scottsdale Unified School District principal who watched the video remarked, “We should have this in all of our schools for our students. We need this now more than ever.”

She wasn’t understating the need.

Even before anyone heard of COVID-19, experts and teens themselves were sounding the alarm about the pressures that already had made suicide the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-24.

In the East Valley, more than 50 boys and girls have taken their lives since August 2018.

The pandemic and its disruptive and isolating impact have become another factor in a social-mental-emotional crisis that has been fueled for years by the pressure for good grades, social media, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse and problems at home.

The Centers for Disease Control last week reported that in 2020, “the proportion of mental health–related emergency department visits among adolescents aged 12–17 years increased 31 percent compared with that during 2019.

“In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ED visits for suspected suicide attempts began to increase among adolescents aged 12–17 years, especially

girls. During February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6 percent higher among girls aged 12– 17 years than during the same period in 2019; among boys aged 12–17 years, suspected suicide attempt ED visits increased 3.7 percent,” the CDC continued.

As easy as the app’s use might seem, building it is another story, according to Diane Meza, director of Maricopa IT Institute - East Valley, and Dr. Deb LaVergne, MCC Computer Information Systems Program director.

Students who have been working on it are part of the institute’s Technopreneur Experience. Three – Patrick Wheeler, Hannah Cheloha, and Alycia Saris – have been involved in the entire process so far.

Faculty participants include three Technopreneur Experience professors – Mike Bogner, lead programming; Phil Waclawski, database and networking; and Dave Levy, iOS programming – as well as Dr. Angeline Surber, Computer Information Systems chair and Helen Bland, Computer Information Systems administrative specialist senior.

The IT Institute serves Rio Salado, Chandler-Gilbert and Scottsdale community colleges as well as MCC. Basically, the institute takes students who have already attained a certificate or associates degree in a computer-related field and gives them the experience that companies are seeking. The goal is to get those students jobs.

The Technopreneur Experience program also helps small businesses not only with employment but in the development of apps they might normally be unable to afford.

“Whoever wants to come in our students can actually create those as practice and work with an industry partner and (students) get those workforce skills,” Meza said.

Meza described ReachOutAZ as a service providing a range of crisis responses, depending on the seriousness of a situation.

She said the students and faculty participating in its development “are all putting in above-and-beyond time because they believe so passionately in this.

“There’s so many people on the team that have been affected by suicides alone – either families, friends, friends of friends – and we all kind of came on and shared sto-

see APP page 6

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

APP from page 4

make adjustments based on test results; submit app to the app store for approval: ries before we even started this…That’s and pilot initial release of the app, followed been just amazing,” Meza said. by updates before widespread release.”

Though Meza noted that some apps are And while Meza, LaVergne and the rest relatively easy to develop, ReachOutAZ is of the team are doing all that, Harrison anything but – largely because of all the and McPherson are looking for a school layers of information involved. district and possibly a municipality to “We want to make sure that there’s team up and support the program. enough data that can be disseminated to “We’re still working out details....Lots of the right triage person,” Meza explained. people to make sure that all the bugs are “When you think about an app,” she con- worked out before we file it, but we will be tinued, “there’s a whole lot of variables. looking at some schools to pilot this with us That means a lot of people. There’s a lot soon,” Meza added. of places you can click and go to and each “The challenges with this particular one of those areas where somebody can app are that you have to find somebody click has to be developed.” who’s willing to maintain it and update LaVergne listed some of the tasks in- it and whatever else is needed,” she said. volved: “Gather requirements from cli- “We’re in conversations now and we do ents; determine scope, storyboard the have interest.” project, create logos or images as needWhile she stressed, “I’m not gonna say ed; create the initial app user interface; it’s completely ready because there’s so develop the code to run the app and the many tweaks and things,” Meza is hopeful backend database; repeatedly present that interest will lead to whatever fundand communicate with the clients for ing and anything else is needed to make feedback.”

ReachOutAZ a reality.

Then there is, she added, “make adjustbeen looking uxuefforts ~ Lour gs far ry Vinhave u“So yl ~“but Area R ments to scope, interface, and code based pretty positive,” she said, is C m ounothing o t nter ~ Cus testing; set in stone.”  s on feedback; complete internal r t e o w o p

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LAND from page 3

for a year after the final subdivision plat is filed in case either Kyrene or Tempe Anderson said development activities Union – or both districts – want to build likely will begin late next year or early a school there.

Both the 44 acres zoned for apartments 2023 “with the first homes expected to be or condos and 11 completed in the acres zoned comsummer of 2024.” mercial are withThe Arizona We look forward to creating in an area in the State Land Department appraisanother high-quality master- southeast corner of the parcel. al of the Ahwatuplanned community in the That 44 acres kee land – which could be relocated valued the parcel highly coveted Ahwatukee elsewhere within at $105 million Foothills neighborhood. the parcel by a rou– indicated there tine administrative was close to $6 amendment to its million in infrastructure work to be done on the site be- overall zoning, the appraisal said.

However, the appraiser wrote that fore homes could be built. development That did not cover the cost of extending “multifamily-oriented Liberty Lane diagonally through the en- is considered to be unlikely” and that tire parcel or widening the three-lane seg- “single-family residential oriented use ment of Chandler Boulevard to five lanes appears to be the most profitable use of – projects city officials say will have to be the vast majority, if not all, of the net land area” with the maximum allowable denunderwritten by the homebuilder.

The city also has set aside 12 acres sity of 3.5 homes per acre.

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

GOP House: study 'commies,' outlaw mask mandates

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

R

epublican lawmakers voted Friday to require that students be exposed to the stories of people who have fled communism as part of a curriculum to prepare them to be “civically responsible and knowledgeable adults.’’

The language, inserted by Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley, into a 232-page bill of changes in laws governing K-12 education, says there needs to be comparative discussion of political ideologies like communism and totalitarianism and how they “conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.’’

There also is a mandate on the state Department of Education to come up with new civic education standards including the expectation that citizens will be responsible for preserving and defending “the blessings of liberty.’’

But what it also requires the agency to create a list of oral histories “that provide

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Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said it’s clear to him what that means.

“The reality is one of the greatest threats facing the globe today is communism and totalitarianism,’’ he said.

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“We have governments like the Communist Chinese government that their stated goal is to be the world’s sole and only superpower, and that they will achieve that goal through any means possible.’’

The legislation approved on a 31-25 party-line vote contains a lot more.

For example, there’s a prohibition against teaching that someone’s race, ethnic group or sex determines their moral character or makes them responsible for actions committed by the same group. Violations could lead to a $5,000 fine for the school district and the instructor losing a teaching certificate.

And school boards will not be able to mandate the use of masks by students or staff on school campuses.

Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle also used this measure to debate whether the state is doing enough to fund K-12 education, even though that is in a separate budget measure.

But the discussion became most heat-

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NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

KYRENE from page 1

committee that studied the override issue a few days before the board’s election vote.

“When I think of what would happen if we lose all those teachers, it’s staggering,” Fahy said. “We’re not talking about privilege.”

The last override Kyrene voters approved was in 2017 and is good for seven years.

But the funding level drops significantly in the sixth and seventh years with the district losing nearly $4.6 million in 202324 and nearly $9.2 million in 2024-25.

Going this year for a new override has several advantages – all political in terms of its potential success.

First, were the override to fail, the district could have another override vote next year.

Like many Valley districts, Kyrene has traditionally slated an override a year ahead of when it absolutely would have to in order to maintain full annual funding.

More significantly, board and citizens committee members noted at the June 17 meeting, putting the override on what will be an all-mail ballot this November avoids the clutter of the 2022 ballot.

Next year the ballot will include races for all state offices, including governor, two Kyrene and two Tempe Union board seats and a number of constitutional amendments and propositions.

Several board and citizen committee members also expressed concern that next year’s election will be even more polarized than the 2020 election was and that the override might be dragged into the fray either directly or indirectly.

That possibility weighed more heavily on the board than a concern about scheduling an election this year with only about three months to educate voters on what’s at stake.

Yet, during a June 17 presentation of the citizens committee’s discussion on election timing, Rosalie Hirano, Kyrene’s retiring ombudsman and citizen liaison, suggested both years are fraught with political minefields.

“There was a lot of discussion about the current state and the current conversation around education –primarily as a result of our responses to COVID,” Hirano said.

“Deferring going on the ballot until November 2022 could provide an opportunity for that political landscape and all of that chatter to settle a bit, allow us to get back to normalcy, as it were, with our in-person instruction and provide an op-

Kyrene's override funding through the 2017 election is used in three specific areas and accounts for a fifth of the district's 1,000 teachers' salaries. (Kyrene School District) portunity to strengthen our community engagement efforts,” she continued.

“With COVID, we have been stymied in our ability, to go out, meet and greet, participate with our community, our parents.

And so it would allow this additional time to reconnect with our community.”

But next year, Fahy said, “there’s so much going on and the political climate can be actually even worse.”

No one disagreed with that assessment.

Hirano said the override committee had a “healthy response” to a poll it did on the override. Of 300 respondents, including 59 parents of Kyrene students, poll results initially had only 48 percent supporting the override.

But Hirano said that after pollsters told the respondents that the override helps retain and attract quality teachers, enhances special area instruction like band and PE and provides student support ser-

vices, support grew to 72 percent.

That indicates the need to educate parents and non-parents alike who vote in the district on what the override is all about, Hirano said.

But Fahy said the work involved in securing override approval would not be necessary if state leaders had a different attitude toward public schools.

“Our state funding for public education is so poor and that is what puts us in the position to have to request these bonds and overrides from our community,” she said.

The district’s financial situation could have been a lot worse for the coming fiscal year had it not been for a third round of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund that is part of the American Recovery Act. Despite a projected $9.4 million decline in revenue for the coming fiscal year, Kyrene School District’s top financial of-

ficer said the district achieved a balanced budget partly by cutting $2.2 million from the district headquarters’ budget.

Teachers also are taking a hit in that they aren’t getting raises. To soften that blow, the board approved $1,000 retention bonuses for all fulltime employees that will come out of ESSER funds.

The district’s revenue hit was largely driven by a projected enrollment loss of 1,210 students that is expected to cost Kyrene more than $6 million in state reimbursement.

“It was essential for us to make some sizable reductions in expenditures and next year’s budget in order to right-size our district spinning against these lower future revenue levels,” Hermann told the board at an earlier meeting this month.

“Otherwise achieving a balanced budget for next year, or even in future years, would have been almost impossible to do.”

The budget will be the subject of a public hearing July 13 prior to the board’s final approval.

Hermann also stressed that there is still uncertainty about the new budget since the Legislature has not yet passed one for the state.

“We’ve tried to take a realistic approach for what assumptions to include in our budget and not be overly conservative or overly optimistic in those assumptions,” he said, adding they include an inflationary increase in per-pupil assistance, an increase in transportation support and full restoration of funds provided for capital expenditures.

“All of those assumptions have been supported by both sides of the Legislature and the governor as well in previous budget conversations and proposals,” Hermann said. “However, once a state budget is finally passed and signed, if there are other financial implications, that would change anything for Kyrene.” 

GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ timespublications.com

The widening disparity in government support for public education between Arizona and the nation can be seen in this chart showing average per-pupil state funding for the country versus that in Arizona. (Kyrene School District)

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

Fire devastated Tonto Forest near Globe

BY GIANLUCA D’ELIA Cronkite News

B

ehind closed road signs in evacuated small towns 90 miles east of Gilbert and Mesa, blackened trees stand slathered with pink fire retardant as dust devils from the ashes of the Telegraph Fire twirl past.

Since igniting June 4, the wildfire has chewed through nearly 180,750 acres in the Tonto National Forest, damaging 52 structures but causing no injuries or fatalities. Fire officials opened some affected areas to reporters Wednesday, offering a first look at the blaze, which was 89 percent contained last Thursday.

The Telegraph Fire is one of the largest Arizona wildfires in the state’s history. Last year’s Bush Fire spread across 193,000 acres, according to InciWeb, an interagency wildfire information system.

The 2011 Wallow Fire, Arizona’s largest, burned more than 500,000 acres.

Public information officers for the fire said Telegraph’s growth has been fed by excessive heat, long-term drought and high winds.

The area southwest of Globe is accustomed to seasonal wildfires and expected to recover, said Molly Hunter, a University of Arizona fire ecologist, and Telegraph Fire public information officer Virginia Price.

The Telegraph Fire “came across the landscape as a wind-driven fire when it found the right fuels, the right day, mixed with the high heat they had in the region here,” says Bob Sjolund, part of a response team that came to Arizona from Oregon. “It was the perfect combination for what they call a perfect storm.” (Gianluca D’Elia/Cronkite News) Pushing back scorched soil along a trail off State Route 77, Hunter uncovered dirt that still was light brown. She said soil, grass and plants in the region have mostly burned at their surfaces and will grow back within a year. The loss of shrub coverage also helps to reduce additional fire threats.

“There’s some char on it and some ash, but the bark is still there,” Hunter said, crouching over a burned bush and exam-

ining its bare branches. “Once you get a little bit of moisture, it’ll start producing new leaves.

“The grasses, in particular, are going to love this fire. As long as there is significant moisture this year, by next year, you’ll see grasses rebounding.”

Lower temperatures and rain on Wednesday helped efforts to contain the blaze. Now that monsoon season has arrived, the expected storms will help restore moisture to the terrain in Gila County.

For days, aircrafts also have dropped a retardant containing fertilizer to slow the fire and restore moisture to the soil.

Firefighters from as far away as Madras, Oregon, responded to the Telegraph Fire. Bob Sjolund, division supervisor of Northwest Team 6, has spent the past two weeks on the fire lines. He said both residents of nearby towns and the ecosystem itself are awaiting rainfall from monsoon storms.

“The landscape, the animals need that to happen to give it a fresh start,” he said.

“The big picture here is that folks who do put their homes in the urban interface, it is a challenge for wildland firefighters.” 

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES AND SUDOKU from Page 37

A thunderstorm approaches the charred landscape around Pinal Peak near Claypool on June 23. Firefighters and ecologists hope monsoon rains quickly revive the vegetation.

(Gianluca D’Elia/Cronkite News)

GOT NEWS?

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

COMMIES from page 9

ed over the question of this new mandated civics teaching and what has to be the emphasis of teaching patriotism and that our form of government is better than any other.

“The threat of communism, and honestly, even here within our own borders, the threat of Marxism is on our front porch,’’ Hoffman said. And he said there are people “within school systems’’ who are socialists.

“To teach our children about the evils of communism and totalitarianism is right,’’ Hoffman said. “It is our duty and our responsibility to do that.’’

And that, he said, means having students hear “real testimony from people who escaped those types of governments and now live here and enjoy the blessings of this country.’’

But Rep. Daniel Hernandez, D-Tucson, said the legislation misses the point.

“You know what’s a bigger threat?’’ he asked. “White nationalism.’’

Hernandez also placed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol into the same category.

“So, yes, let’s talk about communism,’’ he said. “But let’s talk about making sure we

are not letting people get away with the kinds of things that happened on Jan. 6 and teaching our kids it’s OK to try to overthrow a democratically elected government.’’

The language added by Burges also requires instruction on “the civic-minded expectations of an upright and desirable citizenry.’’

While the bill passed on a 31-25 party line vote, the future of the provisions on the civics teaching may not remain.

That language is not in a parallel bill that Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, already has pushed through the Senate. And Boyer told Capitol Media Services he does not support the provision.

“We shouldn’t be dictating curriculum from on high, even if it’s well-intentioned,’’ he said. The differences between the House and Senate versions will have to be worked out in a conference committee.

There’s another key difference.

The Senate version contains language that would allow far more parents to use vouchers of public money to send their children to private and parochial schools.

But efforts to add that to the House version faltered after Republican Reps. Michelle Udall of Mesa and Joel John of Ar-

FREE

lington voted with Democrats to keep that out of the legislation.

That, too, would need to be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee.

Republican state representatives also voted Friday to allow the owners of small businesses and anyone who organizes their finances for tax purposes as one to escape paying the voter-approved income tax surcharge on the wealthy to fund education.

And that would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from what is supposed to go to schools.

SB 1783, approved on a 31-25 partyline vote, creates an entirely new alternate tax category for small business, generally those now organized in a way so their income passes through to their owners.

That means the owners now compute what they owe the state on their personal income tax forms, after deducting all business expenses.

Proposition 208, approved by voters by a 51.7% margin in November, imposes a 3.5% surcharge on adjusted personal income of amounts above $250,00 for individuals and $500,00 for married couples filing jointly. Under current law, that BEFORE

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means the net earnings of the business is retained by the owner.

But that surcharge applies only to tax categories that existed last year when Proposition 208 was approved. And since this new “small business’’ classification did not exist last year, the surcharge would not apply at all to anyone opting to use that new category.

The tax relief in SB 1783 goes far beyond what the Republican-controlled legislature already did when they voted earlier last week to cap all income taxes at 4.5 percent.

Voter approval of Proposition 208 also means that lawmakers have to make up the difference of what the high-income earners would otherwise have paid. So that guarantees the education programs funded by Proposition 208 would get all the money promised.

SB 1783 changes all that.

“This would create a loophole for the wealthiest in Arizona to file as a small business so they can avoid paying the 3.5% surcharge that Arizonans said they want to support education,’’ said House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, DLaveen. 

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NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

Rare open house planned for Mesa Arizona Temple

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

O

ffering the general public a rare experience unlikely to be repeated until the next century, the iconic Mesa Arizona Temple will be open for tours this fall as an exhaustive threeyear renovation project ends.

Officials from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last week unveiled a partial schedule for a project that has included construction of the new 18,000-square-foot Visitors Center and Family History Discovery Center.

They said the temple open house from Oct. 16 to mid-December could draw as many as half a million people of all faiths.

Once the temple is rededicated Dec. 12, only church members approved by leadership will be allowed to enter.

That means the open house will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for anyone to see the interior of an internationally historic landmark. When it was dedicated by church President Heber J. Grant in 1927, the Mesa Arizona Tempe was the first in Arizona and only the seventh in the world.

There are now 168 dedicated temples in the world, and another 48 have been planned but are not under construction.

The Mesa temple is one of six in the state, with others in Gila Valley, Gilbert, North Phoenix, Snowflake and Tucson.

“I don’t personally anticipate that we will have another temple built in the Metro Phoenix area,” church spokeswoman Jennifer Wheeler told the Ahwatukee Foothills News in an exclusive interview.

“This really is an opportunity to see inside a temple and that probably will not occur again in Arizona for decades,” she added.

The temple is not just important to church members, she noted.

“It’s a temple that is very special to a lot of people in the area – not just members of the church. There are many members in the community who have grown up

A three-year renovation of the Mesa Arizona Temple will be completed this summer with an open house slated for Oct. 16-mid December before it is rededicated Dec. 12. (AFN file photo) and have had family traditions surrounding this temple whether their family goes to the Easter pageant or their family always goes there for the Christmas lights.”

Thousands of people attend the Mesa Arizona Temple’s annual display of more than a million lights – often accompanied by concerts by area choral groups – and its Easter pageant, when a cast of 500 reenact the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Those two events have not been held since the temple was closed in May 2018 and will not return until next year.

When they do, those events will be held on 1.6 acre of grounds that have been completely renovated with a fold-away stage, new trees and other landscaping enhancements.

Completion of the project also brings a radically new look to a long-underdeveloped part of downtown Mesa.

It included construction of three fourstory, two three-story and three two-story buildings designed to accentuate the temple and adding 500 new residents to downtown.

The church’s development arm built 250 apartments, 12 townhouses, a huge underground parking garage with 450 stalls, 7,500 square feet of retail space at

Main and Udall streets and 5,000 square feet at Main Street and Mesa Drive.

The visitors center has long attracted hundreds of church and non-church members because it offers a chance “for people throughout the area to learn and celebrate Mesa’s diverse history and spiritual heritage,” Wheeler noted.

It will continue to “house a large family history center with free assistance for those wanting to research their family tree.”

Although all the details have not yet been finalized, Wheeler said the center will be dedicated at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 and the ceremony will be broadcast to church meetinghouses throughout Arizona.

Wheeler was uncertain about prospects for any open house since the center is already designed for general public use.

Access to the temple is a completely different story because the building itself is not used by church members like a cathedral is used by other Christian denominations.

“Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services,” Wheeler explained. “Temples are considered ‘houses of the Lord,’ where Jesus Christ’s

teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity.”

Temple services, called ordinances, are much smaller than the regular meetings held by the church in meetinghouses and chapels.

“You’re never going to have a time when there are just thousands of people inside a temple,” Wheeler added.

Indeed, not all church members can enter a temple until they have received a “church recommend” that follows an interview “with our priesthood authorities, our bishop and our stake president,” Wheeler said.

That’s also why the three dedication ceremonies slated for Dec. 12 will not be open to the public or broadcast outside of special videocasts at meetinghouses where only members with “temple recommends” can watch.

The three dedication services – at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Dec. 12 – will include the same prayer but different presentations by different church leaders.

Church President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency will preside.

This is the second renovation of the Mesa Arizona Temple since it opened in 1927 following an open house that lasted for two years – and drew 200,000 people from throughout the West.

It was one of the first three to be built outside of Utah and the first where a language different from English – namely Spanish – was used.

The Mesa Arizona Temple was then closed for its first refurbishing in the mid-1970s and rededicated in 1975 by President Spencer W. Kimball, an Arizona native.

The current overhaul involved a massive upgrading of all infrastructure systems such as electrical and plumbing as well as ADA-compliant structural adjustments. There also were other changes made to make the temple more consistent with its original design, Wheeler said. 

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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mong the hallowed Independence Day traditions in the East Valley, members of the William Bloys American Legion Post 2 in Tempe conduct one of the more storied tributes.

They ring a bell.

But it’s not just any bell they will be ringing at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 4, after a brief program that starts at 10 a.m. at the Post headquarters, 2125 S. Industrial Park Ave. Legionnaires will then host the public to a free lunch of burgers and brats starting around 11 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m.

Near the end of World War II, U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Max Connolly and some of his buddies snuck into a liberated concentration camp — and stole a bell that symbolized Nazi atrocities.

Every Independence Day since the end of the war, veterans and patriots at American Legion Post No. 2 in Tempe take turns ringing the “freedom bell.”

Connolly in June 1945 had snuck into the Mauthausen concentration camp along the Danube River — the third largest Austrian concentration camp.

Connolly came up with the plan to take the bell while assigned to Horshing Air Base in Germany. While helping care for POWs and former prisoners, he heard about how the bell was used to summon prisoners at the Mauthausen camp.

“The bell was sole communicator between the masters and their captives,” one veteran said many years ago. “The bell told prisoners, who were not allowed to speak, when to get up, work, eat, exercise and retire.”

“They hated that bell,” the veteran said. “(The Germans) treated them badly.”

Over seven years, an estimated 190,000 men and women from across Europe were sent to that camp. Nearly half of them were killed or died from abuse, malnutrition and disease.

Connolly, who died nearly 20 years ago, detailed his exploit for his fellow

A Tempe American soldier took this bell from a Nazi concentration camp after its liberation and asked that it be rung only on Independence Day. (AFN file photo) Legionnaires.

“One day we drove over to the camp, and during the afternoon light we fooled the guards, while one of the former inmates scaled the building,” he said. “High on the side of a quarry he hacked down the 4-by-4 support pole, then lowered by rope the unit composed of pole, bell and tin hood.”

Connolly was able to mail it home to the editor of his family-run business, the Tempe Daily News, to serve as a symbol of freedom and independence.

Connolly donated the bell to Post 2, and asked that they ceremoniously ring it every July 4 – and only then – as a symbol of liberty and freedom.

Post 2 members built a special belfry atop their previous meeting place on East 5th Street in Tempe, but after that building was sold and the group relocated to South Industrial Park Avenue, “it was decided that an appropriate structure should be built to hold ‘Max’s Freedom Bell,’” the post states on its website, adding: “Today you can drive by the ‘new’ Legion building and view the beautiful bell tower atop of which is mounted Max’s Freedom Bell, which will be run on the future 4th of Julys for many years to come. And as Max so aptly put it, as a symbol of liberty and freedom for all.”

Anyone who attends the ceremony will be offered a chance to ring it. 

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

Love at first light for ‘professional pyro’

BY TOM SCANLON AFN Staff writer

W

hen the dark sky snaps to life over Fiesta Mall and much of Mesa and the fireworks go off in fiery trails with squeaky sounds before the inevitable “BOOM,” some will say “oooh” and others “aaaah.”

Kendon Victor will say: “Who wants some more?”

Victor is a longtime employee of Fireworks Productions of Arizona, a Chandler pyrotechnics powerhouse that will be as busy this week as Santa Claus during Christmas.

‘I’m the ‘head pyro’ for Mesa on the 3rd, Buckeye on the 4th,” Victor said.

“The week of the 4th, we’ll do 81 fireworks displays. We’ve got 22 shows scheduled for the 3rd, 48 displays on the 4th.”

His company will put on the sky show for fireworks community celebrations in Gilbert, Chandler, Apache Junction and Scottsdale.

Ask Victor how a young person can get into his line of business and you’ll get

FIREWORKS from page 1

best-dressed family, best baby carriage and other entries – decorated in red, white and blue, of course.

After gathering at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Foothills Baptist Church, 15450 S. 21st St., Ahwatukee, a Phoenix Police or Fire Department escort will lead the youngsters and their families at 8 a.m. for a quarter mile downhill to Thunderhill Park, 2578 E. Thunderhill Place near Ray Road, where there will be free hot dogs, Sno Cones, bounce houses, super slides and DJ as well as any non-alcoholic beverage you want.

And, of course, anyone can attend.

The parade is the only organized Independence Day celebration in Ahwatukee.

And it will not involve fireworks.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the last Ahwatukee July 4 fireworks show, which capped an evening of bounce houses, bands and other entertainment that comprised the Chamber’s Red White and Boom! celebration.

Up through 2016, fireworks had been an Ahwatukee tradition, started by developer Randall Presley in 1974.

Fireworks Productions of Arizona, a Chandler pyrotechnics powerhouse, will shoot off fireworks at 81 shows around the Valley this week, including Chandler, Gilbert and Scottsdale 4th of July celebrations. Kendon Victor will light up the skies over Mesa as the “head pyro” of the July 3 celebration at Fiesta Mall. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer) the kind of answer to be expected from someone who has three first names (his first name comes from his grandfathers’ names, slammed together).

“Don’t, would be my recommendation,” he said.

“The truth is, there is no career path to this. How this works is most people in-

Ahwatukee Realtor Chad Chadderton stands in front of the Ahwatukee Country Club Golf Course, which hosted many years of the community’s July 4 fireworks. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

Ahwatukee Realtor Chad Chadderton said the first few shows were modest affairs held at Ahwatukee Country Club and funded by Presley or other contractors.

In 1987, the lights went out: there was

no show and that didn’t sit well with Chadderton and Clay Schad, the founder and long-time owner of the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

"We were on my back patio and I don’t

NEWS

19

volved knew somebody who did this. They got invited in, and decide, ‘This is fun, I want to continue to do this.

“You do it out of the love. We give you a flare and explosives and say, ‘You get to light that on fire and blow it up.’”

Victor was 19 when his best friend married into a fireworks company.

His friend invited him to try his hand with the professional-grade goods.

It was love at first light.

Victor still remembers what he thought, the first time he set off the big boomers: “Oh, this rocks …”

Not that this line of work involved any kind of philosophical change.

“I’ve always liked setting things on fire,” Victor said.

“I spent a long time without eyebrows as a kid.”

Thirty years after getting his start as a professional pyro, he is one of the lucky ones.

“Most of our people (in fireworks) have real jobs and do this on the side. But the company I worked for got bought out by

see PYRO page 20

know if we were having a beer or something but we commented how it was a shame that we had this tradition and it was gone,” Chadderton recalled.

“Then Clay said, ‘why don’t you do the show?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know anything about fireworks.’”

But Schad went on to say he would use the newspaper and his own contacts in the community and rally residents and businesses to open their wallets and bring Fourth of July fireworks back to Ahwatukee.

“So I contacted Fireworks Productions and I started learning about fireworks,” Chadderton said.

“The way Clay arranged it, if you gave $7, your name went under the booster club in the paper,” he continued. “If they gave $25, then your name went under the Big Shot Club and if you gave $100, that was the Centennial Club and you got passes to the VIP party.”

Chadderton organized and ran the fireworks show from 1989 through 1998.

In that time, the show became the third

see FIREWORKS page 20

20

NEWS

PYRO from page 19

a California company, and my boss said, ‘How’d you like to come into this full time?’”

For most, he said, “At best it’s a glorified hobby.

If you’re in it for the pay, you’re in the wrong place.”

While the firecrackers themselves don’t change much over the years, Victor said he

FIREWORKS from page 19

largest in Arizona, thanks to the support not only of local businesses but also that of the Stout family, which owned Fireworks Productions.

Chadderton bowed out after 1998.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce came to the rescue and over most years, it sponsored Red White and Boom! either at the Ahwatukee Country Club or the Foothills Country Club.

As time went on, Chamber leadership worked hard to raise enough money for a longer and bigger show.

It eventually moved the festivities to Pecos Park, the scene of the last Red White and Boom! in 2016.

The only time the show was a bust was in 2014, when a ferocious windstorm forced organizers to cancel fireworks.

Under a partly overcast sky in 2016, hundreds attended the pre-fireworks party at Pecos. Kids frolicked in giant bounce houses and slides, families made the rounds of food vendors and danced to the music of several live bands. Thousands later brought blankets and lawn chairs to watch the display.

Little did anyone realize that after 41 years, it would be the last time fireworks would light up the sky over Ahwatukee on Independence Day. The next year, then Chamber President/ CEO Lindy Lutz Cash announced it was giving up.

“The cost is escalating, the logistics are getting more complicated and city permits are getting more expensive,” Lutz Cash said at the time. “We’re saddened by the situation and we wish it was not the case, but it is what it is.”

Even if the Chamber had held “Boom!” that year, it would have had to move the

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

wants to make every Independence Day celebration different.

“I take a lot of time planning out the body of the show, planning out what should be in the grand finale.”

He’s been shooting off the fireworks show in Mesa for seven years, first at the Mesa Amphitheater before the show moved to the Fiesta Mall last year and this weekend.

He wouldn’t give away any secrets about

the show here July 3, other than to make a big promise: “The best way I can describe it is: something amazing and spectacular.”

Victor has been shooting fireworks for 30 years, during the big 4th celebrations, weddings, corporate events, high school graduations, homecomings and sporting events.

He enjoys putting new spins on something that’s been around for hundreds of

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce for years worked hard to put on the Red White and Boom! fireworks spectacular on July 4 for local residents to enjoy. (Special to AFN)

celebration out of Ahwatukee because the South Mountain Freeway construction eliminated the fireworks staging area.

That had been the original plan ­– until an organization that initially had offered to co-sponsor the celebration with the Chamber abruptly pulled out, leaving the organization without enough time to scramble and find a new supporter.

Cash said that long before she became its executive chief, the Chamber had decided it couldn’t afford to sponsor the celebration.

Former Chamber board chair Martha Neese said the show in 2016 cost north of $50,000 – well beyond the means of an organization that counted maybe 500 or so members.

Neese and Cash Lutz said there were “increasing costs in all aspects of planning” – though they said city permits were particularly astronomical.

Additionally, liability insurance premiums were escalating.

And that was one of the reasons why the fireworks could not find a new home at any of the golf courses in Ahwatukee anymore.

The Chamber issued a formal statement that noted how it had overcome many obstacles in its long sponsorship of the fireworks.

“With increasing costs in all aspects of planning, a sharp reduction in potential site locations and significant liability issues,” it continued, “the Chamber must pass the torch as the host to another organization.”

This year, the pandemic still looms over most fireworks shows that Ahwatukee residents can travel to see.

Neither Tempe – which traditionally sponsored one of the region’s biggest July 4 fireworks shows – nor Phoenix are

years.

“According to historical data, fireworks were created by the Chinese,” Victor noted. “They accidentally created fireworks when they lit gunpowder on fire, then they thought, ‘Wow, this is cool.’

“Originally, they set off fireworks to chase away demons and devils.”

Does it work?

“Never chased away any of mine.”

Ka-boom. 

holding a show.

Likewise, none of the area Native American tribes are holding fireworks shows, including Rawhide, Talking Stick or Casino Arizona.

And many of the other shows closest to Ahwatukee are carrying the same pandemic restrictions they did last year.

That means those who attend the 9 p.m. show Saturday, July 3, at Fiesta Mall in Mesa or the 9 p.m. Sunday, July 4, display at Tumbleweed Park, 745 E. Germann Road, Chandler, must stay in or very close to their vehicle.

The only “normal” celebration will be sponsored by Gilbert at its Regional Park, 3005 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert.

For the first time, Gilbert will hold its fireworks spectacular at Gilbert Regional Park, 3005 E. Queen Creek Road, where activities will take place at the amphitheater and great lawn.

Gilbert is not requiring spectators to stay in or near their vehicles when the park opens at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Then, from 7:15-8:45 p.m., live entertainment will be provided by Garth Live, a group featuring Drew Baloh, who, according to his publicist, “has an uncanny resemblance to legendary country music icon Garth Brooks.” He’ll be performing the mega-star’s hits.

Fireworks will begin at 8:45 p.m. weather permitting, and will last 20 minutes and throughout the evening. But throughout the evening, food trucks will be on-site, though outside food – except for alcoholic beverages – is permitted.

While people can bring water and lawn chairs, they are not allowed to bring pets, glass containers, canopies, umbrellas or their own fireworks Other details are at gilbertaz.gov/july4th. 

GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

ture governor can follow suit.

“If this last COVID emergency taught us nothing else, it’s that the people have to be protected from the government, not protected from themselves,’’ he said.

“They have to be protected from the power of force that is the government.’’

This isn’t the only effort to restrain gubernatorial powers.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, got language inserted into one of the

see DUCEY page 23

not end until the state of emergency is terminated, whether by the governor or the Legislature.

That’s important because the measure, if approved by voters, says lawmakers can do more than simply vacate the emergency declaration.

They also can leave the declaration in place but can terminate, modify or continue any individual executive order. It even would permit the Legislature to issue its own executive orders which would have the same force and effect as if handed down by the governor.

Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, D-Tucson, said she understands why lawmak-

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Finchem said the fact the emergency remains in place “is the best reason in the world to pass this bill, this day.’’

Hoffman agreed. “It is time for this emergency order to end. Period. Stop all.

End of story. Turn it off,’’ he said.

The bill spells out that if the legislature terminates the state of emergency, the governor can’t turn around and simply declare another one “arising out of the same conditions for which the terminated state of emergency was proclaimed.’’

State senators already have approved the measure, albeit with slightly different wording. They now need to ratify the changes made in the House. 

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ers are unhappy with the governor.

“People on both side of the aisle didn’t necessarily like what was going on and how Gov. Ducey was conducting the emergency declaration and how all of his emergency orders came out,’’ she said.

And Powers Hannley said both Democrats and Republicans wanted a special session last year when Ducey issued various directives.

In many cases, the reasons were different, with Democrats saying he was not doing enough to protect public health while many Republicans accused him of overreach with stay-at-home orders and business closures.

The latest breaking news and top local stories in Ahwatukee!

Republican lawmakers turned on their own governor last week by approving legislation asking voters to give them the power to declare emergencies. (AFN file photo)

JUST LISTED

W

ith some verbal slaps at how Doug Ducey has handled the current emergency, Republican lawmakers voted Friday to ask Arizona voters to give them the right to quash future declarations.

The 31-25 party-line vote in the House comes even as Ducey’s order, issued in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, still remains in place. That, according to Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, is unacceptable.

Nothing in SCR 1003 can change that.

But Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said that, if ratified by voters, the measure will limit the chances that any fu-

budget bills that limits future emergency declarations to 120 days unless the legislature agrees to one or more 30-day extensions.

But Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said this measure, which would become part of the Arizona Constitution, ensures that lawmakers have pretty much immediate power to overrule a gubernatorial decision.

It requires them to be called to the Capitol within 10 days if they are not already in session. Potentially more significant, it spells out that any special session does

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DUCEY from page 22

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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CHAD WAITS

5 vie on the dance �loor to help kids foundation

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

H

eidi Crouch, a Kyrene School teacher in Ahwatukee for 17 years, is one of five local professionals vying for a trophy in the Armer Foundation for Kids’ second annual Dancing with the Stars Black Tie Gala in July.

The Kyrene de la Sierra veteran admits

to being terrified at being one of the dancing “celebrities,” but said it’s worth it because she’s witnessed how her students have been helped by the 2-year-old grassroots foundation.

The Armer Foundation helps families with seriously ill children that face staggering medical bills.

“When I was approached about participating in the Ahwatukee Dancing with the

Stars, I initially laughed. I have absolutely no dance background or experience and can’t catch a beat,” she said.

“As I realized this was a serious request, I was terrified. Then, I realized that Logan, Riley, Drew and many other kids must be terrified each time they face a medical procedure. I realized that If they’re brave enough to go through that, I can be brave enough to make a complete and utter fool

Chicken Project and the Zoe Pregnant Care Centre in that impoverished South African nation, which also has the world’s highest percentage of people living with HIV. “We’re going day by day; everybody understands that now,” said Kay West. “Our plan is to go for about three weeks in September, visiting both Eswatini and South Africa. We’ll be traveling to about 18 cities and villages to oversee projects, encourage and equip, and see what’s needed.”

Joining them on their next trip will be Ahwatukee residents Ken and Lori Porter

Kay Cassidy West and her husband John West of Ahwatukee have spent a decade helping impoverished villages in two African countries and lived there for a time after selling all their possessions. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

As COVID spikes in Africa, couple prepares new visit

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

W

ith her last trip to her beloved southern Africa two years ago, Swaziserve co-founder and board president Kay Cassidy West is hoping she can get there again in September.

The Ahwatukee resident and her husband John West founded the nonprofit Swaziserve in 2009 and are closely monitoring reports of a third wave of COVID-19 cases and stricter lockdowns in Swaziland, now called Eswatini.

The Wests’ nonprofit built and funded a

see SWAZI page 25

of myself,” said Crouch.

The Ahwatukee resident said she admires the work done by Armer Foundation and hopes she can help raise additional funds through online sponsors.

“Several of the children they’ve helped have either been in my class or were students at my school,” said Crouch. “They

see ARMER page 26

COMMUNITY

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Y OPAS slates fundraiser, COVID vaccinations AFN NEWS STAFF

T

he Ahwatukee Family YMCA Outreach Program for Ahwatukee Seniors, has partnered with Home Instead Charities for its annual Give 65 campaign.

Give 65 is a crowd-fundraising plat-

SWAZI from page 24

as well as Swaziserve board member Margaret Reis Guthrie, a longtime Ahwatukee resident now residing in Colorado with her new husband John.

West said the nonprofit has “received many blessings.”

“God did so many neat things last year in spite of COVID,” she exclaimed. “We now have sponsorships for 32 orphaned and vulnerable children; our orphanage is up and running and additions have been built; we managed to fully fund the building of the crisis pregnancy center/women’s ministry center in South Africa.

“Our second chicken project was launched there, too, which allows for the feeding of hundreds of kids while generating income for ministry partner’s work.”

She added the nonprofit is in its 15th month of assisting 30 households that were particularly hit hard by the pandemic.

All of these activities and accomplishments, she added, have come from “working hand-in-hand with our African ministry partners who are the real heroes, working tirelessly to serve their people amidst so much hardship.”

Swaziserve has founded or contributes to a plethora of projects in Eswatini and South Africa.

They include feeding children and the elderly, sponsoring education, providing emergency medical and housing funds and offering employment assistance for a rural clinic.

While building relationships across cultures, the nonprofit also holds Bible studies for women and girls and assists women in small sewing business startups.

It was 2010 when Ahwatukee residents John and Kay West “answered God’s calling,” selling their three-story home, their cars, and other possessions amassed over their then-24 years of marriage.

Together with their youngest son Jeremy West, the family flew to Eswatini to serve as missionaries for their new ven-

form exclusively devoted to helping nonprofits raise money for programs that help seniors live with independence and dignity. “Y OPAS has the opportunity to have donations matched but it is firstcome first- serve so it is important that donors donate earlier in the period,” Y OPAS Director Simon Hill said.

Matching begins 6 a.m. July 13 and ends 11 p.m. July 15. A gift of $100 will touch three Ahwatukee seniors, $250 will touch eight, $500 will touch the hearts of 17 and $1,000 will reach 35. Y OPAS has 198 volunteers serving 400 clients. To help: give65.org/yopas Between 1-3 p.m. July 13, Y OPAS and

for a major telecommunications provider.

The couple remain active in ministry with their local church, Bridgeway Community Church in Ahwatukee, where they were members prior to going to Africa.

“So we Poverty runs rampant in South Africa and Eswatini. (Courtesy of Kay Cassidy West) work a lot ture while eldest son Zack West moved to out of love,” she said. “Swaziserve is a San Diego to live with Kay West’s elderly small organization – really just John and mother. me and a handful of very part-time helpThe Wests lived in what was then called ers. So we do it all: fundraising, newsletSwaziland, sharing the gospel and estab- ters, finances, daily communication with lishing practical projects to help their new African ministry partners, and overseeing neighbors. all our projects.”

In 2014, they moved their ministry over Besides her position as Swaziserve board the border to South Africa, where they es- president, West also oversees 14 southern tablished new projects while continuing African countries in her volunteer position to oversee those in Eswatini. as International Leadership Developer “South Africa borders on Eswatini, so Southern Africa/Global Prison Ministry not far at all,” West explained. “The rural Liaison with Moms in Prayer International. area where we lived in Eswatini to the city “It’s been very interesting to keep up where we lived in South Africa was approx- with the news. Each country was hit at imately 100 miles. Two different countries, different times, and responded in differbut the same Swazi tribe. Many of the na- ent ways, but there were also a lot of comtional boundaries in Africa are arbitrary, monalities all over the world,” she said. not reflecting tribal boundaries at all.”

“Compounding the illness and death toll Then, as it is now, their ministry de- from the virus itself, the economic ramifipended on the donations. cations have been brutal there.”

“John works full time to support us so “Many workers there are day laborers; that, unlike many other nonprofits, we do they had no bank accounts, no reserve not take any salary,” she said. “Donations food in their homes. With lockdown congo directly to those we serve. We choose ditions, many people immediately went to live frugally so that I can focus full time hungry,” she said. “On many levels it reon ministry.” mains a major issue.”

John works in business development Swaziserve board member Margaret

25

the YMCA have partnered with Commerce Medical Group to provide free COVID-19 vaccination and testing. Commerce Medical will have both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in both first and second doses.

No appointment required but bring your insurance and ID. 

Reis Guthrie has seen first-hand the needs.

“It was always such a joy to spend time with women in various villages each time,” said Guthrie, who visited them in Africa six times in nine years.

Guthrie, who married her new husband Feb. 14 at Bridgeway Community Church, said, “John is a seasoned short-term missionary from Colorado. We met on a mission trip in Mexico. Both of us were widowed and we soon realized that God had plans for us together.”

“We plan to split our time between Colorado and Ahwatukee, with several mission trips each year around the world,” she added.

The Porters, Ahwatukee residents since 2002, will be first-time visitors to southern Africa.

“We met John and Kay West when we started attending Bridgeway Community Church in 2005,” said Ken. “Since God led John and Kay West to serve Him in Swaziland, we’ve had the privilege of watching, supporting, and praying for the work God has been doing through Swaziserve.

“We’re now looking forward to seeing firsthand how God is being glorified through Swaziserve, and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ with God’s love.”

West praised Ahwatukee residents for helping Swaziserve accomplish much during 2020.

She said she and John had never met and praised their “amazing generosity in response to our plea for help.”

“I’ve got to say that Ahwatukee is a wonderful, wonderful place full of great people who care not only for our own neighborhood, but also for people around the world,” West added.

With the wealth of projects served by Swaziserve, donations are always needed, and can be sent directly to the nonprofit at PMB #46, 4802 E. Ray Road, Suite 23, Phoenix, AZ 85044-6417.

Information: Swaziserve.com or Kay Cassidy West on Facebook. 

26

COMMUNITY

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

ARMER from page 24

modified one student’s home when she became unable to climb stairs so that she has a bedroom on the first floor.

“They have also provided support to the Gidley family through Logan’s battle with cancer. With his cancer returning three times, it has been a long journey for the family.”

Since creating the foundation, Matt and Jennifer Armer have helped countless area families, easing unforeseen financial burdens of parents with children suffering from chronic or life-altering diseases.

“When health insurance is not enough, we help by assisting with copays, premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses,” explained Jennifer. “We want to ease the financial burdens of families so they can focus on their kids.”

She hopes the July 23 gala provides a much-needed financial shot in the arm.

Last year’s was canceled.

Five local professionals agreed to be a part of this fundraising competition, with the contest based on the popular ABC-TV series.

Like the television show, the local celebrities are paired with a professional dancer, compliments of Ahwatukee’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio, owned by Mariya Ilchenko and Ilya Valednitsky.

For Alisha Deros, lead patient services coordinator at Ahwatukee’s Spooner Physical Therapy, returning to dance is a reminder of years spent at Desert Vista High School Summer Arts Academy, where she performed tap, hip-hop and ballet.

“I was nominated by my friend Stacey Culver who won the first Ahwatukee Dancing with the Stars, and I just couldn’t pass it up,” Deros said, adding she was “so excited to be able to participate in such a

New app connects people with disabilities to services

The Disability Resource Connection, a network of over 45 organizations and agencies in Arizona that serve individuals with disabilities, is launching an app that will provide a centralized location for people with disabilities to connect to services within their community.

The app features a directory of organizations and corresponding services for people with disabilities, as well as a calendar of events to help those with varying disabilities find and actively participate in opportunities throughout the state of Arizona.

Users can filter and search for events by location, type, and specific demographic served to combat the isolation felt during the coronavirus pandemic and better connect

Jennifer Armer and daughter Rebecca McElyea also run a thrift store to benefit the Armer Foundation. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer) fun event that raises funds for the Armer Foundation in order to help kids in need.”

“I haven’t danced for a while, so it will be fun,” said Deros, a 2014 DVHS alum and 2019 Arizona State University graduate.

Chad Waits, Mountain Pointe High Class of 1998 and another Spooner Physical Therapy employee, also has signed up for the dance competition.

Waits, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy and specializes in orthopedic musculoskeletal conditions, lives in Ahwatukee with his wife Sarah and two children.

Not only is he “very excited for the opportunity to perform,” but, “I’m even more thrilled to be able to help raise awareness to the Armer Foundation for Kids.

“As a physical therapist, I see first hand some of the challenges that families face when it comes to providing appropriate care for their children during difficult

medical and physical trials,” said Waits, an adjunct professor at A.T. Still University in Mesa.

“The Armer Foundation for Kids has provided some amazing help to a lot of our local Ahwatukee residents and I can’t wait to be able to help them provide more opportunities to future Ahwatukee families.”

Another area professional in the competition is attorney J. Phillip Glasscock of Guidant Law Firm.

“Ballroom dance is new for me but doing something different, especially after the pandemic, is a welcome challenge,” said Glasscock, an attorney with 35 years experience.

He was inspired by a coworker to enter.

“One of Guidant’s legal assistants, Caitlin Martin, competed in 2019 and won second place,” he said. “Hearing about what a wonderful experience she had, and the incredible work the Armer Foundation for

individuals with disabilities to valuable services that will enhance their overall quality of life.

The Disability Resource Connection’s mission is to provide support, resources, services, advocacy, and connections to people with disabilities.

The group meets bi-monthly to discuss initiatives, share information, and collaborate to improve the health and well-being of those that they serve.

Information: drcaz.org.

Line dancing and lessons start at 6:30 p.m. and open dancing will start at 8 p.m. Patrons are encouraged to wear red, white and blue or summer themed outfits. There will be treats and raffles and there is a $5 cover charge.

Information: Contact Carrie at dancemeetsfitness.net, 480-221-9090.

Whole lotta shakin’ will be goin’ on at Cactus Jacks

Ahwatukee residents Carrie McNeish and Jill Ostendorp have started a campaign to persuade the City of Phoenix to build some courts in Desert Foothills Park.

The 3-year-old 16-court pickleball complex at Pecos Park is great, they say. Unfortunately, a lot of other pickleball players think so too, so getting time at that court can be a

AROUND AHWATUKEE

The “Proud American Summer Dance Party” will be held July 7 at Cactus Jacks in the Safeway Plaza and Elliot Road and 48th Street, Ahwatukee.

Support for Desert Foothills Park pickleball sought

Kids is doing to ease financial burdens for families of children with extreme medical conditions, I was honored and excited to lend my support.”

“Caring for a child with a chronic health condition is incredibly expensive, not to mention the enormous emotional toll it takes on their caregivers. Helping the Armer Foundation lift some of these burdens from local families means so much to me.”

The newness of dance isn’t the only challenge Glasscock is facing.

“I tore my left Achilles tendon in half last November, with surgery just before Thanksgiving, so this is a tremendous step forward for me. More specifically, I was walking in a splint and crutches last February and I have been working hard since that time to become fully mobile. This kind of injury normally takes a full year to recover,” he said.

Jason Ellegood, general manager at UFC Gym Ahwatukee, said his sense of adventure overcame trepidation at being in the Ahwatukee Dancing with the Stars.

“I’ve never danced before and I’m extremely nervous. I’m not a dancer and feel awkward when I dance,” said Ellegood.

“I’m also not a guy to turn down adventures or anything that will be fun or help me grow, so I decided I would say yes when they asked.”

Voting for the dancer of your choice is accomplished by making a donation online prior to the event, and the person receiving the most donations will receive a trophy.

Ahwatukee Dancing with the Stars Black Tie Gala will be held at the Chateau Luxe in north Phoenix. The event begins at 6 p.m. with mingling and appetizers. The ballroom opens at 7 p.m. where a threecourse meal will be served before the eve-

see ARMER page 27

challenge, especially when the weather is more temperate than it is now.

Ostendorp and McNeish have won the support of Councilman Sal DiCiccio, whose office is guiding them through the complex City Hall process.

Their first step is to get simple statements of interest from people so they can show city council there’s community interest in pickleball courts at Desert Foothills Park.

Besides turning to social media with their call for interested pickleballers, people also can send an expression of interest to dfparkpb@gmail.com, a special email address Ostendorp and McNeish created just for their campaign.

Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ timespublications.com

COMMUNITY

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

ARMER from page 26

ning’s entertainment.

The Gala isn’t the only fundraiser the Armer Foundation for Kids is undertaking since COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

They are sponsoring a #Team Drew Blood Drive at CK’s Tavern and Grill, 4142 E. Chandler Blvd. on Friday, July 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to benefit Drew Pinkston.

Sept. 26 will mark the launch of a new community event and fundraiser as the two-person teams compete in Ahwatukee’s Amazing Race.

Teams will be given 12 tasks starting with their first clue at the Armer Foundation for Kids office at 9830 S. 51st Street.

Registration has just opened online.

Tickets can be purchased online at ArmerFoundation.org. More information is available on their website and Facebook.org where they also host Armer Foundation for Kids Buying for Charity featuring items for sale.

Armer Foundation and Armer Foundation Buying for Charity Thrift Store are located in Suite A218 at 9830 S. 51st Street in Ahwatukee. Both can be reached at 480-257-3254. 

@generationaz

@genchurchaz

MCC honors Ahwatukee nurse on faculty AFN NEWS STAFF

T

wo registered nurses, one an Ahwatukee resident, have won Mesa Community College’s Endowed Teacher Chair awards.

Diana Breed of Ahwatukee and Bootsie Martinez in Mesa received the awards, which recognize teaching excellence.

Both honorees also “demonstrated engagement in innovative and effective teaching practices,” according to MCC. Breed, a residential nursing faculty member, will receive $15,000 over three years as the recipient of the Endowed Teacher Chair Award that recognizes a fulltime faculty member.

“I am overwhelmed and so thankful,” said Breed. “I have loved teaching here at MCC for the past 18 years and understand the significance of this honor.”

Martinez, an adjunct Administration of Justice Studies faculty member, is the recipient of the award that goes to

DIANA BREED

adjunct faculty and will receive $2,000 over two years.

“I love the AJS Department, and I am so enthusiastic about teaching our stu-

dents,” said Martinez. “Mesa Community College has been amazing to me since I moved here in 2016 and began teaching in AJS. I look forward to more opportunities to be of service to the students and to the college.”

Awards were presented to honorees in separate small, surprise, virtual gatherings.

The endowment was established with funding from private donors and employees and matching funds were provided by the U.S. Department of Education through MCC’s Foundations for Student Success grant.

MCC’s Office of Development coordinated this philanthropic effort with support from the Foundations for Student Success.

“The awards for residential and adjunct faculty focus on recognizing and rewarding teaching excellence and demonstrate MCC’s commitment to quality instruction,” a college spokeswoman said. 

27

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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BUSINESS

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

@AhwatukeeFN |

@AhwatukeeFN

@AhwatukeeFN |

29

@AhwatukeeFN

www.ahwatukee.com

Ahwatukee Realtor proud of �ire board work for 30 years

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

C

had Chadderton just isn’t one of Ahwatukee’s early settlers.

As broker and owner of Ahwatukee Realty and Property Management, he helped the community grow almost from the time he bought his first house in Ahwatukee in 1977 for $36,800.

But while he still remains active in real estate, Chadderton also served Greater Phoenix as the only Realtor on the city Fire Safety Advisory Board. Now, at 65, he has retired from the panel.

The advisory board may not exactly be at the forefront of newscasts and stories, but it has played an important role in extending fire safety for homes and businesses in the city throughout Chadderton’s 30 years on the panel.

It not only hears appeals from Fire Marshall’s decisions and submits findings to city council, but also makes recommen-

Ahwatukee Realtor Chad Chadderton stands near a map of Ahwatukee from the 1970s.

(Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

dations for updates to the Fire Code as well as any ordinances or other regulations “on matters pertaining to hazards of

fire, explosions, hazardous conditions or fire protection systems,” according to the city’s official description of the panel.

It also draws on some of the best minds in the industry as volunteers – including a fire protection systems contractor, architect, developer, petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas industry representatives, property insurance agent, health care worker, fire protection engineer, small business owner, construction contractor, a special events coordinator and an ordinary city resident.

Meeting once a month, the board advises city officials and the Fire Department on critical updates to the city fire and building codes – updates that sometimes appear necessary when a tragedy strikes or new technology presents firefighters with problems they had never faced before.

As the son of a Brooklyn, New York, police officer, Chadderton was no stranger to public safety issues and challenges when then Deputy Fire Chief Bobby Ruiz nominated him in 1991 to fill the Realtor’s

see CHAD page 30

What If event slated tonight at Foothills Golf Club AFN NEWS STAFF

T

he third installment of an Ahwatukee travel agent’s series of monthly gatherings called “What If” will be held 5-8 p.m. today, June 30, at Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive, in Ahwatukee.

The event will feature games, a DJ and karaoke, opportunities to meet local small business owners.

There will be food and beverages for purchase.

Dream Vacations travel specialist JoAnne Michaud and Phoenix businessman Don Bridges started the monthly What If events in April to connect businesses and the community.

More than 20 local businesses will be at the event today, and Michaud is encouraging people to bring a lawn chair and plan to stay, since there also will be raffles as well as entertainment.

In addition the featured charity is The Exchange Club of Phoenix and attendees are encouraged to make a donation.

Bridges, owner of a business publication called Kups2020, and Michaud came up with the idea as the

pandemic dragged on.

As they pondered how businesses and the community could reconnect after the pandemic, they built their series around the theme “What If.” For example, some of the questions they discussed included: “What if we created more opportunities for businesses and people to come together?” “What if a neighbor and another member of the community decided to start a new business?” “What if I stopped by an event and made new friends?” “What if I refer a neighbor to a new local business that I know?”

The event is free, so Michaud and Bridges are hoping people will support the Exchange Club.

Information: facebook.com/events and search by “What If.”  Ahwatukee Dream Vacations travel agent JoAnne Michaud is flanked by Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Andy Hayes, left, and her co-founder of the What If effort, entrepreneur Don Bridges, after she was feted to a Chamber ribbon cutting. (YouTube)

30

BUSINESS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

Ahwatukee Skin & Laser adds new doc AFN NEWS STAFF

M

ayo Clinic-trained dermatologist Dr. Ifty Ahmed has joined the team at Ahwatukee Skin & Laser in Ahwatukee as it reinstitutes walk-in urgent care.

The walk-ins were discontinued during the pandemic and are available first-come first served noon-1 p.m. Tuesdays and 7-8 a.m. Thursdays.

“This is an invaluable service for busy working moms and dads and for anyone with a limited schedule,” said Sarah Neumann, PA, the founder of Ahwatukee Skin & Laser.

Ahmed is a board-certified dermatologist with over 30 years of experience. He completed his medical training at the Uni-

CHAD from page 29

chair on the board. He wanted Chadderton to take the test for a firefighter position. He declined, though then Mayor Paul Johnson readily accepted Ruiz’s nomination of Chadderton to the advisory board.

Chadderton said that as a board member, “I’ve learned a lot of stuff and I was able to give input as a Realtor and a property manager.”

He is particularly proud of his work on the board in developing several projects, such as pool fence requirements.

“In 1991 drowning was the leading cause of death in Arizona for children under 4 years old and totaled 88 that year,” he said. “The new code to have either a cover, fence or self-closing doors reduced drownings by almost half the following year.”

Even after that requirement was implemented, emergency personnel seemed to be hearing the same story after a tragedy. Too many times when there was a drowning or near-drowning even when the pool was fenced, “Typically, whoever was supervising ran into the house to answer the phone,” Chadderton said.

The board then implemented the “Just a Few Seconds” campaign to create awareness and education. That campaign has had several iterations since then, including the “Two Seconds is Too Long” campaign that Fulton Homes CEO Doug Fulton and retired local weatherman Dave Munsey launched.

Chadderton also is proud of his in-

DR. IFTY AHMED

versity of Utah and at the Mayo Clinic in

volvement in the project that led to the city requirement in 1994 that homeowners must install 10-year, sealed-battery smoke alarms when replacing outdated, missing or damaged units.

“Over 3,000 people died annually in fires,” Chadderton said, “but so many times a smoke detector would start chirping and people would dismantle it. Or they needed a battery for a kids game and they’d take the battery out of a smoke detector and never replace kit. People are sometimes just dumb and they don’t realize that’s your first line of defense in a fire.”

“So that law protects people sometimes from themselves,” Chadderton said. “It reduces liability to the landlord being 10 years.”

What’s more is that other Valley cities followed Phoenix’s example and implemented similar laws requiring sealed smoke detectors.”

“I think it saves lives,” Chadderton said.

“Phoenix is one of the pioneers in the world as far as being ahead of the curve on a lot of fire safety issues. People come from all over the world to learn from Phoenix Fire Department and they’re kind of the forerunner on codes.”

Chadderton’s last big project involved lithium-ion batteries, used in everything from cell phones to solar systems, and a phenomenon called thermal runaway.

In simplest terms, thermal runaway begins when the heat generated within a battery exceeds the amount of heat that is dissipated to its surroundings. Internal

Rochester, Minnesota.

At the Mayo Clinic, he was an academic professor of dermatology, senior consultant in dermatology, director of dermatopathology and co-director of the dermatopathology fellowship program.

He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Dermatologic Surgery and International Journal of Dermatology and continues to serve on the editorial panel of the American Journal of Dermatopathology.

He has earned several practice and teaching awards and has over 100 published abstracts and manuscripts to his credit.

Newmann said she and Ahmed worked together 10 years ago “and we had a great time together.”

“He is semi-retiring in Arizona and felt compelled to come back to work with us,” she added. “We are so excited to have him onboard.”

Ahmed will also be providing services at Ahwatukee Skin & Laser’s sister location, Sun City Dermatology, in Sun City West.

Ahwatukee Skin & Laser creates custom skin care regimens that best fit patients’ medical and personal needs.

It also is a leader in skin cancer surveillance and specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer and offers in-house dermatology and esthetic treatments.

Information: 4425 E. Agave Road, Bldg. #9, Suite 148, Ahwatukee, ahwatukeeskincare.com or 480-704-7546. 

2019 incident in West Phoenix following an explosion in West Phoenix in April 2019 that started with a fire in an industrial lithium battery container. ”Several issues came out of that,” Chadderton said.

“People called in what they thought was a brush fire and when firefighters got there. they saw the smoke was covering an 800-square-foot storage building and it was full of lithium-ion batteries wired in series; it was storing electricity off the grid from Sun City,” Chadderton explained.

“So the facility did not call the Fire Department for at least an hour,” he continued, stating firefighters were checking for hotspots when one of them opened the door of the unit. Five minutes later, Chad Chadderton is especially proud of this heirloom an explosion occurred that left by his late father. New York City Police Officer Fred was so forceful one firefighter Chadderton. Fred had raised so much money for the Po- was blown back 75 feet. lice Widows Benevolent Fund at the 9/11 terror attacks “The door blew off the hingthat the gift was given him as a token of appreciation. es and another fireman was It’s an antique helmet affixed to a part of a flag pole. knocked back 25 feet,” he said.

(Courtesy Chad Chadderton) In addition, the fire released battery temperature can continue to rise, lethal cyanide gas, a byproduct of a lithicausing battery current to rise and create a um battery fire, and caused lung damage domino effect that leads to a fire or explo- to a police officer and a firefighter. sion.

The board’s study began after an April see CHAD page 31

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

CHAD from page 30

The incident raised several concerns for Chadderton as he and the board studied it.

One was that no one called the Fire Department for an hour.

“I thought that was wrong,” Chadderton said.

Now, hose storage areas must contain warnings about the potential for cyanide gas leaks during a fire. The rule applies to both companies and homeowners with solar power have a lithium-ion battery storage units.

“And when the first responder gets there in the event of a fire call,” he added, “the first thing he does is kill the power to the solar unit.”

The board also persuaded city officials to enact a requirement that all such battery storage units be outside a home, garage or other structure.

Chadderton said he personally thought a problem is more likely to develop when people overcharge their lithium

31

batteries, noting a similar fire phenomenon has been reported with laptops and some cell phones.

As engaged as he was in the fire advisory board, Chadderton said he’s reached a point in his life where he is cutting back on some of his volunteer activities to spend more time with his girlfriend of about nine months.

“I decided to kind of simplify things,” he said, noting he didn’t renew another term on the Lamb of God Lutheran Church’s council after serving six years and has been the Ahwatukee church’s property committee chairman for 25 years.

He is keeping his seat on the Maricopa Historical Society board, but he said his business also has been keeping him busy, though he draws a lot of satisfaction from his service on the fire advisory board – which also led him to conduct fire safety classes for people in his profession.

Now, he said, “I have met a wonderful woman and am very busy with work and enjoying life.” 

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

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Will Ducey, GOP lawmakers value the born, too?

BY MICHELLE THORNE AFN Guest Writer

T

here is immeasurable value in every single life-regardless of genetic makeup,” was not spoken by a disability rights activist or by a Democrat running for state of�ice.

It was spoken by the Governor of Arizona as he signed into law a bill that would ban the abortion of a fetus that has been diagnosed with a genetic abnormality.

Does the governor really value the lives of people with disabilities, or only preborn lives with disabilities? What about Republican legislators who passed the bill?

Their actions reveal their hypocrisy.

Earlier this year, House and Senate Republicans passed SB1457 which made it illegal for women to abort a fetus that had a genetic abnormality like Down syndrome, cystic �ibrosis or Tay-Sachs disease.

During this same legislative session,

when the state was projecting a $1.9 billion on-going surplus, House and Senate Republicans failed to support the systems of care these children will need to live to their full potential.

How underfunded are these systems of care?

Let’s look at three different systems: Arizona Early Intervention Program (AZEIP), Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS), and K-12 Special Education (SPED).

The Arizona Early Intervention Program is the �irst opportunity for parents to get help for their child if they start to fall behind their developmental milestones.

This program serves children from 0-3 and provides speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. The state of Arizona conducted an internal analysis of rates paid to contracted service providers working with the Arizona Early Intervention Program and found that it was underfunded by $14.3 million annually.

A similar analysis of rates paid to contracted service providers working for the Arizona Long Term Care System was conducted by the state. This system cares for people with disabilities from the age of 3 through adulthood. The analysis found that the whole system is underfunded by $150 million annually.

When evaluating the underfunding of K-12 Special Education funding in Arizona we have to guess. An evaluation of the costs associated with these services hasn’t been conducted in 14 years. The Arizona School Boards Association estimates that the system is underfunded by $100 million annually.

That is a $264.3 million annual shortfall in funding for systems that support children born with disabilities throughout the state.

The Arizona budget bills provided a fraction of the funding needed to close the shortfalls for these systems.

The Republican �lat tax approved by the legislature and on its way to the governor to become law will cripple the ability of lawmakers to provide funding for these systems in the future.

As a parent of two children who have disabilities and as an advocate for my community, I am appalled at how Republican legislators have used our community to score political points with the outer fringes of their base while ignoring the realities of what happens to those children once they are born.

Raising a child with a disability is not easy. The emotional and �inancial stress it takes on families is enormous.

Parents endlessly �ight for their children to have the basic rights to healthcare, education, and community support. Barriers are constantly put in front of these families leading to economic hardship, stress,

nine states.

And that doesn’t count the June 17th West Valley shooting spree allegedly committed by 19-year-old Ashin Tricarico, who stands accused of 90 minutes of drive-by gun�ire that claimed the life of 67-year-old David Liebler and wounded a dozen other innocents.

Our streets have so run with blood, President Joe Biden felt compelled to address the nation Wednesday, to announce a �ive-part “comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to gun crime and ensure public safety.”

The gist? A crackdown on illegal guns and rogue gun dealers. Plus additional millions for local law enforcement, more money for community anti-violence efforts, more summer jobs and activities for teenagers and young adults, and beefedup programs to help those leaving prison re-enter society.

Pardon me, please, if my response is

somewhere between a gaping yawn and a sad shake of my head.

Because all of the above – along with the academics who blame COVID-19 for this spike in violent crime – seems to miss what’s actually happening in our communities and on our streets.

To borrow a cliché, our chickens have come home to roost.

I’m talking about the widespread disrespect of police of�icers and the rule of law that has been a dominant news story for the past year-plus.

To hear many of our progressive neighbors and pundits tell it, every cop is a racist ogre or a perpetrator of systemic injustice so widespread the entire system must be reformed beyond recognition, or dismantled to begin anew. The police are to be defunded, declaimed and derided – and certainly never respected.

And the law? If it is enforced by the corrupt it, too, must be corrupt. Thus,

shouldn’t we excuse those who ignore it?

Couple this neutering of law enforcement with an exponentially expanding sense of entitlement, a growing self-specialness that has permeated every aspect of our culture, and is it any surprise that Americans are quicker to anger, quicker to maim, quicker to kill, loot, assault, rape?

Virtually everywhere you look and to whomever you listen, the narrative put forth focuses on the One Percent having unfairly gotten theirs, so why shouldn’t you get yours, whatever it takes?

Throw in a few hundred million guns of every caliber for good measure, mix in widespread mental health issues, and is it any wonder the nightly news and front pages frequently resemble an especially gory Tarantino �ilm?

Like every other complex issue facing our country, rising violent crime is multi-

��� THORNE ���� 33

Soaring violent crime rates are no surprise

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

A

s June winds down, already we have a shoo-in winner for the least surprising story of 2021: Violent crime continues to surge in this struggling nation of ours.

How bad are we talking? Murder jumped 33 percent last year in America’s major cities, meanwhile 63 of the nation’s 66 largest police jurisdictions saw jumps in at least one category of violent crime – murder, rape, robbery or aggravated assault.

So far, 2021 hasn’t been an improvement. The White House says homicides jumped 24 percent nationally in the �irst quarter of 2021 versus the same quarter last year.

Father’s Day weekend was especially violent, with CNN reporting 10 mass shootings claiming seven lives across

��� LIEBOWITZ ���� 33

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

THORNE ���� ���� 32

PTSD, increased incidents of abuse in the home, and increased placement of these children in the foster care system. Parents rely on these systems of care.

A robust system of care is critical to help parents through the perilous journey of raising a child with a disability.

On behalf of parents raising a child with a disability, we ask that you stop using our children to score political points.

We ask that you help our community prevent abuse and neglect and help our children achieve their full potential by

LIEBOWITZ ���� ���� 32

determined, driven by numerous interwoven factors – especially hatred of police.

Stemming the violence will require more than money, summer programs, and a few new gun regulations ardently opposed by half the nation.

Just as we have had a so-called “racial

33

funding systems of support to help families meet the additional needs of their children.

We ask that if you truly value people with disabilities that you put our taxpayer dollars where your values are and fully fund these systems of care.

Gov. Ducey, you have one last chance to make this right… what will you do?

Ahwatukee Michele Thorne is executive director and founder of damescharities.org, a certi�ied autism specialist and Triple P- Positive Parenting Program Stepping Stones Practitioner. 

reckoning,” we need to unpuzzle America’s love-hate relationship with its cops.

We cannot damn police, then act shocked when criminals, emboldened, take to our streets to take lives and property.

The only surprise about rising crime is that anyone is surprised it’s happening. The blue line, always thin, has been stretched to the brink of snapping. 

Annual Fourth of July Children’s Parade at Mountain Park Ranch: Annual Fourth of July Children’s Parade at Mountain Park Ranch: The community of Mountain Park Ranch is again sponsoring a Children’s Fourth of July Parade. The Parade date is set for Saturday, July 3, 2021. All families are invited to join in. Come celebrate with Mountain Park Ranch family and friends.

We will be celebrating this historic day with a Parade and some fun and games for the entire community. The Parade begins at 8 am at the Foothills Baptist Church on Thunderhill Road and will follow Thunderhill east to the Park near Ray Road.

The Phoenix Fire Department will be on hand to lead the kids down Thunderhill.

Time will be approaching to start decorating your bikes, trikes, wagons, scooters and electric kiddy cars with red, white and blue streamers and ribbons. Making a small float could be a great neighborhood project to keep the kids busy. A family celebration will follow the Parade, at Thunderhill Park, and end around 10:30 a.m. The celebration will include a DJ, a superslide and other family activities. There will be sno-cones, hot dogs and drinks for the entire family.

Best of all, there will be awards and prizes for best decorations and spirit. Bring your cameras! This is a great opportunity to show our community spirit, to meet neighbors, visit with friends and have a great time with the entire family. See you at the Parade and celebration. For more information please contact the MPRHOA office at 480.704.5000.

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Sports & Recreation 34

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Thunder freshman Cyrus Hembree blazes trail in bike competitions

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

C

yrus Hembree was just 7 when he sat in the living room of his family’s home in Chandler watching the Tour de France.

He was mesmerized by the speed and overall athleticism the bicyclists had in the famous race that draws hundreds of bikers from around the world every year. That’s when he said 10 words that still hold value and motivate him to succeed on a daily basis: “I’m going to win the Tour de France one day.”

“My parents watched that race and it always looked cool,” Cyrus said.

“Whenever they were racing, putting their arms up at the end and getting to wear that jersey, I thought about how

cool it would be to win it.”

Scott Hembree, Cyrus’ adoptive father, believed every word.

Cyrus was born to substance abusers. At just two months old he was placed into protective care because of unexplained injuries he had sustained. Because of his young age, he has no recollection of what took place.

Which is also a key reason as to why he doesn’t use his troubled infant past as motivation. That comes from his love for riding.

Cyrus began riding BMX bikes at just 4 years old. Much like when he saw the Tour de France on television, he was mesmerized watching the riders compete at the Chandler BMX Track near the family’s old home.

Scott took him to races and eventually

let him compete. A family of bicycle riders, Cyrus had already been riding for three years.

He started on a bike as a 1-year-old.

In Scott’s words, he “tore up the backyard,” doing multiple maneuvers and turns without stopping. So, by the time he began competing in BMX competitions, Scott, Cyrus and the rest of the family were confident in his ability.

“He had already won some BMX

�ee CYRUS page 35

At just 14 years old, Desert Vista freshman Cyrus Hembree is blazing his own path in the BMX and mountain biking world as he has already competed against adults and won a national championship at just 8 years old. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff)

Local coach providing opportunities for runners of all ages

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

C

lint Santoro loved ‘Flash,’ the superhero while growing up in Connecticut. He would often don a shirt depicting the Marvel character while competing in various running events in his early teenage years.

At the end of one of his races, the public address announcer called him ‘Flash’ during the trophy ceremony. The comment drew some laughs. He had never had a nickname before but allowed ‘Flash’ to stick. To this day, the 45-year-old still refers to himself as the name of his favorite superhero – and maybe for good reason.

In many ways, he’s become a superhero in the eyes of those he coaches – a group of amateur runners ranging in age – many of which have gone on to win championships.

“I wanted to be something more than just ‘coach,’” Flash said. “So, I began to

Clint “Flash” Santoro coaches a group of runners ranging in age as part of the Arizona Pacemakers, a club he started as he began to grow his coaching business. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff) market myself as ‘Flash’ and people bought into it. I will say, it’s hard to keep

that nickname up as you get older and slower, but it’s stuck.”

Flash began running at 14 years old while attending Stafford High School in Connecticut. He initially planned to play field hockey but was convinced by one of his best friends to distance run instead.

Despite his initial lack of interest in the spot, it came natural to him. He went on to run for two years at the University of Connecticut before moving to Arizona to escape what he called “awful” conditions.

“Connecticut is gloomy and depressing,” Flash said.

Flash began coaching shortly after he arrived in Arizona in 2000. Eventually, he created the Arizona Pacemakers Running Club, a co-ed group ages 5 and up competing as part of USA Track & Field. While he has coached an abundance of younger runners in the past, he has found himself gravitating more toward the older crowd.

Throughout the week he works with

amateur runners that range in age to their mid-50s. Each group has their own practice sessions. Some prefer mornings while others practice in the evening to late evening hours.

Mountain Pointe High School has become the home of the Arizona Pacemakers. It’s where they conduct all of their practices and it was also where they saw stellar results in their most recent track meet – the Arizona state championship.

Nine runners from the Arizona Pacemakers won state titles in their respective age group at Mountain Pointe June 5-6. Another six placed second to receive silver medals and one was third to take bronze.

The Lady Pacemakers saw the most success at the state meet, with five of the nine runners from the entire club winning gold medals. Of the six who won silver,

�ee RUNNERS page 35

SPORTS

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

CYRUS from page 34

races leading up to watching the Tour de France when he was 7 and when he said that,” Scott said. “Then when he was 8 and beat someone from the mecca city of mountain biking, we knew he would be special.”

Cyrus eventually got into road racing and trail racing, which he has come to enjoy more than BMX. Now 14 years old, the family recently made the move to the Ahwatukee Foothills where he goes trail riding several times a week.

In the fall he will attend Desert Vista and join the school’s mountain biking team, which has had success in year’s past against other schools. Cyrus hopes to make an immediate impact for the team as a freshman.

Many around him believe he will do even more than that.

“I’ve always wanted to make a career out of this,” Cyrus said. “When I first started, I was able to keep winning, so it’s something that I think I can keep doing. Having a bunch of people at Desert Vista to ride with I think will motivate me even more.”

Cyrus won his first national championship in cross country mountain biking when he was 8. Since then, he’s placed

RUNNERS from page 34

four were women. Flash said one of his racers has been running since she was just 6 years old. At the state meet, she ran the fastest 5k time in her career. She is currently 50.

“Age is not a limiting factor,” said Flash, who won gold in the men’s 1500- and 3000-meter races in the 45-49 age group. “They don’t make excuses. They want to show up to practice. They want to work. They know what running does for them mentally and physically and emotionally and they enjoy that feeling of accomplishment.”

Flash has spent years coaching nearly every level and age group of runners. He’s worked his way up from middle school all the way to the collegiate level. Even then, he says this group of runners – amateurs looking to still fulfill a dream of racing even as they grow older – is his favorite.

To him, it’s a rewarding experience

Scott Hembree, Cyrus’ adoptive father, recalls a time where his son said he would win the Tour de France one day at just 7 years old. After seeing what he has been able to accomplish since then, there’s little doubt in his mind that he will be able to do accomplish that goal. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff)

second in BMX in back-to-back years. He recently competed in the Bike the Bluff Arizona State Championship, a 54-mile ride in the Show Low area.

The event mostly catered to adults, so Cyrus rode with men well-above his age group. The race was a unique experience for Cyrus. But it also came with

seeing middle-aged men and women achieve new personal bests on the track. Not only do they smile when they accomplish a new feat, but Flash does, too.

“These people are setting personal bests, personal records, lifetime, not just for their age group in their life,” Flash said. “And so, for me to see them perform and smile and be like, ‘coach, I did it,’ it’s better than any other age group I’ve ever coached.

It’s the most rewarding coaching job I’ve ever had.” 

heartbreak.

A large group of riders were struck by a Ford pickup truck during the race. Seven riders ended up in hospitals, six were critically injured. Scott and Cyrus still remember driving by the scene of the accident.

They said it was a numbing experience with mangled bikes scattered across the

35

roadway. The family was camping near the area and admittedly had to go on a long drive to take their minds off of the chaos that had ensued.

“I couldn’t stop thinking what would’ve happened if he was in that group,” Scott said. “It brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t sit around the camp thinking about all the what ifs.”

Cyrus is currently preparing to hopefully win his next national championship.

On July 7 and 9 in Winter Park, Co., he will compete in another cross-country mountain bike race. His training involves riding local trails near his home in Ahwatukee.

He also used the race in Show Low to get used to the higher elevation.

Overall, he is confident in his ability to potentially win a national title. But no matter the outcome, with every race he takes one step closer to being ready to compete in the Tour de France, his ultimate goal.

“We’ve been to Florida, we’ve been to Texas, Baltimore, all over,” Cyrus said. “The people who are ranked high in the race coming up, I’ve beaten them before. I feel like I have more experience than a lot of them, so I really think I can win.”

To make a donation to the victims of the incident that took place in Show Low, visit https://gofund.me/fe6a935f. 

The Arizona Pacemakers saw success at the state meet held at Mountain Pointe High School, as the team won nine gold medals, seven silver and a bronze. Pablo Robles/ AFN Staff)

Arizona Pacemakers results at state

Gold Medalists

Shayna Weir – women’s (35-39) 800m Tracy Campagnano – women’s (35-39) 1500m Travis Aguilar – men’s (35-49) 800m Bridget Augustine – women’s (45-49) 1500m Mihwa Kim – women’s (45-49) 5k (personal record: 19:44) Clint “Flash” Santoro – men’s (45-49) 1500m, 3000m

Mike Williamson – men’s (50-54) 1500m Ken Knierim – men’s (50-54) 800m Tracy Lee – men’s (50-54) 800m, 1500m

Paula Murray – women’s (50-54) 800m, 1500m Mark Kirkeeng – men’s (55-59) 800m, 1500m

Silver medalists

Travis Aguilar – men’s (35) 1500m

Leah Krautter – women’s (35-39) 1500m Piper McWhorter – women’s (45-49) 1500m Kelly Augustine – men’s (45-49) 1500m Bridget Augustine – women’s (45-49) 3000m

Bronze medalists Youth

Dana Pivin -- 7th place (5:20.48 personal record from 5:24.37)

36

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Choose Scale amts.

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Cutting Edge LLC • ROC 281671

Please recycle me.

NTY

5-YEAR WARRA

azirrigation.com

480-940-8196 theplugman.com

FREE ORGANIC LAWN FERTILIZA ATION TREATMENT WITH CORE AE ERATION FERTILIZATION • SOIL AMENDMENTS • LAWN SOIL TESTING ROC 282663 * BONDED * INSURED YOUR LAWN EXPERT SINCE 1995

MD’S LANDSCAPING Drip Systems Installed, Valves/Timer Repairs

Let’s get your Watering System working again!

System Checks • Drip Checks FREE ESTIMATES! CALL 24 HOURS 25 Yrs Exp. I Do All My Own Work! Call Mark

480.295.2279 Referred out of Ewing Irrigation Not a licensed contractor.

WORKMANSHIP GUARANTEED!

CLASSIFIEDS

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Landscape/Maintenance

Landscape/Maintenance

Complete Lawn Service & Weed Control

SPRINKLER DOCTOR

Starting @ $60/Month!

• One Month Free Service • Licensed, Bonded Insured for your protection.

• Call or Text for a Free Quote

kjelandscape.com • ROC#281191

Timers/Valves/Sprinklers DRIP-PVC-COPPER Backflows & Regulators LANDSCAPE LIGHTING

25 years Experience & Insured Not a licensed contractor.

Jose Martinez Not a licensed contractor.

602.515.2767

RAMON LANDSCAPING SERVICES I could help you have your palm trees and other trees trimmed by giving you a reasonable and better price than the others.

Irrigation Repair & New Installation Yard Clean-ups • Storm Damage • Palm & Tree Trimming Tree Removal • Landscape Lighting Installation & Repair Landscape Design

Responsible • 100% Guaranteed Ask for Ramon

Not a Licensed Contractor

480-217-0407

CONKLIN PAINTING Free Estimate & Color Consultation

Interior Painting ● Pressure Washing Exterior Painting ● Drywall/Stucco Repair Complete Prep Work ● Wallpaper Removal

“We get your house looking top notch!” ★ Interior/Exterior Painting ★ Drywall Repair & Installation ★ Popcorn Ceiling Removal

★ Elastomaric Roof Coating ★ Epoxy Floors

480-888-5895

★ Small Job Specialist

Scott Mewborn, Owner 480-818-1789

ConklinPainting.com

License #ROC 298736

Painting

High Quality Results

Complete Clean Ups

Painting

Repairs - Installs - Modifications

480-586-8445

TRIM TREES ALL TYPES GRAVEL - PAVERS SPRINKLER SYSTEMS

Painting

PROFESSIONAL PAINTING Interior, Exterior House Painting.

Stucco Patching.

Gate/Front Door Refinishing.

Quality work/Materials Free Estimate Ignacio 480-961-5093 / 602-571-9015 ROC #189850 Bond/Ins’d

Lic/Bond/Ins ROC# 270450

Looking To Freshen Up Your Home?

WE CAN HELP!

HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING Interior/Exterior Painting 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Proudly Serving Ahwatukee for 15 Years!

Family Owned & Operated

Dunn Edwards Quality Paint Small Stucco/Drywall Repairs

Residential & Commercial Painting

SUN TECH

PAINTING INC.

Serving Ahwatukee Since 1987 Interior / Exterior

• High Quality Materials & Workmanship • Customer Satisfaction Free Est imates • Countless References • Carpentry Services Now Available

41

• Interior & Exterior • Professional Cabinet Refinishing • Epoxy Floors & Concrete Coatings • In-Home Color Consultations “Professional, Punctual & Clean”

We Are State Licensed and Reliable!

Free Estimates • Senior Discounts

480-338-4011

ROC#309706

Place YOUR Business HERE! in the Service Directory

Veteran Owned

Visit us at Suntechpaintingaz.com or view our video promo at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5pbvpZJlg

602.625.0599 ROC #155380 Family Owned • Free Estimates

www.ACP www.A CPpaintingllc.com paintingllc.com

Call for our 3 Month Special!

Starting at $145/month

Licensed - Bonded - Insured ROC 290242

FREE ESTIMATES • CALL TODAY!

East Valley PAINTERS

Classifieds: 480-898-6465

(480)785-6323

Plumbing

Arizona Specialty Landscape

New & Re-Do Design and Installation Affordable | Paver Specialists All phases of landscape installation.

Plants, cacti, sod, sprinklers, granite, concrete, brick, Kool-deck, lighting and more!

Free Estimates 7 Days a Week!

ROC# 186443 • BONDED

480.844.9765

See MORE Ads Online! www.Ahwatukee.com

Voted #1 Paint Interior & Exterior • Drywall Repair Light Carpentry • Power Washing • Textures Matched Popcorn Removal • Pool Deck Coatings Garage Floor Coatings • Color Consulting

PLUMBING

10% OFF

We Beat Competitors Prices & Quality Free Estimates!

Home of the 10-Year Warranty!

480-688-4770

www.eastvalleypainters.com Family Owned & Operated Bonded/Insured • ROC#153131

Now Accepting all major credit cards

$35.00 Off Any Service Call Today!

A+ RATED

We Repair or Install ROC # 272721

AHWATUKEE’S #1 PLUMBER Licensed • Bonded • Insured

704.5422

(480)

CLASSIFIEDS

42

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

Plumbing

Plumbing

PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!

AHWATUKEE SPECIAL $

$25 OFF

Off 40work done *Any

FREE Service Calls + FREE Estimates Water Heaters Installed - $999 Unclog Drains - $49

Filter Cleaning!

All Water Purification Systems Voted #1 Plumber 3 Years In A Row OVER 1,000 5-STAR REVIEWS

602-546-POOL 7 6 6 5

www.barefootpoolman.com

Pool Service / Repair

MARK’S POOL SERVICE

Bonded/Insured • ROC #223709

480-405-7099

Owner Operated - 20 Years

affinityplumber@gmail.com

www.affinityplumbingaz.com

You will find them easy with their yellow background.

Garage Sale Fri & Sat 7a-11am Household, clothes, kitchen items, furniture, electronics, mason jars, kid items, DVDs, MORE 555 W. Lane Dr Mesa

See our Before’s and After’s on Facebook Licensed, Bonded & Insured ROC# 272001

Only $27.50 includes 1 week online To place an ad please call: 480-898-6465 class@times publications.com

Roofing

with chemicals

CPO#85-185793

Juan Hernandez

Anything Plumbing Same Day Service

Pavers • Concrete • Water Features • Sprinkler Repair

Water Heaters

24/7

Inside & Out Leaks

Bonded

Toilets

Insured

Faucets

Estimates Availabler

PPebbleOcracking, O L Plaster R Epeeling, P ARebar IR

Not a licensed contractor

showing, Pool Light out? I CAN HELP!

FALL SPECIAL! $500 OFF COMPLETE REMODEL! 25 Years Experience • Dependable & Reliable

480-706-1453

Licensed/Bonded/Insured • ROC #236099

Family Operated by 3 Generations of Roofers! We have a “Spencer” on every job and every step of the way.

(480)

279-4155

Licensed • Bonded • Insured • ROC 189848

AZROC #283571 | CONTRACTOR LIC. AZROC #312804 CLASS CR4 | FULLY INSURED

FREE ESTIMATES 602-736-3019 30 Years Roofing Experience

JILEK ROOFING, LLC

New Roof Installation & Roof Repair Specialist

CLASSIFIEDS 480-898-6465 class@times publications.com

PHILLIPS

ROOFING LLC COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL

623-873-1626

Plumbing

Owned and Operated

by Rod Lampert Ahwatukee Resident Serving Ahwatukee for over 25 years

Commercial & Residential Family Owned & Operated

Family Owned and Operated 43 Years Experience in Arizona

Not a licensed contractor.

Our services include: Sinks, Toilets, Faucets, Water Heaters, Garbage Disposal, Drain Cleaning, Pressure Reducing Valves, Pressure Vacuum Breakers, Hot Water Circulation Systems, Main Service Valves and Hose Taps.

10% OFF COMPLETE UNDERLAYMENT

Over 30 yrs. Experience

480-720-3840

We offer personalized service for our customers.

We use the best materials that we can find.

FLAT ROOFS | SHINGLES | TEAR OFFS | NEW ROOFS | REPAIRS TILE UNDERLAYMENT | TILE REPAIR | LEADERS | COPPER ALUMINUM COATINGS | GUTTERS | SKYLIGHTS

Tiles, shingles, flat, repairs & new work Free Estimates • Ahwatukee Resident

Call Juan at

SERVICE • REPAIR • REPLACEMENT

Flat and Foam Roof Experts! desertsandscontracting.com

Licensed & Insured • Bonded, Res/Com ROC 328854

Ask About Filter Cleaning Specials!

602-799-0147

TILE ROOFING SPECIALISTS

Cell: 480.417.3689 Office: 480.912.5014 Email: tomjilek60@gmail.com

$85/month Mark

Your Ahwatukee Plumber & East Valley Neighbor

$35 off

Watch for Garage Sales in Classifieds!

Play Pools start at

Affinity Plumbing LLC 480-487-5541

Any Service

Roofing

Monthly Service & Repairs Available

10% OFF

Disposals

Pool Service / Repair

480-446-7663 Ahwatukee’s Premier Tile, Shingle & Foam Roofer!

FREE Estimates • Credit Cards OK www.spencer4hireroofing.com ROC#244850 | Insured | Bonded

Free Estimates Monday through Saturday Licensed 2006 ROC 223367 Bonded Insured

PhillipsRoofing.org PhillipsRoofing@cox.net

CLASSIFIEDS

JUNE 30, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Roofing

Roofing

Roofing

Family Owned & Operated for over 30 years

Over 30 Years of Experience Family Operated by 3 Generations of Roofers!

ROC #152111

Serving All Types of Roofing: • • • •

Spencer 4 HIRE ROOFING

Quality Repairs & Re-Roofs

Clean, Prompt, Friendly and Professional Service

Complimentary & Honest Estimates

FREE ESTIMATES

Tiles & Shingles sunlandroofingllc@gmail.com Installation Repair Re-Roofing

Call our office today!

480-460-7602

602-471-2346

Valley Wide Service

480-446-7663

Ahwatukee Based Family Owned and Operated Insured • Free Estimates

See our reviews and schedule at:

www.cousinswindowcleaning.com

10% OFF with this ad

480-699-2754 • info@monsoonroofinginc.com

Ahwatukee’s Premier Tile, Shingle & Foam Roofer!

10% Discount for Ahwatukee Residents 100% NO Leak Guarantee Re-Roof & Roofing Repairs Tile, Shingles & Flat Roof Licensed – Bonded – Insured – ROC187561

Window Cleaning

480-330-2649

Ask us about our discount for all Military and First Responders!

www.porterroofinginc.com

MonsoonRoofingInc.com

43

FREE Estimates • Credit Cards OK www.spencer4hireroofing.com ROC#244850 | Insured | Bonded

Licensed, Bonded, Insured

Roofing

MORE CLASSIFIED ADS ONLINE! www.Ahwatukee.com

The world is a stage... in need of a carpenter.

Given 4 jobs an actor had in movie roles, and a few hints, can you figure out the actors?

$1000 OFF when you show this ad *on qualifying complete roof replacements

CHARACTER’S JOBS Hot as lava mayor, “corny” girlfriend, doomsday mom, and an unrecognizable crime matriarch...

Actress: ______________________ Big famous tiny naval aviator, father of pranking match-maker twins, famous gunfighter/dentist, and a “dreamy” psychic Actor: ______________________

Call for your FRE E roof evaluation today www.InExRoofin g.com | 602-938-7575

Meetings/Events?

Get Free notices in the Classifieds!

Submit to ecota@timespublications.com

“Unchained” potter, tough Navy Seal trainee, a juror, “A” puritan Actress: ______________________ Dark fairy, CIA operative, athletic English archaeologist with a high I.Q., teen computer hacker Actress: ______________________ Kindergarten teacher/cop, secret agent spy, military team leader, cold-hearted bad guy Actor: ______________________ CB

Western outlaw in a famous duo, ragtime grifter, resourceful survivor, investigative journalist (last two involve water in some fashion) Actor: ______________________ Answers: Linda Hamilton as a mayor in Dante’s Peak, a girlfriend in Children of the Corn, Sarah Connor in Terminator series, and King George in Easy Does It Dennis Quaid in Inner Space, The Parent Trap, as Doc Holliday in The Untouchables and as a psychic in Dreamscape Demi Moore as Molly in Ghost (Unchained Melody played during famous pottery scene), seal trainee G.I. Jane, a juror in The Juror, and as Hester Prynne in The Scarlett Letter Angelina Jolie as the dark fairy Maleficent, as CIA operative SALT, as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, and a teen computer hacker in Hackers Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cop undercover as a kindergarten teacher in Kindergarten Cop, a secret agent spy in True Lies, a military team leader fighting an equally tough alien in Predator, and as bad guy Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin Robert Redford as Sundance in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, as grifter Johnny Hooker in The Sting, cast listed as “Our Man” in All Is Lost as a man lost at sea, and as Bob Woodard, one of the two famous investigative journalists looking into Watergate

LICENSED | INSURED | BONDED | ROC #269218

44

CLASSIFIEDS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | JUNE 30, 2021

#1 Rated Shop in the East Valley

Thank You for voting us

BEST AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR

Your Trusted European Car Specialists

We at Huffs Automotive are specialists in: Se Habla • BMW • Land Rover • Mini Cooper Español • Jaguar • Volkswagen • Audi • Mercedes Benz • Porsche

CALL NOW! AIR CONDITIONING EVACUATION & RECHARGE R-134 $100 R-1234yf $350 Must mention ad when making appointment.

NOW HIRING

AUTO TECHNICIANS & MECHANICS

Experienced & Entry-Level Call 480-726-8900 Or Submit Resume at huffsautomotive@yahoo.com

Serving Chandler & the East Valley for over 10 Years • Family Owned and Operated

95 N. Dobson Rd. • Chandler, AZ 85224 480-726-8900 • huffsautomotive.com info@huffsautomotive.com

Call For An Appointment!