AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS, OCTOBER 5, 2022

Kyrene teachers show high performance, job satisfaction

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

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

And the data presented Sept. 27 to the Kyrene Governing Board suggests that the fact so many returned is a good thing for parents and students: vast majority were rated “highly effective.”

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

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

Likewise, board member Wanda Kolomyjec said the results of teacher and principal evalu ations “reflect what I hear from the commu nity, from the parents and the students, about

how they feel about our schools and our teach ers and our principals. So congratulations to all of them out there that we can stay so posi tive through such a difficult time.”

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

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

Double victory

BY CECILIA CHAN AFN Staff Writer

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

Described as “a giant pup who loves to run zoomies in the yard and play outside, but what he really loves is getting atten tion,” the 3-year-old Rottweiler-mix was photographed smil ing as his head was being scratched.

Four days after the Bissell Pet Foundation’s national Emp ty the Shelters campaign ended on May 15, Rookie was eu thanized.

His mental health had declined after an administrative reor ganization that disbanded the county shelter system’s behav ioral team.

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Mtn. Pointe students to hold TU, LD12 candidate forums

AFN NEWS STAFF

Ahwatukee voters who want to size up in person the candidates for Tempe Union High School Dis trict Governing Board and the legislative district that covers their community will have their chance next week, a day after early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins.

And it comes courtesy of Mountain Pointe High School teacher Lane Waddell and some 50 juniors and seniors in his Advanced Placement government classes.

Those students will conduct forums in the Mountain Pointe auditorium, 4201 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee, on Oct. 13, with the three school board candidates an swering questions at 6 p.m. and all six LD 12 candidates following at 7 p.m. The free event is open to the public, and audience members will gave a chance to write their own questions on cards the students will collect prior to each forum.

Waddell said all candidates have con firmed their intention to attend.

That includes Tempe Union Govern ing board Andres Barraza of Tempe and the challengers for the two seats on the five-person board, Stephan Kingsley and Amanda Steele, both Ahwatukee residents.

LD 12 candidates include Republican Senate hopeful David Richardson of Ah watukee and Chandler residents Terry Roe and Jim Chaston, both Republican House candidates. Rep. Mitzi Epstein of Tempe is seeking the Senate seat for the Democrats and Ahwatukee residents Patty Contreras and Stacey Travers are the Democratic House hopefuls.

The student-driven forum is the “10th or 12th” that Waddell said he has over seen in his 26 years at Mountain Pointe. Unlike the election cycle in 2020, when campus shutdowns forced him to conduct the forums online, next week’s event will be only in-person.

He divided the classes into units that approached the forums with a kind of mil itary precision and organization.

“I just say, ‘here’s what we need,’” Wad dell explained as each of the two classes

took on one of the two elections.

Then, Waddell told them, “We need a question group. We need a publicity group. We need a stage group. We need a candi date group. So everybody kind of goes to a certain group – like the candidate group, that’s the only people that will contact the candidate so that way, we don’t have like 30 or 40 people contacting them.”

There also is a group assigned to research issues so that the students’ questions are focused on matters specifically related to the school district and the Legislature.

He told each class early in the semes ter, “We’re going to hold the debate. And that’s it. I tell them, ‘This is what we’ve done in the past. And we want to keep that going.’ And then they pretty much do everything. I really don’t contact anybody. That’s all them. I don’t really talk to any body at school unless I need to. It’s all of them. They do it all.”

Seniors comprise about 90% of each class.

Two students have been assigned to asking the candidates questions in each forum “because it gets a little daunting” to have just one student asking all the ques tions, Waddell said, thus ensuring “they always have a friend up there.”

“But they’ll be asking all the questions, and we’ll have a chance for the public to write questions beforehand and we’ll se lect a few of those,” Waddell said.

To ensure things go smoothly, Waddell conducts a run-through for each forum. That “rehearsal” includes a review of the questions.

“We decide as a class if that’s a good question,” Waddell said, adding that he steps in when a question might not relate to the job the candidates are seeking.

For example, students may raise mat ters in the legislative forum that really fall under the federal government.

“If it’s more of a federal question, I’ll say, ‘you don’t want that because they won’t be able to answer it because that’s a fed eral issue.”

“So sometimes the students struggle with that,” he added. “Sometimes they think that the legislative district is going to be able to handle a federal issue.”

But such struggles are part of the learn ing process for the students as well, and Waddell can think of few better exercises to ground the students in the functions of different government entities and their responsibilities, the art of vetting candi dates for public office and the responsibil ities of citizens and the electoral process.

“I’ve had students come back a couple years later, they still talk about their expe rience,” Waddell said, “and how valuable it was. It makes them have to talk to adults and makes some of them talk in front of other people. They have to be organized and that forces them to create a timeline and stay on top of everybody’s responsi bility. So, it’s really good in that regard.

“And we’re also learning about govern ment. They are understanding school board issues. They’re understanding local issues here for Ahwatukee area. So it’s re ally good.”

DV students walk out to protest new school laws

BY KEN SAIN AFN Staff Writer

Students at Desert Vista and five other Arizona high schools, including two

Chandler, walked out of their class rooms on Sept. 29 afternoon to protest what they call anti-gay and anti-trans laws passed earlier this year by the Republi can-controlled state Legislature.

The six schools all have chapters of the student-led Support Equality AZ Schools and their leaders urged members and oth er students to walk out at Chandler High, Hamilton High, South Pointe in Phoenix, Cactus Shadows in Cave Creek and Flag staff Arts and Leadership Academy.

An estimated 150-to-200 students ap peared to walk out of Chandler High, which was about double what organizers hoped for. At least several dozen Desert Vista students also walked out.

The protests echoed condemnations by members of various school boards, includ ing Kyrene and Chandler Unified, of some of the state mandates they and their coun terparts across the Valley must adopt.

For example, one policy forbids trans gender boys from playing on girls teams while other laws expand parental access to their child’s school library as well as to a list of books their children check out.

The Kyrene Governing Board postponed adoption of the transgender sports ban to give district counsel time to craft wording that would distance itself from any lan guage suggesting it endorses its spirit.

Board members said the mandate runs afoul of the district’s commitment to treat all students equally and create a welcoming environment for students no matter what their race, gender or other differences.

At the Chandler Unified Governing Board meeting, Sept. 28, board member Lindsay Love voted against most of the new requirements, condemning them as an unwarranted interference by the Legis lature in local policy matters and “rooted in transphobia, homophobia, racism, and a general disregard for the mental health and wellness of our students.”

“When we simply ignore and stay quiet about obvious contradictions between our stated values and our votes and ac

tions, why should a parent or voter trust us?” Love said. “They shouldn’t because it’s plainly hypocritical.”

Tempe Union Governing Board has yet to be presented with the policies for for mal adoption but it’s only a matter of time, since districts that disobey the new laws would lose thousands of dollars in state reimbursement.

The day before the walkout, Hamilton High School junior Dawn Shim, one of the organizers, told the Chandler Unified board, “When you allow school [adminis tration] to divulge information about stu dents to their parents, that can be incredi bly harmful, especially for LGBTQ students who are in an unsafe environment.”

The laws that the Legislature passed last spring that organizers are calling antigay and anti-trans include giving parents the right to inspect any document about their child that is at school. So, if a student confided to a counselor they were ques tioning their sexual orientation, and that was written down, a parent could demand to see it.

The students also protested laws forcing transgender athletes to compete accord ing to their biological sex and a near ban on gay publications in school libraries.

“It only takes one affirming adult in the lives of an LGBTQ youth to reduce the risk of suicide and I refuse to be a part of tak ing that away from our students,” Chan dler Unified board member Lindsay Love said after voting no on the state-mandated policy changes.

“When LGBTQ youth are outed to par ents who are not affirming, they face the threat of violence and are often kicked out of the home and forced into homeless ness. LGBTQ youth represent only 8% of the youth population, but make up around 40 to 45% of the homeless population in Maricopa County, placing them at dispro portionate risk of being sex trafficked.”

Kanix Gallo, is a Chandler High sopho more who helped lead the walkout at that school, said the biggest problem is the re striction on library materials.

“They’re calling all these bills, parental rights bills, and so they don’t sound too harmful,” she said. “But when you look into

And lest anyone think its drudg ery, Waddell said the students “have a lot of fun” organizing and executing the forums.

Asked whether he thinks they also make the students more engaged in soci ety’s issues, Waddell replied, “I certainly would hope so. My goal is for them to be informed and understand and know who they could go talk to if something was bothering them, if they want a light

changed, or they want a road widened, or whatever they want.

“They now know, ‘oh, I can actually go talk to this person and they should be able to help me.’ It’s good that way be cause they now understand how the sys tem works and they can go do something about it.”

Waddell hopes non-students in the community take advantage of the forums.

“We would love to have anybody come. We’ve got about 800 seats and we would love to fill them.” 

the students around this shows that we all see how bad it is.

the bill, they do sound a lot more harmful.”

Hayden Nguyen, a senior at Gilbert Classical Academy, is part of the state wide leadership of Support Equality AZ Schools, said, “It’s going to be almost im possible for people to talk to their school counselors in order to, you know, enter their preferred pronouns and gender … without being outed to their parents.”

The organizers at the Chandler High walkout said they were happy with how many students participated.

“Everyone really came through,” sopho more Oliver Milicoliver. “It really shows the solidarity that a lot of people have in the schools.”

“The more the numbers, the more it shows how much we care,” said sopho more Salem Babington. “And I think that’s really important. And we’re very grateful for all the people coming out here and showing their support for our cause.”

There have been similar walkouts in New York, Virginia and Texas.

“We’re really surprised because we had no idea they were coordinating these things,” Kanix said. “But the bill that is forcing teachers to out trans students is popping up everywhere right now. And all

“We are actually currently talking to some of those organizations that did walk outs in different states to talk to them and be like, ‘Hey, do you want to coordinate a nationwide walkout?’”

Dawn, the Hamilton High student who helped organize the walkouts, said she’s gotten positive feedback from elected leaders, but little action.

“We met with a lot of legislators,” she said. “And we realized that this treat ment option that we’re receiving from our school boards right now is across the line for all of the boards that we see across Arizona and across our state is the lack of action.

“Or even if there is action, they tell us, we’re very brave, and they appreciate what we’re saying,” Dawn added. “But they don’t take positive action. That actu ally is measurable and has goals.

“That is what we want to see. And the reason why we’re walking out is to tell other organizers across Arizona, as well as our legislators, that we’re here, we know what’s going on, and we’re going to do something.”

AFN Executive Editor Paul Maryniak contributed to this report. 

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

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

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

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

To illustrate that, she noted that a state survey answered by 130 of Arizona’s 207

The overwhelming number of Kyrene’s approximate 911 teachers were rated highly effective or effective, according to Lisa Gibson, district executive director of talent management. Those who were rated ineffective either quit or were terminated. (Kyrene School District)

school districts showed that 2,577 of 42,790 teaching positions were unfilled at the beginning of the current school year.

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

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

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

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

She added that some of those 17 posts are filled by contracted employees and others by long-term substitutes. Some of

the latter are in the process of getting an emergency teaching certificate or joining a teacher-in-training program “because some of them love being at their school site so much.”

Kyrene also reported to the state that the vast majority of teachers who have stuck with Kyrene exceeded the district’s new, higher performance standards that went into effect in 2021-22.

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

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

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

“The final evaluation score is a com bined score of a teacher’s individual per formance score and their school-wide data score, which is also known as an Aca demic Progress score,” she explained. “The individual performance score accounts for

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KYRENE from page 9

80% of a teacher’s final evaluation, and it is derived from coaching opportunities throughout the year, which include walkthrough and formal observations.”

Likewise, all the district’s 26 principals

met performance expectations, with 22 rated “effective” and the other four “highly effective.” Schools were not identified.

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

Talent management Executive Director Lisa Gibson said that while only four of Kyrene’s 26 principals were rated highly effective, it was not unusual because the district was using a new format for evaluating their performance during the 2021-22 school year. (Kyrene School District)

Job and employer satisfaction have been traditionally high among Kyrene teachers, as the vast majority in the last five school years haven’t looked for other jobs. (Kyrene School District)

Kyrene teachers who decided not to renew their contracts for the current school year did so for various reasons that generally did not have much to do with how they felt about the district. (Kyrene School District)

Spending cap looms again over school districts

BY J GRABER AFN Staff Writer

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

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

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

“If the Legislature doesn’t take action before March 1 of 2023, our district, as will every other public district that’s not a charter district, will have to amend their budget to reduce the budget by the amount we are over on a percentage ba

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

sis,” Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel told his governing board last month.

Noting that meant a potential $28 mil

lion budget hit, Menzel said Gov. Doug Du cey is not quite living up to the promises he made last year when the state budget was passed.

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

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

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

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

But the Supreme Court ruled last month that the act, which adds a 3.5% tax on all income over $250,000 (or $500,00 for joint filers), is likely unconstitutional,

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your digital flip-thru

though it left it up to the trial court to de termine that.

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

ESAs are $7,000 vouchers given by the state to students who do not want to at tend traditional public schools. The Save our Schools coalition opposed ESA but it remains unclear if it collected enough pe tition signatures for a 2024 referendum on the measure.

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

C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Du cey’s office, said the governor is waiting

for an assurance that a waiver of the ex penditure limit would pass in the Leg islature before calling a special session.

“We have seen no indication there are the votes.”

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

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

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

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

“This cap was passed by the voters and

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

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

“They understood (the agreement for a special legislative session) to mean be fore the next Legislature comes in,” Kot terman said.

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

“Basically, it’s stressful at the shelter,” said Kim Schulze, the shelters’ former county behavior and training team man ager. “Lots of dogs don’t do well and start to deteriorate.”

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

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

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

Behavior team dismantled

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

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

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

Schulze and her team were reassigned under a new structure instituted last No vember by Assistant County Manager Val erie Beckett, then serving as interim ani mal care director.

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

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

County officials defended the restruc turing.

“It’s important to us to have staff mem bers who understand behavioral issues in our pets,” said Kim Powell, spokeswoman for Animal Care and Control in an email.

“In fact, our goal is to have more of them.

“But the behavioral team as a whole did

not have a formal training protocol and lacked data to identify if it was helpful intervention in its present state, so we restructured.”

Schulze disputed Powell’s assessment of her team.

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

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

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

cated to animal behavior.

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

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

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

“If the team was in place, (Rookie) would be getting out every day or every other day,” Bader said. “If he was dete

riorating, they would have done more to make sure he stayed healthy until he got out of the shelter.”

Petition seeks changes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“If they’re lucky they get out once every five days for a walk or yard time. If they get sick, they sit in their kennel for two weeks with kennel cough. Some dogs in the med ical wing are in there one month and not getting out.”

Rookie’s sad end

County records show Rookie came into the shelter Jan. 24 as a stray and was considered “friendly but skittish, allows

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

all handling.” He was vaccinated, neu tered and microchipped in anticipation of adoption.

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

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

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

On March 12 the records showed that Rookie was “very stressed, pupils dilated and red eyes, panting.”

“Dog is deteriorating in kennel and stressed out,” a memo stated. “Needs outlet.”

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

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

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

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

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

Stimulation keeps dogs healthy

Experts say that shelter dogs need daily physical and emotional stimula tion to deal with the stresses of kennel life and that exercise in general helps dogs avoid boredom, which leads to de structive behavior.

And, according to Guidelines for Stan dards of Care in Animal Shelters released by the Association of Shelter Veterinar ians, “Dogs must be provided with daily opportunities for activity outside of their runs for aerobic exercise (and) for longterm shelter stays, appropriate levels of additional enrichment must be provided

on a daily basis.”

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

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

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

She also denied Bader’s claim that inkennel enrichment is sporadic.

Bader said while the Arizona Humane

Society gives five different types of en richment daily to animals for their senses – eat, smell, feel, hear and see – that’s not the case at the county shelter.

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

Powell said Bader’s claim isn’t true.

“Animals receive enrichment every day, including Kongs, food-feeder puzzles, scent enrichment, rawhides, sometimes even music,” Powell said. “There is an enrich ment board outside of the first door to the left of the volunteer hallway for specifics.” Kongs are enrichment toys filled with treats that help relieve a dog’s stress and boredom.

Bader shared a Sept. 12 email from Di rector Michael Mendel, where he stated he was pausing all public group walks and public enrichment stuffing events, effec tive Sept. 16.

“The two organizations, Four Paws and Friends and Hope Whispers, have been told that we may not fill Kongs, pass out enrichment or to conduct public dog walks,” Bader said. “Four Paws does the walks at the West shelter weekly and Hope Whispers does them at the East shelter. We typically get 60-100 dogs out for a 20-30-minute walk. It is often the only time they get out for a week.”

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

Mendel said while the shelter appreci ated the help from volunteers, there were “several incidents that prevent these ac tivities from continuing at this time.”

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

Mendel added that there also have been some recent social media postings of “potential vandalism threats towards staff and/or property,” which he acknowl edged wasn’t coming from Four Paws and Friends volunteers.

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

The county used this poster during a nationwide campaign to spur adoptions by waiving fees.

Rookie, the dog in the poster, was euthanized four days after the campaign ended in May. (Special to AFN)

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

After opponents fail, school voucher are a hot commodity

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

State education officials are giving parents who want to seek immediate voucher payments for private schools an extra 15 days to apply.

The state Department of Education last week announced it was inundated with last-minute requests to get funding for the first quarter of the school year after Secretary of State Katie Hobbs confirmed that Save Our Schools had failed to submit enough signatures to give voters the last word on the universal voucher plan ap proved earlier this year by the Republi can-controlled legislature.

Department spokesman Richie Taylor on Sept. 30, the first day the law was in ef fect, said were allowed to apply while the referendum’s fate was unknown, promis ing retroactive funding for the first quar ter if and when vouchers became legal.

But Taylor said Hobbs’ announcement created a crush for those dollars, over whelming the web site his agency had set up.

So now anyone who gets in an appli cation by Oct. 15 will be eligible for that first-quarter funding.

The formal enactment of the law – and the rush of applications – marks the end of a decade-long legal and political battle to allow any of the 1.1 million students in Arizona public schools to attend private or parochial schools with vouchers of state funds. The program, formally known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, also allows those vouchers which average about $7,000 to be used by parents who home school their children.

Until now, the vouchers had been re served for students with special needs, foster children, those in schools rated D or F, or children on reservations. There are currently about 12,100 students getting the state dollars.

All those conditions are now gone. And all signs point to a rapid expansion.

Taylor said his agency, which had been accepting applications before Friday on a conditional basis, already had received an other more than 12,100. And that doesn’t count the crush of requests Friday created

following the statement from Hobbs.

There are really only two conditions to apply: a student must be an Arizona resi dent and cannot be enrolled in a public school when the voucher funding starts. That would result in the state paying twice for the same child, something prohibited under the law.

Taylor noted, though, there is no wait ing period, meaning a student could be in public school on one day and immediate ly get a voucher to go to a private school the next.

Aside from the issue of parental choice, voucher supporters say the program ac tually can save money for the state. That’s because the vouchers are supposed to be equal to 90% of what the state would oth erwise pay, coming out to about $7,000 for a student without disabilities or spe cial needs.

But foes noted that the plan also makes vouchers available to children whose families already were paying their way in private schools. And Taylor said about three-quarters of the applications already received fit that category.

That translates so far to close to $65 mil lion in obligations being moved from par ents to taxpayers, something that Taylor’s boss, state schools chief Kathy Hoffman, previously called “a taxpayer funded cou pon for the wealthy.’’

But state Rep. Ben Toma, R-Peoria, who pushed the measure through the legisla ture, has said there is no reason that any parent who pays taxes to the state should be denied the benefit.

Gov. Doug Ducey has argued that noth ing in the plan will harm public schools, saying lawmakers have added to funding. That includes the immediate addition of $526 to base education funding for K-12 schools in the budget adopted for this fis cal year, an 8.8% increase.

Only thing is, those additional dollars would put total school funding above the Aggregate Expenditure Limit, a figure put into the Arizona Constitution by voters in 1980. It is adjusted annually for student growth and inflation.

Lawmakers can approve an exemption

on an annual basis.

But they haven’t done that for the cur rent school year. And local education offi cials said if they don’t act, schools would need to actually cut their budgets by about 17%.

Why the referendum failed so spectacu larly remains under debate.

Backers needed 118,823 valid signa tures to send the issue to the 2024 ballot. They claimed last week to have submitted more than 141,000.

Hobbs has yet to release a final count. But the Goldwater Institute, which got copies of the petitions, said it counted just 88,866 signatures.

Beth Lewis, president of Save Our Schools, had previously said there were last-minute issues with things like pick ing up petitions. But in a statement Fri

day, the organization said part of the fault lies with Ducey.

The Arizona Constitution gives those seeking to refer measures to the ballot 90 days after the end of the session to gather the necessary signatures. That was Sept. 23.

But the governor also has 10 days after a session to act on all bills on his desk.

Ducey waited the full time. And the law precludes signature gathering until that happened.

“We are confident we would have suc ceeded had Gov. Ducey not waited 10 days to sign the bill, robbing Arizona voters of crucial time to sign the petition,’’ the state ment said. “Arizona’s forefathers wisely included the fundamental right to refer endum in our state constitution, yet Du cey played cynical games with that right in service of his donors and greedy special interests.’’ 

Gallego touts climate achievements, challenges

BY RYAN KNAPPENBERGER Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego touted the city Sept. 29 as a model for endur ing extreme weather events, during a virtual panel on how local governments can help defend against the impacts of climate change.

Despite challenges that range from a his toric drought to falling water levels, and rising temperatures that are expected to see the number of days above 105 degrees double in the coming decades – Gallego called it “an exciting time for Phoenix.”

“The threats of climate change are push ing us to innovate in ways that will be good for the city in the long term,” she said during a roundtable hosted by Route Fifty, a news outlet focused on state and local government management.

The event highlighted cities already dealing with extreme weather like droughts, heat, flooding and hurricanes. Gallego was supposed to be joined by St.

Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, but he was busy dealing with the effects of Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that hit Florida this week.

Phoenix faces a very different set of problems, Gallego said, listing forest fires, drought and heat as the main challenges the city deals with.

But she said Phoenix is rising to meet those challenges with efforts ranging from planting trees to requiring more energy-efficient buildings. She called Phoenix the “Electric Valley,” due to its investment in electric vehicles and re newable energy.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, said in an email that while the city could be doing more to prepare for climate change, the invest ments it is making now are a big step in the right direction.

“The climate action plan that Phoenix adopted last year is a significant improve ment over previous plans and includes a number of programs that can help the city reach its climate goals,” said Bahr, speak

ing generally because she did not see Gal lego’s talk.

Phoenix, and the state at large, face a number of climate threats, including a drought that is still going on after 22 years, rising temperatures and a growing water shortage in the Colorado River and its reservoirs.

Cynthia Campbell, water resources management adviser for Phoenix, said that part of the reason the city can be an example for other local governments is because it has been dealing with droughts for so long.

“Because we are in a desert, we look at drought not as something that’s really extraordinary, but more of a given,” Camp bell said.

But the Valley has a lot more to prepare for in the coming years, said Michael C. Morgan, an assistant Commerce secretary at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Morgan, who took part in the forum with Gallego, cited a federal cli mate tool that predicts the city will only get hotter as carbon emissions rise.

“Right now, you get about 46 days a year that it’s above 105 degrees,” Morgan said.

“By mid-century, you’ll have 80 to 90 days a year on which it exceeds 105 degrees.”

Morgan said that heat hits hardest against vulnerable populations – like the elderly, those experiencing homelessness and communities of color – and will con tinue to do so as the city gets hotter.

In Maricopa County, heat-related deaths have risen steadily, from 61 in 2014 to 338 last year, according to county data. As of Sept. 24, the county had confirmed that 255 deaths were heat-related, with anoth er 189 still under investigation.

Gallego said city efforts to mitigate the deadly impacts of rising temperatures in clude planting trees in low-income com munities, making buildings more energy efficient and repaving streets with reflec tive pavement. As extreme weather events become more common, she said, she ex pects people will become more amenable to taking additional steps.

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“I think that is creating more political will than we have ever seen before,” Gal lego said.

Bahr said those should include do ing more “to demand that the utilities move quickly away from fossil fuels” and demand that utilities deliver clean energy to residents and businesses. She also said the city could reduce emissions by becoming more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.

Campbell said that it may seem to oth ers that Phoenix and the state’s efforts to deal with the drought are nothing special, but that is because the city has operated for the last 70 years as if another drought was on the way.

“I think that is the single most rea son why a lot of people look at Arizona and they’re like, ‘Why aren’t they light ing their hair on fire like California is?’” Campbell said. 

GOT NEWS?

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

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

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

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

Mendel in his post noted MCACC at the time had approximately 695 animals, stressing the county’s capacity for care. He said the shelters were seeing more and more people surrendering their pets be cause of homelessness.

“We are seeing more animals with in creasing dangerous behaviors, especially in the East Shelter,” Mendel wrote May 23.

“While MCACC’s intention is to save every animal that comes into our care, I must weigh the safety risk to staff, volunteers,

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

and the public.

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

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

“His deadline passed,” Mendel said. “No

one came to rescue.”

The last evaluation on May 15 for Rook ie said he was walking well on a leash, took his treats gently, jumped up to solicit attention from his handler and had no is sues on returning to his kennel.

He was euthanized four days later at 2:29 p.m.

SINGLE STORY

More civilians becoming Phoenix police investigators

BY SALMA REYES AND NATHAN COLLINS News21

Hiring

civilian investigators isn’t a new concept.

The Mesa Police Department started its program in 2009. And when Chief George Gascón moved to San Fran cisco to lead that department, he took the idea with him.

But the movement has gained steam re cently as departments across the country try to shore up their dwindling ranks of sworn officers.

Baltimore police made national head lines in April when the city leaders an nounced they planned to hire 35 civilian investigators and eliminate 30 unfilled sworn officer positions. In a statement, Mayor Brandon M. Scott called it a “crucial first step” to modernize the approach to law enforcement.

Phoenix Police Department also gained attention in March when it announced a similar move. At the time, the department had more than 400 unfilled positions for sworn officers.

“We found ourselves a little shorthand ed, so we moved some sworn people from detective spots out and back out into pa trol,” said Sgt. Jason Davis, the administra tive sergeant for property crimes.

Davis said the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide uproar against police af ter the May 2020 murder of George Floyd coincided with a large number of retire ments from Phoenix police.

Hiring civilian investigators would “make sure crimes get hands-on attention and, hopefully, solved in a timely manner,” the March news release said, calling for the community to join the department.

“It stems directly from our long-stand ing desire to civilianize some of the things that we do here,” Davis said.

Civilian investigators have many of the same duties as an officer, such as review ing evidence, interviewing witnesses, tak ing reports and carrying out administra tive tasks at the office. The department calls these tasks the “behind-the-scenes” work of investigations.

But unlike sworn officers, Davis said, they aren’t authorized to carry a firearm

or make arrests.

Departments nationwide face staffing shortages. Nearly 200 police departments reported a 5% decrease in hires, an 18% increase in resignations and a 45% in crease in retirements from 2020 to 2021, according to a national survey by the Po lice Executive Research Forum and re leased in 2021.

The Phoenix City Council had approved 25 civilian investigator positions for the past fiscal year and 25 for this fiscal year, which began July 1. Most of the first group will have started by mid-October, accord ing to an email from the department.

“They can work their case all the way to the end,” Davis said. “When it comes time to actually arrest someone, they just have to work with a sworn officer to ef fect that arrest.”

Shannon O’Leary began her career as a detention officer, and she became a civil ian investigation specialist for Mesa po lice. She has served in that role for about nine years.

She said she doesn’t do anything dif ferent from sworn officers, except she doesn’t carry a gun, doesn’t have arrest powers and doesn’t “get into physical al tercations with people.”

I’m not going to take that call.’ And I let the officer take it.”

When Gascón brought the civilian in vestigator idea to San Francisco in 2010, he faced skepticism from the police union about taking jobs away from sworn offi cers, according to media reports.

In Phoenix, the Phoenix Law Enforce ment Association responded to the City Council’s initial efforts through an email stating that the association appreciated the effort to hire more civilian positions during the staffing crisis, but it urged the council “to adopt a long-term plan to prop erly fund and staff sworn police officers.”

Davis said the new positions help solve simple cases in a timely manner and al lows sworn detectives more time to com plete in-depth investigations.

also is trained

“But as far as learning the law and ap plying the law, none of that changes,” said O’Leary, who writes reports, canvasses crime scenes, looks for surveillance video and tries to find eyewitnesses.

O’Leary said she received training on the collection and preservation of evidence at a crime scene.

Unlike a patrol officer, though, criminal investigation specialists know their sus pects are “long gone.” While officers wear black uniforms, O’Leary’s is gray. She also drives an unmarked vehicle, which can help with people who don’t want to call attention to the fact that police are there.

“They like the fact that it’s very kind of quiet in a sense,” she said.

“I feel like our customer-service level’s a lot better and a lot more top notch,” O’Leary said. “So that’s what we really strive (for) is high, high customer service.”

O’Leary said she’ll go over evidence, fol low up with victims and assist with calls for service with patrol officers. They can screen information before heading out to calls.

“We want to see if we’ve had any kind of ties with them in the past, if they have any kind of violent tendencies in the past or mental health issues,” she said. “And if we see stuff like that, then we will say, ‘Hey,

“This new spot is designed to attract people that have experience with investi gations back into the profession,” he said.

Davis described such experience as investigating bank fraud or insurance claims, for example. Since civilian investi gators are not expected to be in the field as much as patrol officers, they undergo lighter training than sworn officers and learn tactics specific to their bureau.

The Phoenix investigators are dispersed across the department’s bureaus, includ ing violent crimes, drug enforcement and family investigation.

“It’s exciting to see that we could get some civilian people here,” said Davis, who has worked in investigations since 2004.

Civilian positions are common in the Phoenix Police Department: from secre taries, to training coordinators and staff for the Civilian Oversight Bureau.

However, the Phoenix civilian investiga tor position will be the first job that allows civilians to carry out many of the same tasks as detectives and police officers.

O’Leary said she loves her job. Although patrol officers have a lot of liability and must deal “with a lot of people who just do not like the police,” she said, “I don’t have to deal with any of that.”

“Literally, I’m dealing with people who are in – I don’t say crisis mode, but they’re in a … bad situation where they feel com pletely violated – and so it makes me feel good that I can help them.”

Community

www.ahwatukee.com

Two Ahwatukee homes offer Halloween delights for families

and Saturdays.

Ahwatukee families looking to give their kids some family-friendly Halloween fun don’t have to drive too far: two local homeowners once again have gone all out with skeletons, witches and other seasonal attractions to cele brate October’s signature holiday.

Handyman Doug Maldonado has fes tooned seemingly every inch of his home’s exterior with lights and his lawn and drive way with assorted Halloween figures and other ornaments, mostly from Home Depot. His home, at 16210 S. 29th Ave. in Foothills Reserve, is in a gated community, but no worries: as long as you text – not call – 480201-5013, he’ll let you in to ooh and ahh 6:30-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, passenger airliner pilot Steve Powers also has once again pulled out his grave stones, replicas of ghosts and other Halloween characters and up

Steve Powers has a yard full of Halloween characters and props that he made himself and has put together a humorous continuous 15-minute loop of Halloween tunes to engage pass ersby at 2537 Amberwood Drive between 7-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays all month long. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)

dated his continuous loop filled with Hal loween music at 2537 East Amberwood

100+ Women Who Care supports Phoenix ToolBank

BY KIM TARNOPOLSKI AFN Contributor

Haveyou ever organized a com munity project where you needed tools, ladders, rakes, shovels, ta bles, chairs, or more to get the job done? Usually, you would rely on volunteers to bring those supplies from home and hope you have enough to achieve your project goals effectively and efficiently. Well, not anymore!

In 2015, Phoenix ToolBank opened its doors to the nonprofit community. Chari ties, schools, PTOs, neighborhood asso ciations, faith-based groups, civic organi zations, government agencies, and more have year-round access to an inventory of tools, equipment, and expertise for use

in volunteer and community benefit proj ects, facility and grounds maintenance, and events.

Phoenix ToolBank is a nonprofit toollending program that enhances the chari table sector’s capacity to serve, facilitating volunteerism in Arizona.

They are a nonprofit strictly to support other nonprofits and everything they do. The ToolBank maintains an 8,000 sq. ft. warehouse and specializes in carrying large quantities of high-quality tools with over 400 different tool types in inventory donated by their national sponsors such as Stanley Black & Decker and Home Depot.

The tools range from power tools to sup port building projects, to handheld tools such as shovels and rakes to plant commu nity gardens, to painting supplies, to spe

Drive. Families can walk by his home and delight in his display 7-9 p.m. Fridays

Maldonado began his nightly display last week and Powers debuts his on Friday. And both will be running their free offerings to the community throughout October.

And both Maldonado and Powers stress the family-friendly aspect of their exhibits. Anyone who wants to be terri fied by ghoulishly attired figures, chilling tableaus or discomforting screams and other Halloween sounds will have to look elsewhere.

Yet, the two exhibits also differ signifi cantly from each other, so there are plenty of reasons for people to plan on visiting them both. Here’s a closer look.

Doug Maldonado

For decorator-in-chief Doug Maldonado, the display he has been putting on for more than a decade for two main reasons.

cial event items such as tables and chairs.

The volumes of tools are large enough

Marking 100+ Women Who Care’s check presentation to the Phoenix ToolBank are, from left, Jenn Kaye, Nancy Farrington, Jana Ferraro, Jacqueline Destremps, Kim Tarnopolski. (Courtesy Kim Tarnopolski)

First, it’s his way of thanking the commu nity for the support it has given his busi ness, Maldonado Home Repair Services.

“It’s all about saying thank you to the community for having me work for them,” he said. “Basically, they are giving me the opportunity to work for them and this is my way of saying thank you.”

The second big reason he hangs lights, shops for new props every year and liter ally sweats over every detail in the desert heat every day after Labor Day is because he loves to see the audience’s faces –espe cially those of the children who pass by his home – and frequently pose in their cos tumes for photos.

“This Halloween house is very, very kid friendly, that’s what it’s for,” he said. “It’s all about lights, inflatables, and giant skel etons and witches and whatever else I find. And seeing how many people bring their kids here to take holiday pictures is amazing. I appreciate that. It makes all the work worthwhile.”

Maldonado lost count of the number of lights he uses and his inventory of props grows each year. This year, he’s added – all from Home Depot, he stresses – a 12-foot witch and an equally tall Grim Reaper.

Maldonado also is considerate of his Foothills Reserve community – which is why he keeps the display burning bright only until 9 p.m. on “school nights” and 9:30 p.m. weekends.

“I have full support in my HOA commu nity,” he said, so I want to be considerate of my neighbors.”

Steve Powers

Steve Powers started his annual exhibit in 2005 mainly to delight his daughter Kaitlyn.

She was 5 then and now she is married and he’s a new grandfather. And he still brings the same creativity and enthusi asm to making his Halloween exhibit that he did 17 years ago.

He starts thinking about his arrange ment months before the seemingly end less days he spends setting up props, many of which he built himself.

He themes his display “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” riffing off Tim Burton’s “Night Before Christmas” with eye-pop ping animatronics that he himself made, adding music to the elaborate scenes he creates on his yard

But his show also has evolved, so even veteran spectators go visit his home every

year can count on some new additions again this year.

“It changed pretty big last year, because during COVID, I had a lot of time to tinker, add a whole bunch of new music and a bunch of more songs and more stuff like that, Powers said. “It probably had been about four years before when it was a real

big change where we went from the whole ‘Nightmare Before Halloween’ and kind of morphed into what it is today, which is a more fun singalong for the kids and the pumpkin singing and goofy ghost.”

He said he spends months thinking through what he wants to do new each year,

“Through the summer, I kind of start thinking about adding things and tinker ing with things,” he explained.

“It’s just little bits and pieces that start coming to mind in the summer, I think, wow, it’d be kind of fun to do this.”

“The nice thing is, unlike the early days, most of the characters are built in unless I add one or I change what one is doing. It’s not a huge amount of work, P{owers continued.

“But it does take time just tinkering and putting one new visual effect in because I have to go in and change three different files. Then I have to test them on three projectors running at once.”

Powers and his neighbors shut down his street for the display each night to al low a more orderly movement among the throngs of people who visit.

“I close down the street so no cars can get close to the kids,” he said. “I didn’t think about that 10 years ago, but it works great. Everybody can come bring chairs, sit on the sidewalk or in the street and watch the show.”

Like Maldonado, Powers loves to watch the audiences’ reactions, especially those of the little kids.

“It really comes down to my neighbors and the people I run into who ask ‘You gonna do it this year?’ I get messages on Facebook, and everyone says. ‘We can’t wait for this year.’”

“The kids are so excited and that’s what gets you.” 

To see Doug Maldonado’s eye-popping display 6:30-9:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6:30-9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, you must text – not call – 480-201-5013 to get into his gated community.

Doug Maldonado over time has added more and more Halloween décor and hundreds of lights to his home at 16210 S. 29th Ave. in Foothills Reserve. (Courtesy Doug Maldonado)

Doug Maldonado said he finds most

at

Depot, and adds

his display. (Courtesy Doug Maldonado)

No reason to panic, but not much to cheer about

Despite a rise that pushed the aver age interest rate to just over 7% last week, the leading analyst of the Valley’s housing market suggested that conditions actually are a little brighter for buyers and sellers than they were during the summer.

And by “little,” the Cromford Report’s latest observations last week appear to mean just that – a little.

The Cromford Report said its index of market conditions in the Valley’s 17 ma

jor markets show “the smallest monthly deterioration since the downturn started in March and another improvement on the week before.”

“The deterioration has slowed mark edly during the past six weeks but it has not stopped completely. The average de cline over the last week was 0.7%, but this is not good news as it is larger than the last two weeks,” it said, adding conditions in “Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert (are) notice

Bonny

ably better than in the areas further out. The inner areas are seeing demand fall less and supply grow slower.”

It also acknowledged, “Interest rates are now far higher than they were at the start of September and we anticipate weak contract signings as a result. However, the supply of new listings keeps getting weak er and it appears higher rates are discour aging sellers almost as much as buyers.”

Real estate professionals – everyone from agents and mortgage lenders to ap praisers and inspectors – are likely to be feeling the biggest brunt, it said, because actual sales have fallen precipitously from what the level of transactions has been for the last 10 years, the report said.

“Their mood is likely to be very down beat,” it said.

“However, the downward pressure on pricing is far less than it might be if new listings were flooding the market,” the Cromford Report said. “iBuyers are still facing excessive inventory and selling it off cheaply, but compared with the overall market, their holdings are far lower than the huge foreclosure wave that hit us be tween 2007 and 2011.”

And the report said that while things “might not seem too positive, it added, “We are at the despair phase of the housing cy cle. Even the tiniest signs of progress will be swamped by negativity during this phase.”

The report noted, “After the most dra matic changes in supply and demand be tween April and July, the market has set tled down and is making only small moves over the last few weeks. Despite the recent rise in interest rates, demand has not col lapsed further, but remains pretty much at the same low level as” August.

Because “active supply count is drifting higher as listings stay on the market lon

ger,” it noted that sales volume is “much lower than we have been used to over the past decade.”

That means, it explained, “there is little downward pressure on prices in this situation.”

Opendoor and other iBuyer platforms are slashing prices, it said, but “other sell ers are being more patient.”

“Sentiment remains poor and confi dence is low,” it said. “If you have to sell quickly, you are facing a challenge and will probably need to sharpen your negotiat ing pencil. But foreclosures are at very low levels and anyone who expects a flood of distressed properties and lender-owned homes to drive prices down is dreaming of 2007. It is not happening in 2022 and probably not happening in 2023 unless economic conditions deteriorate far more than anticipated.”

And it reminds sellers, “This is not a crash.

“The overabundance of enthusiasm and confidence we saw in March has evapo rated and the market has started operat ing like it does when overall supply and demand are in balance. There is a strong overtone of fear, but this fear is not based on anything more solid than uncertainty. This calls for marketing skills and pa tience, not panic and freakish discounting. Keep calm and carry on.”

The Cromford Report also suggested that rising mortgage rates should be no cause for much concern.

“The housing market has operated for many decades with rates over 6% without it causing a meltdown,” it said.

“Yes, demand will be much lower while rates are high, but the thing everyone has to fear most is an over-abundance of sup ply. Right now, the evidence points the op posite way. New supply is tight and looks likely to remain that way for some time.”

18th Way, Ahwatukee, recently sold for

Built

New-home permits falling but apartment construction up in Valley

New-home

construction in the Val ley may be starting to slow down.

And that doesn’t surprise the Cromford Report, which analyzes Valley housing data.

“Builders are more cautious and have scaled back their building after the re cent market weakness,” it said last week.

“In July and August we are seeing rough ly 2,000 per month, well down from the 3,000 a month level we were seeing a year ago, and the annual permit rate is trending down.”

The trend is markedly different from what happened when the bottom fell out of the real estate market during the Great Recession, it noted.

“When the housing market started to head south in 2005, the homebuild ers accelerated their construction plans and kept building single-family homes in Central Arizona at record high levels for another two years,” it recalled.

“It was not until August 2007 that new single-family permits dropped be low 2,000 per month. They would not see that 2,000 level again until 2018, 11 years later.”

So far, the City of Phoenix isn’t seeing any slowing in single-resident construc tion permits.

Last month, the City Manager’s office told City Council in its quarterly report on economic activity: “Planning and Development experienced an 6.3% in crease in growth in residential construc tion permits year to date compared to the same time period in the prior year. Due to continued growth in the housing market, growth is anticipated.”

It said that total number of permits is sued for single-family homes for the first half of 2022 was 6.3% higher than the previous year.

Meanwhile, the reluctance by singlefamily homebuilders is not being shared by developers of apartment complexes.

“Builders of multi-family homes are

Phoenix officials reported last month that the number of permits issued for apartment complex developers is running at a high clip. The chart above shows how permits issued so far this year for multi-family construction (the dark line) is running well ahead of both last year and the three-year average. (City of Phoenix)

much less cautious,” the Cromford Re port said. “The annual rate of 19,086 multi-family permits for Maricopa and Pinal counties is the highest we have ever recorded and up 36% from the 14,073 we saw a year ago.”

The Phoenix City Manager’s economic report was buoyant about apartment complex construction.

It said, Planning and Development ex perienced a 29.3% increase in growth in

multifamily housing units permitted year to date compared to the prior year. As the demand for housing continues, growth in this sector is anticipated to continue.”

It also noted, “New multi-family con struction is a key economic indicator of local population growth or shifts in hous ing preferences and its spill over benefits to other sectors of the economy such as demand for construction labor/materi als, retail, manufacturing and utilities.” 

New-home buyers get more clout in Arizona courts

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

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

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

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

She acknowledged that, in general, people are legally entitled to sign con tracts defining the responsibilities of

each. That presumes both parties are “sophisticated’’ and equally aware of the risks and terms.

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

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

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

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

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

The case involves Tina Zambrano who in 2013 entered into a preprinted pur chase agreement with M & RC II LLC, to

buy a home that Scott Homes Develop ment Co. would build in a new subdivision in Surprise.

That contract said the warranty offered by the builder was “the only warranty applicable’’ to the purchase. More to the point, it said all other express or implied warranties, including of habitability and workmanship are waived by the seller.

Zambrano initialed the paragraph con firming she had read and understood the agreement.

That warranty had specific provisions. It said Scott would repair within one year any floors having more than a quarterinch ridge or depression within 30 inches of the joists.

Four years later, Zambrano sued al leging various design and construction defects. These included improper grad ing, separation of windows from crack ing stucco, separation of baseboards from the tile and walls, and nail pops in the ceiling.

A trial judge granted the company’s re quest to throw out the lawsuit. The rul ing says that was wrong, sending the case

back to court to allow Zambrano to pursue her claim.

“The freedom to contact has long been considered a paramount public policy un der common law that courts do not lightly infringe,’’ Timmer wrote. “But courts will refuse to enforce a contract term ... when an identifiable public policy clearly out weighs enforcement.’’

That public policy, she said, goes back to 1979 when the state Court of Appeals eliminated what she described as the “buy er beware’’ philosophy of new home pur chases, replacing it with the implied war ranty of workmanship and habitability.

“The warranty is limited to latent de fects that are undiscoverable by a reason able pre-purchase inspection and ser vice to protect innocent purchasers and hold home builders accountable for their work,’’ Timmer said.

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

Some

today’s rapidly changing housing market, buyers who’ve hit the snooze button have very likely kicked them selves later—and the most recent real es tate statistics may deliver a fresh pang of regret.

The week ending Sept. 24 does not look good for buyers, particularly on the bor rowing front.

Lately, all eyes have been glued to mort gage interest rates, which have more than doubled over the past year from the 3% to 6% range. And they’re still rising fast.

“The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage passed 6% in mid-September and kept climbing as the recent Fed meeting re vealed that projections for the likely poli cy rate path have gone up as inflation per sists,” notes Realtor.com Chief Economist

Danielle Hale.

And for the week ending Sept. 29, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has continued its alarming upward tear and currently hovers at 6.7%, according to Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates rose by more than 1 percentage point in September. As a re sult, homebuying is 12% more expensive now than a month ago,” says Nadia Evan gelou, a National Association of Realtors senior economist and director of forecast ing. “In other words, current buyers need to spend about $250 more every month to buy a median-priced home compared to buyers who purchased their home a month ago.”

While these high rates will continue draining homebuyers’ borrowing power, this misfortune happens to coincide with what Hale calls the “seasonal sweet spot,”

which statistics have determined to be the best time to buy a house.

“Late September offers an advantageous combo of available homes and motivated sellers, who are generally more open to negotiation as they try to secure an offer from a smaller pool of buyers,” says Hale. “Shoppers may be able to parlay this shift in market power into a lower sales price.”

Currently, home prices hover at a na tional median of $427,000—and for the week ending Sept. 24, prices continued to rise by 13.3% compared with the same week last year.

“The typical asking price of homes con tinues to exceed last year’s level, hitting a 39th week at double-digit pace,” said Hale. “Even though home prices continue to grow faster than historically typical, mar ket balance tends to shift in the fall, caus ing cooler prices.”

In other words, although home shop pers out there today face higher prices than a year ago, they will enjoy lower pric es now—by about $23,000—than three months ago, in June, when homes prices hit a record high of $450,000.

Nationally, new listings on the market dropped again by 10% compared with this same week last year. That’s the 12th straight week of year-over-year declines.

“Sellers are less eager to participate in today’s market despite record levels of eq uity because nearly 3 of every 4 potential sellers would need to also buy a home,” Hale pointed out. “And rising mortgage rates have cut into the ability of sellers to trade up without increasing monthly housing costs.”

However, overall housing inventory—

Navigating a volatile time for mortgage rates

BY SHAWNA WARNER AFN Guest Writer

old of affordability and decide to wait just a little bit to see how things shake out.

Mortgage

rates took another sub stantial jump last week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate aver aging 6.70%, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates have increased by over 1.5 per centage points over the last six weeks. Overall, the 30-year rate has more than doubled since the first of the year, with the increase in mortgage rates bringing a notable cooling off to what was once a searing hot housing market.

With mortgage rates on the rise, the higher prices may keep some potential buyers on the sidelines.

Those looking to make a lateral move, may be more likely to stay in their current home for the time-being. First-time buy ers, in particular, may reach their thresh

However, for many buyers, the current mortgage rate is inconvenient, but won’t keep them from buying, particularly if their work necessitates a move or they need to get out of a rental.

While the market may seem uncertain right now, it may still be the right time for buyers who are well-prepared financially to take on homeownership.

We may be headed toward a buyers market as inventory increases and prices begin to decline. We advise sellers to be strategic and well-informed when pricing their home.

Catching up to rapid price decreases and utilizing recent comparables will allow buyers who have been shut out of the pur chasing process for the past 18 months to potentially put an offer down.

To identify the sweet spot in the pric ing of a home, it is important to articulate a figure that is reflective of a home’s fair market value based on floor plan, size, and condition.

Your agent will share comps to deter mine how much your home is worth in the current market.

Higher mortgage rates are having a huge impact on the housing market.

After a brief increase, the volume of mortgage applications decreased by al most 4% for the week ending Sept. 23, according to the Mortgage Bankers Asso ciation.

Current data reflects that applications for new purchases and refinances declined last week as mortgage rates increased to multi-year highs following substantial measures from the Federal Reserve to help decrease inflation.

Some effective tips for home buyers this fall include seeking education on the market and fluctuating realities, finding out about any financial assistance or pro grams you may qualify for, getting pre-ap proved for your home loan and leaning on resources and agents you can trust.

Expert tips for sellers this fall season include helping your home stand out by making sure the exterior is clean and pristine. Embrace the fall season with light autumn décor, good lighting and cozy staging.

We advise working with a trusted agent when it comes to market research, pricing strategies and bidding negotiations.

As a founding partner at RETSY, one of the fastest growing technology-based real estate brokerages in Arizona, Shawna Warner provides strategic marketing and transaction management.

Enjoy superb mountain views from custom single-level luxury home in gated Summerhill. Exquisite courtyard entry opens to spectacular foyer and gorgeous travertine flooring throughout. Spacious gourmet kitchen boasts large island with bar top, stainless viking appliances, granite countertops, custom alder cabinetry, walk-in pantry, desk and breakfast room. Stacked-stone fireplace in family room. Theatre room with components and recliner seating. Master suite features two-way fireplace, sitting room with wet bar, patio access and connected office. Meticulously maintained and move-in ready with 2022 interior paint. Trane hvac units replaced in 2018 and 2019. Backyard amenities include extended covered patio with pavers, built-in bbq, fireplace, plus pebble tec pool with waterfall and spa.

Floor plan includes both a formal living and dining room. Exquisite touches throughout include 24” polished travertine flooring, plantation shutters, emerson ceiling fans, surround sound speakers, crown molding and solid core 8’ doors. Master bathroom features include granite counters, stone tub and shower surrounds, large walk-in shower with two shower heads including rain head, Jacuzzi tub, raised-panel alder cabinetry and large walk-in closet. Two secondary bedrooms feature ensuite baths. Third secondary bedroom with built-in cabinetry. Fifth bedroom is a den with no closet off of the master suite. Secondary bathrooms all feature stone counters and shower surrounds. Huge laundry room with extra cabinetry, stone counters and sink. Extended outdoor living space from large covered patio with gorgeous pavers throughout. 3-Car-garage with Tesla charging station. Reduced energy costs from existing solar panels.

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“Modern homebuilding frequently oc curs in large-scale developments, leaving the buyer to either purchase the home un der terms directed by the builder-vendor or forego the purchase altogether,’’ Tim mer said. And in this case, she said, Zam brano signed the purchase agreement and accepted the warranty terms “with no variation to the preprinted terms in either document, without representation, and without any negotiation about war ranties, suggesting she was in a take-it-orleave-it situation.’’

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

“Warranting that a home was built us ing minimum standards of good work manship conforms to a homebuyer’s reasonable expectations,’’ she said. And Timmer said it “discourages the unscru pulous fly-by-night operator and purvey or of shoddy work who might otherwise blight our communities.’’

What it also does, she said, is protect subsequent buyers, as implied warranties run eight years after construction.

And then there’s the fact that a warran

ty “shields a purchase that is usually the most important and expensive purchase of a lifetime, this minimizing the risk of catastrophic financial losses for all home buyers who purchase a home within eight years of construction.’’

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

And there’s something else.

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

both fresh listings and stale ones still on the market—is up by 29% over last year. So, home shoppers do have more options today relatively speaking, although it’s no where near a return to normal.

“The market is still not back to pre-pan demic inventory levels,” said Hale.

Active listings still trail 2019 levels by more than 40%, she added. “With seller participation waning, a return to that mark is likely a year or more off.”

While listings today typically linger on the market for 50 days before getting snapped up, that pace has been slowing.

For the week ending Sept. 24, properties spent six extra days on the market com pared with that same week a year earlier. That’s the ninth straight week of proper ties sitting idle longer, giving buyers a bit

more breathing room to make an offer.

“Shoppers will find that they have a bit more time to make decisions on some properties,” said Hale. However, homes are still selling more than two weeks fast er than they did in 2019.

As a result, Hale says, “Buyers should still approach the market prepared to act quickly by getting their finances in order and getting pre-approved for a loan.”

If the housing market has taught us any thing in the past year, it’s that those who wait—for lower home prices or lower mortgage rates—may be praying for a miracle that never comes.

As actor Will Rogers once wisely said, “Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real es tate and wait.”

Realtor.com provided this report. 

to equip thousands of volunteers at a time. These tools maximize nonprofits’ financial and human resources while em powering them to improve community engagement to achieve greater impact for those we serve.

Access to ToolBank tools eliminates the need for agencies to incur the ex pense of purchasing, repairing, and stor ing tools, reducing the costs associated with service projects and allowing these agencies to focus more of their resources on their mission.

The warehouse is the epitome of con servation.

ToolBank tools have built playgrounds, cleaned up green spaces, and planted trees throughout our community. When provided access to tools, charitable or ganizations and volunteers are empow

Ahwatukee hunger walk registration

is now open, sponsors sought

Esperanza Lutheran Church members have organized the Ahwatukee Foothills CROP Hunger Walk through Church World Services to raise $25,000. Participants can walk for 1 mile or 3.4 miles, the average round-trip distance women and children in the developing world walk for water.

The walk starts at 3 p.m. Nov. 13 at Desert Foothills Park, 1010 Marketplace SW, Ahwatukee.

Of the money collected, 75% will be used by CWS globally to respond to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. The remaining 25% will be donated to the Kyrene Family Resource Center through The Kyrene Foundation to help stock food shelves.

Businesses wanting to sign on as supporters – as well as walkers and people who simply want to donate to the cause –can go to events.crophungerwalk.org/2022/event/phoenixaz.

The team said people can register as individuals or a group. Esperanza Pastor Annemarie Burke said people with questions can contact CROP.hunger.walk@myesperanza.org or call the church office at 480-759-1515.

Carrie McNeish revving up dance classes, planning Halloween party at Cactus Jack’s

Registration is open for Ahwatukee dance and fitness in structor Carrie McNeish’s fall line dancing and AZ Two Step Couples dance classes in both evening and daytime formats.

She’s also helping out with planning Cactus Jack’s annual Halloween party starting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the bar on the southwest corner of 48th Street and Elliot Road.

The party will include line dancing lessons and open danc ing, treats, raffles and costumes. Information: dancemeetsfit ness.net, cmcneish@cox.net.

Tukee Trot lining up walkers and sponsors for annual post-Thanksgiving event

The third annual Tukee Trot 5K is back on for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 25 with the course and venue hosted at Desert Vista High School and the walk chip-timed and USATF-sanction. The nonprofit event will benefit the Kyrene Foundation.

ered to work on the front lines of the most entrenched problems facing our community.

Nonprofit organizations must become a ToolBank Member Agency by creating an account with Phoenix ToolBank to borrow supplies. There is no membership fee. The charity submits a tool order online and then picks up their tool order at the Tool Bank at their scheduled pickup time.

ToolBank staff and volunteers have al ready prepared the order in advance and help the agency load tools and equipment into their vehicle. ToolBank staff provides the agency with usage and care guidelines and an itemized receipt.

After the completion of the project, the agency returns the borrowed tools at the scheduled return time. ToolBank staff and volunteers assist the agency in unloading tools and check tools back into inventory.

Agencies are required to pay a tool han

dling fee of 3% of the retail value of each tool borrowed times the number of weeks used. For example, an agency borrows 30 rakes for one week. Rakes are valued at $9.98 each. The tool handling fee for one rake is $0.2994 per week. The total tool handling fee is $8.98. A fraction of what it would cost to buy 30 rakes and a huge sav ings for the nonprofit.

The Ahwatukee members of 100+ Wom en Who Care Valley of the Sun donated $15,700 to Phoenix ToolBank in September.

“We are beyond excited to have been se lected by 100+ Women Who Care and will be using the donation to add additional inventory items that have been requested by our nonprofits and schools to grow our impact, including expanding our heat re lief program,” stated Jana Ferraro, execu tive director of Phoenix ToolBank.

“These additions will allow us to bet ter equip the 350+ organizations utiliz

AROUND AHWATUKEE

Early registration is now open at racerooster.com. There also is a 1-mile Kids Quail Fun Run around Vista Canyon Park.

Early bird pricing runs through Oct. 11 and the first 200 regis trants will also receive a free commemorative Tukee Trot quail mug (15 oz.) available at pre-race pick-up.

Event sponsors and volunteers are sought. Contact: tukeetrot@cox.net.

LD 12 Dems holding online candidate forums for education chief hopefuls

LD12 Democrats are hosting a series of virtual candidate forums called TUKEE Talks through early October.

At 7 p.m. Oct. 6, Thursday, Kathy Hoffman, seeking re-elec tion for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and two Kyrene Governing Board candidates, Kevin Walsh and Triné Nelson. will speak.

Register: azld12dems.org/calendar.

Contact LD12AhwatukeeDems@gmail with questions.

Ahwatukee Friends and Neighbors sets luncheon, invites women in community

Ahwatukee Foothills Friends and Neighbors will host a lun cheon at Ahwatukee Country Club from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 24. Dr. Bohumil M. Svoma, staff scientist and meteorologist at SRP, will discuss the western drought and the remainder of the 21st Century. Contact affanwomensgroup@gmail.com for more details and to register. The cost of the lunch is $20. A prepaid reservation must be made by Oct. 10.

AFFAN is a local women’s club serving Ahwatukee since 2001 that offers women of all ages a chance to participate in dining, card playing, games, gardening, books, exploring Arizona day trips, and other activities. Information: affanwo mensgroup.org/public

Esperanza Lutheran planning two big free events in October

Esperanza Lutheran Church, 2601 E. Thunderhill Place, Ah watukee is holding a jazz night 6:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 and the free concert requires no registration.

Meanwhile, another free event is Oktoberfest at Esperanza

6-9 p.m. Oct. 29. The public is invited but asked to register by calling 480-759-1515.

Ahwatukee golf ladies league ready to start new season at Foothills Golf Course

The Foothills Golf Course Ladies League is ready to start up in advance of a formal opening Nov. 1.

The league plays 18 holes of handicap golf every Tuesday morning from September through May. Play includes weekly games, prizes and friendly competition. If you are interested, email Marsha Morris at marshacmorris@gmail.com.

Ironwood Library offers free activities for people of all ages this month

Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, pres ents a variety of programs for children, teens and adults. Un less otherwise noted, free tickets are required and available 30 minutes before programs’ start times at the library’s informa tion desk.

For more information: phoenixpubliclibrary.org.

Babytimes

Babies ages birth to 23 months, accompanied by a favor ite adult, will enjoy songs, rhymes, books, and interactive fun every Tuesday, 10:30-11:10 a.m. Space is limited to 12 families.

Toddlertimes

Toddlers ages 24-36 months, accompanied by a favorite adult, will enjoy songs, rhymes, books, and interactive fun every Thursday, 10:30-11:10 a.m. Space is limited to 12 families.

Full STEAM ahead for kids

Children ages 5-11 can explore hands-on creative ways to design, experiment, and invent every Saturday, 2-3 p.m., in this Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) pro gram. Space is limited to 10 families. It will not be held Oct. 18.

Next Chapter Book Club

This inclusive community-based book club is designed for people ages 12+ with intellectual and developmental disabili ties who have a desire to make friends, explore their commu nity, and read (regardless of current reading ability).

This weekly gathering is free and occurs every Wednesday, from 3-4 p.m. Registration required in the library or online in

ing ToolBank to serve our community and grow their impact using “tools for change”! This one donation is a true force multiplier for our charitable sector.”

100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun is a group of like-minded, passionate women who want to connect to one anoth er and to their communities. The women leverage their resources so their quarterly gifts of $100 per member add up to a sig nificant donation to a local charity.

Since the chapter’s inception in 2015, the organization has donated over $950,000 to local nonprofits. The chapter comprises three sister groups: East Valley, Ahwatukee, and Scottsdale.

To learn more or attend their next giv ing circle at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Foothills Golf Club. For details: 100wwcvalleyofthesun.org/. To learn more about Phoenix ToolBank: phoenixtoolbank.

the calendar section of the library’s website.

Sit, stay, read!

Young readers & listeners can sign up for reading time with a registered therapy dog/handler team. Read with Elsa on Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. Oct. 11 and Oct. 18. Read with Raven on Thursdays, Oct. 13 and Oct. 27, 3:30-4:30 pm.

Book Club

Adult readers 18+ can meet up with fellow bibliophiles the first Wednesday of each month, 5:00-5:45 p.m. On Oct. 5 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman will be discussed. On Nov. 2, “My Family and Other Animals” by Gerald Durrell will be discussed.

Escape Room

Sleuths from age 12 on up can flex their mystery-solving skills during one of the library’s escape room sessions on Oct. 22. Sessions can accommodate up to 12 people. Teams and solo players are welcome. Sessions are 2-2:30 p.m., 2:45-3:15 p.m. and 3:30-4:00 p.m.

Red Cross blood drive

People ages 16+ can give blood in the American Red Cross Blood Mobile in the library’s parking lot Oct. 27, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Appointment times can be found by going to redcross blood.org and selecting the “Donating Blood” option. Masks are optional.

Tempe VFW Auxiliary seeks help to send Christmas boxes to troops

VFW Auxiliary 3632, based at 2125 S. Industrial Park Ave., Tempe, is seeking donations for 100 boxes of Christmas gifts to troops abroad. Items can be dropped off at the post or ordered at a.co./byQfOpB for delivery to the post.

Needed items include energy mix packets and other wa ter enhancers, instant coffee and Kool-Aid, dryer sheets and Febreeze, any high protein snacks except tuna, and personal care items.

Ahwatukee businesses’ drive helps pet rescue

also joined and rallied other busiensses to help out.

A

hwatukee residents and business rose to the occasion for the month ly long drive that Mountainside Martial Arts Academy started to restock the Lost our Home Pet Rescue pantry

The Yes to Pets Rescue Drive started after Kelly Smith, whose two sons attend Mountainside Martial Arts Academy in Ahwatukee, approached Sensei Rick Sava gian and wanted to know if the dojo would be interested in another community ser vice drive.

Mountainside Martial Arts is involved with community activities and she wanted to know if a rescue pet drive would fit that mission of service.

Dave Maez of Print Smart, Traci Tartaglio of Ahwatukee Carpets, Katie Muller of Ah watukee Foothills News, Jackson Williams, and Kelly Smith of Mountainside Martial Arts were on board.

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce President CEO Andrew Hayes

“The drive needed some tremendous promotion,” said AFN advertisign rep when Katie Muller, who presented the idea to Michael Hiatt, vice president of Times Local Media, which publishes AFN.

He donated all the advertising to give as much exposure to the drive as possible.

Maez designed the logo and went to work on the domain and things started to roll. Eventually 35-40 Ahwatukee and oth er local businesses jumped in and started to get donations every day.

Mountainside Martial Arts used its study center to store the donations and received a plethora of donations. It also picked up donaions left at some of the par ticipating businesses.

The Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA said Deb Rothstein “was such a super supporter in bringing so many donations from the tre mendous members, staff and volunteers.”

Lost our Home Pets Rescue, at 2322S Hardy Drive, Tempe, needs more help. To find out how to help, call 480-445-7387.

East Valley firm memorializes Beatles with coin

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

WhenThe Beatles unveiled their 1968 animated film, “Yellow Submarine” the film was quick ly immortalized with art, toy versions of the submarine and now, nearly five and a half decades later, a limited-edition coin.

Scottsdale-based The Crown Mint — an independent firm that develops products and packaging for the collectibles indus try — recently announced it is selling 24kt pure gold or .999 silver coins shaped like the iconic yellow submarine in four weights and sizes. The coins are currently available for pre-sale on crownmint.com

“The Beatles are probably the most in fluential band in the history of rock and roll so it was a pretty obvious choice,” Crown Mint principal Steven Harris said.

“There are a lot of coin companies from around the world that went after that li

cense for a long time and at one point, we were in direct competition with the Royal

Mint — the company that produces cir culating coins in the UK,” Harris said. “So, it’s a pretty big deal to have gotten that license over everybody else that’s been after it.”

It was also something of a dream come true for him.

Harris remembers sifting through pocket change alongside his father, look ing for silver dimes and quarters. He started The Crown Mint in 2008, looking for ways re-introduce younger people to coin collecting.

“These days, people don’t carry a lot of pocket change, so there isn’t that touch stone,” Harris said. “My thought was, ‘This is a really neat hobby, how do we get it and direct it towards a younger audience?’ I then thought pop culture is a good tool

Crown Mint Principal Steven Harris holds up his company’s new collectible coin that honors The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

Posing with some of the many donations raised by the pet food drive the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce and more than 40 businesses led are, from left: Dave Maez, Sydney Johnson, Collins Mason, Jackson Williams, Katie Muller, Kelly Smith, Rick Savagian and Beckham the Alaskan Malmute. (David Minton/FN Staff Photographer)

Rental firm pioneers new kind of autonomous car

BY FERNANDA GALAN MARTINEZ Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – To the casual observ er, this electric rental car whizzing by looks like yet another test of a self-driving car. After all, no one’s behind the wheel.

But actually, someone is driving the car – only they’re doing so from miles away. And that’s what makes this business mod el stand apart from the many other auton omous vehicle operations.

The car is being driven remotely from a building where an operator uses cameras in the car to see where it’s going and can steer, brake and accelerate.

“We can make remotely controllable cars (for) any kind of electric vehicle,” said Enn Laansoo, CEO and co-founder of Elmo, a car-rental company based in the small Baltic nation of Estonia that’s pio neering the technology.

Self-driving cars have become increas ingly common in a few cities, including Chandler, Arizona, one of the few juris dictions in the country that allows them. Gov. Doug Ducey encouraged makers of self-driving cars to test in the state. But the safety record of autonomous vehicles hasn’t been perfect, which is slowing a wider rollout.

Elmo thinks it has a solution.

Having a remote driver – a real human behind the wheel, though not in the car –amounts to a bridge technology that could make sense until the bugs can be com pletely worked out of autonomous cars.

that could work and so far, it has.”

The first coins rolled out in 2013 and were authentic, legal tender coins based on the Star Wars films. With them, the Crown Mint became the first com pany in the world to produce a legal tender coin that featured a major Holly wood property.

Since then, The Crown Mint has pro duced coins in conjunction with CocaCola, Marvel and The Rolling Stones be fore venturing into a yellow submarine and taking on the world of The Beatles this year.

“Ideally, we’re trying to get a younger group into collecting coins but in reality, we’re trying to get anybody into collecting

Plus, there’s a business advantage. Laansoo said having a remote operator move cars from one customer to the next creates cost savings while mitigating some of the danger of autonomous cars. Elmo aims to make rental car deliveries more convenient.

Instead of customers having to come to an Elmo office to pick up a car, the com pany uses the remote operator to deliver one directly to a customer’s doorstep, said Laansoo, who showed off the technology last month at the ITS World Congress in Los Angeles.

Customers can use the vehicle as a nor mal rental car. When they no longer need

coins,” Harris said. “So, you have to look at things that people are passionate about and one of those things certainly is music.”

When Harris began targeting music fans, there were two bands he eyed: The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

“If you ask people, ‘What are the two biggest rock and roll bands ever?’ I think the Beatles would certainly come up and I believe the Rolling Stones would also come up. So those were two groups that we targeted,” he explained.

However, The Beatles turned out to be more of a challenge than he anticipated.

The Crown Mint had to partner with Apple Corps Ltd. – the conglomerate company created by the band in1968 that controls The Beatles Property and is still owned by Paul McCartney and Ringo

it, they park it and the remote operator drives to another user.

“Once you don’t need it … it’s serving an other customer, so it’s in circulation,” said Raili Somelar, chief marketing officer at Elmo. “So it saves time and energy.”

Elmo began renting out its not-so-selfdriving cars in Estonia this year and plans to expand to Germany and France. It’s also exploring how to use the technology to al low electric-car owners to add their cars to Elmo’s rental fleet and get compensated.

“You can put your own car into circula tion while you’re working or while travel ing and you don’t need your car,” Somelar said. “So somebody else can carpool it and

Starr to this day.

That wasn’t the only company that The Mint Collective had to persuade to make the vision of the Yellow Submarine coin a reality.

The deal had to also be brokered by Sony’s Thread Shop, the Beatles’ North American licensing agent.

However, once the two entities saw the work that The Crown Mint had done with other entities, it seemed like a no-brainer.

With the project given the go-ahead, The Crown Mint got to work producing submarine-shaped coins out of either 24k pure gold or .999 silver embossed with a golden yellow submarine that looks iden tical to the one featured in the film.

The coins are currently available for

you can still get paid.”

The process would be mostly the same. A remote operator could deliver your car by looking at a video screen. On the steer ing wheel, users can activate the transmis sion, headlights and windshield wipers.

The driver’s seat has six cameras: three on the front, one on the back and two to the side. On a video screen miles away, the operator can see what gear the car is in and whether the parking brake is engaged.

With Elmo’s remote-control technology, Laansoo said, one operator can switch be tween handling as many as 10 cars at once.

This kind of car sharing could reduce the number of vehicles in the street. And if those cars are self-driving, proponents say, riders could be safer considering most traffic accidents are human-caused. Autonomous cars also can communicate with one another to avoid traffic jams.

One obstacle to autonomous vehicles is that people aren’t yet fully comfortable with the idea. In 2019, AAA found that 71% of people surveyed indicated they’re afraid to ride in fully autonomous vehicles. And even if they don’t use ride-sharing themselves, many respondents still didn’t want these vehicles on the road.

It will take some time for people to ad just to fully self-driving cars.

“We have test fleets of autonomous taxis where you can try this out,” said Andreas Braasch of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, at the ITS conference. “When you’re sitting in the car and you see that it’s working, and it’s nice, then you say, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’”

pre-sale in four options: One ounce of pure 24kt gold, 12 grams of pure 24kt gold, one ounce of pure .999 silver and 10 grams of pure .999 silver and orders are expected to begin shipping out as early as Sept. 16.

The coins are currently selling for $129.95 on crownmint.com.

With two of rock’s most famous acts al ready immortalized with authentic, legaltender collectible coins, Harris teased that there could be another rock act that The Crown Mint pursues with its next set of coins.

However, Harris’ current focus is on giv ing fans of The Beatles a unique relic to add to their collection.

Enn Laansoo, co-founder and CEO of Elmo, demonstrated the remote technology available on the company’s rental vehicles at the ITS World Congress in Los Angeles last month. (Courtesy of Elmo)

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Take action to reduce the impact of inflation, recession

BY HAROLD WONG AFN Contributor

During the last 18 months, the US inflation rate has steadily increased and is at a 40-year high.

The Federal Reserve Bank has two missions: fight inflation and promote full employment. These two missions are now in conflict. The Fed’s main tool to fight inflation is raising interest rates.

In a recent Washington Post article, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said. “We have to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn’t.”

market is normally ranked one of the five most over-priced markets in America, based on high appreciation over the last 3-10 years. Many forecast a 10-20% de cline in house prices over the next one to two years.

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

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

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The message came after the central bank raised rates by 0.75% for the third time this year and released new economic pro jections showing a significant slowdown in the economy later in 2022 and 2023.

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

deposit

deposit

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

Here are some financial implications.

What can you do to deal with a deeper recession, higher interest rates, and a de clining real estate and stock market?

Consider finding investment oppor tunities in the alternative energy field. The Inflation Reduction Act will allocate $370 billion in green energy projects.

2-year 3.3 $1000

3233 E Chandler Blvd Suite 16 Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-759-1324

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3233 E Chandler Blvd Suite 16 Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-759-1324

Nicholas Goode Financial Advisor

3233 E Chandler Blvd Suite 16 Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-759-1324

Action step: A increased recession means higher unemployment, less eco nomic activity, and a declining real es tate and stock market. Consider increas ing your savings to cover at least 12 months living expenses and decreasing your exposure to bond and stock mar ket holdings.

In Mesa, Advanced Energy Machines has invented the only zero-emission technology that is commercially viable. My seminar will cover how this tech nology offers a 10-14% steady annual return for 10 years and is the most pow erful way of saving income tax in our cur rent Tax Code.

3233 E Chandler Blvd Suite 16 Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-759-1324

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* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 07/25/22. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC).

interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC).

Folks have been able to do $200,000$600,000 Roth IRA conversions and not pay any federal income tax.

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Mortgage rates have doubled from 3% to 6%+ on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. There has been a sharp increase in exist ing home purchase contracts that have been canceled.

* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 07/25/22. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC).

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* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 07/25/22. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk such that when interest rates rise, the prices of CDs can decrease. If CDs are sold prior to maturity, the investor can lose principal value. FDIC insurance does not cover losses in market value. Early withdrawal may not be permitted. Yields quoted are net of all commissions. CDs require the distribution of interest and do not allow interest to compound. CDs offered through Edward Jones are issued by banks and thrifts nationwide. All CDs sold by Edward Jones are registered with the Depository Trust Corp. (DTC).

For a $500,000 mortgage at 3% am ortized over 30 years, the monthly pay ment is $2,102 vs. $2,983 at a 6% in terest rate. The $880 monthly increase equates to a 42% increase in one’s mort gage payment.

Free seminar and lunch: A seminar and free lunch will be held starting at 10 a.m. Oct. 22 at Hyatt Place, 3535 W. Chandler Blvd. Chandler. The seminar is 10 a.m.-noon with a free catered lunch afterward. The topic is “Beat inflation by saving taxes and increasing income”.

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

that when interest

* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective 07/25/22. CDs offered by Edward Jones are bank-issued and FDIC-insured up to $250,000 (principal and interest accrued but not yet paid) per depositor, per insured depository institution, for each account ownership category. Please visit www.fdic.gov or contact your financial advisor for additional information. Subject to availability and price change. CD values are subject to interest rate risk

prices

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

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@AhwatukeeFN | @AhwatukeeFN

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Jurors get first compensation hike since 1970

BY CHIEF JUSTICE

ROBERT M. BRUTINEL Arizona Supreme Court

Thebipartisan budget that was passed during the 2022 Arizo na legislative session included multiple spending priorities recom mended and supported by the Arizona Judicial Council (AJC), the policy-making body that oversees the judicial system in our state.

Among them, the appropriation of 1.62M from the state’s General Fund to the Arizona Lengthy Trial and Digital Evidence Fund to pay jurors who are summonsed and selected to serve on a jury in the superior court—beginning on day one.

While it may not seem to have been the most crucial budget item to remain intact, citizens exercising their right to serve on a jury and Arizona’s judicial system won big.

Our courts understand how personal financial responsibilities impact an in dividual’s willingness to participate in jury service, which is why juror pay and other consequential recommendations were made by the Supreme Court’s Task Force on Jury Data Collection, Practices, and Procedures, and were included in the 2022 AJC legislative slate.

Individuals can breathe a little easier now that they will be eligible for reim bursement of lost wages for amounts between $40 and $300 per day—it took effect Sept. 24.

Previously, jurors were paid $12 per

day unless the trial exceeded five days, ac tivating additional pay from the Lengthy Trial Fund.

And whether employed or unemployed, self-employed, retired, or receiving in come from another source like Social Security, jurors in Superior Court will be paid. The amount is dependent on their actual earnings.

Aside from alleviating financial con cerns for jurors, Arizona’s judicial system, litigants, and attorneys gain a more will ing pool of potential jury participants to help ensure a fair and efficient process. That fundamental fairness includes plac ing decision-making in the hands of ju rors who can truly be impartial and are representative of the communities in which they assemble.

Under leadership of the Arizona Su preme Court and the Arizona Judicial Council, our court system is committed to the continued advancement of promoting the jury improvement reforms outlined in the report issued by Task Force on Jury Data Collection, Practices, and Procedures and approved by the AJC on Oct. 21, 2021.

The full report includes 24 recommen dations for improving jury service, the jury summoning and selection process, and community outreach, education, and engagement.

The next time you participate in jury service we hope you walk away feeling ac complished because you exercised a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

Remember, it was fair because you were there. 

When parents should worry about social media

BY MARLEE SEYMOUR, MC, LPC AFN Contributor

If

your children are active on social media, keep an eye out for the ad verse effects so you can detect a mental health problem and prevent harm before it’s too late.

Cyberbullying. While most social media platforms have established poli cies to prevent cyberbullying, it still happens, causing a toll on self-esteem and mental health.

Some common signs parents can watch for include withdrawal from family and friends, loss of interest in hobbies, ner vousness about attending school, and frustration or anger after being online.

If you are a parent, be sure to monitor your child and note any differences in be havior. Encourage conversation and as sure your children they are not alone and that you are there for them.

High screen times. High screen times

have been linked to irregular sleep pat terns, behavioral problems, and poor academic performance. While technol ogy and social media remain a constant in our lives, there are easy ways to keep screen time under control and give your children a break from social media.

Consider making your dinner table a phone-free zone, setting daily limits on social media apps, and mandating that phones need to be kept outside of bedrooms to prevent late-night or early morning scrolling.

Poor self-esteem. People often share a perfect, inaccurate version of them selves. When scrolling endless posts of perfection, it’s easy for a child to com pare themselves to others and create un realistic expectations.

Still, when kids put themselves under a microscope and compete with unreal istic beauty standards thanks to filters, it can negatively impact their mental health. Ask your children about filters

and the latest trends on social media.

Have fun with it but also be sure to dis cuss reality versus fiction.

Signs of suicide. Monitor your child’s activity and look for posts that express loneliness, guilt, pain, or anger. It may be difficult to spot a concerning social media post, but noticing a small sign can save someone from distress or worse.

It can be tough to distinguish if a post or comment was made in jest but if you sense something is off or see something potentially alarming, say something. If you are worried about the well-being of an individual on social media, don’t hesi tate to check in to ensure they are safe.

If you have cause for alarm after speak ing with them, act. Many schools have behavioral health services available for students and families.

Despite the challenges, a healthy rela tionship with social media is possible –keep an eye out for the ones you love by being mindful of social media’s warning

signs. If a post gives you pause, act.

Southwest Behavioral & Health Servic es partners with school districts to place behavioral health professionals and cli nicians directly on school campuses, in creasing access to care.

These professionals are trained in providing counseling services to chil dren and helping parents understand the warning signs of problematic social media use and suicide. They are also trained in helping parents understand the strategies adults and children can use to help prevent suicide.

If you or someone you know is expe riencing thoughts about suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8 or text HELLO to 741741.

Marlee Seymour, MC, LPC, is with School & Community-based Counseling Services North for Southwest Behav ioral & Health Services. Information: sbhservices.org.

ADOT driving test changes evoke fond memories

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

summer after I turned 17, my father took me to a middle school parking lot and attempted to teach me how to drive a car. This did not go well, mostly because we were operating at cross purposes.

I wanted to drive fast. My dad wanted me not to crash his beloved Toyota Tercel.

Voices were raised. Feelings were bruised. The car may have brushed a traf fic barrier. Thus, my driving lessons quickly came to an end – until my mother took over.

Which was how I learned to drive on my mom’s ancient 1972 Ford Pinto with a 4-speed stick shift, a mushy clutch and 150,000 miles on it.

We practiced two nights a week, work ing up to the big encore: parallel parking, which my mother simulated for me with some five-gallon paint cans and a couple of stolen traffic pylons.

Chances are good the local school park

ing lot still has splashes of latex semi-gloss from my many suboptimal tries at paral lel parking. There was a rhythm to it that eluded me, a sense of space and objects my eyes and hands couldn’t nail.

TheEspecially with my mom screaming over the screech of grinding gears.

Still, when the big day came and I had the Motor Vehicles examiner in the car, I wedged that Pinto into a parking space well enough to earn my driver’s license.

This immediately surpassed winning the eighth grade spelling bee as my life’s biggest accomplishment to that point.

And it’s why I was a bit nostalgic this week when I saw that the Arizona Depart ment of Transportation has changed the state’s road test so it no longer requires new drivers to parallel park as a condition of earning a license.

I get it: Parallel parking is one of those skills, like knowing how to drive a stick or how to start a fire, that has been lost to time and modern convenience.

ADOT did add a few wrinkles to the test that I appreciate, like requiring each would-be driver to locate the ve

hicle’s registration and insurance card among the old napkins in the glove com partment.

There’s also a brief vehicle inspection to make sure the turn signals work – though I’ve rarely seen an Arizona driver use that particular feature – and a safety test to prove the applicant can find the hazard lights and emergency brake – again, not Arizona specialties.

Only then will the road test begin. “This portion of the test will now take ap proximately 15-20 minutes to cover the five to eight miles that better reflects a typical commute,” ADOT’s press release explained.

Their prep materials indicate that screwing up following distance during the test is a 10-point violation, while hitting the curb gets you four points. Score 21 points or more and you fail.

The test apparently doesn’t include points for tweezing your eyebrows while driving, using an electric razor while on the freeway, or dislodging a 500-degree venti Starbucks from your lap because you stopped short to avoid running a red

light – all things I’ve witnessed during my 27 years driving in Arizona.

Okay, fine. It was my coffee. And yes, my thighs healed nicely after a month and three tubes of Neosporin. Thanks for asking.

My relationship with my parents healed eventually, too. Parallel parking and driv ing stick were teenage rites of passage we muddled through together, along with learning to tie a Windsor knot and how to balance a checkbook.

Now it’s 2022. I only wear ties to funer als and Quicken handles my checking ac count. But I did parallel park downtown last week without clipping a car or ending up four feet from the curb. My mom would have been proud – right after she stopped screaming.

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Sports & Recreation

Pride runs over Thunder in 26th Ahwatukee Bowl

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

Itstarted off as a track meet.

Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista trad ed blows throughout much of the first half of Thursday night’s Ahwatukee Bowl. Neither defense could find the momentum to stop the opposing offense until late in the second quarter.

That’s when the Pride forced the first punt of the game. It was the turning point. The momentum swung and Mountain Pointe continued to pile on the rushing yards as it went on to defeat Desert Vista 63-35 to even the all-time series between the two rivals at 13.

“We were waiting for it,” Mountain Pointe coach Eric Lauer said of the defen sive stop. “We knew we couldn’t keep go ing back and forth. We got it and then it’s like, ‘Ok, let’s get back to what we do.’

“We were able to do that tonight, fortu nate enough.”

Mountain Pointe’s game plan appeared simple: Run the ball.

The Pride have said all season they be lieve they have one of, if not the best, back field in the state in senior Jay’len Rushing and juniors Christian Clark and Randle Parker. In the 26th Ahwatukee Bowl, they made good on that statement.

One-by-one the trio gouged Desert Vista’s defense. First it was Rushing who capped off the Pride’s second scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown. It was his first of two total scores on the night, the second late in the third quarter on a 23yard run.

On Mountain Pointe’s next drive, it was Clark. The Desert Vista transfer found the end zone from 11 yards out and celebrated with a blown kiss to many of his friends that remain on Desert Vista’s roster. He swapped jerseys with one of them, junior quarter back Braxton Thomas, after the game.

Like Rushing, Clark found the end zone twice on the night against his former team. His second one came late in the fourth quarter with the game decided.

“I’ve been thinking about this ever since I transferred,” Clark said. “Of course, when I got the hardship, this is a game I was thinking about a lot.

“I think this was a statement win. We know what we’re capable of. It’s momentum.”

With Rushing and Clark compiling high lights filled with stiff arms and broken tackles, Parker did the same. The junior capitalized on several big runs off the left side of the offensive line. One of which, he broke free for a 55-yard touchdown. The trio of backs dominated behind

Mountain Pointe’s offensive line. Togeth er they combined for 366 yards and five touchdowns.

Individually, Parker had 140, Clark 112 and Rushing 114.

“The line did their thing,” Rushing said. “We feed off each other. It feels great, amazing. That game (last year), it felt like our spirit was taken away. To beat them this way and get the trophy back home, it feels great.

“When I say the best backfield in the state, I mean it. I’ve never played with dudes like this before.”

While the Pride managed to dominate on the ground, they also did it through the air when needed. Senior quarterback Chris Arviso wasted little time carving up Desert Vista’s secondary.

On the Pride’s first offensive play, he connected with senior wideout Matty Braun for a 64-yard touchdown. It was the first of two touchdown passes thrown by Arviso. Both went to Braun.

Arviso finished 12-of-15 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown.

“When (the defense) is trying to stop the run, then I can throw the ball,” Arviso said. “We have weapons everywhere. It’s hard to stop.

“This is my last one and we ended it with a bang. It felt good.”

Desert Vista’s offense answered every haymaker thrown by Mountain Pointe in the first half. Junior quarterback Braxton Thomas, like Arviso, carved up the Pride secondary.

He found junior wideout Roan Martinez on a 55-yard touchdown pass to answer Mountain Pointe in the first quarter. He then led the Thunder down the field which opened the door for senior running back Michael Allison to score from 2 yards out.

On the Thunder’s ensuing drive early in the second quarter, Thomas ran in a touchdown from 11 yards out.

The seven combined offensive drives

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Mountain Pointe senior running back Jay’len Rushing stiff-arms Desert Vista senior linebacker Connor Straessler in the Ahwatukee Bowl football game, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, at Karl Kiefer Stadium in Ahwatukee. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Mountain Pointe junior running back Randle Parker celebrates after a touchdown against Des ert Vista in the Ahwatukee Bowl football game, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, at Karl Kiefer Stadium in Ahwatukee. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Ahwatukee Bowl a win for The Pride

The 26th annual Ahwatukee Bowl started off as a track meet shortly after both teams met for the 1) coin toss. 2) Mountain Pointe senior running back Jay’len Rushing scored twice on the night while 3) junior running back Christian Clark also had two touchdowns. 4) Pride junior running back Randle Parker scored once and was the third Mountain Pointe ball carrier to have 100 yards on the ground. 5) Mountain Pointe senior wide receiver Matty Braun got the scoring going early in the first quarter with a touchdown. 6) Led by junior quarterback Braxton Thomas, Des ert Vista answered the Pride touchdowns early on as he found 7) junior wide receiver Roan Martinez three times on the night. 8) Thunder senior running back Michael Allison also scored.

PHOTOS BY DAVID MINTON/AFN Staff Photographer

Mountain Pointe wins second straight Super Food Bowl title

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

Mountain

Pointe’s student body had plenty to celebrate last Thursday night.

Not only did the football program pow er its way to a 63-35 win over rival Desert Vista in the Ahwatukee Bowl, but Pride students also showed their love for the community by winning the second an nual Super Food Bowl, which runs in con junction with the rivalry game each year.

It’s the second year in a row Moun tain Pointe won the friendly competition with its rival, which was established two years ago to benefit Ahwatukee families in need.

“I’m excited to see our kids do some thing super positive for the community they may not even live in,” said Sarah Portle, one of the organizers of the Su per Food Bowl at Mountain Pointe. “A lot of our kids come from out of Moun tain Pointe’s boundaries. But the fact that these kids were so invested in do ing something to help the community, it makes my heart happy.”

The Super Food Bowl kicked off on Sept. 14 and ran until Sept. 29, the day of the Ahwatukee Bowl. Donation bins were set up at various businesses thanks to help from the Ahwatukee Chamber of Commerce, and at both schools.

Representatives, including football players from each team, came together to film a commercial for the second straight year that was played at both schools. Por tle, who is also the school nurse at Moun tain Pointe, said that along with posters and other fun initiatives helped get the student body involved.

In total, Mountain Pointe collected 1,504 items, which equates to about .84

BOWL from page 39

to start the game resulted in touchdowns for both teams. The first punt didn’t take place until late in the second quarter, when Mountain Pointe’s defense dug in and forced a three-and-out by the Thunder. Then, mistakes, penalties and three drives where Thomas was forced out of the game due to injury plagued Desert Vista.

It allowed Mountain Pointe to increase its lead and it was a hole the Thunder

items per student at the school. Desert Vista collected 996 items. Together, the 2,500 items of various foods – mostly Thanksgiving goods – will be used to cre ate more than 200 boxes for families.

Portle said if any items are miss ing, Student Community Outreach and Larry Thomas Youth Development have agreed to step in and supplement any missing items to make sure each box is filled equally.

“Seeing the excitement on these fami lies faces, was great,” Portle said. “We took the stress away from families won dering what they are going to feed their

couldn’t climb out of.

“They just ran the ball extremely well and we found a couple of times to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Desert Vista coach Nate Gill said. “A track meet is something you never want as a defensive guy. We knew they had a load back there with those guys.

“They played well, hats off to them. We have to check under the hood, see what we can do better and keep pushing forward.”

Thomas returned in the third quarter

families for the holiday.”

The winner of the Super Food Bowl was announced at halftime of the rivalry game. Tempe Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Kevin Mendivil was joined on the field by Mountain Pointe Prinicipal Tomika Banks, Portle and stu dent representatives. Desert Vista Princi pal Stacy White and student representa tives were present as well.

When Mendivil announced Mountain Pointe as the winner, there was a roar from the Pride student section. Portle said it was a special moment, as it was the climax to what was a special two-

and connected with Martinez twice more on throws of 55 and 33 yards, respective ly. He finished 16-of-22 for 312 yards and four total touchdowns. All three through the air went to Martinez, who caught six passes for 186 yards.

The 63 points by Mountain Pointe tied the record for most points scored by a single team in the Ahwatukee Bowl. Des ert Vista scored 63 in a win in 2002. The 98 combined points Thursday night shat tered the record for most total points in

week period in which the entire Moun tain Pointe community came together to support community members in need.

“I was blown away by the reaction from the students,” Portle said. “The kids went crazy and that was amazing to see. We re ally did a lot of work to involve the kids and I think they felt it. I think they felt they were really a part of it this year.”

Even with the competition over, Portle is already looking ahead to next year. She’s confident Mountain Pointe can go for a three-peat.

“We’re gonna do it,” Portle said. “We’re so excited and the students are excited.” 

the rivalry game. The previous record was 76, also set in that 2002 game.

Both Desert Vista (1-4) and Mountain Pointe (3-2) enter a bye week now at the midway point in the season.

“We lost in overtime last year, so the re cord is evened out. It’s going to be a blood bath next year,” Lauer said. “But it gives us a little time to breathe here.

“These guys have been working hard and only a win satisfies that. It gives us a pep in our step going into the break.”

Mountain Pointe Principal Tomika Banks accepted the second annual Super Food Bowl trophy from Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Mendivil Thursday during halftime of the Ahwatukee Bowl. It’s the second straight year Pride students collected more donated food items than Desert Vista, but all will go toward families in need in the community. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff)

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East Valley site offers Halloween thrills, scares

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

WhenOctober rolls around, the ghosts and ghouls creep out at Thompson Event Center in Mesa.

Scarizona Scaregrounds, 1901 N. Alma School Road, returns for another season of frights at night on Friday, Oct. 7.

Starting its seventh year, owner and director of operations Allen Thompson said despite some troubles over the summer, the crew has revamped the Val ley tradition.

“At Scarizona, we have been offering Valley residents a fun, haunting experi ence for years. It’s practically a local Hal loween institution,” Thompson said.

The pandemic didn’t affect much in the way of the business as Thompson said they remained open the past couple seasons.

“We survived staying busy and operat

The Scarizona team in Mesa is ready for visitors starting Friday. (Facebook)

Opera gives insight into wounded soldiers’ lives

BY BRIDGETTE REDMAN GetOut Contributor

WhenTess Altiveros was debating whether to take on a new proj ect at the Seattle Opera, the con ductor, Michael Sakir, told her, “This opera will change your life.”

She took the job — performing as the central character in a new opera, “The Falling and the Rising,” roles which she and Sakir will reprise for the Arizona Op era Friday, October 14, to Sunday, October 16, in Phoenix and Saturday, October 22, to Sunday, October 23, in Tucson.

“I will never forget him saying that and it did change my life,” Altiveros said. “It changed my perspective. It changed my understanding and made me sit up and pay attention to the fact that I had my own prejudices that I needed to deal with.

“Mostly, it enabled a path for dialogue with a group of people that I have never been able to sit across the table with and certainly not make art with. It changed my

view on myself as a citizen and my view on this world.”

“The Falling and the Rising” is a fiveperson opera based on the true stories of

American military service members and veterans who have been wounded in the line of duty.

Conceived of by Army Staff Sgt. Ben Hil get, who was an opera singer before he en listed, it took shape when he, Zach Redler and Jerre Dye visited the Walter Reed Med ical Center to interview wounded soldiers.

“The Falling and the Rising” breaks ground in its goals and its staging. Projec tions play an important role in the produc tion. It is filled with humor – there are tra ditional opera singing deliveries of such lines as “You’d better get your ass in gear.”

Hilget said the opera aptly captures the sacrifices that modern service members make. He said he and the other opera cre ators were immediately floored by the stories that they heard when they started

“The Falling and the Rising” is a five-person opera based on the true stories of American military service members and veterans who have been wounded in the line of duty. (Ziggy Mack/Opera Memphis)

ing through COVID with a lot of restric tions in place,” Thompson said.

Though visitor numbers were reduced through the pandemic, Thompson said with COVID protocols in place, including temperature checks and social distancing, kept their workforce hanging tough.

“So, our attendance was much, much low er,” Thompson said. “But we continued to stay open and keep our people employed.”

But Thompson said the past couple years has made him rethink a lot of things and along with economic factors such as an increase in minimum wage, materials and insurance, they’ve made a few changes.

Though the monsoons and summer heat only postponed opening day by a week, the show goes on.

With a crew of more than 60 people,

Thompson said the 10-acre property will open on Friday with some old classics and new features that he said should be an other spooky spectacle.

“We just kind of laid off a little bit, slowed things down and took our time,” Thompson said. “We want to make sure everything’s done right.”

The newest feature “Mayhem in the Madness” is a collective work of props and animatronics from past years with a rede signed layout that gives actors more room.

“It’s not quite as contained,” Thompson said. “So, it’s a little more chaotic inside.”

With “more animatronics than all the other shows in town put together,” Thomp son said some technological advancements to certain processes have made it easier to change the show on the fly.

For families with younger children under 12 years old, the Scaregrounds has added

the new “Fright in the Lights,” a mile-long Halloween-themed drive through a light show geared toward all ages that want to see to see larger-than-life pumpkins, spi ders, ghosts, goblins and more.

“Whether you love all things scary, or you’re looking for an experience that’s tai lored to families,” Thompson said. “Scari zona will be here to help everyone get into the Halloween spirit.”

All of this comes from expectations aris ing over the years that Thompson said has forced him to flex his fright muscles in wanting to bring scarier sights and ghast lier ghouls.

Thompson said he started in the haunt ing business in 1997 and discovered the enjoyment he took from others delights enjoying the spectacles.

But over the years, Thompson said it’s been more tricks than treats with both

competition and standards raising scare standards.

“People’s level of expectations are defi nitely higher than it used to be,” Thomp son said.

If You Go...

What: Scarizona Haunted House

When: Oct. 7-31

Where: 1901 N. Alma School Rd, Mesa.

Cost: Starting at $24.95 per person.

Info: Scarizona.com

What: Frights in the Lights

When: October 7-31

Where: 1901 N. Alma School Road, Mesa.

Cost: From $24.95 per carload.

Info: www.FrightsInTheLights.com

interviewing people at Walter Reed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard, to date, more powerful stories of resilience and strength,” Hilget said.

One of the first interviewees was a spe cialist who had been in a coma after being thrown from a Humvee. He dreamt a life that he didn’t have and even six months after he woke up, he was still trying to fig ure out what was real and what was not.

“He gained the power of speech back through music therapy – he actually learned to sing before he could speak,” Hilget said. “He spoke with a profound wisdom for someone of his age and still in the middle of trauma.”

They spoke to so many people in a three-day period that he said they could have written 10 operas.

Dennis Whitehead Darling had just finished serving as the inaugural Mc Cleave Fellow in Directing at Opera Memphis, a fellowship designed to fos tering the careers of directors of color, when he went to see Opera Memphis’ production of the opera.

“It’s quite beautiful and poignant and painful and emotional and rich with beautiful themes of sacrifice and pain,” Darling said.

He is now directing the Arizona Opera production. As someone who contem plated going into the military and whose father, uncle, brother and stepsister all served, this opera touches on his ties.

He said he feels people get a better un

derstanding of what it takes to serve in the military and the sacrifice, duty and honor involved.

“There are no live scenes of people be ing shot at, but it does deal with injury and that sort of falling that the soldier goes through emotionally and physically,” Darling said.

“Then it’s about this wonderful triumph of the rising of how they somehow find this miraculous strength to overcome any sort of emotional or physical pain. It hon ors their sacrifice.”

Altiveros said the music and score are designed to attract civilians and soldiers. She describes it as accessible and melodic.

“It’s meant to help us appreciate and ac

knowledge the sacrifices that are made, the good parts and the bad parts about enlist ing and the hardships of it,” Altiveros said.

While not traditionally a subject of opera, the stories of sacrifice and injury translate well to the art form, Altiveros said.

“The stakes are so high — there is a risk of life and death and injury and things like that, but real human relationships are affected and in a very large way,” Altiveros said.

“Anytime you can tell that story of hu man relationships on stage, it lends itself to opera. Opera can heighten that sense of emotion.”

She recently spoke with art producers who were concerned about whether this

opera would be too heavy and traumatic for audiences who are stressed in a postpandemic world. She was eager to allay those fears.

“It’s not that this does not address (traumatic) topics – the whole premise essentially is when a female soldier is hit in a roadside bombing, and they put her in a medically-induced coma. The entirety of the rest of the opera is her wandering through her subconscious and coming across these different soldiers’ stories,” Altiveros said.

“That is the background for these sto ries to happen, but it’s meant to leave you feeling uplifted. It’s not a downer.”

Altiveros said she cries in almost every single rehearsal because she is so moved by the stories, and she is certain the audi ence will be moved too.

“But it’s not meant to traumatize,” Alti veros said. “It’s meant to leave you feeling really hopeful about and grateful for the work that our soldiers are doing. It’s not meant to take you to a really, really dark place and then leave you there. I want to make sure people know that.”

If You Go...

What: The Arizona Opera’s “The Falling and the Rising” by Zach Redler, libretto by Jerre Dye

Where: Herberger Theater, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix.

When: Various times Oct. 14-16

Coast: ee website for details

Info: azopera.org

“Rising and Falling” looks at both male and female soldiers who were wounded in combat.(Ziggy Mack/Opera Memphis)

So

With JAN D’ATRI

History debates aside, this apple tart wins any argument

myself, once again, in the middle of a “who done it?”

really did invent the flakey, delicate butter-ladened layers of dough we’ve come to know and love as puff pastry?

French will say it was invented in 1645 by a French apprentice bakery cook named Claudius Gele, who brought the recipe to Florence where it became wildly popular.

Ah, but the Italians cry foul and say that puff pastry was already being made in Italy long before that- – as early as 1525 – -and they say there is a document to prove it!

For this beautiful apple tart made with puff pastry and caramel sauce, I’m staying out of the argument and focusing on thawing the dough, slicing the apples and baking!

At least I know where apples come from. Thank you, Johnny Appleseed! Maybe.

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets (1 package) puff pastry dough, thawed

• 4 medium Granny Smith apples

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4 inch slices. Place in a bowl, squeeze lemon juice and salt over apples and gently toss. Set aside.

Carefully unfold both sheets of thawed puff pastry. Place dough on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut each sheet into 4 equal squares.

Fold dough over about 1/8 of an inch around

Caramel sauce

Ingredients:

• 3/4 packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

Directions:

In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar, cream, butter and salt to boil whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Boil until caramel

This apple tart is a simple and elegant sweet that is perfect with coffee in the morning or as a satisfying dessert any time of the day. The only important doahead is to take the puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

I think that once you make an apple tart like this, it will become one of your treasured treats. I say let the French and Italians duke it out over this one and we’ll make apple tart and not war! 

• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

each square to form a thin border. Place slices of apple (overlapping) diagonally across the pastry. Add 2-3 slices on either side of the diagonal slices. Repeat until dough and apples are used up. Sprinkle each square with sugar. Dot each square with 1 tablespoon of chilled butter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and while still warm, brush caramel sauce over apples. Makes 8 squares. (Can be frozen after cooking.)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

begins to coat spoon whisking often, about 7-8 minutes. Brush caramel sauce over Apple Tart while still warm.

Easy-To-Read

The

detect pendant

Getting Started in Trades

Not everyone is cut out for college. In fact, many people forego a formal education to enter careers in the trades.

Job opportunities in the trades are wide and varied. Many people become skilled at trades in high school, where they learn the basics of auto repair and woodworking. Some enter apprenticeships directly after graduating, while others attend trade or technical schools for advanced training.

Either way, trades offer a rewarding, in-demand and profitable career for many interested in working with theirs hands and possess the aptitude to diagnose and repair complicated machinery in fields such as heating and air conditioning, welding, masonry and more. Here are some popular trades and the training required to being your career.

ELECTRICIANS

High school graduates and those with a GED can enter training at a technical school for electricians. These diploma programs provide training in the fundamentals of an electrical trade and enables students to become proficient in areas such as areas as electrical wiring and programmable logic controllers used in residential, commercial and industrial

applications. After completing four semesters of training, new electricians enter the workforce through an apprenticeship as they work toward their license, which is required by many states.

PLUMBERS

Like electricians, plumbing technicians first attend at least two semesters of training at a technical school before beginning an apprenticeship and earning a license. Modern plumbers have the opportunity to work at a variety of job sites and install or repair new technologies, such as tankless water heaters, WiFi leak detectors and smart appliances. This trade skill is extremely valuable and sees constant job demand.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

This relatively new, rapidly expanding trade directly taps into the fast-paced digital world, creating and installing the systems homes and businesses have com to rely upon. Smart-enabled and security systems are examples of fields that form the digital footprint of many modern workplaces and homes. In high-demand, technologists in this field are trained for 2-3 years and obtain a certificate before working on-site and completing a paid apprenticeship.

VETERANS IN TRANSITION

Many people enter the armed forces to take advantage of military benefits, such as funding for a college education, while also performing their duties around the world after attending vocational training for a particular field. After completing their service, veterans with valuable trade skills can often enter the workforce directly or take advantage of veterans benefits that provide them further training to adapt military occupations to a civilian career.

No matter what trade you pursue, the training you receive can almost guarantee a life-long position, many with substantial pay that sometimes reaches into six figures. And even if you never pursue a trade professionally, the skills you learn can be applied in your everyday life, as well as a fulfilling hobby. 

Gilbert Glendale Mesa North Valley

Two Day Hiring Event

When: Friday, Oct. 14; 9am - 2pm Saturday, Oct. 15; 9am - 1pm

Where: CMC Steel Arizona 11444 E Germann Rd. Mesa, AZ 85212

CMC Steel Arizona has proudly been making the steel that builds America since 2009. Come tour our facility and learn about our openings and potentially receive an on-thespot offer! At CMC, we offer great benefits and provide all necessary training and certifications.