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COVER STORY
Prepare for monsoon: check your insurance By Eric Smith
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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF WRITER
learn to swim faster and more easily. The YMCA’s swimming lessons can accommodate almost any age and skill level. It also provides private lessons for parents looking for more individualized instruction. Prices vary depending on membership, and the YMCA can help families needing financial assistance. For Lynda Newman, whose daughter started swimming les-
With the prospect of high winds and heavy rains that come with monsoon season, Forester Thomas has a piece of advice for Ahwatukee property owners who want to prepare for possibly damaging storms: Check your insurance. Thomas, owner of Super Saver Restoration in Ahwatukee, said homeowners insurance especially does not always cover flooding from sources outside the home, especially when torrential downpours occur. “You don’t know when you’re going to get two inches of rain in 10 minutes,” Thomas said. “No gutters or drains are going to be able to handle that.” Mountain Park Community Church leaders and members learned the hard way about insurance in September 2014, when a torrential storm flooded its low-lying auditorium with four feet of water and caused an estimated $2 million in damage. The church’s insurance policy didn’t cover the damage, said member Cindy Galowitch. Instead, Mountain Park relied on congregation members and Ahwatukee residents and businesses to recover. “There was a real outpouring of support by our and the community in general,” Galowitch recalled, adding that local restaurants fed volunteers who worked shifts in
>> See SWIM on page 11
>> See MONSOON on page 5
Gridiron dance
NFL snags dance studio owner’s son. p14
GETOUT:
‘Wine school’
Yavapai College offers new program. p29
Noah Yi, 7, jumps into the Ahwatuke Foothills YMCA pool in front of Mara Roggenstein a swim instructor. (Will Powers/AFN staff photographer)
Ahwatukee kids learn safety as they take a dip in the pool By Shane DeGrote AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF WRITER
SPORTS:
Big league
Former DV players get MLB nod. p39 Neighborhood p3 Calendar p4 Community p8 Opinion p17
Faith p24 GetOut p26 Sports/Rec p39 Classified p42
Now that summer is here and families are trying to beat the heat with a dip in the pool, two efforts are underway in Ahwatukee to keep children safe in water. Cigna HealthCare – in cooperation with the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department’s Aquatic Section -- and the Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA are giving kids a proper introduction to pools. “Getting your kids in the water
and making them feel comfortable in the water is absolutely important,” said Sandra Franks, executive director at the Ahwatukee Foothills YMCA. “You don’t want it to be one more thing you’re concerned about is actual fear of the water.” Don’t think that children should learn to walk before they swim, either. The YMCA offers swimming lessons for children as young as 6 months. Franks says that helps children
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