AROUND AHWATUKEE
Reward grows, offers mount after library theft Anna Wolcott’s Little Free Library, stolen from the front of her Ahwatukee home sometime between the night of July 4 and early July 5, remains missing. But the 6-year-old’s mother said she’s been inundated by calls from Ahwatukee residents and people across the country with offers of help. “People are calling with donations of books and offers of help,” said Heather Wolcott. “One woman from Maricopa said she’s making a new library for her.” Wolcott said she’s already ordered a new library kit from the Amish carpenters who make them, but she still hasn’t told her daughter. She and her daughter are on an extended vacation. “I’m keeping her busy and hoping she doesn’t even think about it,” said Wolcott, shuddering at the prospect of how Anna might react when she comes home and discovers the theft. “I keep hoping it will turn up.” Meanwhile, a reward for return of the library has grown as a result of a $500 contribution from Lifelock in Tempe.
“This story about a socially responsible, book-loving girl hit home for me,” Lifelock CEO Hilary Schneider said. “I’ve been a voracious reader since childhood. We’re hoping for a quick return of her original library, and we are more than glad to help support her efforts.” Contributions for the reward can be made at http://www.plumfund.com/crowdfunding/ annas-2nd-little-free-library For a related opinion, see page 23.
Norgaard offers state Capitol tour for residents State Rep. Jill Norgaard, R-Ahwatukee, is offering to take her constituents on a tour of the state Capitol. Along with visiting the state House, Senate and legislators’ lounge, she promises an explanation of the legislative process. The next tour is 10 a.m. July 28. “The Capitol tours are pretty popular,” she said. “I had one a few weeks ago and had 30 people. We are trying to get our community and constituents more familiar with our legislative process – hence the outreach so people will be more comfortable.”
The tour is free. To reserve a spot: jnorgaard@azleg.gov or 602-926-3140.
Inspire Kids Montessori slates open house Inspire Kids Montessori, 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, will hold an open house 9-11 a.m. July 22. Families will be able to meet teachers, observe Montessori activities and tour the school, which is opening two early education programs for toddlers, ages 2-3, and primary students, ages 3-6, beginning in August. Information: www.inspirekidsmontessori. com, 480-659-9402 or email info@ inspirekidsmontessori.com.
Now salon offers free haircuts for lefties KeepItCut, 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, offered free hair cuts on July 4 to anyone who wanted a mullet. On Aug. 13, the hair salon will offer free cuts to left-handed men to mark National Left Handers Day. In a release, co-owner Josh Thorsvik
said about 10 percent of the world’s population is left-handed. Besides Thorsvik himself, that includes President Barak Obama, tech giants Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey.
Democratic candidate ‘thankful’ for donations Democratic candidate Mitzi Epstein for state representative from Legislative District 18, which includes Ahwatukee, said the $59,000 she’s raised so far in contributions includes $30,000 in the first filing period for this year. “This campaign is being built on grassroots support from across the district. I am so thankful to our supporters because they are the life of this campaign,” said Epstein in a release. “It’s not just the financial support. The 415 contributions this cycle averaged $138 apiece. Epstein is a former Kyrene school board member campaigning on a platform of “jobs and schools go together” that stresses the need to restore education funding and develop more high-tech, high-paying jobs.
Ahwatukee teen wins national recognition for Star Trek competition design By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Mention a “Star Trek challenge” to average teenagers, and they’ll perhaps reach for a pair of pointed Dr. Spock ears or a nifty space suit suitable for a Comicon gathering. But Ahwatukee teenager Kyle Corrette is not average. The 17-year-old incoming Desert Vista High School senior won a national award earlier this month for taking a “Star Trek challenge” and designing a three-dimensional melanized fungarium. And, in doing so, he won a 3-D printer for his school, a three-day trip to New York City this weekend for himself, another 3-D printer that uses pancake batter, and assorted other prizes that haven’t arrived at his home yet. “I feel very proud to be recognized on a national scale for my design, especially since I put a lot of hard work into it,” said Kyle, one of 450 entrants nationwide in the competition – and the only winner in his age bracket, 13-19. Future Engineers, an online platform that hosts challenges for young inventors, sponsored the competition. It was judged by a demanding panel of experts from NASA, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation, and Page 14
Made in Space Inc. The challenge was daunting, as laid out by Future Engineers last February: “We want students to ‘boldly go where no one has gone before’ with 3D printing by making designs that help astronauts eat nutritious meals so they can ‘live long and prosper’ in locations beyond the International Space Station,” according to the invitation. It continued: “Eating in space involves more than consuming food, (ranging) from growing plants to preparing the meal.” The contest was sponsored by ASME, NASA and the Star Trek production company. The goal was to inspire kids to create a model of a food-related item that astronauts could print in the year 2050 to produce food. Kyle spent hours of research before he began his virtual design. “I did some research before I started, to make sure everything fit inside,” he said. “I wanted to be sure it could actually work.” His plan was rooted in the assertion that fungus could use the ionizing radiation of space to grow and become a food source on long-term space missions. As he explained in his submission,
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016 | Ahwatukee Foothills News | ahwatukee.com
(Special to the AFN)
Kyle Corrette holds a picture of his winning virtual reality 3-D model of a device that could provide edible fungus for astronauts on longterm space missions.
melanin-rich fungus can use radiation found in space as a fuel -- similar to the way plants use sunlight on earth. After studying the scientific basis for his theory, Kyle got to work on his design. “In order for it to be printable and fit together correctly, I had to be accurate down to fractions of millimeters while
designing this device,” he said. “Keeping track of all of my measurements so that the device could be functional was definitely a challenge.” Kyle eventually created “a protective outer shell, housings for an organic growth bed, and an irrigation system.” A 3-D version of his model can be viewed at http://www.futureengineers.org/ Gallery/Details/4265. “This fungus exists, and a lot of research is being done on it as well as other variants,” Kyle said, adding that his design “might have uses somewhere down the road.” Indeed, while he doesn’t know if he might cash in if the design actually works someday, “it got licensed to me, which means people can use it, but they have to give me credit.” He doesn’t think he’ll be able to use the fruit of his labor in any of his classes. “I don’t know of any class assignments that I could use this for, but I’m looking forward to actually printing it with the 3D printer that Makerbot will be donating to my high school. I’d like to test it out with normal fungus and see if it could actually hold up under consistent use.” Ironically, Kyle doesn’t count himself as a trekkie. “I haven’t gotten too far into >> See STAR TREK on page 5