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NEWS ..................... 12

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

CCUSD superintendent retiring after 12 years BY SARA EDWARDS Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

3 Deer Valley Uniﬁed schools given A+ ratings

ave Creek Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Debbi Burdick is retiring after 12 years. Burdick joined the district in 2004 as associate superintendent and became the interim superintendent in 2008 before she officially took the position. “A humble thank you to the entire CCUSD

community for working alongside me for the benefit of our students,” she said. “I will miss working with the incredible CCUSD staff, parents and students, but I look forward to continuing to support our schools as a shareholder in our extraordinary CCUSD community.” Burdick earned two master’s degrees from Eastern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree at Western Illinois University. In 1995, she and her family moved to Arizona.

She earned her doctorate degree from ASU. Throughout her career, before her superintendent position, Burdick has held teacher, principal and educational consultant positions. She was also an adjunct professor at Grand Canyon University and ASU. She’s been an educator for 47 years. “It is special to have the opportunity to live and work in the same community, and

see CCUSD page 5

‘Blessing Squad’ gives gift cards to needy families

BUSINESS ........18

Proven Media elevates marijuana’s reputation

YOUTH ...........28

Arizona Coyotes give back to Village Meadows students

OPINION ................... 13 BUSINESS ................. 16 FEATURES ................ 20 YOUTH ...................... 25 CLASSIFIEDS ............ 29 Zone

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BY SARAH DONAHUE Foothills Focus Staff Writer

here’s no question that many families are suffering financially and emotionally due to the unprecedented challenges that come with the COVID-19 pandemic. This inspired Adam Johnson, CEO and founder of Doody Defense, a pet waste removal and odor control service, to team with other North Valley businesses to give two families $500 gift cards, assembling what he dubbed “The Blessing Squad.” “I reached out to local businesses in Anthem and New River, and not a single one hesitated,” Johnson said. “Everybody

see BLESSING page 4

Adam Johnson, founder and CEO of Doody Defense, shows off his festively decorated company car. Johnson teamed up with other North Valley business owners to assemble “The Blessing Squad” to give away two $500 gift cards to two struggling local families. (Photo by Sarah Donahue)

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An edition of the East Valley Tribune The Foothills Focus is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the North Valley. To find out where you can pick up a copy of The Foothills Focus, please visit www.thefoothillsfocus.com CONTACT INFORMATION Main number: 623-465-5808 | Fax: 623-465-1363 Circulation: 480-898-5641 Publisher: Steve T. Strickbine Vice President: Michael Hiatt Associate Publisher: Eric Twohey | 480-898-5634 | erict@thefoothillsfocus.com ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Display Advertising: 623-465-5808 Classifieds/Inside Sales: Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@timespublications.com TJ Higgins | 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@timespublications.com Steve Insalaco | 480-898-5635 | sinsalaco@timespublications.com Advertising Office Manager: Lori Dionisio | 480-898-6309 | ldionisio@timespublications.com Director of National Advertising Zac Reynolds | 480-898-5603 | zac@thefoothillsfocus.com NEWS DEPARTMENT Executive Editor: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | 480-898-5631 christina@timespublications.com Photographer: Pablo Robles | probles@timespublications.com Design: Nathalie Proulx | nproulx@timespublications.com Production Coordinator: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@timespublications.com Circulation Director: Aaron Kolodny | 480-898-5641 | customercare@evtrib.com Proud member of :

The Foothills Focus is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader. For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@azintegratedmedia.com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@azintegratedmedia.com

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

BLESSING from page 1

jumped on board. “What blew me away was we bypassed the two $500 gift cards,” he said a couple of days before the winners were announced. “Now we’re able to bless more families.” To join the giveaway, people were instructed to send their story to togetherwebless@gmail.com explaining why they should be chosen. Individuals were also given the option to nominate others by writing about another family’s experiences. The deadline for entries was December 7, and winners of the giveaway were announced in a live video on Johnson’s Facebook page on December 13. Two families won $500 gift cards as promised, and three to four families were gifted with the extra money raised. Johnson, a father of four and member of Daisy Mountain Veterans, provided those who entered the giveaway but were not chosen with information and resources on organizations that can provide help and support during the Christ-

mas season, he said. “They’re all going to be taken care of,” he said. “They’re not left high and dry.” While dressed as a Christmas elf, Johnson announced the giveaway in a video posted on his Facebook page on November 18, explaining how to enter and listing the sponsors. More than 20 people entered or nominated others, Johnson said. The most difficult part of the process was reading all the stories detailing the struggles, he said. “I shed a lot of tears with my wife reading them all,” he said. “It was very difficult to narrow down.” Because of that, Johnson said he asked sponsors to help him choose the winners, also to prevent bias, as he knew some of the families who entered. This is The Blessing Squad’s first year, and it was “a huge success,” Johnson said. “Now, every year going forward, we will continue this Christmas blessing.” In the coming years, the giveaway packages will likely be slightly smaller to extend the outreach to even more families, Johnson said. Many sponsors already voiced their

desire to be part of The Blessing Squad again next year, Johnson said. He added many other business owners reached out to him, asking how to help and if they can be a part of the action next year, too. Going forward, Johnson anticipates that the sum of giveaway amounts will exceed $5,000 or even $10,000. “Next year The Blessing Squad is going to continue to get bigger and bigger and help more and more people with all the sponsors and all the partners,” he said. It feels “wonderful” to be able to help others during this time, Johnson said. He explained how he was lucky enough to be virtually unaffected by the downfalls of COVID-19 with his business at Doody Defense. This was the case for many of the other sponsors, too, which made the business owners that much more inclined to give back to those in need of support, he said. Before he founded his business four years ago, however, he and his family were in need of help, so he understands what it’s like, he said. “I’ve been on the other side, where we had to get blessed one year, and it was something I’ve never ever forgotten,” Johnson said. “That’s why my mission today is to help as many people as possible through all the organizations I work with.” The Blessing Squad sponsors include: R & R Pavers Construction Company, Tonya Stewart with Libertas Real Estate, Gates and More LLC, North Valley Agents at Corcoran Platinum Living, The Tractor Dude Team, MNS Plumbing, Doody Defense, Blind Bear LLC, The Market and Spa on 41st, Daisy Mountain Veterinary Hospital, Sonoran Valley Dental Center, AZ Royals, Robbie Hall Mortgage Professional, The Gremlin Garage, Ironman Pool Care and North Valley Custom Hauling.

To Advertise 480.898.5606

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NEWS

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

CCUSD from page 1

I have been blessed with so many deep relationships and friendships,” Burdick said. “The professionalism and skill of our educators is unprecedented, and it has been an honor to work with them.” Burdick is a National Christa McAuliffe Fellow from the Department of Education and has received multiple awards throughout her time in school and as an educator. She earned the AZ School Administrator’s Education Doctoral Student of the Year while at ASU and was awarded the Outstanding Senior in Education at Western Illinois University. In 2017, she was the Arizona Superintendent of the Year for the National Superintendent program. She serves as a board member for the Cave Creek Unified Educational Foundation, Carefree Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce, the AZ Musicfest Board, the Desert Foothills YMCA Advisory Board and the AASA National Superintendents Organization’s Governing Board. Burdick’s work with the school district expanded in her time as superintendent. All schools received an A+ status while earning a top 10 ranking for high standardized testing scores. Horseshoe Trails Elementary School was also named a National Blue Ribbon School in September. She helped establish the district’s first foundation, the Cave Creek Unified Education Foundation, in August 2008 to provide educational grants for teachers. “It’s one of my proudest moments for our school district,” Burdick told North Valley Magazine, a sister publication to The Foothills Focus. “It took two years to start the founda-

like to do,” she said. Burdick plans to stay in Arizona during her retirement, going back and forth between her home here and in Illinois. She said she and her husband look forward to traveling and visiting with family without having to worry about meetings or appointments interrupting their time together. “I really want to focus on my family because my family has been really gracious, especially my husband, in allowing me to do my educational work for 47 years. I’m really passionate about it,” Burdick said. “We want to travel. We’re beach people, so we’re ready to be near the ocean.” Burdick’s last day is December 31.

HAVE A NEWS STORY? Contact Christina Fuoco-Karasinski at 480-898-5631

Cave Creek Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Debbi Burdick is retiring after 12 years. Her last day is December 31. (Photo courtesy Cave Creek Unified School District) tion, and since that time, we’ve raised money every year to give teachers grants.” Another one of Burdick’s accomplishments is creating the Superintendent’s Challenge, which pushed and encouraged students to volunteer in their communities. She said she loved seeing students get excited about volunteering and helping out until it became something the students do on a regular basis. “I’m very proud of students who went way beyond their required hours because it just became part of what they

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Library looking for memories of facility BY FOOTHILLS FOCUS STAFF

he Desert Foothills Library will recall its past, present and future this February in what the board of directors has coined “I Love My Library Stories Month.” Residents are invited to participate in special programs and celebrations that highlight the library’s impact on the community for more than 67 years. During the monthlong celebration, the library will share the treasured stories of patrons throughout the years. Those who have a special memory of the library should email celebration@dfla.org or call 480-488-2286 and the library will include it in the festivities. The highlight of the month-long celebration is the virtual celebration Saturday, February 13. The virtual celebration is a creative reimagining of the library’s annual gala. Tickets start at $125 and include an artisanal charcuterie sampler, a bottle of champagne, a floral centerpiece, a commemorative library memento, a special “I Love My Library

Month” video, and access to a silent auction and raffle. Registration for silent auction, raffle and video is free. For more detailed information, visit dfla.org. “Adversity inspires creativity,” said Anne Johnson, executive director of the Desert Foothills Library. “Our celebration committee has worked hard to create a unique event

that everyone can enjoy safely. The support of our community over the past year has been overwhelming. Our donors understand we are a nonprofit library that relies on their generous contributions. It is because of them that we have been able to significantly impact the lives of our users. They have ensured the Library is here for you today and

here for you tomorrow. We want to celebrate this sentiment all month long.” The Desert Foothills Library is an independently funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the whole Desert Foothills community. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit dfla.org or call 480488-2286.

BY FOOTHILLS FOCUS STAFF

Kiwanis had made to assist with the renovations to their building. These funds supported Club 1117, which is known as the teen room in the library. Library Executive Director Anne Johnson accepted the donation and provided a detailed update on programs the library is offering with the COVID-19 restrictions. She also told of programs designed to attract young people to the library once it reopens. Donnie Veal was the keynote speaker, telling the group about his history as an aspiring professional baseball player and a Major League scout.

He said his parents taught him and his brother to reach their scholastic goals before playing sports. He spoke in detail of the complications his fellow baseball rising star players experienced once they reached the professional ranks, in dealing with financial issues due to their new fame and earnings. His parents taught him how to deal with his new-found wealth. To this day, when he is recruiting, he looks for young baseball talent who have had to encounter and overcome significant roadblocks in their progress up the baseball chain to the professional ranks.

Kiwanis welcomes Donnie Veal to meeting

haired by President Kimberly Marie Jack, the Kiwanis Club of Carefree hosted an event at the Sanderson Ford Pavilion in Carefree. Jack called upon Ted Dimon and his personal orchestra to lead a patriotic song and story. His story choice was the history of Arlington National Cemetery. This was followed by a presentation to the Foothills Library of a major donation of $50,000 as the second part of a commitment

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What to know about open carry gun laws in Arizona BY AYANNA MUHAMMAD Cronkite News

rizona has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States, one of three countries that consider gun ownership a constitutional right. Consider this data: Americans own more than 390 million guns—with 120.5 civilian firearms per 100 people, according to a study by the World Population Review. In February, Arizona ranked seventh for the number of registered guns per state, at 204,000, according to a telephone survey conducted by CBS News and ranked by ThoughtCo. That number is far from complete, however, because Arizona is one of 44 states that do not require registration of firearms. During the contentious 2020 election, armed protesters outside Maricopa County’s tabulating center put a spotlight on Arizona’s open carry practice, which allows those 18 or older to openly carry firearms in most places.

A prohibited possessor is an exception to the law, defined as someone who is a convicted felon and has not had their rights to own a firearm restored, an undocumented immigrant, anyone who is detained in a correctional or detention facility, has been found to be a danger to themselves or others, or serving probation for a domestic violence felony or felony offense. Residents can’t openly carry guns into certain places. They cannot be brought within 1,000 feet of K-12 school campuses, Native American reservations, businesses that serve alcohol or to polling locations on Election Day, in addition to several other restrictions. A gun permit allows owners to carry a concealed firearm into a business that serves alcohol if there is not a sign prohibiting them and they don’t drink alcohol, according to Arizona Concealed Carry. Restrictions have been implemented on how a gun can be transported in a car. For residents under 21, it is illegal to carry a concealed firearm within the immediate control of anyone in the vehicle. Firearms must be

transported in a case, holster, storage compartment, trunk or glove compartment. If the gun is in a holster, then it can be concealed anywhere in the car. “Arizona is considerably more permissive than most states when it comes to concealed carry,” said Adam Winkler, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and an expert on gun rights and civil liberties. Residents who are at least 21 can legally own or purchase a firearm, can carry a gun loaded and concealed without any type of permit in their vehicle and around the state, according to Arizona’s concealed carry law. The measure, which was established in July 2010, also eliminated the need for a permit for those 21 or older to carry a concealed firearm. That means residents do not have to go through a background check if they buy the weapon from a private seller and do not have to take a firearms training course, according to the organization Arizona Concealed Carry. But a gun permit may be needed for people who want to conceal their weapon on their

person. Without a permit, owners can’t conceal and carry in any other states. Arizona has a reciprocity agreement with 37 states that allows concealed firearms with an Arizona permit. The states vary depending on if you are an Arizona resident or not. Arizona’s history of “open carry” and “concealed carry” gun laws are intertwined. When Arizona was still a territory, some cities had stricter gun laws than those now in place. “A place like Tombstone, back in the 1880s, prohibited open carry of firearms,” Winkler said. During that time, travelers had to leave their guns with local law enforcement or the Grand Hotel and could only retrieve it when they were leaving town, according to an article by attorneys Mesch Clark Rothschild. By 1994, Arizona passed its first law allowing state-permitted gun owners to carry concealed weapons, according to the same article. In 2009, the state Legislature allowed Ar-

see GUN LAWS page 10

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

2020’s gun background checks hit record BY CALAH SCHLABACH Cronkite News

ackground checks for gun purchases in Arizona hit their highest level ever in 2020, driven by an unprecedented convergence of a pandemic, a summer of national unrest and a presidential election, experts said. With a month left to go in the year, 610,911 background checks had been performed in the state through November, well over the 372,912 done in all of 2019, according to FBI data. The Arizona spike is part of a nationwide increase, said Kelly Drane, research director at Giffords Law Center, a gun control advocacy group. She estimated that there was a nearly 90% increase in gun sales nationally from March to October this year compared to last year, with early data indicating “a substantial number of these purchases were made by new gun owners.” Veerachart Murphy said that is what he has seen at Ammo AZ, the North Phoenix

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since he got into the gun business in 2013, usually after active-shooter incidents or mass shootings—and before the 2016 presidential election, when sales jumped in anticipation of a win by Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sales tailed off then after gun-friendly President Donald Trump took office. Sales through November 2020 were already 47% higher than in all of 2016, which had been the record for the state. “It’s almost like the stock market, where something doesn’t actually have to happen to set off this market. It’s the threat of something, or the potential that something happens that will trigger this market,” Murphy said. With President-elect Joe Biden set to be sworn in on January 20, Murphy expects gun sales to stay high, and he expects to double last year’s net sales. “I think this is going to be it for the foreseeable future with Biden in office. We saw kind of the same thing with Obama in office,” said Murphy, who posted then-President Barack Obama’s picture in his store as employee of the month. “That should give you kind of an idea of how everybody reacts to … a Democratic-controlled presidency.” During past gun-sale spikes, however, people were buying up AR-15s, thinking they would get taken away after mass shootings or by Democratic administrations. Now, Murphy said, “people are buying everything.” “It doesn’t matter—whatever you can get your hands on. People are literally buying everything, handguns, rifles, shotguns,” he said. “Everything is going.” It’s a “hoarding mentality” he compared to stocking up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But guns are not toilet paper. Drane said increased gun sales have coincided with increased gun violence in U.S. cities and more calls to domestic violence and suicide hotlines. Such correlations are well known from previous research, she said, but may be more dangerous during the pandemic— which is expected to worsen this winter. “The risks posed by these new firearm purchases may be particularly severe when coupled with the risks for gun violence exacerbated by the pandemic, such as economic uncertainty, unemployment and social isolation,” Drane said. “These conditions have historically been associated with increased suicide attempts and deaths.” Drane said 90% of suicide attempts with a firearm end in death, and domestic violence victims are five times more likely to be killed when their abuser has a gun. With more people stuck at home, she said, domestic violence victims may not have access to supportive services, and with more children at home, there is a greater risk of unintentional shootings with improperly stored guns. “While the gun lobby uses fear to promote the panic-buying of guns, all Americans should be aware of the risks of having a gun in the home,” Drane said. But Murphy said gun-buying he has seen has been a nonpartisan exercise, with liberals in his store for the first time. He said his neighbor in Scottsdale—who he called an “uber-liberal huge Biden supporter”— bought his first gun after the unrest there this summer. Drane said the bottom line is, “if you do decide to purchase a gun, we encourage you to learn about and practice safe gun storage, which is a foundational part of being a responsible gun owner.”

izona residents to carry concealed weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. Gun ownership tends to happen earlier for people who grew up with guns. A 2017 study by Pew Research Center found that 67% of gun owners grew up with guns in their households and 76% first fired a gun before they were 18. The study shows owners who grew up

with firearms received their first gun at age 20 on average, while those who did not got their first guns at age 26. Gun ownership varies based on demographics. Men are more likely to own a gun than women, with ownership rates at about 40% and 22%, respectively, according to the Pew study. Nearly 40% of Caucasians reported owning a gun, while about 25% of African Americans and 15% of Hispanics owned a gun.

GUN LAWS from page 8

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3 Deer Valley Uni�ied schools given A+ ratings BY MONICA ALLREAD Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

anyon Springs STEM Academy, Desert Mountain School and Gavilan Peak School are among the Arizona Educational Foundation’s 2020 A+ Schools of Excellence in the Deer Valley

Unified School District. During the past two decades, AEF has recognized 20 DVUSD schools as A+ Schools of Excellence. The A+ program provides schools with a comprehensive plan and evaluation that encourages self-assessment, planning and community engagement. Schools that

Canyon Springs STEM Academy students are focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). (Photo courtesy Deer Valley Unified School District) earn the title of A+ School of Excellence go above and beyond the everyday expectations and share the following traits: • Models quality and equity. • Demonstrates a strong commitment to academic excellence. • Responds successfully to the changing environment of education. • Cultivates learning-centered, safe school environments. • Encourages innovative instruction by supporting teachers. • Actively addresses students’ social, emotional, physical and intellectual needs. • Demonstrates superior ability to go above and beyond the norm in providing services to children, families and the community. Canyon Springs STEM Academy was recognized for encompassing a strong culture of collaboration. Walking through the campus, the colorful hallways depict the theme of each grade level. This school is doing amazing things in the arena of STEM, and it is obvious there is buy-in from their families and the community. In addition, their special education program is doing wonderful things to add to the achievement of all students. The principal and assistant principal are proud of their school and take an active role in all that happens on their campus. During the Desert Mountain School site visit, the AEF team observed fantastic pro-

grams. The student tour was excellent, and it was clear that the students know and love their school. The students also have a great deal of pride in their school and each other. Students were actively engaged in learning at each level. Respect for all was evident, and the TIG—or teamwork, integrity and growth—concept was felt throughout the school. Staff is dedicated to providing an outstanding learning environment for their hawks. Desert Mountain’s mission to “ensure all students achieve academic success and develop social skills needed to care, connect and collaborate throughout their lives” is what keeps staff focused on the needs of all students. Gavilan Peak School boasts an impressive Mandarin Immersion Program along with a strong culture of acceptance and caring bolstered by the EQ Program. The school is invested in the PLC constructs and is working to strengthen data-driven instruction through the processes. The campus has an environment in which students are inspired to explore their limitless possibilities. Teachers and administration collaborate to develop unique and engaging learning opportunities, data drives instruction, and the campus is immersed in Mandarin culture. In addition to striving for excellence in academics, Gavilan Peak also affords a safe and caring campus that promotes a positive learning environment for all.

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AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN

Strive for happiness in 2021 BY JUDY BLUHM Foothills Focus Columnist

This has been the year of COVID-19; to do this—but must I be on him when he killer hornets; elections; Zoom calls; and jumps? A colleague of mine who is turncancellations of weddings, parties, sports, ing 50 in 2021 wants to jump out of an s it safe to say “good riddance” to 2020? school, meetings and vacations. Just the airplane (with a parachute I imagine). My fact that we survived is all we need to cel- brother is taking up French. Hmm. Maybe What a year! Unimaginable how our world and ebrate! So, sip a glass of bubbly and make these resolutions are worthy because they lives have changed since the wrecking a toast to better days ahead. Thankfully, help us create who we want to become. MIS79170 Sun the News 10 x 6.of6a “better life” sounds 2021 is coming. PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTanAnd ball of a coronavirus arrived. Yet, we19.11 promise Still, if we must make resolutions, let’s pretty darn good. Perhaps our lives have Year! And as the French like to say … bonne were able to end the year by witnessing 19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit Credit ADwants SanTan Sun News 10 10 6. 6 6 MIS79170 PRM Tax AD -- SanTan News 6. big. My teenage niece to Sun the “Christmas Star,” a conjunction of19.11 Ju- dream become too xxmundane. Take a chance! année et bonne santé. Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realpiter and Saturn that hasn’t been visible dye her hair red on her next birthday. She So, in 2021, strive for happiness. Do in about 800 years and won’t be again for thinks “life will be better” as a redhead. something different. You might see me tor who lives in Skull Valley. Have a story another 60 years. One last brilliant light And I have a client who wants to learn how around town with red hair and speaking or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judyin the sky to lead us out of 2020 and into to jump her horse. I have always wanted French.YES, bluhm.com. Oh, we are to sohelp ready this New I want feedfor homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. the hope of a peaceful and healthy year. Enclosed gift:feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children Looking ahead, shall we make a list of wantisto tomy help II want help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children YES, throughout Maricopa County and and qualify qualify for for the the Arizona Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Credit. New Year’s resolutions? Every $1 you give throughout Charitable Tax m $800 Maricopa m $400 County m $100 Enclosed is my gift: My colleague has made a resolution to Enclosed is my gift: saves $1 on your taxes! m $50 m to $25 YES, I want help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout stop worrying (drastic). I have a friend Every $1 you give m $800 $800 m $400 m $100 $100 m $________ to help as muchfor as the possible. m m $400 m Maricopa County and qualify Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. who wants to train her Arabian for a 100saves $1 on your taxes! m $50 m $25 m $50 m $25gift: Enclosed is my mile race (crazy). Can you imagine sitting Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d by credit card m $800 ________ to to help as as much much as possible. possible. m $$________ help $400 $100 as $50 $25like to pay $______ to help as much as possible. in a saddle for 100 miles? Another colCard type _________ Card number ___________________________________ league has a wife who claims she will not Amount _________Mym m My check check is enclosed enclosed m___________________________ I’d like like to to pay pay by by credit credit card card Exp.$$________ phone number ( ______ ) m Amount _________ My is I’d Thank you! cook a meal for the entire year of 2021 so Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________ Every $1 you give to the Email address ___________________________________________________ Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________ You will receive a she can “rest” her culinary skills and “free” Mission helps reduce tax-deductible receipt. Exp.m________ ________ My me phone number ( ______ ______ ___________________________ Please send email updates on the)) lives being changed at Exp. 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Let’s be Phone: (602) Rescue Mission Every $1 you give Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ m P.O. $800 $400Phoenix, m $100AZ Boxm6708, U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A 85005 G1 KT X 2 your tax bold! Yes, we can gain 10 pounds in 2021!www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Phone: (602) 346-3336 saves $1 on your taxes! *$400 tax reduction if filing single m $50 m $25 Oh, and let’s spend less time exercising Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/ or as a head of household, or $800 m $ ________ to help as much as possible. if filing jointly. U865669643 KD9C4NU KD9C4NU UUU A A G1 G1 KT KT X X 2 2 FHTaxCreditUUU and more time lounging around. And we U865669643 should plan on procrastinating a little bit Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card more. We will not declutter our closets! 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OPINION

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Special education: 45 years after IDEA BY RAYMOND DAMM ACCEL CEO

t can be easy to take for granted the institutions that function in the background of our everyday lives. Like many others who work in the field of special education, I take pause this month to reflect on the 45th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1975. IDEA was a landmark civil rights measure designed to create equitable access to the education for children with special needs. Before IDEA, students with physical and mental disabilities were regularly excluded from public schools. In 1970, only 1 in 5 children with disabilities had access to a quality education. As a nation, we have come a long way. While most people may not be familiar with the pillars of IDEA, the concept is one we should all celebrate. It was a promise

to children, families, school districts and states that would provide a brighter future for children with disabilities. But it is a promise that has not reached its full potential. At the time the statute was enacted, Congress promised to pay 40% of the National Average per Pupil Expenditure. Today, this figure sits at about 13%. In fact, funding for IDEA has never surpassed 20%. IDEA was a significant step in the right direction, no doubt. The year after the legislation became law, more than 3.5 million students were served; and just 45 years later, that number now exceeds 7.5 million. However, with insufficient federal funding, the onus has been increasingly placed on states and local school districts to fund special education. This makes it much more difficult to ensure what Congress intended to accomplish with IDEA in “… bringing children with disabilities out of the shadows and into American schools where their gifts and strengths can be recognized.” With

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proper funding, states and local districts are empowered to help all students reach their fullest potential. This is why ACCEL is proud to advocate at the federal level for full funding for IDEA, each year, in collaboration with the National Association of Private Special Education Centers (NAPSEC). It is important to recognize that these funding needs are increasing over time. Less than 1% of all students being served under IDEA in 1999 had an autism diagnosis. In less than a decade, that figure has increased to 9%. The Special Education Expense Project (SEEP) notes that it costs 3.9 times more to educate a student with autism than a general education student. And while significant progress has been made toward protecting the rights of students with disabilities, many challenges still exist. “Research clearly indicates that students of color are disproportionately educated in under-resourced and underperforming school districts. Studies further show that students with disabilities in low-income or racially diverse districts are far less likely to receive the specialized supports and services they need,” according to Danielle Johnson, executive

director of NAPSEC. “While significant progress has been made since 1975, we must remain committed to address the challenges that still exist, ensuring that all students have the supports they need to reach their full potential.” ACCEL is proud to be playing an active role in assisting in the development of another country’s special education infrastructure. In September 2019, we opened the first holistic special education center in Saudi Arabia, and today, we serve approximately 100 students and their families. For many of these students, this marks the first time in their lives they are being served in a classroom; for the first time in their lives, they are being offered a quality education. The impact of IDEA has been felt throughout the United States. And we are proud to use this model to guide and inspire others to better serve students with disabilities. Raymond Damm is the CEO of ACCEL, a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, individualized and comprehensive educational, therapeutic, vocational, behavioral and life skills training for children and adults who have special needs.

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The Foothills Focus welcomes letters that express readers’ opinion on current topics. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address (including city) and telephone number. The Foothills Focus will print the writer’s name and city of residence only. Letters without the requisite identifying information will not be published. Letters are published in the order received, and they are subject to editing. The Foothills Focus will not publish consumer complaints, form letters, clippings from other publications or poetry. Letters’ authors, not the Foothills Focus, are responsible for the “facts” presented in letters.

OPINION

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

My New Year’s wish: Cancel the party BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Foothills Focus Columnist

s we stare 2021 in the face, here’s hoping that our elected leaders take a stand against one of the most serious public health threats currently facing the state of Arizona. New Year’s Eve. Which this year might as well be known as “The Planet’s Largest One-Night Superspreader Event.” One of the things we have learned about COVID-19 this year is that the virus thrives on congregations and people spending time together unmasked and in close proximity. That makes holidays especially dangerous in terms of community spread, as we saw a couple weeks after Thanksgiving, when positive case numbers spiked in Arizona and across the United States. As someone who has urged a balance between social restrictions and the economic damage those restrictions create—

and as a human being who values family, spirituality and interpersonal connection—I was loath to suggest we legislate Hanukkah and Christmas out of existence this year. But let’s be honest: New Year’s Eve has no such emotional or familial weight. It’s mostly just an excuse to tie one on for folks who are into that sort of thing. Personally, if history is any indication, I’ll be asleep before the ball drops in Times Square in New York City—where they intend to have a televised celebration sans crowd in 2021. As for the rest of you, you may not like this, but I’d be thrilled if our state’s governor, mayors and county supervisors took a page out of Tucson and Pima County’s book for one night only and declared a mandatory curfew beginning at 10 p.m. sharp and lasting until 5 in the morning. We can exempt first responders, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, essential workers and the homeless, along with anyone else headed to work or deal-

ing with a legitimate emergency. In keeping with the Pima County measure, bars, restaurants, clubs and other businesses that help people defy the curfew—say, by serving champagne at midnight—would be subject to having their licenses or business permits revoked. As for individual curfew breakers, I’d rather not tie up police officers writing citations as opposed to, say, tracking down New Year’s drunken drivers. But a stern warning wouldn’t bother me much. For the past nine months, I’ve found myself repeatedly caught between two warring factions: people who think COVID-19 is fake and believe every mitigation measure is abysmally stupid and people who want to lock down the entire state “because if a lockdown would be enough to save even a single life, then that’s our responsibility.” I have disagreed with both sides at every turn, arguing instead for two things these camps seem to have forgotten: personal responsibility and balance.

The notion of a New Year’s Eve curfew irks me, because it represents government depriving citizens of our freedom. With that said, it’s not much of a deprivation: one night where we’d be forced to head home a few hours early. Balanced against avoiding the inevitable positive case spike, especially after the Christmas holidays, one night of curtailed fun seems a small price to pay. With the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already being distributed and an end to this nightmarish year—and potentially the pandemic—finally at hand, now seems like a lousy time to risk your health or the health of those you love. Regardless, even a cursory scan of the event listings shows lots of nightclubs planning to host lots of New Year’s parties to welcome in 2021. Not to mention thousands of intimate gatherings that will happen in thousands of living rooms. There oughta be a law. Because hoping people will display some common sense has failed all year long.

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Mom turns daughter’s vision into reality BY SARAH DONAHUE Foothills Focus Staff Writer

atricia Brusha lost her 28-year-old daughter, Courtney Michaels, to alcoholism in June 2019, when she died of stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. When her funeral came around, in lieu of flowers, she asked guests to bring purses, which would be donated to people coming out of rehab. This idea was inspired by Michaels’ personal experience with rehab, as she saw that rehab graduates were only given a plastic bag to carry their things into the world. “I feel like I’m coming out of prison rather than doing something good for myself,” Michaels would say to her mother.

When Michaels thought she overcame her alcoholism, she decided to give back to the rehab community by collecting and donating purses so that they can make a good first impression on the outside. Michaels and Brusha had started the process of collecting and donating purses until Michaels ultimately lost her battle with alcoholism, Brusha said. But when funeral attendees donated 400 purses, Brusha realized she could still make her late daughter’s vision a reality. Brusha came out of retirement and created a nonprofit 501(c)(3) called Purse Impressions, starting the operation in her home and later establishing a charity boutique in Cave Creek’s Mariachi Plaza in October.

To a bright 2021

In a year and a half, Purse Impressions has donated over 1,400 bags to rehab graduates, Brusha said. Purse Impression accepts donations in the form of new or gently used purses, as well as jewelry, accessories and cash. Rehab centers with the Purse Impressions program set up a “little store” so “when somebody graduates after their 28- or 30day program, they actually go in and pick a purse that speaks to them,” Brusha said. She added that each person hears the story of Michaels when they choose their purse. Men who graduate rehab are not left out, Brusha said, adding that Purse Impression donates backpacks as well as “murses,” or male purses. Each donated bag is filled with hygiene

kits, sanitary products, and a handwritten note from Brusha. When Brusha’s home was filled to the brim with donated purses, she said she realized she needed more space and decided to open the charity boutique. Opening the boutique has helped to provide the charity with sustainable funding and donations, Brusha said. Skechers donated socks and her dentist donated toothbrushes, she said, adding that she hopes to get corporate sponsors in the future to help supply the hygiene kits. The charity boutique is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

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PURSES From Page 16

By selling some of the high-end donated purses in the boutique, she raises money to purchase supplies for the hygiene and sanitary kits. Brusha makes an effort to keep prices low, she said, adding that 100% of the proceeds go to Purse Impressions. While Brusha was nervous about opening a shop in the midst of a pandemic, “The boutique has been working out really well, better than expected actually,” Brusha said. “I think in this time of COVID, people want to do something where they feel like they’re doing something good,” she said, adding that the charity boutique provides that. “One of the bonuses is I didn’t realize how happy people would be with their purses,” she said. When Brusha sells a purse, she often knows the person who donated it and has the chance to tell the customer a little bit about who it belonged to previously. “It’s like the sisterhood of the traveling purses.” Tables with wallets and small purses sit outside the boutique, and as customers enter, their eyes are met with brightly colored walls and displays of purses, jewelry and scarves. In the next room, where customers go to

check out, there are photos hanging on the wall showing rehab graduates with their new purses. A framed portrait of Michaels sits upon the checkout desk. “I say to people, ‘This started in memory of my daughter, Courtney, but it’s not a sad place—let’s talk purses.’ But I get that out that I’ve lost my daughter, because you just carry that with you. Always.” Brusha said she was afraid that the boutique’s backstory would make people feel sad, but she’s found that the opposite holds true. The boutique has become a “safe space” for Brusha to talk about her grief and for customers to talk about their stories as well, she said. “What I have found is that everybody seems to be able to relate to either knowing somebody with an addiction problem or having lost somebody,” Brusha said. “One thing I’ve learned is that addiction doesn’t discriminate,” Brusha said. No matter what race you are, what income you hold or what family you come from, it can happen to anyone, she said. Brusha just recently achieved two years of sobriety, she said. When Michaels was diagnosed with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver, Brusha quit drink-

ing, too, she said. Brusha explained that she thought it was “hypocritical” to drink when the doctors told Michaels she could never drink again. “She was my best friend,” Brusha said about Michaels, with tears in her eyes. “Unfortunately, she just couldn’t stop drinking.” Starting Purse Impressions and opening up the boutique has provided Brusha with a healthy way to overcome her grief, she said. “It’s saved my life,” Brusha said. “It’s given me a place to celebrate. This is a happy place.” Purse Impressions’ reach has extended beyond Cave Creek, Brusha said. There are now Purse Impression chapters run by Brusha’s friends and family in Florida; Colorado; Washington, D.C.; as well as Ontario, Canada. Purse Impressions partners with 10 different rehab providers, she said. Anyone can start a Purse Impressions chapter anywhere, Brusha said. All one needs to do is start collecting purses in their area, get in touch with a nearby rehab facility and tell them about the program. Those who want to start a chapter must also reach out to Brusha so she can send Purse Impression materials and hygiene kits, she added.

Brusha operates the boutique on her own but has a dozen volunteers who help deliver the purses to the rehab facilities, she said. “We’d love to get more people involved,” Brusha said, mentioning how she hopes to get student volunteers and rehab graduates volunteering in the future. “We decided this is something people need,” she said, adding that people in recovery are a “forgotten demographic.” There are charities dedicated to helping a wide range of groups, but people who are trying to overcome addiction are often overlooked, Brusha said. “It’s great that we’re empowering the people who are in rehab,” Brusha said. “I feel like they’re all my kids. I don’t have my daughter physically anymore, but I have a whole world of kids that I feel like I’ve adopted. “It’s a tough world out there for these people. I just want them to know that somebody is out there thinking about them.” Purse Impressions Charity Boutique

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

Proven Media elevates marijuana’s reputation BY SARAH DONAHUE Foothills Focus Staff Writer

im Prince always believed marijuana didn’t deserve the bad reputation it held in society. She saw the potential of working in an industry that was in its infancy. Prince combined her love for business with her love for the healing properties of the widely misunderstood plant, directing the focus of her public relations company, Proven Media, into the world of marijuana in 2014. Now that Proposition 207 passed in Arizona, legalizing the recreational use and possession of marijuana, the phones at Proven Media have been “extremely busy,” as so many were waiting for this day to come, she said. “I knew all along that cannabis wasn’t harmful,” said Prince, the firm’s chief executive officer and founder. “I have a passion for business and a passion for

the plant. Cannabis allowed me to take my love of this plant that I knew was medicinal in nature and combine that with business.” The Scottsdale-based Proven Media is the agency of record for the Marijuana Industry Trade Association of Arizona. The public relations firm works with clients all over the country and world and is one of the top marketing firms for dispensaries, doctors as well as cannabis products. Proven Media works with large companies, tech companies, privately held companies, publicly traded cannabis companies as well as investor relations in cannabis, she said. Originally from Minnesota, Prince started her business in 2008 in Carefree, where she has resided since 1997. Before Proven Media pivoted its focus to the marijuana industry, Prince worked with and represented a number of Carefree and Cave Creek small businesses to

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Kim Prince, founder and CEO of Proven Media, with the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Proven Media did public relations for Fox’s book tour in Arizona and for his CannaMexico event. (Photo courtesy Proven Media) help them grow, she said. “(Proven Media) was started really to serve the community,” she said. The media firm also worked directly for the towns of Carefree as well as Cave Creek, promoting various events, she said. Prince was a former Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year, according to the firm. Prince also served many of Cave Creek’s nonprofits and was able to watch them grow, she added. “My heart is still in the community even though we work all across the globe,” Prince said. While working with small businesses in the North Valley, Prince said she kept seeing advertisements directing her toward a medical marijuana conference in Las Vegas in 2014. Prince decided to follow the signs leading her to the marijuana industry, she said. “The most beautiful thing happened,” she said. “I ended up meeting some amazing businesspeople and I walked away with my first clients from the conference, and I never looked back.” Prince still works with one of those clients today, she added. “It opened my whole world,” she said. “I was following my passion for business.

I love business, I love marketing communications and I also love the plant.” Prince was able to combine all those aspects with a degree of professionalism she saw as a need in the business side of the marijuana industry, she said. “We really bring this professionalism to the table that’s expected in traditional business and we bring that to the cannabis industry, and it’s been very successful,” she said. This is the reason Proven Media’s phones ring incessantly now that Proposition 207 passed, she said. Proven Media represents some of the biggest name brands in Canada and Arizona, she said. She added that the firm also worked with “high-profile individuals” like the former president of Mexico, Vincente Fox, and his Canna Mexico Trade Show, also working with former NFL players such as Ricky Williams, Kyle Turley and Marvin Washington. “I knew that the traditional labels that applied to people who use cannabis didn’t really apply,” she said. “There are so many successful people that use cannabis. I knew that the stigmas weren’t accurate.” With Proven Media, Prince has worked with the “creme de la creme of the industry,” she said, explaining how it’s been a “huge honor” to help Ivy League graduates from universities like Harvard, Cornell and Princeton with communications in a way that makes them proud. “I just feel really grateful to work in this industry,” she said. “We’re getting our clients on the covers of national magazines.” Arizona is home to one of the largest indoor cultivation centers in the country, Prince said. “The story needs to be told about cannabis. We have a knack for knowing how to tell it and present it in a professional manner and how to package that story up so that the mainstream media and cannabis media can really understand the plant and the business and the people behind it. Marijuana has gone mainstream. We are going to dominate.”

�ee MARIJUANA Page 19

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MARIJUANA From Page 18

Prince and her team of eight public relations professionals have also worked with clients and companies across the country in places like San Diego, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, Minnesota as well as Los Angeles, she said. “I have to pinch myself every day,” she said, adding how “lucky” she is to work in a “wonderful, emerging industry.” Over the years, Prince has been invited to speak at panels across the country with some of the highest-profile women in cannabis, she said. Prince serves on the board of the Arizona Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Prince and two other women co-founded the Phoenix chapter of a national organization called Women Grow to “cultivate cannabis entrepreneurs in Phoenix,” also to “bring forth professionalism in the industry,” she said. Women Grow Phoenix is the state’s first business group for entrepreneurs, the firm states. While women are making great headway in the “male-dominated” marijuana industry, holding positions on boards of directors as well as executive positions, “there’s still a long way to go,” she said. The reason Prince started studying cannabis is because her brother had a drug problem, she said. Prince also noticed that many other people around her were abusing alcohol or prescription

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Ofrenda restaurant opens in Stagecoach Village BY SARAH DONAHUE Foothills Focus Staff Writer

hile people may not be able to travel during the era of COVID-19, Stagecoach Village’s new Ofrenda restaurant allows guests to transcend into a Latin American sensory experience, offering “a place to taste and remember.” From the moment guests walk through the doors, their eyes are met with colorful, Day of the Dead-inspired artwork, spectacular displays of Mexican hand-blown glass, and the pinnacle of the restaurant—an authentic, traditional altar decorated

The hand-made lighting fixtures are some of the many aesthetic showpieces at Ofrenda, Stagecoach Village’s newest Mexican Restaurant, which opened for guests on December 4. (Photos courtesy Ofrenda)

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with lit candles, paper flowers and photos. “Everything has been handmade and brought in with purpose and care,” Michael Stone said about the aesthetics of the restaurant. Stone coowns Ofrenda and helms Phoenix’s Taco Guild. The worldly, two-story Cave Creek restaurant officially opened its doors for guests on December 4. The restaurant “has been one year in the making for us,” Stone said, adding how excited they are to finally open their doors. The name of the restaurant trans-

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OFRENDA from page 20

lates to “offering” and refers to the traditional altars made during Mexican Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, rituals with the purpose of honoring and celebrating the lives of those who have passed on. While the atmosphere of the restaurant provides an experience in itself, what guests really come for is the food, of course. “Everything on the menu here is very traditional-inspired dishes, not Mexican-American by any means,” said Carlos Marquez, chef and co-owner of Ofrenda, also a Cave Creek resident. “You’re going to see more of the interior of Mexico. This is the real Mexico.” While designing the menu, Marquez said he took inspiration from cuisine reigning from Mexico City as well as Chihuahua. The menu is made up of authentic dishes like seasonal ceviche and pork empanadas for starters, which start at $10. Guests can also enjoy a variety

The menu is made up of authentic entrees that start at $22 and go up to $38, with options like carne, chicken mole tacos and huarache nopales. Dishes are prepared in an open-fire oven and served on handcrafted plates. of salads as well as tacos. Main dishes start at $22 and go up to $38 with options like carne, chicken mole tacos and huarache nopales.

Dishes are prepared in an openfire oven and served on handcrafted plates. Guests can dine on tables made of Indian rosewood, which were

all handcrafted and made in-house, Marquez said. On weekdays, the 6,500-square-foot Ofrenda opens its doors at 3 p.m., and on the weekends, it offers a Latin-inspired brunch menu from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The location was formerly leased under the name Indigo Crow, which was a contemporary American restaurant that Marquez owned and operated. Marquez went through culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu and has been cooking professionally since 1999. Marquez explained what makes Ofrenda’s kitchen unique. Typically, other places refer to the kitchen and dining room as “the back of the house” and “the front of the house,” he said. However, at Ofrenda, “our kitchen is the heart of the house,” he said. This philosophy comes from his traditions growing up in a Latin family where everything revolved around together-

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Were you looking? Did you see it? CHURCH COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Pastor Ed Delph Foothills Focus Columnist

ere you looking? Did you see it last Thursday night and Friday? You might be thinking, “Looking for what?” Looking for Christmas, of course. I mean, the real Christmas. Sometimes you can see something and not see it. Sometimes you can hear something and not hear it. Sometimes you can know something and not know it. These days we tend to glance at Jesus and gaze at the gala, missing the real Christmas. E.B. White said, “To perceive Christmas through all its wrappings becomes more difficult with each passing year.” Once a year, the real Christmas comes around again to jog our memories, open our eyes and re-

mind us we need a savior. We need The Savior now, more than ever. Just look at the news. Can you sense the atmosphere filled with both fear and anger at the same time? A man was looking for who he called “The consolation of Israel.” His name was Simeon. The Lord told him that he would not die until he saw the Savior. I’m not sure if he was good looking, but I can tell this: He sure was good at looking. Simeon was aware, his eyes wide open, understanding that the time was coming when he would see

His Savior. He refused to close his ears or his eyes to a word from God. At the appointed time, God’s word became visible in Simeon’s world. Simeon saw His Savior because he was looking for His Savior. “Now Lord, let me depart in peace … for my eyes have seen Thy salvation” (Luke 2:30). He saw Christ. Christ was the reason for Christmas. The first step for seeing is to be looking. In the Christmas account in the Scripture, Elizabeth and Zacharias were looking for the real Christmas. Mary and Joseph were looking for the real Christmas. The shepherds were looking for the real Christmas. The wise men were looking for the real Christmas. Simeon was looking for the real Christmas. Anna was looking for the real Christmas.

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OFRENDA from page 21

ness in the kitchen, Marquez said. Ofrenda’s “heart of the house” features an open kitchen design where guests can see all the action. Ofrenda has two bars, one on the ground floor as well as one upstairs, which offer a variety of beer, wine and unique artisanal cocktails. Happy hour prices are available from Monday through Friday, 3 to 6 p.m. The design of the restaurant also includes a “Katrina Room” downstairs with a long table and private patio for larger parties. Upstairs features an “Agave Room” displaying hundreds of bottles of tequila. Before Ofrenda opened, the restaurant experienced difficulties finding enough staff members, as reported by local media. However, “with the help of the news media” and some resourcefulness, the restaurant is fully staffed and “ready to go,” Stone said. “We’re excited about it, and we couldn’t be happier and prouder of the team in place,” Stone said, adding

The worldly, two-story Ofrenda was a year in the making.

“Our philosophy on (COVID-19) is real simple,” Stone said. “We want to give everybody a right to choose. Choose what’s best for you, your family, your friends, whatever it is that you want. “It’s wonderful if people want to come out and dine in the restaurant; however if one is uncomfortable, “we understand that, too,” he said. “Come back and see us when you can.” Guests can choose to dine inside or outside on the wraparound patio, which offers guests a view of Cave Creek sunsets and at night the North Valley’s signature starry skies. We feel like there’s a lot of pentup demand to get out and enjoy life a little bit,” Stone said. “Our facility is large enough to make sure we have quality distancing as necessary and needed. People want to get out there, and I think they’re excited to do so.” Ofrenda

that the staffing issue caused no delays in the restaurant’s opening. In regard to COVID-19, the restau-

rant has made efforts to assure guests that Ofrenda “meets all health and safety guidelines,” the website states.

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FEATURES

LOOKING from page 22

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

Christmas only begins “to look a lot like Christmas” if you’re looking a lot for Christmas. It’s easy to look at the beauty of a Christmas gift. Shiny gold wrapping paper, under a tree, with a big red bow and your name is on it. The sound of Christmas carols, the smell of lunch or dinner, and getting a few days off from work causes us to overlook the real Christmas. That kind of Christmas is shiny, glittery, tinselly and perhaps shallow or empty. Many people see the shadows of Christmas but miss the substance of Christmas. They focus more on form than function. The birth of Jesus becomes the vehicle, and Christmas cheer becomes the driver, going where it wants to go, seeing only what it wants to see. Be aware. There are heaps of Scrooges and Grinches out there, strutting and preening about, wanting us to gaze at them and glance at The Savior. When you do that, you

miss Christmas. Herod (local and state government) missed Christmas. Matt 2:3. The priests (religion) missed Christmas. Matt 2:4. The scribes (education and media) missed Christmas. Matt 2:4 The innkeeper (business) missed Christmas. Lk 2:7. The Roman Empire and Caesar Augustus (federal government) missed Christmas. Lk 2:1. All of Jerusalem (people in a big city) missed Christmas. Matt 2:3. The Roman soldiers (military) missed Christmas. Matt 2:16. Remember, seeing starts with looking. Isn’t what is inside of the present the primary goal of a gift? But it’s so hard to see when my eyes are on me. The first Christmas didn’t have shiny wrapping and a red bow. There was no glitter or caroling in the stable that night. And a baby in a manger in swaddling clothes was not as exciting as the Patriots vs. the Seahawks. Somehow, some looked beyond the outside of the present and found the real gift of Christmas on the inside of the present. They

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discovered the best presents are wrapped in heaven. Those who were looking for Christmas, the first Christmas, didn’t just cognize Christmas. They “re-cognized” Christmas. Recognition is cognition on steroids. Here’s an empowering takeaway for you: Whatever you don’t recognize, you don’t appreciate. Whatever you don’t appreciate, you don’t celebrate. Whatever you don’t celebrate may eventually exit your life. Hint: There could be something you are not seeing because you aren’t looking. And, it could be costing you dearly like our need for The Savior. For those who saw the real Christmas this year, don’t be surprised if God takes you on a lengthy journey of inconvenience and repositions you into your destiny, just like Joseph and Mary. Don’t be surprised if a mysterious “star” appears to guide you to where you need to be to see what God wants you to see. Don’t be surprised if wise men come from afar with gifts, blessings and smiles.

Why? You are where God wanted you to be because you saw what God wanted you to see. You will be better for it. Were you looking for Christmas last week? Did you see it? There’s still time. When you recognize it, Christmas breaks through the fog, the chaos, the hopelessness and the confusion. Christmas brings clarity. And in today’s world, clarity is a rarity. Ed Delph is a native of Phoenix who lives in the North Valley. Since 1980, he has pastored three churches in the Valley. He is a noted author of 10 books, weekly columnist in several local and worldwide newspapers, teacher, business owner and speaker. Delph has been to or ministered in over 100 countries. He is president of a worldwide ministry, NationStrategy. To learn more about Pastor Ed Delph, the Church-Community Connection and Nation strategy, call 623-376-6757, e-mail nationstrategy@cs.com or visit nationstrategy.com.

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ASU lands another talented and decorated golfer BY NICHOLAS BARKER Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

SU has produced some of the best golfers in the world, including five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, three-time tournament winner Paul Casey, and Jon Rahm, who has already won five PGA tour events in his short career. On the women’s side, countless Sun Devils have made it professionally, including three who have won Rookie of the Year in the Ladies European Tour, or the LPGA. The Sun Devils have just signed another talented golfer who is hoping to bring immediate success to an

already talented team. Calynne Rosholt, a Cactus Shadows High School junior, originally from Cedar Park, Texas, has verbally committed to play golf at ASU starting in 2021. At Cactus Shadows, Calynne has blown away competition in her last few years attending. This past year, Calynne played in nine events, winning four of them and placing YOUTH no worse than sixth in each of the other five events. Calynne won her first event at the Thunderbird Invitation, where she was the only golfer to finish under par. She then went on to tie for first in the Willie Low Invitational and the Desert Mashie Championship. And her most recent win came at the Chandler City Ju-

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Calynne Rosholt, a Cactus Shadows High School junior, originally from Cedar Park, Texas, has verbally committed to play golf at ASU starting in 2021. nior Golf Championship. Calynne knows it’s all about consistency. “I practice a lot, and I just try to keep a steady mind,” Calynne said. “I just try to keep the same routine every time I go out and play a tournament. Whether it’s with eating or warming up, or what I eat for breakfast, I just try to keep it consistent throughout the three days.” That consistency helped Calynne become one of the most consistent golfers in high school, and it made her one of the most wanted recruits in the country. Each win under her belt only improved her confidence. “Well, I feel good about the wins, but there are a lot of losses in golf, too,” Calynne said. “I try to move on from past tournaments and keep going and try to stay ready for the next thing coming.” Calynne had a lot of great moments this past year, but there was one that stood out to her. “Probably winning state, because I’ve only been on a high school golf team for two years,” Calynne said. “It felt really good to win a state tournament for a high school team.”

The Sun Devils will no doubt enjoy having Calynne on the team, and they will certainly need her to live up to her name if they want to continue having success on the collegiate level. Calynne knew from day one that she wanted to play golf in Phoenix. “ASU was always my dream school, but it became bigger when I got into high school,” Calynne said. A few years ago, ASU’s successful golfers led the PGA in money earned with close to $20 million in tournament winnings. ASU calls Papago Golf Course home and has one of the best practice facilities in the country, thanks to Phil Mickelson and other notable alumni. Calynne couldn’t be more excited to attend the school of her dreams and continue its great legacy. “I am hoping it will just make me a better player and person,” Calynne said. “Even if I don’t become pro, I hope I just come out of it a better person and player.” Calynne will join the ASU women’s golf team next fall, and she will hope to lead the Sun Devils in capturing its first national championship in women’s golf for the first time since 2017.

YOUTH

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

Girl Scout cookie season returns BY AUTUMN JARRETT Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

hen it comes to Girl Scouts, one can’t help but daydream about one of their favorite sweet treats: cookies. Well, Thin Mint, Samoa, Trefoil, Do-Si-Do, Tagalong, Lemon-Ups, Girl Scout S’mores and Toffee are coming back. It’s 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season. For six weeks each year, more than 11,000 Arizona-Cactus Pine-Council Girl Scouts across central and northern Arizona participate in the most extensive girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world: The Girl Scout Cookie Program. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is much more than a delicious treat. It provides girls with the opportunity to run their own cookie business, learning essential skills including goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. While practicing these skills, girls also build the con-

fidence needed to be successful women and leaders. This season, the girls are learning a sixth skill: managing uncertainty. After completing a successful 2020 cookie season before the onset of COVID-19 shutdowns in early March, 2021 is a big year for these cookie entrepreneurs. While COVID-19’s effects can’t be predicted, Girl Scouts are ready to tackle the challenge head-on. They are equipped with new strategies to sell cookies safely, including the Digital Cookie app, offering drive-thru options around the Valley, and increasing safety measures for girls and their customers. The Digital Cookie app is a digital selling platform where girls build a custom website and invite friends and family to purchase cookies via email marketing, with the option of having cookies delivered through contactless pickup, drop-off or shipped directly to their personal contacts’ homes.

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“Digital Cookie introduces lessons about online marketing, application use and eCommerce to Girl Scouts, through building their cookie website and managing their virtual sales,” said Tamara Woodbury, the council’s CEO. The qualities that lead to successful entrepreneurship, like curiosity, confidence and innovation, are essential for all types of academic and career success. There aren’t many organizations that help girls learn key entrepreneurship skills, but Girl Scouting does. Not only do girls learn how to invest in themselves and their troops, but they learn the importance of investing in their communities. In 2020 alone, Girl Scouts sold over 3 million cookies to Arizona customers, collectively donating more than 81,000 packages of cookies to local food banks, first responders, military personnel, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations.

And after seeing the impact of COVID-19 on their communities, many troops took to the initiative to rework their initially planned service projects to be relevant to the needs of their communities, including sewing masks and building hand-washing stations for the Navajo Nation, making pet toys to donate to the AZ Humane Society and donating thank-you gifts, goodies and treats to essential workers—yet again proving why Girl Scouts are known for their resiliency and the impact they make in their communities. In 2021, the girls are expected to do the same, rising to the challenge, identifying issues in their communities, creating solutions and seeing how they can use their cookie products and proceeds for the greater good. The 2021 cookie season for Girl Scouts– Arizona Cactus-Pine Council continues until February 28. Visit gscookiefinder. com and enter your ZIP code to find a nearby cookie booth.

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

BASIS student’s platform is ending bullying

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Foothills Focus Executive Editor

oor Saini isn’t the typical 10-yearold girl. The A+ student at BASIS Phoenix Primary is well spoken and ready to tackle the problem of bullying. Recently, she was a contestant at the National American Miss Pageant at the state level in September and won first runner-up for the state queen. She was selected as city of Phoenix queen. Because the North Phoenix girl was a first runner-up, she qualified for nationals in Florida, where she participated in optional and required contests. Required contests include personal introduction, formalwear, interview with judges, resume and community service. She spent Thanksgiving week in Florida, where she competed against girls across the country in her age division,

Noor Saini competes in pageants but still finds time for competitive swimming and golfing. (Photo courtesy the Saini family)

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befriending peers from Virginia, Nebraska, Ohio and Alabama. Noor served as national ambassador and spoke with two agencies who want to work with her. “It was fun,” Noor said. “I had a good experience. I didn’t place in the top 12, but I learned a lot from it.” “She had an awesome experience at nationals in Florida,” added her mom, Harveen. Noor’s father and brother are Preet and Aadi, respectively. “She will definitely go back to compete again next summer for the state queen for the preteen division. She will also be doing a lot more community service,” Harveen added. Noor wouldn’t have it any other way. “I think when I go to pageants, it helps me build up my confidence,” Noor said. “I’m a very social person who talks to everybody. Instead of being shy, I talk to everybody. I can talk more confidently, and I’m less shy. I like making new friends.”

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Harveen has watched her daughter mature thanks to the pageants. “This was her first nationals,” she said. “She did the state pageant two years in a row. When she went, she was very shy. She was afraid to talk to people. When she went in 2019, that really helped her open a little more with people. “Since then, she’s been really outspoken, outgoing and more social. She does everything she can to make more friends.” Noor’s platform is ridding the world of bullying, something she has endured. “She wants to do a fundraiser or volunteer for an organization that has something to do with bullying. She wants to start a campaign and bring it out to her school so kids don’t get bullied. “She’s getting out of her comfort zone. She’s keeping up with her A+ average at school. She’s a competitive swimmer. She golfs. We’re just very proud of her and support her in everything she does.”

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

Arizona Coyotes give back to Village Meadows students BY ANNIKA TOMLIN Foothills Focus Staff Writer

or the past 13 years, Village Meadows Elementary second graders have been gifted a special lunch, a new bike and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. The school normally partners with Midway Chevrolet

to make this joyous event happen, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to keep everyone safe, Midway pulled out of the December 18 event. “We had the chance to talk to the boss (at Midway Chevrolet), and they said they were going to pass,” said Deer Valley Superintendent Dr. Curtis Finch. “We are really appre-

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Second graders at Village Meadows Elementary await a pizza lunch, bikes, helmets, and a visit from Arizona Coyotes mascot Howler. (Photo by Annika Tomlin) ciative of them keeping the tradition alive, and this year they couldn’t, which is fine.” Finch wanted to keep the tradition alive. The Deer Valley Education Foundation helped raise money to buy the bikes and lunch but ended up $3,000 short. That is where the Arizona Coyotes came in. Finch met Brittani Willett, executive director of the Foundation/Corporate and Community Impact for the Arizona Coyotes, a week prior as panelists for a WESTMARC event discussing a partnership with education and business. “(Brittani) said if you ever need any help, here is my card,” Finch said. “She shouldn’t have done that.” He called Willett asking if they would help make up for the rest of the funds and bring Coyotes mascot Howler along for the fun, and she agreed. “What a perfect way to kick off our partnership, so we were excited to come in and help support,” Willett said. “We were able to provide some funding to be able to get 43 bikes for the second graders here and helmets to keep everyone safe, and then bring Howler out and some Coyotes goodies as well.” The second graders walked into the cafeteria on one of the last days of school having been told prior that they were not going to be getting a bike like some of their older siblings had in years prior. Confusion was met with excitement once the children saw Howler run through the red and green paper,

revealing the bikes behind. Each second grader received a Coyotes drawstring bag filled with small goodies and a Howler coyote-shaped hat. Some kids asked around in amazement if each of them was going home with a bike and goodies or just a select few. “This is what we are here to do—bring joy to the community and to provide things that people are needing,” Willett said. “It is tough to be on the ice right now, but we still want to be out in the community. We want people, when they think about the Coyotes, to not just think winning on the ice but also winning off the ice and just to stay out there in the community and helping where we can.” For Village Meadows Principal Melissa Weinman, this was her ninth year helping with this event. “I guess the best way to say how I feel is that this brings a little bit of normalcy to these kids’ lives in a world where nothing is normal right now—not even at school is normal,” Weinman said. “Knowing that they’re getting a bike, for some it is their first bike that they’ll ever get and for some this is their only Christmas gift. Know that I’m helping to provide a little bit of normalcy makes me feel good. Oftentimes kids have a hard time expressing themselves, but I know this means the world to these kids and I know it means the world to me know that they are so excited. It’s a good feeling to have right now.”

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 30, 2020

Students ‘Dream Big’ with photo contest BY CRISTINA LADAS Foothills Focus Contributing Writer

group of world language students from Cactus Shadows High School found a way to celebrate the beautiful world we live in during this pandemic. The Cactus Shadows High School Chinese National Honor Society hosted a global photo competition for students and staff that had more than 40 submissions. The theme, “The World is Big so Dream Big!” resonated with many who have been without travel during this pandemic. For those who didn’t have travel photos, there was a category to post a photo of a university in another country as a way to help students realize there are so many opportunities waiting. Principal Tony Vining and support staff celebrated the winners by having an awards ceremony. “This was a great way to bring all of our world language students and staff together,” Vining said. “The murals made

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The winners of the “The World is Big so Dream Big!” photo contest at Cactus Shadows High School. (Photo courtesy Cactus Shadows High School)

by the students will be a reminder that we all live in this big, beautiful world and that soon we will be able to enjoy all of it again.” The first-place winner was Adam Schwartz. The second-place winners were Lauren Anderson as well as Dennis

(602)789-3000 and Irene O’Hare. The third-place winners were Logan Crist, Seth Schnek and Kyra Wiese. All participants got a Chinese-style souvenir. Vining also recognized the Chinese Honor Society seniors for their excellent job for learning and sharing Chinese language and cultures.

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