East Valley Tribune: Gilbert Edition - April 30, 2017

Mesa Sen. Worsley is the man in the middle

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

Bob Worsley never dreamed of pursuing a political career as he raised a family and entered into successful business ventures such as the once-ubiquitous SkyMall catalog, where airline passengers could buy virtually every conceivable gadget.

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

Whitney Wiltbank saw the documentary “Unbranded,” the story of four cowboys riding wild mustangs from Mexico to Canada, and was inspired to step away from his desk and launch a unique Arizona adventure from the East Valley.

A certified public accountant, he started “Whitney’s Epic Trail Ride” April 24 with 10 riders and four outfitters making a 250mile trek from the Wolverine Pass Trail in Apache Junction near the Superstition Mountains.

The first leg traveled nearly 25 miles through some of the East Valley’s most stellar scenery – a rocky, steep trek through the Goldfield Mountains, Bulldog Canyon north of Usery Mountain Regional Park, across the Salt River and past Saguaro Lake.

In all, the 11-night trail ride will go through six counties until the intrepid riders will reach Sprucedale Guest Ranch in Eagar, owned by Wiltbank’s family.

The riders were already sore the night of April 24 when they reached their first camp site near the Saguaro Lake exit on Beeline Highway. A 79-year-old man was overcome by heat and had to be rescued.

Their horses are a far cry from the wild mustangs in “Unbranded,” and the ride is much shorter than the 3,000 miles covered in the documentary, through Arizona and four other western states.

But even though Worsley never envisioned himself as a politician, the Mesa Republican has emerged as a critical swing vote this session in the sharply divided Arizona Senate – a man in the middle.

He has been at the center of many controversies, often bucking his party colleagues in hopes of finding a solution to nagging problems.

Whether it was his controversial attempt to arrange financing for a new Arizona Coyotes arena, a carefully crafted compromise on an expanded school voucher program, or his cautious approach to a narrow driver-texting ban, Worsley has not shied away from charting his own path

“I think someone has to play this role,”

But it is still a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the riders.

The rugged ride has its share of modern convenience.

A team of outfitters moves one step ahead of them to set up the camp, bringing hay for the horses and cooking dinner.

“I think it’s gorgeous. We just came through Bulldog Canyon. It’s just amazing,” said Billy Wiltbank, Whitney’s brother, who handled all the planning and logistics.

Stops along the way on the long trail ride include Sycamore Creek, Pumpkin Center and Young. The home stretch will wind past Big Lake and Mount Baldy, making for a scenic finish.

“I love our state and I love the diversity of our state,” Whitney Wiltbank said, noting the riders were climbing from the desert up into the mountains on the Mogollon Rim.

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer) Riders in “Whitney’s Epic Trail Ride” make their way into camp. The riders will go through six counties until they reach Sprucedale Guest Ranch in Eagar.

THE SUNDAY Tribune

Roses show off spring colors at Mesa Community College

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BY RALPH ZUBIATE Tribune Managing Editor

Pasadena has the Rose Bowl and Tournament of Roses Parade. Portland is known as the Rose City. But the Valley is the nation’s center for rose bushes, growing 60 percent of the roses sold in the nation.

And now is the key time to take in all those blooms, at the Rose Garden at Mesa Community College, an East Valley showplace for the flowers and the largest rose garden in the Southwest.

“Mother Nature and the Almighty have a deal that they’re going to be glorious for Easter and after,” said Mike Cryer of the Mesa-East Valley Rose Society.

The rose garden was established in 1997 in a partnership between Mesa Community College and the society. It was planted in phases, with the first and second phases planted from 1997 to 2000. Now, with four phases complete, there are nearly 9,000 roses of over 300 varieties.

Cryer has been working with the rose garden for 11 years as a volunteer.

Cryer is a “Deadhead,” which has nothing to do with Jerry Garcia, but instead with flower pruning. Cryer and other volunteers trim the tops off bushes to create fewer but stronger blooms.

In January and February, they cut bushes down to about 3 feet tall and strip off all their leaves.

“That gives them a breather since we don’t have a winter,” Cryer said. “That keeps them from producing a rose hip.”

Rose hips are the fruit of rose bushes. Growers don’t want rose hips because they keep the plant from flowering again, and they take a lot of effort to grow.

The desert heat and sun is ideal for roses, and the plants bloom in April, May

and June. With careful tending, they bloom again in October, November and December.

Steve Sheard, chairman of the board of the Rose Society, also enjoys the desert heat. He’s originally from the African nation of Zimbabwe. He left Africa to work with Motorola in London, then got transferred to Arizona in 1978. After he got sent back to London, he let his bosses know he’d love to go back to Arizona.

“Zimbabwe was sunny and hot. Arizona is sunny and hot. England was cold and damp,” he said. “Guess which I’d prefer.”

After settling in with Motorola in the East Valley, he planted some rose bushes at his house

“I planted 20, and 18 died,” he said. “Being an engineer, that was not acceptable.”

He learned all he could about roses and now has 120 plants at home. He also grows all manner of fruit trees, such as papaya, fig, guava and of course citrus.

At one point, Sheard competed in rose shows.

“Once you’ve competed and you get your first blue ribbon, you’re hooked,” he said.

But he doesn’t really have the time to devote anymore.

“Now I compete to make the others look good.”

The MCC rose garden’s flowers all have stories and famous or amusing names attached. You’ll find Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland,

Barbra Streisand, Coretta Scott King and Neil Diamond. Also, Let Freedom Ring, Marmalade Skies, Sunshine Daydream, Over the Moon, Whimsy, Candyland and Drop Dead Red.

Some of the roses are legitimate pieces of history.

One group of purple roses are called the McCormick Rose.

Margaret Hunt McCormick, wife of the second Arizona territorial governor, Richard C. McCormick, had a clipping from a New Jersey rose bush taken by steamship around South America all the way to Los Angeles.

There, the clipping was taken by stagecoach to the territorial capital of Prescott to be planted at the Governor’s Mansion. The Mesa rose garden got a clipping from that bush in 2004.

Despite all care that flowering plants would seem to need in the harsh desert, Sheard says it’s not that hard to grow roses.

“Roses are like teenagers,” he said. “They eat anything and a lot of it. They’re never not hungry.”

Sheard says the roses at MCC don’t take any special additives or treatments.

“We don’t do anything but wash them. They only need fertilizer. Just feed them.”

Sheard talks about expanding the rose garden further, maybe adding fruit trees and a shop.

“The president of MCC talks about the Rose Garden at MCC. Ultimately, it’s going to become MCC at the Rose Garden,” Sheard jokes.

The Rose Garden, at 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, is open to the public every day of the year at no charge.

– Contact Ralph Zubiate at 480-898-6825 or rzubiate@timespublications.com.

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Steve Sheard, Cheryl Doan and Mike Cryer of the Mesa-East Valley Rose Society tend to the roses at Mesa Community College.

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Visitors enjoy the blooms at the Rose Garden at Mesa Community College, the largest rose garden in the Southwest.

WORSLEY

Worsley said, adding that the alternative means that government fails, choked in gridlock. “There is no one pulling the two opposites together for a compromise.

“I just can’t stand to see no progress because people are in their corners, bound by their political ideologies.”

Now, with the 2017 legislative session in the home stretch, Worsley could again be in the position of casting a swing vote in the battle over the next state budget –and determining whether the Legislature goes on for weeks without adopting one.

He said he vowed in February that he would not vote for a state budget that does not include a $1 billion, 30-year bonding plan for state universities intended to make Arizona a technical growth center similar to Austin, Texas; Salt Lake City; or Palo Alto, California.

Though it is a top legislative priority for Gov. Doug Ducey, some conservative Republicans oppose the plan – much to Worsley’s dismay.

“We would let the universities start dreaming again,” Worsley said, with Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University all benefiting.

“I’m all for it. I think it's money well spent,” adding that the measure might eventually produce 12,000 good-paying jobs.

Controversy launched political career

Worsley said he thinks there are enough votes to get the bonding plan passed, but he added, “That’s the last stand, the Alamo, the middle man’s last stand.”

Controversy launched Worsley’s unexpected political career in the 2012 Republican primary for the District 25 Senate seat when he agreed to run as a last hope against volatile former Republican Sen. Russell Pearce.

Moderate Republicans in the district were fed up with Pearce – a lightning rod best known for SB 1070, the divisive immigration law that was partially overturned in federal courts.

Pearce was seeking a comeback after losing a recall election in 2011.

Worsley said his niche developed when he ran for a third term last year and Republicans lost the 18th District seat to Ahwatukee Democrat Sean Bowie, who represents his hometown as well as parts of Mesa, Chandler and Tempe.

With 17 Republicans and 13 Democrats, he said his vote has become

“I am a conservative person. I am a religious person,” said state

more valuable.

“Most of the 17 have political ambitions and political brands. They are so fearful to leave the box that has been drawn. I look at every single bill and I say, ‘What is the right thing to do?”’

Worsley said.

Until he ran against Pearce, the 61-year-old never looked like anything but a conservative Republican businessman, living in East Mesa and volunteering in leadership positions with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He has been married for 40 years and has six children and 26 grandchildren.

It was through this work as a branch president of a Mormon congregation, where he ministered to Hispanic church members, that Worsley was confronted with a difficult decision he viewed as a moral dilemma.

With only three days to make up his mind, Worsley was asked to run against Pearce, who had been defeated by Jerry Lewis in a stunning recall election on Nov. 8, 2011.

Lewis was unable to run for re-election because re-districting left his residence slightly outside the District 25 boundary.

“I am very reluctant. I have never in my life wanted to do this. I never had ambitions for any political office,” Worsley said.

Arena bill proponent

But the prospect of Pearce’s re-election was more than he could tolerate, he said.

“The state had turned into a hostile environment for immigrants. I needed

the Arizona Coyotes, hotels and other entertainment venues would be plowed back into financing the facility.

The bill was approved by Worsley’s Transportation and Technology Committee with some tentative support, but he failed to attract enough votes to get it passed by the full Legislature.

Freestone considers publicly financed stadiums a drain on taxpayers, saying people would spend money on something else if an arena were not available.

School voucher battle

Mesa Mayor John Giles is effusive in his support for Worsley.

“Bob does stand out at the Legislature as someone who will entertain an idea. A lot of folks down there are entrenched in partisanship,” Giles said. “I wish we had more people like Bob down at the Legislature.”

to protect them,” Worsley said. “It was very expensive and I had little time.”

Worsley not only beat Pearce, but two years later defeated Ralph Heap to win re-election in 2014 after a bruising campaign in which he was attacked by the hard right for voting to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

“It’s painful; there’s nothing enjoyable about it. I am not an argumentative person by nature,” Worsley said. “I am a conservative person. I am a religious person.”

But at the same time, Worsley seems reluctant to impose his conservative positions on other people’s lives.

“I tend to respect everyone’s right to do what’s best for them” and their family, he said.

Worsley’s judgment of what he thinks is right conflicts with the views of some people.

Retired East Valley politician Tom Freestone said he doesn’t agree with Worsley sometimes but still appreciates his candor and still considers him a friend. Worsley considers Freestone’s pragmatic approach something he tries to emulate.

“He’s always been truthful to me. He has always told me where he stands,” Freestone said. “I have always liked independent-minded people.”

But that didn’t stop Freestone from calling Worsley’s office to express his opposition to the arena bill.

That bill would have created a “community engagement district,” where half the sales tax collected at a proposed arena in the East Valley for

He said Worsley is a good listener who takes copious notes and will analyze an issue as if he is trying to solve a business problem.

“He comes at issues with an open mind,” Giles said.

Worsley once again found himself in the middle of the contentious Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher bill.

The new law allows an additional 5,500 students per year to receive a $4,400 school voucher. Money that would have previously funded a public school can be spent on tuition at a private or religious school.

Worsley’s compromise was to cap the maximum number of students receiving the voucher at 30,000 per year in 2022. It is a gradual increase Worsley views as an experiment.

Otherwise, an estimated 1.1 million students would have received the vouchers immediately under the original proposal.

Opponents of the bill said it would undermine public schools.

As state budget talks heat up, Worsley again is finding himself in the middle in the fight over the university bond proposal – which Democrats support.

Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, the Senate minority leader, respects Worsley’s intellect and his independence, even though he belongs to a different party and they sometimes disagree.

And what she said about Worsley underscores the significance of his role in the budget battle.

“Sen. Worsley is really good to work with,” Hobbs said. “He is willing to stand in the middle and to buck his caucus. It puts him in a sticky situation sometimes.”

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Sen. Bob Worsley of Mesa.

“I love the history, I love the horses, I love the trails.”

Much of the trip will be along the historic Heber Reno Sheep Driveway, which dates back to the 1890s.

It was used heavily by Chandler’s Dobson family for sheep drives, which delight generations of East Valley residents with the sight of more than 1,000 head of sheep grazing on fields.

The Dobsons and their employees would drive the sheep north to the Mogollon Rim in the spring for the summer and south to Chandler and other pastures in the fall for the winter.

It is a part of Arizona history that has largely vanished, because of urbanization and changes in the agriculture industry.

“I want to keep the trail alive. I want to keep it open,” Whitney Wiltbank said. “This is an opportunity for my inner cowboy to come out.”

He said cowboys in Eagar love the idea and consider such a ride an item for their bucket list.

“If you are not careful, you will die behind a desk. You have to enjoy what God gave you,” Wiltbank said. “It’s cleaning my head.”

Dean Svoboda, a retired city planner who worked for Apache Junction, Glendale and Peoria during his career, said he was reconnecting with horses after a long hiatus.

He is normally a “bicycle tourist,” riding about 2,000 miles a summer.

“If you have the horse skills, you don’t really lose them,” Svoboda said. “It’s going back to my roots.”

He said he met Wiltbank while staying at Sprucedale Ranch and trusted him to put together a good ride.

“I’m retired. I don’t have too many constraints on my time. I am always looking for a new adventure,” Svoboda said.

All the riders had their own reasons to sign up for the trip, with most mentioning the challenge as one of the main draws.

The expedition is not cheap – $2,500 per person, according to the ranch’s website.

The riders ranged from Celine den Bremer, 19, from the Netherlands, to David Maiville, 72, of Yuma, who was dressed in padded tights, cowboy boots and a hat.

Den Bremer said she has relatives who live in Phoenix and in Eagar and had visited Sprucedale in the past.

“I love challenges. I really like being outdoors,” den Bremer said.

“My father saw it on Facebook and he showed it to me. I thought, ‘That looks like fun,’” den Bremer said.

Maiville said he was a good athlete as a young man and ran six marathons.

He said he also has many physical problems and that he trained for the ride, working on his core to strengthen his back.

The idea of being on the inaugural ride appealed to Maiville. He noted that the riders will receive a commemorative western belt buckle.

“I knew it was going to weird, fun and dangerous. They are just figuring it out,” he said.

– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@timespublications.com.

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Horses rest along the trail. Much of this special ride will be along the historic Heber Reno Sheep Driveway, which dates back to the 1890s.

Chandler teaches water safety at Hamilton Aquatic Center

Water Safety Awareness Day, which is intended to educate kids and families on how to stay safe around water, is noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at the Hamilton Aquatic Center, 3838 S. Arizona Ave. The event will include free games and public swim, and the center's staff will simulate a water rescue and provide CPR demonstrations and information on sun safety. In addition, parents can have lifeguards swim test their children to help determine the appropriate swim class for their child. Chandler’s event is part of National Water Safety Month.

For more information, call 480-782-2750. For information about Chandler’s swim lessons and programs, visit chandleraz.gov/aquatics. For water safety tips and drowning prevention information, visit the Chandler Fire, Health & Medical Department at chandleraz.gov/fire.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Season begins for tubing down Lower Salt River

Salt River Tubing is opening its season Monday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The company charges $17 per person for tube rental, shuttle bus ride and free customer parking.

The starting point is in Tonto National Forest, seven minutes from Highway 202 East on north Power Road. Salt River Tubing has operated for over 35 years.

Information: saltrivertubing. com.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Mesa police dogs compete in K-9 Trials

The 15th annual Desert Dog Police K-9 Trials are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 6 and 7, at Sloan Park in Mesa.

Mesa police dogs and their handlers will compete in a series of events at the ballpark, 2330 W. Rio Salado Parkway. The event is free, and no pets are allowed in the stadium.

Information: desertdogk9trials.com.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Tempe Union officials ponder going into the real estate business

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

Tempe Union High School District would enter a long-term arrangement with one or more developers under three options being considered for getting revenue from vacant land it owns in Chandler.

The options came under review by governing board members at a recent meeting as they pondered the sale of a 49-acre parcel at Kyrene Road and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway.

No decision has yet been made on what to do with the site, which the district bought in 1994 for $4.5 million for a high school that wasn’t built.

The Chandler parcel is one of two district-owned sites that Tempe Union officials are reviewing for generating millions of dollars in revenue.

The other, a 63-acre site in Ahwatukee with the potential for the construction of 178 higher-end homes, is already on the market. One final disposition of that land also could involve a long-term relationship between the district and whatever developer buys the site.

A real estate advisor hired by the district said the Ahwatukee land could generate well over $10 million for the district.

The three options on the Chandler site that would make the district a landlord or a developer’s partner could give the district a steady revenue stream for many years, an advisor told the board.

But they provoked one board member to wonder if the district’s quest for more money could put it into territory that has nothing to do with education.

“I’m thinking maybe that’s not what school districts do. This is not the job we hired you to do,” board Vice President Michelle Helm told Superintendent Kenneth Baca at one point.

Helm’s concern – which she expressed several times during the April 19 meeting – came after Baca himself admitted that with one option, “we have to go into the business of being a landlord.”

Helm was particularly concerned about an option that would have the district exchange the vacant land for a large commercial building.

“I never thought this was something a school district would do or could do,” Helm said.

The exchange would then enable the district to collect rent indefinitely –and also be responsible for fixing any problems involving the building.

"I don't think voters would be surprised if they were at our meetings."

“I’m out of my league,” Helm complained. “An exchange and all that is involved in it is not something I foresee our voters thinking we were going to be doing as a school district. That concerns me … the exchange isn’t something I’m interested in.”

The only two other board members at the meeting – President DeeAnne McClenahan and Brandon Schmoll –disagreed.

“I don’t want to exclude any offer before we have any offers,” said Schmoll. “It’s hard to make decisions before you know what the offers are going to be.”

McClenahan noted that voters last November overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that gave the district permission to sell the Chandler and the Ahwatukee parcels.

That measure gave the district carte blanche in deciding what to do with both parcels.

“I would say when we went out for this vote, we were sitting here talking about a partnership that would look a lot like this … a long-term ownership of an income-producing property. I think that when we went out to the voters, that’s where our heads were at. I don’t think the voters would be surprised if they were at our meetings,” she said.

Karsten Peterson of the real estate company JLL outlined five options for getting money out of the site.

Chandler city government looms as a

"I never thought this was something a school district would do or could do."

possible player in all of them because it has a 22-year lease on an adjacent parcel that also belongs to the district. The city is leasing it for $1 a year and has options to renew the lease for an additional 30 years.

With or without the park, the site is coveted by developers.

“Since I’ve been here, we always have a call annually – more than one sometimes” about the site, Baca told the board, saying interest in it is “very high.”

Peterson said the easiest, least risky option for disposing of the land would be an outright bulk sale, with the city still holding on to the park.

“Chandler might be interested in buying it because there is not much recreation land in that area,” Baca said.

Although Peterson did not give an estimate on how much money an outright sale might yield, he said two options likely would generate more cash for the district – and pose more risk to the district.

One option would be to divide the parcel and sell it piecemeal, possibly for apartments, office buildings and retail establishments.

Such a “product-specific offering” would “generate the highest value for the property” and “generate the largest number of bidders,” Peterson said.

Besides an exchange, the other two options would involve entering into lease agreements with a developer.

"I don't want

to exclude any offer before we have any offers."

One would involve a joint venture, which Peterson acknowledged “leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many” district officials.

That option also would offer a developer the best of all worlds: The land would be tax-free because it would remain in the district’s name, and the district “wouldn’t have a lot of participation in the grand scheme of the project” because all decision and control would be in the developer’s hands, Peterson said.

The fifth option would involve leasing the land – which Peterson said would be risky for the district because it might not attract much interest from developers.

The piecemeal sale of the land prompted some officials to express concern that it would be “pushing decisions onto future boards and administrations.”

And while two board members remained open to exchanging the land for a fully equipped building, Baca cautioned, “I don’t know the administration would ever recommend it. If we do trade for a building, we assume everything that happens to that building.”

In the end, even McClenahan concurred that all the options carry big question marks, though she also said she was leaning toward a piecemeal sale of the site.

“We need to give some directions,” she said. “There are a lot of different ideas.”

Arrest made in threat against Chandler elementary school

A social-media threat of violence against a Chandler elementary school ended up in an arrest.

On April 25, a threat was made on Snapchat against Santan Elementary School, on Chandler Heights Road between McQueen and Cooper roads. A screenshot of the threat was posted to Facebook to warn parents. It read:

“Not a joke I don’t care if i get put into jail!! But I’m telling you right now do not go to school unless ur hendy cause I WILL be shooting up the school tomorrow goodnight.”

Chandler Police made an arrest just before 7 a.m. the next morning.

TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Waymo begins letting consumers use self-driving cars

Waymo, the self-driving car project begun by Google, has started letting consumers begin using its cars, and it is seeking more users.

The project’s cars have been a familiar sight in the East Valley for months now as Waymo has tested its technology. Recently, several families in the Valley were picked to use the cars full-time. Now, Waymo is seeking more people in Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert and Tempe to try out its cars through its Early Rider Program. Applications are being taken at waymo.com/apply.

Waymo is also adding 500 self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to the fleet.

STAFF REPORT

$18 million parking garage envisioned for downtown Gilbert

An $18 million parking structure may be added to the Gilbert Heritage District as early as spring 2019. The upgrade could make it easier to get a taxi or ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft.

A formal design won’t be approved until later this year, but early recommendations call for a five-story garage with up to 600 spots on the east side of Gilbert Road near Vaughn Avenue

According to recommendations, the structure will be taller, the lanes will be wider and the top floor will include security features to prevent loitering – an issue that plagues the original garage.

STAFF REPORT

State nears new guidelines to identify, help dyslexic students

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Arizona is on the verge of requiring schools to do more to identify students with dyslexia and giving them guidelines for how to deal with them.

The Senate on April 24 gave final unanimous approval to legislation allowing the state Board of Education to create a handbook for schools. That already appears to be accomplished, with Rep. Jill Norgaard, R-Phoenix, telling board members earlier in the day one has been prepared and is ready for adoption.

But the potentially more significant part of HB 2202, which now goes to the governor, is redefining dyslexia in a way Norgaard said more accurately reflects the condition. She said that by itself should help students get identified earlier and get them the help they need before they fall behind.

Norgaard said Arizona would be the 15th state in the nation to create such a handbook.

She said it would free parents, educators and other volunteers to start working to ensure that schools find dyslexic students and provide help.

The problem, she explained, is that students who have problems in word recognition and decoding are often simply considered to be slow readers, especially when there is no other disability found.

“Dyslexia students are typically very bright,” Norgaard said. “They memorize a lot of things,” she said, starting as early as age 3.

It isn’t until they get into second and third grade where there’s a noticeable drop in reading comprehension, especially when problems are presented in story form.

“It’s been identified that 17 percent of students have some form of dyslexia,” she said.

Bernadette Coggins, a governing board member in the Kyrene School District, said the guidelines are important.

“It’s a starting point for schools where they have to start identifying students so I don’t have to go in and say, ‘I think my kid’s dyslexic,’ and have them say, ‘No, he’s ADHD’ or some other diagnosis,” she said. “At the same time, we’re going

(Howard Fischer/Capitol

Rep. Jill Norgaard tells the state Board of Education about efforts to put together a handbook to help teachers both diagnose and deal with students with dyslexia.

to provide some resources and tools for school districts to tap into.”

Coggins said she knows from personal experience with her son, Zane, that, until now, schools have had no tools to identify students with dyslexia or even know what to do with them.

“We knew in about third grade that something wasn’t right,” Coggins said, with his skills two years behind grade level.

She said her district provided “every intervention we have.” But nothing the district did was able to figure out what was wrong.

It was only after taking action on her own, Coggins said, that she got a diagnosis. She said, though, that there needs to be something built in to the education system to find those students before it’s too late.

“What we’ve noticed with dyslexia is if kids aren’t diagnosed and given the right tools, then they go on into middle school and high school,” Coggins said. She said they have a high dropout rate and believes they are more likely to end up in prison.

Media Services)

Girls follow modesty, faith to push against revealing prom dresses

BY RACHEL EROH Tribune Contributor

It’s prom season and every girl is looking for the perfect dress that fits her own personal style while also remaining trendy.

In every boutique and department store, the racks are lined with dresses covered in sequins, tulle, lace and silk. It appears there is a dress for everyone, with one major exception.

For the girls who want to maintain their modesty, it’s difficult to find a dress among the revealing cuts and slits that seem to be found on almost every gown.

In the East Valley, few stores help those girls find what they need while also staying stylish.

Jerolyn Greenberg, owner of A Closet Full of Dresses in Mesa, said the common stereotype behind what “modest” dresses look like is wrong.

Prom For Homeschoolers

East Valley homeschooled teens head to special prom. Go to tiny.cc/homeprom

be

“I think a lot of times people think modest means frumpy,” she said.

However, many of the designers and brands that Greenberg sells have modest versions of a lot of their gowns.

“There are reps that know what religious groups need and they’ve chosen gown styles that they have made modest

for that exact reason,” Greenberg said. “Which is super-nice for our clientele.”

This way, girls can get the styles they want while also feeling covered with sleeves and higher necklines.

Greenberg understands that many girls see risqué dresses in the stores and want to fit the trend, she said.

“They want what they’ve seen,” Greenberg said. “That’s what is in their teen magazines and what is out there.”

However, many girls want the styles without the revealing features.

“There are still many girls that want to look beautiful and trendy without revealing so much,” Greenberg said.

Jeanay Sirrine, owner of Modest Wedding and Prom in Mesa, said she offers stylish dresses that have modest sleeves and length.

“When a lot of girls come in they say, ‘This is exactly what I’ve been looking for,’” Sirrine said.

Sirrine has also had many moms thank her for making their daughter’s shopping experience much easier for them, she said.

Her store offers gown rentals, alterations and even rental jewelry.

Having raised daughters, Sirrine understood how difficult it was to find dresses for special occasions that were not revealing.

“They can’t see the rest of you if they only see skin,” Sirrine said. “There’s so

Mesa Explorer post teaches Scouts to soar like eagles

BY COLLEEN SPARKS Tribune Contributor

Teenagers are feeling their confidence soar as they learn to fly an airplane in a Mesa Boy Scouts post that exposes them to the thrills of aviation.

The goal of Aviation Explorer Post 352 is not just to get youths comfortable in a cockpit, but to elevate their self-esteem and propel them toward successful careers in any field on land or in the air.

Almost 30 scouts, ages 14 to 21, take flying lessons and learn the math, science and rules behind aviation in the classroom. Based at Falcon Field in Mesa, the program is part of Learning for Life, an affiliate of Boy Scouts of America that offers career-exploration activities.

Experienced pilots teach students how

to do pre-flight checks and calculate pressure altitude. Students also learn the mechanics of flight and how to talk to controllers, and get up to speed on FAA regulations.

The group meets almost every Saturday from September to May in a classroom, in an airport hangar or in the field. In a classroom at Impala Bob’s at Falcon Field, students ask questions, watch videos and give presentations on aviation or any other topic of interest to increase their confidence.

They also change the oil, check the engine and change the brake pads of a 1969 Piper Cherokee, a single-engine plane. Nonprofit Falcon Flying Club owns the plane, which is also used for the flight lessons.

McKenna Huey, 16, of Mesa, a junior at Red Mountain High School, has

(Rachel Eroh/Tribune Contributor)

Prom season means decisions to

made. At A Closet Full of Dresses, Audreyann Boren, Ashlyne Conway, Rebecca Farnsworth and Bailie McCabe opt for modest dresses against the tide of showier gowns. Budget is also a huge consideration for promgoers.

(Colleen Sparks/Tribune Contributor) Explorer Matt Trojanowski conducts a pre-flight check before climbing into the cockpit.

MODEST

much more to a girl.”

While her store does have some dresses that are strapless or have halter tops, Sirrine said she won’t carry anything that she believes is inappropriate and won’t change the image of her store.

“There are some dresses that I honestly find offensive,” Sirrine said.

EAGLES

participated in the program for about two years. Her father is a commercial pilot.

“My brother did it and all of his friends did it,” Huey said of the Explorer program. “I just like to fly. It’s awesome, it’s relaxing and amazing and super-fun.”

McKenna said she was a little nervous but mostly excited the first time she flew a plane. Giving presentations to the class has been a bit unnerving for her and other students, but it’s part of the post’s mission.

“It is not to teach flying, it’s to expose them to careers in aviation, to develop them to grow up to be responsible adults contributing to society,” said Bennett

Carol McDowell, a junior at Mountain View High School, was brought up in the LDS church and chooses to dress modestly so she won’t attract unwanted attention.

“When I dress modestly, it’s telling people that this is the way I choose to live and I’m just protecting my body,” McDowell said.

When McDowell first started looking for non-revealing dresses, she made the

Sloan of Mesa, the Explorer Post 352 advisor.

Some students pursue careers as pilots but others just want to fly for fun. Over the last 15 years, 12 students who participated in the Explorer post have gotten their private pilot’s license, said Sloan, a senior project manager at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport who served in the Air Force for five years.

In order to get a private pilot’s license, people must be at least 17 years old, according to the FAA. People must be at least 16 years old to get a student pilot certificate to fly solo.

Some Explorer students have gone on to teach flying to other youths. The post has been in existence for about 20 years. Matt Trojanowski, 17, of Mesa, is an

Enjoy Quality

mistake of searching in the mall, she said.

“We went to all of the department stores and I only found one dress that was modest,” she said. “It was a mother-ofthe-bride dress.”

The dress also came with a price tag of $300, McDowell said.

McDowell was hesitant to shop in stores that specialized in modest gowns because she was afraid they would be

Explorer who wants to join the military reserves and become a commercial pilot. He earned a $2,000 National Aviation Explorer Scholarship from Learning for Life to pay for flight training.

Six other Explorer Post 352 members also got the Learning for Life scholarships last fall to pay for their flight training.

Matt flew to Tucson with Post 352 chief flight instructor Chris Walton recently and then flew back to Falcon Field by himself.

The teen took his first solo flight a few months ago.

“It was awesome, so cool,” Matt said. “There’s a lot of freedom. I felt really well prepared.”

Walton, a Delta Airlines first officer and professional commercial airlines pilot since 1986, said students are ready

filled with “flour sack” dresses. But, she said, Modest Wedding and Prom surprised her.

“This store showed me that there are so many beautiful options,” McDowell said.

The prices were much more reasonable to her as well, she said.

A Closet Full of Dresses is at 1249 N. Greenfield Road and Modest Wedding and Prom is at 1107 S. Gilbert Road.

to fly on their own once “they can do things without me having to prompt them or tell them.”

“Landing the airplane is probably the hardest thing to teach,” he added. “I just tell them to have fun and relax. Anybody can learn to fly. It’s just a lot of stuff you have to learn about air space.”

Todd Selman of Mesa said he wasn’t nervous about his son, Langs Selman, who will turn 15 on March 21, flying with an Explorer instructor.

“He’s always wanted to fly,” Selman said. “The teachers are good; they go through a rigorous training program. Aviation is generally so much safer than people think.”

It costs $25 a year to be a member of the Explorer Post 352 and it costs them $95 an hour for flying lessons.

CHANDLER

Chandler charter school ranked among nation’s best BASIS Chandler has been ranked the seventh-best high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Nationally, BASIS schools took five of the top 10 positions, including the top three. The rankings include data on more than 22,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

All BASIS Chandler students were enrolled in Advanced Placement courses, and students were ranked 100 percent ready for college upon graduation.

The student body makeup is 54 percent male and 46 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 73 percent.

The school is at 800 E. Chandler Blvd.

Hydrology for homeschoolers

offered May 11 in Chandler

Families that homeschool their children are invited to learn about the science of water and connect with like-minded parents and kids at Homeschool Day at 9:30-11:30 a.m. May 11, at the Environmental Education Center at Veterans Oasis Park, 4050 E. Chandler

Heights Road.

The event is part of the center’s Environmental Education Explorations program, which provides field trip experiences to students and other groups.

The programs are designed for children and youth ages 5 to 17 and offer grade-specific activities that allow students to experience the adventure of learning through inquiry-based activities, investigations and technology.

The cost is $6 for homeschooled children living in Chandler and $9 for non-residents. Accompanying parents, chaperones and spectators attend for free.

Information: ariane.francis@chandleraz. gov or 480-782-2886.

Chandler streets to be repaved with recycled tire rubber

A pavement treatment made from recycled tire rubber will be applied through the end of May to a number of streets in sections of central, south and west Chandler.

The work will take approximately six weeks to complete. Minor maintenance and crack sealing has been performed on the streets in preparation.

Maps showing the locations of the maintenance projects can be found by clicking on the Road Construction & Street Closures link on the Transportation page of the city’s

website, chandleraz.gov/transportation.

All streets will remain open to traffic during the work, but lane restrictions will occur.

Information: 480-782-3500.

GILBERT Fundraiser for preservation of Clydesdale horse breed

The USA Clydesdale Preservation Foundation, of Gilbert, is having a fundraiser on Saturday, May 6, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

The event, at the group’s headquarters at 17208 E. Saragosa St., will feature six of the horses to “test drive” for a fee.

Activities for children and adults will be available, as will a hot dog lunch and bake sale. Donations will be accepted.

Admission is free. Information: 602-8034051.

Coding competition for students focuses on Earth Day projects

Students from Arizona high schools and middle schools competed at the 5th Annual SPARK Game Jam on March 16, a coding competition created by Gilbert in partnership with Arizona State University’s Fulton Schools of Engineering.

This year’s theme focused on Earth Day and encouraged students to “hack the planet.”

Winners included:

Best Overall Game: The Trimontality, Basha High School, for “Gilbert Cleanup”

Best Game Design: Spaghetti Code, Basha, “Canal Cleanup”

Best Visual Design: Dragon Rage, Mesquite High School, “Clean Gilbert”

Best Technical Game: New Conglomerate, Valley Vista High School, “Saving Gilbert”

Model Citizen Award: Claws of Fury, Gilbert Junior High School, “All of Nothing!”

MESA

Benedictine University hires new dean for Mesa campus

Benedictine University has tapped Paula Norby to be dean of the university’s Mesa campus.

She will be responsible for all academic and operational areas, and be charged with developing strategies to continue to grow the Mesa campus.

Norby has nearly 30 years of higher education experience including operations, instructional and curriculum management, student planning, and leadership and professional development. She is currently interim dean of instruction for Mohave Community College in California. See BRIEFS on page 14

Tempe to offer free preschool program to improve education

BY ALEXA STUECKRATH Cronkite News

Children living in poverty will be able to attend a free preschool program to jump-start their academic potential and narrow the learning gap between poor and more well-off students.

“In our community, we have a lot of students that are coming into kindergarten that are not meeting kindergarten readiness benchmarks,” Tempe council member David Schapira said. “Two-thirds are not meeting benchmarks in our city.”

Thew Elementary School in Tempe was chosen for a new, free preschool program the city is rolling out in August. More than 80 percent of its students qualify for free and reduced lunch.

“There are so few high-quality preschool options in this area,” Schapira said. “And the fact that the poverty rate is so high among 3- and 4-year-olds, this is a perfect location for us to open a preschool.”

Money has been allocated to fund the

BRIEFS

from page 13

TEMPE

Tempe begins waterline project, will affect traffic at Rural, Southern Tempe is replacing aging water infrastructure this summer in the Brentwood Manor and Tempe Royal Palms neighborhoods. The Rural Road and Southern Avenue corridors should experience heavy traffic as a result. During construction, beginning Monday, May 1, the city plans to minimize disruptions to the traveling public and local businesses. For information about the street restrictions and bus detours, go to tempe. gov/streetclosures. For information about the project, go to tempe.gov/city-hall/publicworks/water/water-distribution-wastewatercollection/water-project-updates-x2.

Tempe History Museum receives National Accreditation

Tempe History Museum has been awarded the American Alliance of Museums’ highest honor, National Accreditation.

The designation recognizes institutions that meet or exceed national museum standards.

The Tempe History Museum features the history of Tempe in the main exhibit hall,

program in the proposed budget, which will be approved by June 30.

“These are not taxpayer dollars. This is money paid by developers to the city of Tempe for development projects in the city,” Schapira said.

Research has shown that how successful a child is in school affects the path they will take for the rest of their lives.

kindergarten than children who are in upper and middle socioeconomic status,” Enz said.

Children in low-income families have only one book at home, or 25 hours of reading by the time they enter kindergarten, compared to 54 books that lead to 1,500 hours of reading time for children whose families are more well

“ Kids that go to preschool are coming into kindergarten ready to learn.”

– Kindergarten teacher Tracey Valenzuela

Attending preschool better prepares a child for future academic success, said Billie Enz, an early childhood professor.

New research published by the American Educational Research Association shows the gap between children who attend preschool and those don’t attend is narrowing, but a divide still exists.

“Children living in poverty hear about 30 million fewer words when they enter

with rotating exhibitions and art galleries all year long. Recent exhibits include “The Tempe Sound” and “Legend City,” along with the museum’s current feature, “Trains of Tempe.” Admission is free.

Information: tempe.gov/museum.

Tempe streetcar project set to begin construction in June

Construction of Tempe’s $177 million streetcar project will begin in June. The first work will involve utility relocations to make way for the track.

The streetcar project, which is set to open in fall 2020, will include three miles of track around downtown Tempe, connecting riders to neighborhoods, business centers and regional destinations.

The streetcars will differ from light rail by being smaller slower and in lanes with regular vehicle traffic.

The city plans to work during the summer months when tourism is lighter and fewer college students are in town.

Starbucks chairman to speak at ASU commencement May 8

Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chairman and CEO, will be the official speaker May 8 at the Arizona State University commencement ceremony.

off, according to the research-association study.

“If children don’t come to school being able to listen, being able to follow directions, being able to pay focused attention they are already almost a year behind without any fault of their own,” Enz said.

She said preschool also teaches valuable social skills from being around other children, such as how to share, listen,

More than 20,000 graduating students and their guests will attend the ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium. As part of his first commencement speech, Schultz will also be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

The Starbucks College Achievement Plan enables employees to pursue and complete their college education tuition-free through ASU Online. To date, more than 6,500 have gained admission, and nearly 1,000 are expected to graduate from ASU by the end of this year. The goal is 25,000 graduates by 2025.

EAST VALLEY

Scholarship applications taken for Chandler-Gilbert CC

The Chandler Chamber Community Foundation is accepting applications for the 2017-2018 Scholarship for students attending Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

The foundation and Air Products and Chemicals will award up to three scholarships of $2,000 each to students who enroll at least a part-time in a business-related course of study at Chandler Gilbert Community College.

For eligibility requirements and more information, call 480-732-7311. For an online application, go to chandlerchamber. com/pages/scholarshipform.

take turns and follow directions.

“All of those things don’t happen when you just have you and your sibling at home,” Enz said.

Kindergarten teacher Tracey Valenzuela sees a wide divide between students who attend preschool and those that don’t.

“Kids that go to preschool are coming into kindergarten ready to learn … they know how to sit for short periods of time, they know how to get along with each other,” said Valenzuela, who teaches at Thew.

Valenzuela said it’s common for children who didn’t attend preschool to start kindergarten not knowing how to say their own name, let alone spell it. They may know only two letters, compared to other students who know most or all of the 26-letter alphabet. And, as they start learning to spell, many letters will be written backwards or upside down.

“Kids start at ground zero and to have them almost two or three grade levels higher by the end of the year and to make that kind of growth is difficult,” Valenzuela said.

Gilbert first, Chandler fourth in list of most

family-friendly AZ cities

WalletHub has ranked Gilbert the most family-friendly city in Arizona, with Chandler coming in fourth.

The site compared 65 cities in the state based on 21 key metrics, from median family income to school-system quality to housing affordability.

Also in the top five were Scottsdale at 2, Paradise Valley at 3 and Sahuarita at 5.

QUEEN CREEK

4 QC middle school students headed to History Day contest

Four Heritage Academy Gateway students will represent Arizona in the National History Day contest at the University of Maryland this summer.

Lauren Anderson and Victoria Smith, both competing at the national level for a second consecutive year, won first and second place respectively in the senior essay category.

Reylee Billingsley and Aidan Scott, also the top two finalists in their division, will represent Arizona in the junior essay category. Each student spent months researching and writing historical papers that won both at the regional and state level in order to advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C.

Business Business

Legacy Business

Cactus Sports celebrates 25 years in Tempe as ASU booster

BY RYAN CLARKE Tribune Staff Writer

Troy Scoma was a business student at Arizona State when he and his brother Jeff opened Cactus Sports in 1992. Now, the retail store is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a mainstay in Tempe.

Scoma is now the sole owner of Cactus Sports after buying out his brother in 2001. Business is something that remains a common thread with their family. Scoma’s parents had businesses of their own in his home state of Illinois, and the brothers worked for their mom and dad until they were teenagers.

Three years into ASU, Scoma jumped right into his desired career field when Jeff approached him about opening the store. Jeff had another retail venture going before Cactus Sports, but that didn’t end up working out.

“I helped him get it open that first year even though I was still finishing school,” Troy said. “After I graduated, he closed his store that wasn’t doing well and we became partners.”

Scoma’s love of sports dovetails with his passion for business. He’s been a diehard ASU football fan since he attended the university and said his fandom has only grown stronger as an alumnus. He hasn’t missed more than three home games since January 1995.

Through all the seasons filled with inspiration and disappointment, Cactus Sports was a constant for the Scoma brothers. Work didn’t feel like work –even if the duo was doing all they could to best the competition.

“You hear these cliché stories about people who get up and love what they do every day,” Scoma said. “I’m so lucky to be that guy – there aren’t many days in the past 25 years that I haven’t loved

This

coming in to work.”

The Tempe area has changed drastically since Cactus Sports started. Businesses – especially in the retail realm – have disappeared or been replaced. Through all the changes, including a move to its newest location in 2013 that doubled the size of its retail floor, Cactus Sports has thrived.

Scoma said the reason for his business’s longstanding success is the personal relationships it builds with customers, along with exclusive products you can’t find at competitors. When he sees a customer at a bar wearing a shirt that he designed, Scoma makes sure to buy them a drink and get to know their story – the kind of friendly gesture he claims you can’t find anywhere else.

Engraining itself within the Tempe community has allowed Cactus Sports to stake its place among legacy businesses in the area. Whether Scoma is out buying a round for a group wearing jerseys he designed, or the store is promoting itself on social media, Cactus Sports has a wide reach and has become the go-to for ASU fans in search of Sun Devil gear. According to Scoma, this wouldn’t be possible without a staff he calls “phenomenal.” He’s confident that whenever he decides to step away

from the business – if it’s in five years or another 25 – it will be left in good hands.

“I keep thinking about when I’m going to pseudo-retire,” he said. “I still love what I do, but I’m approaching 50 in a year and a half.

“As long as I’m still happy, I don’t see why I couldn’t keep doing it.”

(Special to the Tribune)

ABOVE: Cactus Sports is the go-to store for ASU fans in search of Sun Devil gear.

RIGHT: Cactus Sports moved to its newest location in 2013, which doubled the size of its retail floor.

Montessori school opens new campus in Chandler

The 23-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills Montessori has given birth to a Chandler campus –partly because school administrator Meaghan McClung was moved by some parents’ long drive.

“I noticed that many clients were driving to school each day from their homes and workplaces in Chandler, Gilbert and beyond,” McClung explained.

“Parents would gladly make the sacrifice of the long drive time because ‘it was the best school for their child,’ but I began to investigate the possibility of opening a second campus to help relieve the commute for my clients.”

She found one with the help of a parent and now oversees a campus at 5570 W. Chandler Blvd. as well as the Ahwatukee school down the road at 3221 E. Chandler Blvd.

The Chandler campus will “replicate the Montessori Program we had cultivated and mastered over 23 years at our Ahwatukee location,” McClung said.

The Ahwatukee campus was started in January 1995 by Jan Vickory, who had set up three Montessori schools in Michigan before deciding to seek warmer climes.

She set up a program structure that remains today: a preschool and kindergarten serving children ages 2½

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Chandler fugitive contractor arrested outside court

One of Arizona’s most wanted unlicensed contractors has been arrested. Jason Lee Heilbrun, 42, of Chandler, was arrested outside of the Kyrene Justice Court. He faces charges of fraud, theft and doing illegal unlicensed contracting work.

Heilbrun is accused of taking an estimated $29,800 from homeowners in Fountain Hills and Phoenix for renovation and contracting work promised but never done.

Subaru dealer in Chandler opens new store in West Valley

Richard Cvijanovich, owner of the Subaru Superstore at 1050 S. Gilbert

through 6 with a teacherstudent ratio of 1 to 7 with classroom “directresses” certified by the American Montessori Society.

Although Vickery retired in 2011 and sold the business to McClung, an 18year veteran of the school, she still remains a consultant and staff trainer.

McClung said that from the start, she was committed to carrying on Vickery’s legacy of maintaining an environment “designed to allow the child to become a self-motivated and selfdriven learner.”

“Teachers recognize that the child has the capacity to learn from the environment with minimal adult interference,” she said. “In AFM classrooms, children are given appropriate freedom of choice, allowing them to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Thanks to daily one-on-one reading instruction, many students are reading independently by age 3.

The school also provides ageappropriate Spanish, art and music curriculums.

McClung said that by the time students are ready to transition to the

Road, Chandler, is branching out.

He has now opened his second Subaru Superstore in the Prasada 303 Auto Park in Surprise.

The two-story, 60,000-square-foot, seven-acre complex represents a state-ofthe-art sales, service and parts operation.

“Our goal was to offer Northwest and West Valley clients the same great sales and service experience they have come to appreciate at our Subaru Superstore of Chandler location,” Cvijanovich said

Chandler education tech firm moves, will hire more this year

Chandler education technology company StrongMind has moved into a larger office and plans to continue hiring this year.

StrongMind develops technology and content curriculum for online schools serving students from sixth to 12th

first grade, the teachers are “focused on showing students how to translate the concepts they have learned through the Montessori materials to the more abstract version they are likely to encounter in their future studies.”

“It is common for graduate students to be extremely fluent readers, accomplished public speakers, and, often, awardwinning essay writers,” she added.

grade. The company fuels Chandlerbased Primavera Online High School, and works with 22,000 Arizona students annually.

StrongMind moved into a larger 27,000-square-foot building in the same Chandler area in March, on Arizona Avenue between Elliot and Warner roads.

Wholesale artisan bakery moving into Mesa building

City Bakery, a wholesale artisan baking company from Denver, has opened a 5,000-square-foot baking operation in Mesa. The company has invested $1.1 million in the facility and will employ 20 people.

The facility will produce and distribute breads and pastries for restaurants, catering companies, coffee shops, and food trucks across the Phoenix-Mesa metro area.

“Parents choose AFM because of the excellent academic reputation we have earned, but our standing has also been built on our attention and focus on the whole child, McClung added. “We specialize in helping our students to become confident, compassionate, critical thinkers.”

Information: 480-759-3810, ahwatukeefoothillsmontessori.com

City Bakery has been voted Best Bakery in Denver by Westword magazine and Best Dessert by Zagat.

Intel unveils solar array at campus in Chandler

Intel has unveiled a solar array at its Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, the second-largest project on a corporate carport in the nation.

The company installed the panels at 4500 S. Dobson Road. The panels have a capacity of 7.7 megawatts in direct sunlight, enough to power about 2,000 homes at once. The solar panels cover more than 3,000 parking spaces.

The installation is the largest by any customer of Salt River Project and second only to an 18-megawatt capacity installation at Freeport-McMoRan’s Bagdad mine.

(Special to AFN)

Shane Hollingsworth and Kelly Dai, both 5, are in kindergarten at Foothills Montessori, which now has campuses in Ahwatukee and Chandler.

Trump’s first 100 days shine a bright light – on our performance

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

Now comes the 101st day of the Trump administration, a milestone that calls for some careful analysis. Not examination of or by our 45th president, who seems completely uninterested in such exercises, careful or otherwise, but an appraisal of the rest of us, the other 325 million Americans who have been politicking and protesting, screaming and posting our way through the last 100 days of national havoc.

The assessment from this corner? We deserve a solid F-plus for our performance as a citizenry since Inauguration Day. And I’m being a generous grader, not unlike my high school history teacher Mr. Capezza back in the day.

Incidentally, in case you think I’m about to favor one side of the political aisle over another in this indictment, that’s not the case. While I have found little to like about the Trump

presidency, what I like even less is how we as a nation have responded to it. The past 100 days have been … beneath us. Not politically, because there’s no such thing as too low in that subterranean world. I’m talking about the country as, metaphorically, a body, endowed with brains, heart, emotions.

Basically, America has been acting like a petulant 3-year-old.

I’ve heard all the “not my president” talk from the left, been bombarded by their disaffection with Trump, his gilded family and his team of wealthy old white guys. We understand, dear progressive friends, that you detest the man’s each and every proposal – the decimation of Obamacare, the border wall, the travel ban, the massive tax breaks for companies and the rich. You don’t like Trump’s smirking puss, his hair topography, Mar-A-Lago and his angry, misspelled tweets. You don’t like what Trump represents and you don’t like him, down to a molecular level.

I get all that. What I don’t get is how

such hatred manifests itself as taking joy in failure. Because the president of the United States coming apart at the seams is not the same as a win for our country. In fact, it may end up being the exact opposite of that – an America with a decimated economy, an even more broken political system, schools and public safety in tatters.

There should be no joy in rooting for the leader of the free world to fail, flail, or look like a walking disaster area. And yet that’s how so many on the left come across these days.

Meanwhile, my right-leaning friends have committed a cardinal sin easily recognized by sports fans – winning without class. Again, I get it because for eight years the right never stopped screeching about it. For conservatives, the Obama years were a dark epoch of social liberalism, government overreach and Constitutional chaos. Then came along came Trump. Now, as the president would tweet it, the right is winning – “so much winning.”

Along has come happy dances, profane memes and Metallica-decibel rubbing it in, every manifestation of sore winning possible. The only thing better than a wall, go the screams, would be a wall with every liberal on the other side of it. For these folks, the last 100 days have been one long, sweet Fox News Special Report – “Trump: The Revenge Years.”

Not unlike a tattletale child who finds glee and a reason to tease upon seeing a classmate be put in timeout for, oh, four years.

Trump will come and go. America, which has withstood civil war and world wars, depressions, recessions and terrorists, will surely withstand Hurricane Donald. What we may never get over is the chasm the rest of us create in his wake.

Just think: 100 days down. Only 1,361 days to go.

Make public education a legitimate, viable and beneficial school choice

BY REV. ANNE K. ELLSWORTH Tribune Guest Writer

Iam the mother of two children in the Kyrene School district. I cherish public education, and I deeply value private religious education as a legitimate choice for families to make.

I believe our communities do best when there is a healthy mix of robust public, public charter and private school choice options.

But today our public schools are neither healthy nor robust.

Per our state constitution, Article 11, Section 10: Arizona state legislators have a constitutional obligation to fund public schools by adequate taxation. Funding public schools through adequate taxation is a constitutional obligation. An obligation our lawmakers are failing to meet.

Otherwise, we would not be in the crisis

we’re in now: overcrowded classrooms, a devastating teacher shortage, loss of arts and music education, shamefully low teacher pay and buildings that are overdue for necessary maintenance.

Our family is fortunate because we attend a public school in a wealthy district. But even in Kyrene, there is great funding disparity among our schools. Why?

Because some of our schools can partially make up for inadequate taxation through adequate tax credits.

Our school has a parent base willing and able to hustle for tax credits. So, we look shiny and bright and have many of the “extras” that used to be part of public education at every school, when they were funded through adequate taxation.

Additionally, parents in wealthier schools like ours spend a lot of our own money supporting school fundraisers. We who have more privilege and wealth often have more flexible work schedules

and so we can spend more time in the classroom aiding our teachers in crowded classrooms.

We spend a lot of our own money financing basic classroom supplies: typing paper, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, pencils, crayons, snacks for teachers to keep on hand for hungry children.

Our “Grade A,” excelling, Kyrene public school would not have that status if it weren’t so heavily subsidized by tax credits and parent donations of money, time and in-kind contributions.

But, the charade is almost up: Even in the resource-rich Kyrene district, unless drastic cuts are made, our school board has concluded that we will be out of money in three years.

That’s right: Due to flat growth rates, the projected loss of students from the ESA expansion, and inadequate funding of public schools through taxation, the Kyrene School District will be out of funds in three years unless drastic cuts are made.

So, what will the cuts be? Teachers? Their salaries? Art? Music? The last remaining school counselors? Reading programs? Field trips? Air conditioning? Will we go to four school days a week? Will parents rally and keep emptying our pockets and writing checks, further subsidizing school funding that, according to the Arizona Constitution, ought to come from adequate taxation?

Education policy that serves the common good has been in the past and can be again a nonpartisan issue.

Arizona Republican, Democrat and independent voters want public education to be a viable, attractive and beneficial school choice for families. It won’t be unless we, the people, actively work to elect public servants who choose to fund public education through adequate taxation, per the statutes of our state constitution.

– David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo. com.

Easter Pageant article praise

I just want to thank you for the wonderful article you ran about Easter Pageant (“Playing Jesus in Mormon pageant affects actors in many ways,” April 16). I have been involved for 14 years and this was the best article.

– Ted Schmalbeck

– Chandler

Ode to Bill O’Reilly

On the day before Bill O’Reilly’s sudden “vacation,” I knew he was in hot water.

I remarked to my wife about the obviously shorter commercial breaks between the show’s segments. Then, two days in a row, the front page “What’s News” column of the Wall Street Journal announced articles in the B section concerning his problems. A search of the B section revealed no such article either day, indicating to me that events were moving too fast for the paper to keep up and that his time with Fox News was ending. I’ll miss Bill. His steadfast refusal to let guests preview and control interview questions, his attempts to get the main participants of both sides of any issue to appear for debate – and when they refused his invitation, provided a close surrogate – caused many politicians to seek safer interview venues, venues that would throw softball questions and ignore being blown off if the interviewee failed to answer. But Bill – and Fox News - failed to heed his own observation to those faced with embarrassing situations: “The cover-up is always worse than the crime.” He and Fox News knew that he had a target on his back.

The sad result is that the left, just like the suppression of speech on the university campus, has found a powerful weapon to suppress it on the most successful cable news network in history. Fox, rather than asking viewers to respond in kind to the Twitter movement demanding that companies pull their ads from his show, caved in without a whimper. Who will be the next conservative voice to be targeted on their network?

When faced with the first accusations of harassment, O’Reilly should have publicly apologized and taken a sabbatical to show contrition. And he should have changed his behavior. I don’t know if his “woman problems” caused his divorce or if his divorce caused his problems. But he forgot another observation that any good manager will tell their lower management of either sex. Avoid conflicts. Don’t fish from the company dock. – Jim Barber

Don’t nationalize police

Valley citizens may or may not be aware of the current drive to nationalize our police forces. It is happening quietly, with the media, of course, not giving you a clue. What we’re seeing is the federal government arming, conditioning and training local jurisdictions to knuckle under to federal standards. Needless to say, when they dangle riot gear and armaments and “free” training in front of cash-strapped cities, there are always strings attached.

A good example is here in Arizona. One third of our state budget is now paid for with federal dollars! They own us, and our leadership can’t say “no” to anything the federal government would demand.

Of course, we don’t need anything remotely like Nazi Germany with their Gestapo, or the horrors of the USSR, all happening after they nationalized their police. It is plain to see that there is a deliberate strategy going on here. And that’s to bring all police – slowly but surely –under a national umbrella, without our noticing it. But that’s what’s in store if we don’t put a stop to it.

One of the tactics they use is to foment riots and looting in local communities, as they’ve done in Ferguson, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Charlotte. Then, when the local police are temporarily overwhelmed, the citizens cry out “Somebody, please help us,” and the feds step right in, meaning Big Dollars and Big Controls are on their way.

This is happening right now. Our counter-message should be: “Support your local police and keep them independent.”

– PJ O’Malley – Mesa

Restore Title X funding

Publicly funded family planning providers, like Arizona Family Health Partnership, are essential access points to health care for more than 36,000 people in our state thanks to funding made possible by Title X, the nation’s family planning program. This vital program ensures that every person, and particularly those most in need – those with very low incomes or without health insurance – have access to life-saving care such as cancer screenings, contraception, STD services, well-woman exams and other preventive health care.

The Title X program has a proven track record of success, keeping women, men and their families healthy

and communities strong. As such, we are making important progress at improving health outcomes across the country. The unintended pregnancy rate in the U.S. is at a historic low. AFHP services prevented an estimated 7,060 unintended pregnancies in 2016 in Arizona, which also was among five states experiencing the biggest nationwide decline in teenage birth rates in urban counties between 2009 and 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unfortunately, years of harmful funding cuts to the nation’s family planning program have compromised low-income women and men’s ability to access the high-quality care and education they need. Since 2010, Congress has cut $31 million from the Title X program, a loss compounded by years of underfunding that has dramatically reduced access to critical health care services.

At a time when communities across the country are seeing a growing demand for reproductive health care, it is imperative that Congress support the network at the forefront of delivering this essential health care to millions. As the CEO of Arizona Family Health Partnership, I am urging Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake to stand on the side of public health and keep the Title X family planning program strong.

When people have timely, affordable access to highquality family planning care and education they need, they are more likely improve their economic security, care for their families, and achieve optimal health. Title X deserves our nation’s attention and support.

– Brenda “Bré” Thomas – Arizona Family Health Partnership –

Phoenix

Former Hamilton High standout makes jump to big leagues

BY PAUL SCHAUM Tribune Contributor

Former Hamilton High School star Cody Bellinger began the 2017 season as the top prospect for one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball, and he is showing no signs of slowing down during his first full season in Triple A for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Early in the season, there had been speculation that the Dodgers may look to bring him up ahead of schedule due to the offensive struggles of outfielders Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles.

After the Dodgers were forced to place Pederson on the 10-day disabled list with a groin injury earlier this week, Bellinger was officially called up to majors on April 25.

Bleacher Report has compared him to Giants first basemen Brandon Belt but with more power – not bad for a guy who entered the minor leagues as primarily a contact hitter.

Bellinger began his baseball career as a 5-foot-1 superstar for the Chandler Little League team that made it all the way to Williamsport to represent the West in the 2007 Little League World Series.

That team was coached by Bellinger’s father, Clay Bellinger, who played four

seasons in the majors and won two World Series titles with the New York Yankees. He is most remembered for his tremendous catch in game 2 of the 2000 World Series, where he robbed the Mets’ Todd Zeile of a two-run homer in the ninth inning to seal an important victory for the eventual champs.

A few years after the LLWS, Bellinger took his talents to Hamilton High School to play for legendary coach Mike Woods, where he hit an astounding .429 in his final season as a Husky. Bellinger was voted team MVP following the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Cody’s younger brother, Cole Bellinger, is currently a senior at Hamilton.

With Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez signed through the 2018 season, many scouts believed Bellinger would break into the league as a corner outfielder, even though he is widely regarded as the heir to Gonzalez at first base.

Bellinger was drafted by the Dodgers with the 124th pick in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He originally had a verbal commitment to play baseball at the University of Oregon, but he chose to sign a $700,000 contract and make the leap to the pros right out of high school.

Since then, he has done nothing

but pound the baseball, drawing the attention of pro scouts all across the league. Baseball America currently has Bellinger ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect, while MLB.com has him ranked No. 10.

Bellinger has had a hot start to the 2017

season, hitting .360 with five home runs and 14 RBIs through 13 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Most recently, Bellinger was named to the MLB.com Prospect Team of the Week, recording three home runs, two doubles and four stolen bases in an eight-game span.

New Chandler gym offers fitness at ‘basketball heaven’

BY MELANIE BIRKETT Tribune Contributor

Anew gym that just opened in Chandler offers a fitness program like none other in the East Valley.

“This is the first basketball-focused fitness center,” said Jay Bhakta, the Gilbert man who owns PickUp USA at 221 E. Willis Road.

While many gyms provide basketball courts, PickUp USA offers organized, scored and officiated games by trained referees.

“It allows you to play on a team during timed 10-minute games,” said

Bhakta. “We’re the first franchisee here in Arizona. We’re expanding all over the U.S. right now.

“We run officiated games six days a week. We have two trained officials

Members simply put their name on a list and are rotated into games.

“You get a real-game experience,” added Bhakta. “You get the buzzer beaters, the shot clocks, the fouls.

“ If you have any ounce of interest in basketball, this is the place for you, ”

- Jay Bhakta, owner, PickUp USA

at all times on the court, rotated out. So, they’re fresh referees. It’s highly organized.”

“There are 10-minute games so the winner stays in and you reset the clock and the next game comes in – 10

minutes, 10 minutes, back-to-back.”

PickUp USA doesn’t have “all the nuances of a regular pickup game like at a park – the foul calls, the hacking, the arguments and who’s next,” he added. Pickup games are for anyone 15 and older, but anyone as young as 5 can become a member and have access to the courts.

“We have the group-training sessions available to them,” said Bhakta. “They are basketball focused, hourlong boot camps. So, they work on different parts of the game for that hour: shooting, dribbling, passing.”

(Special to the Tribune)

Former Hamilton High School star Cody Bellinger was officially called up to the majors on April 25.

basketball overseas.”

He also played basketball with NBA All-Star LeBron James in high school.

Gustine Crispin is already a member along with her sons.

“First of all, I love basketball,” Crispin said. “I’ve been playing basketball for over 40 years. And now I have kids. My boys are 13 and 11. And this is a great place for them … This is a basketball heaven.”

Her older son Jamison, who goes by Jam, has been playing basketball four years and likes the idea of getting a workout and fine-tuning his skills at a gym.

“I like it,” Jam said. “Plus, I usually don’t sweat when I go somewhere, but now I’m sweating a lot.”

He just wishes there were pickup games for his age group because he has a goal of making it big: “I will be an NBA player.”

PickUp USA general manager Steven Lancaster played professional basketball in Europe for six years after college.

“Basketball in itself has been a huge part of my life,” Lancaster said. “It has helped me get a scholarship for school. So, no student debt – that’s a big thing. It helped me travel, not just the country, but in the world as well, playing in different tournaments and playing

“In high school, we were on the same Amateur Athletic Union team. We were teammates when we were 15 all the way to seniors in high school.”

Lancaster has been playing basketball since he was 5, but tried other sports such as football, baseball and martial arts.

As a freshman in high school, he was 5-foot-3 But he had a growth spurt and grew to his current 6-foot-3 by his sophomore year.

“Once I started to dunk a basketball, then basketball took my heart,” said Lancaster, who grew up in Ohio. “From there, I went to polish my skills and my craft and that turned into being an AllState performer, being rated one of the top players in the state. That translated to scholarship offers. From there, that translated into being a professional.”

After voluntarily leaving professional basketball, Lancaster became a trainer.

“So when this opportunity came about, I told myself, what better way to continue my love of basketball into something to give back to other people?” he said, adding:

“It kind of works out best in both worlds to kind of be the face of a place that is basketball and also to be able to

train and to develop athletes, as well, so they can get whatever goals they want out of basketball.”

Lancaster prides himself in teaching things not taught by other trainers and coaches. He says he approaches training in a way that translates into a game situation.

“These young athletes who come here, they are entrusting us with the most important part of their life, which is their sport. Granted, they all go to school but for most athletes, the thing they love most is their sport.”

He not only holds himself to high standards, but the staff as well.

“Everybody who trains with me or anybody at PickUp USA, I challenge them to challenge our trainers. If they can’t give you an answer, then they shouldn’t be here, and that’s me included.”

Sonal Patel isn’t a member but is thinking about it. She dropped by to check out the new facility.

“I think the concept is actually brilliant,” Patel said. “When I was in school, we played pickup at the park, wherever we could find a half court. I’ve been looking for a gym centered on being able to play pickup games and focuses strictly on basketball.”

She even jokes that when parents drop

their kids off to play basketball, they no longer have an excuse not to work since the gym also offers a full fitness center.

Aside from that, Patel added, “Team sports in general do such a great job at building confidence in kids. And having another avenue to have an opportunity to do that for your kids is great. And it’s probably more affordable than private club basketball and tournaments. I think it’s a great idea.”

Gym membership is $29.95 a month and includes access to the full cardio and full-weight rooms with the free weights plus access to the basketball courts. For pickup games, the monthly fee is $59.95.

The pickup games are scheduled six days a week: Monday-Thursday, 6-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

“For ages 5 and up, members get access to the courts year-round, seven days a week. They also get the group-training sessions, which run at various times throughout the week.

“If you have any ounce of interest in basketball, this is the place for you,” said Bhakta. “If you even slightly love shooting rounds, playing basketball, it’s for everybody. Any skill level, any age, it’s for everyone.”

Information: pickupusafitness.com/ chandler-arizona.

(Melody Birkett/Special to the Tribune)

Owner Jay Bhakta, left, and general manager Steven Lancaster run a basketball-centric fitness program at the new PickUp USA Gym in Chandler.

Discerning

‘God usually finds a way to open doors, sometimes at unexpected moments’

BY REV. SUSAN WILMOT Tribune Guest Writer

Let’s talk evangelism. For some, the “e” word is terrifying. For others, it’s a natural part of their faith, a genuine spiritual gift, perhaps honed a little by practice in sharing our own experiences of how our faith in Christ Jesus has transformed our lives.

Just to be clear, the transformation we’re talking about here doesn’t translate to “Christ has made my life instantly perfect, and without suffering or sin.” But, it does mean that as a follower of Jesus, we have divine help and guidance to deal differently with disappointment, pain and suffering, fear and anger, as well as with loss.

The benefits of living faith far outweigh life’s inevitable challenges, stresses and tragedies. But how do we share that with others? Well, not surprisingly, God usually finds a way to open doors, sometimes at unexpected moments.

“Ah, so you’re religious then?” she said, with that carefully modulated tone reserved purely for dealing with those likely to have dubious sanity, be potentially unstable or perhaps even dangerous.

“You might say that,” I replied, trying hard to put an encouraging inflection into my voice, while hoping at once to assure her of my calm, nonviolent nature, all the while simultaneously wondering what I was going to say in the 10 minutes I knew it would take for

her to finish cutting my hair.

The good news is that with God, all things are possible. However, for an introvert like myself, 10 minutes can seem like an eternity, especially when you’re bound to a chair by a large black cape and at the mercy of a woman wielding a sharp implement.

Dangerous is a good word here. The word of God is dangerous, even

of a person whose life is oriented toward God in obedience.

Even considering his deep distaste for what he sees in Athens, it doesn’t deter Paul from sharing the good news of Christ Jesus, and echoing both John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ call to repentance.

It takes a lot of humility to repent and turn away from our prideful and egoistic ways. It takes a lot of courage to admit

“ It takes a lot of humility to repent and turn away from our prideful and egoistic ways. ”

though it was the hairdresser who had the scissors. As a rule of thumb, it’s not smart to mess with your hairdresser’s mind until after your hair is done. On the other hand, “religious” is not a good word to describe a follower of Jesus.

In fact, it’s the same word Paul uses to describe the Athenians, who worship all kinds of gods. You can read the story in the Book of Acts 17:21-34. Paul had already seen the numerous shrines, altars and objects of worship to Roman and Greek gods, and so his comment isn’t a compliment.

The word translated as “religious” in this portion of Acts can also be translated as “superstitious.” In other parts of the New Testament, the word “religious” is translated from another Greek word that has positive overtones

we’re wrong, and to turn to God, with hearts and minds open to change with God’s help.

Nonetheless, the instant we turn to God, the door to reconciliation is open, which in turn makes it possible to receive the power of God’s love in our hearts and in our lives, and to accept the gifts of forgiveness and healing.

“Ah, so you’re religious,” said the hairdresser. It sounds like an accusation, and I wonder again what God wants me to say. Yet, isn’t this what we’re all called to do and be as agents of God’s love and grace in the world? Doesn’t the Lord equip us to share our faith through worship, Bible study, prayer and other spiritual practices?

As Peter writes (1 Peter 3:15), “Always be ready to make your defense to

anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.”

Paul eloquently and brilliantly outlines the entire basis of his faith and hope in Christ Jesus in less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. By a miracle of grace, we realize again that God is never far from us.

As followers of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit is with us: mighty counselor, guide and teacher, as gentle as a dove, as light as a breeze and as dangerous as tongues of fire.

Many people are indeed religious. But the question remains what or who is being worshipped? The extremely religious Athenians had many shrines and gods. There’re still lots of gods in the world today.

They’re not called Zeus, Apollo, Artemis or Aphrodite; they have names like the almighty dollar, alcohol or heroin, sex, overwork, anger, fear or overeating.

We can be very religious. But being a follower of Jesus is different.

“Ah, so you’re religious,” she said. “Not me,” I reply, “I’m in love with Jesus, and it’s the most amazing relationship anyone can have.” Love is the nature and character of God and love is at the heart of all healthy relationships.

To risk love is to live dangerously indeed, but what else will win the world for Christ?

– The Rev. Susan E. Wilmot is vicar at St. James the Apostle Episcopal Church & Preschool, 975 E. Warner Road, Tempe. Reach her: rector@stjamestempe.org, 480-345-2686, stjamestempe.org. FAITH

THURS-FRI, MAY 4-5

BIBLICAL SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Pastor and teacher Dr. Art Aragon will be ministering at Valor Christian Center in Gilbert. He has a special anointing in the area of healing as well as teaching Biblical Success Principles.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., 3015 Warner Road, between Greenfield and Higley. (480) 545-4321 or info@valorcc.com

FRIDAY, MAY 5

WOMEN’S LUNCHEON/BIBLE STUDY

Guest speaker Joann Aragon will be featured at a luncheon and Bible study at Valor Christian Center in Gilbert. Great fellowship and word study.

DETAILS>> 12:30 p.m., 3015 Warner Road, between Greenfield and Higley. RSVP at info@valorcc.com.

SUNDAYS

NEW CHURCH IN MESA

The Lawrence Memorial A.M.E.Z. Church has opened in Mesa with the Rev. Albert Bolden leading as pastor. DETAILS>> Sunday school at 9 a.m., worship at 10 a.m., 931 E. Southern Ave., Suite 108. Information: 480-3933001, tlmchurch.info@gmail.com.

VALOR CHRISTIAN OUTLINES MISSION

Valor Christian Center in Gilbert offers “great praise and worship and great messages for today’s living,” according to Associate Pastor Thor Strandholt. “Our mission is to evangelize, heal and disciple through the

word of God.”

DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. 3015 E. Warner Road. Information: valorcc.com.

HORIZON SEEKS YOUNG PEOPLE

High school and middle school students meet to worship and do life together.

DETAILS>> 4 p.m. at Horizon Presbyterian Church, 1401 E. Liberty Lane. 480-460-1480 or joel@horizonchurch.com.

UNITY OFFERS A PATH

Unity of Mesa says its Sunday service offers “a positive path for spiritual living” through “transformational lessons, empowering music and various spiritual practices with an open-minded and welcoming community.”

DETAILS>> 9 and 10:45 a.m. 2700 E. Southern Ave., Mesa. Nursery available for infants through kindergarten at service times. Youth ministry classes are open in the Education Annex at 10:45 a.m. Information: 480-8922700, unityofmesa.org, lori@unityofmesa.org.

SUNDAY CELEBRATION SERVICE

Inspirational messages and music to lift your spirit. A welcoming community committed to living from the heart. Many classes and events offered. We welcome you! DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-7921800, unityoftempe.com.

KIDS CAN LEARN JEWISH LIFE

Children can learn and experience Jewish life. Chabad Hebrew School focuses on Jewish heritage, culture and holidays.

DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m. to noon, for children ages 5-13 at Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. 480-855-4333, info@chabadcenter.com, or chabadcenter.com.

MONDAYS

BEYOND BELIEF

Reflections on Jewish faith, reason, and experience. The course will provide the Torah’s perspectives on many of the most important questions that are asked by each one of us, and that we are sometimes challenged by.

DETAILS>> Mondays, 7:30-9 p.m., May 8 to June 12 at 875 N. McClintock Dr., Chandler. Cost: $99, includes textbook and light refreshments. Information and registration: info@chabadcenter.com or 480-855-4333.

PROSPERITY RECIPES AT UNITY OF TEMPE

Internationally known speaker and author, Maureen G. Mulvaney brings back her Prosperity Recipes class series to Unity of Tempe on Monday evenings. Cost: $10 per session

DETAILS>> 6:15-8:15 p.m., Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-7921800, unityoftempe.com.

TUESDAYS

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE BIBLE STUDY

Join Valor Christian Center in Gilbert for great fellowship and walk through the word of God with depth. DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Tuesdays, 3015 E. Warner Road

between Greenfield and Higley. Free. Information: 480545-4321, valorcc.com.

MESA BIBLE STUDY

The Lawrence Memorial A.M.E.Z. Church conducts Bible study on Tuesdays.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m., 931 E. Southern Ave., Suite 108. Information: 480-393-3001, tlmchurch.info@gmail.com.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Celebrate Recovery is a Biblical program that helps us overcome our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Through teaching, worship, and sharing in small groups, you will find genuine people devoted to help discover the power of Christ through the recovery process.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m., Central Christian Church, 933 N. Lindsay Road, Mesa. Information: Eric at 480-924-4946.

GRIEFSHARE

Mountain Park Community Church is offering an ongoing GriefShare programs to help people deal with the pain of losing a loved one.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m., 2408 E. Pecos Road, Ahwatukee. To register: mountainpark.org and click on Launch. Information: Alex at 480-759-6200

FINDING HEALING FOR PAIN

HOPE, an acronym for “Help Overcome Painful Experiences,” offers support for men and women who seek God’s grace and healing.

DETAILS>> 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. mountainpark.org.

UNITY YOGA AT UNITY OF TEMPE

Center in Mind, Body & Spirit at our weekly Unity Yoga classes with Mary Jo “MJ” Kuzmick. Bring your own mat (2 blankets & blocks, if you have them). Suggested love offering: $8 a class.

DETAILS>> 10 a.m., Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-792-1800,

WEDNESDAYS

CELEBRATE RECOVERY MEETS

Celebrate Recovery says it “brings your relationship with the Lord closer to your heart as it heals your hurts, habits and hang-ups.” Participants can discuss issues ranging from feeling left out to addictions. “Nothing is too small or too large.”

DETAILS>> 6:20 p.m. at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee, Preschool, Room 6. mvlutheran.org/celebraterecovery or email cr@ alphamvlc.com.

‘A COURSE IN MIRACLES’

Longtime “A Course in Miracles” student and teacher Rev. Julianne Lewis leads this interactive time of discussion and sharing. This group is appropriate for ACIM beginners as well as experienced ACIM students –and everyone in between.

DETAILS>> 1-2:15 p.m. Interfaith CommUNITY Spiritual Center, 952 E. Baseline, Suite 102, Mesa. $10 love donation. Information: revj4u@gmail.com.

MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS

“Every day you take a shower. Practicing Twin Hearts Meditation is like taking a spiritual shower. When your aura is clean you experience a higher level of awareness. When your aura is clean you see through things more clearly. Even good luck increases.”

DETAILS>> 7:30-9:30 p.m., Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-7921800, unityoftempe.com.

GET-ACQUAINTED COFFEE

East Valley Friends and Neighbors holds a monthly getacquainted coffee on the first Wednesday of each month. The group supports local charities and has specialinterest groups that meet throughout the month.

DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month. Grace United Methodist Church, 2024 E. University Drive, Mesa. Information: 480-828-5146, evfanaz.org or email Tinytubes@cox.net.

FRIDAYS

NEFESHSOUL HOLDS SERVICES

Congregation NefeshSoul holds Shabbat services the third Friday of every month on the campus of the Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation. DETAILS>> 6:15 p.m., 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. Information: nefeshsoul.org.

SERVICE INCLUDES KIDS

Designed for children up to 5 years old and their parents or other adult. Following the service is an Oneg Shabbat, a time for a snack and to meet other families with young children.

DETAILS>> 5:30 p.m. first Fridays, Temple Emanuel, 5801

S. Rural Road. 480-838-1414 or emanueloftempe.org.

SEARCH FOR GOD: AN EDGAR CAYCE STUDY

If you are interested in knowing more about yourself and how you relate to others and God, please join us as we study this in-depth information given through Edgar Cayce. If you already own any version of the “Search for God” books, please bring them. Books will also be available for purchase at the meetings. There is no charge for this group itself but a love donation will be taken for the church.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. Information: 480-792-1800, unityoftempe.com.

SATURDAYS

WEEKLY SERVICES SCHEDULED

International, nondenominational church offers weekly Sabbath services. Congregational meeting in the morning and Bible study in the afternoon.

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m.-noon; 1:30-2:45 p.m. at True Jesus Church, 2640 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. 480-899-1488 or tjcphoenix@tjc.org.

ONGOING

JOIN CHRIST-CENTERED YOGA

Classes of several levels are available all week, and are free and open to the community.

DETAILS>> 6 and 7:15 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. Tuesdays, 6 and 7:15 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. Saturdays. Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. Greg Battle at 480-759-6200 or gbattle@ mountainpark.org.

CHRIST-CENTERED FITNESS CLASSES

Classes of several levels are available all week, and are free and open to the community.

DETAILS>> 6:30 and 9 a.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. Wednesdays and 6:30 a.m. Fridays. Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. Greg Battle at 480-759-6200 or gbattle@mountainpark.org.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AT CHABAD

Reggio-Inspired program where children can develop socially, physically, emotionally and intellectually in a Jewish setting. For preschoolers 12 months to 5 years old, with part-time and half-day options. Before- and after-care hours available.

DETAILS>> Shternie Deitsch at info@chabadcenter. com or call 480-855-4333.

By GetOut News Staff

Often misidentified as Mexico’s Independence Day – which actually falls on September 16 –Cinco de Mayo marks the defeat of the fearsome French army by a significantly smaller Mexican force at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

In the United States – and 155 years later – Cinco de Mayo tends to be a general celebration of Mexican culture, and an excuse to drink tequila and eat tacos. (Although, really, who needs an excuse?)

If it’s a party you’re after, the East Valley offers a few, and the biggest will be in downtown Tempe. Starting at noon Friday, May 5, C.A.S.A., at 6th Street and Mill

MARK YOUR

Calendar

Timeless Tunes and Composers

Join the Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix as they sing the music of Beethoven, Handel and Copland, plus favorite tunes like “Over the Rainbow” and the theme to “New York, New York.” There will also be an audience sing-along.

DETAILS>>7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 2. Velda Rose United Methodist Church, 5540 E. Main St., Mesa. Tickets (online): $20 adults, $15 senior/student, free ages 12 and under. orpheus.org.

Beyond the Bricks

Catch a free concert every Thursday in downtown Tempe. This week, enjoy Wyves, who bills their style as “unapologetic rock &

Avenue, shuts down 6th Street for a block party. DJs will spin tunes from the patio and you can get deals on tequila, tacos and 32-ounce buckets. Learn more at facebook. com/casa.sunba.tempe.

If that isn’t enough, directly across Mill, El Hefe & Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row also will host a block party. Six DJs will bring the music from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. You can also enjoy drink specials and a chance to win a trip for two to Cancun. Learn more at dierkswhiskeyrow.com.

If you don’t want to make the trip to Tempe, a restaurant near you probably offers Cinco de Mayo specials. Local chain Macayo’s, which includes locations in Ahwatukee, Tempe and Mesa, celebrates two ways. From Monday, May

roll.” Bring blankets and chairs to sit on.

DETAILS>> 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 4. Hayden Square Amphitheatre, 404 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. Cost: Free. downtowntempe. com, ilovemywyves.com.

Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure

Join Alice as she meets odd characters and explores the unusual world of Wonderland to an upbeat rock soundtrack. For ages 6 and up.

DETAILS>> Times vary, Thursday, May 4-May 21. Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe. Tickets: $12-$26. 480-350-2822. childsplayaz.org/wonderland.

‘No Time for Sergeants’

When lovable hillbilly Will Stockdale gets drafted into the Army Air Corps (the precursor to the Air Force), he sets his sights instead on serving in the infantry. His journey turns the

CINCO DE MAYO brings parties, food and drink deals to the East Valley

1, to Sunday, May 7, you can get $4 Dos Equis drafts, $8.99 1800 Margaritas and other drink deals. Then on May 6 and 7, enjoy Cinco Family Fun. From 1 to 3 p.m. get $1.99 kids meals and enjoy kid-friendly activities. Learn more at facebook.com/ macayosrestaurants.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 5, Dos Gringos – with locations in Mesa, Chandler and Tempe – offers live bands, DJs, games, tacos, and drink specials. Billed as the “#1 Cinco Party in the Valley” some locations do charge a cover. Learn more at facebook. com/dosgringos.

Arriba Mexican Grill, which heavily features spicy Hatch green chiles and offers locations in Ahwatukee and Gilbert, celebrates May 5 with food and

Air Corps upside down in this hilarious play.

DETAILS>> Wednesdays-Saturdays, May 5-May 13. Hale Centre Theatre, 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbert. Tickets: $18-$30. 480-497-1181. haletheatrearizona.com.

Free Comic Book Day

Drop by participating Valley comic book shops for up to 50 free comic books. Plus, at Gotham City Comics enjoy live music, the cosplay costume contest and the super scavenger hunt.

DETAILS>> 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, May 6. Locations vary. Cost: Free. freecomicbookday. com, facebook.com/gothamcitycomics.

Women’s Day Out Expo

Update your wardrobe or décor, sample the latest beauty products, wine and gourmet food, and plenty more at this day out geared for women.

DETAILS>> 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, May 6. Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center St.,

drink specials, plus live entertainment, dancing and giveaways. Learn more at arribamexicangrill.com.

If you want to hit the waterfront, highly regarded Mexican restaurant Valle Luna in Chandler offers special deals starting at 3 p.m. on May 5. A $5 cover charge gets you into the Cantina for music, interactive games, DJs and dancing. Learn more at facebook.com/ vallelunamexicanrestaurant.

If you don’t mind leaving the East Valley, the Valley’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration takes place in downtown Phoenix at Cinco Phoenix. Enjoy a full street festival that offers live music, dance demonstrations, lots of food and fun. Learn more at cincophx.com.

Mesa. Cost: Free (with online registration). womensdayoutexpo.com.

‘Finding Dory’

Grab the whole family for a free screening of Pixar’s latest hit, “Finding Dory.” Bring blankets and chairs; complimentary popcorn will be provided.

DETAILS>> 7:45 p.m., Saturday, May 6. Mountain View Park, 845 N. Lindsay Road, Mesa. Cost: Free. mesaaz.gov.

Chandler Symphony

Enjoy an afternoon of free classical music with Weber’s “Oberon Overture,” Walton’s “Viola Concerto,” and Stravinsky’s foray into Russian life and folklore “Petroushka.”

DETAILS>> 3 p.m., Sunday, May 7. Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Cost: Free. chandlercenter.org.

Kahlo-Rivera exhibit attracts crowds at Heard Museum

BY RYAN SANTISTEVAN Cronkite News

The Heard Museum is now recognized for more than being one of Phoenix’s 31 points of pride. It is also the only North American stop on a world tour for the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit.

The exhibit is offering tourists and locals alike the opportunity to admire artwork by the two famous Mexican artists. The 33 pieces from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection will be on exhibit at the Heard until August 20.

The process to host the exhibit began in February 2016. David M. Roche, director and CEO of the Heard Museum, was approached by his friend Robert R. Littman, who told him that another venue had to cancel so the collection was available.

According to a New York Times article, Jacques Gelman wrote in his will that when he died, the collection would be given to Littman. The Gelmans were Mexican-based European emigres who were friends of the artists. Walking through the exhibit, there are two large portraits of the Gelmans by Rivera with a smaller portrait of Natasha in the middle, painted by Kahlo.

Roche approached the curatorial committee at the Heard about hosting the exhibit. It was a unanimous decision and everyone was thrilled at the prospect, according to exhibit curator Janet Cantley.

Cantley said the exhibit has drawn large numbers to the museum. On April 11 when the exhibit opened, Cantley said attendance was 950, a high number for any other Tuesday. The following Saturday, she said 2,000 people attended the exhibit, a number twice what the museum would expect at this time of year.

“I think Frida Kahlo has become such an international icon,” Cantley said. “People come to Frida in a variety

IF YOU GO

Where: Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix

When: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. MondaySaturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday until Aug. 20

Cost: $7 in addition to museum admission

More info: 602-252-8840, heard.org

of ways. For some, it’s her fashion, her style, her hair. I think some people come because they’ve seen her paintings and realized she’s talking about women’s issues and experiences.”

By the end of April, the museum generally sees its numbers wind down. Cantley predicts that this summer there will be more local and out-of-state visitors to view the exhibit.

Sandy Vaillancourt, an artist from Santa Fe, said visiting the exhibit was one of three stops she wanted to make while in Phoenix.

“My work is not like Frida’s — no work is like Frida’s,” Vaillancourt said. “I admire it. I think it inspires you.”

She said she doesn’t know who is documenting what’s happening in Mexico these days the way that Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo did in their day. She said she feels it’s an artist’s place in society to document what’s going on around their world. She said it can make you feel upset or happy.

The exhibit also features a chronological look – in photos – of both Kahlo and Rivera. The first starts with Kahlo family photo and ends with her in a coffin.

The exhibit itself has more than 50 photographs taken by Edward Weston, Lola Álvarez Bravo, and Frida Kahlo’s father, Guillermo Kahlo.

(Ryan Santistevan/Cronkite News Service) Visitors have come from around the world to visit the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit at the Heard Museum.

(Ryan Santistevan/Cronkite News)

The Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition is at the Heard Museum, the only North American stop on its tour.

Behind the scenes with Elmo from ‘Elmo Makes Music’

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Contributing Writer

Elyse Blunt loves her job. After all, several nights a week she entertains thousands of kids and, OK, their parents portraying Elmo in “Elmo Makes Music.”

Performances of the show come to the Mesa Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 4. Elmo plays a central role in the performance. When the new music teacher’s instruments go missing, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and others come to the rescue and discover instruments they never knew existed.

“We think of creative ways to make music with ‘instruments’ like cookie jars, spoons and bottles,” Blunt says. “The audience claps their hands, stomps their feet and sings along with us.”

Blunt says she can pull off her role because she’s a “goofball.” Ernie was a childhood love, and she’s been taking dance lessons since she was 11. Those things rolled into one have gotten her far.

After graduating from high school, she eschewed college to work at Busch Gardens theme park in her hometown

of Williamsburg, Virginia. When the park opened a Sesame Street area, and she excelled at her job, one of her managers took her to a “Sesame Street Live” audition. He had previously worked for the parent company, VStar Entertainment Group.

Blunt has since starred in “1-2-3 Imagine with Elmo & Friends,” “Can’t Stop Singing,”

“Let’s Dance” and “Make a New Friend.”

When she’s not rehearsing, or prepping in the green room, the 15-year veteran of dance and the stage loves to catch a concert, work on her technique in the studio, or spend time with friends.

Her days are hectic. She performs in two cities per week, with rehearsals on the first

day at each venue

“We will also check out the venue and see what’s different about it from the last city,” she says. “Then we do warmups and get ready for the show. We’ll have a meetand-greet before that, if we’re assigned that that day.”

She loves to watch the reactions of fans to her.

“Watching the kids’ reactions are just great,” Blunt says. “My favorite part is when we reveal our surprise to the teacher.”

Although she preferred Ernie when she was young, she sees Elmo as her soulmate.

“He’s a goofball and a class clown, too,” she says with a laugh. “I can kind of relate to that. I’m definitely a child at heart. I watch videos of Elmo all the time. I’m playful and I like to use that, too.”

IF YOU GO

Where: Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa

When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 4

Cost: $20-$65

More info: 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com

Warm and inviting, Biscuits a great place for a leisurely brunch

BY KATHY KERBY GetOut Contributing Writer

If you are looking for a homespun place to enjoy breakfast or lunch, look no further than Biscuits on North Gilbert Road, located just west of Sam’s Club. The owner, Lloyd Melton, has three locations (the other two are in Tempe and Ahwatukee Foothills) where every effort is made to use local and organic ingredients and stay clear of preservatives.

“It’s all about simple pleasures and good company,” he said.

The interior of Biscuits is old-fashionedmeets-modern with red wood paneling above corrugated tin, curtains with a chicken motif and shiny glass windows surrounding the gleaming, multi-level

IF YOU GO

Where: 1235 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert, 480-497-0321; 4623 E. Elliot Road, Phoenix (Ahwatukee), 480-209-1850; 1815 E. Elliot Road, Tempe, 480-7777070.

dining room.

The restaurant is near our neighborhood, so it was a short drive for my husband, Lou, and I to visit on a recent weekday for a brunch date. We were seated in a comfortable, sunny booth and greeted by Lisa, our very personable server and the manager of the location.

We spent some time examining the menu since it’s extensive, with breakfast items listed on one side and lunch on the other. The choices are endless, from biscuits Benedict and smoked chicken jalapeño alfredo to liver and onions.

After ordering, we began people watching and noted diners of all ages cheerfully eating and conversing with each other. Biscuits is so warm and inviting that it seemed everyone was having a great time. We also noted that the servers greeted many customers by name.

At Biscuits, what else could we order except the Biscuits Special ($9.89)? This is a symphony of great breakfast items: one biscuit with gravy, two eggs any style, a choice of ham, bacon or sausage and a choice of grits, hash browns or country potatoes. We could not wait to dig in and discovered that the fluffy biscuit was

smothered with perfectly peppered gravy, the overeasy eggs were cooked exactly as ordered and that the mild sausage and extra crispy hash browns completed the delicious special.

The interestingly named Champion Pancakes ($9.89) is the owner’s original creation. When Lisa delivered them to our table, we were amazed at the size.

Biscuits is a down-home place to enjoy breakfast or lunch with delicious food and great service.

The two pancakes covered the entire plate and were certainly equal to eight regular pancakes. The whole wheat pancakes were chock-full of granola, fresh blueberries, slivered almonds and cinnamon. We smeared them with whipped butter and drenched them with hot blueberry syrup before savoring each incredible bite of crunchy, chewy goodness.

The Chicken Fried Chicken ($9.89) is a staple at most diners and this lunch special did not disappoint. The hand-breaded fried chicken was fork-tender and the blanket of slightly spicy gravy covered the chicken

and the large, fluffy mound of mashed potatoes. With the corn on the side, this was the picture of Southern comfort food.

The Dagwood Club ($9.89) was just one of eight sandwiches that are served with a choice of French fries, fried okra, coleslaw, applesauce, corn, green beans, cottage cheese or a house salad. This sandwich was almost too pretty to eat with its triple-decker stack of tender roasted turkey, country ham, smoked bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and house mayo on toasted, whole-wheat bread. It had to be consumed layer by delicious layer.

(Special to the Tribune)

Elmo, Big Bird, Abby Cadabby and their friends learn a lot as they help their music teacher find her lost instrument.

(Special to the Tribune)

These jalapeño poppers will make your fiesta festive

BY JAN D’ATRI

Here’s a recipe you can Cinco your teeth into just in time for your Cinco

de Mayo celebrations this week! It’s one of my favorite go-to Southwestern appetizers, bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeños. Make up a big batch and enjoy the flavor Fiesta!.

BACON-WRAPPED STUFFED JALAPENO POPPERS

Ingredients:

10-15 medium large jalapeño peppers

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 3 drops liquid smoke, hickory or mesquite 1/2 cup crisp bacon chopped into bits 1 pound bacon uncooked, or 1 slice per jalapeño

8 oz. sliced pepper jack cheese Jalapeño jelly (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

• In a pot with boiling water, cook jalapeños (blanch) for about 3-4 minutes.

• When done, immediately drop the jalapeños into a bowl of ice water to shock, or stop the cooking process. When cool, slice jalapeños lengthwise from stem to tip, leaving the stem intact. Using a small spoon, scrape the seeds and veins from inside of jalapeños. Set aside.

• In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, liquid smoke and chopped bacon bits, mixing well. Fill each half of jalapeños with cream cheese mixture to just under the rim.

• Lay a piece of pepper jack cheese over the jalapeños, just to cover the cream cheese mixture. Wrap each jalapeños with a slice of bacon using a toothpick if necessary to secure the bacon.

• Place stuffed jalapeños on a baking sheet.

• You can also use a flat rack placed inside a baking sheet to cut down on bacon grease. Bake for 30 minutes or until bacon is thoroughly cooked. Bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños can be made ahead.

• When ready to serve, heat them up on a grill or in the oven and serve warm. Serve with jalapeños jelly. Here’s the video link: jandatri.com/recipes/ jalapeno-poppers/?category_id=384

ACROSS

1 From one end to t’other

5 Egg 9 Potential syrup 12 Vast time period 13 Water barrier 14 Biz deg. 15 Fast 17 Foreman foe 18 Diamond round-trippers 19 Stair

King Crossword

That guy

Landfill, essentially

Commotion

Swindles

Pond organism

Symbol of intrigue

Ardor

Despot

Sudden assembly that some find entertaining

Michigan, for one

Tribune Contributor

Nothing Bundt Cakes whipping up delights for Gilbert, Mesa

BY SRIANTHI PERERA Tribune Staff Writer

Jan Newton wasn’t a “cake person” until she tried a piece of lemon-flavored Nothing Bundt Cake at a party.

“I was obsessed, and I kept thinking about it … but that was the greatest cake I’ve ever had,” said Newton, who researched the franchise and subsequently became the owner of the cake store’s newest outlet in the Valley, in Gilbert.

Nothing Bundt cakes features signature thick frosting petals on bundt cakes that come in 8- or 10-inches, tiered, towered, in the smaller Bundtlets and the even smaller Bundtinis. The franchise originated in Las Vegas in 1997, when Debbie Shwetz and Dena Tripp wanted “simply to please their family and friends,” according to its website. Today, there are more than 200 stores across the country.

Newton’s store will primarily serve customers in north Gilbert and Mesa.

The Anthem resident will soon move to a condo in east Mesa, which will be a few minutes away from it.

Business has been “great,” Newton said. Online orders are rolling in and delivery

requests are also growing.

“I’m really thrilled people are realizing that we do deliver to areas within our territories,” she said.

Although Newton has a team of 17 staffers, she prefers to deliver the sweet treats herself in her colorful “Bundtmobile.”

“I think it’s important for me to be the face of Nothing Bundt Cakes in the community and for people to know me, that I’m offering the best service that I can. It’s just part of who I am,” she said.

The level of personalized service hasn’t been lost on her customers: The store received 100 percent for customer service in a recent survey.

The majority of her shoppers are working women ages 30-60, she noted, although men are increasing coming in through the doors.

Newton’s two bakers begin work at 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively, and bake all day long to create the nine flavors and the flavor of the month. April’s is Strawberries and Cream. She’s noticed that Pecan Praline flies off the shelves, while gluten free varieties are requested often as well.

The cake book provides details of how the cakes may be decorated and presented – there are 45 decorations to choose from.

Newton and her store manager, Shawn Strunk – he’s one of the few male managers in the franchise – spent a month undergoing training in Dallas, Texas.

She described it as “intense.”

“We started off as dishwashers and we worked every single position in the bakery for a month. It was fantastic, we learned a lot,” she said. “They wanted us to know what it was like to be a dishwasher and to experience their experience.”

Newton graduated in broadcast journalism at University of Arizona and used to be a radio broadcaster in Salt Lake City. Although she misses the energy of broadcast journalism, Newton may not return to her early career. She feels the bakery is her last call.

“It sounds hokey to say this, but when you

take a cake to a person, you get a big grin. It’s really true,” she said. “Our slogan here is ‘we make the world a sweeter place,’ and I really believe it.”

Nothing Bundt is at 2285 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Gilbert. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Details: 480-892-1667 or nothingbundtcakes.com/bakery/az/gilbert.

Dates & Times

Week One: May 1st, 3rd, and 4th (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)

Week Two: May 8th, 10th, and 11th (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)

May 1st, 4th, & 10th

5:45 PM - 7:15 PM: 07 & 00/99 age groups 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM: 05 & 04 age groups

May 3rd, 8th, & 11th

5:45 PM - 7:15 PM: 06 & 02 age groups 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM: 03 & 01 age groups

Academy Evaluation Dates May 2nd and 9th (Both Tuesdays): 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM: 2011, 2010, 2009 & 2008 age groups

(Srianthi Perera/Tribune Staff)

The Nothing Bundt Cakes team (from left) Nicollette Casey, Tekatrianna Schulte-Evans, Andrew Hawkins, Lauren Petersen Kim Hughes and store owner Jan Newton pose behind the Bundt Hunt, the specialty cake for Easter.

Whiskey Row a huge hit in the Gilbert’s Heritage District

BY SRIANTHI PERERA Tribune Staff Writer

Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row Restaurant in downtown Gilbert had a soft opening on a Tuesday – this particular day of the week was selected because it’s usually a slow day in the restaurant business.

“On Tuesday at 1 p.m. every single table was filled and there was an hour’s wait,” said Sean Frantz, marketing director. “We were quite filled up; it was a mix of families and kids and business people. It was a blast.”

This is the Valley’s third country-themed and entertainment-focused restaurant created by the Arizona entertainer, in collaboration with Riot Hospitality Group of Scottsdale. The other two are in Scottsdale and Tempe.

It was anticipated to bring a unique vibe to the Heritage District. It does.

The 8,700 square-feet restaurant (three times as large as the one in Scottsdale) features a 4,600 square-feet outdoor patio outfitted with a retractable screen that offers shade for those indulging within in a game of corn hole or ping pong; a stage that could comfortably accommodate a fourpiece band; a large dance hall that already is reportedly being put to good use; space for a deejay and two well-stocked bars. While awaiting their order, patrons could strategize a game of Connect 4 or stack up some enormous Jenga blocks as well.

On weekends, live music plays.

“When we opened our first Whiskey Row three years ago, I never would have guessed we’d be three bars in, in three years,” Bentley said in a media release. “The Riot group and I have spent a lot of time making sure each Whiskey Row is our version of the perfect place to listen to music, watch a game or grab some great food and drinks.”

The menu offers gastro pub cuisine with sliders, salads, burgers and entrees such as Shrimp Boil and Beer Can Rotisserie Chicken.

This is the first Dierks Bentley restaurant with a kids menu.

The restaurant is geared to millennials, which is the norm in Scottsdale and Tempe locations, “but for Gilbert, we’re reaching a little bit older,” said Frantz, who has noted that families with young children find favor, too, in the trendy restaurant.

“We’re 100 percent coming in here respecting and knowing that this is a very family-oriented city. Not that there aren’t young families in Tempe and Scottsdale.

In the areas specifically that we’re located,

people know that they are night life-driven,” he said.

“For people to think that it’s going to be exactly the same, we don’t want them to think that because that’s exactly opposite what it’s going to be.

“Yes, we will have live bands and deejays, but it’s going to still be different.

We have to realize that we’re coming to an area that is not used to a night life,” he added.

What of the design?

Whiskey Row, designed and built by LGE Design Build, has been created to reflect Gilbert’s agricultural roots. In keeping with trends and particularly in keeping with other restaurant designs in the Heritage District, such as Zinburger, the restaurant has the ambiance of an agricultural warehouse.

restaurant the feeling of an old barn or trading post.

Ryan Hibbert, the CEO of Riot, said that the construction features “reclaimed woods and steel, with an emphasis on high ceilings and natural light, giving the

“The restaurant’s entrance and exterior widows face Gilbert Road, which really fosters connectivity to the lively, pedestrianfriendly downtown atmosphere, while also providing significant frontage for everyone that passes by,” he said.

Whiskey Row is at 323 S. Gilbert Road, in the southeast corner of Gilbert Road and Vaughn Ave. Details: call 480-476-8595 or visit dierkswhiskeyrow.com/gilbert-az.

(Peter Speyer/Special to the Tribune)

Whiskey Row, designed and built by LGE Design Build, reflects Gilbert’s agricultural roots and has the ambiance of a warehouse.

(Peter Speyer/Special to the Tribune) The stage at Whiskey Row. “Yeah, me and the boys hangin’; around. Hands in our pockets, getting’; lost in the crowd. Watchin’; pretty girls drinkin’; tall boys. Swingin’; their hips to a country song” are lines from a Dierks Bentley song titled “Pretty Girls.”

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Obituaries

CRANDALL,

Kenneth Lee

Mr Crandall was born Dec 2, 1943, the son of

DEAN Lois Arlene

May 3, 1928 – April 16, 2017

struggle with Alzheimer’s Lois was born on May 3, 1928 in Spencer IA She is preceded in death by daughter Kathy Dean, ex-husband Clayton Dean She is survived by 2 daughters, 6 grandchildern, 14

r e n as failing Loi s moved to Livermore, CA where she hter Sherill’s family for a few months until she moved e home Then to Kindred Nursing home where she morial service is at Love of Christ Lutheran Church, pril 30, 2017

Please Sign the Guestbook at eastvalleytribune com

T, Danny Lawrence

5 B o r n t o J o h n a n d E l l e n e B a r k h u r s t i n S y c a m o r e linois on March 15 1952 passed away on April 13th 017 Danny spent most of his adult life Tempe Ariona

Danny served his country in the United States Navy om ‘70 to ‘74 and is a Vietnam Veteran He was a ourneyman HVAC repairman by trade and was an acomplished singer and guitarist He was brother to sisTempe AZ and Debi Ballou Las Vegas NV but his was that of F ather to sons John (Lynn) Tucson AZ aha NE and Brian (Maria) of SanTan Valley AZ and ce Brock Jacob Cooper Madalyn Robert Aubreanna ny Lawrence as well as numerous nieces and neph-

one he met with his loving spirit and his contagious e k e p t

e sorely missed Rest In Peace Dear Danny Father Grandfather & Brother ’till we meet again!

Memorial gathering at La Fonda Mexican Restaurant (Baseline & McClintock, Tempe), 6pm – 9pm Saturday May 6th 2017

EDGINGTON, Jimmie Loyd

Jimmie Loyd Edgington, 76, of Queen Creek, Arizona, died April 19, 2017, at 12:19 p m , in Sun City, Arizona He was born December 18, 1940, in Everton, Missouri, the oldest son of the late John and B

Grove High School where he played baseball, basketball, football and track In track, he held the state record of 136’ 7” for discus in 1958 until recently He also played semi-pro baseball before joining the Army He was a Chief Warrant Officer 2 in the Army when he left after 14 years of service He was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, and Indochina He knew his passion was in aviation, so when he left the Army he worked for the State of Arizona, Department of Transportation as a chief pilot until he retired in 2004 Then he worked for Internal Revenue Service where he receives a federal pension He was married six times and had four children: Janice, Sharon, Vickie and Brandon Edgington Interment with military honors will be held at the Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California on May 12, 2017 at 1:15 pm

Please Sign the Guestbook at: eastvalleytribune com

Obituaries

ene

June 27, 1929 - March 31, 2017

Bob Bell, born on June 27, 1929, in Sterling, IL, passed away peacefully in Chandler, AZ on March 31, 2017 He was 87

Bob was preceded in death by Betty - the love of his life and wife of 62 years - and by his parents, Milford “Bundy” and Irene Bell He is survived by children Barbara Fletcher (John) of N a s h v i l l e , T N , D a v i d B e l l ( B o n n i e ) o f S a n Jose, CA, and Steven Bell (Karen) of Tierra Verde, FL; grandchildren John (“Jamie”), Kathleen, and Elizabet h Fletcher, and Matthew (Brittany) and Timothy Bell; and sister LaDonna Bell Hall

Bob was a wonderful husband, devoted father, father-in-law, and grandfather and a devoted uncle to his niece and nephews, in whose lives he made a difference Bob’s gentle nature and unwavering optimism had a profound impact on his entire family and his many friends

While attending Iowa State University, he met Betty during their time in the marching band Bob completed his undergraduate architectural degree in 1951, married Betty that August, then entered the Air Force After completing his military service, Bob continued his architectural training at Cranbrook Academy of Art receiving a Masters of Architecture in 1955

He began his architectural career in the Offices of Alden Dow, Midland, MI In 1961, he and Betty relocated to Traverse City, MI, where Bob was a founder of the architectural firm GBKB Associates Bob loved all as-

Wright This influence can be seen in his many projects throughout the Traverse City area

Bob and Betty purchased a former farmhouse on the Old Mission Peninsula with a panoramic view of East (Grand Traverse) Bay This, accompanied by Bob’s belief that design should fit into its natural surroundings, provided the inspiration and vision for him to conceive and develop The Bluffs on the Peninsula

Bob later practiced as an archit ect in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, then in northern California where he and Betty spent many wonderful years on the shores of Lake Almanor He and Betty retired to the Chandler area in Arizona where they were active members of the Sun Lakes United Methodist Church and its choir

His family would like to thank Lynn Netko and Cheryl Haley and the other staff of Sage Hospice, as well as the staff at The Lighthouse Manor in Chandler, all of whom cared for Bob during his battle with Pa rkinson’s

The family will hold a private service in Traverse City at a later date The family asks that any donations in memory of Bob be made to Sage Hospice (www sagehospice org), Rotary International, or the charity of your choice

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Employment General

The Arizona Republic wants to contract you to deliver the newspaper in the early morning hours Work just 2-3 hours a day and earn an extra $700$1,200 per month Routes available now in your area Call 1-855-704-2104 or visit

deliveryopportunities gannett com

Full-Time graveyard shift labor position

Must be able to lift 55lbs & work in high heat environment

Clean Drug and alcohol test required Clean background check preferred Salary $13+/hr plus benefits Apply 9a-3p: Pacific Standard Specialties, 4151 E Quartz Circle, Mesa or email resume to Info@ PacificStandard com

Hiring Fitter/Welders

Immediate Placement

Qualified Welding Applicants must be able to pass a D1 1 2G & D1 8 1G with web rat hole and back gouge Email resume to: penvan41@yahoo.com

Employment

General Engineering

As the world leader in next generation mobile technologies, Qualcomm is focused on accelerating mobility around the world

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, Inc , has the following degreed/ experienced positions available in Chandler, AZ:

•Circuit Design Engineer: (FR-Q609-P)

Multiple openings avail Employer will accept any suitable combination of education, training or experience

Mail CV w/job code to QUALCOMM, P O Box 919013, San Diego, CA, 92191-9013. EEO employer: including race gender, disability & veterans status

LOST DOG

Small, fluffy female dog (bichon/poodle) lost in Sun Lakes at the end of February Answers to Bella and she is chipped She has very few nails on her front paws Owners are devastated, please let me know if you see her Sheri 480-201-9526

Phoenix

85040 or shane.howell@scholzrebar.com.

As necessary, in/outbound transportation (including

Phoenix Metro Area will be provided to workers,

portation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is

Sweeper Drivers and Sweeper Assistants Needed! - Night ShiftHard physical labor and lots of walking Drug Free CompanyWe test - Starting Pay $10 50 per hour If interested call 480-497-1441 and leave your contact information

We will call you to schedule an interview Thai Cooks 1 yr Exp Req d Resume to Iyara Corp 2060 S Power Road #102 Mesa AZ 85209

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Meetings/Events

A Suklje, a Dentist from Slovenia and a mem-

Bruno Groening Circle of Friends will present lectures about spiritual healings that are medically verifiable http://northamerica bruno-groening org/ Sunday, May 7 at 7:00 pm New Vision Center for Spiritual Living, 18010 North Tatum Blvd , Phoenix, AZ 85032

Speaker: A Suklje, Dentist, Slovenia Contact: Marlies 505-466-8855

Admission

A public opening of proposals for furnishing all labor, materials, equipment, and performing all

BUILDING will be completed on May 9, 2017 at 3pm at Stantec Consulting Services at 8211 South 48th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85044 No other bids will be accepted at this time

CATELLUS AZ CONSTRUCTION MGR, LLC ( "

and all bids and to waive any and all technicalities and formalities in bidding The OWNER

Road Corridor Study Loop 101 to Lindsay Road Project No CP0710

Please join us for a public meeting to discuss the improvements to Broadway Road between the Loop 101 and Lindsay Road Due to the unique nature of the areas within this seven mile stretch two public meetings have been scheduled, one for residents and business west of Stapley Drive and the other east of Stapley Drive The City of Mesa has contracted with Ritoch-Powell to initiate a study of the Broadway Road Corridor to identify proposed improvements with the goal of creating an improved multi-modal streetscape which can accommodate vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and transit

You are invited to attend a Public Meeting where City staff and designer will be available to answer your questions No formal presentation will be given

Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location: Broadway Recreation Center –Activity Room (West of Stapley Drive) 59 E Broadway Road, Mesa AZ 85210

Date: Thursday, May 11, 2017

Time: 6:00 p m to 7:00 p m

Location: Lowell Elementary School – Multi Purpose Room (East of Stapley Drive) 920 E Broadway Road, Mesa AZ 85210

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact Rene Powell, Jaime Otter, or Michele Arrollado with the City of Mesa Engineering Public Relations at (480) 644-3800 Si usted tiene preguntas de ste Proyecto, favor de llamar a Maggie Martinez, con la Ciudad de Mesa al (480) 644-5672

Published: East Valley Tribune, April 30 and May 7, 2017 / 5632

construction based on the evaluation criteria as outlined in the RFQ No bid may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after public opening of bids

Please notify Kelly J Bell, PE of Stantec Con-

kelly bell2@stantec com regarding any questions

Published: East Valley Tribune, April 30, May 7, 2017 / 5648

INVITATION TO BID: East Valley Men’s Center, 2345 N COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, MESA, ARIZONA 85201 The owner will receive Bids f

project is federally funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds Federal labor standards, Davis-Bacon prevailing w

Development Act of 1968 for Employment and Contracting Opportunities Small, minority and/ or women-owned businesses are encouraged

Thursday, June 1, 2017, at A New Leaf, 868 E University Drive, Mesa, Arizona 85203 Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at 12:05 PM on Thursday, June 1, 2017, at A New Leaf

Mesa Arizona 85203 Bidding documents, in-

and instructions to Bidders may be obtained at Perkinson Reprographics, Inc , 2330 W Broad-

5 2 0 2 ,

/ Fax: (480) 237-0907 or online at www priplans com under the "public jobs" link, starting Monday, May 1, 2017 All bids must be on a lump-sum basis A schedule of values will be provided by the Contractor at the time of contract A New Leaf, Inc , res

A Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will be held at

site, East Valley Men’s Center, 2345 N Country Club Drive, Mesa, Arizona 85201, at

available to answer questions Bidders are

, verbal authorizations or acknowledgments by anyone present will not be binding

Published: East Valley Tribune, April 30, 2017 and May 7, 2017 / 55334

May Is Better Hearing Month!

It’s time to make sure annual hearing screenings are just as much a norm as dental check-ups and vision screenings

About 20 percent of adults in the United States — an estimated 48 million — report some degree of hearing loss. How many more haven’t reported any loss or don’t know what they can’t hear?

We’re here to provide diagnostics and hearing health treatment for all patients especially those age 55 and older. Call to make an appointment for your