Tucson • Phoenix • Mesa
FEB 22–MAR 15
5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION REBORN
A journey through 5,000 years
“It is breathtaking! I am walking away deeply inspired and profoundly moved!” —Rita Cosby, Emmy Award-winning journalist
“The energy, the precision, the beauty... I’m just overwhelmed. It’s so beautiful!” —John Anthony, retired judge
“ I’ve reviewed about 4,000 shows. None can compare to what I saw tonight.” ALL-NEW PROGRAM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA
Early Purchase Special Code: Early20 Get best seats & waive fees by 11/30/2019
—Richard Connema, theater critic
FEB 22–23
MAR 3–8
MAR 12–15
Tucson Music Hall Phoenix Orpheum Theatre Mesa Arts Center
Tickets
ShenYun.com/AZ 800-880-0188
800.880.0188 ShenYun.com/AZ
SHEN YUN presents an epic production that expands the theatrical experience across time and space. We invite you on an inspiring journey into one of humanity's greatest treasures—five millennia of Chinese civilization. Featuring one of the world’s oldest art forms—classical Chinese dance—along with patented interactive backdrops and all-original orchestral compositions, Shen Yun brings to life ancient China’s enchanting beauty and profound wisdom.
INSIDE
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Gilbert real estate section
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Gilbert creates united front on teen suicide BY JIM WALSH GSN Staff Writer
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program called One Gilbert hopes to unite everyone in town behind an ambitious but much-needed goal: eliminating the teen suicide epidemic. The new effort, launched by education consultant Katey McPherson and Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels, will target teen alienation from adults and attempt to ensure teens have at least one trusted adult who can guide them through everyday life and emotional distress. McPherson – a former assistant junior high school principal, a national and international lecturer and a suicide prevention advocate – will help create a survey that will be administered to all students in grades 6 through
12 who attend Gilbert, Higley or Chandler schools within town boundaries. McPherson, joined by East Valley mothers who have lost children to suicide and a bipartisan group of East Valley legislators, have succeeded in shining a spotlight on the teen suicide problem. Since July 2017, 38 teens in Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek and Mesa have taken their lives. Among the most recent was a 17-yearold Gilbert boy who attended Desert Ridge High School and took his life within days after a friend of his at Skyline High in Mesa took her life. The group of suicide-prevention advocates have convinced virtually everyone that the issue has lingered in the shadows too long because of the social stigma surrounding
Council OKs 3 rooftop signs for downtown
suicide. Among their victories has passage of the law that requires training all school personnel who deal with grades 6-12 to recognize the warning signs of suicide and know how to respond. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also started to address a severe lack of school counselors by putting money in the state budget so school districts can get funding for more counselors and social workers. But One Gilbert is more of a preventative approach that uniquely targets students in one town with a community-wide response uniting school and town officials, residents, Gilbert police and teens themselves to
see SUICIDE page 6
Sobering warning
BY JORDAN HOUSTON GSN Staff Writer
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ooftop signs are coming to Gilbert. After a heated debate, the Town Council voted 5-2 last week to approve a text amendment to the Land Development Code, allowing for up to three rooftop signs in the Heritage District along Gilbert Road. A maximum of three rooftop signs no larger than 200-square-feet each will be allowed in the historic area – one each in the north, central and south segments. The signs will also be non-commercial. “We have to push growth,” said Mayor Jenn Daniels. “We are a city of the future and we will continue to promote that as we grow.” She added that the Council seeks to celebrate the town’s heritage in “every way that [we] can,” and that the signs will add a distinctive characteristic. The decision is a direct response to resident Brad Smith’s request to build a neon “Gilbert” sign atop his red-brick building, dubbed Bldg. 313. Braelyn Smith, his daughter, said her family’s building hosts a software company, local restaurant, co-working space for women and will soon offer a rooftop restaurant. “I think my dad has had visions for this sign when he first realized they [her
see ROOFTOP page 4
Arizona State University President Michael Crow spoke at Chandler Gilbert Community College last Thursday, telling business leaders Arizona's economy cannot be sustained if ongoing funding neglect of higher education continues. For more on his adress, turn to page 6. (Pablo Robles/GSN Staff Photographer)