An edition of the East Valley Tribune
This Week
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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Wedding venue leaves couples in lurch.
BUSINESS.........................
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Gilbert cookie master growing business..
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espite Gilbert’s reputation as a wellto-do community, the need for more affordable housing and access to mental, behavioral and substance abuse treatment programs are among the cracks in this image, according to a new town report. The 2019 Community Needs Assessment updated the first report the town commissioned in 2014. “There are several purposes for your assessment that involve (identifying) strengths, gaps, opportunities, priorities,
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Gilbert football players honored.
COMMUNITY...................... 14 BUSINESS............................. 16 OPINION............................... 18 SPORTS................................ 20 GETOUT............................... 20 CLASSIFIED.........................24
resources, recommendations, short- and long-term goals, program and fiscal considerations, strategic planning, and helping to build community connections,” said consultant Lisa Zorita of the Williams Institute for Ethics and Management at the Dec. 19 Town Council meeting. Gilbert’s first Community Needs Assessment resulted in the opening of the Heritage Resource Center in 2018, where most services such as medical, dental, counseling and others are free to families in need. According to the report, a majority of Gilbert residents experience a quality of life envied by many other communities of equal size but face the challenges of record-
Chandler, Gilbert deaths tied to cult mystery
BY KEVIN REAGAN GSN Staff Writer
SPORTS.........................
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Town report identifies critical social problems
INSIDE
NEWS......................................
2019 was a wild one for Gilbert, EV PAGE 4
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former East Valley woman has left behind a trail of bodies as authorities attempt to trace the whereabouts of her and her two children amid speculation about her connection to a doomsday cult. The FBI is on the lookout for 46-year-old Lori Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, after the couple abruptly fled their Idaho home last month. Local authorities had been checking on the welfare of Vallow’s two children since no one had seen
or spoken to the juveniles for months. Now all four family members are missing and have left their relatives confused as to where they may have gone. Some have speculated Vallow’s joined a mysterious cult, while others are hopeful no foul play has taken place. Three people connected to Vallow and Daybell have all died within the last few months. One was shot to death at a residence in Chandler. A death in Gilbert is still under investigation. Charles Vallow, the missing
see MISSING page 11
breaking rapid growth in recent years. The less visible part of the town’s population – about a third of Gilbert residents – experiences struggles and grave challenges. Nearly 15,000 residents live below the federal poverty threshold; three schools in the Gilbert Public Schools District with over 50 percent of students qualify for the federal free/reduced lunch program, and over 17,000 residents have special needs, the report said. Additionally, the Police Department on a weekly basis logs an average 5.25 calls for
see ASSESSMENTS page 10
Trial balloons
Kate Clark sports her creations in the balloon club that teacher Laura Hall started at Archway Classical Academy Lincoln, a Great Hearts School that sits on the GilbertChandler border. Details: see page 8. [Chris Mortenson/GSN Staff Photographer)