Queen Creek Tribune 051522

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An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Eastmark to graduate its first senior class

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

COMMUNITY...... 18 New QCUSD principal ‘coming home.’

BUSINESS............ 20 Barrio Queen gives QC a Restaurant Week presence.

J

ust over two years ago, Adelin Longhurst was enjoying her high school in her home state of Kentucky. At the time, she had no idea she would soon make an impact on a much smaller Queen Creek Unified high school in East Mesa.

But when her family made the move to Arizona, she found Eastmark High School. She enjoyed the small student population that the school still has in just its third year of existence.

Adelin wanted to become involved.

see EASTMARK page 10

Eastmark Student Council members, from left, Becca Hinton, Sydni Lawson, Grace Foote, Mylie Stones, Esther Robinson, Amelia Barton and Adelin Longhurst have helped establish traditions that they hope will live on well beyond graduation on Wednesday, May 18, when they become the school’s first graduating class. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Debate continues over QC lithium plant SPORTS................ 25 Queen Creek football seeks state dominance.

COMMUNITY.........................18 BUSINESS...............................20 OPINION..................................23 SPORTS....................................25 CLASSIFIEDS.........................26

BY KATHLEEN STINSON Tribune Staff Writer

Q

ueen Creek officials are addressing citizens’ questions and concerns about LG Energy Solution’s plans to build a lithium battery plant as town and San Tan Valley residents remain divided over the South Korean manufacturer’s facility.

The barren 650.5 acre site at Ironwood and Germann roads was sold last month at a state Land Department auction for $84.4 million to ES America, which is partnering with LG Energy on the $1.4 billion Queen Creek project.

That project is part of LG Energy’s plan to invest more than $4.5 billion in an expansion of its American operations by 2025 as it tries to top its Chinese rival as the largest supplier

of lithium batteries for electric vehicles, creating 10,000 new jobs in the United States.

A month before the State Land deal, LG Energy picked its existing plant in Holland, Michigan, for a $1.7 billion expansion that it said would create 1,200 jobs. Some predict the Queen Creek plant will create far more

see

LITHIUM page 6

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QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

GOP candidates for AG debate 2020 election

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

T

hree of the six Republicans running for state attorney general said they would not have participated in certifying the 2020 election results as did the man who they seek to replace.

And the others raised questions about the participation of Mark Brnovich in the process.

“Did you see the ‘2000 Mules’ documentary?’’ asked Abe Hamadeh, a former Maricopa County prosecutor, during the debate May 11. That refers to the movie by Dinesh D’Souza that claims it shows evidence that people were stuffing ballot drop boxes.

Hamadeh, who was deployed during the 2020 election, said he came home to multiple mail-in ballots at his house.

“So for them to constantly gaslight us and tell us that the 2020 was the most

safe and secure in history is a lie,’’ he said.

Private attorney Rodney Glassman went a step farther, taking a swat at Brnovich, who cannot seek reelection and is instead running for U.S. Senate.

He said that there are existing laws requiring people who register to vote to have two forms of identification. Ditto on laws against “ballot harvesting,’’ taking someone else’s early ballot to the polls.

“You know who’s in charge of enforcing that?’’ Glassman said.

“The attorney general,’’ he continued.

“Mark Brnovich was asleep at the wheel well before 2020.’’

Dawn Grove came at the issue from a different direction.

“You have Big Government, Big Tech and media colluding together to bury a story about Hunter Biden that was true and amplify a false story about President Trump and Russia, said Grove

who is vice president of Karsten Manufacturing which makes Ping golf clubs.

She also claimed that there were more people who were entitled by federal law to vote for president without identification than the margin of victory for Joe Biden.

“Those have to be investigated first,’’ Grove said.

“You have to look at those things before you sign,’’ she continued, saying she has a “hard time’’ believing she would have participated in the certification.

Rancher Tiffany Shedd took a more nuanced position.

“That’s a really hard question in 2020 hindsight,’’ she said.

Shedd said there are reasons to raise questions, including what she said was the refusal of Maricopa County supervisors to initially provide election information to the state Senate for its review.

She also claimed to have witnessed poll workers on the Navajo Nation on Elec-

tion Day telling people that if they are registered as Democrats it is illegal to vote for Republicans, though she said no one ever was charged.

“And, so, going forward, as attorney general, I will not certify an election unless I know that we have election integrity, that election laws were enforced,’’ Shedd said.

But the whole idea of an attorney general not participating in certifying an election based on various claims of fraud irregularities bothered Andrew Gould, a former justice of the Arizona Supreme Court who resigned to run for attorney general.

“What you have to do as a judge, what you have to do as an attorney general, is you have to go on what the facts are,’’ he said.

“You don’t go on what you feel or what you think,’’ Gould said. And he said he

see ATTORNEY page 16

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NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

CUSD board OKs sub pay contract, kitchen re-do An edition of the East Valley Tribune Queen Creek Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Queen Creek CONTACT INFORMATION Main number: 480-898-6500 | Fax: 480-898-562 Circulation: 480-898-5641 Publisher: Steve T. Strickbine Vice President: Michael Hiatt ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Display Advertising: 480-898-6309 Classifieds/Inside Sales: Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@timespublications.com TJ Higgins | 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@timespublications.com Steve Insalaco | 480-898-5635 | sinsalaco@timespublications.com Advertising Sales Executive: Jane Meyer | 480-898-5633 | jane@timespublications.com NEWS DEPARTMENT Executive Editor: Paul Maryniak | 480-898-5647 pmaryniak@timespublications.com Managing Editor: Cecilia Chan | 480-898-5613 |cchan@timespublications.com Reporters: Kathleen Stinson | 480-898-5639 | kstinson@ timespublications.com Ken Sain | 928-420-5341 | ksain@timespublications.com Photographer: Dave Minton | dminton@timespublications.com Design: Nathalie Proulx | nproulx@timespublications.com Production Coordinator: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@timespublications.com Circulation Director: Aaron Kolodny | 480-898-5641 | customercare@evtrib.com Sports Editor: Zach Alvira | 480-898-5630 | zalvira@timespublications.com

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

The content of any advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Queen Creek Tribune assumes no responsibility for the claims of any advertisement. © 2022 Strickbine Publishing, Inc.

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

D

uring the end of 2021, Chandler Unified School District had a substitute teacher problem. With graduations coming at the end of the month, it is no longer an issue.

The CUSD Governing Board authorized spending an additional $3 million May 11 to address that problem.

The board approved increasing the contract with Educational Services, Inc. (ESI) from $5.5 million to $8.5 million.

Lana Berry, the district’s chief financial officer, said that amount covers all the increased costs incurred during this school year.

“This year, with COVID, we had a number of absences due to illness, and so we used more subs,” Berry said. “We also increased the rate during that period of time to try and attract more subs to come to our school district.”

In January, the Governing Board increased substitute teacher pay from $115 to $145 a day, relying on ESI to do

Read all about it!

Caden Boling of Queen Creek is reviving a job that teens 20 years ago found a natural way to earn some spending money: newspaper delivery. The son of Abe and Roshena Boling, the homeschooled seventh grader started on May 8 delivering the Queen Creek Tribune to some 200 homes in The Pecans. And instead of pulling a wagon or hanging a bag on the rear carrier of a bicycle, the enterprising youngster used a golf kart to deliver what’s becoming the town’s favorite local news source. “He actually really enjoyed it,” his dad said. “We went in the evening so it was – relatively speaking – cool. And it was a nice way to hang out and spend the evening.”

Anyone interested in delivering The Tribune can contact circulation manager Aaron Kolodny at 480-898-5607 or aaron@timespublications.com. (Courtesy of Abe Boling)

the recruiting.

Those steps worked and helped the district get through a period of high absences.

“We were pretty high January through March, but since then our numbers have been back to normal,” said Dr. Wendy Nance, assistant superintendent in charge of human resources.

At one point during the winter, 600 teachers and staff called out sick. Still, Nance said ESI was able to recruit enough substitute teachers that they were able to weather the storm.

“We blasted out to all of our current substitutes and the people they knew who were interested, or the people in their front offices that had the certification but may be in a different type of job, and we helped them access their substitute certificates and seemed to get them on board pretty quick.”

In other business, the Governing Board approved spending more than $4.4 million to rebuild the district’s main kitchen facility.

The building was constructed in the early 1990s and was meant to serve about a third of the estimated 40,000 meals they make each day now. The kitchen equipment has reached its end of life estimate.

CUSD plans to begin demolition later this month once schools let out and get the building ready for major equipment upgrades. The entire cost for construction and new equipment is estimated to be about $7 million.

Construction will extend into the new school year. The kitchen staff will have limited access to the building, mostly to its large storage freezer. Most of the cooking for district schools will be done at a number of different schools instead of in the centralized location.

Tom Dunn, the district’s director of construction, said he hopes the kitchen staff can return to their main kitchen in late December or early January.

He said the project would probably not be completed until next summer when they expect the arrival of a natural gas generator.

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

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NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

LITHIUM from page 1

than twice that number.

LG Energy in 2020 was spun off from LG Chem – the flagship affiliate of Korean billionaire Koo Kwang-mo’s LG Corp., one of the four largest family-controlled conglomerates in South Korea, according to Forbes magazine.

It started the year by raising $10.7 billion with its first public stock offering amid forecasts that global battery-powered electric vehicle sales, estimated at 2.5 million units in 2020, will grow more than 12-fold to 31.1 million by 2030 and account for nearly a third of new vehicle sales.

The town recently posted a lengthy response to concerns on its website to address issues ranging from environmental impacts and safety, particularly if a fire occurs, to traffic to fears of losing mountain views.

Asked last week about continuing concerns raised by residents, town spokeswoman Constance Halonen‑Wilson told the Tribune: “The Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County are committed to the safety of the community – ensuring all businesses, including LG Energy Solution, adhere to applicable local, county, state and federal processes and regulations, and to do it safely. This includes protecting air quality, water quality, public safety, infrastructure, and aesthetics.

“We hear the concerns from residents in the surrounding area and we’ve set up a webpage where we will continue to answer questions and provide information, including details on an upcoming joint meeting, QueenCreekAZ.gov/AdvancedManufacturing.

“The Town looks forward to working with LG Energy Solution on bringing a safe and sustainable clean energy facility to the region, and the exciting opportunities it will provide our local workforce for years to come.”

On May 4, local and San Tan Valley residents for the third consecutive Town Council meeting voiced pro and con sentiments about the plant, which is expected to be operational in two years.

“We have a traffic issue,” said San Tan Valley resident Breann Nichols, saying traffic from the plant would endanger

Queen Creek released this rendering of the LG Energy Solution plant planned for 650 acres at Germann and Ironwood roads. (Town of Queen Creek) children on horseback who often ride their horses on the sides of nearby roads.

Mark Schnepf, co-owner of Schnepf Farms and Queen Creek’s first mayor, submitted a letter that outlined the General Plan’s vision for the town and said LG Energy Solution’s plant conforms to that vision.

“We chose not to be just a bedroom community,” Schnepf said. “Over the decades, the town’s General Plan has had changes made to it and the Town’s boundaries have expanded. But the plan to site industrial type jobs in the north has never changed. The north area of Queen Creek has always been the only logical location to site large employers and even more so with the extension of the 24 freeway.

“It has always been the vision for Queen Creek to attract good, higher paying jobs to the community,” Schnepf continued.

“This supports the tax base and means that residents have job opportunities within the community instead of having to commute long distances. LG is the first big success with this 30-year vision.

Town addresses concerns In its effort to address concerns, the town’s post addressed environmental concerns by saying the “facility’s emissions are classified under the minor emissions standards of the EPA. Pinal County Air Quality Department is the regulatory agency responsible for issuing the required permit. The permit process will include a 30-day public comment period.”

“Pinal County Air Quality will continue

to oversee compliance once a permit is issued,” it added.

As for whether the Fire Department is trained to respond to lithium battery fires, the town says, “There have been recent advances in the firefighting industry, specifically related to the development of F500, used to effectively and safely respond to chemical fires.

“It is a regional best practice for all fire trucks to be equipped with F500. QC and regional firefighters have training on a variety of fire types, including chemicals.”

It also states that in the event of a fire, “Hazardous materials response units are available and would respond automatically should a need arise in Queen Creek.”

Those units not only have undergone 200 hours of training but also participate in monthly training sessions.

Concerns about traffic also are addressed by the town.

“Ironwood Road will be widened with one additional northbound lane from Germann to the new SR 24 improvement providing for three northbound lanes.

“Traffic signals will be designed and constructed at the intersection of Pecos Road and one-half mile north of Germann on Ironwood. In addition to these improvements roads will be constructed adjacent to the facility allowing for additional roadway capacity in the area.”

While some opponents have expressed concerns about the plant’s proximity to schools, the town noted that the LG plant will be located nearly a mile away from the nearest school.

For homeowners who fear losing their

mountain views, the town noted that 5% of the entire plant is 95 feet high and the rest only 70 feet.

Economic benefits cited Among critics who are not persuaded is San Tan Valley resident Alec Lykins, who told the Tribune after the posting that he is concerned that he would have enough time to evacuate his animals because he lives a mile from the LG site.

Lisa Horne, also of San Tan Valley, expressed similar concerns and told Council she wants all phases for the plant’s construction and all evacuation and emergency plans to be open for public input.

But Queen Creek resident Kyle Robinson emailed the Tribune his support for the project, stating “new technology battery plants have an excellent safety and environmental record” and calling the plant “critical to the future of Queen Creek and our nation as a whole.”

“I consider this a clean manufacturing facility that will provide resources that will help reduce greenhouse gases and reliance on coal and gas,” Robinson wrote.

“I would be considerably more concerned living next to a gasoline station than a new technology battery plant.”

He cited that despite Queen Creek’s many favorable qualities, “the one area lacking has been good paying and clean employment opportunities for our citizens.

“We do not want to be a bedroom com-

see LITHIUM page 8

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QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

LITHIUM from page 6

munity requiring commuting through and out of our community to find acceptable employment. Traffic congestion and pollution are on the increase. I feel this plant will provide local good paying jobs for our citizens while also helping to reduce pollution and congestion.”

Queen Creek Chamber President Chris Clark and Schnepf both focused on the economic impact of the plant.

“Fact of the matter is the complexion of the desert in that area is changing – one way or another,” he said, likening LG Energy’s arrival to the arrival of Motorola in the 1970s and Intel’s selection of Chandler to develop one of the lynchpins of its global operations.

“These are game-changing type of jobs and they bring additional projects with them,” Clark said, adding he hoped to soon meet with LG representatives.

In his letter to the town, Schnepf said he was willing to overlook the town’s plan to waive some development fees for LG Energy Solution because “I also don’t like good paying jobs all going to Texas, or other states, or even other communities within AZ. Communities compete for employers; that’s the system we live in,” he said, arguing: “Regarding the abatements, The Town has offered to pay for road improvements, extend utility services and waive development fees that would normally be charged,” he continued. “The road improvements are going to be made anyway whether now or in the future. Germann is a designated road of regional significance. The utilities would be extended by the town anyway, whether now or in the future. I think that is well worth waiving some development fees for 2,800 long term, local, good paying jobs.

“Schnepf Farms can’t provide 2,800 good paying jobs, neither can Olive Mill, or Fry’s, or Fat Cat’s, or Botanical Gardens, or Hayden Flour Mill or any other retail business in the town including all those in the downtown area,” Schnepf said. “Homebuilders can’t provide long term good paying jobs because they leave the community as soon as the neighborhoods are built.”

Opponents raise concerns Other residents emailed their opposi-

The 650-acre parcel was sold to the American partner of LG Energy Solution for $84.4 million last month at an auction held by the Arizona Land Department. (Special to the Tribune) tion to the LG plant at a previous town council meeting in April.

“I regret not becoming aware of this project until so late in the process,” said Queen Creek resident Sherry Land said in an email. “The concessions made to allow this foreign company to come and destroy our environment - while we practically pay them to make profits at our expense - are staggering.”

San Tan Valley resident Kenzie Haley said, “This is our ‘forever home’ area. But now we are facing a large company coming in and disrupting our community’s quality of life! Not only will this change the air quality but it will also negatively impact the land that we, the residents, take such pride in.”

Haley cited Ranch Elementary School’s location at Kenworthy and Germann roads and said, “It is so sad that the possibility of my kids having to attend school next to an LG plant is a possibility. My children along with many more will be removed from this school we love because no one wants to be breathing in factory fumes while playing on the playground.”

Vicki Baack, San Tan Valley resident, said in an email: “Residents of Queen Creek and San Tan Valley were not broadly notified about the Town’s plan to rezone this land to put a lithium ion battery plant

across the street from a neighborhood, an elementary school and a high school.”

She also commended council members Leah Martineau and Emilena Turley for voting against the rezoning that paved the way for the plant.

Queen Creek resident Tracy Van Cuyck wrote: “At a time when Americans including the residents of Queen Creek are struggling to put gas in their car, feed their families, and pay their mortgage, you have decided to subsidize a 1.7 trillion dollar company project. Who are you representing when you vote to make this deal?

“Did you approve this project with the citizens of your community in mind or yourself, Governor Ducey, and LG?” Van Cuyck continued. “There is absolutely no reason that LG cannot pay for their factory and take care of that factory without placing a burden on the backs of the taxpayers, your constituents. We elected you to make decisions based on what is best for us, not big corporations or politicians.”

San Tan Valley resident Breann Nichols said: “A key element in the Town’s plan for the future recreational trails and open space…We didn’t move to acreage to have our backyard, once of mountain views, to enormous steel structures. You’re diminishing a lifestyle in Arizona. Uphold your core values that once was Queen Creek.”

State Land has never been intended to remain open space.

The Land Department oversees more than 9 million acres of State Trust Land and sale proceeds can go to one of 12 other beneficiaries - including state universities, the Department of Corrections or other state entities for whom the trust was set up in Article X of the Arizona Constitution. K-12 education is the largest beneficiary of Trust Land sales.

A Land Department spokesman explained, “State Trust Land is not public land. It is land held in trust and the land really belongs to our beneficiaries. The state Land Department was created to act in their stead to manage this land... we really need to be thought of more like private land owners.”

The Tribune contacted Kayla Fulmer, spokeswoman for the J.O.Combs School District, for comment in the story about the proximity of Combs High School and another school to the proposed LG Energy Solution plant but she did not respond.

The Tribune also sent several questions to LG Energy Solution on May 3rd giving the company an opportunity to respond to the residents’ concerns about their safety and any potential environmental hazards they fear may result if the battery plant caught on fire. LG has not responded.

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QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

EASTMARK from page 1

She wanted to build traditions and create long-lasting memories that not only she and the rest of the student council team would always remember, but the rest of the student population as well.

Now, as senior class president, she and her fellow student council representatives said goodbye to Eastmark’s first-ever graduating class. It was a special moment not only individually, but for the group as a whole after all of their planning throughout the year.

“It’s pretty special,” Adelin said. “I think it’s pretty cool that we are the ones paving the way and everything.

We know that what we are doing will hopefully last for the rest of the time this school is open.

“I feel like this school is growing with us.”

Eastmark’s graduation will take place Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. at the football stadium on campus.

There, 140 seniors will don cap and gowns in the school’s teal and copper color scheme for the first time.

The student council was responsible for putting together the ceremony, from speakers to fun antics on some of the administrators they chose to keep private until the ceremony concludes.

In a way, the “gift” will showcase the special bond they have built as a collective group with administrators to make the most of an exciting time.

“There’s always a tradition of handing your principal or teacher something at the end,” senior Becca Hinton said. “So, I suggested we do that. I think it’s just fun and brings back a funny inside joke.”

Becca joined student council after she arrived at Eastmark as a sophomore. Previously, she attended Queen Creek High School but saw an opportunity to become more involved at a new school with fewer students.

To this day, she considers it one of the best decisions she has ever made.

She grew close not only with the other representatives of the coun-

Adelin Longhurst, senior class president, moved to Eastmark from Kentucky before the start of her second semester junior year. She instantly felt a connection with the school and wanted to become more involved. Now, she and the rest of the student council members can look back at all they managed to accomplish during their time as Firebirds. (Dave Minton/ Tribune Staff Photographer)

Student Council member Esther Robinson will attend Arizona State University to major in business and global politics at Barrett, The Honor’s College (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

cil but the student body as a whole.

Time and time again her friends at other schools with larger populations would tell her and other STUCO members how they didn’t feel like they are a tight-knit community.

But that’s not the case at Eastmark.

As the school grew, so did they.

They became more involved and wanted to establish fun traditions that would remain long after they walked across the stage and collected their diplomas. They managed to do just that.

“It’s been interesting having everyone come from different schools because we could take the things we didn’t like and adjust them,” said senior Esther Robinson, who transferred to Eastmark from Imagine Prep Superstition in Apache Junction. “But we also saw what programs did work and copy what they did and make them our own.”

Student council had its work cut out for it from the first time they met as sophomores. They had to plan dances, from those in the fall

to prom toward the end of the year.

They helped coordinate assemblies for sports teams and other groups, most notably the winter guard team Esther is a part of that captured the school’s first-ever state championship.

They also helped establish fun traditions like the powder puff game, which allows female students to switch roles with male football players.

Every project the student council group tried to tackle succeeded. But it wasn’t always easy.

“It’s been hard to do all of this. It’s been hard to get people to show up to events and start everything,” Becca said. “Because of that, I think it’s so much more rewarding because we’ve been able to establish things that will hopefully be around for years. We had to go all hands on, and that’s what made it special and rewarding for me.”

Drew Ammon served as the advisor for the 2022 class this year while also juggling his role as a teacher at

Becca Hinton joined the student council after she arrived at Eastmark as a sophomore. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Eastmark. He helped student council’s ideas this year turn into reality, including the graduation ceremony.

He said it was special to be a part of history at Eastmark and credited the students for their dedication to the school and making every event special in its own way.

Ammon admittedly said he is not good at goodbyes, which will make the graduation ceremony that much harder on him. But beyond that, he will also be saying goodbye to Eastmark as a whole as he will become the new athletic director at Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek.

His departure will be bittersweet.

On one hand, he has always wanted to step into an administrative role.

But on the other, he leaves behind a school where he helped establish traditions, such as powderpuff, the senior blackout game and senior sunrise.

Even from across the Valley, he hopes he can look back at Eastmark

see EASTMARK page 11

NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

EASTMARK from page 10

down the road and still see some of those traditions at the school. He knows that would mean a lot to student council as well.

“Even though I’ve only been around for one year, this is the second-hardest goodbye I will have to do,” Ammon said. “I always joke I’m not going to graduation, so I don’t have to say goodbye. It’s been fun. It’s probably one of the most enjoyable years of my career working with them.”

As graduation approaches, the three seniors have become increasingly aware the next stage in their lives is about to begin.

Esther will attend Arizona State University to major in business and global politics at Barrett, The Honor’s College. Adelin said she will attend Utah State University to major in business. Becca plans to attend BYU for two years and, as of now, anticipates transferring in two years to a school that offers architecture as a major.

No matter how far or close they travel for college, they will all share lasting memories of creating a culture at Eastmark – one that centers around school spirit, student involvement and fun. While they are excited to graduate, they are also aware of the fact that it will be an emotional time.

But all in all, those emotions are warranted for all they have managed to accomplish in three years that Firebird students in the future can take and build upon.

“Just seeing everyone sitting there, the people I’ve tried to serve... I think it will be rewarding,” Adelin said. “I’ll feel all the hard work I’ve put in all in one moment.”

“I’ll miss high school, but I’ll also be excited,” Esther added. “I keep thinking about how when we come back for our 10-year reunion and the senior class is 500 or 600 people, we will be able to say we were just a small class of about 130.

“It grew from there. It started with us.”

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12

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

ASU’s ‘tree’ aims to reduce carbon dioxide’s effects

BY EMMA VANDENEINDE Cronkite News

W

ith carbon emissions steadily rising, Arizona State University engineers are pushing to slow its damaging effects by creating treelike metal structures that attract carbon dioxide like a magnet and hold it like a sponge.

A prototype of what’s trademarked as the MechanicalTree sits in a small lot next to ASU’s Biodesign Institute.

A dark blue arch – known as a gantry – looms over what appears to be a 10-foot-tall beer keg. But you won’t find suds inside.

“Inside of that drum right now is 150 discs,” said Travis Johnson, associate director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. “On those discs is the sorbent that captures the CO2. So that’s where the magic happens.”

The magic his team is trying to cre-

ate centers on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without requiring expensive materials or the assistance of energy-intensive machines to blow wind through it.

The project was researched by Klaus Lackner, director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, and commercialized by Carbon Collect Inc., a renewable energy manufacturer in Dublin.

The tree is one of six projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to slow the effects of carbon dioxide in the environment.

ASU’s team received $2.5 million to build the device. The goal is to build three “tree farms” in the coming years to capture 1,000 tons of CO2 a day.

Carbon emissions, which are a major contributor to climate change, are rising. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that petroleum-related carbon emissions rose 8% in 2021, and they’re expected to rise 5% this year.

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A stainless steel drum sits below a blue gantry at Arizona State University in Tempe. The drum is filled with 150 sorbent-filled discs, which are pulled apart like an accordion to expose them to more air, says Travis Johnson, associate director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions.

(Emma VandenEinde/Cronkite News)

That increase in carbon dioxide accounts for two-thirds of the temperature increase in our climate, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This has scientists worried that the world isn’t adapting fast enough to meet this change. That point comes through in the latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which also states that the heat caused by carbon emissions is killing crops, trees and fish – all of which help sustain the planet.

“The carbon problem in the atmosphere is proving to be a much more difficult problem than I think people expected it to be,” said Gary Dirks, chairman of Carbon Collect. “We’re quite literally not making progress at the rate we need to.”

Dirks said ASU’s trees are one step to help curb emissions.

“We need to stop emitting as fast as we can,” he said, “but in the event we overshoot, then we’re going to need something that can bring it back again.”

Johnson said the MechanicalTree is the next tool in the toolbox for climate researchers.

To capture carbon, the blue gantry expands the device like an accordion to expose its “leaves” so wind can blow across the CO2, grabbing sorbent, a porous material that looks a lot like moon sand.

“You can see the stainless steel drum there with the lid on top, that gets raised up by the winch up there, up in the air,” Johnson said. “The lid comes off and the discs are attached to it. So it comes up kind of like an accordion.”

When activated, the MechanicalTree stands open for 20 to 30 minutes to catch a breeze.

“Each one of those cutout wedges is filled with these bags of sorbent,” Johnson said. “You could see these really tiny beads here, and there’s going to be about 14,000 of these bags that fill that tree.”

The sorbent works like a magnet, holding the carbon dioxide like a sponge

see TREE page 13

NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

TREE from page 12

until the discs are lowered back down into the steel keg. Then, the carbon is stored underground or repurposed for such products as carbonated beverages.

“The goal is to make sure every little tiny bit of sorbent gets exposed to air every time. That way, we’re maximizing the efficiency and the capacity of the system,” Johnson said.

One MechanicalTree is expected to collect roughly 187 pounds of carbon a day. A normal tree only captures 48 pounds in a year.

13

However, Dirks said one tree won’t solve the planet’s carbon problem.

“It will take millions of trees to make a difference,” he said. “Twelve trees will capture roughly a ton a day. The need for intervention is on the scale of gigatons, meaning billion tons.”

Thirty-five million MechanicalTrees would be needed to begin reducing gigatons of carbon. A gigaton is the same mass as 200 million elephants – a large number that would take years to achieve.

But ASU’s rapid manufacturing could make that deadline more attainable.

Part of the disc structure sits inside the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Each triangular wedge is filled with a sorbent that attracts and captures carbon dioxide from the air. (Emma VandenEinde/Cronkite News)

Travis Johnson, associate director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, holds a bag of sorbent inside a lab at the Biodesign Institute in Tempe on March 15, 2022. This material looks a lot like moon sand, but it actually attracts carbon like a magnet and soaks it up like a sponge. Each MechanicalTree will use 14,000 bags of sorbent. (Emma VandenEinde/Cronkite News)

“Think of car manufacturing,” Johnson said. “We can learn quickly because we’re making them so quickly, so we can inject that new learning into the production and learn quicker and get down the cost curve.”

And unlike other projects, this one doesn’t rely on anyone being present for the tree to operate.

“We rely on the wind to blow across our sorbent as opposed to the other companies that are doing this all have big giant blowers or they blow the air,” Johnson said. “So we’re trying to avoid that cost.”

The effects of the MechanicalTrees won’t really be seen for five to seven

years – the construction takes time, and the project’s future hinges on more investments and federal grants.

But for Johnson, the creation of these trees is personal.

“I’ve got four little kids and I want to be able to tell them I’ve tried to stop some of the bad consequences you’re having to deal with,” he said.

For now, the MechanicalTree team is collecting data on their model in Tempe.

It plans to load the tree with sorbent and start collecting CO2 in the next couple months.

If successful, there might be more of these mechanical trees across the nation in the next few years.

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QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

Amid drought, Facebook’s EV campus grows bigger

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

L

ess than a year ago, Mesa City Council approved a development and water agreement for a large data center with a mysterious Delaware-based company called Redale LLC. That company turned out to be Facebook.

Under its May 2021 development agreement with Mesa, Facebook would build a 1- million-square-foot facility in a first phase, with the option to build another 2 million square feet in subsequent phases.

One of the conditions was Facebook, now Meta, had to get started within five years.

Less than a year later, it’s far outstripped that time frame: the first 1 million square feet are well underway, and Meta announced last week that it’s decided to use the rest of its option and build another 1.5 million square feet.

In a release, Meta said it plans three more “data halls” at its Elliot Road Tech Corridor campus, in addition to the two already under construction, for a total of 2.5 million square feet.

The expansion means the area south of Elliot Road will be a small village of up to 2,000 construction workers on site for the next four years, DPR Construction manager Joe Yeargan said.

As big as the expansion is, even when all five planned mega-buildings are completed, Facebook’s data campus will only take up the upper portion of the 390-acre parcel the company owns at Elliot and Ellsworth.

Much of the lower part of the site will still be available for expansion, though the company would have to go through Mesa’s development process again for additional phases.

Asked what the future might hold for the rest of the parcel, Meta spokeswoman Melanie Roe said more data centers were possible, adding, “all of our expansions are based on business need.”

Meta held a May 4 event at the site to

Less than a year after getting Mesa City Council’s blessing, Facebook’s gigantic data campus is quickly becoming reality.

(David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

announce the expansion, which was attended by officials from Meta, city officials, Salt River Project representatives and other partners – as well as many workers donning hard hats and vests.

Mayor John Giles told the crowd that “Mesa’s an incredible place to set up a shop” and praised Meta for locating in the city.

“They’ll create high quality jobs” and “companies will locate here because Meta is here,” he said.

The mood under the tent was jovial, but the issue of water loomed over the proceedings.

Just the day before, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that it would be taking extraordinary measures to protect the water levels in Lake Powell and other Colorado River reservoirs due to extended drought and a disappointing winter of precipitation in the Rockies, which feeds the river.

Many of the speakers celebrating Meta’s expansion touched on water conservation.

“We know water’s a concern and

it’s something we take very seriously,” Meta Community Development David Williams told the crowd.

Meta’s Mesa data centers will use significant amounts of water to cool its servers, and in announcing the expansion, Meta did not avoid the water issue, stating that its data centers will be 60% more water efficient than the industry average, and declaring that it is “committed to restoring more water than it will consume.”

As part of its water agreement with the city, Meta will purchase water credits and sign them over to the city of Mesa before hooking up to the municipal system.

But offsetting its water use is a lofty goal, and Meta did not have specifics yet on how it would achieve it.

Because of the large scale of the planned data centers and the amount of energy its servers will consume – up to 450 megawatts, comparable to a medium city’s entire household use – the water demands to cool equipment are potentially large.

In a Sustainable Water Service agreement with the city, Meta and the city estimated the project at full build out of five buildings might use 1,400 acre feet of water per year. The maximum flow rates in the agreement suggest the scale of the water needed, up to 4 million gallons of water per day.

A typical 18-hole golf course in Arizona uses between 500,000 and 1 million gallons of water per day.

Besides touting the efficiency of its facilities’ design, Meta also sought to head off questions about water by highlighting its donations to water conservation projects in Arizona, which could result in more water reaching the Valley.

Dan Stellar, the Arizona director of The Nature Conservancy, described a Meta-supported irrigation improvement project outside Sedona that might increase water flows in Oak Creek – a tributary of the Verde River that is important for Valley water supplies.

see META page 15

NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

The Facebook company’s expansion means the area south of Elliot Road will be a small village of up to 2,000 construction workers on site for the next four years. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

META from page 14

Meta reported that three projects it is supporting could conserve 200 million gallons of water per year. This is a lot, but it represents a 50-day supply for the data centers at the maximum allowed flowage.

Last year, Vice Mayor Jenn Duff cast the lone vote against the development agreement on the grounds that the risk of adding such a large water user to

the system was not outweighed by the number of permanent jobs created by the project.

Duff was at the Meta event with Mayor John Giles and three other council members. She told the Tribune before the speeches that she hoped the data centers would figure out a way to cool the centers without water.

Another theme of Wednesday’s events was jobs, both temporary construction jobs and permanent jobs.

Facebook says the data centers will create 200 permanent jobs when the project is complete.

Visitors had an opportunity to view current construction, and there were plenty of workers attending to various tasks and driving around the huge parcel in side-by-sides.

At the site of Building 1, a crew worked below ground level in a labyrinth of concrete and tubing that will eventually house electrical wires and fiber cabling. Yeargan wanted the guests in attendance to appreciate how far down below the surface the crews were putting infrastructure in.

Nearby, two lofty cranes lifted metal girders into place to form the skeleton of the first building.

Yeargan said DPR was working hard to be a good neighbor while construction is underway and reduce truck traffic on Elliot Road. Vendors have set up essentially temporary hardware stores and equipment rental shops on-site, so workers can access materials without leaving the site. DPR is also preparing all its concrete on location.

15

For Yeargan, one of the benefits of the recently announced expansion is that it means craft workers can stay with a single site for many years. He said the Meta project would be a good place for recent grads in the trades to start out, because they could get “four years of continuous apprenticeship” at the site.

To underscore its investment in local employment, Meta also announced a $50,000 gift to the Mesa College Promise fund, which provides Mesa high school grads two years of free tuition to Mesa Community College.

As he prepared to board the bus again after viewing the Building 1 site, Freeman shared his thoughts on the project and expansion.

“I’m excited about this,” he said. “One of the guys said it creates a ‘tertiary technology ripple effect.’ I was impressed by that because wherever they’ve built these developments, it has changed a lot of the area for the better.

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Asked what the future might hold for the rest of the parcel, Meta spokeswoman Melanie Roe said more data centers were possible, adding, “all of our expansions are based on business need.”

(David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

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NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

Republican candidates for attorney general held a debate on PBS May 11. They included, from left, Abe Hamadeh, Andrew Gould, Lacy Cooper, PBS host Ted Simons, Rodney Glassman, Dawn Grove and Tiffany Shedd. (Capitol Media Services)

ATTORNEY from page 3

does not know that Brnovich had any of the information in November 2020 that he may have now.

Still, Gould said there might have been a role for Brnovich.

“I think he might have been able to get an injunction to hold up the certification process,’’ giving time for an expedited review,’’ he said. And Gould said if that would have produced “substantial evidence’’ of problems, “then I wouldn’t have signed it.’’

And Lacy Cooper, a former state and federal prosecutor, said Arizona needs an attorney general who investigates election fraud “while the election is happening and not waiting until after the fact.’’

But Cooper said that, as a witness to the certification, she would have signed.

Each of the candidates at the debate sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission also said they would do more to secure the border. But their approaches differ.

Glassman wants to have what he presumes will be a Republican-controlled legislature pass its own immigration laws.

Gould, however, pointed out they did that – in 2010 – only to have much of what was approved struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court which concluded that states have no legal role in dealing with those who cross the border illegally.

“That’s a bad idea out of the gate,’’ he said.

Hamadeh, however, said that shouldn’t deter the state from trying again. He pointed out that the Supreme Court appears poised to overturn the 49-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade

that said women have a federal constitutional right to have an abortion.

“So I think there are ways to be creative and challenge the status quo,’’ Hamadeh said.

Grove said she believes there is more the attorney general can do to guard the border. And she supports having the governor declare that Arizona is being invaded.

That actually stems from a legal opinion by Brnovich earlier this year saying that idea that Gov. Doug Ducey can declare that the actions of drug cartels and smuggler on the border constitute an “invasion’’ that would allow him to use the National Guard to “engage in war.’’

Ducey never responded to the idea.

“We could expedite those prosecutions, get people deported and make sure that we keep Arizona safe,’’ she said.

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Gould questioned the legality of all of that.

Instead, he wants to use existing state laws that allow police to arrest people for trespassing on state and private land. And once arrested, he said, they can be searched and subject to other state laws, like drug smuggling.

Shedd, who owns more than 1,200 acres of land in Pinal County, said that’s not workable. She said it requires posting of signs every 75 feet. And then there’s the hassle of trying as a private landowner to work with prosecutors to get people charged and convicted.

Lacy, who was the border security section chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona, also said Gould’s plan is flawed. Instead, she said, there are ways for an attorney general to force the government to do its job, like detaining people who enter the country illegally.

Gould sniffed at that suggestion, pointing out that Brnovich has filed multiple lawsuits against the Biden administration over border policies in the past two years.

“Has anyone seen any change down there?’’ he asked.

NEWS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

17

Arizona ranks second for syphilis births

BY CAMILA PEDROSA Cronkite News

W

ASHINGTON – Congenital syphilis cases in Arizona rose more than sevenfold from 2016 to 2020, pushing the state from the sixth- to second-worst in the nation in that time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And while the increase in Arizona leveled off slightly between 2019 and 2020, experts are not sure if that was because there were fewer cases or just fewer detected cases as COVID-19 made testing less accessible.

“There has been a change in access to care, whether that’s your primary care doctor is only … doing telemedicine or you can’t get into an urgent care because there’s a lot of COVID,” said Matthew Christenberry, with the Pima County Health Department.

Christenberry, project manager for the county’s Epidemiology Intelligence Unit, said it is currently looking through the county’s 2020 data on congenital syphilis to see if there were lower amounts of testing done or if the positivity rate decreased that year.

The CDC report showed that congenital syphilis – a sexually transmitted disease that an infected pregnant woman passes on to her fetus – rose from 20.1 cases per 100,000 live births in 2016 to 151.2 cases in 2020. That trailed only New Mexico, which had a rate of 182.9 cases per 100,000 live births in 2020.

Arizona’s rise far outstripped the rise in congenital syphilis cases nationally, which increased about 3.5 times from 16.1 cases per 100,000 live births in 2016 to 57.3 in 2020.

That was true for STDs generally.

While both Arizona and the U.S. saw increases in syphilis and gonorrhea cases, Arizona’s rates for both diseases rose faster and higher. Only chlamydia fell between 2019 and 2020. Although Arizona fell slightly faster than the U.S., its chlamydia rate of 512.3 cases

per 100,000 residents was well over the national rate of 481.3.

In raw numbers, congenital syphilis had the fewest infections, measuring in the dozens in Arizona compared to the thousands of cases for gonorrhea and tens of thousands for chlamydia.

But when compared with other states, congenital syphilis is a much greater concern in Arizona.

The state ranked 15th in rates of both gonorrhea and chlamydia in 2020, and sixth for rates of primary and secondary syphilis, which refers to the two earliest stages of the disease.

Christenberry said part of the problem could be the lack of access to prenatal care in the early days of the pandemic.

“What we think we’re seeing is some missed opportunities,” he said. “We just have to better understand how to get those individuals into prenatal care so that we can get testing completed and if somebody is positive during pregnancy, then we can get them adequately treated.”

But health experts like Christenberry noted that vulnerable communities have especially been at risk, even before the pandemic.

Dr. Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s division of STD prevention, said pregnant women who struggle with substance abuse and poverty are less likely to be able to get tested, due to issues such as lack of health insurance and a stigma regarding STDs in their community.

Christenberry echoed Mena and added homelessness and incarceration during pregnancy as other prominent risk factors for not having access to testing and treatment for STDs, especially syphilis.

Arizona requires tests for congenital syphilis at three points during a pregnancy, but Christenberry said the requirement can only be met if pregnant women can access providers. During the pandemic, people may have been “afraid to access that care” they needed, he said.

“People may not be aware of when they need to get tested,” he said. “But then also whenever a pregnant woman is out and they visit an urgent care or they visit their primary care doctor, but they’re not going to their OB/ GYN during pregnancy … testing may not be occurring, because there could

be an assumption that they’re getting tested.”

According to Mena, the key to monitoring congenital syphilis rates is to track primary and secondary syphilis among reproductive-age women before they can pass it on to their child.

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Gateway’s new principal all in the family TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

I

t was only a matter of time before Jeff Markle became part of the Queen Creek Unified family: The rest of his own family already is.

Markle was named last week the incoming principal of Gateway Polytechnic Academy, a QCUSD school in Mesa.

And come July, that means he will be working for the same school district in the same city as his two daughters and wife. His wife Marcia is a sixth- grade teacher at Silver Spring Elementary and their two daughters attend Eastmark High. Both schools are in Mesa.

“The household rivalry for best feeder school just went to a new level,” said Markle. “There has been a solid foundation laid at GPA and I see my vision and passion for education transitioning seamlessly into this school.”

Markle has 22 years of experience working in education and his new gig will be easier on his gas tank: he is currently the principal at Fountain Hills Middle School.

He took that job in 2020 and told the Fountain Hills Times, “I spent the first nine years of my career as a social studies teacher and coach (head softball, assistant baseball, basketball and football).”

He spent the next 10 years as an assistant principal and athletic director at Cresthill Middle School in Colorado.

A career in education has been a part of Markle’s plan since his high school days, according to the Fountain Hills paper.

“I knew from the time I was a sophomore in high school that I wanted to be a teacher and a coach,” he said. “I had some great teachers and coaches who helped me through my schooling and I knew that was the path I wanted to go with my life.”

The people who inspired Markle to pursue his dreams also helped him develop his leadership style.

Greg Markle has been named the new principal of Gateway Polytechnic Academy.

(QCUSD)

“I have had the great fortune to work under some great building leaders, which has helped me develop my true north as a leader,” Markle said. “The foundations of my philosophy are built on the following four items: safety, solid educational and social/emotional foundations, whole student learning and family.”

Markle found the transition from Colorado to Arizona relatively easy, the newspaper reported.

“Arizona has always been a place that I visited with my family and then, when I got into coaching baseball, we would bring our teams down in the spring to play games while the snow was still melting in Colorado,” he said.

“Once I had a family of my own, we

continued in the tradition of visiting Arizona at least once a year. We are outdoor people who love being active and Arizona allows us to be active year-round.”

At Gateway, Markle’s priorities “will be creating a safe and respectful environment, laying strong foundations for learning, educating the whole student and upholding the importance of family,” the district said in an announcement.

Queen Creek Superintendent Dr. Perry Berry said he looks forward to Markle coming on board.

“Jeff Markle is not only a qualified and dedicated educator, but he’s a member of this community,” Barry said. “We look forward to him leading the GPA Aviators to new heights.”

Eastmark and revels in the joy of living in America.

He said he’s enjoyed the new, modern amenities of the school, great teachers and friendly children, just to name a few of the benefits of the school, unlike in Ukraine’s schools which he said remains a problem.

“In many ways, I think this school is better,” he said. “Sometimes, we don’t have teachers in some subjects.”

He said the only family left in Ukraine remains his dad Alexander, 47 who couldn’t leave the country due to a rule that said men under 60 cannot cross the border.

Fortunately, he’s able to talk to his dad from the U.S. and they talk about the situation going on.

“It’s a great tragedy for millions of Ukrainians,” he said. “The situation can’t be overseen.”

While the TV coverage can explain

much of what’s happening there, nothing makes the reality sink in more than living it, he said.

“When you experience it, it shows everything better,” he said.

To occupy his time now, he’s remained busy with homework and babysitting his 2-year-old niece Eva. But guitar has remained one passion he occupies his time with the most.

He owns a classical guitar and enjoys rock groups such as The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and Queen.

“Guitar and music develop and create imagination inside you,” he said. “It’s like reading.”

But he doesn’t want to become a rock star and instead said he wants to become a geography teacher when he grows up because that’s his favorite subject in school.

Ukrainian refugee settling in at QCUSD school

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

I

f you thought starting at a new school was hard, try a new country at the same time.

Artem Samus, 15, immigrated to Arizona with his mother Nata, 47, from eastern Ukraine not long after Russian forces invaded his country in February, prompting his family to find a way out fast.

Luckily, his sister Alona Berger, 30, and her husband Preston and daughter Eva, have lived in Arizona for the past year and a half and took them in.

Artem attends Eastmark High School as a junior and said he’s enjoyed his new life here.

“It’s different and I think I like changes,” he said. “I think I adapted to the climate.”

Artem said he’s enjoyed his time at

see REFUGEE page 19

COMMUNITY

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19

Local Reiki master publishes third book TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

C

handler author and Reiki master Olivia Veloso couldn’t visit her native Philippines or engage in many of the activities she normally does during the pandemic, but COVID-19 hardly slowed her down.

Veloso has just published her third book, “From a Place of Knowing,” which she started in April 2020 after opening her Instagram account an seeing a post that read: “When you know, teach.”

While her first book, “On the Wings of Manifestations,” was about her guardian angel experiences and the second one, “Wherever You Take Me,” is about the law of attraction, her new book contains “interrelated stories of my guardian angel, the law of attraction and Reiki.”

“I added unexpected and surprising twists to every chapter and as you read on, some of the experiences will make you cry, while others will make you laugh, and I added some of my true to life spirit encounters - ghost stories that will make your hair rise,” she explained.

“Without trying, the sequence of how I got to a powerful place began to naturally unfold, a place where I surrendered the control and let situations be. I started to respond to life from my place of knowing. I wanted this book to be an easy read and as it turned out, my experiences will show my readers how they too can move forward and become aware of an amazing world where synchronized events unfold right before their eyes.”

There were other things Veloso discovered during the pandemic.

“I started to receive phone calls, at first from close friends and my Reiki students who needed someone to talk to,” she recalled. “Before I knew it, I was spending two to three hours almost every afternoon attending to calls. It was my way of helping out

Chandler author and Reiki master Olivia Veloso has just published her third book.

(Special to the Tribune)

when we were at the height of the pandemic. Most of the time, I didn’t have to say anything, all I did was listen, and that helped them know they weren’t alone and that they mattered.”

After COVID restrictions were lifted, Veloso worked with Shaunte Fox, owner of Sozo Healing House in Tempe, to introduce Reiki to people.

“Reiki calms and soothes, and uplifts our energy,” Veloso explained.

“It helps speed up the recovery stage of any ailment. The benefits that we can get out of a Reiki treatment are endless. That was the beginning of our Open Reiki Share Days, when we offered half an hour Reiki treatments for a small fee.

“And it is thanks to my Reiki students who volunteer to give treatments, to this day, we continue to give everyone the opportunity to improve their health and their quality of life.”

A Reiki master for 30 years who

supervises the treatments, Veloso believes “more people are turning to holistic medicine and natural healing than ever before” in the wake of the pandemic.

She established Gendai Reiki Ho,

Oneness “to contribute to the promotion of peace and restore wellness in our society.” It is a sponsor of the Usui Reiki 2022-2023 Osaka, Japan Convention and because she is a member of the Association of Gendai Reiki Ho Madrid, Spain, who are the main organizers of the Usui Reiki Convention, she will be there as a volunteer.

For the first time in two years, she also was able to return to the Phillipines, where she was the first master to introduce Genai Reiki Ho to that country.

“Since there are many different lineages in western Reiki, Gendai Reiki Ho is the only system recognized by the Japanese government as the one and true Reiki. In the world of Reiki, this lineage is very important.”

She will be having a reading from her book at 3 p.m. May 1 at Sozo Healing House. RSVP at: 480-2664575 because space is limited. After that she will be returning to the Philippines for another book presentation and signing.

Information on Veloso’s Reiki/holistic practices: 480-471-5891 or 480266-4575 or e-mail ochiong@hotmail.com

REFUGEE from page 18

He’s spent the last five years practicing guitar and looks forward to playing in front of a crowd and holds moments like that in high prestige.

“I’m really excited because each musical event is a holiday,” he said.

The community got to see his talent on stage when he performs at an orchestra concert at Eastmark High School on May 10.

While he’s not sure whether he will stay in the U.S. he said he appreciates how welcoming the school and the community has been to him and his family.

“I’m really thankful to the community for this favor,” he said.

Artem Samus is settling in at Eastmark High after escaping form his native Ukraine. (Special to the Tribune)

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Job training program expands to East Valley

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

H

elp has arrived for Mesa students lost in the real-world job market.

Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates has collaborated with Grad Solutions to open up a hub for East Valley students at 2055 South Power Road in Mesa.

This new community-based program will offer career and life services to help young people succeed. The program recently held its annual Graduates Career Development Conference at the Mesa Convention Center with Arizona Coyotes President & CEO Xavier Gutierrez as the guest speaker.

“It’s a very powerful program,” he said. “What we’re seeing is the future of this state, the future of this community.”

Mesa Mayor John Giles said he’s committed to the program that’s finally coming to the region and lauded the opening of the group’s East Hub. “We’re very committed to this cause and very proud of the achievements of this crowd,” he said.

The day’s festivities started as more than 600 students competed in 24 contests in a variety of areas including public speaking, resume building and tire changing.

Students enjoyed a hearty luncheon and awards ceremony that culminated their year-long, 21-month cycle in the program by saw the distribution of 50 scholarships totaling more than $52,000.

More than 1,000 people filled the Mesa Convention Center to celebrate the student’s completion of the program, but JAG will continue to follow-up with them for a year after to ensure they have become gainfully employed.

Fred Lockhart hands a laptop to Gabriel Alejandrez during Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates Career Development Conference scholarship and awards luncheon. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Graciela Garcia Candia joined the program in 1982 as part of Northern Arizona University and launched it as its own nonprofit in 1990.

She said the program helps identify an individual’s career passions, strengths and skills from where they meet them and help them with employment, post-secondary, trades or the military.

“Not everybody is slated to go on into post-secondary education,” she said.

“We hope to provide them all their options and then provide them the opportunity to visit those employers.”

Candia said the organization had programs at Westwood and Mesa high schools but those ended in 1984.

“Now, with this new hub opening

see PROGRAM page 22

Barrio Queen gets QC into Restaurant Week

BY SUMMER AGUIRRE Tribune Contributor

E

ast Valley restaurants are participating in what’s become a biannual event for foodies – Arizona Restaurant Week – and the Barrio Queen is giving Queen Creek a presence in it.

From Friday, May 20, to May 29, the Arizona Restaurant Association’s semiannual event features a slew of restaurants offering three-course prixfixe menus.

These dining establishments showcase Arizona’s culinary scope, while allowing diners to support their local businesses and explore new cuisine at discounted prices.

“As our industry continues to nav-

igate labor shortages, cost increases and limited supplies, we still aim to present our state’s dining community with the most delicious way to explore our culinary scene,” said Steve Chucri, Arizona Restaurant Association CEO. During the 10 days, three-course menus are presented at participating restaurants for $33, $44 or $55 per person – or per couple in some instances. For an additional cost, eateries offer wine pairings. Takeout is also available.

Overall, East Valley restaurants haven’t stepped up for the program, but The Barrio Queen at 21156 S. Ellsworth Road is offering a special for $33 per person that does not cover tax and gratuity.

Diners can choose one of two appetizers – guacamole or pork Chile Verde tomalito; one of four entrees – a pork Chile rojo burrito, enchilada trio, chicken and mole poblano or Chile Relleno with vegetables; and one of two desserts, Only two in Mesa are participating – less than the four each in Chandler and Tempe and six in Gilbert Scottsdale has more than two dozen.

A full list of participants with details is at arizonarestaurantweek.com.

Chucri said, “With dine-in and takeout options and a variety of dining choices, including high-end and independently owned best-kept secrets, we encourage diners to use Arizona

see RESTAURANT page 22

BUSINESS

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EV dental practice brightens QC mom’s outlook TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

A

n East Valley dental provider is making a Queen Creek mother’s smile brighter with free dental treatment.

Risas Dental and Braces, also known as Risas Dental, named Breanna Terry the winner for its annual Mother’s Day Dental Makeover. Risas Dental will provide Terry with free dental care at its Mesa location, based on recommended treatment.

“I haven’t been able to afford treatment and I told my husband about this giveaway but I didn’t know he nominated me.

I hate smiling. I just want to be able to smile again,” said Terry, who was selected from more than 800 submissions.

Terry was nominated by her husband, Joshua Godinez, who said she “is an amazing wife” and mother to their four children.

Terry had put her career in the medical field on hold to raise her children but is now back in school to become a certified EMT and serve her community as a first responder. Finances had prevented Terry from getting treatment and feeling confident in her smile.

Risas Dental has been honoring mothers with their Mother’s Day Dental

Breanna Terry of Queen Creek, pictured with her husband, Joshua Godinez, won free dental treatment form Risas Dental in Queen Creek during its annual Mother’s Day Dental Makeover.

(Special to the Tribune)

Makeover since 2016.

“All of our Mother’s Day Dental Makeover recipients have selflessly helped

others without hesitation and now Risas Dental is honored to take care of them,” said Jeff Adams, CEO of Risas Dental.

“To see countless moms, who may have not been able to receive treatment, love their smile and feel confident is what makes the Mother’s Day Dental Makeover a universal favorite event for our team. We can’t wait to be a part of Breanna’s journey to a healthier smile from start to finish.”

Risas Dental and Braces gave away dental makeovers to mothers at all of their locations in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada this month with free dental care and treatment.

Founded in Phoenix in 2011, Risas Dental and Braces aims to change the way dentistry is offered in the United States, making it accessible for all regardless of insurance status or financial situation.

With 27 locations in Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, San Antonio and Las Vegas, Risas Dental and Braces is one of the fastest-growing dental practices in the country. The dental group was founded on the principle that proper oral health and treatment is critical to overall health, which is put to action by offering flexible, affordable, convenient and bilingual dental care. Since its inception, Risas Dental and Braces has provided over $8 million in free dental care. .

Lennar pays $42.5M to expand Madera community TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

L

ennar Arizona earlier this month paid over $42.5 million for 90 acres of land on the southwest corner of Meridian and Queen Creek roads to expand its Madera development.

Scottsdale real estate investment company Communities Southwest sold the parcel, which is already zoned residential and will be home to a 281-lot community, according to data compiled by Valley real estate tracker vizzda.com.

Typical lot sizes will range from 6,000 square feet to 9.750 square feet, vizzda reported, putting the per-acre price of the transaction at $470,238.

Two final plat requests for the property were submitted to Town Council April 20, but the development has a long history that dates back to 2016, when it was called Malone Place. The master plat was approved in 2017 and the first two phases of the community were approved by the council between 2019 and 2020.

The third phase of the development will have a density of 3.5 homes per acre, according to town records, with one access to Meridian and four points of access to the second phase of the community. Offsite roadway improvements to Meridian and Queen Creek roads also are part of the project.

This map shows the footprint of Lennar Homes’ Madera community in Queen Creek. (Town of Queen Creek)

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BUSINESS

RESTAURANT from page 20

Restaurant Week as an opportunity to support the industry while enjoying an incredible meal.”

Arizona Restaurant Week’s goal is to establish the state as one of the nation’s top culinary destinations. During the 10 days, it encourages spending at and promotes the 8,500 eateries.

The Stockyards Steakhouse, a 75-year-old Old Western-style restaurant in Phoenix, has participated in Arizona Restaurant Week since the event began approximately 15 years ago.

Owner Gary Lasko said the program has helped Stockyards Steakhouse’s bottom line and yielded a positive response from the public before and after the pandemic.

PROGRAM from page 20

up and the collaboration, we hope to continue to and serve more and more of the students through our in-school programming,” Candia said.

She said they continue to work with the City of Mesa and will contact the superintendent of Mesa Public School to restart a program for its students.

The organization has 22 programs statewide including 16 at the high school level, four at the middle school level and two community-based programs.

Candia’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 3 and has served as the president of the organization since 2003.

In the meantime, she said the East Hub location at Power and Baseline Road will work to refocus academics by offering career and life services – including free wi-fi, laptops, food pantry and clothing closet to get students business attire.

She said the pandemic disconnected young people from their academics and she hopes Jobs for Arizona’s Graduates can help them refocus by partnering with local companies in the area.

“Part of the JAG programming is that we help them identify that career path and then find them companies and organizations that will allow them to

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

“It boosts business for us,” Lasko said. “It exposes a bunch of people to the restaurant, and maybe you get those people back over the summer if they really like it and think it’s a cool place.”

Menus often have off-the-menu entrees, which encourage chefs to cook creatively and take advantage of seasonal items.

“We always focus on our signatures, like a filet and prime rib as entrees, instead of trying to put some lesser things out there,” Lasko added.

“We want to showcase our best items. So, I think that’s the opportunity for people, to go to some restaurants they wouldn’t necessarily go to and check them out at a better price and a slower time of year.”

The Barrio Queen at 21156 S. Ellsworth Road is the only Queen Creek eatery participating in Arizona Restaurant Week. (Special to the Tribune)

During a recent career conference and awards luncheon at the Mesa Convention Center, Jobs for Arizona announced its plans to open a hub for East Valley students. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer) start working,” she said.

Candia knows firsthand the importance of guiding young people through all their options.

Her son told her he wanted to work with his hands and now works as an auto technician “making very good money.”

“But he was not interested in going to that traditional four-year university like his father and I,” she said.

She said her own life experience helped her find her “purpose” to help

students navigate all the options available to them.

She said she felt “unprepared” but thanks to the sponsor of her high school’s 4H club and her brother attending the University of Arizona, she found college.

But even after graduating college, she said still felt lost and landed on a life in career services, and she said she vowed to help other students avoid the struggle she endured.

“It’s really important for me that ev-

ery student who leaves high school understands their options and that they know how to advocate for themselves,” said Candia, who is retiring this year.

Arizona Corporate Commissioner Anna Tovar stands as an alumnus of the program.

Born and raised in Tolleson, she attended Tolleson High School and attended the program her junior and senior not realizing how important it would become to her.

“I didn’t know I needed it but I needed it at the time,” she said.

She received her first paid internship at Salt River Project.

After attending community college, she would go on to attend Arizona State University where she graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s in elementary education.

Since then, she’s worked as a teacher before working her up the political ladder to a state-level elected office she began serving in January 2021.

Now, she serves on the board of Jobs for America’s Graduates– the national-level program – along with Gov. Doug Ducey.

She said the “JAG family” became the first adult outside of her family that helped her realize her true potential.

“I could succeed at anything regardless of the barriers put in front of me,” she said.

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Lost in Adel’s death is a recognition of her humanity

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

S

he served as Maricopa County Attorney for 900 days, the first woman to hold the office.

But Allister Adel was more than that.

Dead too soon at age 45, Adel was many things that rarely mattered during her time in the public eye. She was a daughter, a wife and a mother of two gradeschool boys. She loved her dogs, and the Rotary Club. She was a loyal friend to those who knew her.

Adel also dwelled in the world of politics, though. For many people, especially those who opposed her brand of conservative Republican politics, that meant she was worse than human detritus. Adel was a villain, a punching bag, a piñata. The way politics is practiced today, it is never enough simply to disagree with those we oppose. Instead, we must smash them to bits.

This is true of both sides, red and blue, Dem and GOP. Nowadays, to talk politics is mostly to spew hate. Even if it means attacking a person at their most vulnerable points and grinding them to dust.

With Adel, who I counted as a friend, it is no secret that she struggled with alcohol. I am not here to suggest that the media, which covered her foibles in office with urgency, was wrong to do so. To hold public office is to be in the spotlight, and rightly so. Adel was accused of too many absences, of failing to maintain her sobriety, of not being the top prosecutor our county needs. She denied the charges, but still they kept coming. Until on March 21, she stepped down.

Five weeks later she was dead, having suffered what her family described as “health complications.”

Across the cesspool that is social media wafted a sense of glee from noxious bastards and bots.

From Twitter moron @Peterson_ JFrank: “I believe in karma big time…

This bitch got what she deserved… I will piss on her grave if I ever have the chance….”

From @Shannonagain2: “AA had no problem *legally* destroying lives. no guilt, here. She was a menace. Corrupt.

As are most attorneys. AND POLITICIANS.” From @SRunningcloud: “She was a wicked woman. Her acts of racism reached the level of genocide. She’s burning in Hell. No doubt. That’s how much bad karma she has to work out.

Eternal fire of hell is what Allister Adel has earned from her time on Earth.”

This vomitus spew was not reserved merely for Adel’s death. As she struggled publicly through rehab and with the responsibilities of her position, her every move drew not just stories, but hot takes, name calling and a sense of joy that peaked with each sign of struggle.

This is our mentality now: It isn’t

enough to campaign for those we support; we must loathe the opponent, demonize them, root for a failure of their policies and – even better – their heart.

Ironically, I first met Adel a decade ago, when we both spent time helping Mesa business Wil Cardon run for the U.S. Senate against Jeff Flake. Wil, a sensitive soul, spent millions of his own wealth on that campaign, only to get trounced when outside interests spent many more millions on attack ads.

Ridiculed for losing, Wil wandered through a campaign for Secretary of State two years later. Three years later, his depression finally got to him. Wil died by suicide at age 45.

As politics has turned to bloodsport, we seem to have forgotten that the names of the ballot are actual human beings. They love, hurt, bleed, struggle, die.

I will miss Allister as I have missed Wil. I will feel forevermore like the price they paid to serve us was extracted from them in the days they never got to live.

Governing Board,” or DGB. Talk about a “pot-meet-kettle” moment!

The imagination calls forth similar absurdities: picture Hugh Hefner in his heyday, taking vows of chastity. Or Bill Clinton announcing that he will forswear “senior statesman status” to devote the rest of his days to marriage counseling.

Or Martha Stewart disclosing that she’s really a “hoarder” rather than the “doyenne of domesticity.”

The difference, of course, is that the Secretary of Homeland Security remains adamant in ignoring the abundance of absurdity that accompanied his announcement. But the willful ignorance

of Alejandro Mayorkas doesn’t dissuade wizened Washington observers from offering an accurate assessment of what’s really going on here.

In a word, politics.

How best to put tax dollars to work to discredit political opponents? Just claim that those opponents are disseminating disinformation…dangerous disinformation. And so, for the “public good,” not to mention its own political advantage, the left rises to say those on the right are wrong, and must face consequences – consequences far beyond losing elections.

Obviously, this isn’t politics as usual. It

is a threat to our constitutional republic.

Disagreement wasn’t always viewed as dangerous or deceitful. For most of our history, it was considered the principle that underpinned our political process.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the greatest fighting force ever assembled in defeating one of the most evil regimes the world has ever known, was eventually promoted by the American people from general of the army to commander-in-chief.

Upon taking the oath of office as our 34th President in January 1953, the

Disagreement now discredited as “disinformation”

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

T

hrough the mists of memory comes this observation from the now-retired Washington Post columnist Robert J. Samuelson: “When one side deliberately distorts and misstates the arguments of the other, the intent is not to debate, but to destroy.”

Samuelson’s mid-1990s assertion came to mind following the recent announcement that the Department of Homeland Security is establishing a “Disinformation

see HAYWORTH page 24

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Grads should get an early jump on �inancial literacy

BY RACHEL CABALLERO Tribune Guest Writer

A

s many new graduates enter the workforce or young adults get a new job, what things should they know to help them be financially successful?

Financial literacy is lacking in this country. The American Public Education Foundation’s most recent survey of financial literacy in grades K-12 reports that our country is in “crisis” when it comes to preparing our children for personal finance and decision making.

So, it is important that parents and caregivers step in to teach young adults a few basics to help them succeed. Here are four foundational areas to address.

Learn to budget. A budget is a plan – a road map to help you track what you earn versus what you spend. Having a budget in place and sticking to it will help guide you toward financial success. Like sticking to a workout regime

or piano lessons, it may not always be fun but practicality and perseverance can lead you to positive results.

To create a budget, first write down all of your fixed expenses. These include needs like rent, gas, insurance, prescriptions, and groceries – things that you cannot live without. Then, write down all of your wants. These include items like entertainment, subscriptions and travel. Next, identify your monthly earnings and subtract your fixed expenses. If you have funds left over, you can dedicate those toward your wants. If your needs are more than your income, you will need to adjust your expenses so that you do not go into debt.

Get a grasp on student loans. Then graduate. Knowing what you need to pay off each month is a critical piece to your budget. Working with a financial advisor to determine a more advanced payoff plan is recommended if your income will allow for it.

Save money for the next big purchase, such as a house or car. Setting a goal of a large purchase such as a car, vacation or house and learning to save for it versus spending small amounts now, will support an understanding of the value of setting financial goals.

These goals can help to create a bright financial future.

Don’t slack - As a young adult or new graduate you may not be 100% certain of what you want to do yet and that’s ok. But don’t slack. Update your resume and begin the job-hunting process. Talk to friends and family to gain leads that might start you on a new career path.

Join networking groups and follow up on any referrals you get. You could also start a new business – that big idea you

had. Write a business plan and see if it is viable. Run it by a few people to get their feedback, especially people in that field who can give you advice for success.

When in doubt ask for help. Figuring things out on your own can be hard.

Seek out a mentor or trusted figure to give guidance. Even if you haven’t figured out what you want to do, don’t let that stop you from trying.

Making the shift into adulthood isn’t always easy but it’s a path that we all must take. Setting yourself up for success now, and working toward your future from an early age, can help make that process a little easier.

Rachel Caballero is the community development manager at TruWest Credit Union. Information: truwest.org.

man who had just assumed the position widely regarded as the “most powerful on Earth” appealed to an even higher power.

“May cooperation be permitted,” Ike prayed, “and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths.”

Sixty-nine years later, it can no longer be taken as an article of faith that the left still accepts the most basic of our constitutional concepts.

Barack Obama, who vowed to “fundamentally change America” in his 2008 presidential campaign, continues on that mission as an ex-president.

Appearing at an April symposium sponsored by his comrades at “The Atlantic” and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics titled “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy,” Obama couldn’t resist indulging in some rhetorical misdirection of his own.

Seeking to inoculate himself from what he was about to suggest, the former president asserted, “I am close to a First Amendment absolutist.”

Then, the self-described “absolutist” absolutely declared war on free speech, calling to “put in place a combination of regulatory measures and industry

norms that leave intact the opportunity for these platforms to make money, but say to them that, there, there, there’s certain practices that we are not, that we don’t think are good for our society and we’re gonna discourage.”

What are those “certain practices” Obama doesn’t think “are good for our society?”

Why, any efforts to oppose the Leftist vision of a fundamentally transformed America!

Thus, the establishment of the “Disinformation Governing Board,” more accurately described in Orwellian fashion as a real-life “Ministry of Truth.”

Perhaps seeking its own inoculation, the Washington Post featured an article from Glenn Kessler, its designated “fact checker,” calling out the assertion of DHS Secretary Mayorkas that the illegal aliens he allows in the United States are promptly deported.

Kessler described that claim as “mostly false.”

Thus far, that publication has remained silent on the establishment of the DGB. But if the Post truly believes that “Democracy dies in darkness,” there’s one direct action the newspaper could take immediately: Bring Robert J. Samuelson out of retirement.

HAYWORTH ���� page 23

SPORTS

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Queen Creek football eyes state power

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

G

riffin Schureman still thinks about Queen Creek’s two losses to East Valley power Chandler on a daily basis.

The first loss came in the regular season. The Bulldogs led the fivetime defending champion Wolves at halftime in a tight game. Queen Creek was then outscored 20-0 in the final two quarters.

The second meeting came during the Open Division playoffs, the state’s premier high school football postseason tournament. Once again, Queen Creek led at the half.

Then, Chandler outscored the Bulldogs 34-7. Both games, despite the lopsided score, they felt they could’ve been in until the end.

“It bothers me, I feel like we could’ve had them,” Griffin said. “We played a good game, but they beat us.

We could’ve been the ones, but they got us, credit to them. We’ll be back this year.”

Those two losses – the latter of which ended Queen Creek’s season – have fueled the fire in all of the players throughout the off-season.

They’ve hit the weight room harder, they’ve done workouts on their own, including field work.

And when the first day of spring ball came on April 25, they were all ready to go dressed in white shirts and black shorts.

“I’m really excited to just get back to work, the grind,” senior-to-be linebacker Porter Reynolds said. I just enjoy working hard, it’s going to be great.”

Reynolds and Griffin have been

YOUTH

Griffin Schureman said the Bulldogs were written off last season after star quarterback Devin Brown transferred out of state. But they still managed to make the Open Division. Now, their expectations are even higher as spring ball is in full swing. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

two of the leaders for the Queen Creek football program the last two seasons. Reynolds learned from his older brother, Trey, who played his freshman season at the University of Utah and is now on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Trey was a star for the Bulldogs at linebacker and running back and was key to their success from 2017-20, at times playing quarterback when his team was in need.

Reynolds has taken after his older brother. He was second on the team with 102 total tackles, four of those for a loss with one sack. He and Griffin both recognize how important it is for them to be leaders for the team.

They were forced into an expanded role last year when star quarterback Devin Brown transferred out of state to Corner Canyon (Utah). Queen Creek was overlooked. But it proved it can be successful with the players it has.

“A lot of people wrote us off last year because we lost Devin Brown,” Griffin said. “They thought we didn’t have a shot, but we proved everyone wrong. We can play with anyone we’ve got.”

The Queen Creek football program has had the same blue-collar mentality since its inception. Much of that was built by Germaine and current head coach Travis Schureman, Griffin’s father.

The two know what it takes to build a championship-caliber football program, they did it as players at Mountain View in the 1990s. Over the course of the last decade, Germaine and Travis have switched roles as head coach and assistant at Queen Creek. The most recent change came at the end of the 2018 season when Germaine took over for Travis when he stepped down to coach the offensive line.

But ahead of the 2021 season, Germaine was hired to lead their alma mater’s program. Travis once again took over. It’s been a seamless transition every time with the same mind-

see FOOTBALL page 26

26

SPORTS

FOOTBALL from page 25

set on a yearly basis.

“Our kids just have that ‘put your boots on and go to work mentality,’ and they’re not afraid to go to work,” Travis said. “We aren’t a very big school, we might be one of the smaller 6A schools. We don’t have 4,000 kids to pull from but they buy-in to the weight room.

“We are a firm believer that what we do starts in the weight room and our coaches in there, coach (Joel) Anderson and coach (Paul) Reynolds, they hold them accountable.”

As it has every year, Queen Creek’s schedule has only become more difficult.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s new conference placements for football programs moved perennial 5A powers Saguaro and Salpointe Catholic up to the 6A for the next two seasons. With that, regions were realigned.

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

Queen Creek will open the season against San Joaquin Memorial from California before a major test against defending Open Division state champion Saguaro in Week 2 of the season. The Bulldogs will then face off against 5A ALA Queen Creek, an Open Division qualifier last season and 6A Conference runner-up Chaparral before entering region play.

There, every week will be a test with the likes of Red Mountain, Salpointe Catholic, Williams Field and Mountain View.

Schureman and his players know it will be a challenge. But it’s one they’re up for in an effort to further solidify Queen Creek as a power in the far East Valley.

Last season, the Bulldogs took a major step toward that. Now, their expectations are even higher.

“It set the bar high for us,” Reynolds said. “We now have a new standard, and we want to achieve more than we did last year.”

Looking For A Career Opportunity In A Rewarding Field?

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Queen Creek football coach Travis Schureman will rely on two of his seniors, Porter Reynolds, “left,” and his son, Griffin Schureman, to lead the Bulldogs through a brutal 2022 schedule in an effort to get over the hump and make a splash in the Open Division. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

To apply, visit us at jobs.sevitahealth.com or call Marc Baker at 602-529-4775 or email marc.baker@sevitahealth.com

LOCAL PEOPLE.

The Art of a Thank You Note

The long journey to securing a job interview can leave us so exhausted that we forget one of the most important steps in the hiring process: Saying thanks. Here’s a primer on the art of the thank you note.

EXPERTS AGREE Recruiters, human resource professionals and others in job-hiring positions recommend that you send a custom letter of appreciation within 24 hours of your interview. This is a great way to show appreciation for the opportunity to discuss their job opening. You’re reinforcing your interest in the open position, while showcasing your attention to detail and good manners.

where your letter might get lost in the inevitable early-morning wave of work-related emails. With that in mind, aim for an early-afternoon submission window, after they’ve filtered through the morning’s correspondence.

GET SPECIFIC A bland, obviously generic thank you note might be almost as damaging to your candidacy as forgetting to send one in the first place. Be specific to the company and the interviewer, reminding them of a key moment from your talk. If you discussed a future project or a shared past business contact, reference that directly so the hiring professional is sure to remember you.

to go overboard. A thank you note is not supposed to be so details that it reads like a synopsis of your meeting, nor so conversational that it grows boring. Try to keep your note to about three sentences: Thank the person who met with you, mentioning the specific date of your interview. Add a sentence tailored to your experience, then a line that reiterates your interest in the open position.

Be a part of something

WHEN TO WRITE It may occur to you to compose this note as you’re wrapping up your day, but timing can be important.

Try not to fire off a word of thanks at midnight, since hiring professionals aren’t likely to be at their desks.

You’re putting yourself in a situation

KEEP IT SHORT By the same token, don’t be tempted

CMC Steel Arizona is growing!

BIG

DON’T PITCH AGAIN This is not the venue to pitch yourself again for the job, to further explain how you’re perfect for the job, or to correct any missteps you may have made in the interview process.

You’re interview will stand on its own.

Simply focus on letting company officials know that you appreciate

the interview opportunity and would welcome their consideration.

We are hiring immediately for multiple

open positions in operations, maintenance and more!

TEACHER STARTING PAY:

$43,864 - $57,834

We also have current openings for Core, our career path rotational program Fully Funded Employee Benefits

that provides you with broad exposure and cross-training across CMC’s lines 3200 Performance Pay of business, helping build the foundation you’ll need for a long career of opportunity with CMC! Visit us online to apply today!

APPLY TODAY!

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CALL TO ADVERTISE 480-898-6465

JOIN US jobs.cmc.com TODAY!!

NOW HIRING

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JOB SEEKERS

jobs.phoenix.org 480-898-6465

27

JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG LOCAL JOBS. LOCAL PEOPLE.

480-898-6465

QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022 | JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG

JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

NOW HIRING

The Art of a Thank You Note

The long journey to securing a job interview can leave us so exhausted that we forget one of the most important steps in the hiring process: Saying thanks. Here’s a primer on the art of the thank you note.

EXPERTS AGREE Recruiters, human resource professionals and others in job-hiring positions recommend that you send a custom letter of appreciation within 24 hours of your interview. This is a great way to show appreciation for the opportunity to discuss their job opening. You’re reinforcing your interest in the open position, while showcasing your attention to detail and good manners.

where your letter might get lost in the inevitable early-morning wave of work-related emails. With that in mind, aim for an early-afternoon submission window, after they’ve filtered through the morning’s correspondence.

GET SPECIFIC A bland, obviously generic thank you note might be almost as damaging to your candidacy as forgetting to send one in the first place. Be specific to the company and the interviewer, reminding them of a key moment from your talk. If you discussed a future project or a shared past business contact, reference that directly so the hiring professional is sure to remember you.

to go overboard. A thank you note is not supposed to be so details that it reads like a synopsis of your meeting, nor so conversational that it grows boring. Try to keep your note to about three sentences: Thank the person who met with you, mentioning the specific date of your interview. Add a sentence tailored to your experience, then a line that reiterates your interest in the open position.

Be a part of something

WHEN TO WRITE It may occur to you to compose this note as you’re wrapping up your day, but timing can be important.

Try not to fire off a word of thanks at midnight, since hiring professionals aren’t likely to be at their desks.

You’re putting yourself in a situation

KEEP IT SHORT By the same token, don’t be tempted

CMC Steel Arizona is growing!

BIG

DON’T PITCH AGAIN This is not the venue to pitch yourself again for the job, to further explain how you’re perfect for the job, or to correct any missteps you may have made in the interview process.

You’re interview will stand on its own.

Simply focus on letting company officials know that you appreciate

the interview opportunity and would welcome their consideration.

We are hiring immediately for multiple

open positions in operations, maintenance and more!

TEACHER STARTING PAY:

$43,864 - $57,834

We also have current openings for Core, our career path rotational program Fully Funded Employee Benefits

that provides you with broad exposure and cross-training across CMC’s lines 3200 Performance Pay of business, helping build the foundation you’ll need for a long career of opportunity with CMC! Visit us online to apply today!

APPLY TODAY!

Union Elementary School District 3834 S. 91st Ave. Tolleson, AZ 85353 623-478-5025 | www.unionesd.org

480-898-6465

JOIN US jobs.cmc.com TODAY!!

NOW HIRING

CALL TO ADVERTISE 480-898-6465

JOB SEEKERS

jobs.phoenix.org 480-898-6465

LOCAL PEOPLE.

JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG LOCAL JOBS. LOCAL PEOPLE.

28

Team Member Full and Part Time

Peter Piper Pizza’s commitment to outstanding service starts with our employees.

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City of Aspen parks surround the schools.

• Competitive benefits and rewards • Day, Evenings, Night positions

Be a part of something • Flexible Management hours - go to school and work full-time • Opportunities for growth - we promote from within • Early paycheck access

McDowell and Miller Road • (480) 947-9901 Apply at: 7607 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85257

CMC Steel Arizona is growing!

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Benefit Highlights: • Signing Bonus for Certified Staff • Health insurance • Wellness Benefit (ski pass!)

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We are hiring immediately for multiple

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ADMINISTRATIVE of ASSISTANT business, helping build the foundation you’ll need for a long career of opportunity with CMC!

Times Media Group is a digital and print media company operating in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Los Angeles markets. We have experienced significant growth in recent years due to our commitment to excellence when it comes to providing news to the communities we serve.

Why Work Here?

A Good Candidate Possesses

Times Media Group offers a positive work environment, employee training, a talented team, and lots of professional growth opportunities.

• An energetic and upbeat attitude • A minimum of two years of office experience • The ability to work well on a team • An ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment • Exceptional organizational skills • A desire for hands-on professional growth experience

Visit us online to apply today!

Times Media Group is a digital and print media company operating in the Phoenix, Tucson, and Los Angeles markets. We have experienced significant growth in recent years due to our commitment to excellence when it comes to providing news to the communities we serve.

We are seeking a highly organized, friendly, and outgoing individual who excels at making customers happy and keeping the office environment functioning. A good candidate will have strong computer and communication skills and an ability to build rapport and communicate with customers, usually by phone.

If you are a hardworking and resourceful individual, please respond with your resume and a cover letter outlining why you believe your skill set and experience make you a good fit for this position. We are currently scheduling interviews for an immediate opening.

jobs.cmc.com

Apply today, upload your resume: TimesLocalMedia.com

EOE

CALL TO ADVERTISE 480-898-6465

Job Description

NOW HIRING

LOCAL PEOPLE.

FIND YOUR JOB

EVERYBODY GRAB A FUTURE

Career Growth Opportunities for Teachers (& many more!)

Aspen School District Aspen, Colorado

29

JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG LOCAL JOBS. LOCAL PEOPLE.

480-898-6465

QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022 | JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG / JOBS.PHOENIX.ORG

30

CLASSIFIEDS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

Cleaning Specialists Needed Valleywide!

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Applications are being accepted Monday-Friday 9am-3:30pm Apply at: 8930 N. 78th Ave., Peoria, AZ 85345

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Times Media Group is the largest publisher of community news in Arizona. With a complete digital advertising suite and over 300,000 copies a week – our reach is a must-have for local businesses, and we offer advertising solutions to fit any business in any community! We are hiring inside advertising sales representatives to help with inbound and outbound sales.

TMG has grown 500% in the past six years, and we expect this growth trajectory to continue. Come join us!

Do you get excited when you sell? We get it - it’s exciting to sell! Do you have an interest in selling solutions and not just ads? If you are a fast learner, tech savvy and familiar with Google and other digital advertising solutions, you should contact us. If you want to learn how, we have you covered too! Will train. This is a full time job with the hours of 8:30-5pm Mon-Fri. in Tempe near the Broadway Curve.

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careers@TimesLocalMedia.com

EOE

CLASSIFIEDS.PHOENIX.ORG To Advertise Call: 480-898-6465 or email Class@TimesPublications.com Place YOUR Business HERE!

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Starting pay is $16/hr plus eligible escalators Healthcare benefits and 401K investment options offered Full-time and Summer Positions Available $1000 New Hire Bonus (After 90 day review) $1000 Referral Bonus (After 90 day review) MULTIPLE SHIFTS AVAILABLE: (WILL FILL SHIFTS AS NEEDED)

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EOE

Please contact jobs@mlco.com for more information

Get Free notices in the Classifieds!

Submit to ecota@timespublications.com

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CLASSIFIEDS

QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022

Air Duct Cleaning

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PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!

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5

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MISSED THE DEADLINE?

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or Email: class@timespublications.com

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Painting

ROC#309706

31

*Includes product and labor; bathtub, shower or walk-in tub and wall surround. This promotion cannot be combined with any other offer. Other restrictions may apply. This offer expires 6/30/2022. Each dealership is independently owned and operated. **Third party financing is available for those customers who qualify. See your dealer for details. ©2022 BCI Acrylic Inc.

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QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE | QUEENCREEKTRIBUNE.COM | MAY 15, 2022