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April 15 - May 5, 2017
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April 15 - May 5, 2017 www.SanTanSun.com
Chandler Museum design unveiled, touts a modern look BY MIKE BUTLER
The new Chandler Museum will be a striking contemporary counterpoint to the historic McCullough-Price House, linked by an arrival plaza, a pedestrian corridor, gardens and a shaded courtyard. Phil Weddle of Scottsdale-based Weddle Gilmore Architects unveiled renderings for the 10,000-square-foot building at an open house held March 22nd at the McCullough-Price House, 300 S. Chandler Village Drive, near the Chandler Fashion Center. Weddle, who hosted the meeting with Museum Administrator Jody Crago, said the design had to meet the city’s top priority of having a strong, iconic visual identity. It was also very important to have flexible gallery space and to protect the 3,300-square-foot McCullough-Price House’s national historic register listing. The new museum will house a 4,500-square-foot exhibition hall, which will be large enough to present Chandler projects at the same time as national traveling shows. Community school children will be able to use 1,000 square
(Special to SanTan Sun News)
A new structure will be added to the historic McCullough-Price House; together, the structures will comprise the new Chandler Museum.
feet of classroom space. The new 5,000-square-foot courtyard, or “living room,” as Weddle described
it, will be ideal for receptions and will transition to the existing McCulloughPrice courtyard. The 1938 pueblo revival
home’s rooms will be renovated inside and become a first-class archive and research center. The home’s garage will also be restyled as a multipurpose/bonus gallery space. The home will continue to be used as the museum staff’s offices. Crago said the historic home’s offices and extensive archives will be cleared out before construction begins this summer and moved to a temporary site. Until 2012, the Chandler Museum resided in a cramped and antiquated former library building downtown. That building had to be demolished. Officials planned a new downtown museum to be ready for the city’s 2012 centennial, but those plans were scrapped due to the recession. The project will cost $6 million and will be paid for with bonds that Chandler voters approved in 2004 and 2007. Crago thanked the 50 residents who attended the open house for their interest and support. “We hope you’ll all come back in December of 2018 for a great party,” he said.
BASIS Chandler math, science whiz Hamilton defendant’s attorney kid heading to national competitions blames coaches’ lack of supervision BY COLLEEN SPARKS
BY JIM WALSH
Some students dread tackling math problems, but 13-year-old Agustya Matheth of Chandler thrives on it. The BASIS Chandler school eighthgrader’s combination of hard work, dedication and passion have proved to be the winning formula for making it to an elite national competition. Matheth, along with fellow BASIS Chandler eighth-grader Vivek Chalasani, will compete in the 2017 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition May 14th and 15th in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Only three other students in Arizona are advancing to the national event based on their performance at a state competition. Two of the other students in the state going to the national contest attend BASIS Scottsdale and the other one goes to BASIS Tucson North. Not only is Matheth going to test his ability to solve mathematical problems quickly in the fast-paced MATHCOUNTS competition, but he also earned a spot at the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl being held April 27th to
May 1st in Washington, D.C. The MATHCOUNTS national winner will receive a $20,000 college scholarship and a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Hunstville, Alabama. “It makes me feel happy. I had to put in a lot of hard work and dedication. Math is elegant,” Matheth said. “I just like being able to apply things in different ways. Whenever I solve a problem, it makes me feel better.” Matheth and Chalasani were on a team of 10 BASIS Chandler middle school students who competed at the state competition but the only two who won the all-expenses-paid trip to Washington for the national event. Students took written tests and had to solve problems together as a team at the state MATHCOUNTS competition. The questions involved algebra, geometry, probability, counting and number theory at the Arizona event, Matheth said. Lou DiGioia, executive director of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, the nonprofit
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Moments after securing a path to freedom, at least temporarily, for a 17-year-old defendant accused of committing sex crimes in the Hamilton High School locker room, defense attorney Ken Countryman fired an early salvo in the blame game bound to ensue from the unseemly hazing scandal. Defending client Nathaniel William Thomas as a “great kid” who is innocent of sexual assault and child molestation charges, Countryman sought to pin blame on the Hamilton coaches who he said failed to supervise and control the locker room properly. “This case is about a severe lack of supervision by the coaches,” Countryman said. “We’re not disputing there were activities that happened in the locker room. But activities of this nature in the locker room committed by Mr. Thomas, absolutely not.” “There was clearly a Lord of the Flies mentality going on in the locker
(Special to the SanTan Sun News)
Nathaniel William Thomas, 17, is accused of committing sex crimes in the Hamilton High School locker room. SEE
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Wild Horse Pass hosts Duel in the Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . . . Page 18 Chandler Chamber events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . Page 27 Primavera senior earns scholarship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 Couple marks 70 years of marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . . Page 43 Downtown Chandler hosts Southwest Cajun Fest. . . . . . . . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 57
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More Community . . . . . . 1-22 Business . . . . . . . . 23-31 Youth. . . . . . . . . . . 32-35 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Neighbors. . . . . . .41-56 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . 57-64 Spirituality . . . . . 65-67 Directory . . . . . . 68-69 Classifieds. . . . . . .70-71 Where to Eat . . . 72-74