October 7–20, 2017 | www.SanTanSun.com
Conference called as teen suicides hit Chandler BY JIM WALSH Staff Writer
The suicides of seven teens in six weeks in Chandler and two other East Valley communities has created momentum to mobilize prevention efforts as mental health experts say no community is immune from the heartbreaking problem. Aimed at helping educators recognize the warning signs and reduce the risks of teen suicide, a conference at Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee Nov. 6 will follow a successful kickoff in Gilbert last month in which parents, teachers and mental-health advocates addressed the uncomfortable topic head-on in the wake of the deadly cluster. Katey McPherson, executive director of the Gurian Institute, an educational consulting firm that focuses on brain development and learning, said the unusual suicide cluster included six boys and a girl ranging from 13 to 18 years old. The victims lived in Chandler, Gilbert or Queen Creek. Six victims hanged themselves and one death was by shooting. The deaths started on July 24 and ended on Labor
Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer
The East Valley teen-suicide cluster came to the attention of Katey McPherson, executive director of the Gurian Institute, who has helped mobilize more prevention efforts.
Day weekend. The teens lived within 10 to 12 miles of each other. They did not know each other, but one boy knew another boy who killed himself in May.
The victims were described as highachieving students with plenty of friends who might not fit the preconceived notion of a teen likely to commit suicide. McPherson said she also knows of
four teens from Tempe and surrounding communities who have committed suicide in the past five years. “Nobody is getting to the root’’ of the suicide problem, McPherson said. “There are many prevention things we can do.’’ She said mental wellness issues need to be addressed with children – even if it’s in a very general way – when they are in elementary school, before their identity is already set in high school. Jennifer Liewer, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Unified High School District, said a counselor at Desert Vista attended McPherson’s first mental health conference on Sept. 14 at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert, along with about 350 other parents and teachers. The counselor came away impressed by the focus on prevention and saw value in having a similar conference in Ahwatukee, she said. “We’ve got a lot of momentum going,’’ Liewer said. “I think we are impacting kids.’’ But mental health advocates such as McPherson and Lorie Warnock, a Mountain Pointe High School English see
SUICIDE page 14
Chandler lookalikes portray tragic Siamese twin sisters BY COLLEEN SPARKS Staff
(Rendering courtesy of Cawley Architects)
The Overstreet project will have about 100,000 square feet of mixed-use development with restaurants, office space, retail space and Flix Brewhouse at the southwest corner of Chandler Boulevard and Arizona Avenue.
Chandler Boulevard intersection among Valley’s 10 ‘hottest’ BY COLLEEN SPARKS Staff
The busy Chandler BoulevardArizona Avenue intersection is not only driving growth and revving up the city’s economy, but also getting points for its
wow factor. So say commercial real estate insiders and experts who chose the area surrounding those two roads as one of the “10 Hottest Intersections
SELL YOUR HOME
see
HOTTEST page 12
With the many hours they spend practicing lines, learning songs and battling nerves as they portray characters on stage, it’s no wonder actors bond with each other like family members. But two Chandler teenagers are perhaps forming an even stronger alliance than actors in other productions as they are playing conjoined twin sisters in a musical at Limelight Performing Arts in Gilbert. Gracie Gamble, 13, and Jessica Montecalvo, 14, take on the roles of teenage Violet Hilton and Daisy Hilton, respectively, in the musical “Side Show” later this month at the theater. The musical is about the ups and downs of the real-life Hilton twins, born in England in 1908, who captured the world’s attention as they performed in a traveling circus, vaudeville and movies. Gracie, an eighth-grader at Horizon
Special to SanTan Sun News
In the musical “Side Show,” Gracie Gamble, left, an eighth-grader at Horizon Honors Secondary School, and Jessica Montecalvo, a freshman at Hamilton High School in Chandler, will play conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton.
Honors Secondary School in Ahwatukee, and Jessica, a freshman at Hamilton High School in Chandler, are learning how to walk, stand, sit and even dance together in the unusual roles. see
F E AT U R E STO R I E S School grading formula faulty, Kyrene chief warns . . . . . . . . . . . Tech Shop, a Chandler gem, turns 4 years old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boot Camp Babes returns to Chandler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Young and old alike help Houston Hurricane victims . . . . . . . Work begins on building new Chandler Museum . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 16 business . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 sports . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 neighbors . . . . . . . Page 46 arts . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 60 community . . . . . .
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