Read along to see the benefits of library visits
BY DENNY BARNEY
How long has it been since you’ve visited your local public library? If it has been a while, “keep reading” and find out what you have been missing.
Public libraries were established to encourage literacy within the general population. This is still relevant; Maricopa County has a 12 percent illiteracy rate. But there is an obvious shift occurring. The libraries you remember when you were a kid have changed. A lot. Overdrive, Freegal, Rocket Languages, OneClickDigital, Gale eBooks—these are the materials in demand in Maricopa County. The libraries now must fill the literacy gap and bridge the digital divide.
opportunities.
Ability: Many older adults who might have access to technology don’t know how to use it. Learning how to download an app or an e-book or just browse the Internet can be an intimidating prospect. If you know someone that could use this kind of assistance let them know about:
Robson Library (Sun Lakes): Download an E-book OneOn-One Help. This class is exactly as it sounds.
Southeast Regional (Gilbert): One-on-One Digital. Attendees get personal oneon-one instruction browsing digital catalogs, accessing and using the Internet and basic computer training.
Health Expo bigger than ever
BY MAYOR JAY TIBSHRAENY
People often take advantage of Arizona’s great spring weather for yard work and other home improvement projects. But April is also a perfect time to do a little cleanup of your wellness routine. And the perfect place to start is my third annual Health Expo to be held on Saturday, April 18, at the Tumbleweed Recreation Center.
This free event is aimed at the entire family and runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The center is located at Tumbleweed Park (southwest corner of McQueen and Germann roads).
free, thanks to the generous folks at the Desert Cancer Foundation. Also outside the center will be our Fire, Health and Medical Department providing child safety seat checks.
Members of my Mayor’s Youth Commission will hold a fitness challenge for teens in the gym that morning. Teens and parents will also want to listen to Amanda Bollard discuss tips for teens who are ready to enter the workforce. This is a powerful presentation from a PayPal marketing specialist. Her talk begins at 11 a.m.
We have 17 libraries in Maricopa County where more than 250,000 people visit each month to check out materials, rent rooms and participate in classes and workshops. Many are children. Just like when your parents would take you to the library—many of the same programs still exist—summer reading programs are a hit even today. But our libraries have changed with the times and the offerings to kids and teens have evolved as well.
Kids can check out a book, join a selfguided science class or a Crazy 8s Math Club. It’s harder to lure teenagers to a library, but activities like the Teen Video Challenge and classes on Zentangle (go ahead, “Google” it) have kept the inbetweeners engaged.
Yet the library serves adults too, bridging the wants of a younger generation and the needs of their elders. The library’s shift into digital mediums has served our adult community in three important ways: access, ability and affinity.
Access: We think the Internet is everywhere. But there are those constituents who rely on our libraries for computer and Internet access. Many are not just searching for recreational purposes but are researching employment opportunities. In this way, our libraries provide economic
Perry Library (Chandler): Get to Know Your Device: Apple. Attendees can learn basic functions and features of their iPad or iPhone. Perry Library also has classes such as Don’t Know Much About: Twitter.
Queen Creek Library: Teen Tech Experts. Volunteer teenagers help adult learners use the computer and impart their digital know-how.
Affinity: Public libraries also offer residents a chance to connect with their neighbors. Aside from courses to improve your tech-acumen, there are a variety of interest group classes, such as self-publishing, critiquing films, learning Spanish and researching genealogy, which bring people together. Chances are there is a local library group that meets on something that interests you. Search your local branch’s events calendar.
Clearly libraries have evolved, but their mission has stayed the same. Libraries are pillars of a democratic society, educating the populace and creating opportunities that promote equality. We hope you will visit yours soon! For help getting a library card: www.mcldaz.org/help/default. aspx#getcard
Denny Barney is a Gilbert resident and member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
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This year, we made a conscious effort to target vendors, activities and speakers that provide a true multigenerational approach to wellness.
For our seniors, Dr. Jonathan Hodgson returns this year with his popular presentation on “Aging and Your Memory.” That talk begins right at 9 a.m. in the Cotton Room. It filled up last year, so be sure to come a little early. Also this year, Dr. Danton Dungy will discuss hip fractures and joint replacements at 10:30 a.m.
New this year will be an onsite mobile mammography unit. Those lacking insurance can get screened for
Younger kids will have a bouncy house and other activities to keep busy. There will also be oral screenings and fluoride varnishes for children.
We’ll have close to 30 nonprofit organizations and retailers. Demonstrations include healthy cooking, martial arts, Zumba and more. There will also be plenty of giveaways and other health screenings available. For more details, you can go to www. chandleraz.gov/connect. The expo is co-sponsored by our good friends at Dignity Health and Chandler Regional Medical Center.
Jay Tibshraeny is the mayor of Chandler.
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Community Commentary
Local volunteers provide inspiration to us all
BY VICE MAYOR KEVIN HARTKE
Earlier this year, the City recognized some outstanding community volunteers through the Volunteer Recognition Awards breakfast. I recently invited two of the winners, Isaac Mordukhovich and Ines A. Honne, to be interviewed on one of my “Chandler in Focus” television programs to showcase their achievements and learn more about them.
Although their experiences differ greatly, they share a passion for helping others and making an impact in our community. Their insights serve as a good reminder of the benefits of volunteerism.
At the age of 15, Isaac was recognized
as the youth volunteer of the year for his contributions at Hospice of the Valley. Isaac is a student at BASIS Chandler and has aspirations to pursue a career in the medical field. When I interviewed him, it was clear that his family is supportive of his education and efforts to be involved in the community.
Not only does Isaac enjoy interacting with patients at Hospice of the Valley, but he is also gaining valuable professional skills. Volunteering provides him with opportunities that would not otherwise be available, especially at such a young age.
Isaac talked about his ability to interact in a professional environment while also gaining the personal satisfaction of making a difference in people’s lives. In addition to his volunteer work at Hospice of the Valley, Isaac also
dedicates many hours of his time tutoring other students at his school and being involved with the Red Cross Club.
As exemplified by Isaac, volunteering at a young age provides very enriching experiences and a competitive advantage for college as well as building his work resume.
My second guest, Ines, is the recipient of the “People’s Choice Award.” Ines received the award thanks to her popularity in the community. Indeed, she received a record of 7,000 votes from residents and friends, including family members in Mexico and Europe.
Ines has dedicated many years volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. VITA provides free tax preparation to low- and moderate-income taxpayers, the elderly and those with disabilities at various locations within the city of Chandler.
As a bilingual greeter, Ines has helped countless residents find answers during
Letter to the Editor
Letter writer appalled with rebuttal
Of course I knew when I wrote my piece that I would receive protests from public school advocates. So be it. There is more to this topic than just funding of public education.
First of all, the writer of the April 4 rebuttal gives the public way too much credit. Most people whom I hear discuss the wonders of public schools have no idea what is taught— or not taught, which is more of a problem from what I’ve observed. And excuse me, but the public schools do not have to answer to the people they supposedly serve! There is no marketplace in action when the tax dollars will be flowing no matter what the schools do or don’t teach. Why, if the public schools are doing such a stellar job, do so many colleges and universities have to offer remedial reading and math classes to incoming freshmen who graduated from their states’ high schools? Why do so many high school seniors require massive amounts of assistance to write essays as part of their applications to college? There may be fine AP/IB courses in some schools—there were when my older children attended—but that does not negate the other end of that spectrum. Seton has such courses, too, I assume, but its curriculum is more stringent to begin with, so the comparison doesn’t necessarily make sense.
Private and religious schools do have to function in the marketplace because the marketplace is all they have. And they are not free to teach “whatever courses they desire” because they have to be accredited. No public schools are required to change their curricula or methods because the public objects to any of it. Yes, people can complain, request, even insist, but the school boards do not have to do anything
just because some disgruntled parents complain. The tax dollars will still come in and the public does not decide where they go or why.
How many people actually attend school board meetings? Most of the public is too apathetic and most people feel too helpless to bother. And it’s no wonder, because as far as I know, people don’t get to designate where their tax dollars are spent. You can vote, yes, and even try to elect different people, but in the long run you don’t have a say. Do you think I necessarily wanted to pay out of pocket to provide my youngest daughter a quality education she should have been able to get in public school? Seton, at that time, was around $6,000 a year, more than the tuition at ASU at the time. But it was money well spent, and having experienced the public school situation when she started kindergarten, we had no choice. She attended Catholic school from third grade on, and believe me if it hadn’t met our needs and expectations we wouldn’t have spent the money on it. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Catholic and Christian schools are not valuesfree either. That was important to us, though I know that to many people it isn’t.
As for per pupil spending, conditions are different in different states and my concern is not so much the dollar amount but what the dollars are used for. The public schools’ ideas of what is important for kids to study and mine are very different. There is a vast amount of waste in top-heavy administrations. There is too much time spent on nonacademic subjects of questionable value. If you focus only on per-pupil spending, you would conclude that spending less is better, because 80 percent of high school graduates
the tax season. Ines is very jovial and enjoys being a resource to others. She reminds people that although the assistance received through VITA is entirely free, it is offered by staff who are highly trained and knowledgeable. Assistance with tax preparation is currently still available. To learn more about the program, including dates and locations, visit www.chandleraz.gov/VITA or call Jeanne Bosarge at (480) 782-4358.
Getting to know people like Isaac and Ines is such an inspiration and a reaffirmation of the value and benefits of volunteerism. I encourage everyone to follow their examples and give back to the community, in any way that is possible. Volunteer opportunities are listed on the For Our City website at www.forourcity.org.
Kevin Hartke is vice mayor of the City of Chandler.
in New York can’t read, but New York spends far more than Arizona per pupil. The improvement in education seems to be inversely proportionate to money spent.
I don’t think anyone should “take umbrage” over differences of opinion and perception. I keep up with education news and trends. I read, listen to experts and form opinions based on the facts of what is going on in many schools. There is a lot of junk science that is being taught, as well as revisionist history. Whether your particular classroom does so or not is not universal. I hear from my grandchildren what is being taught where, and of course I do form opinions based on what I see. That is not to say that all public schools are 100 percent awful and all private schools are 100 percent good. Generalizations are not inherently wrong, but there are always specific exceptions. My point is simply that there is a great deal of waste in public education (which is really government education), as there is in all public/government arenas. I think it is unfair to force me to pay taxes to public schools I don’t use and of which I have a low opinion. And logic tells you, or it should, that if people have to compete for and demonstrate efficacy of use of public funds, they will perform better and not feel so entitled to spend it on questionable programs, classes and employees which may not add anything of value to the students. One way to deal with this would be to allow vouchers to all parents so they could take their tax dollars with them to any school they might choose. Of course the education lobby is dead set against it, because they know what would happen to many of the public schools.
Again, this is how I see things, but I
base my thoughts on information and fact. It might surprise you to know how many of my teacher friends, mostly retired now, agree with me 100 percent. Having been in the classroom for 25-plus years and seeing the decline in the quality of education in spite of their efforts, they decry the state of public education and the waste of money, the lack of teacher support by administrators, the unbelievably bad behavior of students (and parents) and the disrespect shown toward teachers from every corner. And these were topnotch, dedicated and talented teachers, every one. Not one of them would go back into today’s public school classrooms. That says a lot.
One of my daughters student-taught at a high school in the East Valley a number of years ago. She was appalled at the topics discussed in class and the deportment of some of the teachers. She said they weren’t any more mature than the students, and the discipline in the classes was anywhere from lax to nonexistent. Another glaring difference between public and private/religious/ charter schools. Not all. Many. Nevertheless, you are all free to think whatever you wish about public education. If you think the schools should have more money, by all means give them some of yours. I think my taxes are too high and the product they support too inferior to justify my participation. But I have no choice, and that’s a shame.
Jan Pfahl Chandler
Kevin Hartke. Submitted photo