September 11, 2022 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Chandler sees no threat of water supply BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
Arizona author Edward Abbey wrote “Desert Solitaire” as a tribute to the Colorado River and the excellent canyons it carved in Southern Utah before Glen Canyon was flooded by a new dam near Page in the 1960s, creating Lake Powell. His novel, “Monkey Wrench Gang,”
plotted blowing up that dam, freeing the canyons hidden underneath that water. Turns out Abbey only needed to wait a few decades: The drought did what his fictional band of eco-terrorists could not. The water levels of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at record lows since the dams were constructed to supply energy and drinking water for most of
the Southwest. Earlier this month Mexico and the seven states that share that water were told by the U.S. government it’s time to get serious about conserving what’s left. “On Aug. 16, the Bureau of Reclamation did release the August 2022-24 study, which is the tool that sets the operating tier for the upcoming year,” said Simone Kjolsrud, Chandler’s water
resource advisor. “So for 2023, they declared a Tier 2 shortage on the Colorado River. And that is a 592,000-acre foot reduction to Arizona, all of which falls on the Central Arizona Project because that’s within Arizona — that’s a lower priority compared to other Arizona users.” If that sounds like a lot of water, it is. See
DROUGHT on page 10
CUSD board candidates discuss mental health BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
The five candidates seeking a seat on the next Chandler Unified School District Governing Board answered five questions during the first forum on Sept. 6. One question dealt with one of the hottest topics facing the district today: improving the mental health of students and staff.
The Chandler Education Association, which represents teachers in the District, and Valley Interfaith Project hosted the event, where the candidates were given the questions in advance and did not interact with one another. Kurt Rohrs, said the mental health crisis cannot be solved by the district alone. “I don’t know if we’re being asked to do more than we can really do as a district,” Rohrs said. “Typically these issues have been cared for by the county,
which does an awful lot. “We should rely on the city but also the community, particularly the faithbased community, as well. I think we need to utilize those resources instead of trying to reinvent the wheel to these kids.” Patti Serrano said the district needs to recognize the stress COVID placed on its students. “Our kids and families are suffering,” she said. “Prioritizing and pushing academics alone is clearly not the answer.
One of my main issues as your candidate for CUSD is supporting the implementation of whole child learning, this includes social, emotional, and mental health in addition to academics. “Given the current pandemic and turbulence of the last few years, our students returned to school with a high priority put on catching up academically. But we have now been witnessing See
CUSD DEBATE on page 16
Lest we forget CUSD student challenges district’s ‘sexist’ dress code BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
Santan Junior High student Hannah deGraft-Johnson says the school’s dress code is sexist. “I believe that the dress code includes exclusion and enforces unjust standards and emphasis on a specific gender,” said Hannah, a student in the gifted program. “Statistics from many reliable sources show the same average, 83%, of dress code violations are [given to] girls.” Hannah brought the issue to the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board Aug. 24 and said she has been happy with how officials have responded. She met with Ken James, executive director for junior high schools, and said he told her he would meet with all
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the junior high principals to discuss the issue. Hannah said her main problem with the dress code, which prohibits tank tops or half shirts that show too much of the mid-section, is the way it is presented. She said they were told that dressing in such a way could provoke sexual harassment. “We had a discipline presentation at my school, where ... a question was asked about the dress code by students,” Hannah said. “The response did not sit right with me. We were told that as middle schoolers, we had uncontrollable hormones. So, the dress code was made to prevent things from happening.” She said the district should instead See
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F E AT U R E D STO R I E S CUSD mental health response deraws flak . . . . . . .News . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3 Dogtopia marks three years in south Chandler . . .Business. . . . . . . Page 32 Sun Lakes author pens sixth novel at age 98 . . . . .Neighbors . . . . Page 37
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As the nation today marks the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and on an airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania, a somber memorial on at Tempe Beach Park that draws thousands form Chandler and the Valley is on for its third and final day today. For details, see page 6. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Taqueria Factory expands family's footprint. . . . . .GETOUT . . . . . . . Page 44 8/5/22 1:13 PM
More Business . . . . . . . 32 Neighbors . . . . . 37 Sports . . . . . . . . . 40 Faith . . . . . . . . . . 43 GetOut. . . . . . . . 44 Directory . . . . . . 45