Ahwatukee Foothills News - June 22, 2016

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016

Today: High 112, Low 87, Sunny

Tomorrow: 113, Low 88, Sunny

TEEN HEALTH

Ahwatukee Foothills News

Concussions a concern as football season nears. p8 COMMUNITY:

Storefront spruce-ups

Family adds uniqueness to Ahwatukee businesses’ windows. p22

GETOUT:

Living his dream

Circus ringmaster fulfilling lifelong ambition. p29

SPORTS: New coach

Mountain Pointe girls basketball coach energizes team. p39

Anna Wolcott of Ahwatukee puts the finishing touches on the Little Free Library she will unveil this weekend.

One for the books: Ahwatukee girl, 6, is state’s youngest librarian

By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR

Anna Wolcott may be Arizona’s youngest librarian.

Indeed, the 6-year-old Ahwatukee first grader is a kind of little Andrew Carnegie as a result of the library she will open in a little park across from her home on Saturday.

Anna started working on the library earlier this year as a project at her kindergarten class at Magical Journey Learning Center.

p17

Mom Heather Wolcott said that, since her daughter was too young for many projects, “we kind of explored the possibilities.”

Then Anna saw something on TV about littlefreelibrary.org and got “crazy excited,” her mother said. Added Anna: “I like books…I wanted to share them.”

Little Free Library started with the inspiration of a Wisconsin man less than a year before Anna was born. In 2009, Tod Bol built a little

schoolhouse in his backyard and stuck it on a post – like a birdfeeder – as a tribute to his schoolteacher mother, packing it with books that people could borrow.

The idea gave birth the next year to a nonprofit organization that wants to “promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom

>> See AHWATUKEE GIRL on page 5

Veteran newsman joins Ahwatukee Foothills News

By Roberta J. Peterson

has been named the new executive editor of the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

Maryniak’s career includes 25 years as a reporter and nearly another two decades as an editor at four daily newspapers in three major markets – Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Phoenix. He retired from The Arizona Republic in December 2013, but Maryniak said he “missed too much about journalism to stay away.”

“I consider my new position a great way to satisfy two journalistic passions: I like covering news, but I also believe that a newspaper should foster a connection with the community. The Ahwatukee Foothills News is the perfect vehicle for doing both,” he said.

Maryniak was an investigative reporter for two newspapers in Pennsylvania, where he also covered big-city government, politics and issues for major metro dailies. But he said he has always been a strong believer in community newspapers and community journalism.

“My first job was with a group of weeklies outside Pittsburgh. And I understand the difference between

The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills. To find out where you can pick up a free copy, visit www.ahwatukee.com.

Ahwatukee office: 10631 S. 51st St., Suite 1, Phoenix, AZ, 85044

Tempe office: 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219, Tempe, AZ, 85282

CONTACT INFORMATION

Main number: 480-898-7900

Circulation service: 480-898-7900

STAFF

Publisher:

Steve T. Strickbine Sales Director: Scott Stowers, 480-898-5624, scott@timespublications.com

Advertising Sales Representatives: Karen Mays, 480-898-7909, kmays@ahwatukee.com

Laura Meehan, 480-898-7904, lmeehan@ahwatukee.com

National Account Coordinator: Patty Dixie 480-898-5940, pdixie@ahwatukee.com

Classified:

Elaine Cota, 480-898-7926, ecota@ahwatukee.com

News Advertising Designer:

Christy Byerly 480-898-5651 cbyerly@evtrib.com

Editor In Chief: Robbie Peterson, 480-898-5638, rpeterson@timespublications.com

Executive Editor: Paul Maryniak, 480-898-5647, pmaryniak@timespublications.com

Managing Editors: Ralph Zubiate, 480-898-6825, rzubiate@timespublications.com

Lee Shappell, 480-898-7900, Lshappell@timespublications.com

GetOut Editor: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski, 480-898-5612, christina@timespublications.com

Art Director: Erica Odello, 480-898-5616, erica@timespublications.com

Designers: Veronica Martinez, 480-898-5601, vmartinez@timespublications.com Ruth Carlton, 480-898-5601, rcarlton@timespublications.com

Reporters: Eric Smith, 480-898-6549 esmith@evtrib.com

Alyssa Tufts, 480-898-6581 atufts@timespublications.com

Prep Sports Director: Jason P. Skoda, 480-898-7915, jskoda@ahwatukee.com

Photographer: Will Powers, 480-898-5646, wpowers@timespublications.com

Circulation Manager: Aaron Kolodny 480-898-6325, aaron@timespublications.com

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To submit a letter, please include your full name. Our policy is not to run anonymous letters. Please keep the length to 300 words. Letters will be run on a space-available basis. Please send your contributions to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com.

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The Ahwatukee Foothills News expresses its opinion. Opinions expressed in guest commentaries, perspectives, cartoons or letters to the editor are those of the author.

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Michelle Balhorn Rhodes is the new director of God’s Garden Preschool. (Special to AFN)

Ahwatukee early childhood expert to head God’s Garden Preschool

Michelle Balhorn Rhodes, an early childhood education expert who lives in Ahwatukee, has been named the new director of God’s Garden Preschool.

Rhodes holds her doctorate in early childhood education from Arizona State University, where she also obtained her masters and bachelor’s degrees.

A training consultant for Child Care Resource & Referral, Child and Family Resources, Inc. in Tucson, Rhodes was a faculty member at Glendale Community College and had been the owner and lead teacher of a preschool in Las Vegas.

She has studied adult learning styles, Arizona early childhood education regulations and accreditation, theories of early childhood development and education, and related subjects.

Rhodes also has been taught and worked with a diverse array of young children and their families, including children with autism, according to a release.

She has not only worked directly with children in licensed preschool centers, but also in various community settings, including Leaps and Bounds, a family-interactive kindergarten readiness program for families with preschool aged children. She also has developed a number of courses at ASU in early childhood education.

An outreach of Horizon Presbyterian Church, God’s Garden, 1401 Liberty Lane, Ahwatukee, provides “a positive and supportive Christian learning environment” through preschool and kindergarten programs for children ages 2 to 5 years, the release stated.

God’s Garden is enrolling students for the 2016-2017 school year. Information: 480-460-0081, godsgarden@ horizonchurch.com or www.godsgarden.com.

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Little Free Library.

AHWATUKEE GIRL

>> From page 1

across generations,” according to its website.

The founders’ initial goal was 2,510 birdhouse-like libraries – the same number of libraries that philanthropist-steel baron Carnegie built in the late 19th and early 20th century.

It has far exceeded that goal, with more than 36,000 little libraries in 70 countries.

Most of the libraries come in kits handmade by Amish workers, who charge $150 to $1,000. People order the kits, build them, and decorate them any way they’d like. Usually they go with themes, said Anna’s mom.

In size, the libraries are bigger than birdfeeders but smaller than a small compact refrigerator.

To raise money for a kit, Anna, with her mother’s guidance, sought donations from some friends and relatives, and appealed to her neighbors..

She also reached out to her little classmates and the preschool’s staff, and ultimately raised about $300 through her fundraising efforts.

It took six weeks before the kit arrived because the Amish only accept orders delivered through the U.S. Postal Service, and then hand-craft all the parts.

Then she picked out the paint colors she wanted to use and finally got to the part she said she liked the most: Drawing images of her three favorite things besides books, hummingbirds, butterflies and flowers.

The other phase of her project was equally ambitious; Anna needed books.

So she started a collection drive at school, approaching neighbors, relatives and others.

“This thing kind of snowballed,” Heather

Wolcott said.

Anna has amassed thousands of books, and since only about 100 will fit in her library, she is putting the overflow in the garage to restock her library well into the future.

“She really loves to read,” Wolcott said, adding that Anna already is reading books with chapter and frequently reads to her 2-year-old brother.

“She also likes to write books and decorate them with art. She loves art work.”

Besides, Wolcott, a former English teacher, supports her daughter’s determination to “have a community book fair and promote literacy.”

“So many people today have Kindles or just don’t read, so I really like the idea of encouraging people to put a book in their hands,” she said.

Adhering to Little Library’s motto that its books remain “always a gift and not for sale,” Anna also has stamped everyone to discourage any borrowers from selling them.

Borrowers can either return the book or pass it along.

Right now, Anna is putting the finishing touches on her achievement in preparation for a grand unveiling 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 25, in the park across from her home at 907 E. Mountain Vista Drive. She not only will be offering free books, but also providing refreshments and free bookmarks.

Anna’s main concern, however, is that the library is put to use. She’s so confident people will visit that she intends to accept more donated books. People can simply drop them off at her front door or make arrangements by emailing her mom at heather@personaltouchnutrition.com.

The books should be in good condition, since Anna and her mom are weeding out shabby tomes. And they can be for all ages. Though a good bit of Anna’s collection is for kids, “we have quite a few for older students and adults,” Wolcott said.

Anna is excited about her grand opening, and her mother believes that it will be inspirational to young and old alike:

“It shows little kids can make a difference.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The grand opening of Anna’s Little Free Library.

WHERE: The park across from her home at 907 E Mountain Vista Drive, Ahwatukee. WHEN: 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 25.

OTHER INFO: Read more about the Little Free Library program, littlefreelibrary.org. See Anna’s progress on her Facebook page, www. facebook.com/annaslittlefreelibrary/” https:// www.facebook.com/annaslittlefreelibrary/; see a map of her library and others across the state and globe: at https://littlefreelibrary. org/ourmap/

Cactus Pet Rescue in Ahwatukee describes Ripley as “loving and very curious.”

The year-old Bengal mix cat “likes to be near you and sleep in bed with you. She absolutely loves water and likes to play in the sink. She likes to play with laser pointers and soft balls.”

Though a release said she gets along with cats and dogs, she “can be a little bossy at first.” And, “she takes a little while to trust new people but once she does, she is very loyal” and greets people at the door.

To meet Ripley, email deniseb.cat@ gmail.com or leave a message at 480-4477582. Cactus Cats Rescue is at Ahwatukee Petco, 5011 E. Ray Road, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. every Saturday from 11 to 3 with kittens and cats seeking loving homes. All cats are tested, fixed and have shots.

Rescue also has cats daily in the Petco store cages every day and online at pet-

finder.com/cactuscatsrescue

Friends for Life is seeking a home for Bud, a domestic short-haired yearold male who was a declawed stray. Once he adjusts to a new home, “he will be your shadow and a forever love.” His adoption fee is $85 and he is neutered, microchipped, and tested for FELV/FIV. Information: 480-497-8296, e-fflcats@azfriends.org, or www.azfriends.org.

Volunteers at Ahwatukee PetSmart help find new homes for abandoned cats

Volunteers for the Lost Our Home Foundation are helping to find homes for stray animals through the PetSmart store in Ahwatukee. The foundation was founded in 2008 as a grassroots response to the thousands of pets abandoned by owners who abandoned their homes in the wave of mortgage foreclosures.

Over time the organization established a shelter at the PetSmart store in Tempe and adoptions centers there and Ahwatukee.

Both adoption centers are always in need for volunteers to ensure the adoptable cats are able to receive socialization, exercise, and a healthy and clean environment, PetSmart says.

The Ahwatukee location has found new homes for 25 homeless cats so far this year and the store credits the volunteers and Lost Our Home coordinator

Shannon Flynn.

“Our volunteers are key to our success,” Flynn said. “They allow the cats to socialize, play and get a little TLC and that makes themmore adoptable.

We have a great group of volunteers and are always looking to add to our volunteer team. The shifts at the Ahwautkee PetSmart store are only two hours and we believe that it fits well in most people’s busy schedules.”

Flynn said volunteers are trained and may pick a shift

Among the volunteers are mother-son team Renee and Connor Langefels, whom Flynn said “can always be counted on to come in to take great care of our adoptable cats.”

Flynn also credits PetSmart’s Ahwatukee store manager Debbie Bono and her staff, stating they “have been very supportive in our efforts to find adoptable cats new, loving homes.

“With everyone working together, we have successfully adopted many cats new homes and look forward to many more adoptions in the future,” Flynn said.

People interested in becoming volunteers should contact Flynn at 602538-9300.

To play or not to play As season looms, East Valley parents weigh repercussions of football

By JASON P. SKODA

FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER

AHWATUKEE

Julie Patrick of Gilbert has seen the worst, so she doesn’t have to imagine it. The image of her nephew’s motionless body sprawled on the field and the

repercussions that followed have remained etched in her mind’s eye for years.

And so she prays during Desert Ridge games before every single kickoff, knowing that her son, Tavian Patrick,

might be catching and running with the ball.

A touchback would be great. A touchdown would also be good, but it would result in several violent collisions for his teammates even if Tavian made it to the end zone untouched – as he did three times last year on the way to the Division I state title game.

She knows all too well that a ball in play could lead to a change of direction.

Not a turn on the field, as her son is able to accomplish so effortlessly, but in life.

Concussions have become a hot-button issue in sports, and football has taken the brunt of the scrutiny.

Injuries common in football Football is a physical and combative sport, and injuries are commonplace. Since around 2012, the focus has turned to head traumas, concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

That was about the time that Aries Bruno, Patrick’s nephew, could no longer concentrate in school after a vicious hit left him with a severe brain injury.

“I had been an A student, but I couldn’t focus anymore,” Aries says. “It got to the point where they talked about sending me to Special Ed. I didn’t want that. I worked my way around it and pushed myself.”

The focus on extreme brain trauma and football has had a lingering effect –much like a concussion, where the brain fog can come in an instant but is often very slow to dissipate fully.

Aries graduated from Desert Ridge in May, just like his cousin Tavian Patrick. But, while Tavian is headed to Arizona State to continue his football career, Aries won’t be playing.

“To this day, I still want to throw up every time he returns the ball, I am so nervous,” she says. “I pray before every game and every time he goes to return a punt or kickoff. I’m sure the people around me think I am praying for a win or that he returns it for a touchdown, but that is not what I am praying for at all.

“I pray that he runs strong, and that he and all the other young men do not get hurt.”

She and many others have experienced the heartbreak that can follow when it doesn’t work out that way.

He even has trouble attending games. Aries hates the fact that he no longer plays the game he had a passion for and dreamed of playing long into his 20s. Instead, it ended for him in middle school, when an elbow to the helmet left him unconscious and with a broken jaw. He was told after gaining consciousness that he had been foaming at the mouth.

He doesn’t remember the hit, much of his time in the hospital or that he mumbled when he tried to talk in the days afterward.

“It was very scary,” Julie Patrick recalls. “We all wondered what the

TO PLAY OR NOT

>> From page 8

long-term prognosis would be.”

Aries was expected to take some time off from the game but, in the end, he never returned.

“I told my parents I wanted to take a break,” he says. “I loved playing when I was younger but, after that, I never could even go to a game. It was too hard to watch. I thought football was going to be my career, or at least get me to college, and I just could never go back.”

A different time for injuries

Dan Hinds, and everyone from his time, kept going back.

The Desert Vista football coach played at McClintock in the 1980s before playing at Northern Arizona.

It was a different era when it came to concussions.

“I had several concussions,” he says. “They weren’t called that then, but now that we are more educated, I know that’s what they were. I don’t remember some of the time after the hits. When people talked about about the games afterward, there were things they brought up that I didn’t remember.

“There was nothing in place or a protocol then. We didn’t have a trainer there all of the time. If you got knocked cold, they just dragged you off the field.”

The Arizona Interscholastic Association has been at the forefront of testing high school players for concussion since 2011.

“We are lot more educated now, and Tempe Union has made sure we all have great trainers,” he says. “Now I don’t get involved in it anymore even as the head coach. As soon as someone is thought to

have had a hit to the head, he doesn’t go back in until protocol clears him.

“I am glad there is so much emphasis, and I don’t have to make that call.”

But families are faced with those decisions.

Tough choices for families

With all that is now known about concussions and football, walking away from the game out of fear or necessity is more tolerated and understood, rather than scoffed at. Parents like Patrick experience the temptation to sideline young players – or even pull them from the sport altogether.

“The first time they put Tavian in as a returner, I was so worried because he was very skinny his freshman year,” she says. “I told him before the game ‘They have to catch you to hurt you so you better run your butt off.’ I didn’t realize how nervous I would be until he was actually standing on the field waiting to return the ball. I held my breath.”

Noah Kaminski is more than nervous. He is done. His fifth concussion signaled the end of his playing career.

The Desert Vista senior-to-be was cleared to resume full football activities in January after suffering a concussion mid-season in 2015.

He is choosing not play his final year with his senior classmates, some of whom have been his teammates since he was 7.

“Football has probably been the biggest thing in my life. so it was hard to say goodbye,” he says. “But I only have one brain, and I need to take care of it.”

Marlborough Park Estates

TO PLAY OR NOT

>> From page 9

The Kaminski family estimates he had his first concussion when he was 9. With each one, recovery has been increasingly difficult. He attended school the day after the last one specifically to talk to his counselor.

At one point, the counselor asked Noah to repeat what they were just saying. He couldn’t recall the conversation from just minutes earlier.

Finesterra at Valencia

So instead of pulling number 46 over his shoulder pads this fall, Noah will be part of the team as one of the managers.

It’s preferable to taking a chance on the fog that comes with one more concussion, he says. The last one meant no TV or music, no bright lights and no cellphone use for a while. It also brought dizziness, slurring of words and nausea.

“I walked off the field super loopy and dizzy,” he says. “It’s a terrible feeling. With each one, (the symptoms) last

>>

TO PLAY OR NOT

longer, and it is that much easier to get one again. I just decided it wasn’t worth it at this point.”

Deciding to walk away

His mother, Racquel Kaminski, had a difficult time watching her son struggle with the symptoms, but it was just as hard to watch him make the decision to walk away.

“It was hard seeing him not with the football team,” she says. “It was part of his identity. He won a national championship (in youth football). Football has been a whole life-changing experience for him. He went through all of the emotions athletes experience when they finally give up.”

Each scenario comes down to personal choices. The dangers are clearly known, but most players let the issue drift to the back of their minds until it is forced to the forefront.

There have been changes, including improvements in helmet design and much more education about the risks. More attention than ever before is being paid to brain injuries. But the game remains the most popular prep sport on and off the field: There were 1.83 million

(David Jolkovski/Special to the AFN) Banner Concussion Center Athletic Trainer

Sarah Schodrof, rear, observes as Caroline Ranger undergoes a peripheral vision test.

participants in high school football across the nation in the 2014-15 season.

Even for someone like Aries, who had his life altered by the game and never returned, he has trouble completely deleting the game from his memory, as scrambled as it was during rehab.

“If I had a son who wanted to play, I would want to protect him,” he says.

“Football is something you can have fun with, but you also have to be aware of what you are getting into. It would be tough to see my son go through what I did.

“But, if he had a passion for the game, I’d still say go for it.”

– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JasonPSkoda.

– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow VarsityXtra on Twitter.

Banner Center boosts level of care for concussion patients

By Shelley Ridenour

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

After realizing that the level of concussion care for professional and college athletes far exceeded that for high school and younger athletes, Dr. Steven Erickson “jumped on an opportunity” to change that.

Erickson worked as the head sports physician at Arizona State University for 12 years and was the medical consultant for MLB umpires. During those years, he says he “took care of a lot of concussions.” He’s now the medical director of the Banner Concussion Center, operated by Banner Health.

He was asked to spearhead the center when it opened and said he is proud to lead a team dedicated to reducing the incidence of concussions and improve their treatment.

Erickson doesn’t like the common approach of asking a person how he or she feels after suffering a concussion to figure out how to structure care.

Basing a diagnosis or treatment purely on subjective feelings isn’t the answer, he said. Rather, “we need to objectively measure” vision and balance of those

patients.

“It used to be if you get knocked out, there’s no play for seven days,” he said. Today, multiple sets of guidelines are used to determine when a young athlete can return to play.

Erickson said the evaluation now is based on criteria, including the disappearance of all symptoms, whether the student is back in class full time and whether visual, balance and cognitive functions are normal.

Generally, athletes who are in high school or younger return to play in about 21 days. But, Erickson cautions, it’s different for every patient.

A critical part of that measuring process is having something to compare it to, Erickson said. That’s why he encourages athletes to have baseline testing conducted before playing sports. Then, if an athlete suffers a concussion, the doctors can compare pre- and postconcussion data.

Testing occurs on both a soft and a hard surface, because a person’s sway varies depending on what she is standing on. Everyone has some natural sway which

SE Valley youth football numbers comparable to past seasons

By Jason P. Skoda

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

The future of the game was supposed to be as clouded as the brain function of a football player who has been dinged in the head.

The growing concern over brain injuries and football was expected to put the game’s long-term future in question when there were reports of former NFL players committing suicide while others brought lawsuits against the league for hiding the ramifications of head trauma.

The belief—long before Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said in April, “We got to make sure that moms get the message, because that’s who’s afraid of our game right now”—was that parents of potential players were going to push their sons toward other sports.

But at one local youth football league, participation is climbing.

The Southeast Valley Youth Football

League is for ages 5 to 15 and covers both flag and tackle football, along with cheerleading.

The upcoming season is off to a good start, according to Doug Powell, who has been the SEV director of registration since 2013. He says 230 participants have signed so far, which puts them on pace for more than 400 players, surpassing last year’s 385.

“I field all kinds of questions from parents, and some of them are about concussions,” he said. “Everyone knows football is a violent game, but all contact sports are subject to this concern.

“We are affiliated with American Youth Football, and all coaches have to be concussion trained.”

– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JasonPSkoda.

– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow VarsityXtra on

is measured to gather normative data.

In what’s called a neurovistubal test, patients stand in front of a giant tube-like piece of equipment which creates sort of a virtual reality setting. It then measures sway and balance as the patient responds to the changing light and images projected onto the background.

Another test involves a patient standing in front of a large screen that measures hand-eye coordination and peripheral vision, Banner Concussion Center Athletic Trainer Sarah Schodrof said.

For balance tests, the patient wears a head lamp and moves their head from side to side while standing on a force plate — both a hard surface, and a foam pad, which simulates gravel or sand. The foot pads are connected to a computer and the patient’s balance is measured.

Erickson’s belief in the value of

baseline testing means that Banner offers essentially free testing to area high schools.

Erickson recommends annual testing for kids until they reach high school, then testing every two years and increasing to every five years after they’ve completed high school.

When diagnosing and treating concussions, Erickson says it’s vital to remember that “nothing is black and white. It’s all shades of gray. We take the interpretation of the whole test into account, not just one test.”

Erickson points out people can still be treated for concussions if they haven’t undergone baseline testing. It’s just that doctors don’t have any data for comparison.

–Contact Shelley Ridenour at 480-8986533 or sridenour@ahwatukee.com.

– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook.

Phoenix police relations panel to meet next month

City officials want to hear Ahwatukee residents’ feelings about recommendations made recently by the Community and Police Trust Initiative, formed last year by the city manager in 2015 to review policecommunity relations.

Representatives of the city manager’s office and the Phoenix Police Department will hold a hearing for residents at 6 p.m. July 17 in the Pecos Community Center, 1790 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee.

They want public reaction to the 15 recommendations the initiative made after nine months of study for enhancing city police’s relationship with citizens, particularly the disabled, immigrants, gay people, millennials and refugees.

Pet protection seminars slated in Ahwatukee

Malinda Malone, a certified master pet tech instructor and owner of Diamond Cut Pet Spa, will host two eight-hour PetSaver classes Sunday June 26 and July 17 at her store, 4825 E. Warner Road, Ahwatukee.

“There is a tremendous need for training in pet first aid and care because, unfortunately, thousands of pets die every year from preventable accidents,” said Malone.

The classes will cover handling medical emergencies involving pets, including CPR, injury and wellness assessments, heatrelated illnesses and other ailments.

Malone is also teaching a three-day pet tech instructor seminar July 17-19 aimed at people who want to train to become instructors on pet safety

Nearly $1 billion allocated for new freeway

The South Mountain Freeway took another step toward reality for Ahwatukee residents last week as the State Transportation Board allocated $973 million for a two-year period beginning July 1, 2017.

The 22-mile freeway is part of the state’s five-year Facilities Construction Program, which is funded primarily by fuel taxes and license fees. Additionally, Maricopa County has a separate tax that voters approved years ago.

A federal judge is expected to rule next month on a move by freeway opponents to stop the highway’s construction.

City police offer tips for burglary victims

Phoenix Police Community Action Officer Matt Makinster is reminding Ahwatukee residents not to help make a burglar’s job easier.

Noting that burglary is a crime of opportunity in which the culprit encounters little to no interference when stealing someone’s belongings, he said it’s critical that people not only lock their cars and homes up, but that they not leave valuables in sight.

Should you fall victim to a burglary, Makinster said, don’t move anything around and don’t start cleaning until the officer gives you the OK to do so that investigators can lift fingerprints. Don’t try to tidy up before detectives get there because that could destroy critical evidence.

Makinster said it’s also a good idea to record serial numbers of all your valuables.

Freeway Session

Preparations are now underway for the Mountain Park Ranch Homeowners Association (MPRHOA) Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Two (2) of the five Board of Director positions will be voted on this year. Nominations are now being accepted in the MPR Office for the open positions up until July 8, 2016. Any Member interested in serving on the Board should contact Jim Welch, Executive Director, at the Mountain Park Ranch office at 480-704-5000 or e-mail: jim@mtparkranch.org for further information. MPRHOA By-laws allow Board Members to serve two consecutive two year terms. Mountain Park Ranch Homeowners Association 15425 S. 40th Place, Suite #4, Phoenix, AZ 85044 (FAX) 480.704.5005 • Website: www.mtparkranch.org

Two Desert Vista students lead big cast for local production of Beauty and the Beast Jr.

Two Desert Vista High School students will have key roles as Ahwatukee dance studio founder Kimberly Lewis leads 50 actors, dancers and singers to the stage of Mountain Pointe High School’s Fine Arts Theater this weekend for a production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.”

The Disney classic on Saturday, June 25, at Mountain Pointe Fine Arts Theater is Lewis’ Studio 111 Theater Company’s second production, following last year’s

presentation of “The Wizard of Oz. Desert Vista has a big presence in the production with cast members

Jeremy Bassham and Audrey Williams, both students. And Desert Vista English and Theatre teacher Jenefer Miller. invites the public to “Be Our Guest” on Saturday, June 25, for its production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.”

“We’re bringing a little bit of Broadway to Ahwatukee,” said Lewis, owner

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of Dance Studio 111. “These kids are putting their heart and soul into making this a first-class production and hope the community supports their hard work by attending the show.”

Added Miller: “I’m thrilled with the level of talent of this cast. I’m equally impressed with the positive attitudes of the cast and how the older students are role models to the younger kids.”

Ahwatukee community and families “to fine-tune every detail of the production, ensuring a crowd pleaser on every level.”

Costumes are designed and hand sewn by DeAnn Nevison and props are designed and made by Jon Nevison and his crew.

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Bassham, 17, takes the lead. A spokeswoman for Lewis called him “a talented youth who is thrilled with his first leading role in a musical. Bassham is enjoying stretching his acting skills by playing the emotional and sometimes angry Beast.”

Bassham said: “I enjoy many different experiences in my life, including playing sports. But there is nothing like the unique experience of being in a musical and knowing that for those moments on stage, you can be someone else and you can take the audience somewhere else.”

His counterpart, Belle, is played by 16-year-old Audrey Williams, who has played numerous roles, including Glinda in last year’s Wizard of Oz production.

“Musical theatre is my life,” said Williams. “It brings me so much joy and allows me to express myself.”

Lewis said she and her team, known for her studio’s annual production of “The Nutcracker Ballet,” are bringing “the same commitment to the theatre company’s costumes, lighting, backdrops and props.”

She added that she works closely with the

Lewis joined forces with RLS Music Studio to create the theatre company “to integrate the tremendous talent of their dancers and singers for the community to enjoy,” according to a release.

“The collaboration we’re experiencing on set with the actors, singers, dancers and directors is magical. I love seeing kids from various disciplines exploring new areas of performance while also honing their existing skills,” said Rachal Soloman, owner of RLS Music Studio.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” performed by the Studio 111 Theater Company of Ahwatukee.

WHEN: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday June 25.

WHERE: Mountain Pointe High School’s Fine Arts Theater, 4201 E.Knox Road, Ahwatukee.

TICKETS: $10 to $20. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at Studio 111, 4910 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 111, Ahwatukee, by phone at 480-706-6040, or by email at studio111theatercompany@ gmail.com. Information: www. dancestudio111.com.

Today June 22

DEMOCRATS STAGE COMEDY FUNDRAISER

Democrats from legislative districts 18 and 26 are presenting a night of comedy featuring Tony Vicich and special guests.

DETAILS>> 7:30 p.m.. at Tempe Improv, 930 E. University Dr., Tempe. Tickets are $25. At 5:30 p.m. a VIP Happy Hour Fundraiser will be held next door at Copper Blues. The $100 admission includes entry to the comedy show.

Tuesday June 28

WARD AT AHWATUKEE GOP WOMEN

The Ahwatukee Republic Women will feature guest speaker Dr. Kelli Ward, a candidate for US Senate in the Republican primary election. The club also is accepting donations of cases of water to assist the Phoenix Fire Department’s campaign to aid the homeless.

DETAILS>>6:30 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton, 10831 S 51st St., Ahwatukee. Information: arwomen@aol.com or www. ahwatukeerepublicanwomen.com

Tuesday July 5

VISION BOARD FOR WRITERS

Writers can learn how to bring their stories’ setting and characters to life by creating a vision board using photos, magazines, and print-outs at this interactive workshop. All supplies provided.

DETAILS>> 6-7:45 p.m. at Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Free. No registration required. Information: haley.dziuk@phoenix.gov.

Saturday July 9

IRONWOOD OFFERS SELF-DEFENSE CLASS

The Phoenix Office of Emergency Management will offer a class on kubotan, a self defense technique, for people of all ages. DETAILS>> 2-4 p.m. Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd, Phoenix. All ages welcome. Register in the calendar section at phxlib.org.

Tuesday July 19

WRITING CRITIQUE GROUP MEETS

Aspiring fiction and nonfiction writers can bring five doublespaced pages of writing to get feedback from fellow writers.

DETAILS>> 6-7:45 p.m. the third Tuesday of month at Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. No registration required. Information: haley.dziuk@phoenix.gov.

Through July 27

LIBRARY HOSTS AHWATUKEE TEENS

Teens can watch movies on the big screen, play video game tournaments, and engage in other teen-friendly events.

DETAILS>> 4:30-6:30 p.m Wednesday at Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. No registration except for portrait painting class on July 13.

Through July 28

FAMILY GAME AND TRIVIA NIGHTS

Families can play board or card games with Ironwood Library staff, or show off pop culture knowledge at one of several themed trivia nights.

DETAILS>> 6-7:30 p.m. through July 28 Thursdays at Ironwood Library, 4333 E Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. All ages welcome. Information: Check the calendar at phxlib.org for specific trivia topics. No registration required.

Ironwood Library in Ahwatukee is offering programs for young and old.

Daily SUMMER READING PROGRAM

Kindergartners through eighth graders can collect a mini Blizzard for every five spoons stamped by a parent or guardian they earn by reading 20 minutes per spoon. Once the game board has been completed, it can then be traded in for a drawing for a family four fun pack for an Arizona Diamondbacks game Aug. 27. The drawing is Aug. 9 and winners will be notified by phone.

DETAILS>> Pick up a game board at the Ahwatukee Dairy Queen, 4751 E. Warner Road. Program ends Aug. 7.

Ongoing

HANDSON GREATER PHOENIX

HandsOn Greater Phoenix, in partnership with Save the Family Foundation, is throwing monthly baby showers for new or expectant homeless mothers and has begun collecting donations of wrapped baby gifts, party decorations and homemade or store-bought snacks.

DETAILS>> All donations may be dropped off at the HandsOn Greater Phoenix office, 5151 N. 19th Ave, Suite 200, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Information: 602-973-2212.

HandsOnPhoenix last week built and decorated bikes for foster children.

AHWATUKEE HOST FAMILIES SOUGHT

Families in Ahwatukee and the surrounding area can host foreign students through the Aspect Foundation.

DETAILS>> Potential host families can choose their own student by viewing profiles on Aspect Foundation’s website at www.AspectFoundation.org. Information: Brynda Blowers at 480-444-6192.

LOCAL ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP

DETAILS>> 10-11:30 a.m. Ahwatukee Alzheimer’s Support Group meets the first Saturday of the month at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St.

CALENDAR

ARTS ACADEMY FOR TODDLERS

The Summer Arts Academy has introduced a Mini Academy and a Parent-Tot class. The Mini Academy is for 3 to 5 year olds on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays who can develop their bodies and brains with certified instructors. The ParentTot class invites children younger than 3 with a parent or guardian to develop mentally and physically through dance and the use of different props and instruments.

DETAILS>> Through June 30. Days and times vary. $40-$140. Register at the Desert Vista Front Office, 16440 S. 32nd St. Information: email summerartsacademydv@gmail.com.

Mondays

POWER NETWORKING AT CHAMBER

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group open to chamber members and nonmembers.

DETAILS>> Noon every Monday, Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 140, Ahwatukee. Call Shannon Kinsman at 480-753-7676.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SELF-HELP

This group addresses the informational, emotional and social support needs of the MS community. People with MS, care partners and spouses are welcome. The group mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges people affected by MS.

DETAILS>> 10 a.m.-noon, third Monday of each month, Dignity Health Urgent Care Ahwatukee, conference room, 4545 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. Information: Lynn Grant at lgrant3567@ yahoo.com or 480-414-7172.

Wednesdays

GRIEF SUPPORT IN AHWATUKEE

Hospice of the Valley offers a free ongoing grief support group for adults and is open to any adult who has experienced a loss through death. No registration required.

DETAILS>> > 6-7 p.m. first and third Wednesdays, Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St. Call 602-636-5390 or visit HOV.org.

THE FOOTHILLS WOMEN’S CLUB

An informal, relaxed social organization of about 90 women living in the Ahwatukee Foothills/Club West area. A way to escape once a month to have fun and meet with other ladies in the area. Guest speaker or entertainment.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m. on second Wednesday at Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive. Contact jstowe2@cox.net or visit www.FoothillsWomensClub.org.

THE PARENT CONNECTION

Parents are invited to join a drop-in group to ask questions, share ideas or just listen to what’s going on with today’s teenagers.

DETAILS>> 5:30-7 p.m. second Wednesday of each month. Maricopa Cooperative Extension, 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix. Free. RSVP by phone at 602-827-8200, ext. 348, or email rcarter@cals.arizona.edu.

AHWATUKEE TEA PARTY

Updates on county, state and federal issues. DETAILS>> 6:30-8:30 p.m. third Wednesday of each month, Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St. For more information, email atpaz.org@gmail.com or visit www. TukeeTeaParty.com.

DEMOCRATS AND DONUTS

Free and open to the public 7:30-9 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month at Biscuits Restaurant, 4623 E. Elliot Road. RSVP by emailing marie9@q.com or 480-592-0052.

THURSDAYS

3D-NETWORKX

This group focuses on creating powerful relationships with fellow members, resulting in meaningful referrals. Learn how to create connections and get the most out of networking events.

DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m. Thursdays at the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 140. For information, call Shannon Kinsman at 480-753-7676.

NOTHING BUT NET(WORKING) AT CHAMBER

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group. Get involved and network. Open to chamber members and nonmembers.

DETAILS>> 8 a.m. every Thursday, Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 140. For information, call Shannon Kinsman at 480-753-7676.

MOPS (MOTHERS OF PRESCHOOLERS)

Free child care for ages 0 to 5.

DETAILS>> 9 a.m. second and fourth Thursday, Foothills Baptist Church, 15450 S. 21st St. Call Kim at 480-759-2118, ext. 218.

FRIDAYS

CHAMBER TOASTMASTER CLUB

This chamber-exclusive Chapter of the International Toastmasters club boasts professional development skills. You will learn to become a competent communicator by expanding your speaking, listening and leadership skills.

DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m. Fridays at the First American Title Conference Room, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 100. For information, call 480-753-7676.

Mountainside Martial Arts School students scored 22 medals recently at the Scottsdale City Martial Art Championship. The dojo fielded 18 competitors, who racked up four gold, seven silver and 11 bronze medals. Winners included, front row from left: Ayden Stice, Chandler Rhodes, Nico Schmeucker, Abby Hood; middle row: Shirley Ruan, Sarah Hills, Emily Campisano, Riley McDevitt, Sydney Johnson, Ava Hood; back row: Jerome Elwell (coach), Zach Hills, Sara Abrams. Not pictured are Kaden Brown, Drake Brown, Shurie Kamewada, Lauren St. Leger, Jackson Williams

MARYNIAK

>> From page 1

community journalism and metro newspapering. I find the former every bit as satisfying,” he said.

“A community newspaper should help people know and understand more about their neighbors, whether they be businesses, community organizations or individuals. And they all have an interesting story to tell. You just have to find it.”

Much of Maryniak’s 13-year stint at the

Republic involved overseeing coverage of Ahwatukee and the East Valley.

“It is certainly great to have someone with Paul’s passion for community journalism ready to take the helm of the AFN. I believe that his dedication will be immediately apparent to the residents of Ahwatukee as the AFN continues to live up to its reputation as the voice of the community,” said Ahwatukee Foothills News Publisher Steve Strickbine.

Maryniak currently lives in Tempe but plans to move to Ahwatukee later this year. –See page 18 for Maryniak’s first AFN column.

Hello, Ahwatukee: Allow me to introduce myself

By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR

I’m Paul Maryniak, and when I originally became acquainted with Ahwatukee shortly after I became a community editor for a competitor, I had two first impressions.

I quickly learned both of them were wrong.

My pre-Arizona career had taken me to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and I am a native of Western New York, where towns with Native American names like Tonawanda and Cheektowaga freely dot the region’s map. So I didn’t think the name Ahwatukee was odd.

But I was initially perplexed by what Ahwatukee was supposed to be. It wasn’t like Chandler or any of the East Valley communities we were covering.

I couldn’t understand why it had its own section of the paper. And I wondered what we’d even put in that section since Ahwatukee didn’t have its own school board, or municipal council, or even its own police department.

But the more I got to know the community, the more I saw how wrong I was.

Ahwatukee isn’t perplexing. It’s special. We didn’t need to attend meetings or hang around a police station to cover the community. We needed to listen to its people and tell stories about them, about its businesses and its organizations – all things that make a community a place you want to call home.

My second misimpression involved the Ahwatukee Foothills News. My big-newspaper pedigree dismissed the paper. It wasn’t a big daily. Its sense of news didn’t match up with the kind I’d covered for decades. It didn’t post lurid headlines atop equally lurid stories. Then I realized the AFN was just as special as the community it covered. Indeed, it was as much a part of Ahwatukee’s DNA as Ironwood Library, Pecos Community Center or the Ahwatukee Foothills Family Y.

People turn to the AFN not just for news, but for connection with the community they live in.

That irked me in those days, when I was working at The Republic. The AFN kept–and still keeps - its ear so close to the ground and residents and businesses obviously like it so much – that it was David to the Goliath that paid my salary.

To a large extent, the credit for AFN’s vitality belongs to its founder, Clay Schad.

Fresh out of a Nebraska college with a journalism degree in the late 1970s, Schad convinced a developer that the then–fledgling community of Ahwatukee could use a newspaper. So he started the Ahwatukee Foothills News in July 1978.

He not only wrote and sold ads for what was then a four-page circular, he went door to door to pass it out to readers.

As I recall from a long conversation we had years ago, Schad hustled the paper with gusto to readers and advertisers.

Sometimes he braved a monsoon drenching or two to get his baby out and grow it.

And grow it did.

So now I’ve emerged from 28 months of retirement, eager to reconnect with this community through stories about its people, organizations, businesses and everything else that makes it tick.

I want the Ahwatukee Foothills News to keep you informed about what’s going on in your community.

But I also want it to tug at your heart, put a smile on your face, or puff you up with pride every Wednesday with stories about your neighbors. And by neighbors I mean people, businesses and organizations.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Please feel free to write or call me about people, groups, small businesses,

ideas and anything else you think might interest your neighbors. Don’t think something is too small or insignificant; you’d be surprised how often people are wrong about that sort of thing.

On our Opinion pages, I’m hoping that your letters or guest columns will focus on people, issues and institutions that are part of this community. There are lots of places you can sound off about the presidential campaign, or the world. But this is the one place where you can zero in on what’s going on in your backyard or down the street from where you live.

I can be reached at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com

And I look forward to your assistance in helping me tell Ahwatukee’s ongoing story every Wednesday.

–Paul Maryniak

Less time off may be Obamacare’s unintended consequence

By Sally C. Pipes

Obamacare may be killing summer vacation.

Nearly one-third of American businesses are planning to cut back on paid vacation days this year to compensate for the costs imposed by the president’s healthcare reform law.

They have little choice. Obamacare forces mid-sized and large firms to either provide lavish health benefits or pay a hefty fine. To stay afloat, employers have to trim labor costs elsewhere, including paid vacations.

The specific feature of Obamacare causing this mess is the “employer mandate,” which, as of this year, requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance to no less than 95 percent of their workers. If they do not, and at least one employee receives subsidized coverage through Obamacare’s exchanges, then they have to pay a fine of $2,160 for every full-timer beyond the first 30.

If they offer coverage the law deems “unaffordable” or insufficiently comprehensive, the fee is the lesser of

$2,160 per employee, exempting the first 30, or $3,240 per worker who gets a subsidy through the exchanges.

Those fines can add up fast. A business with, say, 100 non-covered employees could face a $140,000 bill at the end of this year.

At the same time, the cost of actually complying with the employer mandate is skyrocketing. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, companies today spend $12,591, on average, for a family policy - a 54 percent increase since 2005 - while employees pay an additional $4,955.

In other words, an employer offering coverage pays around six times the cost of the fine for declining to do so.

Obamacare has not only failed to contain health insurance costs - it’s helped drive them up.

For instance, the law requires that all health plans cover certain benefitssuch as treatment for substance abuse - even if someone has no need for them. These mandates may mean well, but extra benefits aren’t free. Insurers have to raise premiums to cover the cost of providing them.

Over the next decade, premiums for the most common type of employersponsored health plan, a mid-level PPO, are expected to increase 78 percent. The average individual employee will have to shell out an additional $700 by 2025 -- and the average family an extra $2,000.

The increase in the tab for employers will be even greater - an additional $2,800 for individual coverage and $8,000 for family policies, according to a University of Minnesota study.

Employers have to find that money somewhere. One in ten is responding by cutting back on perks, including not just paid vacation days but flexible work hours, team building activities, and professional development programs.

Firms are further shaving costs by cutting health benefits for retirees. In 2008, two years before Obamacare’s passage, one-third of Medicare enrollees received supplemental health coverage from their old employers as part of their retirement package. By 2015, just onequarter did.

Employees are also watching their take-home pay decline.

Since the employer mandate’s penalty

Just Listed!

depends on the number of full-time employees, companies have an incentive to keep workers part-time and under the 50-employee threshold. One in ten businesses reduced worker hours last year to avoid the mandate, according to a recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management. One in 20 have already fired or plan to fire employees to reduce their own health costs.

As the price of health insurance grows, many employers will find that dropping coverage and simply paying the fines prescribed by the mandate makes financial sense. About one-third of firms are considering cutting health benefits altogether in the near future.

That’s the ultimate irony of the employer mandate - it could cause millions of workers to lose their employer-based insurance coverage entirely.

ahwatukee.com

Up to 6264 s/f of office or medical space available. Lovely twin buildings with a great Ahwatukee location.

Location: I-10 & Elliot

Excellent location with easy access to I-10, Sky Harbor Airport, Tempe, ASU or Downtown Phoenix.

2353 s/f of finished office or medical space at $13.50 NNN, with reception areas, large private offices, large open areas with break room facilities, board/meeting rooms and two washrooms. Owner is creative and may change to suit. These are also owner-managed twin buildings showing pride of ownership, with a low CAM/ NNN fee of approx. $3.75 per sq. ft.

Join these great tenants: Edward Jones, Ahwatukee News, JMW Construction, Wilson Properties, Cottam Chiropractic and Piller Child Development Center. Floor plan is available. Exit I-10 at Elliot, go one block west and turn right on 51st Street. Take the next right off 51st Street and a quick left into the parking area. We are right next to the Wells Fargo Bank.

Easy to show, call anytime: Richard 602-695-5491.

Guns do not pose a public health crisis

At 2 a.m. June 12, at the Pulse night club in Orlando, Fla., a threehour ordeal began that resulted in the death of 50 (including the shooter) and the wounding of 53 more. And once again, the gun control “discussion’ resumes with the same ignorant people spouting the same idiotic ideas, and our elected representatives and appointed officials proposing the same misguided legislation and regulations, none of which would have prevented the massacre. But here comes the American Medical Association. Just days after Orlando, the Association voted to declare gun violence a “public health crisis” and to “actively lobby” to allow federal research on guns. That’s what we need! More research. How has all of the research into other public health crises helped to reduce death rates in the US? Here are the top five: Drugs. The Center for Disease Control reports that 2014 saw a record high 47,000 deaths in the US from drug abuse, mostly from opioid pain relievers and heroin. I guess the war on drugs isn’t working out so well. Maybe we should just say “No. Alcohol. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

estimates that 88,000 people in the U.S. die from alcohol related causes every year, including almost 10,000 fatalities from drunk drivers each year. More than 10 percent of all children in the U.S. live with a parent with an alcohol problem. We should ban alcohol. Wait, we tried that already.

Obesity. The National Institutes of Health estimates that 300,000 people die each year in the US due to obesity related causes. We should ban spoons. And sugary drinks.

Tobacco. The Center for Disease Control reports that cigarette smoking causes 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S. (8,300 in Arizona), including nearly 42,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure.

About 41 percent of kids in the U..S ages 3 to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke. Over 16 million people alive in the U.S. today suffer from some smoking caused illness. How about a tobacco ban?

Abortion. The Center for Disease Control reports that almost 700,000 abortions were performed in the US in 2012. In 2014, there almost 13,000 performed in Arizona. From the Public Health Actions section of the CDC Abortion Report:

We know every child is unique. We embrace their individuality to create unique, customized learning experiences—and to ensure each child is ready for elementary school. The results speak for themselves. In just one year, we saw a 370% increase in school readiness in our children.

Is your child prepared? They will be at Tutor Time.

• Infant and toddler care

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“Because unintended pregnancy is the major contributor to abortion, and unintended pregnancies are rare among women who use the most effective methods of contraception, increasing access to and use of these methods can help further reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, and therefore abortions, performed in the United States.”

So, we can reduce the number of abortions if we use effective contraception? Or maybe we should just keep our pants on?

There are laws, guidelines, education, etc., for each of the public health crises above. Yet they all fail to address the fundamental issue: people have the freedom to choose whether to follow them or not.

Unfortunately, people are also free to choose whether to use their firearms for evil or not.

And when “gun violence” is labeled a public health crisis, we’re a small step away from “gun ownership” being labeled a public health crisis.

We don’t have a gun crisis; we have a freedom of choice crisis. There is no law that can compel us to make the right choice.

–William K. Richardson

We like letters

The Ahwatukee Foothills News is devoted to relentlessly covering your community, and we especially appreciate letters on matters that celebrate or express concerns about matters involving Ahwatukee. Please email your letters to pmaryniak@ahwatukee. com

Correction

The headline on the lead column on the Opinion page of the June 15 Ahwatukee Foothills News should have read “Those who oppose freeway must step up.” The letter was written by a representative of Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children, an advocacy group that opposes the South Mountain Freeway.

Time to hug a puppy

By Elizabeth Evans

A long time ago in an elementary school far away, our youngest son was assigned to the nicest, most considerate, and caring fourth grade teacher. In his eyes, this put Cole at a distinct disadvantage with his older siblings, who came home from junior high and high school with tales of stern disciplinarians with draconian rules for miscreants. He wanted to be a “big kid” and, as far as he could tell, being a ‘big kid’ meant having a teacher who meted out harsh discipline. So after he listened to his brothers and sisters describe weeks of detention for gum chewing, he launched into a recitation of Mrs. B’s mean streaks. Now, we all knew Mrs. B and knew that her idea of a “stern punishment” meant sitting in the back of the classroom during recess with a snack she bought for you. And as sweet as she was, the thought of making her sad by acting out would deter many children from misbehavior. So we all laughed kindly at Cole’s description and suggested that he be careful: if he acted out and got

cranky with Mrs. B, she’d really let him have it and make him hold a puppy.

I can see her reasoning: when life got two awful and made you miserable and sad, maybe holding a puppy would bring you back.

I think we could all use a puppy right about now. The headlines are too full of sadness right now.

Social media has turned on us. I’ve listened to all the bickering and secondguessing and name calling about the news of the week and closed the lid on my laptop, grateful only that the shouting and blame and paranoia has drowned out the presidential campaigns.

The aftermath of every disaster has turned into Kabuki theater with a predictable, depressing rhythm of random, confused reports followed by horrifying details followed by politicians’ posturing followed by Internet comments ripping all involved to shreds.

So I declare to you, Ahwatukians: it is time to sit out recess and yes, find a puppy, hold it, and not let go until it falls asleep in our arms.

Maybe Mrs. B will buy us a snack.

–Ahwatukee Foothills resident Elizabeth Evans cabn be reached at elizabethann40@hotmail.com

Ahwatukee firm’s artistry gives potential customers a unique peek into local businesses

By Paul Maryniak

FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR

Carmina and Peter van Argent are jetsetters among Ahwatukee small business owners.

After 12 years in Ahwatukee, they relocated their business, Hope’s Graphics and Designs, to Portland, Ore., last year so she could care for her ailing parents. But the couple and their two children, Andreas and Desiree, still keep an office in Ahwatukee, where their elaborate murals grace the storefronts of businesses – and the interior and exterior walls of some homes - in Ahwatukee and surrounding communities.

“I’m not a snowbird but a rainbird,” Carmina joked, referring to her new home’s frequent wet weather.

The company’s work – colorful murals that cover the entire front windows or walls of a business – is built around Carmina’s belief that “murals should convey what they say.”

It’s not enough to rely on words to make an impression on potential customers, she said, especially if owners are trying to attract business on the fly. “If people are in a car, there are only a few seconds for a storefront to make an impression and if it’s something colorful and unique, they’ll remember it.”

“We try to depict on the outside what’s going on inside,” she added. “We want the murals to show what’s different about our client from the competition down the street.”

The van Argents work well-defined roles in the 23-year-old company: Carmina is the principal artist while Desiree assists. Andreas lays the foundation on which mom and daughter add their depictions of the business’ primary activities. Peter handles the business side and negotiates the deals.

The firm’s latest project was the storefront of Aunt Tina’s Pet Spa, an Ahwatukee animal grooming business. Carmina chose a largely purple graphic with smiling women because “I wanted to show that Aunt Tina is compassionate and takes time with her animals.”

While her murals bedeck other local storefronts as well, including A Step Ahead Preschool and Montessori in Ahwatukee, which commissioned a work built on the theme “children of the world,’ and TriCore Chiropractic, also in Ahwatukee.

While the majority of Hope’s Graphics and Designs’ clients are businesses, the company also has done interior

and exterior walls for homeowners. She said her largest mural for a home involved a backyard wall on which the owner wanted a beach house.

And the firm’s work isn’t just limited to Ahwatukee and its neighbors. It has done work for businesses in Portland, Vancouver, Wash., and Philadelphia.

The van Argents’ client list is varied, and has ranged from church offices and sanctuaries to restaurants and car lots.

And besides murals, they also work up signs, cartoon character birthday posters, and even face painting services.

The murals generally ranged in size from 300 to 700 square feet and usually run about $10 per square foot, depending on the intricacy of the design.

And they’re designed to last, said Andreas, who applies a sealant that protects them from window washing as well as extreme heat.

“Each project is individually designed

for maximum effectiveness and longlasting enjoyment,” Carmina added. Know of an interesting Ahwatukee business or an Ahwatukee business doing interesting things?

–Email pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com or call 480898-5647.

A healthy home helps the planet, you and your wallet

By Andy Warren

CONTRIBUTOR

If you ask a person who’s in the market for a new home to name their favorite color, chances are good they’ll answer “green.”

According to LEED.net, a website promoting Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification and green building technologies, consumer interest in green building took off in 2007 and has never been stronger. Thanks to extensive media coverage about climate change and the environment, many homebuyers are looking for ways to reduce their ecological footprint. Purchasing a home that creates a minimal impact on the health of the planet, their bodies and their budget is one way to do just that.

Healthy planet: The International Energy Agency reports traditionally constructed buildings are responsible for more than one-third of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. In an effort to reverse this

statistic, homebuilders are increasingly looking for ways to measure and improve their homes’ impact on the environment.

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index is one such effort. Homes are rated on a scale of 0-150, with a lower score being more energy efficient. Energy-saving features, such as advanced programmable thermostats, solar-ready wiring, special window vinyl to reduce heat and UV rays and fluorescent or LED lighting, are among the technologies homebuilders are employing to lower their homes’ HERS ratings and reduce the overall impact on the environment.

Healthy body: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air, thanks to chemicals, mold and mildew that produce airborne pollutants.

Green homes are designed to maximize the quality of indoor air with advanced ventilation systems and the use of low-chemical-emitting paints and carpets. Special attic insulation made from recycled materials is also used by some builders to promote cleaner air, energy efficiency and less noise.

Healthy budget: Saving money is a powerful motivator, especially when

it comes to owning and operating a home. One of the reasons green building has gained momentum over the years is its potential to positively impact a homeowner’s bottom line.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, the typical American household spends about $2,150 on residential energy bills each year. On the flip side, programs such as the EPA’s Energy Star initiative – instituted in 1992 -- have helped millions of consumers slash their energy bills and put more green in their wallets.

Energy Star-qualified homes use substantially less energy than standard homes for heating, cooling and hot water heating. Owners of an Energy Star-certified home can expect to save $200 to $400 annually on their utility bills, which adds up to thousands of dollars over the life of the home.

–Andy Warren is president of Arizona homebuilder Maracay Homes, a member of the TRI Pointe Group (NYSE:TPH). He serves with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and is a past board member of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. Warren is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute. Information: www.maracayhomes.com.

Zenefits closing Tempe sales office, cutting 106 jobs as some operations move to SF

By Mike Butler AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER

Zenefits, the once high-flying Silicon Valley startup, announced this week that it is closing its Tempe sales office and laying off a total of 106 employees.

The move affects 80 sales jobs in the Tempe sales office and another 26 across a reorganization of Operations. Zenefits,

an online platform that automates human resources, payroll and benefits for small businesses, laid off 250 workers in February, 160 of whom were from the Tempe office.

“This is a painful decision because we have a lot of great salespeople in Arizona and talented people in the Ops organization who will no longer be with us,” said

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CEO David Sacks in an email to workers on Tuesday.

Departing employees will receive a package including three months severance and transition assistance.

Acknowledging that Zenefits has become a different company since he took over four months ago, Sacks also extended a buyout offer to all current employees hired before February 8. Employees had until noon Thursday to accept the voluntary separation package.

Zenefits took the Valley by storm in November 2014 when it opened a gleaming 94,000-square-foot office in the Scottsdale Galleria Corporate Centre and announced plans to create more than 1,300 new full-time jobs over a three-year span.

Last year, the firm expanded into Tempe with an office in the Hayden Ferry complex. The company said that office will remain open and 350 employees will continue to work there in back-office jobs. All sales and marketing jobs will now be located in San Francisco.

SHOP MAIN STREET

Shop Local

Here are a few of the many businesses in Ahwatukee ready to serve you. To find more businesses: http://ahwatukeechamber.com/m/listing/home

Blue Chip Signworks

Mike & Helen Zunino

15920 S 48th St., Ste 104. 480-785-3940

info@bluechipsignworks.com

www.bluechipsignworks.com

They provide products for internal signs, external and electrical signs, trade show displays and vehicle graphics. They will work with you to develop an imaging, messaging, and branding strategy that delivers measurable results.

A&A Automotive Repair

Alex Mehleib

3030 S 40th St., Phoenix 602-438-7213

aaautoservice@gmail.com

oldfashioned-autoservice.com

For old-fashioned service with new technology, consider this auto repair center which services all makes and models of domestic and foreign vehicles. Seniors get special discounts as well.

VaBene

Donna Cosic 4647 E Chandler Blvd. 480-706-4070

d.cosic@cox.net

www.vabeneaz.com

This fine dining Italian restaurant features a main dining room, private dining room, lounge, patios, and a large granite bar. Make it your destination for lunch, dinner or happy hour. Enjoy live music 9 p.mm-1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Main Street Ahwatukee

3 ways to maximize social media for small business

By Monica Chavez CONTRIBUTING WRITER

While using social media is a nobrainer for most people looking to promote their small businesses, few understand how to use it correctly. There is an art to posting, tweeting, and pinning that will attract new customers while ensuring loyalty to old ones.

First and foremost, social media is not a blank billboard for your business to advertise on. If you follow a business of any kind on social media, you can attest to the irritation you feel when ads start filling the news feed. Use this platform as a way to send out information about your business or promote special deals and events. Loyal customers will be drawn to welltimed, thoughtful posts and will share them with friends. New customers will be drawn to the special offers and ideally become regular followers. Secondly, use social media tools to let your expertise shine. Let people

see what makes your business special. Use the visual side of social media to display new products, videos, and testimonials. If you own a hair salon, post hair style demonstration videos on YouTube and Facebook.

If you own a bakery looking for more wedding business, pin pictures of your recent creations along with special promotions for wedding cakes and desserts. Social media really is simple if you analyze a goal and the best way to reach it.

Lastly, social media is a two-way street. Don’t let the opportunity to interact with customers pass you by. The beautiful thing about these sites is the ability for users to leave comments and feedback. It’s a wonderful chance for you to improve your business. They will let you know what they like and don’t like (so be prepared for criticism). They will tell you what deals you should repeat and which products you should order more of. Make sure you are responding to posts and comments so customers feel they’ve been heard. Your business will appear more personal, and that’s

Formoreinformationontheseand otherupcomingevents,visit www.ahwatukeechamber.com.

how you build relationships with your customers!

Using social media effectively will do wonders for your small business. It’s a cost effective way to promote and reach new customers. Loyal customers will appreciate updates from your company and the chance to interact with you too.

Remember, don’t try to do everything. Be an expert in your field. Keep it small, and use the tools to your advantage!

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce strives to create a foundation on social media that will help build visibility and connections for chamber members and the community. You can find the Ahwatukee Chamber on Facebook (Ahwatukee Chamber of Commerce) and Twitter (AhwatukeeCC). For more information on the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, visit www.ahwatukeechamber.com or call 480-753-7676.

Monica Chavez, marketing and events manager for the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce.

Sources from Save Local Now.

Welcome and Thank You

Please join us in welcoming our newest Chamber members and thanking our renewing members for their continued support:

Sam’s Club #6213

The Blues Review Band

Berkshire Business Sales & Acquisitions

Essentially Shelley Festival of Lights

Ahwatukee Auto Spa

Invision Auto Body

Adobe Blinds

South Mountain Films

OrangeTheory Fitness

Be…an Artist

SpeedPro Imaging

AZ Massage Essentials

Rawhide

Oracle Law Group

Summit School

SportClips

Brakes Plus

Ahwatukee Realty & Property Management

East Valley Banner Hospitals

GLK Services LLC

Phoenix Phreeze

Melaleuca- Betsy Kramer

John M Hundman, CPA

Tiffany & Bosco, P.A.

Touchdown Insurance

Chick Fil-A Ahwatukee

SPIRITUAL SIDE

Who or what is your power source?

By Lisa Jisa AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS CONTRIBUTOR

I popped a bagel into the toaster this morning, but nothing happened. I rattled the lever and pushed it up and down a few times before I realized the toaster was unplugged. It wasn’t connected to the power source, so no matter what I tried, it wasn’t going to toast my bagel until I plugged it in.

The word “power” implies strength. Our world values people who are in control, strong, and powerful. Paul, the author of many books in the New Testament, began his life as a religious zealot. He was brutal in his persecution of early Christians. He

definitely would have been an example of what we think of as a powerful individual.

Yet when Paul met Jesus, his life was transformed. He came to realize that being humble and surrendering to the Lord gave him true power. As he allowed the Lord to work in him and through him, many lives were changed. It was God’s power, not Paul’s, that made the difference.

“I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:3-5)

Zerubabbel had the daunting task of encouraging the rebuilding of the temple

after many years of exile. The people were disheartened and things had come to a stand-still. The ruined temple was also a symbol of the condition of their relationship with God.

Encouragement came when Zechariah said, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6).

In John 15:5, Jesus reminded us to stay plugged in to Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Jesus said His disciples would “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem,

FAITH CALENDAR

June 22-June 30

Wednesdays

CELEBRATE RECOVERY AT MVLC

Celebrate Recovery says it “brings your relationship with the Lord closer to your heart as it heals your hurts, habits and hang-ups.” Participants can discuss issues ranging from feeling left out to addictions. “Nothing is too small or too large.”

DETAILS>> 5:30 p.m. at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. mvlutheran. org/celebraterecovery or email cr@alphamvlc.com.

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY & FELLOWSHIP

Living Word Ahwatukee women’s bible study and fellowship that offers “a short, low-key time of praise and worship in music and message.” It’s also an opportunity to meet other Christian women in Ahwatukee.

DETAILS>> 10 to 11:30 a.m., Living Word Ahwatukee, 14647 W. 50th St., Suite 165, Ahwatukee. Free childcare.

COFFEE BREAK WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Scripture study, prayer and fellowship.

DETAILS>> 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 3550 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee. Loraine 480-893-1160 or CoffeebreakMin@aol.com.

MEDITATION ON TWIN HEARTS

A release calls this “a 15-minute energetic tune up each week” and says the Twin Hearts Meditation “is like taking a spiritual shower: when your aura is clean, you experience a higher level of awareness. You see through things more clearly and good luck increases.”

DETAILS>> 7-9 p.m. at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103, Tempe. 480-792-1800 or www.unityoftempe.com.

DIVORCE CARE

People suffering through a separation or divorce can find understanding and caring support to face these challenges and move forward.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8:15 p.m. Arizona Community Church, 9325 S. Rural Road, Room G5, Tempe. Onetime book fee of $15. 480-491-2210. DivorceCare 4 Kids (DC4K) will also be offered in Room G7.

TEENS N TORAH

Offered by Chabad of the East Valley for teens ages 13 to 17, this combines education and social interaction with videos followed by discussion, trips, games, community service projects and thought-provoking discussions.

DETAILS>> 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 3855 W. Ray Road, Suite 6, Chandler. Shternie, 480-753-5366 or www.chabadcenter.com.

Thursdays

MAN CHURCH AT CORNERSTONE

“Man Church offers coffee, donuts and straight talk for men in a language they understand in just 15 minutes. No women, no singing, no organ and no long sermons,” a release states.

DETAILS>> Doors open 6 a.m., message at 6:30 a.m. 1595 S. Alma School Road, Chandler. Bob, 480726-8000 or www.cschandler.com/manchurch.

DIVORCECARE FOR KIDS

Support group for children ages 6 to 12 coping with

a separation or divorce in the family. One-time $10 fee includes snacks and workbook.

DETAILS>> 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., 1825 S. Alma School Road, Room C202, Chandler. Pastor Larry Daily, 480963-3997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or www.chandlercc.org.

HEBREW READING COURSE

Class is based on Israel’s successful Ulpan instruction. Taught by Ilan Berko, born in Israel, schooled in the U.S.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m. Chabad of the East Valley, 3875 W. Ray Road, Suite 6, Chandler. www.chabadcenter. com or 480-855-4333.

COURSE IN MIRACLES

Experience a spiritual transformation with Michelle Lee, who will teach like-minded people and spark lively discussions as [participants explore daily applications of miracles.

DETAILS>> T7 p.m. at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103. 480-792-1800 or www. unityoftempe.com.

Fridays

AHWATUKEE SHABBAT SERVICES

The second Friday of each month. DETAILS>> 6:15 on the campus of Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. www.nefeshsoul.org.

TODDLER SHABBAT

Celebrate Shabbat with a service, music, and a craft project designed for children up to 5 years old and their parents or other adult. DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m., Temple Emanuel, 5801 S.

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

In Ephesians 6:10, Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” He then goes on to explain the armor of God. All are defensive pieces of equipment, except for the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Power in the Word of God!

Who or what are you plugging into for strength? What’s your power source?

Rural Road. 480-838-1414 or www.emanueloftempe. org.

TORAH TOTS

Hosted by Chabad of the East Valley for children ages 2 to 5. Features hands-on activities about the Shabbat, songs, stories and crafts. Children will make and braid their own challah. DETAILS>> 10:15 to 11 a.m., members’ homes. 480785-5831.

SHABBAT SERVICES

“Nosh” and then enjoy the Shir Shabbat service led by the Shabba-Tones, the Shabbat musical group. DETAILS>> 6:30 first Friday of the month, Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. 480-838-1414 or www.emanueloftempe.org.

‘NOSH’ AND WORSHIP

The service is followed by a congregational dinner (by reservation only.) Optional Israeli dancing rafter dinner.

DETAILS>> 6 p.m. on third Friday of the month, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. 480-838-1414 or www. emanueloftempe.org.

SHABBAT SERVICES

DETAILS>> Regular services at 6 p.m. except on the third Friday of each month, when a 6 p.m. Young Family Shabbat Service is held for children and adults of all ages. Temple Beth Shaloom of the East Valley, 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. Shabbat Morning and Torah Service weekly at 9 a.m. 480897-3636 or www.tbsev.org. or info@tbsev.org.

FAITH CALENDAR

>> From page 27

TOTS N’TORAH

Designed for children up to 5 years old and their parents or other adult. Following the service is an Oneg Shabbat, a time for a snack and to meet other families with young children.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m. second Fridays, Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road. 480-838-1414 or www. emanueloftempe.org.

EITZ CHAIM SERVICES

Congregation Eitz Chaim is traditional and egalitarian. Newcomers welcome.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., services at 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. www.eitzchaimphoenix.org.

SHABBAT AT TEMPLE EMANUEL

Traditional service followed by an Oneg Shabbat. DETAILS>> 7:30 p.m. second and fourth Fridays, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe, 480-838-1414 or www. emanueloftempe.org.

Saturdays

AHWATUKEE DISCUSSION GROUP

DETAILS>> 8:45 a.m. on the campus of Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 6400 W. Del Rio St. in Chandler. www.nefeshsoul.org.

LEARNING THE PRAYER BOOK

These special study sessions at the beginning of Shabbat morning services teach the structure of

Shabbat services and how to follow in the Siddur (prayer book). Taught by Rabbi Leitner. Introduction to Judaism, Introductory Hebrew Reading for Adults, and Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation are cumulative, so no new students can be accepted mid-year.

DETAILS>> 9-9:30 a.m. fourth Saturday each month, Pre-register for fall by contacting Amy Shevitz at vped@tbsev.org.

TRUE JESUS CHURCH SERVICES

International, nondenominational church offers weekly Sabbath services. Congregational meeting in the morning and Bible study in the afternoon.

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m.-noon; 1:30-2:45 p.m. at True Jesus Church, 2640 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. 480899-1488 or tjcphoenix@tjc.org.

SHABBAT CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

Shabbat Yeladim is a free Shabbat program for Jewish children ages 3-7 sponsored by Ahwatukee’s NefeshSoul Jewish Community. Shabbat Yeladim is on the second Saturday of the month. Songs, stories, and art project each month.

DETAILS>> 10-11 a.m. on the Valley Unitarian Universalist Campus, 6400 W. Del Rio, Chandler. Contact Rabbi Susan Schanerman at rabbi@ nefeshsoul.org or www.nefeshsoul.org.

OPTIONAL STUDY SESSION

DETAILS>> Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. Optional study session at 8:20 a.m., Shabbat morning service at 9:30 a.m., followed by a kiddush. 480-838-1414 or www.emanueloftempe.org.

Sundays

Chorus singers sought

Even though the Ahwatukee Community Chorus is nearing the end of its first season, it still wants welcome singers of all levels. The group rehearses weekly on Sunday evenings. Although it is not affiliated with any religious organization, the chorus rehearses at Horizon Presbyterian Church.

DETAILS>> 6 to 8 p.m., Horizon Presbyterian Church, 1401 E. Liberty Lane. There is an annual $100 membership fee. www. ahwatukeecommunitychorus.org or 480-442-7324.

HORIZON YOUTH GROUPS

High school and middle school students meet to worship and do life together.

DETAILS>> 5 p.m. at Horizon Presbyterian Church, 1401 E. Liberty Lane. 480-460-1480 or email joel@ horizonchurch.com.

GRIEF SHARING

A support group designed to assist people through the grieving process. Onetime book fee $15.

DETAILS>> 2-4 p.m. at Arizona Community Church, 9325 S. Rural Road, Room G3, Tempe. 480-491-2210.

UNITY OF TEMPE

Inspirational messages and music are offered, along with classes and special events.

DETAILS>> 10 a.m. at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103. 480-792-1800 or www. unityoftempe.com.

HEBREW SCHOOL

Children can learn and experience Jewish life. Chabad Hebrew School focuses on Jewish heritage, culture and holidays.

DETAILS>> 9:30 a.m. to noon, for children ages 5-13 at Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. 480-855-4333, info@ chabadcenter.com, or www.chabadcenter.com.

RABBINIC LITERATURE

Ongoing morning study of two classics of rabbinic literature by medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides (the “Rambam”). At 10 a.m., Prof. Norbert Samuelson, grossman chair of Jewish Philosophy at ASU and TBS member, teaches “Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: What Jews Ought to Believe.” At 11:15 a.m. TBS member Isaac Levy teaches “Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah: How Jews Ought to Behave.” NReadings in both Hebrew and English.

DETAILS>> Community Room of the administration building at Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley, 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. 480-897-3636.

Mondays

CHRIST-CENTERED YOGA

This Flow 1-2 class (intermediate) is free and open to the community.

DETAILS>> 6-7 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. Greg Battle at 480-7596200 or gbattle@moutainpark.org.

>> See FAITH CALANDER on page 28

FAITH CALENDAR

DIVORCECARE FOR ADULTS, KIDS

Classes for those grieving over death or divorce.

DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480-963-4127.

GRIEFSHARE AT CHANDLER CHRISTIAN

Support group for those struggling with how to deal with a loss in life.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., 1825 S. Alma School Road, Room C201, Chandler. Pastor Larry Daily, 480-9633997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or www. chandlercc.org.

Tuesdays

HOPE AT MPCC

HOPE, and acronym for “Help Overcome Painful Experiences,” offers support for men and women who seek God’s grace and healing.

DETAILS>> 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. www. mountainpark.org.

SENIORS TERRIFIC TUESDAYS

The program is free and includes bagels and coffee and a different speaker or theme each week. Registration not needed.

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m. to noon, Barness Family East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. www.evjcc.org

or 480-897-0588.

GRIEFSHARE AT HOLY TRINITY

DETAILS>> 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480-963-4127.

BIBLE READING FOR PLEASURE

Bring a Bible, or Bibles are available at these free sessions.

DETAILS>> 7 to 8 p.m., Chandler Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1188 W. Galveston St. Lori, 480917-3593.

ONGOING

JEWISH LIFE GIFTS

The Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life Chai Judaica and Gifts offers a wide variety of gifts, from Mezuzot to books, religious items, and jewelry.

DETAILS>> Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. Gift shop hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday by appointment only and Sundays 9:30-10 a.m. and noon-12:30 p.m. info@ chabadcenter.com or 480-855-4333.

CAMP GAN ISRAEL

Every week, Gan Israel day trips feature excursions to children’s locations. Its swimming program is supervised by certified Red Cross lifeguards. Various sports and crafts supervised by experienced instructors also offered.

DETAILS>> Boys and girls, ages 5-12, MondayFriday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., through July 22. Mini Gan

Izzy program for children ages 12 months-4 years through Aug. 5. Extended care hours are available. info@chabadcenter.com or www.CGIEastValley. com.

INFANT ROOM OPEN

The full-time infant room for children ages 6 weeks to 12 months.

DETAILS>> Temple Emanuel of Tempe, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. Rachel Wallach, 480-838-1414, or rachel@emanueloftempe.org.

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM

Reggio-Inspired program where children can develop socially, physically, emotionally, and intellectually in a Jewish setting. For preschoolers 12 months to 5 years old, with part-time and halfday options. Before- and after-care hours available. DETAILS>> Shternie at info@chabadcenter.com or call 480-855-4333.

— Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com

— Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.

Get Out

David Shipman is living his dream in the ring

By Jasmine Kemper GETOUT/AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS CONTRIBUTOR

When he was 2 1/2 years old, David Shipman’s parents took him to his first Ringling Bros. circus. He remembers the horses, the elephants, the sawdust and, most importantly, the ringmaster.

“You know, you don’t remember much from when you were 2, but everyone remembers their first circus,” Shipman said. Today, he is the 37th ringmaster in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus’ 146-year history.

Even though he’s a performer at heart, Shipman got a “big boy” job after college as an admissions counselor for an art and design college, and he did musical theater in his spare time.

“My job was essentially to meet with students, figure out their passions and remind them that they needed to take chances and that life began at the end of their comfort zone and to do things that might scare them.”

After a while, he came to a realization about his own life.

IF YOU GO

What: Circus Xtreme

When: Thursday, June 23, to Sunday, June 26, various times

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix

Cost: $20-$80

own comfort zone,” Shipman said. Shipman landed his job as ringmaster thanks to a stroke of luck. He was living in Orlando, Florida, when he saw a posting on Facebook from Feld Entertainment, the owners of Ringling Bros.

Information: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com

“I wasn’t following my own advice. So I decided in 2012 that I was going to leave my job and focus on really putting my words to good use and pushing myself to my limits of my

“I missed the audition by a week and a half, and I almost scrolled past it, but with that ‘do-the-things-that-scareyou’ mentality, I thought, the worst they can say is no.”

He sent in his headshot and resume

anyway and, within an hour, they invited him to a private audition with the owners.

“It was something that was never supposed to happen. If I’d scrolled passed it and just kept going, I think that things could have been very different. It was very serendipitous that it lined up the way that it did.”

As ringmaster, Shipman plays a big part in creating the show.

“There are writers, songwriters, directors and choreographers, but I think the shows are created for our personalities. The ringmaster gets a say in how things are written, how things are delivered, and then from there, it’s really about the audience and figuring out how

Joe Costello gives kids a taste of the music industry

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER

When Valley musicians told Joe Costello that they had nowhere to rehearse, he came to the rescue.

He founded the Performers Institute, a new home for aspiring musicians.

The Performers Institute, a nurturing and fun setting where talented and experienced Phoenix-based musicians develop students’ skills in music, is the first of its kind in the Valley.

“This is a many-years dream that has come to fruition,” said Costello. “Having been a musician for 11 years in the Valley and 45 years overall, I’ve always wanted to create a home that brings together musicians and those with an itch to perform.

“There is an undeniable thrill in helping prepare students to take the stage in front of live audiences. Whether you’re here to help prep for a college or high school audition or here to just have fun and play, fun will be had and you will learn how to perform.”

Located in a 7,000-square-foot facility at 2261 W. Desert Cove Ave., near North Mountain in Phoenix, the Performers Institute offers music programming, including several summer music camps, and provides space for rehearsal and performance.

It also offers instruction on the business side of music, including topics such as copyright law, obtaining gigs, leading a band, sales and promotion.

Recently, Costello started offering hip music camps for kids, and enrollment is open. Students will learn two to three songs from each relevant band and on

The Performers Institute

2261 W. Desert Cove Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85029 602-358-8458 or theperformersinstitute.com

the final day, they will perform on The Performers Institute’s main stage.

Camps include:

• Punk Rock Camp – Green Day, June 27-July 1

• Are You Experienced Camp –Jimi Hendrix, July 5-8

• Light My Fire – The Doors, July 11-15

• UFOs & Rock N’ Roll – Foo Fighters, July 18-22

• Second British Invasion –Coldplay, July 25-29

“Before the camps start, we’ll give them a complete outline of what we’re going to do at each camp and what tunes we’re going to learn,” said Costello, who leads the Joe Costello Project and the Joe Costello Syndicate.

“There are great harmonies in the Beatles’ music,” he said. “They’ll learn the songs with instructors, then on Friday or each week, they’ll perform a concert on the main stage for the parents, friends and family. Before they perform, they’ll sit in the green room and be nervous, and hear people clapping in the other room.”

The children’s camp is one way in which Costello is making his dream come true.

“Ultimately, I want this place to be filled with musicians, actors and dancers,” he said. “I want the main stage to be used to have people hone their craft. They can learn more about what they love and what they’re passionate about.”

– Contact Christina Fuoco-Karasinski at 480-8985612 or christina@timespublications.com.

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‘The Music of Strangers’ is a road to cultural understanding

By Kenneth Lafave

GETOUT/AHWTUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS CONTRIBUTOR

Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville never went to film school. He went to the University of Pennsylvania’s “j-school” — shorthand for a school’s journalism department.

Neville still considers himself a journalist, but one with a camera instead of a notepad.

“I just don’t do print any more. I call it 3-D journalism.”

Neville’ newest documentary, “The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble,” opens Friday at Harkins Shea 14 in Scottsdale. It tracks the work of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s “Silk Road” project, a series of performances and recordings representative of the many musical cultures found along the ancient route linking Asia to the West.

Like Neville’s Oscar-winning 2013 documentary about backup singers, “20 Feet from Stardom,” it’s about music. And, like that film, “The Music of Strangers” is also about more than music.

“Music is a great Trojan horse for talking about other things. The metaphor of the Silk Road is that we all have things in common going back for millennia. What seems like pure Indian music, or

Persian or European music, is actually music interlinked with other cultures,” Neville said.

We’re all different, to be sure, but thanks to travel and trade we have learned from one another. The film takes the viewer from Venice to the Middle East to China. Along the way, we see how musicians over centuries have influenced one another.

“For example, the Persian fiddle used to have two strings, but now it has four strings because they saw a violin en route. The Chinese pipa is a version of the Indian sitar which is a version of the guitar. And every herding culture on earth has some version of the bagpipe,” Neville noted.

“At its essence, ‘The Music of Strangers’ is trying to figure out what role culture plays in a world with concrete problems. How useful is culture? Does it matter? If it does, how do you employ culture to make the world better? These were the questions Yo-Yo was asking, and in the film, I ask them too.”

Addressing culture’s role is difficult because it’s hard to measure.

“It’s not like politics or economics, but I am firmly of the belief that it has the most profound influence on us. It’s how we define ourselves and how we see each other.”

The title of the film is a deliberate contradiction, the director said. “You can’t make music with someone and remain a stranger. Hearing the music of these cultures takes countries that are just spots on the globe and puts faces on them. One of Yo-Yo’s aims with this music is creating empathy, turning strangers into friends.”

Where there are common musical languages, Yo-Yo Ma and Neville agree, there is common humanity.

– Check us out and like GetOutAZ on Facebook and follow GetOutAZ on Twitter.

(Special to AFN) Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville’s ‘The Music of Strangers’ is about what unites people around the world.

Cage the Elephant is satisfied writing music that it loves

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER

Celebrating success isn’t something that interests Kentucky rockers Cage the Elephant.

The band members — vocalist/guitarist Matthew Shultz, rhythm guitarist/ keyboardist Brad Shultz, drummer Jared Champion and bassist Daniel Tichenor — prefer to put their noses to the grindstone and crank out new tunes.

Fans wouldn’t expect anything less from the act whose breakthrough single is “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.”

“We feel blessed to be where we are right now,” Brad Shultz said. “Our parents are stoked. But, honestly, when I do sit back and reflect on it, I feel really grateful and blessed, but I don’t put too much weight in where we are.”

IF YOU GO

a smile when he envisions playing arenas.

“I think it’s cool. Sometimes I think, ‘Oh wow. This is where NBA players play,’” he said with a laugh. “It’s kind of a mind trip.”

Cage the Elephant’s latest trip follows the release of the band’s fourth studio album, “Tell Me I’m Pretty.”

The lead single, “Mess Around,” recently topped the alternative and AAA radio charts as Cage the Elephant’s sixth alternative No. 1, joining Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Green Day, R.E.M. and U2 as one of only seven bands with more than five chart toppers in the 28 years of the Alternative chart.

What: Cage the Elephant and Portugal. The Man

When: 7 p.m. Sunday June 26

Where: Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland, Glendale

Cost: $23 to $38.50

Information: 1-800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com

A sure sign of success is Cage the Elephant’s headlining arena tour, which stops at Gila River Arena in Glendale on Sunday June 26. Most of the shows are nearly sold out.

He admits that he does, at times, crack

“Tell Me I’m Pretty” was produced by innovative musician Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

“Dan is a good buddy of ours,” Shultz said “We’ve toured with those guys a lot and became friends with them.

“But Dan is brutally honest. I love that about him. I think ‘Cry Baby’ is one of those songs where we tacked on every little idea we could possibly think about.

There were like five shifts within the song. Dan goes, ‘Man, are you all turning into a prog band?’ He keeps it real.”

Auberbach, Shultz said, noticed the band’s maturity since its 2008 self-titled debut. The band said it’s evident as well.

“We were young, naïve kids when we made our first record,” Shultz said. We were writing songs and playing house parties and having a good time with our friends.

“It became something way bigger than we thought at the time. With that, there are a lot of different pressures from outside people and influences. We didn’t want to make a disappointing second record.”

Cage the Elephant was happy making music for its grassroots fans, but the musicians didn’t expect its fanbase to expand.

(Special

Cage the Elephant puts their stock in cranking out tunes. songs. On our second record, we were all pushing for something that would please other people. We forgot that we wrote music because we love music. We wrote the music that we loved.”

The road to “Tell Me I’m Pretty” was the most liberating experience since “Cage the Elephant.”

“We didn’t want to make a disappointing second record,” he said. “If you start putting too much weight onto that, it affects the way you write

“We lost ourselves in the music, he said. “It was humbling and gratifying.” – Contact Christina Fuoco-Karasinski at 480898-5612 or christina@timespublications.om.

Me and My Girl at the Hale Centre Theatre

The old-fashioned musical comedy in the vein of “My Fair Lady,” “Singing in the Rain” and “On the Town.”

A Cockney chap named Bill Snibson suddenly discovers he’s royalty and hilarity ensues as he tries to fit in.

Details>>Various times, June 22-28. Hale Centre Theatre,

50 W Page Ave. Tickets: $28 for adults, $18 for children. 480-497-1181 https:// www.haletheatrearizona.com

Flashlight tour at the Desert Botanical Garden

Experience the night sights, sounds and smells of the desert as you wander at will through the extensive Desert Botanical Garden with your flashlight. Learn more about our home environment at informative discovery stations.

Details>> 7 p.m.-10 p.m., June 23 and 25. Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy. Tickets: $10 for children, $22 for adults. 480-941-1225 http://www.dbg.org/

Kenny Rogers: The Gambler’s Last Deal

Music legend Kenny Rogers rolls into town for the last time with his “The Gambler’s Last Deal” tour. The show includes the highlights of his staggering 60-years music career, along with multimedia backdrops using his own photography and video clips from his past.

Details>> 7:30 p.m., June 26. Comerica Theater, 400 W. Washington St. Tickets: $45-$85. 602-379-2800 comericatheatre. com

Summer Sangria Social planned in Queen Creek

The Queen Creek Olive Mill will hold its June Summer Sangria Social this weekend, featuring house-made sangrias, live music and food fresh from the farm. Patrons can also pick up fresh

food and local olive oil to take home from its gourmet marketplace. Details>> 11 a.m. Sunday June 26. Queen Creek Olive Mill, 25062 S. Meridian Road. Free entry. 480-888-9290 https:// www.queencreekolivemill.com/

Mesa Arts Center announces ‘Performing Live Season’

Veteran performers Lyle Lovett, Jackson Brown and Boz Scaggs will be playing the Mesa Arts Center as part of its 2016-17 Performing Live Season.

Call 480-644-6500 or see www.mesaartscenter.com for information about performance. The box office, 1 E. Main St., Mesa, is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday.

Sponsors include the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Bill Passey and Maria Silva, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Boeing, SRP and the National Endowment of the Arts.

All shows are in the Ikeda Theater unless otherwise noted.

Performers

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, July 12 (country)

Boz Scaggs, July 26 (pop/jazz)

Jackson Browne, Aug. 19 (rock)

Leon Bridges with Lianne La Havas, Sept. 20 (soul)

Bernadette Peters with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 15 (pops)

Malcolm Jamal Warner’s Miles Long, Oct. 28 (R&B)

Celtic Thunder Legacy, Nov. 2 (Irish)

The Paul Thorn Band, Nov. 17 (rock; Piper Theater)

Vocalosity, Nov. 18 (a cappella)

Riders in the Sky: Salute to Roy Rogers, Nov. 26 (country)

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Nov. 27 (music collective)

Christmas with the Ukulele Orchestra, Dec. 4 (holiday)

Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour

2016, Dec. 14 (holiday)

Band of Merrymakers Christmas Party, Dec. 17 (holiday)

Straight No Chaser I’ll Have Another...20th Anniversary Tour, Dec. 31 (a cappella)

The Fab Four: The Ultimate Beatles Tribute, Jan 20 (pop)

Neil Sedaka with the Phoenix Symphony, Feb. 3 (pop)

The R. Carlos Nakai Quartet, Feb. 11 (Native American)

Shaolin Warriors: The Legend Continues, Feb. 21 (kung fu)

Taj Express: The Bollywood Music Revue, April 15 (Indian)

Theater/comedy

“Whose Live Anyway?” Sept. 11

(comedy)

Paula Poundstone, Oct. 1 (comedy)

“Earth’s Dinosaur Zoo Live,” Oct. 6 to Oct. 8 (puppets)

“Annie,” Jan. 13 and Jan. 14 (musical)

“The Acting Company: World Premier X,” Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 (Piper Theater)

“The Acting Company: Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar,” (Piper Theater), Feb. 4

Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight,” Feb. 24 (theater)

“To Sleep to Dream,” March 15 to March 19 (Piper Theater)

“Disenchanted!” March 26 (Piper Theater)

Jazz

Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet, Sept. 24, (Piper Theater)

The Hot Sardines Holiday Stomp, Dec. 18 (holiday)

Birdman Film + Live Drum Score, Performance by Antonio Sanchez, Feb. 25 (jazz/soundtrack)

Jazz Under the Stars with Carlos Henriquez, April 19, (Alliance Pavilion)

Classical

Classical Music Inside Out, Ying Quartet with Zuill Bailey, Sept. 29 (Piper Theater)

The Romeros, Oct. 27, (Piper Theater)

Itzhak Perlman with pianist Rohan De Silva, Jan. 12

Navah Perlman: A Musical Memoir, Feb. 15 (Piper Theater)

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, March 11

Young Artist Development Series, April 13 (Piper Theater)

Television/Film/Authors

40th anniversary of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” film screening with Barry Bostwick, Oct. 22

Ina Garten: The Barefoot Contessa, Nov. 15

“John Cleese & Eric Idle: Together Again at Last...for the Very First Time,” Nov. 21

“The Moth Mainstage: True Stories

Told Live,” Jan. 27

“Annabelle Gurwitch: I See You

>> See MESA ARTS on page 36

A Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning

to take the audience on a journey.”

Shipman said there are a lot of misconceptions about ringmasters and circus performers.

“There’s this preconceived notion that the ringmaster is an older, chubby guy who’s balding and he stands in the middle of the ring shouting into a megaphone. It’s not like that anymore. It’s an allinclusive role. I get to sing and interact with the audience and the cast. It’s the showmanship style, which is fun,” he said.

Along the same lines, the word “carnie” gets thrown around to describe circus performers. But for Ringling Bros., that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“We travel with the most elite of athletes, they are trained professionals, incredible performers and they are the top of the top. It’s just really amazing to get to see them perform every single night,” Shipman said.

He recently said farewell to some of the most iconic circus performers: the elephants, which were recently retired.

“It was very, very bittersweet. The elephants have been a part of The Greatest Show on Earth for over 146 years — that is a very long time.”

Shipman and the rest of the Ringling Bros. team are coming to Phoenix for their Circus Xtreme performance from June 23 through June 26, and audiences are in for a wild ride.

“What makes Circus Xtreme so fun is that it is a perfect nod to where we came from and where we’re going. There are beautiful, traditional circus elements to it. We’ve got the things that people love — the high wire, the human cannonball, the tigers — but we’re fusing those traditional elements with modern techniques.

“We’ve got BMX bikers, parkour flippers, trampoline jumpers — all doing a simultaneous, freestyle sports display unlike anything we’ve ever done before in the circus. It’s really new and current and modern, and it’s just really fun for audiences,” Shipman boasts.

Even with all the excitement from working for the circus, Shipman said he humbled to be a part of such a wonderful show.

“It is absolutely life-changing. There’s something that really transcends generations. It’s the reason they call us ‘The Greatest Show on Earth.’

“I got the chance to run away with the circus, and who can say they can do that nowadays?” he said with a laugh.

– Check us out and like GetOutAZ on Facebook and follow GetOutAZ

MESA ARTS

>> From page 32

Made an Effort,” Feb. 10 (Piper Theater)

Neil Gaiman, April 1

“Lynsey Addario: Photojournalist, A Photographer’s Life of Love and War,” Oct. 19

Science

“Mankind to Mars: Andrew Fazekas: National Geographic Space

Correspondent,” Nov. 16

“The Risky Science of Exploration, Kenny Broad: Diver and Environmental Anthropologist,” Feb. 1

“The Mystery of Our Human Story, Lee Berger: Paleoanthropologist,” March 29

Dance

Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour, Oct. 7

Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance Company, April 20

ahwatukee.com

Ahwatukee Foothills News online

WEATHER

SportsRec

New coach stirs hope, passion on the Mountain Pointe girls basketball team

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By Shane DeGrote

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS STAFF WRITER

Walk into the gymnasium at Mountain Pointe High School and you’d be convinced that the Pride girls’ basketball team was in the middle of a state championship run even though summer has barely begun.

But with a new head coach, the girls are putting in hours of practice to learn an entirely new system.

“We have been doing a lot of teaching and they have been responsive. They have been hungry for new information;

they are hungry to get coached,” said Coach Justin Hager, who became the Pride’s girls basketball coach in April.

“They are a good bunch of kids, they are sponges and they want to learn, that’s the main thing.”

Hager, who previously coached at

Cibola High School in Yuma, hopes to instill the same winning ingredients in Mountain Pointe’s team that earned him AIA Division II Coach of the Year for the 2013-14 season.

Mountain Pointe’s Holmes helps revive boy found in pool

By Jason P. Skoda

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS STAFF WRITER

A tennis coach acted quickly during a crisis at summer camp last week, and a life was saved in the end.

Kids were lined up after leaving the pool at Dobson Ranch’s summer camp in Mesa and were ready to go inside when the counselors realized someone was missing.

Then they spotted a 5-year-old boy struggling in the water.

Larry Holmes, boys tennis coach at Mountain Pointe High and girls basketball coach at Marcos de Niza, and several other counselors pulled the boy out. Holmes then performed CPR before the police and paramedics arrived.

“We did the head count and realized who it was. The next thing I know he is getting pulled out and I am doing CPR,” Holmes said.

“You take the classes and you are taught what to do, but you don’t know how you are going to act when someone’s life is on the line and their eyes are rolling back in their head.”

Facts and myths about concussions

By Mike Butler AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS STAFF WRITER

Although concussion injuries and studies seem to appear in the news almost daily, there are still a lot of widespread misconceptions about brain injury, especially when it comes to children. Here’s a rundown on what — and what not — to believe, according to medical experts.

Myth: The latest helmets prevent concussions.

Fact: Helmets do a great job of protecting against skull fracture. But they can’t prevent the brain from jostling around inside the skull, which is what causes a concussion.

Myth: You shouldn’t treat the headache from concussion with medications because that could mask other symptoms. Fact: If ordered by a doctor, over-thecounter pain relievers are fine. At times, a physician may also prescribe stronger medicines.

Myth: A brain imaging test can confirm or rule out a diagnosis of concussion. Fact: Concussions affect brain function, not structure. Concussions can’t be seen on a CT scan or MRI.

Myth: There are no long-term effects of concussion.

Holmes credits his background for the quick reaction.

“Instincts took over,” he said. “As a coach or an athlete, when something needs to be done, you go ahead and do it.”

The boy was taken to Cardon Children’s Medical Center for examination, and Holmes visited him and his parents in the hospital later that night.

“They kept thanking me over and over again,” he said. “They called me a hero, but I didn’t look at it that way. I was just doing what I was expected to do as part of my job.”

The child’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous, begged to differ.

“Larry truly is our hero,” she said.

Holmes said he kept stayed calm with the child’s family, but didn’t keep it so together once he got home and talked about it with his wife.

“We got emotional about it,” he said. “I was in shock later that night. In hindsight it hits you hard. I really saved someone’s life.”

– Contact Jason P. Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@Ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda

Myth: Children bounce back quicker than adults.

Fact: Kids and teenagers actually take longer to recover because of their developing brains. They are also more prone to complications from concussion.

Myth: If your child didn’t lose consciousness, it wasn’t a concussion.

Fact: Only 10 to 20 percent of concussions involve blacking out.

Myth: A child with a concussion should be woken up every two to three hours.

Fact: Drowsiness and fatigue are common symptoms. Getting plenty of sleep and allowing the brain to heal are necessary for recovery.

Fact: A concussion that is not treated properly at the beginning can lead to post-concussion syndrome, with prolonged symptoms that affect memory and physical and emotional functioning for months and years.

Myth: A child needs to be hit on the head to suffer a concussion.

Fact: Concussions can occur with any severe jolt to the body that causes the brain to jostle front to back (whiplash) or side to side.

Myth: Concussions are a football problem. Fact: Among others, it’s a soccer, hockey, gymnastics and lacrosse problem, too.

– Reach Mike Butler at 480-898-6581 or at mbutler@timespublications.com.

– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.

MP’s Smith, Burns sign letters of intent

Mountain Pointe track stars Autumn Smith and Danni Burns signed letters of intent last week.

Smith will be heading to Hampton University in the fall after winning the Division I state titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles.

“I think it is going to be good fit,” Smith said. “I haven’t really been on the East Coast. I am really excited about the opportunity.”

Burns, a sprinter and hurdler, is headed to Villanova University.

Phoenix fitness program cited as innovation

Phoenix’s healthy community initiative

FitPHX has received the Alliance for Innovation’s Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award

FitPHX is a citywide initiative to make Phoenix, including Ahwatukee, among the nation’s healthiest communities

In 2015, FitPHX provided services to nearly 14,000 participants and raised $350,000 to support its programming. One example is the Meet Me Downtown

Phoenix 5K walk/run, held Mondays year-round.

Fiesta Bowl luncheon features Holtz, May

The Fiesta Bowl’s sold-out luncheon will feature legendary coach Lou Holtz and ESPN’s Mark May as keynote speakers.

Arizona Cardinal Bertrand Berry will serve as the emcee. The fourth annual Lovitt & Touché Fiesta Bowl Kickoff Luncheon, presented by Western Refining, is Aug. 31 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.

D-backs Foundation, Safelite donate bikes

The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, Safelite Auto Glass and Phoenix Fire Department donated 100 bikes and helmets to kids at the Boys and Girls Club recently.

In addition, members from the Phoenix Fire Department were on site to teach kids about bike helmet safety and escort kids through a bike safety obstacle course.

New Coach for MP girl’s basketball

New Mountain Pointe girls basketball coach Justin Hager has been putting the team through its paces on a new system.

“My coaching philosophy is character, integrity and making these kids into young woman who are cohesive and can work together to reach a certain goal,” he said. “Basketball is just a piece to drive them into the next game of their life. It’s a game of life, that’s what I am trying to prepare them for.”

The players have enjoyed the transition to their new coach and his new system.

“He is a great guy, he really knows what he is doing,” said Bailey Osmer, a senior guard. “He has put in a lot of stuff that is different to help us out and we are really moving forward as a group.”

After going to the second round of the state championships last year and getting a new coach with an impressive history, the team has generated high expectations for the coming season.

“It is a great challenge for everyone.

Ultimately, your first goal is to win your section and win a region but our goal is to improve individually and as a team from last year,” said Hager. “The past is the past, this is a new challenge for me and I am excited about it but we have a lot of work to do.”

Added Osmer: “There are a lot of expectations on us because of how far we made it last year, were trying to go to state this year.”

For Mountain Pointe to make a deep run into the state championships, Osmer said early success is key.

“It is really important, we need to be ready and know what we are doing and have it be smooth here on out.”

– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow @AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.

Life Events

Obituaries

PETTON, Lucia "Lucille" Mae

Peacefully passed away on Saturday, June 18th, in the comfort of her Phoenix home at the age of 92 She was surrounded by family Lucille was born in Chicago, IL to the late John and Mildred Truncale on August 17th 1923 She lived in Addison, IL until she retired to Arizona in 1989

Lucille loved family above all else and was considered "the angel" of her neighborhood in Phoenix for all of the help she provided her friends She enjoyed crossword puzzles, reading, garage sales, and a good episode of Matlock, of course She attributed her long life to a glass of brandy every night

Michelene (Richard) Imbordino; four grandchildren, Steve, Jamie, David, and Emma; and three great grandchildren, Lia, Brooke, and Ryan

A memorial service will be held on Friday, the 24th, at Green Acres in Scottsdale at 10:30am The family requests donations to the American Lung Association or American Red Cross in lieu of any flowers

Classifieds

The Place “To Find” Everything You Need | Ahwatukee.com Click on Marketplace Ahwatukee Foothills News

Deadlines

Classifieds: Monday 11am for Wednesday Life Events: Friday 10am for Wednesday

Available: The Home Depot, Homedepot com, & Hardware Store

KILL SCORPIONS!

Buy Harris Scorpion Spray

Indoor/Outdoor use, odorless, long lasting Great results begin when spray dries

Available: The Home Depot, Homedepot com

Miscellaneous For Sale

Men New & Used Tommy Bahama Caribbean etc Camp shirts, sweaters, jackets, sweat suits, Sizes LG-3X, mostly 2X Starting @ $10 If interested Call Pam 480-213-0355

Garage/Doors

Window Cleaning

Meetings/Events

Legislative

Democrats

Meetings/Events

Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of each month from 7-8:30 p For location and details, visit www ld18 democrats.org/meetings. The public is welcome

Ahwatukee Foothills Friends and Neighbors (AFFAN) is a women s organization dedicated to cultivating friendships, and goodwill AFFAN promotes social charitable and educational events all year long AFFAN holds monthly luncheon meetings with varied speakers We offer over 40 monthly activities including Book Clubs, Canasta, Bunco, Euchre and Bridge Other monthly activities are Dining Out, Stitch and Chat Explore Arizona and Garden Club Significant others/ spouses can attend some events For more info contact Teresa Akrish Phone 480-518-5788, teresaakrish@gmail com

Check our website at affanwomensclub com

Sponsored

com

AHWATUKEE TEA PARTY

General Meeting Notice Quality Inn Hotel Desert Meeting Rm 5121 E LaPuenta Ave 51st St /Elliot-Ahwatukee

Meetings/Events

Aegis Hospice Grief/Loss Support Group

We meet 6 pm on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month

Legacy Funeral Home: 1722 N Banning St Mesa Refreshments provided Contact: Rick Wesley 480-219-4790 rick@ aegishospice com

The Ahwatukee Republican Women s Club (ARW) General meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) at the Four Points by Sheraton South Mountain, 10831 S 51st St Phoenix 85044 Social Networking begins at 6:30 PM and the meeting (program) begins at 7:00 PM Additional info contact ARWomen@aol com

Visit our website at www ahwatukee republican women com

AHWATUKEE AL-ANON family group invites you to meetings every Mon 7:15 PM at Corpus Christi Church on 3550 E Knox Wed 8:00 PM at Community Center, 4700 Warner Rd , Fri "Women s only" 9:00 AM at Mountian View Luthern Church 11022 S 48th St , Sat "Men's stag" 12PM at Mountian View Luthern Church 11022 S 48th St Rita 480-496-4535

GROWING TOGETHER

Meetings are held on the 3rd Thurdsday of each month Doors open at 6:30p, meeting starts at 7pm Public is invited!

EMAIL info@tukee teaparty com

That's the motto of The Ahwatukee Community Garden Project Get your hands dirty while learning about desert gardening Join us every Sunday morning starting at 8