WEDNESDAY,
AUGUST 24, 2016
Today: High 102, Low 81, Sunny
Tomorrow: High 104, Low 81, Sunny
Two more Ahwatukee homes sold for more than $1 million each. RE1
Club West Golf Course could lose water. p13
Ahwatukee man fought PTSD for years. p19
GOP senate hopefuls make last pitch. p27
Neighbors p3
Community p19
Around AF p22
Opinion p26
Faith p39
GetOut p41
Sports/Rec p47
Classified p53
By Paul Maryniak
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
ALEX is driving users crazy.
Since a new contractor took over operation of the popular Ahwatukee circulator bus on July 1, some riders say they’ve experienced frustration as buses miss stops, arrive too early or too late, go the wrong way on routes and even get lost in subdivisions.
Commuters are blaming inexperienced drivers, who they say sometimes are reading route maps as they
drive along Ahwatukee streets.
The 16-seat buses follow a 40-mile route through Ahwatukee from as far north as 48th Street and Piedmont Road to as far west as Desert Foothills Park.
“It strands people all over that route,” said David Mota of Ahwatukee, adding that he has filed more than a dozen complaints with the operator, Transdev. “I see plenty of elderly people or people with disabilities just waiting because the bus never shows. It’s screwing them.”
>> See BUS USERS on page 6
By Paul Maryniak
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
As a federal judge dealt a major setback to opponents of the South Mountain Freeway, new concerns about the controversial thoroughfare have shifted the focus more from whether it should be built to how it will.
Those concerns prompted several angry outbursts Monday at the Village Planning Committee meeting when a standing-room-only crowd of about 300 people several times booed an Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman and loudly applauded a group of six Gila River Indian Community residents who performed a native dance condemning the project.
While the Gila contingent vowed to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop construction of a highway they said defiles land they consider sacred, several Ahwatukee residents accused Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration of planning to “go cheap” with the most expensive highway construction project in state history.
“Get more money from Ducey and do a better job,” one audience member yelled. “Don’t screw us on it so you and the contractor can save money.”
The audience members grew
>> See FREEWAY on page 8
The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.
1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219, Tempe, AZ, 85282
CONTACT INFORMATION
Main number: 480-898-7900
Circulation service: 480-898-7900
PUBLISHER:
Steve T. Strickbine
STAFF
Sales Director:
Scott Stowers, 480-898-5624, scott@timespublications.com
National Advertising Director Zac Reynolds 480-898-5603 zac@ahwatukee,com
National Account Coordinator: Patty Dixie 480-898-5940, pdixie@ahwatukee.com
Advertising Sales Representatives: Karen Mays, 480-898-7909, kmays@ahwatukee.com
Laura Meehan, 480-898-7904, lmeehan@ahwatukee.com
Classified: Elaine Cota, 480-898-7926, ecota@ahwatukee.com
Circulation Director: Aaron Kolodny 480-898-5641, aaron@azintegratedmedia.com
NEWS
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, 480-898-5614, 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, 480-898-5644, rcarlton@timespublications.com
News Advertising Designer: Christy Byerly 480-898-5651 cbyerly@evtrib.com
Reporters:
Jim Walsh, 480-898-5639 jwalshe@timespublications.com
Mike Butler, 480-898-5630 mbutler@ahwatukee.com
Prep Sports Director: Jason P. Skoda, 480-898-7915, jskoda@ahwatukee.com
Photographers: Will Powers, 480-898-5646, wpowers@timespublications.com
Cheryl Haselhorst, 480-898-7900, chaselhorst@timespublications.com
Write a letter
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.
Editorial content
The Ahwatukee Foothills News expresses its opinion. Opinions expressed in guest commentaries, perspectives, cartoons or letters to the editor are those of the author.
Advertising content
The content and claims of any advertisement are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ahwatukee Foothills News assumes no responsibility for the claims or content of any advertisement.
© Strickbine Publishing, Inc.
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
Ahwatukee is home to the newest person in the Guinness World Book of Records.
On Aug. 13, Asha Gopal, founder and director of Arathi School of Dance made the world-renown record book with her 200th student graduation in a special type of Indian classical dance.
This graduation, called arangetrem, follows years of training that are similar to how a karate devotee earns a black belt. The word “arangetram” is Tamil for “ascending the stage by a dancer on the completion of formal training.”
It requires the understanding of classical music and many aspects of dancing so the graduate dancer can now pass on the art form to other aspiring learners of the art.
The 200th student, Divya Mohanraj, 15, started dancing when she was 5 and her training lasted a bit longer than the average seven to nine years it usually involves. She attends BASIS in Chandler.
Gopal, an Ahwatukee resident for 20 years, also was recognized for her milestone by a Guinness World Records representative when Divya performed at the Chandler Center for the Arts. The two-and-a-half-hour dance itself requires four costume changes.
Gopal, who began teaching in 1981 and now teaches at studios in north Phoenix, Gilbert, Chandler, Sedona, Las Vegas and Tucson, said students who reach Divya’s status spend most of their training in group sessions. “When a student is ready for graduation, I’ll give private lessons a year before,” she said.
To complete that training, Gopal said, a student needs “fitness, determination, and concentration” and must practice six to eight hours a week to get good enough to graduate.
She said students initially come to her because their parents “think the kids should learn the art and culture of India through dance, since dance teaches them the stories of our epics—the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
“Later on the students get interested in learning this art form,” she added.
Although girls comprise the bulk of her classes, some boys become students as well.
“My oldest student that I’m currently teaching is in her 20s,” Gopal said. “Some of my older, graduate students have started teaching in different parts of the U.S. Also, I have a few who teach in my school here.”
A dancer herself for 45 years, Gopal said she learned the
>> See NEIGHBORS on page 7
By Srianthi Perera AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
U.S. Senate hopeful Ann Kirkpatrick told a group of Hispanic activists that the Dream Act is one of the main pillars of her political platform.
“We’ve got to get that done. We can’t have a strong, diverse and stable economy without having that done. One of the reasons I ran for Congress was to do that,” Kirkpatrick said during a roundtable meeting in Tempe recently.
“In the State Legislature, they were trying to put some patchwork bills to address some of my concerns. There has to be a better solution” she added.
Responding to an activist who said that she was “dismayed” at how certain leaders have approached the immigration issue, Kirkpatrick said it is important to hear immigrants’ stories.
“I think it’s so important those stories are heard and told because it puts a human dimension to the problem. We are just tearing families apart,” she said.
The native Arizonan and resident of Flagstaff addressed building a better education system, water needs and environmental protection during the meeting.
Kirkpatrick was raised in the rural White Mountains area of Arizona. She said that’s why agriculture and protecting the environment are vital to her.
“When I was a kid, there was a thriving timber industry. We have seen that industry collapse in the area where I grew up,” she said, adding that building a strong, diverse and stable economy in Arizona is dear to her heart.
“We’ve gone through so many boom and bust cycles. The most recent was the construction bust. What I want to do is empower small
businesses, entrepreneurs and people to come up with good ideas for business and diversify our economy and provide stability that way,” she said.
If she wins a Senate seat, she plans to get on national committees for transportation, infrastructure and agriculture. She noted that although agriculture is an important sector in
Arizona, the state hasn’t had a member in an agriculture committee since 1952.
Kirkpatrick is against uranium mining in the Grand Canyon.
“It will contrast with my opponent John McCain, who wants to lift the ban,” she said. “I want the ban to be permanent.”
– Contact Srianthi Perera at 480-898-5613 or srianthi@ahwatukee.com.
Mota, who has been using the free circulator for four years, said part of the problem is that Transdev keeps switching drivers, never giving them a chance to learn the route.
“I think I had the same driver two days in a row just once,” said Mota, who depends on the circulator to get to and from work at one of his jobs. He figures that bus no-shows have cost him about $200 in lost wages at a fitness center that employs him.
“One day I was on a bus and the driver made a wrong turn and ended up in a subdivision,” Mota recalled. “He didn’t know what to do and kept looking at a sheet of paper he had with the route on it.”
Frankie Woodard, who uses the circulator to take her to a bus that goes to downtown Phoenix, where she works in the county assessor’s office, said the chaotic service hits disabled people and high school students especially hard.
Her two sons, both learning disabled, depend on the bus for simple errands. Now, she says, they’re never sure when the bus will come –or when it will be around to take them home.
“The other day a Desert Vista (High School) student was waiting and the bus never showed,” she recalled, adding that the student eventually found a ride to school, where he was already late for class.
Tempe Union High School District spokeswoman Jill Hanks said neither Desert Vista nor Mountain Pointe High School had received any complaints from students about ALEX.
Both Woodard and Mota said that supervisors are quick to answer their complaints.
“Oh they come out and they always apologize,” Woodard said. “I tell them they promised us the same driver and every day we have a new one who doesn’t know the route. And it can be a confusing route. I told one driver I was so glad he finally got there and he said, ‘You’re lucky to have me.’ I said, ‘I am glad to have you because I didn’t want to walk in the heat.’”
Transdev describes itself on its website as “the largest private provider of multiple modes of transportation in North America.”
“We provide safe and sustainable mobility solutions under contract to cities, transit authorities, counties, airports, companies and universities. We operate 200 contracts in bus, rail, paratransit, shuttle and taxi services,” the company adds.
Under a contract through 2020 that pays $985,000 annually, Transdev operates about 70 percent of the city’s bus service and operates out of the closest city-owned garage to the ALEX route, according to Lars Jacoby, spokesman for the Phoenix Public Transit Department.
On July 1, Transdev took over ALEX while the former operator, MV Transportation, assumed operation of the city’s Dial-A-Ride
service, taking the ALEX drivers with it.
“Having Transdev operate the ALEX route is more in line with the Transdev contract, which includes local and RAPID service, as well as the Sunnyslope (SMART) and downtown (DASH) circulators,” Jacoby said.
Transdev declined comment when contacted by the Ahwatukee Foothills News, and its chief corporate spokeswoman said the company was deferring to the city on questions about ALEX complaints.
Jacoby said that Valley Metro Customer Service has logged 50 ALEX complaints from 35 callers since July 1. During that time, the service desk has received 4,286 complaints
from people who use all of its buses. Mota and Woodard said their complaints are acknowledged but lead nowhere.
“In the beginning we tried helping the drivers,” Mota said. “In the last two days, one guy told me I could get off the bus and take the next one when I tried to give him directions. Another bus driver got all mouthy with me and threatened to throw me out. Fortunately, a supervisor was following the bus and she knew he wasn’t stopping where he was supposed to.”
“It’s gotten beyond shaking-your-head territory,” Mota added. “Where they get these drivers from, I don’t know. Management put
>>
>> From page 6
no effort in this transition whatsoever.”
Woodard said that they always apologize.
“I told them, ‘I don’t want to hear your apologies. With an apology there should be an action and the action is you’re not servicing Ahwatukee,’” Woodard said.
Jacoby acknowledged that there has been a transition period with Transdev and their drivers have had a learning curve of a new route in a part of the city that the contractor has not serviced before.
During this time, Transdev did find that some of the complaints were merited and has worked with their staff on familiarization of the route and times.”
Jacoby added that city staff audits the company’s performance and that in July, the ALEX on-time performance was 92 percent. By
comparison, Jacoby said, MV Transportation’s on-time performance fluctuated from 90 to 98 percent over its last six months of the contract.
Discussions are ongoing about operations and how Phoenix and the contractor can improve service to riders, according to Jacoby.
He said complaints about missed stops appear to involve stops that are not published as part of the ALEX route and likely at the request of certain riders.
“Transdev is adhering to the published route map and schedule, which is the direction city staff supports,” he added.
Still, Jacoby said, the city and Transdev want to make sure ALEX runs smoothly.
“Customer service is always paramount to Phoenix Transit and our contractors,” he said.
Jacoby said that in an effort to connect with ALEX riders, Transdev will be sending staff out along the route in the coming days to answer questions and collect comments.
–Reach Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com.
>> From page 3
art form because of “my passion for dance.”
“When I came to the U.S., I wanted to continue to dance and teach,” she said. “Also, I’m gratified seeing that many of the students bonding with our art and culture in a foreign land. And, very importantly, they
have acquired the fortitude to pass it on to the next generation.”
Know Ahwatukee people doing noteworthy things? Send your information to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com or call Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647.
>> From page 1
Zuercher also raised concerns about a proposed redesign of the 51st Avenue and Estrella Drive interchange. Previous designs had the freeway going beneath those thoroughfares.
particularly irate when ADOT spokesman Brock Barnhart kept referring people to the department’s website each time they had questions. Residents asked whether the freeway would be depressed below grade level or elevated, how high sound-suppression walls would be and whether the state would even listen to their concerns about its design.
“We want a highway that looks like the freeways in the East Valley,” one resident shouted. “Tell Ducey to spend some money.”
Even though Barnhart repeatedly reminded the audience that ADOT would discuss the freeway’s design at a citizens meeting Sept. 27 at Desert Vista High School, one woman yelled, “You should be embarrassed” over the lack of concrete information.
And planning committee member Mike Maloney asked, “If we’re gonna live with it, how are you gonna make it livable?”
The planning committee meeting came in the wake of Friday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa. She declared that the Gila tribe and Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children had failed to prove that the freeway posed a threat to children’s health or that it threatened sacred land on South Mountain.
ADOT immediately said it would begin some construction activity within the next few weeks around the intersection of I-10 and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway, removing native plants along the right of way for transplanting later.
The 22-mile freeway, which ADOT says has a “fixed” $916 million contract, will provide a diversion around central Phoenix for I-10 traffic in both directions.
Two days before Humetawa’s ruling, Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher wrote a strong letter of protest to ADOT over design changes that put the freeway at grade level. Several Ahwatukee and South Phoenix streets will cross over it at elevations ranging from 17 to 28 feet above grade.
Those streets include Elliot, Dobbins and Broadway roads, Southern Avenue, Desert Foothills Parkway, 17th Avenue, and 24th Street.
“We have very serious concerns about the proposed revisions to the traffic interchanges in the most recent design plans,” Zuercher wrote ADOT Director John Halikowski, saying that the redesign demonstrated “conflicts with the official values, goals and objectives voted upon by both the City Council and Phoenix residents.
Zuercher said the redesign “will negatively impact our efforts to advance community connectivity, bicycle, pedestrian and disabled access and mobility, accessibility to bus transit stations, alignment of infrastructure with land use designations and maximum access to economic development and growth opportunities.”
Two City Council members issued glowing press releases within hours after the federal court ruling.
Councilman Michael Nowakowski said the ruling “means this long-overdue economic development and transportation project finally can move forward,” while Vice Mayor Kate Gallego said the freeway “will usher in transformative long-range economic development for the city and region.”
Councilman Sal DiCiccio vehemently disagreed when asked about his colleague’s press releases.
“I have donated to the efforts stopping the freeway and will continue to oppose it,” he said, stressing “the city of Phoenix has virtually no impact on the freeway. It is a state project. And governed and directed by the state of Arizona.”
Tom Remes, the city’s newly appointed “freeway coordination manager,” encouraged audience members to send him their concerns and promised to take them to ADOT.
Remes, city Streets Department representative Eileen Yazzie and planning committee Chairman Chad Blostone also echoed Barnhart’s insistence that residents had numerous opportunities over the next few months to voice their concerns and impact the freeway’s final design, which could be rolled out in November or December.
Asked about Zuercher’s letter by the
Ahwatukee Foothills News, ADOT issued a statement that said the department had met with him Monday.
Although the ADOT statement made no mention of what was discussed, it said, “Phoenix has been a close partner in the planning, development and design of the South Mountain Freeway for many years, and we look forward to the continued strength of that partnership as we move into the construction phase.
“As this is a fast-paced construction project, ADOT will rely on strong partnerships to keep the community informed, involved and engaged throughout the three-year construction process,” it continued. “Partnerships with neighborhood organizations, schools, community groups and the city will help this to be a successful project, meeting the community’s expectations while addressing the demands of traffic.”
The Gila tribe contingent entered the meeting carrying several large signs condemning the freeway.
Two members of the group, Linda Allen and Phil Morales, drew several loud rounds of applause in separate addresses to the committee.
“The freeway is genocide for our people,” Allen said, nearly breaking down in tears as she told the committee how the freeway would trample sacred ground and vowed, “We are going to keep fighting it.”
Morales told the audience that the tribe believed God lived in South Mountain and that the freeway was a desecration.
“This is our sanctuary. This is our cathedral,” Morales said. “We’re going to lay down our lives in front of those damned bulldozers.”
He then broke into a chant in his native tongue and shook a maraca as he and five other tribe members held hands and danced in a circle in front of the committee. When they finished, the audience cheered wildly and applauded.
There are several ways residents and business can learn about the South Mountain Freeway and register their observations and concerns.
• azdot.gov/SouthMountainFreeway: This site gives people the option of signing up for freeway updates. Contact information also is provided.
• thomas.remes@phoenix.gov: This is the email for the City of Phoenix’ new freeway coordination manager.
•Ahwatukee.com: read past Ahwatukee Foothills News stories on the freeway.
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
South Mountain Freeway opponents are preparing to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Their effort to persuade a federal judge to stop construction on the freeway was struck down on Friday. Both the Gila River Indian Community and Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children have bitterly criticized U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa’s 35-page decision.
Humetewa gave the Arizona Department of Transportation the green light to begin construction of the 22-mile freeway after ruling GRIC and PARC had failed to prove any of their arguments for shutting down the long-delayed project.
Those arguments included assertions that pollution from freeway traffic threatened children who attend 15 schools within a half mile of the right-of-way, and that South Mountain land considered sacred by the tribe would be devastated.
Spokespersons for the plaintiffs also said they would seek an injunction barring construction until the appeal is decided — possibly well into next year or 2018.
ADOT director John Halikowski called the ruling “a clear victory for the region, which will benefit from a new transportation corridor and, with it, the economic development that will follow.” He said ADOT would begin moving plants from the freeway’s path next month, starting around the intersection of the Loop 200 Santan Freeway and I-10.
“This east-west alternative will connect people with employment, entertainment and educational centers in parts of the Phoenix metropolitan area that are projected to see considerable growth,” Halikowski said, adding that his department had developed “the most extensive environmental review of any highway project to date in Arizona.”
PARC president Pat Lawlis criticized the decision, accusing the court of giving too much discretion to ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration in applying environmental and other regulations.
“The laws might as well not exist if the agencies are permitted to use discretion to the point of ignoring the intent of the applicable laws,” she said, suggesting the judge had bowed to political pressure in the case.
GRIC Gov. Stephen R. Lewis said the freeway “will destroy parts of South Mountain that for centuries have been among the community’s most important and sacred natural resources.”
“This freeway will wipe out or significantly alter trails, shrines and archaeological sites that are significant cultural resources for the community and our members,” he added.
“To say our people are disappointed hardly expresses how deeply we feel about the
potential loss of this sacred mountain range ...
“This is not a struggle where we will simply accept defeat and lie down. This land is absolutely sacred to our community,” Lewis said.
Opponents had argued several points in front of Humetewa at a hearing in May.
The plaintiffs charged that highway officials had identified the route they wanted 30 years ago, then fashioned an environmental impact study that ignored any areas that might be adversely impacted by the freeway.
“They came into this process knowing they wanted to build the South Mountain Freeway, and that’s what they came out of it with,” PARC attorney Howard Shanker told the judge.
Shanker also asserted that ADOT ignored any suggested alternate routes or even alternatives to building a new thoroughfare in the first place.
“They’ve eliminated every single modality other than a freeway, and they’ve eliminated every other freeway but the South Mountain Freeway,” he said.
Shanker also cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s concerns about how ADOT used data to maintain that traffic pollution posed no harm to children.
He then argued that ADOT also had done little to study the impact of hazardous waste emergencies that would result from accidents involving some of the estimated 60,000 to 70,000 trucks that will use the freeway in
Ahwatukee, which will divert truck traffic away from downtown Phoenix.
Arguing on behalf of the Gila Tribe, attorney David Rosenbaum contended that ADOT’s impact study failed to consider alternative routes that would not harm the Indian community’s “continuum of life.”
“The South Mountains continue to be a focus for tribal tradition and ceremony and contain petroglyph sites, shrines, trails, named places in traditional stories and traditional resources,” he explained.
But Humetewa ruled that federal regulations do not require highway agencies to consider all alternatives to a freeway path and that ADOT had screened a number of alternatives posed by a citizens advisory group that included PARC members.
“The court finds little support for plaintiffs’ arguments that the range of alternatives considered was insufficient due to a narrowly stated purpose and need,” she wrote. “Nor is the court persuaded that any other alleged deficiencies in the alternatives analysis asserted by the plaintiffs rise to the level of being arbitrary or capricious.”
The judge also disagreed with the allegation that ADOT intentionally included reservation land in its study to minimize the impact of pollution on children.
“The areas where the analyses were conducted are areas where both children and adults are located, including schools, day care centers, homes and businesses,” she said, saying she was satisfied the environmental study showed “the freeway project will not disproportionately affect children’s health.”
“This court will not second-guess the agencies’ decision so long as there is adequate support in the record for that decision,” she wrote.
In rejecting the GRIC arguments, the judge said alternatives to going through South Mountain would adversely affect other freeways and “would cause extensive residential and business displacements without addressing regional demand and current and project (highway) system deficiencies.”
By Jim Walsh AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
LISTED FOR $439,900
Meticulously cared-for single level 2,550 sf home that backs to a plush greenbelt! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, split master floor plan. Open kitchen-family room concept. Kitchen boasts granite slab counters, Blanco extra deep sink, custom painted cabinetry with trendy hardware and island/breakfast bar. Gorgeous travertine flooring. Backyard has sparkling pebble tec pool, grass area, built in gas BBQ, citrus trees and covered patio. Extensive
Impeccably
Freshly painted exterior including block wall and pool fence. Baseboards freshly painted in 2016. Call me for a FREE
LISTED FOR $195,000
Upgraded home on spectacular golf course lot! Incredible view of the golf course! 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1,526 sf home. Kitchen boasts granite-look counter tops and trendy white kitchen cabinetry with upgraded hardware. Newer carpet and wood burning fireplace. No popcorn ceilings! Master bedroom has large closets and master bathroom has step-in shower. Situated in a quiet cul-de-sac.
When Kyrene Altadena Middle School Principal James Martin heard reports of students yelling profanities and knocking items off the shelves at a nearby Safeway supermarket, he recognized an opportunity to educate beyond the classroom.
So instead of punishing the undetermined number of students involved in the incident, Martin is focusing on getting a message to the entire student body on the need for responsibility and appropriate behavior on and off campus.
Martin initially verified reports of the Aug. 5 incident on the Ahwatukee 411 Facebook page, then met with Safeway’s managers and owners of other nearby businesses that Altadena students typically patronize, including a convenience store, a fast-food restaurant, and a frozen-yogurt shop — all near Chandler Boulevard and Desert Foothills Parkway.
Martin gave his card to the business operators and asked them to contact him if there were problems with students.
He and other administrators started taking turns visiting the businesses after school on Wednesday and Fridays as part of a collaborative plan with Phoenix Police Officer John Harpster, Altadena’s school resource officer.
Meanwhile, intercom announcements about the incident stressed the importance of behaving responsibly off campus and a letter about the incident was sent to parents.
“While we are disappointed that some of our students exhibited inappropriate behavior at Safeway, we are viewing this as an opportunity for growth,’’ Martin wrote in the letter to parents.
“We have addressed this on our morning
announcements, and will be having members of our administrative team work with the Safeway staff to make ensure that an incident like this doesn’t happen again,’’ Martin continued.
Martin said there have been no additional incidents reported since the Aug. 2 disturbance, which occurred after school. The Safeway is within walking distance of Altadena.
No police report was filed about the incident. A Safeway spokeswoman declined comment and said store managers would not speak about the disturbance, even though Martin praised Safeway officials for their willingness to work with educators in their response to the incident.
Martin said Harpster is working with Safeway to obtain surveillance footage from that afternoon, just in case some discipline might be warranted.
But the focus is on education.
“We feel that it is important that we teach and reinforce expectations,’’ Martin said in an interview. “It’s one of support rather than punishment.’’
Martin said his approach was influenced by the writing of a Stanford University educator, who focuses on the need for a “growth mindset.’’ She focuses on the “power of yet,’’ such as striving to reach a goal or make improvements in life, rather than “the tyranny of now,’’ where people have entrenched positions and refuse to learn.
Martin believe the growth mindset is a perfect fit for his students, who are sixththrough eighth-graders, generally ranging of 11 to 14 years old.
“We think it’s important that we grow together in this and teach our students to demonstrate appropriate behavior,’’ Martin said.
By Emily Zentner CRONKITE NEWS
WASHINGTON – Arizona won praise in a recent report for its program linking preschool teachers with training and scholarships, even as the report said low wages for those teachers could make such systems an exercise in futility.
The Early Childhood Workforce Index said that low wages and varying standards in most states make it difficult to provide quality education in daycare and preschool settings.
The report by the University of California found that wages for preschool teachers and childcare workers in Arizona fell by 5 percent from 2010 to 2015, a drop that was typical for the nation.
But the report also recognized Arizona’s progress in the category of workforce data, thanks to the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry, the website set up by Arizona First Things First to link teachers with scholarships and professional development opportunities.
“It helps so much,” said Amanda Schweitzer, a childcare provider in Arizona with the Association of Supportive Childcare. “It kind of gave me a support system with guidance and professional development.
“It’s probably the best thing that’s happened in Arizona for early childhood educators,” she said.
To sign up, educators enter information in the registry about their employment and education. The database uses that information to connect them with courses that can help fill in any gaps they may have in their training.
“They can plan their professional development training to make sure they’re receiving all the training they need to help the children,” said Dawn Wilkinson, a professional development systems specialist at First Things First.
Marcy Whitebrook, one of the authors of the index, praised the system but worried that any gains it achieves could be eroded by the poor wages in the industry.
In addition to falling wages, the reported cited a study by The Brookings Institute’s Hamilton Project that said early childhood education was among the lowest-earning college majors, along with social work, home economics, theology, fine arts and elementary education.
“We’re filling a bucket with a hole in it,” Whitebrook said. “All the people we’re investing in are kind of falling through that hole.”
But she said that providing quality early childhood education in the face of low wages is a challenge faced by most states. She and her co-authors made their observations “fully aware that people in Arizona … are working very hard to have quality early childhood education.”
Whitebrook said that in order to “get effective teachers they absolutely need effective training” programs like Arizona’s registry. But focusing on training alone does not address the core problems the system faces, she said.
“It’s not sufficient because even if you’re well-trained but you work in an environment where there’s not enough teachers or not time for planning or you’re not getting breaks, it won’t matter,” Whitebrook said.
But Wilkinson said the data from the registry would play a key role in allowing Arizona to make these other changes Whitebrook called for –just not yet
Since the system was launched in July 2015, about 16,000 people have enrolled, Wilkinson said. For the past year, First Things First worked to encourage educators to enroll in the registry and take advantage of the services offered by it.
But now, Wilkinson said they’re beginning to use the data to inform policy decisions with accurate information about wages, education levels and other areas of concern.
“Once we have the data, then we’ll really get the true picture,” she said. “Moving forward, we’re going to be analyzing the data and working with our state partners.”
She said that this – along with First Things First’s scholarship and bonus programs – are part of a “huge shift of thinking for everyone” to treat early childhood as a public good.
Despite the challenges, Schweitzer said that First Things First’s efforts leave her optimistic about the future of her career in early childhood education.
“It gives me a lot of hope that if I do my part, Arizona will do their part,” she said.
By Jim Walsh AHWATUKEE FOOTHILS NEWS WRITER
Tempe parks officials are looking at the uncertainty of golf’s future in Ahwatukee as a potential opportunity to attract more golfers to the city-owned Ken McDonald and Rolling Hills municipal golf courses.
“The hope is that the golf course closings will add some increased business,’’ said Craig Hayton, Tempe’s parks manager.
During a meeting with Tempe’s Parks, Recreation, Golf and Double Butte Cemetery Advisory Board last week, Hayton discussed several possible ways of improving the condition of Ken McDonald, an 18-hole course on Rural Road, north of Elliot Road.
Built in 1974 and named after a former Tempe city manager, Ken McDonald has traditionally been a popular option with value-conscious golfers seeking to avoid pricey winter greens fees at privately owned golf courses.
The proposed improvements include replacing common Bermuda grass with a hybrid Bermuda grass and spacing out tee times from every seven to eight minutes to every 10 minutes, hoping to cut slow playing conditions that plague many golf courses. The hybrid grass has a deeper green color and is more disease resistant.
“It is a very competitive market, especially
in the off season,’’ Hayton said, during a presentation that outlined the higher number of rounds played in the winter months. “We may have more rounds coming at a time when we are already busy.’’
Hayton said the number of rounds increased slightly during the 2015-2016 fiscal year, to 63,309 from 63,232 during the 2014-2015 fiscal year. A bar graph showed a stable number of rounds played during the past four years.
Although Hayton said he is pleased that Ken McDonald and Rolling Hills get an 83 percent approval rating from golfers on the golfnow. com web site, he noted that while the layout and value of Ken McDonald are generally cited as strengths, golfers cite the condition as both as strength and weakness.
“Overall for the price I paid I feel I got a decent value, but I hope the course is in better shape by the time rates increase in the fall,’’ one golfer wrote on golfnow.com, a website used to make tee times.
Board members suggested more rangers to encourage faster play and protect the course from damage, a 90-degree cart path rule and even drawing circles around pins to cut down on the number of putts.
“I have never seen a ranger out there,’’ vice chair Fred Wood said.
Tempe parks officials plan to propose to
the board at next month’s meeting the use of a public-private partnership to renovate the aging clubhouse.
Hayton’s hopes of attracting more Ahwatukee golfers with improvements at Ken McDonald, and the installation of a new irrigation system this summer at Rolling Hills, appear mostly theoretical.
Consternation about the future of golf in Ahwatukee, a community built with subdivisions centered around four golf courses, has been growing since the closure Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Club in 2013 by former owner Wilson Gee.
Gee turned off the water, causing lakes to dry up and fairways and greens to wither and die. The once popular executive course turned into a controversial eyesore and was eventually sold to True Life Companies, which has proposed a redevelopment plan to turn it into Ahwatukee Farms.
True Life bought Ahwatukee Lakes from Gee in 2014 for $8.25 million. Residents filed suit to enforce the deed restrictions. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in July that the deed restrictions require that the property be operated as a golf course.
The deed restrictions pose a considerable hurdle to the controversial redevelopment plan, which features as many as 300 new homes, a
community garden, a private school and a cafe. True Life would need to convince more than 50 percent of 5,600 homeowners to consent to a change in the deed restrictions.
Ahwatukee’s golf controversy compounded when the Club West Homeowners Association filed suit against four companies connected with Gee, accusing them of “not operating the golf course at the contractually required level equal or exceeding other upscale public golf courses.’’
Citing his skyrocketing $700,000 water bill, Gee stopped watering the fairways, which quickly turned brown, and cut back watering of greens and tees during the slow summer season.
Phoenix City Council member Sal DiCiccio, an outspoken opponent of Gee, worries that Ahwatukee’s string of courses could “fall like dominos,’’ replacing coveted open space with thousands of apartments and new homes, damaging property values and the quality of life.
But Gee has vowed to keep the three courses he still owns -- Foothills, Ahwatukee Country Club and Club West -- operating as golf courses.
“I don’t know where he gets that,’’ Gee told the Ahwatukee Foothills News. “It’s not true at all. Foothills, Ahwatukee Country Club and Club West will always be golf course.’’
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Phoenix is threatening to shut off the water to the Club West golf course over unpaid bills, but the owner says he’ll settle up by fall. There were conflicting reports late last week as to whether the water had already been shut off, with Save Club West leader Jim Lindstrom saying he’d been told a cutoff was imminent and City Councilman Sal DiCiccio saying that as long as owner Wilson Gee continues to negotiate with the city Water Services Department the water will be left on.
“The (city’s) shutoff date was supposed to be Aug. 1, but we are still trying to work with” Gee, DiCiccio said on Friday. “If he becomes nonresponsive again, then the shutoff date will be next week.”
But Gee told the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Monday, “Every year since I’ve owned it, we’ve always been late and we’ve always paid it by season’s end.”
Calling it “standard procedure,” he also said he and city Water Services Department “always talked every week.”
Gee said his water bill is over $700,000 annually. In June, he cut off the water to parts of the course and limited watering other areas.
The Club West homeowners association (HOA) has sued his four companies, claiming the water reduction and other neglect have
turned the course into less than the “first-class golf course” required in the HOA’s covenants, conditions and regulations (CC&Rs).
Lindstrom has organized approximately 400 of the community’s 2,530 homeowners to find a permanent solution to the problem. Options discussed include buying the course if they can find a permanent and less expensive water source.
His group also disagrees with the HOA board’s decision to file suit, contending that it is an expensive measure that won’t result in a longterm solution to the problem of water sourcing.
Lindstrom also is seeking more Club West homeowners to participate in the discussions. Anyone interested can contact him at 480-6561108 or james.lindstrom@cox.net.
The Water Services Department would not comment on Gee’s account status or confirm if negotiations were taking place, citing a policy of keeping accounts confidential.
However, in outlining the typical process for turning off water, department spokeswoman Stephanie Bracken said:
“It takes an average of 88 days for a non-paying customer’s water service to be severed. Under nearly all circumstances, the city is happy to arrange a payment plan for customers who are delinquent. If regular payments are made under the payment plan, the customer can avoid water service severance.”
In outlining the history of the relationship between the water department and Club West golf course’s owners, DiCiccio said that when he was elected in 2009, he discovered that course’s previous owner, Suncor, had an agreement to pay 75 percent less than the normal rate for potable water. That rate is what users pay for reclaimed water.
The city shut down a water reclamation plant that fed the Club West course in the 1990s because of high operating costs and an inability to produce enough water.
That left only more expensive city drinking, or potable, water as the only option for the Club West course.
DiCiccio said he worked with city staff to develop a tiered ramp-up rate that would accelerate over four years with Suncor, but the company had not executed the agreement by the time it sold the course to Gee in 2010.
“Phoenix honored the original agreement with the new owner to continue to provide the reclaimed rate through 2013,” DiCiccio said.
“This was done with the understanding that the owner would be working to find another water source. From our perspective, he did not put in the time required to find this additional water.”
Gee disputed DiCiccio’s comment, saying he has tried several avenues for finding a new source of water.
“I hit two dry wells at considerable expense,”
he said, adding that he also had been turned down by the Gila River Indian Community to purchase water cheaper than what the city charges.
DiCiccio said Gee obtained an extended rate reduction in 2013 for one more year, at his request, but that “this was done with the full understanding that he would be putting in the effort to secure another source of water.”
He said Gee negotiated an agreement to take over the abandoned reclaimed water line to help find a new water source.
“This again was done with the full understanding he would dedicate all his efforts to finding another source of water,” DiCiccio said. “Once again, we believe he did not take the necessary steps and work to make this happen.”
But Gee contended he has run out of alternatives for finding a new source of cheaper water.
After the city began charging him the full potable water rate in September 2014, Gee requested a chance to work out a payment plan. He and the city agreed to one, according to DiCiccio.
“The city does not stop water services to customers unless they don’t make their payments or violate the terms of their agreement,” DiCiccio said, adding, “In each case the owner has blamed someone else for this failure.”
By Jonathan Saxon CRONKITE NEWS
RIO DE JANEIRO — Can a gold medal be used as seed to grow the field for golf? Newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose of Great Britain hopes so.
He thought that his hard fought victory over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in Rio would raise golf’s profile globally and could go a long way toward drawing a younger crowd to the game.
The diminished popularity of golf has been partly linked to the controversy involving two of Ahwatukee’s four golf course communities. The owners of the golf courses at the center of those communities say golf’s waning popularity has made their operation less profitable.
“I think that it brought golf into a context that they could understand,” said Rose, who dueled with Stenson down to the last hole before sinking the birdie putt that gave him the gold. “They may not know what it’s all
about, and the fact that it came down to the final hole, they can identify with that. I think it takes it out of the golf world and brings it into certainly the sports world.”
Rose said he received phone calls from people he had not spoken to in years and messages from others that talked about the effect the constant television coverage had on their children that watched.
“I think it’s just the fact that the Olympics is an event that takes over the world really for a few weeks, and you can’t sort of ignore it,” he said. “You could tell it was just opening their eyes… the Olympic Games.”
Rose became the first Olympic gold medalist in golf since 1904 when he finished 16 strokes under par. Stenson earned a silver medal at 14 under and American Matt Kuchar took home the bronze after finishing the fourround event at 13 under.
According to the National Golf Foundation, the U.S. has averaged about 25 million golfers
over the past three years.
The final round coverage, which was broadcast on NBC and The Golf Channel, produced a 5.6 overnight rating and reached 8.8 million viewers during the 90-minute window that coverage aired on both networks, according to Sports Media Watch. It was the second highest rating for a 90-minute period of the final round of a golf tournament this year, behind only the Masters in April.
These ratings came despite the absence of many of the sport’s top names, including four of the top five golfers: No. 1 Jason Day, No. 2 Dustin Johnson, No. 3 Jordan Spieth, and No. 5 Rory Mcllroy. Other notable absences from the Rio Games include No. 7 Adam Scott, No. 11 Branden Grace and No. 18 Louis Oosthuizen.
International Golf Federation President Peter Dawson couldn’t have been happier with golf’s return to the Olympics. The IGF had been preparing for this moment since
the IOC announced golf’s inclusion in 2009.
“We were always confident because of what so many nations had said to us, that this was important for golf,” he said at a news conference on Monday. “So we put our heart and soul into it, and it is very gratifying that we on so many levels had a successful four days.”
In September 2017, the IOC will meet in Lima, Peru, to evaluate which sports will be included in 2024 and beyond. Dawson is anticipating the questions about golf he will have to field, but believed that Sunday’s action, along with the women’s tournament that began today, will serve as strong evidence for golf’s continued inclusion.
“I think we did some good for the game and we’re going to do that again…when the women play,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll improve the spirit and the enjoyment that people extracted these last four days. That’s what I’ll remember, more than anything else.”
By Srianthi Perera AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
Shopping center owners are heaving collective sighs of relief now that there’s Arizona legislation to curb the practice of haphazardly placing donation bins in their parking lots. But an established non-profit found it “regulation overkill.”
“The state has spoken, and I think that it’s very timely,” said commercial real estate entrepreneur Michael J. Pollack, who owns about 80 shopping centers in the Valley, of which about 35 are in the East Valley.
“I’m very relieved,” said Joel Moyes, founder of Phoenix-based Kinetic Companies, which owns several shopping centers in the East Valley. “We now have clear property rights about what can and cannot be done when one of these bins shows up on our property.”
Senate Bill 1504, which kicked in on Aug. 6, requires donation bin operators to receive signed and notarized permission from a property owner before placing a bin on the property. In addition, the bins must display the name and contact information of its operator and, if not in compliance, property owners are allowed to remove the bins without liability.
Moyes, who is also the Arizona director of the International Council of Shopping Centers, which has 2,000 members statewide, said that he has anecdotal stories to believe that the law is already starting to have an effect.
“Those who want to play by the rules are already taking steps to clearly mark contact information on the bins,” he said. “Those that have those bins placed there right now without permission, I’ve got to believe that they understand that they are on notice.”
The intense competition for donations and the new law, however, are not helping established charitable organizations such as the premier youth mentoring group Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.
President/CEO Laura Capello said that it’s “frustrating” that the non-profit was not given a chance to make its recommendations to the bill’s legislators.
For 25 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has partnered with Savers Thrift stores to help raise funds, and the donation bin program has been one of its mechanisms.
“We have seen the negative media regarding bins, which we generally ignore because we know the criticisms do not pertain to us,” Capello said. “When we place a bin, it is with permission and is well maintained.”
Capello said the law “places an unduly restrictive and onerous conditions on the identity of the person from whom we are trying to get permission.
“This type of regulation will negatively impact our agency, as we already work hard to responsibility manage our bin donation programs,” she said.
The issue was irking property owners for
A bright orange donation bin in the Plaza Mountainside parking lot, southeast of Chandler Boulevard and 40th Streets, complies with the new law. “We just don’t want the state to over regulate to the point where they make it impossible for us to do business,” said Laura Capello, president/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.
a few years.
In advance of the state law, Phoenix, Surprise and Peoria were among Valley cities to pass ordinances of their own. Last December, Chandler considered drafting its own regulations, but did not pursue them.
Fight the Blight estimates that there are more than 7,000 donation bins in metro Phoenix parking lots. Of them, a large share was placed on private property without the permission of the property owner or manager, according to Matthew Benson, a spokesperson.
The group is a broad coalition of Arizona property owners and managers, retailers, philanthropic groups and social services advocates which formed last year.
“One large, steel donation bin typically attracts others. Together, they often become covered in graffiti and act as a magnet for old mattresses, furniture and other debris,” he said. “It’s the last thing you want as a property owner or manager trying to maintain a safe, attractive space for customers and clients.”
– Contact Srianthi Perera at 480-898-5613 or srianthi@ahwatukee.com.
By MikeButler
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
Andrew Miller said he thinks Google’s self-driving cars will be so advanced 15 years from now that his 11-month-old twin daughters won’t even need to learn how to drive.
“It won’t be the coming-of-age event it is now,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”
Miller’s thoughts echoed those of hundreds of other Ahwatukee and East Valley residents who swarmed downtown Chandler’s SoHo63 recently for an opportunity to kick the tires of Google’s self-driving Lexus SUV and ask questions.
Young, old or in-between, they came to embrace the technology, not to fear it.
“They’re not death-bots,” Miller said. “They’re not going to run you down or take your job.”
“I’m excited to be a part of history,” said Angelina Nelson of Gilbert. “We’re all in this together.”
“All I see are benefits,” said her husband, John. “I think it should be mandatory for young people—give them something they can’t wreck.”
Safety is the driving force behind the project, which started in 2009 in Mountain View, California, said Jennifer Haroon, head of business operations for Google’s self-driving car. The program has since spread to Austin, Texas, and Kirkland, Washington. A small fleet of self-driving cars has been cruising Chandler and Ahwatukee streets since April.
Of the more than 35,000 people killed on U.S. roadways last year, she said, 94 percent of the accidents were caused by human error. That’s equal to a 737 crashing every weekday for an entire year, she added.
In the early days of the self-driving program, Haroon said select Google employees were chosen to test the cars on daily commutes to the Mountain View campus. The cars weren’t completely autonomous then; drivers needed
to pay attention when exiting freeways and making other complex maneuvers.
The more the technology improved, the more distracted the employee-drivers became. That’s when Google engineers realized they had to put all their chips on push-button, fully self-driving technology, Haroon said.
Engineers also realized the cars couldn’t possibly be programmed like robots for all of the real-world situations they would encounter. Instead, the cars process data from the 360-degree views they get from their lasers and other sensors to make decisions and learn as they go.
Haroon brought up a you-can’t-make-thisstuff-up example: A Google car once was forced to pause for a woman in an electric wheelchair who was chasing a duck across the road.
The self-driving cars now routinely anticipate and yield to drivers and bicyclists who run yellow/turning-red traffic lights.
Desert testing has been useful for learning about how the cars and technology react to extreme heat and dust, Haroon said. The cars have also had to learn how to cope with flashing yellow turn signals, which they haven’t seen before, and those watering trucks that lurch down left lanes to spray plants in the median.
Google’s 24 Lexus SUVs and 34 prototype vehicles drive an average of 20,000 to 22,000 autonomous miles per week in the four test cities. (Drivers are always ready to take manual control of the vehicles.)
Google used one of the rooms at the wedding and event venue to demonstrate how the lasers “see.” As people milled about the large, darkened room, the lasers instantly plotted their positions as a point cloud on a large monitor.
The room also had stacks of low-tech sticky notes and a “talk back” board where visitors were encouraged to express how they would use a Google self-driving car.
“I’m retired,” one note said. “When I’m unable
Inspire Kids Montessori in Ahwatukee is presenting a special program to get parents to participate in school activities and gain a greater understanding of Montessori early education from the eyes of a child.
Called “The Montessori Silent Journey: An Essential Experience for Parents,” it will be presented 5-7 p.m. Saturday at its campus, 4025 E. Chandler Blvd.
According to school founder
“This presentation is designed to show parents exactly what their child will experience in a Montessori classroom at all levels from infant to preschool, pre-K and kindergarten,” said school founder Diana Darmawaskita.
“Parents will spend time observing classrooms first in silence, then will participate in activities and even kneel to see the classroom from the same height as their child. It helps them understand what a student experiences on a day to day basis,” she added.
The free workshop for parents of Inspire Kids students will include appetizers and wine.
Parents interested in learning more about
the Montessori Method of early education may call (480) 659-9402, or email info@ inspirekidsmontessori.com, to schedule an appointment for a private tour and discovery session at the school Monday through Friday.
Inspire Kids Montessori offers early education programs for ages 6 weeks to 6 years that introduce children to the fundamentals of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), reading, writing, art, music and movement, manners, nature study and social and practical life skills.
Interest in Montessori is surging in popularity after it was recently announced that England’s Prince George would be attending a Montessori nursery, Darmawaskita said.
Inspire Kids Montessori was founded in Ahwatukee in 2010.
It stresses bright classrooms to foster collaborative learning, increased security measures and “Back to Nature” playgrounds.
Information: 480-659-9402,info@ inspirekidsmontessori.com or www. inspirekidsmontessori.com .
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
Ahwatukee mothers of children as young a few months old to 5 years have a chance next month to join their kids in a series of free classes aimed at helping them develop their brains for kindergarten.
Registrations are now being accepted for the Kyrene Early Education Resource Center’s programs, which will be held at Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. Warner-Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee.
Funded by the district and through partnerships that center director Irma Horton has developed with various agencies, the classes are focused on fun and skill building that help young children be ready to enter school.
“Everyone benefits when more kids arrive at school prepared to succeed,” Horton said.
“Most of my classes in the past have been full,” she added. ”Some classes have waiting list.”
Horton said the classes help foster her mission “to empower families and to help families prepare children for success in school” as well as “to share with families all the amazing options they have in Kyrene.”
The classes include:
Mini-Mozart, 9:30-11 a.m. Sept. 7. This class,
for parents and children 16 months to 2 1/2 years, helps kids learn to communicate through language, song and movement by exploring simple rhythm patterns while they shake, tap and move to music.
“The children will explore a variety of instruments, creative props and even their singing voice. This high-energy class will give your active toddler a way to express themselves musically as well as make those connections important for brain development,” Horton said of the class, which is presented by Musicology
Open playday, 9-11 a.m. Mondays through Dec. 19. A child explores and makes sense of the world around them through play, which Horton said, “impacts everything from physical abilities and vocabulary to problem solving, creativity, teamwork and empathy.”
Raising a Reader. 9-10:30 a.m. Sept. 15 and 29, and Nov. 29. This series includes three workshops for parents and eight weeks of award-winning books to read with their child at home. It helps build a reading routine at home while teaching techniques to foster language and early literacy development.
First Strokes - A Handwriting Guide. 9:3011 a.m. Sept. 20. This workshop will provide background on fine motor, visual motor, visual
motor and sensory motor development and how these skills are needed to participate fully and functionally in the task of handwriting. Development progression of pre-writing skills leading up to writing letters and numbers will be demonstrated. Tips for teaching children how to write (manuscript and cursive) and tricks for helping with difficulties will be discussed.
Bilingual story time. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 Designed for kids 2 to 5 years old, this class is an introduction to Spanish language learning through fun, interactive activities using books, puppets, music, and crafts.
Raising emotionally healthy children. 9-11 a.m. Sept. 27. This workshop enables parents and caregivers to understand the five critical emotional needs of all human beings; to feel accepted, included, respected, important, and secure. The workshop covers social and emotional development of children from birth to teens.
Baby Signs – 9:30-10:30 a.m. Sept. 28. Baby sign language is a way to communicate by using hand gestures. Desert Valley Pediatric will provide a glimpse into a baby’s world by helping parents communicate with their preverbal infant. Register: www.kyrene.org/KEERC.
>> From page 15
to drive—how great it would be to have a Google Car to drive me to fun things.”
Haroon said Google has hosted periodic ride-alongs for folks who can’t drive because of vision problems and other disabilities, and the experience opens up new worlds of possibilities for them.
Guest riders often express initial amazement at what the car sees and how quickly they begin to trust the technology, Haroon said. By the end of the ride, she joked, “they kind of find it a little boring.”
The cars are programmed to drive conservatively. They observe speed limits, slow down near construction zones, wait 1.5 seconds after a red light turns green and drift toward the center of the lane to give cyclists extra room.
Most importantly, Haroon said to great applause from community members at the end of a presentation, the cars don’t get tired, angry, distracted or drunk.
Haroon said there’s still no firm date when a motorist will be able to write a check and drive a Google self-driving Lexus or prototype handsfree off the lot. But she hinted that day will come sooner than most people expect.
– Reach Mike Butler at 480-898-6581 or at mbutler@ ahwatukee.com.
In the past week, we have been overwhelmed with the amount of positive feedback we’ve heard for Ahwatukee Farms and the vision for the Ahwatukee Foothills. We are looking forward to continuing to hear from the community and tell the truth about the vision
As we continue to hear from you and your neighbors, we want to answer a few questions we’ve heard from residents:
The full implementation of the CC&R amendment results ONLY in a land use change to Ahwatukee Farms;
This will NOT raise your HOA fees;
Amending the CC&R’s is only the first step of the process; once we receive consent from the community, we will present this vision to the City of Phoenix where the community will take part in the discussion of Ahwatukee Farms and its future
Ahwatukee Farms is exactly the plan our community needs to move forward and revitalize our neighborhood. I love the emphasis on our agricultural roots in the Ahwatukee Foothills and the addition of the Desert Garden Montessori School will be a great way to bring life into the area. We need to step up and support Ahwatukee Farms!
This is a very impressive vision that will turn this property from an eyesore into a cornerstone of the Ahwatukee Foothills The trails, open space and lakes will protect the integrity of the property intact and protect the surrounding neighborhoods Our community should rally around Ahwatukee Farms and support this plan
“ “ “ “ “ “
Jim Hunt, ABM Resident
www.AhwatukeeFarms.com
Toby Ehrler, ABM Resident
I couldn’t believe how thought out Ahwatukee Farms was when I visited their website and had every question of mine addressed. From upgrading the current drainage system to creating a healthy environment, I really believe this is a great idea for Ahwatukee Foothills and I am happy to sign the consent form amending our CC&R’s.
his years-long
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Robert Serocki Jr. spent a little less than a year fighting on the front lines in the first Iraq war.
The Ahwatukee man spent more than 20 years fighting its impact on his body and his soul.
Serocki, 46, has chronicled his struggle with Post Traumatic Distress Syndrome in three books, and each week he broadcasts an internet radio show in the hope of helping other men and women recover from PTSD.
“Nobody even talked to me about PTSD,” he recalled about the time when he first started feeling his world was falling apart. “I researched PTSD, how your brain reacts to stress and the physiological changes that stress causes in your body.”
His research included a long painful road of self-discovery that eventually led him to come back from the brink of two suicide attempts.
Now, he spends much of his time writing and talking about the 13-step program he developed for recovering from PTSD, sharing his story and his advice with veterans and anyone else who has suffered the deep and long-lasting impact of severe trauma.
“Healing is like peeling an onion: your trauma starts as a scallion and when you don’t deal with it, it grows into an onion with layers,” he said. “To heal, you have to peel layer after layer.”
He didn’t realize he was a PTSD victim
books,
Marines did not come back from, he added.
Serocki also had been the top marksman in sniper class, and his superiors begged him repeatedly to re-enlist, he said, promising a promotion to sergeant if he agreed to becoming a sniper instructor.
“I had had it,” he explained, recalling how he eventually moved back to his native Michigan to live with his parents while taking a good-paying job in a robotics factory.
By then, his brief marriage had dissolved, though in mid-1992 he attempted an illfated reunion that had him quitting his job and moving to Arizona.
For a few months, he slept in his truck as he slowly built up a landscaping business, working 96 hours a week to save enough money to rent a permanent place.
By 1996, he was renting a house and starting school. He wanted to become an archeologist, so along with classes he started an entry-level job at a Phoenix museum, hoping it would lead to a job in the career of his choice.
It did.
He eventually became the City of Phoenix’s assistant archeologist, charged with reviewing building plans and liaising with businesses and the Native American community to protect valuable historical ruins from being destroyed by construction.
In 2006, he wrote his first book, “A Line in the Sand,” that chronicled his wartime experiences. It had been based on the letters
“ Your trauma starts as a scallion and when you don’t deal with it, it grows into an onion with layers.”
–Robert Serocki
immediately after he left the Marine Corps in 1992 as a corporal following four years’ service. He did one tour in Saudi Arabia and another in Kuwait as a demolition engineer.
“We were so deep into Kuwait that it took four days after hostilities ended for us to find out the news,” Serocki recalled. “We were still fighting” in a mission he called a “suicide mission” that some of his fellow
he had sent home to his parents, who saved them till his return.
A colleague had suggested he write the book.
“People asked me questions all the time about my experiences and so when they asked me, I’d hand them the book,” Serocki said.
Then, hell landed on him with a fury. He believes it came because he so
vividly began recalling the horrors he had witnessed in the Middle East in 1990, writing in one part, about “rank stenches of burning, rotting flesh, searing pain, utter misery, revolting scenes of disarticulated pieces of body parts, my comrades full of holes, covered in blood and bandages so that they resemble patchwork quilts.”
A kind of madness began, he said.
“I thought that was the end of my problems but it was just the beginning,” he said.
“I had let everything out writing that book and reality was just beginning to hit me.
“I wasn’t sleeping more than an hour a week.”
He was working an eight-hour job for the city five days a week and delivering newspapers from 2 to 6 a.m. seven days a week
It was 2008 and the housing market was crashing. He owned two houses and that only compounded his anxiety.
He was experiencing panic attacks and became so traumatized that he quit his job, seeking solace alone in his home.
“I didn’t want to go out in public,” Serocki recalled. “I was ordering my groceries online, putting my bed up against the wall like I was reminding myself of my bunker
in the war.”
He had been taking some classes at the time, but had to bring a voice recorder because “the whole time in class I was looking around and trying to figure out how I would escape if something happened,” he said.
“I pretty much broke down and decided I wanted to commit suicide,” he said, echoing the feelings that likely have prompted an average 22 servicemen and women who have served overseas to take their lives annually.
His girlfriend found him pointing a gun to his head.
He was hospitalized for two weeks, and began six years of going in and out of treatment.
The more therapy he sought, the more drugs were prescribed for him.
He got so frustrated with an endless sense of despair that he once again put a gun to his head.
“By the I had my medical insurance and
had to go to VA,” he said. “They just put me on more drugs. All they did was put me in pajamas, parked me in front of a TV and left me alone. No one talked to me.”
Finally, the onetime marathon runner had gained so much weight that he found himself living in a wheelchair.
Then one day, he looked at himself and his life and decided he had had enough.
offers a way out
Rather than reach for a gun, Serocki forced himself out of his wheelchair.
“I told myself I don’t like living like this anymore. I quit all five of my meds at once and I’ll tell you, it was a hell of a week. I thought I was going to go insane. I couldn’t stop shaking.”
It took him another two years, till about 2012, to begin feeling slightly “normal.”
Around that time, Serocki recalled the pleasure he derived from writing his book, so he took up writing again.
“Writing my first book felt good,” he said. “I realized it helped me to heal a little bit. I enjoyed it.”
And so he wrote his second book, “Chrysalis,” in which he detailed his
descent into madness and his six years of going through the medical community’s revolving door.
By 2014, he found himself on a path to normalcy, and he eventually published his third book, “The Sword and the Anvil,” to share what he had learned about PTSD, various treatments and coping mechanisms, and his own 13-point plan for recovery.
“The thing about PTSD is that it affects people in different ways,” Serocki said. “Some people have full-blown PTSD right away after a traumatic experience, some have a few symptoms and others can go 10 or 20 years before it affects them. I probably started to have some effects early on but I didn’t even know what to think. I didn’t deal with it because I was a big tough Marine. I wasn’t supposed to be scared.”
He never returned to archeology, and instead writes, talks with veterans’ groups and others, and maintains his radio show. He talks up his books every chance he gets, not to make money but to help reach PTSD victims. He gets by on a government check and has recently started day-trading.
But he gets excited the most when he talks about his projects, such as an internet-based audio-video PTSD recovery program he is planning with veterans in Virginia.
“One of my steps toward healing, step number 8, is find your passion,” he said. “You need to find that vehicle that takes you away from pain to peace.”
After 25 years, Serocki feels he has attained just that.
Robert Serocki’s books are available through his website.
Website: robertserocki.com
Radio show: robertserocki.com/ robert-s-radio-show.html
Youtube channel: youtube.com/channel/ UCNzGKeFN-r9WFM2_BB4lQDw
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
Two Ahwatukee boys and one from Chandler comprise one of the eight bands of teens and adults with special needs that will be showcased in a special concert Saturday at Tempe Center for the Arts.
The concert, titled “Music from the Heart – Rock Band Showcase,” is the seventh annual presentation by Higher Octave Healing, a nonprofit that works with the bands and Arizona State University’s Music Therapy Clinic.
Co-sponsored by the Tempe Diablos and the Rotary Club of Downtown Tempe, the shows at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. will each have four different bands.
Among the four bands playing in the first session is The Genius Guys — consist of Ahwatukee residents DeAndro Baker,16, and Curtis Waller,18, both Desert Vista High School students. DeAndro, who plays bass, guitar and drums, and Curtis, a vocalist who also plays piano and drums, are joined by Trevor Jaco, 16, of Chandler, who plays guitar, bass, piano and drums as well as sings.
The band members get the “full rock star experience,” said Kymla Eubanks, founder and CEO of the Tempe-based Higher Octave Healing, which provides music therapy throughout the Valley.
That includes a green room (the room where a rock band waits before hitting the stage), refreshments and backstage
passes to hand out to select fans. They’ll also have autograph signing sessions after both concerts.
Eubanks said the goal of the rock band program “is to empower and help prepare these teens and young adults with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities to gain social, team-building, peer communication and independence skills.”
“Learning to play the guitar, sing in front of a crowd and jam with their friends in their rock band is a great by-product of the ultimate goal: their highest level of independence possible.”
Curtis and DeAndro have been playing together since 2012 and were joined by Trevor last year.
The two Ahwatukee boys said they are pumped for what will be their fourth gig in public.
“I’m most excited to play my favorite song, ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ and to play drums,” DeAndro said.
Curtis added, “I’m excited to sing songs, see the big crowd of people, meet new people, and sign autographs.”
Their taste in music differs a bit, as DeAndro likes rock and pop while Curtis prefers classic rock. Curtis likes the '80s group Bad Company while DeAndro prefers more contemporary Linkin’ Park.
Asked why they picked their band’s name, Curtis replied, “It’s a smart name to
remember,” while DeAndro said, “It’s a cool band name.”
And they each have a special reason for being in a band. Curtis said his favorite aspect of being a rocker is “talking with my friends.” For DeAndro, it’s “playing the keyboard and the bass.”
For their set, The Genius Guys will be playing “Eye of the Tiger,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “Beat It.”
The rock band program at Higher Octave Healing started with one group in 2009 and has now grown to 10.
“The band members are super excited to perform the music that they have been working on for the past several months,” said Carina Inganamort, a certified music therapist who leads several bands. “They are excited to perform everything from
The Who to Rihanna and Quiet Riot to Michael Jackson.”
Special guests will include: Miss Wheelchair Arizona Katie Griffith, Miss Phoenix Outstanding Teen Tatum Stolworthy and a Sparkles Junior Miss USA.
Ticket holders can have their picture taken with the special guests before and after the shows. A special sock drive sponsored by Miss Sparkles will be held in the lobby. Attendees can drop off new and unused socks for donation to Zuri’s Circle. Miss Sparkles is a nonprofit group in Tempe whose stated mission is to help girls with disabilities “to be confident and provides opportunities for intellectual growth and socialization while teaching self-advocacy skills.”
What: “Music From the Heart –Rock Band Showcase,”
When: 1 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.
Where: Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe. Cost: $5 - $12
Information: higheroctavehealing.com
Donors at one of two Ahwatukee blood drives sponsored by United Blood Services this week can win a 2016 Volkswagen Passat S.
United said blood of all types is urgently needed and that all donors will get a $50 voucher for a free ride from Lyft.
Donors can make an appointment by calling 1-877-827-4376 or at www. bloodhero.com.
United’s bloodmobile will be at the following Ahwatukee locations: 4750 E. Francisco Drive; 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Telgian, 10230 S. 50th Place; or 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, On the Border, 5005 E. Ray Road.
A football cheer clinic for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade will be 1-4 p.m. Sept. 10 and Kyrene Altadena Middle School, 14620 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy., Ahwatukee.
Desert Vista High cheerleaders will teach cheers, chants, jumps and dances and are inviting the clinic participants to perform during halftime for the Sept. 16 home game of the Thunder varsity football team. My Fit Foods will provide a snack.
Cost is $35 for preregistration and $40 for walk-ins and will cover instructions, a clinic T-shirt, pompoms, and admission for one adult to the Sept. 16 varsity game.
Registration: www.dvcheer.com.
Phoenix has received a $100,000 grant funding, along with consulting services and other assistance, from an organization called Cities of Service “to elevate and organize citywide volunteer efforts,” according to a city hall release.
The money comes from a $450,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase to Cities of Service, which set up so-called “chief service officers” in Phoenix, Miami and Detroit.
The release said the new position “will enable each city to better plan, coordinate and implement initiatives to revitalize neighborhoods, offer vital human services, and collaborate with nonprofits, higher education, corporations and foundations.
“A great city requires an engaged community,” said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. “Cities of Service and the Phoenix Volunteer Office have been instrumental in getting residents involved in our community. This new funding and extra level of support from Cities of Service will
further the already amazing impact that volunteers are having on our city.”
Phoenix Chief Service Officer Michael Hammett “will work over the next year to plan, direct, coordinate and evaluate the implementation of a comprehensive, citywide service plan that engages citizen volunteers in communities where they can have significant impact,” the release said.
Phoenix has named Tom Remes, currently director of the city’s Office of Governmental Relations, to the new post of freeway coordination manager to “oversee all strategy and aspects of the city’s involvement in the State Route Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway project, according to a release.
“Given the Loop 202 project’s importance, timeline and complexity, it’s essential that we continue to strategically coordinate work within the city and with the Arizona Department of Transportation, including other key external agencies and partners,” said City Manager Ed Zuercher, adding:
“With this new position now in place, we are poised to ensure the successful completion of this transportation corridor for our residents and the important economic development opportunity this initiative represents for Phoenix.”
A downtown Phoenix resident, Remes has worked with the government releations office for 11 years and had worked for Mesa’s city manager as part of a team involved in the construction of the Red Mountain Freeway.
Another intergenerational bunco game for Ahwatukee females from 10 and older will be held 6:15-8:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road, Ahwatukee.
Although not a church-sponsored event, the gathering was started years ago and has been kept alive by Abby Gerdis and Wendy and Katy Cornacchio.
Participants are asked to bring something they own for a white elephant gift and anyone who brings a first-time attendee will get a special prize. Gerdis said bunco is an easy game to learn and the gathering enables women to “gain friendships of many ina short period of time.
Participants also are asked to brink a snack or beverage to share.
SATURDAY, AUG. 27
Heart screenings slated
The Anthony Bates Foundation will hold a heart screening for children and adults, age 10 and up. Tests
check, electrocardiogram, and an ultrasound/echo read by cardiologists. Cost is a tax-deductible donation of $40.
DETAILS>> 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Clubhouse Drive, Ahwatukee. Reservations: www. anthonybates.org or call 602-482-5606.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
Grandparent support offered
Grandparents who are you feeling overwhelmed, confused, and alone can join a group of fellow grandparents raising their grandchildren as they share, learn and grow together. First-time participants are asked to call ahead of attending. DETAILS>> 6-8 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 2745 N. 32nd St., Mesa. 602-274-5022; duetaz.org
MONDAY, SEPT. 5
Unpaid caregivers who are taking care of a loved one with Parkinson’s disease get an opportunity to ask questions and learn creative and caring problem-solving techniques in a supportive environment at no cost. First timers are asked to call before attending.
DETAILS>> 1:30-3:30 p.m., Red Mountain Multi-Generational Center, 7550 E. Adobe St., Mesa. 602-274-5022; duetaz.org
Local 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.
MONDAYS
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.
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.
TUESDAYS
Improve your speaking skills and meet interesting people at Ahwatukee Toastmasters meetings
DETAILS>>6:45-8 a.m at the Dignity Health Community Room, 4545 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee.
WEDNESDAYS
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Legislative District 18 Democrats have changed their monthly meeting to their new campaign office at 1867 E. Baseline Road, Tempe.
DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m. social time, 7-8:30 p.m. meeting time on the second Monday of each month. Information: www. ld18democrats.org/meetings or ld18demsinfo@gmail.com. Free and open to the public.
THURSDAYS
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.
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.
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.
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.
The production cast of the Main Stage Fall Show, “Never Mind What Happened, How Did It End?” has been selected. Performances are Oct. 28-29 and Nov. 4-5.
The cast includes: Aaron Smith, Abe Newsum, Addy Bennett, Alli Schroder, Aly Houle, Angela Chester, Bianca Pizorno, Burke Wood, Ella Coste, Garrett Lindsey, Hannah Diffey, Isabella Lane, Jocey Price, Joy Garrett, Kalli Betts, Karlie O’Nan, Kate Cochrane, Katie Heaton, Kaylee Arenz, Kelly Heiberger, Kendra Fuller, Lauren Bander, Matthew Johnson, Olivia Wells, Rachel Hogan, Rebecca Hamby, Seth Freymuth, and Stephanie Clark.
The production cast for “Under the Big Top,” which will be performed Dec. 2-3, includes: Alexis Scott, Amber Fretwell, Andrew Miller, Annaliese Hensel, Bianca Pizorno, Bonnie Wanstreet, Bre Lewellen, Brianna Hardin, Elisa Scott, Elisabeth Fear, Ella Coste, Gracie Gamble, Hasley McDaniel, Isabella Pizorno, Joy Garrett, Lauren Bander, Madison Calo, Matt Mouffe, Matthew Johnson, Mika Dubey,
The student council for Horizon Honors Elementary School grades 5 and 6 sponsored a backto-school clothing drive for Clothes Cabin, a non-profit organization that helps homeless families. Council members collected more than 10 boxes full of crayons, pencils, paper, folders, binders, lunchboxes, backpacks, and children's clothing.
Nick Vela, Noah Dinardo, Nya Salahdeen, Olivia Doyle, Rachel Harris, Rachel Hogan, Reese Bennett, Sadie Rich, and Stephanie Clark.
Mountain Pointe High
Mountain Pointe High School, 4201 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee, will host a college prep night for sophomores
and juniors at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the auditorium. It will cover strategies for a strong high school career, PSAT/SAT/ ACT testing information, scholarship information, community colleges, and other subjects related to in-state and outof-state colleges and universities.
Tempe Union High School District will hold a town hall for parents on social media, drugs and alcohol 6:30-8 p.m. Sept. 12 at Corona del Sol High, 1001 E. Knox Road, Tempe.
Katey McPherson, director of the Gurian Institute, and Stephanie Siete, director of community education for Community Bridges, will discuss a wide variety of issues related to these three topics, including how to learn whom your child is talking to online, sexting, predators, symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse, and others.
Local animal rescue agencies are looking for people to adopt a 5-year-old Russian Blue cat and a 2-year-old American Staffordshire terrier mix.
The terrier, dubbed Maxter by the Arizona Animal Welfare League, is a “big boy with a heart of gold” who not only enjoys having his master take him along on hikes and jogs but also “may be a good candidate for agility training, shelter assistant Shauna Michael said.
He also likes other dogs of all sizes, but rather than live at the league’s main shelter at 25 N. 40th St., Phoenix, he would be much happier in someone’s home, she added.
Information: 602-273-6852 ext.116.
Miles the cat “was a bit shy when we first met him as he was processing the fact that he no longer had his family,” said Jenny Medlock, a spokeswoman for AZRescue. Now, she said, “Miles loves attention from people, especially if it involves petting and brushing.”
Though 5 years old, “Miles has boundless energy, which combines nicely with his
love of playtime,” Medlock added. “When it comes to toys, Miles is not picky – he loves batting pipe cleaners, jumping for wand toys, chasing toy mice, and bunny kicking stuffed toys. Miles loves to run around and especially enjoys diving in crinkle tunnels.
“Nothing makes Miles happier than stalking, chasing, and catching his prey.
Upon capture, he triumphantly carries his toy to a little hidey-hole to relish in his victory,” she added.
All this makes Miles “an absolute joy to watch,” she said.
To fill out an application if you’re interested: www.azrescue.org
By Pat Lawlis AFN GUEST WRITER
It appears that Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children (PARC) was too optimistic in expecting a local judge to side with anyone but the Arizona state government. Stopping the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway is a David vs. Goliath battle, so why would we expect it to be won so easily?
We are disappointed, but we are by no means defeated.
PARC’s next step is to file an appeal and an injunction to stop all work on the SMF. These documents will be filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, a much different court in many ways from Arizona District Court in Phoenix.
The case was heard in Phoenix by one judge. All indications are that she is inexperienced in cases involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Her ruling that permitted the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to continue “preliminary work” on the freeway while the case was pending was highly unusual, and this was our first clue.
Unfortunately, the result of that ruling was the demolition of many homes and the destruction of many of our foothills.
Then there was the date that the judge set for herself to have the ruling out – July 13, 2016. She missed that by more than a month. Her inexperience in not knowing how long it would take to review the case? A workload that is too heavy?
Who knows? but this latest ruling in favor of ADOT makes it crystal clear that the judge does not understand NEPA.
NEPA required ADOT to follow a particular process when planning the SMF project. ADOT did not follow the prescribed process. Section 4f of the Transportation Act prohibited ADOT from putting a highway through public parkland unless (1) ADOT could show that there was no feasible
and prudent alternative and (2) that it had done all possible planning to minimize harm to the parkland. ADOT was unable to satisfy either of these requirements.
Yet, the court ruled that ADOT was permitted to use extremely wide discretion in planning the SMF and was therefore not violating federal law. The laws might as well not exist if agencies are permitted to use discretion to the point of ignoring the intent of the applicable laws.
We always knew that this case would eventually go to the Ninth Circuit, so we are still on track. Of course, we now must be the ones to file the appeal, and we must ask for an injunction to stop SMF work. This legal necessity is annoying but certainly doable.
So why are we still upbeat about taking the case to the Ninth Circuit?
First, a panel of three experienced judges will hear the case in the Ninth Circuit. These judges have dealt with NEPA many times, and they understand the legal precedents that have been set both in the Ninth Circuit
and other appeals courts.
Second, the Ninth Circuit is known to make environmentally friendly decisions. Last and perhaps most important, the Ninth Circuit decision will be final and sometime in 2017 or 2018 this fight will finally be over.
Of course, the appeals process will require a lot of time-consuming legal work. Many Ahwatukee residents are already stepping up to help fund this final leg of our legal fight. Will you join them with a tax-deductible donation to PARC? Checks may be made out to PARC and sent to PO Box 50455, Phoenix, AZ 85076-0455. Credit card donations may be made at the PARC website www. protectAZchildren.org.
From that website you may also join our mailing list and access our Facebook group. Please stay informed and stay positive. Things that are worth fighting for are also worth waiting for.
–Dr. Pat Lawlis is the president of Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children and has been a resident of Ahwatukee for 24 years.
By Kerwin Brown
AFN GUEST WRITER
I am compelled to respond to Phoenix City Councilman
Sal DiCiccio’s news release about what he called the “Black Lives Matter Protests.”
In his statement, Councilman DiCiccio says he is “a fierce proponent of free speech and people’s right to protest.” However, he then criticizes the protestors for how much their demonstrations cost “hardworking taxpayers.”
Calculating this “waste of limited police resources,” the Councilman cites $247,996 in police pay, the need for an extra SWAT team from Glendale, and the “tens of thousands of dollars lost by local businesses.”
He also claims the protests “diverted valuable resources” from “other police functions,” such as an entirely unrelated serial killer investigation.
I cannot remain silent and condone these inflammatory comments.
Councilman DiCiccio’s self-appointed
taxpayer-watchdog role misses the point that protests are the inalienable right of American citizens.
Mr. DiCiccio, these law abiding, taxpaying citizens are the same people that are expressing their deep concern via protest about the killing of people of color. They are also concerned whether they might be the next victim.
To address the inaccuracies and illogic of DiCiccio’s statements, I will first say that these protests were not a Black Lives Matter organization event. Rev. Reginald Walton, the head of the Black Lives Matter initiative in Arizona, did not plan or condone these events.
Second, the City of Phoenix and the City Council are responsible for adequately funding our police force. Police officers are hired to protect us from harm and to protect our right to free speech.
If the City of Phoenix had adequately funded for needed police officers, there would have been no need to borrow officers from Glendale. Our freedom of speech is not limited to how much of the city budget is allocated to any service, including policing.
Third, the initial protest occurred in early July. It’s now August, and the police are no closer to capturing the serial killer or solving a case. The two are completely unrelated and to link the protest to the serial killer investigation is simply inexcusable and has nothing to do with any citizen’s right to protest.
With regard to taxpayer money, is Councilman DiCiccio implying that the people protesting are not “hardworking taxpayers” themselves, or worse, that they’re strictly a drain on society and “squander critical resources”?
I’d be interested in an analysis of taxpayer money spent to protect the Muslim Mosque from protestors in May 2015. Where was Mr. DiCiccio’s voice then?
Several businesses shut down as a result of anticipating trouble from that event where approximately 500 people gathered outside the mosque. Protestors not only carried signs and flags, but also carried guns. I don’t recall outrage about the financial drain from that event.
The most disturbing thing about Councilman DiCiccio’s statement is that
he makes no mention of the millions of Black people across this country that are legitimately scared and angry about the violence against our African American men at the hands of some police officers. This has continued for decades. During the 1960s, television news cameras captured police brutality in the South. Today, with cell phone video, more people are witnessing the abuse of power nationwide.
To find solutions to these challenging issues, the Black Chamber of Arizona and the Checkered Flag Run Foundation have, for the past two years, co-hosted events that create valuable dialogue between our local community and police chiefs from around the country.
These discussions have focused on best practices that police departments are initiating in various communities to bridge the gap between police and the citizens they serve. Chief David Brown of Dallas, Chief Calvin Williams of Cleveland, Chief Robert White of Denver and many more prominent police chiefs, including our own
Chief Joe Yahner, have found this topic important enough to take time out of their schedules to participate.
Councilman DiCiccio, however, has chosen not to attend these events.
I am proud of the Phoenix Police Department. They don’t claim to be perfect, but they continually work to improve.
I have the pleasure to serve as a board member on the Phoenix Police Foundation, which has provided some of the tools that the Phoenix PD relies on to do their job. The foundation also provides support for families of fallen officers.
Additionally, several of our chamber’s board members are working with and involved in various aspects of our Phoenix Police Department. We support our men and women in uniform.
I trust and hope that in the future, rather than rant about dollars spent on protests, Councilman DiCiccio would focus his efforts on helping to improve relations between police officers and community members, as well as speak out about the violence falling upon tax paying members of our community.
–Kerwin Brown is the president and CEO of the Black Chamber of Commerce.
By Jeff Dial AFN GUEST WRITER
Serving and giving back to our state and great nation has always been something I hold in high regard. I ran for public office because I believe that the best days in Arizona are yet to come.
I believe that as elected officials we have a duty to make Arizona the best place to live, work and raise a family. My proven track record shows that I am a champion for small businesses and our education community.
I’m proud to be endorsed by the Arizona, Greater Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe chambers of commerce. I’m supported by Gov. Doug Ducey because I have a conservative track record of reducing regulations.
I’m proud to have received a 100 percent rating from the Arizona Small Business Association. From education groups to business groups the message is clear, I am overwhelmingly supported by groups and citizens in our district.
I’ve run a positive and issue-based campaign without going negative; this is something I’m very proud of. I exhibit professionalism and integrity with each and every decision I make at the legislature and always fight for the issues important to my community.
I’ll continue to defend and strengthen education, support small business, reduce regulations, and insist on accountability and transparency in government.
Jeff Dial says he "is passionate about helping people live an excellent life."
He serves as the current State Senator from Legislative District 18. His main priorities "include economic development and the improvement of education. "
Additionally, he said he "works as a realtor helping people achieve their dreams by assisting them in buying, selling, and investing in residential real estate."
Schmuck: I am a true conservative and embrace
By Frank Schmuck
AFN GUEST WRITER
I am a true conservative who embraces the Founding Fathers’ principles of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
I am pro-life. I believe in the sanctity of human life.
I am also pro-veteran. Why? Because as a war veteran, and like many of my fellow veterans, I fought for life as we know it. When it comes to “liberty,” I am pro Second Amendment. I believe the right to own a firearm is a basic right of all citizens.
I am also pro markets because free markets and less regulation produce more growth, more jobs and higher standards of living. I will work to bring more business to Arizona. To do that, I favor eliminating the Arizona State Income Tax and replacing it with a consumption fee on all items except basic food and clothing in order to protect those on a fixed income. I want to sponsor carefully drafted legislation to do this, and when we do business will come and you will have more control of your own money.
The only local contest in next Tuesday’s primary election involves two Republicans battling over the nomination for state senator in Legislative District 18, which includes Ahwatukee. It pits incumbent Sen. Jeff Dial against challenger Frank Schmuck. The Ahwatukee Foothills News asked both candidates to respond to three questions. Their response to the third question appears today. Their responses to the first two are on ahwatukee.com.
Today’s question: What qualifications make you the best candidate to represent LD 18 in the State Senate? Put another way, why should voters pick you?
The “Pursuit of Happiness” comes from two things: Education, which is why I founded two scholarship organizations that have literally helped hundreds of students go to school form our district and across the state. I believe funds need to get to our students and teachers not more bureaucracy. I will work on legislation to help make that happen.
The second “Pursuit of Happiness” comes from legal immigration only. I believe, like the Republican platform, that we need to build a wall and create an environment that inspires legal Immigration only.
Actions speak louder than words. Service is one of those actions. I have spent a career serving others as an Air Force officer, a Gulf War veteran, a professional pilot, and as a leader in our community and state on many civic and charitably minded projects.
I’m running for Arizona State Senate because I love Arizona, the people who live here and because we deserve better.
When you chose your doctor, your accountant or your real estate agent don’t you want someone with the best character and credentials to treat and serve you? Shouldn’t the same be the case when choosing your State
Senator? Check out mine at www. TeamSCHMUCK.com. If you contribute, I will match your contribution dollar for dollar because I have skin in the game. I care about you.
I will fight for you, not the lobbyists, not the special interest and certainly not an out-of-touch establishment. I’m not a politician; I am a statesman. We are the people, “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” said Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg where my ancestors fought.
I humbly ask for your vote on or before Aug. 30 to bring integrity, service and real leadership to the Arizona Senate in our beloved Legislative District 18. God bless you and God bless Arizona and America.
Name: Frank Schmuck Age: 50.
Employment background: U.S. Air Force 1988 – 1993; Southwest Airlines 1994 - Present.
Military background: U.S. Air Force: C141B Aircraft Commander, Executive Officer; Persian Gulf War of 1991. One of
three squadron Pilots awarded the Air Medal for efforts during Desert Storm. Education: U.S. Air Force Academy, B.S. in Engineering, graduated military honors; attended American Graduate School of International Management, (aka Thunderbird).
Hometown: Tempe. Community Involvement (past and current): ALS Association Arizona Chapter, America United in Memory, American Legion, American Motorcycle Assn., Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame, Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Assn., Kiwanis International, Military Officers Association of America, Military Order of the World Wars, National Rifle Association, U.S. Congressional and Senatorial Military Service Academy Selection Board, Service Academy Alumni Association, Southwest Airlines AdoptA-Pilot, Southwest Autism Resource and Research Center (SAARC), SSN-702 Society, St. Andrew the Apostle, Tempe Dollars for Scholars, Tempe Historical Museum Advisory Board, Tempe Sister Cities, Veterans Medical Leadership Council, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Voices Take Flight.
Individuals commenting on social media about True Life’s Farm plan seem to be focused mainly on the “Farm to table,” fresh produce theme. Many are completely unaware of what a CSA (community supported agriculture) program is, and the individual sacrifices it requires.
The garden farm portion of this proposal is not free. No one will be coming into the community to plant, cultivate, and harvest the crops. It’s like sweat equity: The neighbors and residents will have to do the work to sustain the farm garden vegetables and crops, either through monetary donations and/or labor by becoming “subscribers.”
The harvest of crops, vegetables, etc, will then be sold inside the farmers’ market. Why would anyone want to pay twice for a turnip or carrot? With the frequent hot weather, how many residents are going to volunteer their labor? Especially when we already have a Sunday farmers’ market and a well-stocked Sprouts Market that sell fresh organic produce?
Before deciding to sell out Ahwatukee, there are some pressing questions we should be asking:
Who will pay for the initial startup of this garden farm (tools, soil, seeds, plants, etc)?
Who will screen and hire the vendors for this farmers’ market?
Who will profit from this “business”?
Who will control the accounts, pay the taxes, keep inventory, and restock orders for more seeds, soil, and or plants for the garden farm?
Who will guarantee that the soil is not contaminated with pesticides and herbicides from the original golf course operations?
Who will be held responsible/accountable if the produce and or goods sold make people and children sick?
How will this garden farm be safeguarded from local wildlife and vermin like roof rats, javelina, coyotes, snakes, gophers, field mice, etc? Ahwatukee is already infested with roof rats. This “farm” will certainly attract more of them to the neighborhoods. Yes, build it and they (vermin) will come.
Surely there are a number of compelling reasons why this “farm” is not the
right fit for this community and these neighborhoods. Everyone loves a farm and a garden, but most don’t know the work and sacrifices it takes to operate.
This will be a huge undertaking, developing a commercial complex with non-stop traffic and congestion along our streets, of delivery trucks and vendors moving goods in and out of the “farm.”.
So much for the peace and quiet Ahwatukee residents and homeowners have enjoyed for decades!
The biggest question of all is: Where will the water come from to irrigate the crops, and who will pay the water bill?
It won’t be True Life. They haven’t watered the grounds, the shrubs, the lakes, and especially the trees that had been planted decades ago. Instead, they have turned their back on these “living organisms,” and have watched their slow death, eager to finish them off by chopping them down. The value in oxygen generated by these plants, shrubs and trees alone was and is worth saving them.
Shame on us as a community if we allow this misguided “farm plan” to be developed. Think of the etching on the rear view
mirror of your car. What does it say? “Caution: objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Are we headed for devastation and ultimate community erosion because we failed to see the distorted objects in the “farm plan” renderings?
Ahwatukee has been sustained for decades, by who? By the residents and homeowners who, together, will continue to sustain this unique Ahwatukee Community by upholding the CC&RS that protect all of us. Unite with us to keep Ahwatukee unique and viable now and for the future. Visit the Save the Lakes/Save Open Space web site for more information.
-J. Huerbsch
It is with great interest that I have read the many articles and opinions regarding the proposed Ahwatukee Farms. And for full disclosure, I am an avid golfer and I do reside in Ahwatukee but not near the affected site.
First of all, everyone, including Mr.
>> See LETTERS on page 29
(City Councilman Sal) DiCiccio and all members of the committee, must realize that the site will never become a golf course again, primarily because of today’s economics. The land is just too valuable (as ASU has realized in that its top-rated Karsten Golf Course will be closing in the not-to-distant future), and, unfortunately, golf is on the decline. Here in Ahwatukee, one might argue that the area has too many courses, none of which are in great shape.
Secondly, I’m sure everyone would agree that the present status of the site is a complete and total eye-sore that must be addressed soon. The status quo is not acceptable. Further, does anyone think that the present condition of the site is a positive factor to the value of near-by properties? I think not.
As to the other objecting points raised by Mr. DiCiccio and the Committee:
•Density: The use of the term “triple density” is a scare tactic, especially because only single family residences are proposed. No multi-family units are planned, nor should they be permitted. I would agree that minimum lot sizes should be set by the applicable zoning commission.
•Flooding: Over the past few weeks, Ahwatukee has experienced some significant rain. Clearly, the present state of the site did not prevent the resulting flooding in and around it. With the proper engineering, I’m sure that future flooding can be properly controlled.
•To Councilman DiCiccio: Your recent “editorial” in the Ahwatukee Foothills News regarding the zoning (multi-family) of the ACC has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion of the Farms proposal. To do so only enflames the subject.
•To the committee: Your advertisement in the Aug. 10, 2016, edition of the News infers that there are potential buyers. Given the present zoning requirements, economics and present status of the site, there are only three potential buyers, as follows:
City of Phoenix. The City of Phoenix could always purchase the site from True Life, using the process of eminent domain (and we all know how we feel about that) and convert it into a park or golf course. But given the cost and economic feasibility of this, and present budget issues, I highly doubt that this will happen.
Residents of the area (but not the HOA). The residents of the area could
pool their money to purchase the site and restore it back to a golf course The residents would then be owners of the course and run it as they see it. The only obstacle in this option would be to raise the needed funds, approximately $12$15 million, and additional funds to cover any future operating losses, which will probably be significant. Anyone in for this?
A charitable benefactor. If a donor, either individual or corporate, could donate the needed funds to purchase and restore the site (and to cover future operating losses), this could be a reasonable solution. Therefore, given all the realistic options, the Farms proposal is a step in the right direction. Some adjustments are probably necessary.
I’m sure genuine discussions/ negotiations involving all parties can result in an outcome that all can agree. But to utterly and out-right reject True Life’s proposal does not recognize the reality of the situation.
-Thomas Bell
If it sounds too good to be
Everyone’s heard the phrase “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably
is.” That’s exactly how I felt when I received a glowing e-mail from someone named Quentin Thornton with The True Life Companies detailing a “vision” of what his company “intends” to do with the now-closed Lakes Golf Course. He says I will soon receive in the mail a consent form to sign that will allow his company to change the CC&Rs so that they can “begin the process to convert this property into a community asset that will bring additional tax revenue for our schools.”
Hah!
True Life is NOT a developer. Their job is to find properties, clear away obstacles (like those pesky CC&Rs) then sell the property to developers, who are in no way bound to complete, or even take a stab at creating True Life’s “vision.” Once changed, the protection that our community receives from the existing CC&Rs (which apply not only to The Lakes but also to the Ahwatukee Country Club) is gone.
Please do NOT sign the form that comes in the mail. Ignoring it is a vote against some amorphous “vision” that will never happen.
-Judy Wade
By Paul Maryniak
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
For the second consecutive month, two homes in Ahwatukee each sold for more than $1 million.
Only $50,000 stood between the sold prices of the two single-level homes. A 5,050-square-foot house at 3408 E. Manso Court in Ahwatukee Custom Estates sold for $1,050,000, while a 4,068-square-foot home at 14625 S. Presario Trail in Summerhill Club West went for $1.1 million. The latter home was
newer, having been built in 2005, while the Manso Court house was built in 1995, according to the mls. com listings.
The Manso Court home sold for $25,000 above the listing price; its sold price also was well above the $850,000 price it fetched when first built. This was the first time the Presario Trail home was sold since it was first bought new for $1,125,000 in 2005.
In all, six Ahwatukee houses have sold for more than $1 million since June 1.
Here’s a rundown on the
two homes, based on listing details:
For a closer look at these two homes, See Page 4 for 3408 E. Manso Court and Page 5 for 14625 S. Presario Trail
If you are looking for a unique preschool with a small-community feel, then God’s Garden is the right fit for you. For more than 16 years, God’s Garden Preschool and Child Development Center has been providing a family-oriented, warm and nurturing, relationship-based classroom environment.
God’s Garden Preschool and Child Development Center offers preschool programs and pre-kindergarten classes for children ages 2-5. As an outreach of Horizon Presbyterian Church, God’s Garden is dedicated to providing a positive and supportive, Christian learning environment.
It nurtures spiritual, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth through a child-centered, discovery-based
curriculum. Our program incorporates the High/Scope Preschool Curriculum, which focuses on active learning through play.
We also offer enrichment classes such as Stepping Stones, edible art, tumbling, dance, sports, Bible study, and cooking. These classes give students the opportunity to learn new skills and explore fun subjects outside of regular classes throughout the regular school year.
The preschool programs operate between 8:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. with extended care daily until 2:45 p.m. during the regular school year. God’s Garden also offers a variety of project-based, week-long, fun-filled summer camps during the summer months.
Information: www.godsgarden.com.
-By Michelle Rhodes, preschool director
$115,900 10610 S. 48th St.
$170,000 11239 S. Tomi Drive
$224,000 4126 E. Jojoba Road
$235,900 3602 E. Agave Road
$245,000 4525 E. Mountain Sage Dr.
$249,900 4011 E. Agave Road
$259,900 4340 E. Cherokee St.
$264,000 9445 S. 50th St.
$280,000 5107 E. Salinas St.
$284,500 4535 E. Desert Wind Dr.
$289,000 14406 S. Cholla Canyon Dr.
$293,000 4627 E. White Aster St.
$312,000 4753 E. Pearce Road
$382,000 14609 S. 32nd Place
$385,000 15240 S. 44th Place
$482,500 3436 E. Desert Willow Rd.
$1,050,000 3408 E. Manso Court
269,000 2731 W. Cottonwood Lane
$295,000 16429 S. 16th Lane
$335,000 15225 S. 14th Drive
$423,000 15849 S. 13th Ave.
$550,000 220 W. Mountain Sky Ave.
$710,000 1542 W. Saltsage Drive
103,000 16013 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy.
$129,900 3236 E. Chandler Blvd.
$140,000 3830 E. Lakewood Pkwy.
$141,100 3830 E. Lakewood Pkwy.
$199,000 16707 S. 23rd St.
$222,900 1024 E. Frye Road
$227,000 4717 E. Tanglewood Drive
$227,500 2915 E. Muirwood Drive
$234,000 4016 E. Hiddenview Drive
$240,000 15634 S. 43rd Way
$242,500 15850 S. 33rd Place
$248,000 16240 S. 43rd Place
$249,000 16229 S. 12th Place
$252,706 3225 E. Briarwood Terrace
$272,000 4235 E. Saltsage Drive
$275,000 4720 E. Briarwood Terrace
$275,000 4707 E. Briarwood Terrace
$306,000 2728 E. Thunderhill Place
$320,565 3357 E. Windsong Drive
$325,000 2721 E. Rock Wren Road
$328,000 15801 S. 25th Way
$365,000 2514 E. Indigo Brush Road
$395,000 916 E. South Fork Drive
$415,000 1020 E. Silverwood Drive
$435,000 16881 S. 18th Way
$500,000 2106 E. Granite View Drive
$517,000 2034 E. Cathedral Rock Drive
$525,000 1644 E. Saltsage Drive
$750,000 509 E. Mountain Sage Drive
$806,123 14817 S. 6th Place
$980,000
The economy may have largely recovered from the depths of the downturn, but there’s a record number of grown children living with their folks. And with soaring housing prices, aging parents, and the changing ethnic makeup of the nation, the trend of multigenerational living looks like it’s just getting started.
About 19 percent of all Americans, roughly 60.6 million people, lived in multigenerational homes in 2014. Those are households typically made up of parents, their adult children, and often their grandkids, according to a recent Pew Research Center report that looked at U.S. Census data.
That’s practically a throwback to the 1950s, when about 21 percent of Americans shared a roof with their grown children or parents.
As nuclear families became the norm, that percentage dropped to 12 percent in 1980. But then the economy tanked in the mid-2000s. And as times became tough, the number of adult children living with their parents started rising again, according to the report.
The report defined adult children as age 25 and up, so college students home on breaks aren’t counted, and looked at households with at least two generations.
“We had a 50-year experiment with the nuclear family,” said John Graham, coauthor of “Together Again: A Creative Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living.” Now “we’re getting back to the way human beings have always lived—in extended families.”
The uptick is partly due to the nation’s growing numbers of ethnic minorities, who are more likely to live in multigenerational homes.
Another interesting finding is that
women, at 20 percent, are slightly more likely than men, at 18 percent, to live in these arrangements.
“As the face of America is changing, so are family structures,” said Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, a Washington, DC–based advocacy group for intergenerational programs and housing. “It shouldn’t be a taboo or looked down upon if grown children are living with their families or older adults are living with their grown children.
“The majority of families say there can be some difficulties, but overall it helps them economically, it helps them with caregiving, and it helps them develop stronger ties between family members,” she added.
The shift can be attributed to basic economics, said Carmen Multhauf, co-author of the book “Generational Housing: Myth or Mastery for Real Estate.” Rents and home prices have been skyrocketing in recent years, hitting new heights in some cities.
“The younger generations have not been able to save,” she says of the younger generation often struggling to get good-paying jobs. “Having student debt is keeping them from having enough money to fund a down payment.”
Builders are taking note.
About 25-30 percent of Partners in Building’s business is now multigenerational houses, said CEO Jim Lemming. Ten years ago, he estimated it made up just 15 percent of the Houston, Texas–based custom builder’s clientele.
More and more of the company’s buyers are hailing from parts of the world where multigenerational homes are the norm — and they carry that expectation to the U.S., Lemming said.
Most of the housing his company
>> See FAMILIES on page RE 6
The five-bedroom, five-bath house features a “stunning foyer” with imposing square columns in the openfloor design and 9-foot ceilings that offer “architectural interest,” according to mls.com.
Two family rooms are included, one currently used as a playroom for kids, and the gourmet kitchen has the same slab granite counter tops that can be found in the large wet bar. The kitchen includes a walk-in pantry and an island with a glass-covered stove and veggie sink.
A two-way fireplace partially separates the sleeping area from a sitting area in the master bedroom, which is adjacent to a master bath with a Jacuzzi tub and snail shower.
Outside, the large, covered patio extends the length of the house and includes a custom fireplace, bar table, built-in barbecue and surround-sound system. Additionally, a large Pebble Tec pool and spa with mountain views is located near the Sports Court and several grassy play areas. The lot is approximately 27,000 square feet.
An equally imposing foyer with six round columns and several archways flows into an open-concept formal dining room and wet-bar-equipped great room with stone fireplace in this four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath house.
The gourmet kitchen has custom cabinetry and what mls.com called “top-of-the-line” stainless appliances, including a six-burner gas range and double wall ovens, along with granite countertops. The kitchen island is designed with a breakfast bar on one side and three sinks and a dishwasher on the other.
A breakfast nook offers panoramic mountain views, and the “bonus game
room” sports a second custom wet bar.
The master bedroom suite with sitting room, extended office area and views leads to the master bathroom with custom cabinetry, granite counters, dual sinks, and a custom tub and walkin shower. The suite is topped off with a “huge” walk-in closet.
A view of South Mountain is available anywhere in the backyard, which includes a large, heated pool with an adjacent elevated fire pit area, an outdoor dining space and built-in barbecue.
Situated on a lot of approximate 35,000 square feet, the home’s north and south exposures offer expansive views, while the west side faces South Mountain.
By Linda Berg AFN GUEST WRITER
According to the Arizona Regional MLS, the 161 home sales in Ahwatukee last month were up 3.9 percent from the 155 sold in July 2015, but down 12 percent from the 183 homes sold in June of this year. Nevertheless, total sales this year through July are 1,041, higher than the 1,006 sold in 2015 by the end of July.
The median sales price last month was $285,000, up from $270,000 in July 2015 and down from $299,000 in June of this year. The average list price of all current listings is $442,998, down 2 percent from last month.
The average sales price of $320,680 was up 3.9 percent from $308,747 in July 2015 and down from the $329,902 in June.
The market has been fluctuating up and down for the past few months. Market time, or days on the market (DOM) is an indicator of whether we are in a buyers’ or sellers’ market. An increasing trend of DOM may indicate more of a buyers’ market, while a
downward trend may indicate a seller’s market. July’s DOM was 56, down 11.1 percent from 63 days in June and up from 45 days in July of last year. The selling price per square foot is a good indicator of the direction of property values. Median and average sales prices can be impacted by the fluctuation of high and low inventory on the market. Price per square foot is a more normalized indicator of the market’s direction.
The July 2016 asking price per square foot on new listings was $163, down 1 percent from June and up 4 percent from July of last year. July’s selling price per square foot was $152, down 0.7% from the previous month and up 1.4 percent from July 2015.
July’s new listing inventory decreased to 167, down 17.3 percent from 202 in June and down 13 percent from 192 in July 2015.
The total inventory of properties for sale as of July 31 was 473 properties, up 9 percent from June and up 16.4 percent from July 2015.
The sales price versus original listing price indicates that sellers are receiving a little less than full price for their homes. Looking at the market overall, new
listings (197) were higher than the number of sales (171). Sales decreased 12 percent in July.
The MLS was carrying 473 listings in July for Ahwatukee’s three ZIP codes.
The median List price for all current listings in July was $348,500, while the median sales price was $285,000. The average list price of all current listings is $442,998 while the average sales price is $320,680.
The total supply of inventory has increased by 9 percent. As inventory increases and sales decline, the pricing of homes may be affected. Days on the market has decreased 11 percent, medium sales prices are down 5 percent and listing-to-sales ratios are slightly lower.
Interest rates are starting to push up and demand from homebuyers for homes under $300,000 continues to be high.
The biggest issue home owners are facing in this current market is appraisals. This makes it even more important to look at the entire market when pricing your home.
Linda Berg is a branch manager/associate broker for Coldwell Banker and has been a Realtor since 1978. Reach her at 480-753-3122.
>> From page RE 3
builds for these clients is a suite on the first floor, sometimes with a separate entrance and a kitchenette. Clients also often ask for a more detached suite with a separate walkway connecting it to the main house.
And while the bulk of his customers are requesting this housing for their aging parents, he’s seeing more and more adult children return to the nest.
“That certainly is a developing trend that needs to be watched,” Lemming said.
AFN News Service
If your oven heats up to only 300 degrees and your linoleum floor is peeling at the edges, it’s a good bet that your kitchen is long overdue for a renovation. But how much does a kitchen remodel cost?
According to Remodeling magazine, the average price of a minor kitchen renovation is $20,122, while a major overhaul will drain $60,000 from your bank account.
Here’s more of what you can expect to pay—and, even more important, some ways to save.
The biggest line items on a kitchen makeover are cabinetry (29 percent of a typical budget), appliances (14 percent), and countertops (10 percent). John Bodrozi, co-founder of the digital home management app HomeZada, breaks down the type of remodel you can expect in three price ranges:
countertops, flooring, lighting, and plumbing fixtures.
use your ingenuity to save more than a couple of dollars.
See more at the home of the Ahwatukee Foothills News
$8,000 to $15,000: Replacing existing appliances, refinishing existing cabinet doors, and resurfacing existing countertops.
$25,000 to $50,000: Demolishing the kitchen but keeping main appliance and plumbing fixtures in the same location. Then adding new cabinets, appliances,
$50,000 to $100,000: Same as above while also reconfiguring the appliance and plumbing fixtures as well as electrical and HVAC. A renovation this size usually means opening up the kitchen to include an eating area.
How to save on a kitchen redo
An unwritten home improvement rule is to spend 5 percent to 15 percent of your home’s total value on updating your kitchen. But that doesn’t mean you can’t
Cheryl Kees Clendenon, owner of
In Details Interiors, which is based in Pensacola, FL, offers these tips:
Face-lift vs. gut renovation: Avoid replacing cabinets as even a midrange option can run you $3,500 to $5,500. Facelifts should be confined to painting cabinets and updating hardware and lighting.
Appliance package: Unless you have unlimited funds or are a professional chef, “stick with the basics on appliances,” says Clendenon. “No one needs a six-burner stove.” The difference in your budget could be huge. A regular appliance costs around $200, while each high-end model could set you back $900. Plan, plan, plan: Poor planning that leads to contractors twiddling their thumbs waiting for something like a sink to arrive will send you over budget. If you’re tempted to splurge anywhere, countertops are a worthwhile investment, because they can radically change “the complexion of the space, improve function, and add value,” says Clendenon. Her go-to is the nonporous Silestone, which comes in multiple color options. Midrange countertops should cost between $2,100 to $4,100. None of these expenses can be considered pocket change, of course. But you will get some of that money back later whenever you decide to sell your home, because buyers will willingly pay for your new look. In fact, you’ll earn back an average of 83 percent of the money you spend on a minor upgrade, or 65 percent for a major overhaul. In other words: You’ve got to spend money to make money on a home. And besides, who doesn’t want a brand-new fridge and sleek new countertop?
By Lisa Johnson Mandell AFN News Service
Just when you think you’ve seen the ultimate amenities in luxury homes— plush private theaters, walk-in closets, pools with Playboy mansion–like grottoes — the 1 percent kicks it up a notch. Several notches, in fact. Because as soon as most of us start adopting these trends, the uber-rich move on.
Now, it’s not enough to have a spa-like master bathroom; the uber-rich feel they need an entire spa. And a built-in espresso maker in the chef’s kitchen no longer suffices; the wildly wealthy need a coffee bar that seamlessly flows into an outdoor, climate-controlled cafe in order to sip their lattes in comfort and style.
Walk-in closets were once considered the ultimate luxury. Then wealthy homeowners began converting whole bedrooms into closets. But all that was kid’s play.
Closets as big as an entire midsize home — with showroom styling, kitchenettes, fainting couches, bathrooms, makeup stations, and lavish staircases or elevators — are sprouting up like (very expensive) kudzu.
Jackie Siegel, aka the Queen of Versailles, is building a 5,000-square-foot closet in her infamous forever-underconstruction home, which at 90,000 square feet will be the largest in America.
The wet bar of yore has made a comeback in a big way, but stools lining up to a counter with a sink, minifridge, and beer on tap are no longer enough. The bars in the big houses have to have a theme: wine bar, sports bar, juice bar,
and more.
The spec home that Markus “Notch” Persson famously outbid Beyoncé and Jay Z for has three specialty bars: a James Bond–themed tequila installation, one dedicated to vodka consumption, and (our favorite) a $200,000 candy bar for the wee ones.
Why would you need more than one kitchen, you might ask? Well, show kitchens are all the rage. The idea: Why
get yourself all hot and messy when you can have a professional chef come in and perform for your guests?
The best way to pull it off is to have one primary kitchen for the family and a separate catering room for parties. Some Jewish homeowners have upscale homes with two kitchens (one for dairy, one for meat) to keep kosher. And then, of course, there’s the full outdoor kitchen, with top-of-the-line appliances, which no pool area is complete without.
There was once a time when a fivecar garage was considered a luxury. Ah, memories! Now the ultimate garage is a showroom for exhibiting a luxury car collection, with sophisticated climate control and security systems. Of course there’s a turntable so you can observe your Maserati from every angle without having to go to the trouble of actually walking around it.
Potential homebuyers can get a peek at Ahwatukee’s latest luxury gated neighborhood this weekend as Rosewood Canyon Estates holds a grand opening.
Tours of two model homes in the 40home neighborhood at Chandler Boulevard and 11th Avenue will be accompanied by giveaways — including second-row Diamondbacks tickets, second-row Coyotes tickets, and restaurant gift certificates — and an onsite broadcast by 94.5 KOOL radio at the opening, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Rosewood Canyon Estates is adjacent to South Mountain in a “gentle topography and a sensitive land plan that maximizes homeowner privacy and provides wonderful mountain views,” according to
>> From page RE 8
Other luxe garages, including this 2,700-square-foot underground showroom that comes with a Chicago penthouse (above), are decked out like the ultimate clubhouse for enthusiasts of vintage Ferraris and Porsches.
“The gallery garage is now the ultimate man cave,” says Realtor® Daniel Stevenson of The Agency.
You read that right: We’re not talking
a release from Rosewood Homes.
The two model homes include a 2,467-square-foot single-story house with a Spanish Mission architectural style and the 3,539-square-foot two-story house with a stone Ranch Hacienda exterior.
Rosewood said it will also be offering “a variety of additional well-detailed plans with generous standard features and authentic architectural detailing that will provide a custom quality streetscape.”
Rosewood Homes founder David Kitnick, who heads a five-member team at the Scottsdale-based firm, has earned numerous awards from the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona during his 30 years of building homes.
He is the only Arizona builder to earn the Eliant Homebuyers Choice Award for
high-tech kitchens or high-tech security systems; we’re talking bathrooms.
“The master bathroom has long been known as an in-home sanctuary where you can retreat after a long day and relax in your spa tub or steam shower. Now, you can make that space that much more luxurious with the help of smart technologies,” says prominent luxury Realtor Jade Mills.
“Turn your clear-glass shower opaque when someone steps in, warm up harsh, cold floors with radiant heat, warm your towels on cue, and transform your mirror into an LCD television at the press of a button.”
Best Overall Purchase and Ownership Experience in North America for an unprecedented four years.
“Rosewood’s mission is to provide industry leading customer satisfaction, quality and design in a few exclusive neighborhoods each year in Metro Phoenix,” he said. “We carefully select each land parcel then painstakingly craft each neighborhood to provide a remarkable sense of place and an enhanced ownership experience.”
He also has been called “one of the most innovative builders in the marketplace” by Design Lens, a company that tracks trends in home design.
The homes are up to 40 percent more efficient than current building code requirements and approximately 60-70
A sauna, a spa tub, and a massage room are no longer enough. Today’s inhome ultraluxury spas often take up an entire floor, and include an indoor lap pool, a meditation garden, a salon, both wet and dry saunas, and a room with Himalayan salt bricks that do something to the ions in the room for ultimate relaxation.
Our favorite is the 10,000-square-foot underground Hammam spa at L.A.’s famous Hacienda de la Paz, a palatial private residence listed for sale in 2013 for $53 million — the sixth most expensive listing at the time.
percent more efficient than most resales, the company said.
Other features include slab granite countertops, upgraded appliances, walkin pantries and kitchen islands along with home offices, guest rooms, exercise retreats, bonus rooms, wine rooms, and spa-like master baths.
Typical lots are between 6,750 and 7,300 square feet with most backing to open space and mountain views.
Construction typically begins one month after sale. A one-story home takes between six and seven months to complete and a two-story up to seven and a half months.
HOA dues total about $125 a month.
Information: www.RosewoodCanyonEstates.com
The perfect ahwatukee location!*Stunning remodeled single-level home at the end of a cul-de-sac*4 bedroom, 2 bath, and a 3-car garage!*Formal living & dining room*family room w/fireplace*kitchen includes new s/s frigidaire appliances,slab granite counters,mosaics,island,dark cabinets,recessed lighting, & walk-in pantry*hardwood flooring throughout*designer
closet*huge backyard w/covered patio and grass area*located next to everything ahwatukee has to offer!! Within walking distance of shopping,dining,parks,hiking, & freeway*priced below recent comps!* Offered for $315,000
With over 4400 SF of fine living, this property has all the special appointments and fixtures you expect in a luxury home. From the moment you enter you will be transported to your own private paradise. No expense was spared in this stunning and architecturally dramatic home featuring coffered ceilings, soaring windows w/plantation shutters, chef’s kitchen with granite, gas cooking, stainless appliances, new wood plank floors, 2 fireplaces, glorious master suite with huge walk in closet and luxurious master bath. Secondary beds have remodeled baths and walk-in closets. Entertain outside in your own private resort back yard with huge patio, swimming pool, built in BBQ, fire pit and great hillside views. This is a one of a kind estate. Offered for $1,015,000
Desirable Ritz floor plan by UDC. 4 br, 2.5 ba with 2,850 sq. ft. Large eat-in kitchen features granite countertops, island and stainless steel appliances. Just updated with new carpet, interior and exterior paint plus epoxy flooring in 3-car garage. North/South Exposure with mountain views. Private backyard with pool and spa .
for $428,500
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
Financing and investment strategies
will be highlighted during the second annual Income Property Expo in Mesa next month for residential and commercial real estate owners, property managers and first-time investors.
The free expo will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 20 and Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center St.
“You don’t have to be a millionaire to own apartment buildings or income property, but you have to know what you’re doing or work with professionals who do,” said expo producer Paul Smith in a release.
Kevin McClure of Arizona School of Real Estate and Business is among the speakers at the expo. He oversees the operations and strategic direction for all campus locations after being an instructor with the school for more than eight years. He has been in the real estate industry for 17 years and is owner and designated broker for Power House Realty. He also is known throughout the industry as an authority on technology.
Also scheduled to speak are: Denise Holliday, Hull Holliday & Holliday; Gene Guarino, Residential Assisted Living
Academy; Elizabeth Harris, Exeter 1031 Exchange Services; and Rhonda Babcock, MyScreeningReport.com.
Topics will include: “Turn a single family home into a cash flow machine,” “Finding long-term, low impact tenants,” “How to get above-fair market rents,” “How to operate the business and still collect the rent, “doing it with or without your own money,” and “tips on residential assisted living.” Nearly 100 vendors will showcase products and services, building materials, maintenance, repair and energy-savings, with opportunities to network with industry professionals.
Attendees may enter to win an Apple Watch Sport and $250 Visa Gift Card. Seminar seating is limited. Information: Jordan Smith at 800-931-6666, www. incomepropertyexpo.com/phoenix, or RSVP@IPMEXPO.com. Pre-registration at www.incomepropertyexpo.com.
Sponsors include Hull, Holliday & Holliday PLC, Arizona School of Real Estate & Business, Comer Nowling, Exeter 1031 Exchange, OneProp, My Screening Report, Safeguard, ExerPlay, Residential Assisted Living Academy, Roadrunner Paving & Asphalt, Behr/Kilz and True View Windows.
Regarding the article “Flake in Ahwatukee.”
As one of the 40 people sitting in the audience listening to our senator on Aug. 16, I’d like to give my impression of his speech.
As Flake pointed out, this country has some major problems to deal with: immigration, the deficit, security threats from the Middle East and Russia, and a sluggish economy. A crazy election season featuring a populist uprising on the left and right is masking the need for real problem solvers who can look squarely at issues, talk with colleagues across the political spectrum, and come up with solutions.
Senator Flake comes across as a thoughtful family man who has deep roots in Arizona and cares about our future. He didn’t give his answers a “spin” for his audience, but spoke with integrity.
It was a relief to hear an adult in the political room and for the first time in months, I felt proud to be an American. Thank you, Senator!
-Suzanne Tveit
On the last night of the Republican
National Convention, Donald Trump made a special point of giving praise to the audience for its resounding chorus of applause toward one of the speakers before him who said he was proud of being gay.
Since that was his coronation night as the newly installed Republican leader, I’m left to wonder about this change of direction in the party. With Trump’s praise for that which God has called an abomination and worthy of His most severe judgment, how is voting for him any different than voting for someone that believes in abortion?
When he promises to put conservative justices on the Supreme Court and to build an unscalable wall, and I vote for him because of it, what is the ultimate cost of my vote? Well, one of those costs is the new Republican leadership will almost certainly try to assimilate this sinful lifestyle more and more into the American mainstream, and with that, our culture “going the way of Sodom” will be that much more of a reality. Also, to choose the “lesser” of two evils is still to choose evil. So if that is our choice, how can God be blamed when His people are being oppressed by a spiritually destitute government?
Of course, there is a viable candidate who has a proven record of putting God first, and who has put everything personally at risk in his stand for the truth – Ted Cruz.
Of course, a write-in vote for him would require us to look at this election through the eyes of faith, because — as the argument goes a vote for another candidate would divide the Republican party and increase the possibility of living under the tyranny of Clinton.
Yes, that would be most unfortunate indeed, but isn’t that part and parcel of what faith is all about — making difficult choices, the right choice — that may end up being costly to us, and not end up being costly to God? Yes, that would seem to fit the definition pretty well.
So before we cast our ballot at the election box this November, we should consider that a good measure of our own faith can be seen in who it is we are voting for.
-Bart Masiero
Most of us know and believe it’s better to be proactive than reactive.
So with the high school football season just kicking off, I thought it would be good to be proactive and start praying now for the families of the 10 or more players who will die in the next ten weeks. “Heavenly Father, it’s with a heavy heart that we lift up
to you the families and friends of the high school boys who are about to die playing football. Please be with them in their time of sorrow. Comfort their hearts, give them an extra measure of inner strength and peace to deal with their loss. Give them neighbors and friends who will come alongside them and minister to their needs and just be there for them."
I always feel better praying about a situation rather than just talking about it. I hope you sense that also. If you have any more time later, I ask that you offer up another prayer for the 11 families who are undoubtedly still hurting from the loss of their sons during last year’s season. It seems an awfully high price to pay (one boy per week) to give a group of people something to do on Friday nights. But it’s one we are obviously willing to pay. My wife and I decided to be proactive and not let our son play football. We share the same beliefs that Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley, who recently said, “Football is a violent game that I personally don’t think humans are supposed to play.”
It’s fun watching the Olympics right now and seeing all the amazing things the human body has been designed to do. I hope more of will develop a sense of what it has not been designed to do.
-Brad Butler
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Not long ago during an interview, someone observed that it seemed like Ahwatukee was under attack. They cited the controversies that seem to be besieging this community, from the South Mountain Freeway to the uncertain future facing at least two of Ahwatukee’s four golf course communities. Throw in the uncertainty, disturbing trends and calamities that surround us all at a national and global level, and it’s tough not to want to reach for the panic button — or a bottle of Xanax. Which brings me to our Faith section. I don’t know the — pardon the pun — genesis of our weekly Faith column, but I can tell you one thing: It was a darn good idea I have no desire to tamper with. If anything, my only wish is that more leaders of religious congregations in Ahwatukee would join our stable of dependable contributors and share their messages of guidance and comfort in an increasingly rudderless and uncomfortable world.
We not only rotate our contributors, but try constantly to expand the range of religious leaders who write these columns. We are being ecumenical about it as well, not favoring one faith over another or adopting any one particular religious point of view.
That’s why one week, a rabbi will appear on our Faith pages and the next week you may see a Lutheran minister. We believe they all have something to offer in the way of advice that would be good for some reader’s soul.
Of course, the Faith section also includes a calendar of area churches’ activities, both special events and ongoing programs.
If you wonder why that calendar isn’t restricted to only Ahwatukee churches, the reason is simple: Membership in a congregation isn’t restricted to geographical boundaries and, in many cases, Ahwatukee residents travel across the border to Chandler, Tempe or beyond for services and other participation — just as people from outside Ahwatukee visit our local congregations to do the same.
of our calendar for the special seasonal events you want the public to attend. Whether conferences or carnivals, much-needed fundraisers or uplifting special services, the Ahwatukee Foothills News and ahwatukee.com are here to get the word out.
Again, forgive me one more pun, but there’s no sense hiding this news under a bushel.
The “rules” governing these submissions are no different from those governing more secular announcements: Make sure those releases cover the 5 Ws and H, which comprise most of the commandments of journalism: Who, what, where, when, why and how.
They are not intended to be a recruitment tool per se, though there’s nothing wrong with a column that ultimately provokes some readers to learn more about a particular faith. The columns can relate a point of faith to something going on in the world in general or some part of it, especially Ahwatukee. Or they can offer an observation rooted in faith that readers can apply to their own lives. Whether they are words of wisdom or solace, it’s really up to the writer.
I imagine that leading a congregation is a pretty busy job, and most leaders have their hands full just writing their weekly sermon. Still, I hope Ahwatukee’s faith leaders consider reaching out to a wider audience.
I’m not saying there’s a faith-based answer to the controversies and uncertainties generated by the freeway or the condition of Ahwatukee’s golf course communities.
But who knows? Someone just might offer us suggestions for getting through these trials, too, with less anxiety.
Include a daytime phone number we can call if we have any questions – we try, sometimes unsuccessfully, not to work around the clock. And be sure to get word to us at least two weeks in advance of whatever you want to publicize. Timing is everything in this business, and the last thing you want is to miss a deadline and fail to tell people what’s happening.
As fall approaches, this is a good time to remind Ahwatukee church members
For the columns, the rules are a bit different.
–Reach Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com.
Learn cheers, chants, jumps, and dance from the Desert Vista High School Cheerleaders!
All participants will be invited to perform during half-time of a Desert Vista High School Varsity Football game.
Who: All students in grades Pre-K through 8.
When: Saturday, September 10, 2016 from 1:00 to 4:00pm (Doors open for registration at 12:00pm) Performance will be Friday, September 16, 2016 during half-time of the Varsity Football Game.
Where: Kyrene Altadena Middle School 14620 S. Desert Foothills Parkway, Phx 85048
Cost: $35 Pre-registration, $40 Walk-in, $5 Sibling discount. Fee includes instructions, cheer clinic t-shirt, poms, refreshments, and admission for one adult to attend the Varsity Football Game.
Please visit www.dvcheer.com for a registration form and liability consent form. Payment will be collected on the day of the clinic by cash, check, or credit/debit. Make checks payable to “Desert Vista High School Cheer.”
By Mayor Greg Stanton AFN GUEST WRITER
It’s critical we make sure every young person in our community has the skills and education they need to succeed.
That work is especially important during the summer months, when our children aren’t in school and are at risk of falling behind.
In July, the City of Phoenix added new partners to promote our local efforts to keep kids engaged and learning during the summer including the White House, the National Summer Learning Association, Clear Channel and iHeartMedia, Inc.
At a recent event at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, we unveiled two new Clear Channel billboards and a radio public service announcement by First Lady Michelle Obama to encourage summer learning. These efforts help spread the message about
the importance of keeping our youth engaged all year round.
We know that children from lowincome neighborhoods are even more affected by the summer break. On average, they lose two to three months in reading achievement over the summer, while their higher-income peers actually make slight gains. This is a challenge in our community.
For 23 percent of Arizona children under age 9, poverty is a barrier to school readiness; for 48 percent, difficulty speaking and understanding English is a primary barrier.
We have to work together to make sure our kids are exposed to books, literary resources and hands-on learning opportunities early and often.
Nationally, the White House and the National Summer Learning Association launched the Summer Opportunity Project to keep kids learning, safe and healthy. And Phoenix is one of hundreds of communities
supporting the project through our own local initiatives, including Read On Phoenix and Great Start.
If students are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade, they are far more likely to continue struggling in the classroom and far less likely to graduate from high school.
Read On Phoenix is a public-private partnership that is tackling the literary crisis by bringing resources to our highest-need communities.
To make sure our youngest students are school-ready, we launched the Great Start initiative. Great Start gives incoming Phoenix kindergartners – the summer before they start their K-12 careers – free access to community learning centers, such as the Arizona Science Center and the Phoenix Children’s Museum.
These places help build a solid foundation of learning – but for many families, would be otherwise costprohibitive.
We started Great Start in 2013 with one school district, Balsz Elementary, and have since grown it to reach nearly 2,000 students and their families. The program now includes Phoenix Head Start and nine Phoenix school districts.
Both Read On Phoenix and Great Start can be transformative for students during the summer months. They keep our kids engaged, give them the tools they need to strengthen their reading abilities, and provide one-ofa-kind experiences to make sure they never lose their love of learning.
To find out more about our efforts: http://readonarizona.org/read-oncommunities/phoenix; https://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2016/02/25/fact-sheetwhite-house-announces-new-summeropportunity-project-0
We looked around every school before our eldest started kindergarten. Once my husband and I visited Keystone Montessori, we stopped looking. We have now been a part of the school for six years. Our children, ages 10, 8 and 2 love the school. The teachers’ commitment to our kids’ development, happiness and success and the freedom to choose and follow their own passion, are some of the many reasons of why we love Keystone. It takes a village to raise a child, and Keystone is the living example of a community working together for the future of each child. - Parent Testimonial
By Shelley Gillespie AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since he went into private practice 15 years ago in Ahwatukee, Dr. Collin Ito has been driven by a determination to be a people-friendly dentist.
Ito, 45, had no intention of cramming as many appointments in a day as possible, stranding already anxious patients in the waiting room. Nor did he want to send them off to a gamut of specialists.
He wanted his practice, Sonoran Hills Dental, to make patients feel their dentist cared about them, and that they didn’t have to worry about bracing for a dentist “with attitude.”
“I’m not here to conquer the world. I’m here to give the best care to patients,” he said.
So even before he became only the second business in the Ahwatukee Hills Plaza in 2001, Ito’s philosophy attracted his first patient.
Tess Powers had stopped to speak with him, explaining that even the thought of going to a dentist filled her with dread.
As a patient of Dr. Ito’s for the past 15 years, Powers now looks forward to her visits to Sonoran Hills Dental. She says she was especially grateful to him when a temporary crown fell off on a recent weekend. Powers is a singer and the thought of performing with her tooth missing was embarrassing.
So Ito met her on a Saturday and fixed her problem.
“Coming here feels like family. The care is fantastic,” Powers said.
Powers and her family are so pleased
with their dentist that her grown daughter, who is out of state attending law school, returns to Ahwatukee for her dental cleanings.
In a recent visit, Powers reminded Ito of the Brownie troop she brought to his office to learn about dentistry. Ito nodded with enthusiasm; he says he enjoys reaching out to the community.
Ito’s own son, Lleyton, 14, was afraid of dental treatments. With a series of gradual, alternative approaches that Ito uses to assist any fearful patient, Lleyton lost that terror. Since the beginning of his dental practice, Ito has seen changes in the profession and in patient expectations.
First, he says, everything is digital now. When he first began, patient charts were stacked high, requiring him to flip back and forth to see previous care and track progress.
Now, with digital X-rays, cameras and charting, there’s considerably less paperwork, and it’s easier to get the patient’s full history in one place.
When he started practicing, patients were accustomed to silver fillings and were less concerned about aesthetics.
Now, aesthetics are a major concern for patients, with tooth whitening, tooth-colored fillings and adult braces comprising a much larger portion of his services. Where one in 100 adult patients might have wanted braces 15 years ago, now as many as 20 percent of his adult patients requests them, Ito says.
More patients also are paying out of pocket for their dental care. Companies are less likely to offer a dental plan, so Sonoran Hills Dental offers a discount plan and a new patient special for $79.
While he embraces technological advances in dentistry, Ito prefers not to be an early adopter. For instance, CEREC crowns, which are constructed of non-metallic materials and inserted all in one day, are now becoming popular.
“I like technology to have the bugs worked out before I use it,” Ito explained.
His staff originally comprised his wife, Kristin, as office manager. But now Ito’s practice has grown to include office
manager Michelle Mickus, doctor’s assistant Laura Rios, full-time hygienist Jennifer Dahman, and part-time hygienist Jaime Brown-Roessing.
Family is an important value to Ito. He says he chose dentistry because it seemed to be the only medical practice where doctors were able to have a normal family life. Being a dad, husband and community member was important to him.
One of Ito’s favorite parts of his practice is seeing long-time families bring their own children to him.
As more sole-practitioners are consolidating into group practices, Ito has bucked that trend.
For his own dental care, Ito trusts his hygienists for cleaning. If he needs to go to another dentist, he has a couple he trusts. Fortunately, he said, his teeth are in good shape.
Where: 4909 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee. Contact: www.sonoranhillsdental.com, 480-785-9191.
Hours: Tuesdays-Thursdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
By Jared McDonald
With more people opposing smoking than ever before, many apartment complexes in the region and statewide are making the switch to smoke-free.
“It’s the new, hot amenity,” said Sharon Hosfeld, the smoke-free community coordinator for the Arizona Multihousing Association. “Places that have gone smoke-free have a wait list of renters.”
More people are opposed to smoking than ever before, said Hosfeld, and don’t want to smell secondhand smoke or the smoke that can permeate an apartment. Cigarette smoking has steadily declined since the 1960s, and only 16.8 percent of adults still smoke
today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In response to the growing opposition to smoking, apartment complexes are banning smoking inside apartments, or even within the entire complex.
Ahwatukee is home to two of the 30 smoke-free complexes in Phoenix. They are Mountain Park Ranch at 4221 E. Ray Road and Liv Ahwatukee, 160255 S. 50th St.
East Valley complexes that ban smoking include Generations at Agritopia in Gilbert, El Rancho del Arte in Mesa and Residences at Fountainhead in Tempe.
A full list of smoke-free apartments in Arizona is available at azsmokefreeliving. org/residents.
“In surveying our customers, the number of people looking for smoke-free housing far exceeded those who did not want it,” said Greg Morehead, regional supervisor for Fairfield Residential.
The Arizona Multihousing Association partnered with the American Lung Association to encourage more apartment communities to go smokefree, said Pamela McCarthy, regional manager for Fairfield Residential.
Going smoke-free benefits builders and apartment managers as well by saving them money. After a smoker leaves an apartment, a cleaning crew has to scrub the apartment of the smoke smell, a lengthy and expensive process.
“Smoke permeates everything,” said
McCarthy.
“Anything porous has to be replaced,” said Hosfeld. “We replace baseboards, carpet, ceiling fixtures, outlet covers, fridges and ovens. It takes a long time to turn over a smoker apartment, which is time you can’t rent.”
Hosfeld estimated it costs between $500 to thousands of dollars to revitalize an apartment, depending on how heavily the previous tenant smoked.
“In several units, we’ve had to go as far as replace the drywall to eliminate residual smoke from a unit,” said Morehead.
Going smoke-free can even give renters incentive renters to quit smoking.
“Some people use that little push to stop smoking,” said Hosfeld.
By Mike Butler AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
It’s the note or phone call every mom dreads receiving from the school nurse, and there’s really not much point in going beyond the words “head lice.” Almost everybody knows the drill.
Brothers and sisters and both parents have to be checked out. There’s the frantic trip to the drugstore to buy an over-thecounter topical product. A second treatment usually has to be timed nine or 10 days later to kill any newly hatched lice before they can produce new eggs.
In between, there’s a lot of nitcombing, a lot of laundering and a lot of vacuuming going on.
“It just puts your whole life on hold,” said Martell Deines, a mother of four and owner of the new Lice Clinics of America office in Gilbert, which promises a better way.
On a recent visit, Deines and her assistant were treating a Chandler mom and daughter who’d driven to the clinic directly from school.
As a first step, Deines performed a head check to confirm the presence
of eggs and live head lice on the daughter and mother. Next, the patients were treated with a tool called the AirAlle, an FDA-cleared device that kills lice and their eggs with heated air.
At 138.5 degrees, the AirAlle is cooler than a hair dryer, Deines explained, and the process takes 30 minutes or so to ensure that the lice and eggs thoroughly dry out and die.
It’s 99.2 percent effective, she said.
For the 0.8 percent chance that even one viable egg or louse might be left, Deines does a thorough comb-out with a mousse designed to loosen eggs from the hair, then applies nontoxic dimethicone oil, which quickly dispatches adult lice by clogging their breathing pores.
The mother, who asked not to be identified, admitted she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be spending an afternoon at the lice clinic. But she was very pleased to be lice-free and in possession of the certificate her daughter needed to return to school the next day.
“It felt like I was getting my hair done,” she said.
Patients leave the clinic after about
an hour with a 30-day guarantee, Deines said, which applies as long as all other members of the family have been screened.
Deines said the clinic works by appointment or as urgent care.
The full, guaranteed AirAlle treatment costs $175 per person, or $195 per person after 6 p.m. on weekdays, weekends or holidays. For $125 per person, you can get the Express Treatment, which includes the full AirAlle and dimethicone rinse, but you do the nit comb-out at home.
The Gilbert lice clinic at 3303 S. Lindsay Road, Suite 109, can also provide parents on a budget with a DIY kit for $65. It consists of topical treatments, which are more effective than over-the-counter products, Deines said.
“I think once the word gets out,” she said, “nobody will ever try to do this themselves again.”
For more information, visit www. liceclinicschandler.com, or call 602309-5468.
– Reach Mike Butler at 480-898-6581 or at mbutler@ahwatukeecations.com.
new parents or well-meaning grandparents encountering a fresh case of head lice, here’s a quick refresher and some myth-busters from health experts at Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A head lice infestation usually presents in a child as excessive itching and disturbed sleep.
Head lice spread in school children and day-care situations primarily through direct head-to-head contact. It’s rare, but still possible, to indirectly contract head lice from upholstery, pillows, towels, brushes and other items.
Head lice feed on human blood and can only survive on a human scalp. If a louse falls off the head through combing or other means, it dies within a day or two. Head lice cannot fly or jump.
Head lice don’t spread any kind of
serious disease.
A head lice outbreak at home or at school is not a reflection on personal hygiene or housekeeping habits. Head lice happen.
Dogs and cats have nothing to do with them.
Many children are misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed with active head lice infestations. Nits can be confused with dandruff, dirt and hairspray droplets.
Some nits may be empty egg casings left over from a long-ago infestation.
In any case, a nit is always firmly cemented to a hair shaft and very unlikely to transfer to someone else.
For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses recommend that school districts discontinue so-called “no-nit” policies.
See a health-care pro to confirm a case of live head lice infestation.
– Reach Mike Butler at 480-898-6581 or at mbutler@ahwatukee.com.
By Mike Butler AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
Some curious area kids are trying out the traditional north woods sport of log rolling at Skyline Aquatics Center and finding out that the activity is as easy as, well, falling off a log.
This isn’t your great-grandfather the lumberjack’s 500-pound cedar
log they’re using, however. They’re rocking and rolling the Key Log, a highly engineered synthetic log and brainchild of Judy Scheer Hoeschler, who won the first of her seven world log rolling titles in 1973.
Two of her four kids, Katie Hoeschler-
Taratsas and Will, were in Mesa recently to teach basic Key Log rolling skills and show off their own talents, which have won them multiple world log rolling championships.
Katie, a Scottsdale interior designer, said she keeps a Key Log in her backyard pool and uses it regularly for cardio and core-strengthening workouts. She introduced competitive log rolling to Middlebury College, and her sisters Lizzie and Abby followed in her footsteps. The Vermont college became the first to offer a P.E. credit in log rolling.
For a few years, the three sisters and their mother competed in the same elite rolling division.
Abby runs Key Log Rolling now out of Golden Valley, Minnesota, and Will said she deserves a lot of the credit for the company’s success. She and her mother not only share a passion for growing the business, but also for growing the sport.
In 2005, the Hoeschler family was asked to start a log rolling program in France, but the project sunk because of the prohibitive costs of shipping wood logs. The backbone of the sport was the very thing holding it back.
Five years later, on a cross-country
Katie Hoeschler-Taratsas helps Jake and Brady Alexander get the hang of log rolling. For information about Skyline Aquatics Center log rolling classes and to register, visit apm.activecommunities.com/mesaaz/ Home.
ski trail, Abby bumped into a couple of senior composite materials engineering students at Winona State University. They loved her idea for a portable, hightech log, and she hired them to do the math and help build a prototype.
Will said the outer, textured surface of the Key Log is made of high-density polyethylene. Inside, there’s foam to give the log buoyancy and rigidity and enough room for 50 gallons of water.
The Key Log weighs 400 pounds when
full; 65 pounds when empty. The logs are made just up the river from Minneapolis by Wenonah Canoe, a well-known name in the world of high-performance canoes and kayaks.
“It rolls pretty much exactly the same as a wood log,” Will said.
But the truly ingenious thing about Key Logs, he explained, are their removable “training wheels.” When cinched on, the trainers dramatically slow down the log’s rotation so that beginners do a lot
more rolling and a lot less flying. The trainers also give the log its distinctive key-shape profile.
Since that prototype, hundreds of summer camps, YWCAs and YMCAs, parks and recreation departments and schools have purchased Key Logs and have created indoor and outdoor rolling programs.
Recreation programmer Jodi Alexander said Mesa bought two Key Logs earlier this year and began offering rolling classes this month at Skyline High School for kids 8-17 and adults.
“Everyone has fun doing it,” she said. “We’re really excited.”
Will and Katie said the family’s next mission in growing the sport is to get log rolling into the Olympics.
It has a long history and tradition, Will explained, going back to the late 19thcentury North American lumberjacks who rode logs downriver to sawmills to prevent jams. Log rolling competitions sprung up all over the world, wherever the timber industry thrived.
Plus, Will said he sees similarities between boxing and log rolling.
“It’s a nonviolent sparring sport, which is really cool.”
– Reach Mike Butler at 480-898-6581 or at mbutler@ahwatukee.com.
By Rabbi Dean Shapiro AFN GUEST WRITER
Words have extraordinary power.
While that’s especially true of words declared to God, the Jewish tradition holds that all language has great impact. In Hebrew, human beings are known as “HaM’daber – the Speaker,” for that’s what distinguishes us from other species.
In Genesis, Adam’s very first action is to give names to every creature (Genesis 2:19-20). We organize our world through language.
Indeed, words shape reality. When a rabbi declares “I now pronounce you married,” the couple, their families, and the IRS accept the change in status. When a judge declares a person “guilty,” their life heads off in a profoundly different direction.
The world gets more colorful when the right person tells you he loves you. The color drains away when a student gets a ‘D.’
The rabbis of old understood that words can cause extreme damage, and named several language-related sins, among them humiliating, gossiping, and rebuking improperly.
According to an early Talmudic sage, public humiliation of another person is equivalent to shedding blood. So grave is the offense that “one who whitens a friend’s face (by putting him or her to shame) in public has no share in the World to Come” (BT Baba Metziah 58b-59a).
It is never right to embarrass another person.
Gossip harms the speaker, the
listener, and the person spoken about (BT Arachin 15b). The great scholar Maimonides (b. 1135 in Córdoba, Spain, d. 1204, Egypt) suggests that we not speak disparagingly of anyone, even if what we are saying is true.
My own mother warns, “He who’ll gossip with you will gossip about you.”
It is sometimes necessary to rebuke one who is doing wrong.
Leviticus instructs us to rebuke when we can correct faulty behavior (Leviticus 19:17). But, Maimonides added, we must do so privately, gently, and for our friend’s own good – not our own selfaggrandizement.
There are right ways, and there are wrong ways, to instruct others.
Through this thoroughly surprising election season, I’m reminded of the power of words. We’ve seen that words can energize and inspire, and also that they can inflame and harm. Words can help us articulate our shared values and understand our differences. They can chart and refine our collective path. They can also belittle, deceive, and obfuscate.
Jews are asked to choose our words carefully so that they will be true, helpful, and good. We value honesty, integrity, and modesty in speech and we ask that God will, in the words of prayer Elohai Ntzur: “Guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deception.
Before those who slander me, I will hold my tongue; I will practice humility.” (Mishkan Tfilah 100).
– Rabbi Dean Shapiro is the spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Tempe. Reach him at rshapiro@emanueloftempe.org.
WEDNESDAY SEPT. 7
CHILDREN’S CLUBS TO START
The AWANA Children’s Clubs for children 3 years old through the 6th grade will start Sept. 7 and continue weekly on Wednesday at Bridgeway Community Church in Ahwatukee. Activities include learning about God, memorizing Bible verses and games. DETAILS>> 6-7:30 p.m., 2420 Liberty Lane. Register: www.bridgewaycc.org.
SATURDAY OCT. 29
TRUNK OF TREAT
Pilgrim Lutheran Church & School will host its annual Trunk of Treat event. Church members will decorate their car trunks and fill them with treats. Members of the community are invited to bring their children to tour the “trunk of treats” for candy. Appropriate costumes are encouraged. A bounce house will be offered as well.
DETAILS>> 5:30-7 p.m., Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School, 3257 E. University Drive, Mesa. Information: 480-830-1724 or email office@pilgrimmesa.com.
VALOR CHRISTIAN OUTLINES MISSION
Valor Christian Church in Gilbert offers “great praise and worship and great messages for today’s living,” according to Pastor Thor Strandholt. “Our mission is evangelize, healing and discipleship through the word of God.”
DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. 3015 E. Warner Road. Information: valorcc.com.
HORIZON SEEKS YOUNG PEOPLE
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.
BEREAVED CAN SHARE GRIEF
A support group designed to assist people through the grieving process. One-time book fee $15.
DETAILS>> 2-4 p.m. at Arizona Community Church, 9325 S. Rural Road, Room G3, Tempe. 480-491-2210.
UNITY OFFERS INSPIRATION
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 unityoftempe.com.
KIDS CAN LEARN JEWISH LIFE
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 chabadcenter.com.
RABBINIC LIT COURSE OFFERED
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.” Readings 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.
UNITY OFFERS A PATH
Unity of Mesa says its Sunday service offers “a positive path for spiritual living” through “transformational lessons, empowering music and various spiritual practices with an open-minded and welcoming community.”
DETAILS>> 9 a.m. Spiritual discussion group and meditation practices group. 10:15 a.m. service. 2700 E. Southern Ave., Mesa. Child care available at 9 a.m. Nursery for infants through kindergarten at 10:15 a.m. 480-892-2700, unityofmesa.org, joanne@ unityofmesa.org
JOIN 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.
CLASS TARGETS THE GRIEVING 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.
>> See FAITH CALENDAR on page 40
>> From page 39
STRUGGLING FIND SUPPORT
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, 480-963-3997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or chandlercc.org.
TUESDAYS
DIVORCED CAN FIND COMFORT
People suffering through a divorce or separation can find understanding and caring support to face these challenges.
DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E Pecos Road, Room 117, Ahwatukee, 480-759-6200 or mountainpark.org
FINDING HEALING FOR PAIN
HOPE, an 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. mountainpark.org.
SENIORS ENJOY ‘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. evjcc.org or 480-897-0588.
HOLY TRINITY HAS GRIEFSHARE
DETAILS>> 2 and 6:30 p.m., 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480-963-4127.
READ BIBLE 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, 480-917-3593.
CELEBRATE RECOVERY MEETS
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 OFFERED
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 child care.
TAKE A COFFEE BREAK
Corpus Christi offers a coffee break with scripture study, prayer and fellowship.
DETAILS>> 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 3550 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee. Loraine 480893-1160 or CoffeebreakMin@aol.com.
GET A ‘SPIRITUAL SHOWER’
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 unityoftempe.com.
DIVORCED CAN FIND COMFORT
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.
CHABAD HAS TORAH FOR TEENS
The Teens and Torah program offered by Chabad of the East Valley is for teens ages 13 to 17, and 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 Deitsch, 480-753-5366 or chabadcenter.com.
THURSDAYS
MAN CHURCH IN CHANDLER
“Man Church offers coffee, doughnuts 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, 480-7268000 or cschandler.com/manchurch.
KIDS CAN FIND SUPPORT
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, 480-963-3997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or chandlercc.org.
ULPAN INSTRUCTION AVAILABLE
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. chabadcenter.com or 480-855-4333.
LEARN ABOUT 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>> 7 p.m. at Unity of Tempe, 1222 E. Baseline Road, Suite 103. 480-792-1800 or unityoftempe.com.
NEFESHSOUL HOLDS SERVICES
Congregation NefeshSoul holds Shabbat services the second Friday of every month on the campus of the Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
DETAILS>> 6:15 p.m., 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. Information: nefeshsoul.org.
TODDLERS CAN MARK 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. Rural Road. 480-838-1414 or emanueloftempe.org.
TOTS TAUGHT TORAH
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.
YOU CAN NOSH BEFORE SERVICE
“Nosh” and then enjoy the Shir Shabbat service led by the Shabba-Tones, the Shabbat musical group. DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m. first Friday of the month, Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. 480-8381414 or emanueloftempe.org.
DINNER FOLLOWS SERVICE
The service is followed by a congregational dinner (by reservation only). Optional Israeli dancing after dinner. DETAILS>> 6 p.m. on third Friday of the month, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. 480-838-1414 or emanueloftempe.org.
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 Sholom of the East Valley, 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. Shabbat Morning and Torah Service weekly at 9 a.m. 480-897-3636 or tbsev.org. or info@tbsev.org.
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 emanueloftempe.org.
Congregation Eitz Chaim is traditional and egalitarian. Newcomers welcome.
DETAILS>> 7 p.m., services at 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. eitzchaimphoenix.org.
Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com
By Justin Ferris
GETOUT/AFN STAFF WRITER
Discover historical hospitality
You can’t explore the history of Arizona without talking about the Fred Harvey Company. Get more insight into this influential hospitality company, and the famous Harvey Girls that worked there, through guest lectures and discussion.
Details>> 5-6:30 p.m., Thurs. Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Tickets: $10. 602-252-8840 http://heard. org/event-tickets/
The legendary all-female band The Go-Go’s brings the beat to the Valley for the last time. After 38 years, they’re disbanding, so it you want to see them live, this is it. Also playing are Best Coast
and Kaya Stewart.
Details>> 7:30 p.m., Thurs. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington Street, Phoenix. Tickets: $38.50-$68.50. 602-3792800 http://www.comericatheatre.com/
Get your toes tapping with this award-winning band. The six-person ensemble headed by Francisco Briseno plays traditional bluegrass and country, along with the occasional popular music tune. Event better, the concert is free.
Details>> 7:30 p.m., Fri. Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Cost: Free. 480-782-2680 http://www.chandlercenter.org/
“The Drowsy Chaperone, described as “a musical within a comedy,” is a Tony award-winning production that focuses on “Man in Chair” as he listens to the cast recording of a fictional musical set in the 1920s. As the musical comes to life, he offers wry commentary that’s sure to make you laugh.
Details>> 7:30 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. through Oct. 8. Hale Centre Theatre, 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbert. Tickets: $30 (adult), $22 (student), $18 (5-12). 480-497-1181
https://www.haletheatrearizona.com
“Insipración Flamenca” is the title of dancer Julia Chacon’s entrancing evening of evocative dance, engrossing guitar music and traditional flamenco singing. Show up early for happy hour and food at Boss Pizza Bar.
Details>> 8 p.m., Fri. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380
E. Second St., Scottsdale. Tickets: $12 (advance), $15 (door). 480-499-TKTS (8587) http://www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org/
Chile pepper aficionados might recognize the name “Hatch.” Hatch, New Mexico claims the title of “Chile Capitol of the World,” but you don’t need to take a road trip to sample its excellent product. Get fresh Hatch chiles roasted right here in the Valley.
Details>> Noon-7 p.m., Sat.-Sun..
Chelsea’s Kitchen, 5040 N. 40th St., Phoenix. Admission: Free. 602-957-2555 http://www.chelseaskitchenaz.com/
Take in the range of Native American art and history, including the exhibit “Personal Journeys: American Indian Landscapes.” Plus, watch champion hoop dancer Derrick Suwaima Davis and basketry artist Lakota Scott, and do your own art projects.
Details>> 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Cost: Free. http://heard.org/
British tribute group performs Britain produces some of the best pop stars, going all the way back to the The Beatles. Those British Girls offers a send up to female British pop stars like Petula Clark, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, The Spice Girls, Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse and Adele.
Details>> 3-5 p.m., Mon.. Wild Horse Pass and Casino, 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., Chandler. Tickets: $20. 800-9464452 http://www.wingilariver.com/ wild-horse-pass
Get more ideas for fun things to do in the East Valley - and beyond - at Phoenix.org.
By Alison Bailin Batz
It’s always a good time to visit Sedona. Over the past year, several resorts and restaurants in the area have stepped up their game with facelifts, expansions and other enhancements aimed at making tourists’ experience even better than before.
Here’s a look at three.
Orchards Inn, located in Uptown Sedona and just steps from some of the area’s best shopping, dining and art galleries, recently completed a nearly year-long remodeling. The inn, which boasts of some of the most awe-inspiring views of the Red Rocks, added on a Sonoran-style Mexican restaurant with 89 Agave Cantina and re-imagined its guest rooms and suites.
Each room now features new furniture and fixtures with details and colors that reflect the nearby mountains, creek beds and running water. Every detail is infused with subtle hints of the Southwest,
are
the
allowing guests to experience the unique visual and cultural surroundings of Sedona even when they are in the
comfort of their room.
In conjunction with the completion of the guest room update, which also
includes several pet-friendly rooms, the property has implemented a new series of programs and packages. Each experience is inspired by Sedona’s unique beauty and tailored for families, couples and groups.
Information: orchardsinn.com.
Already one of the most luxurious and eye-poppingly beautiful resorts in the world, L’Auberge underwent a recent $7-million renewal targeted at improving guests’ arrival and dining experiences by focusing on Oak Creek, on which the resort is located.
The result: each of the upscale accommodations — including Vista Suites, Creekside Cottages and Lodge rooms — have been renovated with modern furniture, Italian linens, down bedding, and inspired décor featuring local artists.
Many cottages offer cozy fireplaces, outdoor cedar showers and private
>> See SEDONA on page 45
Since its inception in 2003, TPI has studied thousands of golfers ranging from the top professional tour players to weekend enthusiasts. Using this data, TPI discovered how a properly functioning body allows a player to swing a golf club in the most e cient way possible. By integrating our team of TPI certi ed physical therapists, certi ed personal trainers , and PGA Golf Professionals, Pritchette Physical Therapy, operating as Rehab Plus of Ahwatukee, o ers one of the most comprehensive golf training programs available.
WHERE: Rehab Plus of Ahwatukee WHEN: August 27, 2016 • 12-3pm
Pre-registration – $25 per person prior to day of event
Multiple registration discount – $20 per person for multiple person registration
Event Day registration – $30 per person registration day of event
*Payment will be collected day of event, or you can pay by phone
This clinic will work with each individual one-on-one, so please register and include your preferred time between 12-3pm. We will have our event coordinator contact you to schedule your speci c time. Wear loose athletic attire. Golf equipment will be on-site for use.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27
By Connor Dziawura
STAFF WRITER
Deftones has a simple formula for writing new songs: “just start making noise.”
“Basically, when someone does something that draws the other people in, we pounce on it,” said bassist Sergio Vega. “Everyone is very quick to add to each other’s ideas.”
The band used this method for its eighth album, “Gore,” which was released in the spring. Vega said Deftones members may not waver from their recording process, but the sound is always different.
the form of a six-string bass, which adds new elements to Deftones’ music. That’s part of the Deftones’ wish to incorporate different pedals, amplifiers and other equipment into the mix.
IF YOU GO
What: Deftones
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Where: Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa.
“Gore” is the follow-up to 2012’s “Koi No Yokan,” an album that was released a year before Cheng died. The four-year gap is the longest in the Deftones’ career. Contrary to what this long silence would imply, the band found itself on a creative streak.
Cost: $47.50 Information: 480-644-2560 or mesaamp.com
“What changes from record to record is really our palate,” explained Vega, who joined Deftones in 2009 when then-bassist Chi Cheng died after a serious auto accident. “What makes it unique isn’t the songwriting process as much as what toys we have.”
Vega recently added to his toy chest in
“We wound up with more material than ever before,” Vega said. “We have so many ideas that didn’t come to fruition or some that did and didn’t get recorded. We were really hitting a peak in terms of output, creatively.
The Deftones say they like changing up their music from record to record to reflect “what toys we have.”
“The thing that made it take longer in a calendar sense was that we were just taking a lot more time off. Instead of concentrating on it over seven months at once, we would give ourselves a couple of weeks at a time.”
Fans and critics agree that this was a good move. “Gore” became Deftones’ highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 since their 2003 self-titled release.
Now, they are bringing songs from “Gore,” along with their classics, to the
Mesa Amphitheatre on Aug. 31.
“It’s the first record that I wouldn’t mind just trying to play front to back,” Vega said. “It’s a great record. I’m just stoked about it. I’m really hyped on it, so if we get to play anything off it, I’m kind of happy.”
The Higley Center for the Performing Arts has announced its 2016-17 fall schedule. It features a variety of performances, opening with guitarist Chris Proctor on Oct. 16, and wrapping up with Alaska’s fiddling poet, Ken Waldman, April 2.
Here is the complete list. To purchase tickets, call 480-279-7194 or visit higleycenter.org.
Chris Proctor
Oct. 16, Little Theater; $25 U.S. National Fingerstyle Champion
Chris Proctor’s guitar-playing on both six- and 12-string guitars is a blend of folk, jazz, pop, Celtic, Appalachian and classical music.
“Men are from Mars/Women are from Venus” Oct. 21, Concert Hall; $59
The light-hearted off-Broadway comedy hit, “Men Are From Mars/ Women Are From Venus,” is a one-man fusion of theater and stand-up comedy, blending funny domestic tales with retro stand-up.
Bill and Kate Isles
Oct. 22, Little Theater; $25
Bill and Kate Isles are an acoustic singer/
songwriter duo known for their catchy melodies and memorable songs. Using a wide variety of musical styles, their performances carry audiences through a broad landscape of experiences, from metaphorical worlds to small town family stories to zany comedy.
Bob and Bing’s Road to Victory Nov. 11, Concert Hall; $26-$49
Returning to the Higley Center for the third time, Lynn Roberts stars as Bob Hope, Bob Pasch as Bing Crosby, and Chuck Carson as the emcee in this tribute to veterans in a recreation of a Bob Hope USO show.
9 String Theory
Nov. 12, Little Theater; $25
9 String Theory is the unique musical collaboration of Angelina GalashenkovaReed and John Huston. GalashenkovaReed is a virtuoso of the three-string Russian domra — a lute-like instrument known for its purity of tone — while Huston has distinguished himself as one of the most exciting and expressive classical guitarists of his generation.
Bee Gees Gold: Bee Gees Tribute Show
Nov. 13, Concert Hall; $31-$36
John Acosta’s Bee Gee’s Gold Tribute is the ultimate salute to the Bee Gees in their prime. Backed by a live band, the Bee Gees Tribute recreates the look and sound of the Bee Gees from the ’60s to the late ’70s, with the unique falsettos that made them legends.
Sawyer Brown
Nov. 19, Concert Hall; $35 to $69
One of the premier acts in music, with 23 albums, more than 50 chart singles, and CMA, ACM and CMT awards, Sawyer Brown thrives on playing live. Described by some as the “Rolling Stones of Country Music,” the band delivers its own unique brand of high-energy entertainment.
Tim and Myles
Nov. 20, Little Theater; $25
Tim and Myles Thompson are father and son singer/songwriters who have been inspiring audiences throughout the country. Tim Thompson is the 2008 International Finger-Style Champion guitarist and Myles Thompson is a violinist and mandolin player
Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King
Dec. 2, Concert Hall; $23 to $44.80
“Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King” faithfully recreates the sound of one of the famous singer’s concerts, leaving audiences with memories of the great music she wrote and recorded.
This Wonderful Life
Dec. 4, Concert Hall; $21 to $42
Based on the iconic 1946 holiday favorite film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” this one-man play brings to life more than 32 familiar people in a display of physical and verbal virtuosity. This 75-minute tour de force is at once inspiring, funny, poignant and uplifting.
Kingston Trio with Jim Curry
Dec. 10, Concert Hall; $46 to $77
“A Christmas Together” joins “The >> See HIGLEY on page 46
balconies. Guests are also able to see the creek upon arrival at the completely reimagined lobby and welcome cottage.
There are two new restaurants — Cress on Oak Creek and Etch Kitchen & Bar. Both were designed to infuse the creekside location into each guest’s dining experience, and both succeed on all levels.
Each venue is headed up by executive chef Rochelle Daniel, one of the few women to hold that position in the Southwest.
Prior to L’Auberge, Daniel gained fame working at Zinc Bistro in Phoenix and then consulting for the opening of Lush Burger Restaurant and by providing food demonstrations through The Food Network. Her menus range from high-end bar bites to multicourse, sommelier-paired tasting menus.
Cress on Oak Creek has already been named “one of the top ten restaurants in the Southwest” by Conde Nast Magazine.
A variety of fitness and wellness activities — some traditional and some uniquely Sedona – are offered daily and worth the trip alone, including Creekside yoga, duck feeding, forest bathing, hiking, guided runs, expertled stargazing and even a chance to mix one’s own “signature scent “ in the L’Apothecary Spa.
Information: www.lauberge.com.
Seeking solace in the healing red rocks of Sedona following a family tragedy two decades ago, executive chef and restaurateur Lisa Dahl shed her life in the fashion industry of San Francisco for a fresh start as a self-taught chef.
She created a culinary empire that would ultimately redefine the culinary scene in the resort town. Dahl opened her first restaurant, Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano, in 1995. More than 20 years later, Dahl & Di Luca remains a dining tradition for generations of locals and travelers alike and is credited with opening the door for other chefs to create their own footprint in Sedona, a town with just 10,000 residents but 3 million annual visitors.
As demand continued, Dahl expanded her own presence in Sedona opening Cucina Rustica, an Italian-Mediterranean fine dining concept, in 2003. That was followed by her first casual restaurant serving pizzas and salads in 2013, Pisa Lisa, which she hopes to expand outside of Sedona.
Just last year she opened her most ambitious project yet — Mariposa LatinInspired Grill, a dramatic new destination restaurant focused on South Americaninspired cuisine that reflects Dahl’s style and love for fashion, design and art.
Dahl uses a wood-fired grill and woodburning oven to create handmade empanadas, ceviches, grilled chorizos, fresh fish dishes, mole and house-made chimichurri sauces inspired by her travels to Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Information: mariposasedona.com.
Kingston Trio Holiday Concert” and “Jim Curry’s John Denver Rocky Mountain Christmas.” This world premiere features the Kingston Trio playing holiday songs, old favorites and a pops concert of its Christmas repertoire. Opening the show is Jim Curry, who performs his John Denver holiday tribute, using the original orchestra arrangements written for the now-deceased singer.
Hypnohype
Jan. 6, Concert Hall; $21 to $42 Master hypnotist Asad Mecci stars in “Hypnohype,” a comedy/hypnosis show. Mecci has been featured on Entertainment Tonight, MTV, HGTV, MuchMusic and Maxim Online.
Doc Holliday by Wyatt Earp
Jan. 7, Little Theater; $25
Written by Terry Earp, in collaboration with Doc Holliday’s closest living relative, Karen Holliday-Tanner, this play chronicles the West’s most famous dentist and his journey from being one who heals to one who “keals” (kills).
Alley Cats: Doo-Wop Drive-In
Jan. 14, Concert Hall; $21 to $42
The Alley Cats are America’s doo-wop group, serving up a perfect blend of 1950s and 1960s hits and comedy. With their tight, four-part harmonies and delightful antics, these musical comics have been Jay Leno’s opening act for the past seven years.
Acoustic Eidolon
Jan. 25, Little Theater; $25
Acoustic Eidolon is the internationally acclaimed duo that brings together musicians, Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire. Scott created and performs on a unique 14-string, double-neck banjo/guitar—the guitjo—both necks of which he can play simultaneously. Alkire is a classically trained cellist, known for mesmerizing emotion and risk-taking moves that take her cello performances into uncharted territories.
Jack Wright and the Heartlight Band
Feb. 4, Concert Hall; $23 to $44.80
Jack Wright and the Heartlight Show Band capture the poetic expressions of Neil Diamond’s varied musical styles, and share stories of the performer’s life.
One Great Night of Folk Music
Feb. 5, Little Theater; $25
Linda Bilque has been part of the lineup for the last six years. Joining Bilque this year are Three-Legged Dog and the popular duo of JC and Laney.
Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband
Feb. 9, Concert Hall; $23 to $44.80
Acclaimed master songwriter and musician, Ryan Shupe, and his RubberBand combine witty lyrics, fun stage antics, sing-alongs, and ballads in a fresh, crossover style.
Peter, Paul and Mary Remembered
March 2, Concert Hall; $21 to $42
Marty Province, Dave Dumas, and Sharron Owen, the three members of Peter, Paul and Mary Remembered, pay tribute to the trio as they helped guide many through changing times.
Ken Waldman
April 2, Little Theater; $25
Alaska’s fiddling poet, Ken Waldman, plays string-band style music, linked to Appalachia, predating bluegrass. Some of the tunes Waldman plays are more than two centuries old, although he also plays and has recorded more than 100 more that he wrote.
By Zach Alvira AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Although nationally-ranked Mountain Pointe High rolled to a 51-6 rout of Sandra Day O’Connor last Friday in its football season opener at Karl Kiefer Stadium, it might have been costly for the Pride.
Sophomore defensive tackle Matthew Pola-Mao, a preseason all-state prospect, was assisted off the field with a knee injury. He was taken to the locker room for evaluation and later returned to the sideline on crutches with an ice bag strapped to his knee.
It is believed to be a strain. His availability for Mountain Pointe’s game Saturday in Corona, California, against Upland High in the Brothers in Arms Classic is not known.
A 202-yard rushing effort on nine carries – a whopping 22.4-yard average
– by junior running back Gary Bragg helped the Pride break open a close game as MP tallied 27 points in the third quarter.
Bragg ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the opening snap of the second half and then scored again from 20 yards. Bragg’s rushing was complemented by two quick interception returns for scores by junior Kenny Churchwell and senior Rashie Hodge Jr.
Bragg then polished off the night with a 73-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter.
>> See MOUNTAIN POINTE on page 50
Mountain Pointe’s Kenny Churchill scored a touchdown off an interception.
By Jason P. Skoda PREP SPORTS DIRECTOR
An overtime football game that lasts just two plays is exceptionally cruel for the losing team.
It means a stumble, or in this case a fumble, never gave it a chance after a hard fought game
Desert Vista High School selfdestructed in overtime Friday and host Perry High players celebrated like wild men after overcoming so much to win 3024 in 6A Conference action on opening night of the 2016 season.
“It’s a tough way to lose,” Desert Vista coach Dan Hinds said. “We put the ball on the ground too many times.”
The one miscue the Thunder were unable to overcome came on the first play of overtime, which gives each team possession on the 10-yard line, when
quarterback Nick Thomas fumbled and Perry recovered.
Then on the first play for the Pumas, Kenny Fultz found a hole on the left side, slipped a tackle and carried in another
defender for the 10-yard winning score.
“I just did what the coaches told me to do – push it in and end it,” Fultz said.
“The line gave me a hole and I wasn’t going to stop until the end zone.”
Soon there after the whole Perry squad was there with Fultz in a wild celebration to kick off the season with a big-time win between two teams that were hard to judge coming into the year.
“It’s so huge in my eyes with the history of Desert Vista and Coach Hinds,” Perry coach Preston Jones said. “They are always a great football program and anytime you can beat Desert Vista is huge for our program.”
Perry won despite playing without starting quarterback Brock Purdy, who is over mononucleosis but hasn’t been cleared yet, as sophomore wide receiver D’shayne James took over behind center. He took snaps all throughout the spring and fall camp, and knew he was going to start for a few weeks, but it didn’t mean
By Chuck Corbin AFN GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Each year an estimated 21.5 million kids ages 6 to 17 participate in organized youth sports programs, according to a recent ESPN survey.
This is a considerable increase over the participation rates in the 1970s.
Title IX had a lot to do with the increase in sports participation as opportunities for girls in sport increased dramatically with its passage into law in 1972.
The increase in the number of community and school sports teams led to an increased need for youth sport
coaches. As both girls and boys programs expanded, volunteers with little expertise and experience in youth sport coaching were recruited to fill the need.
In 1979 a group of concerned experts drafted a “Bill of Rights for Child Athletes” to guide volunteer coaches and parents of child athletes.
Education programs were developed to train coaches in the skills and techniques of sports and coaching techniques designed to assure the rights of kids in sports. The web link below provides current information about current coach education programs.
Recent studies indicate that participation in youth sport has decreased in recent years after years of growth.
• Right to participate in sports.
• Right to participate in sports commensurate with each child’s maturity and ability.
• Right to have qualified adult leadership.
• Right to play as a child and not as an adult.
• Right of children to share in the leadership and decision-making of their participation.
• Right to participate in safe and healthy environments.
• Right to proper preparation in sports.
• Right to equal opportunity to strive for success.
• Right to be treated with dignity.
• Right to have FUN in sports.
• --Courtesy of SHAPEAmerica, used by permission
Still, more than half of young boys participate in youth sport and nearly half of girls participate. However, by the early teen years many kids have dropped out.
The leading reason was “I am not having fun.” Having fun in sport is one of the 10 basic rights of youth athletes — perhaps the most important one.
Other common reasons for dropping out include: health problems or injuries, a stated desire to focus on studying and grades or on other activities, disagreements with the coach or teammates, a feeling of not being good enough, or a family’s concern about potential injuries.
While the Bill of Rights for Child Athletes was created more than 35
years ago, it is still a good document for both parents and coaches to review periodically.
Adhering to these rights may help reduce kids concerns and help to keep them to have fun in sport and to stay involved.
More information: ESPN source: http://espn.go.com/espn/ story/_/id/9469252/hidden-demographicsyouth-sports-espn-magazine Coach education information: http:// www.asep.com/YouthLevel/Benefits.cfm
Be sure your child is ready for school sports
By Lori Francoeur AFN GUEST WRITER
With the arrival of a new school year and the start of many sports, it’s the perfect time for a refresher course on sports injury prevention.
For many kids, back to school means back to sports. Unfortunately, suffering from a sports-related injury is always a possibility during practices, games and competitions.
The easiest thing to do is to inspect all safety and athletic gear to make sure it properly fits. Over the summer, your athlete may have grown, so make sure they head to school with properly fitting shoes.
If there is an emergency that arises, make sure your athlete’s medical history and emergency contacts are up-to-date. This will help prevent any confusion and quicker medical attention if needed.
Especially in Arizona, hydration is key. It’s important to make sure your athlete is drinking water throughout the entire day and not just chugging water or Gatorade right before practice. Educate your athlete on the importance of stretching.
A dynamic warm-up prior to your workout and post workout stretching greatly reduces the chance of injury and can keep your athlete pain free. Be proactive. If your child has a persistent ache or pain, get them in for a FREE injury assessment. We offer hands-on physical therapy that gets results. We want your child back on the field quickly and safely.
Lori
By Jason P. Skoda AFN SPORTS DIRECTOR
They all left with the same aspirations and with the hope of returning to the States with an extra carry-on for the flight back. And a few did.
The East Valley had nine athletes
compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics with varying results, and more than a few medals will be coming back to Arizona.
Mountain Pointe’s Will Claye, Highland’s Alex Naddour and Marcos de Niza’s Sam Dorman all found their way to the podium and had a medal placed around their neck.
Claye won the silver for the second Olympics in a row, finishing behind fellow American and Florida Gator Christian Taylor in the triple jump.
Claye, who jumped a personal best 58 feet and 2.67 inches, stole the show by making his way to the stands afterward and asking American sprinter Queen Harrison to marry him.
He had the ring in his bag while competing, but was able to focus on the competition without letting the other big event get in the way.
“When I woke up this morning I was thinking, ‘Today is going to be the best day of my life,’” Claye told reporters. “I’m going to go out there and do what I have to do on the track first and I am going to make her my fiancée after that.”
Dorman and Michael Hixon had never competed together in synchronized diving before the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this summer.
They stood on the podium together in Rio as silver medalists.
Dorman, 24, and Hixon, 22, scored 450.21 points over six dives in Wednesday’s final, finishing second to Chris Mears and Jack Laugher of Great Britain (454.32). China’s Cao Yuan and
Qin Kai took bronze (443.70).
It was the first international competition for Dorman, and he came away with a medal that he will always have as a reminder.
“I mean, just look at it, it’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s a dream come true, really, and I’m very, very grateful and blessed to be in this situation.”
Naddour didn’t perform like he was capable of in the U.S. men’s gymnastics squad’s bid for a team medal, falling off the pommel horse, his best event.
He made up for it during the individual medal portion as the Queen Creek resident and Highland graduate was nearly flawless to come away with the bronze, which was the first time the U.S. medaled in the event since 1984.
Here is how everyone else from the East Valley fared in Rio:
Mountain Pointe’s Reid Priddy helped the U.S. men’s indoor volleyball team to Friday’s semifinals, where one more win will give the country a medal after the team fell in the quarterfinals in 2012.
Mountain View graduate and ASU junior Kat Simonovic competed in the
>> From page 47
“I couldn’t do any of that without the blocking ahead of me,” said Bragg. “I give it all to my team.”
For a few minutes early, the Eagles looked like they might give the Pride a run for their money when quarterback Chris Aguilar picked up a fumble and eluded the over-pursuing Pride defense for a 54-yard score for a 6-0 lead.
The Eagles gained only 60 yards rushing aside from the broken play.
MP senior quarterback Noah Grover, in his varsity debut, then led the Pride to a field goal to make it 6-3.
“Everybody has the jitters, especially in their first game coming out,” Gover said. “When I came out I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s a big crowd. Once I hit the field it all goes away. It all drains out and it is all about the play.”
With an arsenal of athletes who can make a big plays, it was easy for Grover to settle down.
Delano Salgado, a junior, gave the Pride a 10-6 lead on a 40-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
Mountain Pointe’s special teams got in on the action when senior returner Jayden Brooks found a lane along the sideline for a 58-yard punt return that extended the lead to 17-6.
In the second half the Pride showed why they are deserving of the national ranking with big play after big play.
“It spikes up what we need to work on, of course, but it really gives our confidence a boost,” Grover said. “We come out here and play like this in the second half and it really shows us that we can come out next week feeling confident.”
Mountain Pointe 51, Sandra Day O’Connor 6
SDO 6 0 0 0 - 6
MP 10 7 27 7 – 51
Scoring
First
SDO – Aguilar 54 run (pass failed)
MP – Abercrombie 20 field goal
MP – Salgado 40 run (Abercrombie kick)
Second
MP – Brooks 58 punt return (Abercrombie kick)
Third
MP – Bragg 80 run (Abercrombie kick)
MP – Bragg 20 run (Abercrombie kick)
MP – Churchwell interception return (Abercrombie kick)
MP – Hodge Jr. interception return (kick failed)
Fourth
MP – Bragg 73 run (Abercrombie kick)
Team Stats
MP SDO
Rush-yards 24-315 32-114
Comp-Att-Int 5-8-0 10-19-2
Pass Yards 63 85
Total Yards 378 199
Fumbles/lost 1-0 1-0
Individual Stats
Rushing
MP – Bragg 9-202, Brooks 3-29, Hodge 5-33, Salgado 2-41, Olsen 1-16, Grover 3-(-8), Woodberry 1-2. SDO – Galbreath 1-(-1), Barnes 3-(-1), #28 (not listed) 10-16, Aguilar 7-71, King 6-7, Willis 3-18, Craddock 2-4
Passing
MP – Grover 5-8-0-63. SDO – Aguilar 6-8-0-54, King 4-10-2-31
Receiving
MP – Hinojosa 1-10, Hodge 2-19, Pola-Mao 1-14, Brooks 1-20.
SDO – Johnson 4-38, Smith 1-12, Unverferth 2-14, Evans 1-0, Langford 1-10, Galbreath 1-11.
he was completely prepared.
“I was really nervous when I first found out, and I had to settle down,” said James, who fumbled on the first play of the game that led to the Thunder’s first touchdown three plays later. “I need to get hit over and over again, get smashed to really get into it, and then after that I settled in.”
James showed flashes of the talent, hitting his older brother, Nate, on a fourth and 10 on the sideline before Nate made two quick moves for a 45-yard touchdown to tie at 7. James scored the touchdown, and caught the 2-point conversion that tied the game at 24 in the fourth quarter, that has Perry coaches excited about the team’s future.
“The big thing with him was he just needed to calm down,” Jones said. “He was the deer in the headlights in the first half. Once he settled down he was fine. Most schools would love to be in the position to have a player like D’shayne James.”
Desert Vista looked to have grabbed control of the game on back-to-back drives that bridged the first and second halves.
The Thunder scored with six seconds left in the second quarter when Thomas hit Keishaud White on a 3-yard pass for a 14-10 lead to complete the drive. Thomas made several impressive individual plays to keep the drive going.
Desert Vista marched down the field after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half and Thomas again found White on the same play for a 5-yard touchdown to go up 21-10.
But then Perry found its running game, mostly on dive plays up the gut between Clayson Conrad and Fultz as the Pumas managed to tie it at 24 with 8:57 left in the fourth.
“The O-Line was 100 percent better in the second half,” D’shayne James said. “We were able to get back into and didn’t worry about being down.”
The Thunder enter their bye feeling a bit down, but can take solace in that they lost last year’s opener in similar fashion only to rebound and make the playoffs.
“It was like last year in that we beat
(Bill
ourselves,” Hinds said. “If we came out and got pushed around then I’d be worried. We had some troubles with the quarterback exchange at times, but that kind of stuff is correctable. That’s
something we can fix and move forward knowing we are better than that.”
Contact writer: 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JasonPSkoda.
Perry 30, Desert Vista 24 OT
DV – 7 7 7 3 0– 24
P – 7 3 6 8 6 – 30
Scoring
First
DV – Thomas 1 run (Erickson kick), 11:03
P – N. James 45 pass from D. James (Zendejas kick), 2:36
Second
P – Zendejas 28 FG, 9:16
DV – White 3 pass from Thomas (Erickson kick), :06.3 Third
DV – White 5 pass from Thomas (Erickson kick), 9:35
P – Conrad 13 run (pass failed), 3:40 Fourth
DV- Erickson 26 FG, 11:56
P – D. James 2 run (D. James pass from Dickie), 8:57
OT
P – Fultz 10 run
Team stats
DV P
First downs 13 16
Rush-yards 30-138 35-122
Comp-Att-Int 14-27-1 9-19-0
Pass yards 126 177
Total yards 264 299
Penalties 4-16 6-55
Fumbles/lost 3-2 3-1
Individual stats
Rushing
DV – Thomas 18-123, Dillard 5-15, White 4-3, Davis 3-7. P – Fultz 11-38, Dickie 1-5, Confrard 8-31, D. James 15-38.
Passing
DV – Thomas 14-27-1-126. P – D. James 9-19-0-177.
Receiving
DV – White 5-25, Dillard 4-40, Porter 1-6, Davis 1-6, Chavez 2-16, White 2-37. P – N. James 2-62, Fultz 2-44, Moss 3-37, Speaker 1-38, Dickie 1-5.
I
>> From page 49
200 and 400 freestyles for Serbia, but was unable to improve on her qualifying times to make it out of her heats.
Gilbert’s Jay Shi finished 14th in qualifying in the 50M pistol shooting and 18th in the 10M to miss out on the finals.
• Maintaining muscle as we age
• Fitness-Rehab
• Flexibility for Longevity
• The importance of nutrition as we age • Keep the mind sharp with
Dobson graduate Julie Johnston and the U.S. women’s soccer team were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden via penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.
Gilbert’s MyKayla Skinner watched the U.S. women’s gymnastics team dominate as an alternate, but was never called on to perform.
Tempe’s Pau Tonnesen was in the midst of competing in the decathlon for Spain at deadline.
– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898- 7915 or jskoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
PROFESSIONAL PAINTING
480-961-5093 602-571-9015 ROC #189850 Bond/Ins'd
Smart Recovery Meeting Wed’s 7:00 -8:30 p m 6400 W Del Rio Chandler
Montessori School next to Unitarian Church room 5 All issues drugs, alcohol, gambling, online addictions, & medications 480-5322460
In-Ahwatukee Toastmasters Club meets from 6:458am every Tuesday at Dignity Health Urgent Care Ahwatukee - Community Room (1st floor) 4545 E Chandler Blvd , Phoenix AZ 85048 Guests welcome anytime! http://4873 toast mastersclubs org/
Widowed-to-Widowed
Grief Support Group every Monday at 6pm, Pyle Adult Recreation Center Tempe (SW corner of Rural & Southern) Call Kay at 480 861 8031 for more information
sociation) is starting their new season on
monthly luncheon is held at the Sheraton
, Phoenix/Ahwatukee
Social hour starts at 11am and lunch is at
Deadline for reserva-
Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book Step Study Mtg Every Tuesday 7:00pm Closed meeting Child care provided Mtn View Lutheran Church 11002 S 48th St , Phoenix 85044
GARDEN CLUB, DESERT POINTE Garden Club Meets the 1st Monday of every month at 9:30am @ Ahwatukee Recreation Center NEW MEMBERS WELCOME 5001 E Cheyenne Sept - May Only Call Pat Faust 480-588-6613
Crops of Luv
We make Scrapbooks for critically-ill children who have had their "WISH" trip come true! Scrapbook with us make embellishments for us, donate your time, or your commercial space donate funds to ship albums, etc! Does your teen need community service hours? We could use their help! Copsofluv com for more info! 480 634 7763 Ahwatukee based non-profit
Open your Heart and Home Host an International Student!
(including coffee/tea
of the Farmers Market acgarden org
AMERICAN LEGION AHWATUKEE Post #64 We Meet Every 3rd Wed at 3pm at the Ahwatukee Retirement Center At 5001 E Cheyenne Dr, Phoenix, Az 85044
Contact ED MANGAN Cmdr 602-501-0128
erly licensed as a contractor, disclose that fact on any form of advertising to the pub-
Again, this requirement is intended to make sure that the consumer is made aware of the unlicensed status of the individual or company
Contractors who advertise and do not disclose their unlicensed status are not eligible for the handyman's exception
Reference: http://www azroc gov/invest/licensed by la w html
As a consumer, being aware of the law is for your protection. You can check a business's ROC status at: http://www azroc gov/
Please contact Pascale Dunton 602-980-4388 west@iseusa org west iseusa org
