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DISABILITIES WAR
State acts as lawsuits pile up against businesses. p16
GET HEARD
How to engage in Election 2016 debates. p27
CLEAN SLATE
Realtor couple takes over Ahwatukee dry cleaner. p32
SEAFOOD WITH SASS
Ditch the forks at Angry Crab Shack. p39
PRIDE RIDE
Mountain Pointe wins in California. p45
Neighbors p3
Community p20
Around AF p22
Opinion p27
Faith p37 GetOut p39
Sports/Rec p45
Classified p48
Ahwatukee Foothills News
Young
ADOT on the hook for water to a third Ahwatukee golf course
By Paul Maryniak
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
The quest for permanent sources of water for two of Ahwatukee’s remaining three golf courses has become a complex search that carries the potential for a huge cost to Arizona taxpayers, totaling more than $1 million a year indefinitely.
While the fate of Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Club’s now obliterated course is still the subject of a contentious
fight inside and outside the courtroom, a source of water for the courses at Club West and the Foothills golf communities also remains mired in uncertainty.
Club West’s golf course became the center of a fight between the city and course owner Wilson Gee last week after the city Water Services Department abruptly cut off water on Tuesday because of an unpaid bill totaling about $159,000.
>> See WATER on page 6
ADOT says it has no plans for elevated South
Mountain Freeway
By Paul Maryniak
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
At $1.77 billion, it will be Arizona’s most expensive highway project ever. It will include Arizona’s first effort to build a modern interchange called a “divergent diamond.” And it will include Arizona’s first long-term maintenance contract for a highway builder.
But one thing the South Mountain Freeway won’t include is an elevated right-of-way. It will largely run at grade while three cross streets will be elevated over it.
Crews are expected to begin removing desert plants around the intersection of I-10 and the Loop 202 Santan Freeway by next week in preparation for construction of the 22-mile freeway. The plants will be moved to a nursery ADOT is creating nearby and will be transplanted when the road is completed.
Although residents at the Aug. 22 Ahwatukee Foothills Village planning meeting expressed concerns that the freeway would be elevated and block their mountain and desert views, the Arizona Department of Transportation long ago discarded that idea.
Also ditched was any plan for a depressed freeway, similar to stretches of the Loop 101 in the East Valley, because of costs and other considerations.
“We would have had to acquire far more houses and businesses to build a depressed highway,” ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugel said. He added that
>> See FREEWAY on page 7
Trevor Mohl has his hands full getting ready for Mountain View Lutheran Church’s Ahwatukee Preschool’s Little Olympics. Waiting their turn are, from left, Jacob Bennett, Knox Leland, and Bronson Odell Wadley while Candace Johnson supervises. More photos and story.p20
Olympians
The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.
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Mountain Pointe senior discovers a calling through volunteering
By Jill Hanks
AFN GUEST WRITER
Last spring, when Mountain Pointe High School Principal Bruce Kipper shared with students an opportunity to volunteer with iCanShine, senior Lola Fox had no idea it might impact her future.
The international charity collaborates with local organizations to serve people with special needs. Down Syndrome Network of Arizona recently hosted one of the organization’s five-day iCanBike camps at Ability 360 Sports and Fitness Center in Phoenix.
“The camp used specially designed bikes that are geared for individuals with special needs to help them learn to ride a 2-wheel bike,” explained Jessica Blackwell, volunteer and program coordinator for Down Syndrome Network of Arizona.
When Lola heard about iCanBike, she felt compelled to volunteer. “It was summertime and kids ride bikes,” she said.
“I didn’t want some kids to feel like ‘I can’t do this because I’m different.’”
It’s hard to say who got more out of the experience – Lola or her rider, 12-year-old Luke Williams.
“People who have Down syndrome tend to have less muscle tone and can struggle with the balance and coordination required to ride a bike, but we have always believed Luke would be able to learn someday,” explained Luke’s mom, Robyn Williams. “It was clear that Lola’s presence by Luke’s side helped give him the confidence he needed to keep going throughout the week.”
Luke’s parents credit Lola’s friendly smile and spirit with helping to give their son the priceless gift of independence. Lola remembered the moment everything clicked and Luke was riding on his own.
“The best part was running beside Luke when I didn’t need >> See NEIGHBORS on page 7
Mountan Pointe High senior Lola Fox helped give fellow student Luke Williams self confidence, his mother said.
(Laura Bishop/Special to AFN)
BACK TO HOME
Harmless traces of meth found in 3 Mountain Pointe High classrooms
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
Tests have found small traces of methamphetamine in three Mountain Pointe High classrooms, but there is no need for alarm, the school principal told parents Friday in an email.
The email was a follow-up to one sent Aug. 12 by Principal Bruce Kipper about the classrooms in the west end of the school’s G-wing.
“First and foremost, I want to assure you that students and staff are safe,” Kipper’s email said.
The tests were conducted last week in connection with an ongoing investigation that began May 25 during a routine inspection of the unidentified guard’s apartment, Kipper said.
Although at that time “the apartment was in very good condition and received high ratings,” Kipper said, that was not the case during an inspection in early August, about a month after the guard had resigned and moved out.
“The empty apartment was in a very poor condition at that time and was significantly different than it had been in May,” Kipper wrote. “There was also an unknown odor.”
Kipper said Phoenix Fire tested the apartment’s air, and were also asked to check nearby classrooms even though the apartment has its own air system.
While awaiting the results of tests taken between Aug. 17 and 19, students and staff were relocated from the three classrooms.
“The surface tests conducted in the nearby classrooms indicated a trace amount of methamphetamine residue,” Kipper said, adding the amount is less than 100 nanograms. A nanogram is one billionth of a gram.
Kipper said experts have assured the district “this amount is not harmful and will not result in any health problems for those who spent time in the classrooms.”
“In fact, the amount detected in the classrooms is not enough to cause any effect at all,” Kipper added, noting the classrooms won’t be used again until they are professionally cleaned and retested.
District spokeswoman Jill Hanks said “the reaction from parents has been positive” to the way Kipper has handled the incident.
During a meeting he held last Thursday with parents of students who had had classes in those three rooms, “they broke into applause several times as they expressed their appreciation for Mr. Kipper’s handling of the situation and for allowing them to hear the results first,” Hanks said. “He has not received any negative feedback from them.”
Hanks said the affected classrooms are not occupied during all periods.
She also stressed, “The methamphetamine residue found in them is invisible and, to be clear, is such a miniscule amount it would not cause any health or safety effects. The certified industrial hygienist who conducted the testing focused on areas that don’t receive regular cleanings like walls and ceilings.”
She declined to talk much about the security guard, only stating:
“The role of the night security guard is to serve as the first defense against vandalism, thefts and potential disasters like flooding from a water main break or damage from a monsoon storm.”
Kyrene fires teacher who walked off the job at Ahwatukee school
Kyrene School District’s governing board has approved the firing of a recently hired special needs teacher at an Ahwatukee elementary school for walking off the job less than a week after he started.
The board last week approved the dismissal of Timothy R. Schuneman, who had begun teaching Aug. 1 at Kyrene del Milenio.
According to formal charges for dismissal presented to the board, Schuneman had been on the job only four days Aug. 4 when he told Principal Carrie Furedy that he had difficulty managing a new kindergarten student who had never been in an educational setting before.
Although Furedy offered to move the student to a different teacher, Schuneman refused the offer and instead left his building keys in the school front office. The next day, a Friday, he went to the district office, surrendered his badge and announced he was resigning, the formal charges said.
Later that day, he told two district directors “that he did not feel equipped to manage a difficult kindergarten student who hits and kicks,” the charges said.
District officials then offered Schuneman additional training and, when he refused that, warned him that he had to submit a resignation letter to the school board and then wait until they could find a replacement.
Otherwise, officials warned, Kyrene would file a complaint with the state Education Department, which could then suspend or revoke his teaching certificate.
When the teacher failed to show up for work the following Monday, district officials gave him a final warning and a last chance to follow procedures for resigning.
The board found that Schuneman violated both his contract with the district and state teacher regulations.
Schuneman could not be reached for comment.
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
>> From page 3
to hold onto the handlebar anymore, and the training wheels came off, and he didn’t even know it. He was screaming for his dad and it just made me want to cry, it was such a good feeling to see him succeed,” she said.
Luke’s parents said he loves riding and for years has ridden a tandem bike with his dad. It makes Lola happy to picture them now riding side by side for their favorite outing – to get frozen yogurt.
His mother said the ability to use an independent mode of transportation will benefit Luke for the rest of his life.
Lola’s mom believes the experience was lifechanging for her daughter, too.
“I truly think she may have found her calling,”
Laura Bishop told Kipper while thanking him for the volunteer opportunity. She said Lola had been considering studying nursing in college, but after her experience with iCanRide and the PEER Help program at Mountain Pointe, Lola believes she’s meant to be a special education teacher.
PEER Help allows students to earn an elective credit by assisting students and teachers in special-needs classrooms. Lola is assigned to a math class where she helps students with activities like math bingo and dice games but what she enjoys most is “just being their friend, sitting with them at lunch, and making them feel not so different.”
It’s quickly become her favorite class.
“I just want to stay all day. It brings a smile to my face all day long,” Lola said.
She loves the idea of returning to Mountain Pointe some day to teach in the PEER Help program. But before that, she’s telling anyone who will listen about iCanBike.
She hopes to bring an army of teenagers with her to next summer’s camp.
“I looked around and realized I was one of just a few kids volunteering. There were a lot of adults and I feel like when a kid helps a kid, it’s more social. It’s like ‘this is my friend teaching me instead of an adult showing me how to do something.’” Lola explained. “It’s fun, only five days and so rewarding. More people need to know about it.”
Blackwell added: “This program could not work without the help of the wonderful volunteers who dedicated their time and energy. The volunteers ran alongside the riders every step of the way with words of encouragement, support, and friendship.”
Luke’s mom agreed, stating, “We are so thankful for Lola’s willingness to volunteer and for how she helped Luke achieve bikeriding success.”
–Jill Hanks is executive director, community relations for Tempe Union High School District.
–See more at: http://www.tempeunion.org/MPHSBikeRide-Lola-Fox-finds-her-calling#sthash. m64wDn1A.dpuf
–Send news about your Ahwatukee neighbors to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com or call 480-898-5647.
WATER
On Friday, the water was turned back on after Gee paid the city $100,000 and agreed to make monthly payments on the remainder.
And while two separate groups of Club West homeowners are struggling to find a permanent source of cheaper water for their golf course, a water issue for the Foothills golf course and the community’s five lakes has been slowly playing out as well.
The controversial South Mountain Freeway is at the center of the Foothills’ water problem; the community’s course and five lakes rely on a well near Pecos Road and 24th Street that would be rendered useless by a planned ramp.
The Arizona Department of Transportation so far has spent between $700,000 and $1 million drilling for a replacement well in three locations with no success.
Gee, who owns the courses at the Foothills, Club West and the Ahwatukee Country Club, said ADOT offered to move the ramp so the well could continue servicing the Foothills.
“That would have put the well about 10 feet from the ramp,” Gee told the Ahwatukee Foothills News. “We said that was too close to traffic. How would we service it being so close?”
Although Foothills owns the well, Gee owns the water rights.
Gee said that if ADOT can’t find a replacement well, the state would pay Phoenix
for potable water for the Foothills. He estimated that would cost more than $1 million annually.
Under federal law, ADOT must either find a replacement or pay the annual cost to replace water the Foothills got from the well.
“We have to find a replacement for the well or compensate the owner,” said ADOT spokesman Dustin Krugel, adding that highway planners are still trying to save the well by redesigning the freeway around it.
The Foothills Community Association considers the well “vital,” according to ADOT’s environmental impact study for the freeway.
“The FCA’s well is a part of the lake system that provides physical and aesthetic amenities to Foothills-area residents and to the golf course,” the study said, adding the highcapacity well can produce 730,000 gallons of water per day.
“The well is an integral part of the five-lake system, which 1) provides and stores irrigation water, 2) serves as an aesthetic feature, and 3) provides storm water retention for area drainage. The lakes are interconnected by pressure and gravity piping, which allows water to be pumped to the lakes for storage and provides circulation as well as operational flexibility,” the study states.
The golf course needs about 300,000 gallons per day in the winter and more than 1 million gallons per day in summer, according to the study.
The study outlines ADOT’s alternatives for finding a new water source:
“ADOT’s first choice would be replacement
of the acquired well. ADOT prefers to pay well owners to replace the acquired well. This would involve negotiations with the well owner and a payment to the owner for associated replacement well costs.”
The study goes on to say those costs also would include hydrology studies, exploratory drilling and well construction, and the cost of
‘ Finding a suitable location for a new well in this area may be difficult.’ –ADOT Study
connecting the new well to the Foothills.
“It is understood that finding a suitable location for a new well in this area may be difficult,” the study says. “In the event that well replacement is not possible, ADOT would still replace the water that would be lost through the acquisition.”
“If well replacement were to be impossible, alternative sources of water may be provided,” the study says. “These replacement water sources would probably prove more costly than the pumping of wells; therefore, the difference between the costs of pumping the well and the new water source would be included in ADOT’s negotiations with the well owner.”
If the freeway can’t be redesigned, the
Freeway
>> From page 6
construction of a depressed freeway would have caused more disruption to nearby neighborhoods.
What will be elevated in Ahwatukee are Desert Foothills Parkway, 17th Avenue and 24th Street, according to preliminary designs that are still being fine-tuned. Those three thoroughfares will cross over the freeway at grades ranging between 17 and 28 feet.
ADOT representatives are already meeting with Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher to discuss the overpasses. He had expressed “serious concerns” about those plans.
Zuercher told ADOT in an Aug. 16 letter that “enhanced connectivity, mobility, accessibility and maximized land use and development in these areas would be negatively affected by” ADOT’s decision to keep the freeway at grade and elevate the crossover streets instead.
Since that letter was sent, his office has met with ADOT twice and will continue meeting to discuss the preliminary design and possible changes.
The elevated portions of Desert Foothills Parkway and 17th Avenue will merge with the freeway in an interchange built in a fashion that has never been tried in Arizona before, Krugel said.
Called a “divergent diamond,” the interchange was pioneered in Missouri and has now been
Goldman Ranch well on the south side of the freeway path could be the answer to ADOT’s Foothills water problem, Gee said.
Located about two miles east of the Foothills’ current well, the Goldman Ranch well is not being used.
No one yet knows if it can provide enough water.
If the well is a suitable replacement for the Foothills, ADOT would then have to pay for a pipeline that would run along the freeway path and eventually hook up with pipes near the 24th Street well.
Club West could also benefit if the Goldman or some other well provides more water than the Foothills needs, Gee said.
Homeowners associations for the two communities would have to negotiate a deal, and Club West would also have to pay for the pipeline that would connect it to the new water source.
Another solution could involve three other wells on land owned by the Gila River Indian Community that also stood in the freeway’s path. Those wells are among 121 wells along the freeway’s path that will be affected by its construction.
Although engineers redesigned the freeway to avoid impacting the wells, the GRIC abandoned them, although the community still owns them, Krugel said.
So far, no discussions have been undertaken between the tribe and either golf community. A GRIC spokesman did not return requests for comment.
built in more than 20 states.
Perfected by a University of Maryland engineering graduate student in 2000 and first used by Missouri in 2009, divergent diamonds are considered an unconventional but costeffective approach to moving freeway traffic expeditiously through interchanges with cross streets, according to an organization of design consultants called Advanced Transportation Solutions/American.
In a divergent diamond, non-freeway motorists cross over from the right side of the road to the left side as they cross over the freeway, in effect, driving as they would in England. Once they cross the freeway, motorists are switched back to the standard right side of the road.
Considered less accident-prone than other kinds of interchanges, the divergent diamond was listed by Popular Science magazine as one of the best innovations of 2009.
The two Ahwatukee intersections will have “half a divergent diamond,” Krugel said, because right now only desert and the reservation are on the south side of the freeway.
“A full diverging diamond interchange configuration is not needed at this time as there are currently no connections to the south from the Gila River Indian Community,” Krugel said. “If a need presents itself in the future, a south connection could be added.”
Although ADOT officials stressed last week that the South Mountain Freeway’s design has >> See FREEWAY on page 7
Freeway
>> From page 6
not yet been finalized, they expect to have a more detailed explanation of their plans at a series of public hearings next month, including one at Desert Vista High School on Sept. 27.
The contract for the freeway’s construction, which accounts for $916 million of the total $1.77 billion project cost, also includes a 30-year maintenance requirement for the contractor. The balance of the total cost went for design, property acquisitions in the right of way, and administrative costs, Krugel explained.
Krugel said the maintenance requirement — the first for an Arizona highway-building project — makes it incumbent on the builder to “get it right” when the freeway is built or risk having to pick up the tab for any problems that develop after it opens.
He also stressed that ADOT will be using walls and rubberized asphalt surfaces to reduce freeway noise.
There are several other unique aspects to the construction job.
The state developed a public-private partnership with a team of four companies, called Connect 202 Partners, to design and build the freeway and provide maintenance for 30 years after construction.
The team consists of Fluor Enterprises Inc., Granite Construction Co. and Ames Construction Inc., with Parsons Brinckerhoff
Inc. as design lead. Initially, the plan was to have nine separate projects along the freeway path. The partnership not only provides better coordination of all construction activity, ADOT said, but cuts completion time as well as costs. Construction will begin at both ends of the freeway simultaneously with an eye to opening in late 2019 or early 2020.
The freeway’s design also reduces the amount of right-of-way needed as well as the amount of earth that will have to be hauled away by trucks.
The project will include construction of a 15-footwide, multi-use trail along the existing Pecos Road alignment from 40th Street to 17th Avenue.
Learn more about freeway
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.
Minimum wage opponents fail to file required spending report
By Howard Fischer CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Proponents of hiking the state’s minimum wage have already collected more than $1.4 million to put the issue on the November ballot and convince voters to support it.
But there’s no word on how much the Arizona Restaurant Association has spent so far trying to keep Proposition 206 from ever getting to voters.
New campaign finance reports due last Friday show donations of $1,357,509 to Arizonans for Fair Wages and Health Families, with another $100,000 on loan from campaign consultant Bill Scheel. About $900,000 was spent hiring paid circulators to put the issue on the ballot.
But the secretary of state’s office said Friday it has yet to get a spending report from foes. In fact, spokesman Matt Roberts said foes have not even filed to form a campaign committee, a legal prerequisite for spending any money for or against ballot measures.
There clearly has been some spending.
The restaurant association hired attorneys and filed suit on July 14 in a legal bid, unsuccessful to date, to have the measure removed from the November ballot. And the report due Friday is supposed to cover all expenses through Aug. 18.
Neither Steve Chucri, president of the restaurant group, nor Chiane Hewer, its spokeswoman, returned repeated calls seeking comment.
Roberts said his office has no legal opinion on whether the money spent in court over ballot measures has to be reported. But the legal expenses incurred by initiative supporters are listed, with their report saying the group paid $70,000 to the Torres Law Group to defend them in the lawsuit brought by the restaurant association.
Proposition 206, if approved in November, would immediately hike the state minimum wage from $8.05 an hour now to $10. It would hit $12 an hour by 2020, with future increases linked to inflation.
It also would require companies to provide five days of paid sick leave a year; small employers would have to offer three days.
There is one thing missing, however, from the report by the pro-206 group.
The report shows $998,684 of the donations coming from Living United for Change in Arizona.
But Tomas Robles, former director of LUCHA who is now chairing the campaign, said some of those dollars came from elsewhere. He said the organization has been the beneficiary of funds from groups like the Center for Popular Democracy and the United Food and Commercial Workers
union.
Robles said, though, that the way Arizona law has been amended by the Republicancontrolled legislature does not require detailing the specific donors or the amounts they gave.
While any spending by the restaurant association to date is unknown, the campaign is likely to be overshadowed, at least financially, by the fight over Proposition 205.
That measure would legalize the recreational use of marijuana by all adults; current law limits use of the drug to those who have certain medical conditions, a doctor’s recommendation and a stateissued ID card.
So far the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has amassed more than $3 million in donations.
Of that, $778,950 comes from the Marijuana Policy Project, the national group that funded the successful 2010 campaign for medical marijuana. A separate Marijuana Policy Project Foundation kicked in another $236,572.
Virtually all of the other five- and sixfigure donations come from existing medical marijuana dispensaries. Proposition 205 would give them first crack at getting a license for one of the fewer than 150 retail outlets that would be allowed until 2021.
So far the campaign has spent nearly $2.6 million.
The opposition Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy reported collected $950,011 but has spent less than $294,000.
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce is the largest single source of funds for the anti-205 campaign, so far putting in $114,000.
There’s also a $100,000 donation from T. Sanford Denny. He’s the chairman of United National Corp. which Bloomberg says is a privately owned holding company for First Premier Bank.
Another $100,000 was chipped in by Randy Kendrick, wife of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick.
The new reports also show that a branch of the Service Employees International Union spent $2.1 million in its ill-fated attempt to put a measure on the ballot to cap the compensation of non-medical hospital executives at $450,000 a year.
Proponents gave up after a lawsuit was filed contending that many of the people who circulated petitions had not complied with state law, voiding any of the signatures they collected.
On Twitter: @azcapmedia
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Coyotes, D-backs stir relocation rumors
By Gary Nelson AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
If municipal boundaries were erased, the four largest towns in the East Valley would emerge as the 10th-largest city in the country.
Ten times bigger than Green Bay, Wisconsin; five times bigger than Salt Lake City; and more than twice as big as New Orleans, the East Valley would be a metro powerhouse with a national cachet.
History—each of our cities took separate root more than a century ago with miles of desert between them—stands in the way of there ever being such a merger. But thinking about the East Valley in comparison with the likes of Green Bay, Salt Lake City and New Orleans leads to this question:
Why couldn’t the East Valley—like those other, much smaller towns—have its own bigleague sports franchise?
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It may have seemed that was decided years ago when the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Coyotes all settled elsewhere.
But in the restless, mercenary world of professional sports, very little is permanent. Now, three of the Valley’s big-league teams are publicly unhappy with their accommodations, leaving the door ajar for speculation about whether the East Valley could land one or more of the teams.
The NHL Coyotes are probably the unhappiest of the bunch—and perhaps the leading candidate to wind up in our backyard.
The team’s relationship with Glendale has been rancid almost since they dropped the first puck at what’s now called Gila River Arena in 2003. Last year, the Glendale City Council
canceled its management agreement with the team, which immediately vowed to look elsewhere for a new home.
Matters between the baseball Diamondbacks and Maricopa County, which owns Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, are not much prettier at the moment.
The team has asked the county for $65 million in stadium upgrades. The county said no to most of that, asserting that the proposed changes were mostly cosmetic and therefore the team’s responsibility.
County Supervisor Andy Kunasek wrote a strongly worded letter on that issue to the Diamondbacks in April, saying “take your stupid baseball team and get out.” Team president Derrick Hall wrote back, “I will assume that based upon your comments, there is no interest on behalf of either the city of Phoenix or Maricopa County in furthering the past relationship between the Diamondbacks and those respective governmental entities.”
Since then, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to sell Chase Field to private out-of-state investors for no less than $60 million.
The Suns, who moved into Talking Stick Resort Arena in 1992, are bound by contract to stay until 2022. After that, they want out of a building they say no longer measures up to NBA standards.
Of the Valley’s four big-league franchises, only the NFL Cardinals, who left Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium for Glendale 10 years ago, are satisfied with their present home. So does it all add up to an opportunity for the East Valley?
The NHL Arizona Coyotes might be the leading candidate team to wind up in the East Valley. Glendale City Council canceled its management agreement with the team, which plays in the Gila River Arena. The Coyotes immediately vowed to look elsewhere for a new home.
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hospitalized with a wound to her pelvis. She recovered from the shooting.
Team owner Anthony LeBlanc has said Arizona State University is among potential partners for a new arena.
“We forged a tight alliance with Arizona State University, and we’re having discussions with them about the potential for a new facility,” LeBlanc said last year at the NHL Board of Governors meeting.
ASU is redeveloping 330 acres just east of the Tempe campus in what it calls the University Athletic Facilities District. The land includes Karsten Golf Course, and revenue from future tenants will be earmarked to sustain ASU’s athletic infrastructure.
In response to a query from The Tribune, ASU issued this statement: “We are exploring arena options and are encouraged that there are a number of good ones to pursue, but we aren’t yet in a position to discuss specifics.”
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, for his part, wants not only to keep the Suns and Diamondbacks in Phoenix, but to snag the Coyotes if possible.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, created by voter approval of Proposition 302 in 2000, largely funded construction of the Cardinals stadium and some Cactus League baseball venues. But it doesn’t have the money for another big project, and one of its chief revenue streams, a car-rental tax, was ruled illegal last year by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.
So assuming a team would want public assistance, funding a new East Valley professional venue would require fiscal creativity and possibly support at the polls.
Then there’s the issue of whether the region or one of its individual cities would even want the hassles that come with hosting big-time sports. Glendale’s struggles with the Coyotes may be an object lesson in that.
Stanton has said that he’d like to see the Coyotes and Suns share a new downtown Phoenix facility and that he will try to help the Diamondbacks settle their differences with the county so they, too, can stay in Phoenix.
Even if East Valley leaders sensed a chance to land one of the teams, huge questions remain.
The biggest, of course, is funding.
These buildings don’t come cheap, and the pro-sports arms race is constantly escalating. It took only $35 million in public money to build the Suns’ arena in the early 1990s, but $180 million in tax dollars for the Coyotes’ building a decade later.
Building Chase Field, which opened in 1998 at a public cost of $238 million, was so controversial that some political careers ended as a result. One county supervisor even suffered a gunshot wound at the hands of a constituent enraged over the issue. Mary Rose Wilcox was
Mesa has learned how difficult it can be to satisfy a big-league team even with mere training facilities. After enjoying the use of three city-owned ballparks over the years, the Chicago Cubs began to make noise in 2009 about leaving, even though the newest Hohokam Stadium was then only 12 years old.
Mesa’s ferocious battle to keep the team ended when voters agreed in 2010 to spend $84 million for a new stadium on what was then Riverview Golf Course in the city’s northwest corner.
Mesa’s deal with the Cubs is supposed to last 30 years, but for a modern American sports venue that’s more than a lifetime. The average age of the three major-league Valley venues now deemed unacceptable by their teams is 18 years. Mesa, which in the late 1990s made a play to build a Cardinals stadium, does not seem interested in a rerun of that kind of battle.
“I have not spoken with the Coyotes or Suns about their arenas or where they will play in the future,” Mesa Mayor John Giles told The Tribune. “I wish them the best of luck in doing what is best for the teams and their fans.”
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Maricopa County, which owns Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, are at odds over improvements to the stadium. The team has talked about relocation to a new stadium.
(AFN fi le photo)
Mesa voters sacked Cardinals stadium
By Gary Nelson AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When the Arizona Cardinals began playing football in Sun Devil Stadium, it seemed reasonable to think the East Valley would have dibs on the team forever. But it took almost a decade after the Cardinals’ 1988 arrival for a serious stadium proposal to emerge. Result: A sack, a fumble and loss of possession.
The initial—and most grandiose—plan took shape after East Valley business and political leaders formed an entity called the Rio Salado Crossing Multipurpose Facilities District. The district included Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek, but it was really Mesa’s show.
The idea was to convert 650 acres at Dobson Road and Loop 202 into a massive mixed-use development. The 67,400-seat stadium, of course, would be the centerpiece. But there also would be a 600,000-square-foot convention center, at least three hotels totaling 3,000 rooms, offices, park space and two 18-hole golf courses.
Total cost: $1.8 billion.
In an election set for May 1999, Mesa voters were asked to approve a quartercent sales tax increase, as well as to extend an already-approved “quality of life” sales tax to pay for $385 million in bonds the city would issue for stadium construction. Some city leaders pitched Rio Salado Crossing as Mesa’s ticket to the big leagues. But critics said too many questions were unanswered. One media analysis pegged
the final taxpayer bill at more than $1 billion. There were fears of cost overruns that would favor the stadium at the expense of the convention center, making the luxury hotels less viable. And many Mesa residents, frankly, were happy with their town the way it was. Even the Mesa City Council was split.
The election produced a landslide of “no” votes. Only 40 percent of the nearly 56,000 voters were in favor.
Almost immediately, East Valley leaders scrambled to assemble a Plan B. In the meantime, Maricopa County voters in 2000 passed Proposition 302, which would use tax money for a Cardinals stadium, Cactus League facilities and youth recreation.
Prop 302 created the Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority, which initially hoped to keep the Cardinals in the East Valley.
But one site, just east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was nixed by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2001 because of perceived threats to air traffic.
Another—the same one previously proposed in Mesa—was abandoned in the face of political resistance. By the time Mesa voters said no a second time, in September 2002, the Authority had already decided Glendale would become the Cardinals’ new home.
Where Rio Salado Crossing would have been, Mesa now boasts a Chicago Cubs stadium, a revamped Riverview Park and, on the east side of Dobson, the thriving Riverview shopping center.
In March 1998, Eisenman Architects designed a multipurpose stadium in combination with a convention center and hotel for a site that spanned the boundary between Tempe and Mesa.
(Eisenman Architects/Special to AFN)
Water to Club West golf course an off-again, on-again matter
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Water for Club West’s beleaguered golf course literally became an on-again, offagain situation last week after the Phoenix Water Services Department abruptly turned off the spigot on Tuesday.
Between then and the water being turned on Friday, course owner Wilson Gee had to scramble to find a $100,000 loan to pay down his water bill, and the Club West Homeowners Association and Gee wound up in court for a brief hearing that turned out to be unnecessary.
Although he has significantly reduced water to the course, Gee had expected the water would remain flowing as long as he continued in negotiations with the city over a delinquent tab totaling around $159,000. Even the department and city Councilman Sal DiCiccio before Tuesday said it was city policy to continue service as long as the customer was in negotiations.
But then the city abruptly turned off the water, declining comment on grounds that it does not discuss individual accounts to protect rate payers’ privacy.
Meanwhile, the Club West HOA appeared before state Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbilig within hours of the shutoff seeking a temporary restraining order to force the city to turn the water back on.
The HOA is suing Gee over alleged negligence of the course, claiming his curtailment in irrigating the course and other purported maintenance neglect violate his contract to maintain a “firstclass” course.
The judge dismissed the HOA’s request after attorney Catherine Pearson, representing Gee, said the client had obtained a loan to pay down his past-due bill.
Gee on Thursday said he paid $100,000
to the city and agreed to pay the remaining $59,000 in installments over the next few months.
But Pearson said, “The solution here is not a legal one. The solution here is finding a better source of water.”
She said Gee’s water bill with Phoenix is $700,000, which results in the course losing a substantial amount of money a year. Gee uses revenues from the Duke, Foothills and other courses to subsidize his losses at Club West, she added.
She also said there were distinct differences between Club West’s problem and the isssue that prompted Gee to turn off the water to the Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Club’s course in 2013, ultimately turning that course into little more than dilapidated desert.
Gee sold that course to True Life Companies, which now wants to turn it into a development with houses, a community farm, a Montessori school and a farmers’ market.
“This is not the Lakes,’’ she said of Club West, noting that seven out of the 10 Valley golf courses that have closed were either executive courses such as the Lakes or nine-hole courses such as Mesa Riverview.
Before the Lakes closed, it was played by about 20,000 players a year, who paid lower greens fees because it was an executive course. Executive courses typically feature mostly shorter Par 3 holes with a couple of Par 4s. They are designed either for beginning players or players who do not have the time to play a full 18-hole, championship course.
By contrast, Club West, which once enjoyed a strong reputation among golfers, has typically generated 45,000 to 49,000 players per year paying higher greens fees.
Gee said he is spending $700,000 a year to irrigate Club West.
“Mr. Gee cares a lot about getting water to Club West,” Pearson said. “He’s not closing down Club West,’’ she said, adding, “This course is completely different’’ from the situation at the Lakes.
She said that Club West closed for three months during the summer in 2012 and 2013, and the homeowners group did not complain. The complaints started after Gee closed the Lakes and sold it.
Save Club West, a non-profit group of about 400 of Club West’s approximately 2,600 homeowners, disagrees with the HOA and calls its lawsuit against Gee a waste of money because it will not result in a permanent solution to the watersourcing problem.
In an email to Save Club West owners,
co-founder Jim Lindstrom said his group has hired Bellows Golf Management to assess the condition of the course and try to identify a new source of water that’s cheaper than the city drinking water now used to irrigate the course.
“Bellows is working with a water expert, and he is contacting owners of local wells to explore water lease options,” he wrote, noting his group is meeting with city water department officials to explore alternatives to the use of drinking water. He said Bellows also is determining the cost of correcting other course deficiencies.
That report will factor into a decision on whether to offer to buy the course, he added.
Club West resident Jim Lindstrom said the condition of the golf course behind his property is deceptive because some of the grass was revived by recent monsoon rains.
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
This aerial view shows portions of Club West’s golf course that have turned brown as a result of curtailed watering.
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
Storage facility on Desert Foothills Parkway gets committee nod
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee voted 9-1 to recommend city Planning Commission approval of a selfstorage warehouse to be built on a 2.78-acre plot of vacant land at the intersection of Desert Foothills Parkway and Marketplace Way.
The action came Aug. 22 following a discussion about the changes that the developer had made to satisfy neighboring homeowners’ concerns, although some residents still opposed it.
“My opinion, the committee believed the proposed commercial use was less obtrusive then many of the other commercial possibilities for the site,” committee Chairman Chad Blostone said.
“Also, the developer made significant improvements to the design of the building,” he added. “He split the building into two, lowered both, and added architectural features and landscaping not required by the city.”
The nearly 104,000-square-foot building would have three floors, one of which will be below ground. Though proposed for a longvacant piece of land zoned for commercial use, the project requires a special permit because it will be used for storage. The site has been vacant for the last 32 years.
In a June 10 letter to neighbors, attorney
Jessi Thornton, who represents the owner, 1784 Capital Holdings, promised a state-of-the-art facility where outside storage would be forbidden.
“The use will provide a low-intensity, low-traffic-generating buffer to the adjacent residential uses while providing convenient storage options for nearby residents and businesses,” he wrote.
In documents originally filed with the city, his firm, Withey Morris PLC, called the project a neighborhood improvement that would eliminate a “magnet for unsafe activities and general nuisance.”
The law firm said its proposed maximum height of 25 feet is lower than the two 30-foot high single-story supermarkets nearby.
And while the developer wants an exemption to a city requirement for only single-story buildings in that area, the law firm stated:
“The proposed low-intensity commercial use is much more compatible with the adjacent residential than the more intense commercial uses that are permitted.”
The firm also said that reflective glass will not be used in windows facing nearby homes and that entrances for traffic onto and away from the site would be on the building’s west side, opposite homes.
Homeless Dachshund mix, retriever seek families
Animal rescue groups are reaching out to Ahwatukee residents in the hopes of placing two homeless dogs.
Maizie is believed to be a Dachshund mix, a little over 5 pounds, and “needs to lose” a little weight at just under 20 pounds, according to Friends for Life.
She’s from the Humane Society of Yuma, which rescued her after her family moved and left her behind.
“She seems house-trained and doggydoor trained,” a Friends for Life release said, adding that “Maizie loves to go for walks, snuggle with her people, and eat snacks and food.”
Her adoption fee is $150. She’s spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, and licensed. Interested would-be owners can call 480497-8296 or e-mail FFLdogs@azfriends. org.
Information: www.azfriends.org.
Meanwhile, spokeswoman Shauna Michael of the Arizona Animal Welfare
Danielle
League says Danielle, a 2-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix, is “an active sweetheart, looking for a family to give her gentle and patient affection.”
Michael said the dog would “make a great hiking or jogging partner.” She also thinks Danielle “would benefit from reward-based training to build her confidence and bond with her new family.
“She is a happy-go-lucky, intelligent dog and may even be a candidate for agility training,” she added.
Danielle is currently at the Arizona Animal Welfare League’s main adoption center, 25 N. 40th St., Phoenix. Information: 602-273-6852 ext.116!
Maizie
Skepticism greets presentation of Chandler Boulevard extension plan
By Paul Maryniak
FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
AHWATUKEE
Residents reacted with skepticism last week to assurances from Phoenix Street Transportation Department representatives that the pending Chandler Boulevard extension will handle traffic when Pecos Road is temporarily shut down for construction of the South Mountain Freeway.
During the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee meeting Aug. 22, audience members peppered Christ Turner-Noteware, deputy street transportation director, with questions and expressions of doubt about the accuracy of her department’s traffic projections.
“If we have 18,000 cars on this roadway, it’s going to be a pretty significant increase,” Kelly Horton told Turner-Noteware, expressing concern that the extension would essentially be the only way in and out of Club West once Pecos Road is shut down.
The 18,000 figure was what the city study said a two-lane artery can typically absorb.
The Chandler Boulevard Extension, a 1.2mile stretch from 19th to 27 Avenue ,would not only replace Pecos Road as an alternate route when it is closed during freeway construction, but would also become a
permanent part of Ahwatukee’s street grid.
About 30 feet wide and bordered by South Mountain Park to the north and state trust land to the south, the east-west extension would be a two-lane highway with bike paths on either side. It would be doubled in width to accommodate two
more lanes if the trust land is ever sold and developed, city officials said.
The city is still eyeing a start date of late summer for the $11.5-million project with completion expected next summer. It is unclear yet when Pecos Road will be shut down for the freeway’s construction.
Planning Committee Chairman Chad Blostone questioned the fact that the extension would essentially be the only way in or out for about 800 homes in Club West.
“Are there any other areas in the city that have as their only access point a two-lane road?” he asked. Turner-Noteware said she didn’t know.
Blostone also noted that the extension would be significantly more narrow than four-lane Chandler Boulevard.
“We’re reducing the amount of pavement those 800 homes will have,” he said.
Turner-Noteware said the extension could not be wider because the city does not own enough land.
EXTENSION PLAN
>> From page 16
Once the state auctions off its portion for development, Turner-Notware said, the extension would be widened.
But she also asserted that traffic studies done earlier this year show that the extension doesn’t need four lanes right now.
“Based on the traffic information we have, it does not warrant four lanes,” she said.
Residents also were upset about the study’s geographical limitations as well as the impact of additional traffic at the intersection of 17th Avenue and Chandler Boulevard, where there is no signal.
“How many people have to get killed before you put up a light at this intersection,” yelled one man, noting 17th Avenue and Chandler Boulevard are busy four-lane roadways.
Turner-Noteware said her department has looked at traffic at the intersection and that “the volumes aren’t there to warrant a signal” and that “there is no present plan to look at safety at the intersection of Chandler Boulevard and 17th.”
On the issue of volume, Turner-Noteware said her department’s studies were based on traffic counts taken in February, before
winter visitors leave.
She said traffic projections included not only estimates of how much Pecos Road traffic would be diverted to the extension, but also the impact of nearly 150 new single-family homes in the Calabria and Promontory subdivisions.
She insisted the studies showed that the Chandler Boulevard extension as currently planned will be able to handle all that additional traffic.
Though she said the city will continue to monitor traffic volume even after the extension is opened, she added, “Based on the traffic information we have, it does not warrant four lanes.”
EAST VALLEY MEDICAL OFFICE
FOR SALE OR LEASE 16515 S 40th St, Ste 119, Phoenix, AZ 85048
PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS
• Move-in Ready / Turn-key Medical Space
• ±6,011 Square Feet Available
• Premium Improvements Completed in 2008
• Premium Quality Improvements
• Furniture / Equipment Negotiable
• Parking Ratio: ±5.33:1,000
• Building and Monument Signage Available
• Excellent Medical Synergy in Complex
• Convenient Access to 202 Freeway - The Property is located at the rst exit on the San Tan Freeway headed west from Maricopa/Coolidge/Casa Grande
• Excellent Ahwatukee Location!
The Chandler Boulevard extension will close a gap between 19th and 27th Avenues in Ahwatukee.
(City of Phoenix/Special to AFN)
State moves to block ADA suits against businesses
Claims attorney seeks ‘enrichment,’ not access
By Jim Walsh AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS WRITER
Reacting to thousands of lawsuits filed against small businesses in the East Valley, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office took the unusual step of intervening on the behalf of a defendant accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The goal is to get all similar suits consolidated into one case and eventually dismissed by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge, according to the Attorney General Office’s website.
“We’re trying to get a ruling from a judge to say these are frivolous lawsuits,’’ defense attorney Lindsey Leavitt said. “Unfortunately, it takes time.’’
The ADA, passed in 1990, enjoys widespread support among small-business owners, who agree with its purpose of ensuring that the disabled have access to public buildings through requirements for parking spaces and other accommodations.
But East Valley businesses, particularly those in Mesa, have been hit by a blizzard of 1,850 lawsuits since June 2015. They’ve been filed by attorney Peter Strojnik, who says he’s a champion for the disabled, on behalf of Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities.
The blizzard turned into a hurricane starting in February 2016, with 1,500 lawsuits filed against mostly Mesa businesses about parking lots alone. An additional 200 suits have been filed against bars and restaurants since October 2015.
The problem may not have hit the Ahwatukee business community.
“We are fully aware of the ADA suits happening around the state. However, we have not had any members let us know they were targets of a suit,” said Anne Gill, president/ CEO of the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce
The Attorney General’s Office would
normally responsible for bringing actions against business owners who violate the Arizonans with Disabilities Act, which is similar to the federal civil rights law.
But the serial suits prompted the state’s top prosecutorial agency to take a different tack.
“Plaintiff Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities LLC is flooding this court with lawsuits, apparently as part of a concerted effort to improperly use the judicial system for its own enrichment,” the motion said.
The Attorney General’s Office said it takes no position on whether Strojnik has cited evidence of actual violations in the suits he filed.
John Moore, president and CEO of Marc Community Resources, a social service agency that helps people with many types of disabilities, said that he strongly supports the ADA and that there is no excuse for someone who knows the law and violates it. But he opposes the heavy-handed tactics used in the serial lawsuits.
“I think lawsuits should be the last resort. It does create a negative perception about a good law and individuals with disabilities,’’ Moore said.
Moore said organizations such as Marc have been working for decades to break down negative public perceptions of people with disabilities.
The “wrecking-ball approach’’ used in the serial lawsuits damages the interests of disabled people, he said, because “it adds fuel to the stigma fire.’’
But Strojnik said in an email that his client, the foundation, decided to enforce the ADA because of indifference by government agencies.
“It has been 26 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act but, unfortunately, neither the DOJ nor the Attorney General have shown sufficient—if any—interest to enforce the law,” he wrote. “Therefore, my client, a private charitable
foundation, decided to enforce the law through private enforcement.’’
Strojnik said he volunteers his time in representing the association, which allowed it to recently donate $85,000 to the disabled community.
Leavitt, the attorney, has talked to hundreds of business owners and represents many of them. He said many of the suits cite relatively small violations, such handicapped parking signs that are two inches shy of the ADA’s requirement of 60 inches, or six feet tall.
Suits also have been filed in error against the owner of a dirt lot that is not used as a parking lot, and against 11 in a strip mall. Because the businesses were members of a condominium association, they were not responsible for the parking lot.
“I’ve talked to hundreds of people and not one of them has said they don’t want to comply’’ with the ADA, Leavitt said. “It’s not about complying, it’s about money.’’
The suits seek out-of-court settlements with businesses owners. Form letters require payments as high as $7,500, and follow up with a slightly smaller offer in exchange for dismissal. The ADA, a civil rights law, does not allow plaintiffs to seek damages in suits alleging violations but it does allow them to seek attorney’s fees.
When asked if he thought the suits were a shakedown effort against businesses owners, Leavitt declined to answer.
“The plaintiffs are taking advantage of their lack of knowledge’’ of the ADA’s technical requirements, Leavitt said. “I can’t tell you how many of my clients have been sued if their sign is two inches too low. You read it and makes you want to throw up.’’
Sharon Olsen, a Mesa business owner, also chose her words carefully and several other business owners were reluctant to give their names for fear they would be targeted if they appeared in a newspaper.
“I think he’s unethical,’’ Olsen said, referring to Strojnik.
Olsen was one of more than 118 businesses owners and other interested people who attended a briefing on serial lawsuits presented by Leavitt and other speakers Tuesday at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa in downtown Mesa.
Sally Harrison, president and CEO of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event, said an additional 130 people attended a July 12 forum. She said the forums have attracted business owners from Mesa, Apache Junction, Gilbert, Tempe, Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Leavitt presented an overview of the lawsuit problem and explained the law in detail. He said he represents a group of 17 businesses that are fighting a suit. One potential defense is that the alleged ADA violations had been corrected, making legal action moot.
Sharon Olsen, owner of Y-Knot Party Shop in Mesa, was sued over not having a large enough parking space to accommodate a van for the handicapped. Van spaces must be 11 feet wide, while a typical handicapped parking space must be eight feet wide.
Olsen said she operates mainly a telephone business, with customers picking up supplies. She said her parking lot has only 15 spaces and is never full.
“If someone had come to me and said, ‘Sharon, you are not ADA compliant,’ I would have done it immediately,’’ she said.
Noting that she has two artificial knees and a handicapped parking pass herself, Olsen said she is a big supporter of the ADA and would never intentionally violate the law.
“If it was the ADA, I would bend over backwards to help them,’’ Olsen said.
– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@ ahwatukee.com.
Community
News, ideas and opinions on what’s important to Ahwatukee
Tykes learn how to capture the gold at Ahwatukee Preschool’s ‘Little Olympics’
By Coty Dolores Miranda AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A Little Olympics at Mountain View Lutheran Church’s Ahwatukee Preschool last week may not have had controversies, but it lacked nothing in spirited competition, good sportsmanship, and the joy of winning a gold medal.
The little athletes, mostly 4 and 5 years old, competed in various Summer Olympics events, including equestrian, javelin throwing (fear not: it was a pool noodle), track, soccer and basketball.
They even collected medals in closing ceremonies.
The event’s opening ceremonies were aimed at giving the children a sense on a miniature scale of the pomp and circumstance of the real games, which concluded a 16-day run in Rio on Aug. 21. For the opening ceremonies, the youngsters carried class flags into the school gymnasium and the passing of the Little Olympics torch. Instead of fire, the torch was festooned with bright yellow, orange, and red tissue paper.
Preschool Director Diane Fitzsimons said most of the students were wellinformed about the Rio games, and had talked about watching various sporting events. That made the school experience all the more relevant, she added.
Koen DeValk, 4, and his older brother were among ardent fans of the soccer competitions, according to his father, Andrew DeValk, music director at Mountain View Lutheran Church.
“He and his brother Ryne would choose their favorite color of whoever was playing, and then cheer on those teams. They’d yell ‘Go, go, go, go blue team’ or ‘Go, go, go red team!’ And if their team didn’t score, they’d literally throw themselves on the couch, face down in disappointment.”
Koen DeValk kept his emotions in check during the Little Olympics’ soccer and basketball competitions, except when he gushed over his gold medals.
“I got a gold medal in basketball,” he said proudly, displaying his medal. “I shooted baskets!”
He credited his win to prior experience playing the sport with his dad and brother. “And I liked passing the torch,” Koen added.
Mountain View Lutheran Church’s Ahwatukee Preschool kiddie Olympics started with opening ceremonies with Trevor Mohl, left, carrying a flag as Knox Leland, center, and Bronson Odell Wadley walk behind.
Emily Jimenez, also 4, competed in soccer and the equestrian events.
“I liked to ride the horses because I like horses,” Emily said of the stick horses.
She also won gold in the basketball and soccer events, the latter coached by her mother, Marie Jimenez.
This is the second time Ahwatukee Preschool has hosted the Olympics. The previous games following the 2014 Winter Olympics. Both were the projects of director Diane Fitzsimons.
”After spending many hours watching the Olympics this year, I knew for sure that we needed to incorporate it into the preschool experience. So we chose five events; that way the children could get a little taste of all kinds of sports,” said Fitzsimons, who has served with the preschool since 1987.
“Each child received a gold medal for doing the best that they could do, and for listening so well,” she added. “I hope that when the 2032 Olympics come around that we may even have a student from this year participating in the actual event.”
Preschool assistant director Leslie Franzmeier said watching each child “play their little hearts out at the various events was heartwarming!”
“But even more so was watching them march in with their class behind their own class flag, circling the gym to our National Anthem, and catching a glimpse of their parents watching them. It was a proud, tear-in-your-eye moment for sure,” said Franzmeier.
The Ahwatukee Preschool at Mountain View Lutheran Church, founded in 1980, is located at 11002 S. 48 St.
Foothills News
(Photos by Will Powers/AFN Staff Photographer)
Harley Hankins tries to handle a flag and the "torch" for the kiddie Olympics as Ruth Pola offers a hand.
(Photos by Will Powers/AFN Staff Photographer)
Jordyn Dean takes a crack at basketball at Mountain View Lutheran Church’s Ahwatukee Preschool.
(Photos by Will Powers/AFN Staff Photographer)
Holding the "torch" at the kiddie Olympics last week at Mountain View Lutheran Church’s Ahwatukee Preschool are Alexis Rodriguez and Zachary Young.
(Photos by Will Powers/AFN Staff Photographer)
(Special to AFN)
Kyrene's free, reduced-price meals a boost for qualifying students
Kyrene School District is participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, offering free or reduced prices to qualified households.
Breakfast served at a child’s school normally costs $1 while lunch costs $2.65 at elementary schools and $2.75 at middle schools. The reduced prices are 30 centers for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.
To receive a free or reduced price meal, a child’s household must have an income at or below the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines, or must be on public assistance, or in a Head Start or Even Start program. Children who are homeless, migrants, runaways, or in a foster home also are eligible.
The eligibility scale ranges from a maximum $15,444 annual income for a oneperson household to a maximum annual income of $53,157 for a household with eight members. A full chart is at www. kyrene.org/foodservices.
The percentages of students in Kyrene Schools in Ahwatukee qualifying for the free or reduced meals varies widely, although they are all below the state average of 58 percent, according to the latest available data compiled by the state Education Department.
The data, covering the 2015-16 school year, shows that among the district’s Ahwatukee schools, Lomas, Centennial and Colina had the highest percentages of students qualifying with 51 percent, 42 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
Percentages of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunches and breakfasts in the other Kyrene schools in Ahwatukee last school year were: Akimel, 25 percent; Altadena, 8 percent; Estrella, 20 percent; Sierra, 10 percent; Cerritos, 7 percent; Milenio, 34 percent; and Monte Vista, 12 percent.
Across the entire district, the highest
percentages of qualifying students are in two Tempe schools, Norte and Ninos, with 61 percent and 55 percent, respectively.
Among students in Ahwatukee’s two high schools, only 8 percent of Desert Vista students and 25 percent of Mountain Pointe students qualified last school year for free or reduced price meals.
Desert Vista’s percentage was the lowest among all Tempe Union district high schools. The highest percentage, 65, was at Tempe High.
To apply for free or reduced-price meals, households in Kyrene can fill out the application and return it to the school unless the household has already received notification that their children are approved for free meals this year.
Application forms are distributed to all households with a letter informing households of the availability of free and reduced-price meals for their children and what is required to complete the application. Applications also are available in each school office, at the Kyrene District Office and at www.kyrene.org/foodservices.
Only one application is required for all children in the household and all applications are subject to unannounced verification at any time during the school year, a district release said.
Families can apply for benefits at any time.
For example, if a household member becomes unemployed or the family size increases, the school district should be notified immediately.
Parents or guardians who want to appeal a ruling on their eligibility can request a hearing by writing or calling district Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Calles, Kyrene School District, 8700 S Kyrene Road, #1A, Tempe, AZ 85284 or calling 480-541-1350.
–Information: 480-541-1350 or e-mail lstewa@ kyrene.org.
Because blood supplies typically plummet by as much as 75 percent over Labor Day weekend, United Blood Services has scheduled three drives next month.
Donors can make an appointment at 1-877-827-4376 or www.BloodHero.com (enter your city or zip code).
The drive dates are: 3-7 p.m. Sept. 12, Ahwatukee YMCA, 1030 E. Liberty Lane; 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 18, St. Benedict Catholic Church, 16223 S. 48th St.; and 7:30-11:30 a.m. Sept. 20, Desert Vista High School, 16440 S. 32nd St.
Mayor to address Ahwatukee Chamber
Tickets are on sale for Mayor Greg Stanton’s address 8 a.m. Sept. 30 at the Four Points by Sheraton Ahwatukee, 10831 S. 51st St., Ahwatukee.
Stanton is scheduled to discuss the Phoenix business climate and his goals for 2017. A moderated question-and-answer session will follow.
Tickets are $45 for chamber members, $55 for nonmembers. Purchase: www. ahwatukeechamber.com or 480-753-7676.
Female bunco gathering set in Ahwatukee
Another intergenerational bunco game for Ahwatukee females from 10 years old and up 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 in a short period of time.
Participants also are asked to bring a snack or beverage to share.
Text 612-709-9671 with questions.
Charity League seeking new members
The Ahwatukee Foothills National Charity League will kick off a new membership drive with an informational meeting 2-3 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Club West Clubhouse, 16400 S. 14th Ave., Ahwatukee.
AFNCL is a mother/daughter organization that focuses on leadership, cultural experiences and community service.
The group will focus on seventh graders living in Ahwatukee, although openings in other grades may be offered as well. Information: aajenfig@yahoo. com.
Dem candidates deliver school supplies to Kyrene
Two Democrats in the Legislative District 18 election delivered school supplies to the Kyrene Resource Center last week. State Senate hopeful Sean Bowie and State House candidate Mitzi Epstein said they wanted “to ensure that every Kyrene student has the tools they need, including school supplies.”
Bowie, who lives in Ahwatukee and works for the provost at Arizona State University, is a product of Kyrene schools. A Tempe small business owner, Epstein is a former Kyrene governing board member.
“The Kyrene Foundation is a great facilitator of neighborly helping,” said Mitzi Epstein. “Donations are always important, but we need a solution for the
big picture. Our schools are hurting. … The legislature must restore education funding to recover from the drastic cuts of many years.”
LD 18 Democratic Committee chair Janie Hydrick said her party would continue collecting supplies for Kyrene students at their campaign office, 1867 Baseline Road, Tempe.
Cheer clinic scheduled at Kyrene Altadena School
A football cheer clinic for students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade will be held 1-4 p.m. Sept. 10 and Kyrene Altadena Middle School, 14620 S. Desert Foothills Pkwy., Ahwatukee.
Desert Vista High school 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.
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. Firsttime participants are asked to call ahead of attending.
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
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7
Tots can learn music
The Kyrene Early Education Resource Center is offering a class for parents and children 16 months to 2 1/2 years, that helps kids learn to communicate through language, song and movement by exploring simple rhythm patterns while they shake, tap and move to music.
DETAILS>> 9:30-11 a.m., Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. WarnerElliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Registration required: www.kyrene.org/K
THURSDAY, SEPT. 15
Turn kids into readers
A series of three workshops begins today and continues Sept. 29 and Nov. 29 for parents who can learn about eight weeks of award-winning books to read with their child at home. Sponsored by the Kyrene Early Education Resource Center, the program helps build a reading routine at home while teaching techniques to foster language and early literacy development.
DETAILS>> 9-10:30 a.m. Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. WarnerElliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Registration required: www.kyrene.org/K
TUESDAY, SEPT. 20
Tots can learn pre-writing skills
“First Strokes - A Handwriting Guide,” sponsored by Kyrene Early Education Resource Center, is a workshop that 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. DETAILS>> 9:30-11 a.m., Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. WarnerElliot Loop, Ahwatukee.
Registration required: www.kyrene.org/K
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
Bilingual story time offered
Kyrene Early Education Resource Center is offering a bilingual story time for kids 2 to 5 years old as an introduction to the Spanish language through fun, interactive activities using books, puppets, music, and crafts.
DETAILS>> 9:30-10:30 a.m., Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. Warner-Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Register: www.kyrene.org/K
TUESDAY, SEPT. 27
Kids’ emotions explored
The Kyrene Early Education Resource Center is holding a workshop that 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.
DETAILS>> 9-11 a.m., Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. Warner-Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Registration required: www.kyrene.org/K
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28
Learn infant communication
Baby sign language is a way to communicate by using hand gestures, and Kyrene Early Education Resource Center, in conjunction with Desert Valley Pediatric, is offering a workshop to provide a glimpse into a baby’s world by helping parents communicate with their pre-verbal infant.
DETAILS>> 9:30-10:30 a.m., Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. Warner-Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Register: www.kyrene.org/K
ONGOING
MONDAYS
Open play for kids set
Open Playday is held through Dec. 19 by the Kyrene Early Education Resource Center to help children explore and make sense of the world around them.
DETAILS>> 9-11 a.m. Kyrene de las Lomas, 11820 S. Warner-Elliot Loop, Ahwatukee. Register: www.kyrene.org/K
Chamber offers networking
The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group is open to chamber members.
DETAILS>> Noon, Native Grill and Wings, 5030 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. Call Devida Lewis at 480-753-7676. Group aids MS sufferers
This group addresses the informational, emotional and social support needs of the MS community. People with MS, care partners and spouses are welcome. The group mobilizes people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges people affected by MS.
DETAILS>> 10 a.m.-noon, third Monday of each month, Dignity
Stroke or Brain Injury?
Health Urgent Care Ahwatukee, conference room, 4545 E. Chandler Blvd. Free. Information: Lynn Grant at lgrant3567@ yahoo.com or 480-414-7172.
TUESDAYS
Toastmasters sharpen skills
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.
Power Partners available
The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group is open to chamber members.
DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m., Four Points by Sheraton, 10831 S. 51st St., Ahwatukee. Call Devida Lewis at 480-753-7676.
WEDNESDAYS
Grief support is free
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.
Foothills Women meet
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 can ‘drop in’
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 at 602-827-8200, ext. 348, or email rcarter@cals.arizona.edu.
Get a doughnut with Democrats
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.
LD 18 Dems change meeting site
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.
Special networking offered
Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has a networking and leads group is open to chamber members. DETAILS>>11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Radisson Hotel, 7475 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler. Call Devida Lewis at 480-753-7676.
THURSDAYS
Learn about 3D-Networkx
This group focuses on creating powerful relationships with fellow members, resulting in meaningful referrals. Learn how to create connections and get the most out of networking events. DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m. Thursdays at the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 140. For information, call Shannon Kinsman at 480-753-7676.
Chamber sponsors networking
Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce networking and leads group offers business owners as chance to get involved and network. Open to chamber members and nonmembers. DETAILS>> 8 a.m. Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 140. For information, call Shannon Kinsman at 480-753-7676.
Mothers of Preschoolers gather
Free child care for ages 0 to 5.
DETAILS>> 9 a.m. second and fourth Thursday, Foothills Baptist Church, 15450 S. 21st St. Call Kim at 480-759-2118, ext. 218.
FRIDAYS
Toastmasters teach skills
This chamber-exclusive Chapter of the International Toastmasters club boasts professional development skills. Become the speaker and leader you want to be with Ahwatukee Chamber Toastmasters Club.
DETAILS>> 8-9 a.m., First American Title Conference Room, 4435 E. Chandler Blvd., #100, Ahwatukee. Call Devida Lewis at 480-753-7676.
SATURDAYS
Alzheimer’s support group
DETAILS>> 10-11:30 a.m. Ahwatukee Alzheimer’s Support Group meets the first Saturday of the month at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St.
— Email calendar items to pmaryniak@ ahwatukees.com
— Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.
Less marijuana on Arizona streets, detective says at ‘Tukee Talks’
By Jim Walsh AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS STAFF
A Phoenix police drug-enforcement bureau detective told Ahwatukee residents last week that less marijuana has been found on the street since Arizona adopted the medical marijuana law six years ago.
“I see a lot less of marijuana from Mexico on the street level than before the passage of the medical marijuana law,'' Sgt. Steve Reed said, noting that he has no empirical data and that his opinions are based on anecdotal experiences.
Speaking at the Phoenix Police Department’s quarterly “Tukee Talks” session, Reed said that when undercover detectives attempt to do drug buys on the streets, “the drug dealer will tell them to buy from the dispensary.”
distribution and sales. He estimated that about 25 to 50 percent of all drug investigations still involve marijuana in some fashion.
In response to questions from residents, Reed said that the impact of recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado and other states is still unclear, with each state having its own law even though marijuana is still considered illegal under federal law. If anything, the medical marijuana law has been a good learning experience for police, Reed said. While there is no set limit of marijuana use to determine impairment, police have learned to test for certain marijuana metabolites in the blood of suspected impaired drivers.
Detectives believe there is just as much marijuana crossing the Arizona border from Mexico than there was before the law was passed in 2010, but that it likely being shipped out of state for illegal sale.
“Marijuana is still a regular part of our duties. There is still a lot of marijuana being brought across the border,'' Reed said.
The Phoenix metro area has traditionally been considered a hot spot for the clandestine distribution of drugs that cross the border illegally to other parts of the country.
Reed declined to express an opinion on the medical marijuana law or on Proposition 205, a measure on the Nov. 8 election ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana.
“It's kind of a sticky subject,'' Reed said during the presentation. “You can see me dancing around up here.''
Reed said the medical marijuana law has not deterred the 15-detective bureau from continuing to investigate illegal activities related to marijuana, which usually involve
Reed noted that drug-recognition officers are trained to recognize symptoms of impaired drivers and that more training will likely be required if Arizona voters were to approve Proposition 205, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act.
The controversial proposition's advocates say it would regulate and tax marijuana in a similar manner as alcohol. The proposition would create a state Department of Marijuana and a Marijuana Commission. Schools would receive 40 percent of the revenue.
The act would allow possession of as much as one ounce of marijuana by adults 21 years old or older. Each adult also could have as many as six marijuana plants, with a cap of 12 per household.
But opponents say approval will only enrich dispensary owners who stand to make a financial windfall. Any revenue provided to schools would be offset by damage to the health of teenagers, who are bound get a larger supply of legal, high potency marijuana, opponents say.
(Special
Ahwatukee YMCA offers free lesson to kids who can’t swim
Children living in apartment complexes who don’t know how to swim can get a free lesson at the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA next month.
Even though the “Activate Ahwatukee” program runs in September and October, the Y launched it as a way to mark Drowning Awareness Month, which is August, said Sandra Franks, executive director.
“Every year we try to come up with something to mark Drowning Awareness Month. This year we are focusing on apartment complexes,” she said.
Franks said she’s had “boots on the ground” delivering vouchers for a free lesson to 20 complexes.
Activate Ahwatukee entitles participants to a free lesson if the vouchers are redeemed by Oct. 31. Y members get additional free lessons and subsequent lessons for non-members cost $47 each.
A typical lesson is about 35 minutes long.
The program is a child-focused water safety initiative partly because a recent study by USA Swimming stated that 70 percent of African-American children,
nearly 60 percent of Hispanic children, and 42 percent of white children cannot swim.
The swim lessons will be divided by age, with a beginner-level for ages 3-5 with little to no swimming experience, and an intermediate class for ages 6-12.
Lessons will be given by YMCA certified lifeguards. All Valley of the Sun YMCA instructors are required to be CPR and AED certified before they can teach any class.
“In many communities, staying safe around water means keeping kids away from water. However, water safety and swimming are important life skills in the growth and development of all children,” Franks said, adding:
“Research shows that participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of childhood drowning by 88 percent. Learning to swim not only saves lives, but can also be a healthy, fun activity.”
–Information: svfranks@vosymca.org or call 602-212-6082.
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.” A healthy snack will be provided by My Fit Foods.
The Activate Ahwatukee campaign is an extension of the Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA's long tradition of providing swimming lessons in the community. This summer, Noah Yi, 7, enjoyed his lesson.
(AFN photo/Will Powers)
Nurse practitioner suggests Ahwatukee could be fatter than average
By Agnes Oblas AFN GUEST WRITER
Recently, someone posed the following question to me: How healthy is Ahwatukee compared to the rest of the nation?
So I set about to answer that provocative question by comparing statistics from my own primary care practice to national statistics, my assumption being that patients in my practice are representative of the population of the greater Ahwatukee area.
For a month I tallied the diagnoses of my patients in three main categories: obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I then did some simple math to get the percentage of these diagnoses in relation to the total number of patients in my practice. This percentage could then be compared to national data. This article will focus only on obesity. Most people would nod their head in agreement that the nation’s waist line is expanding; but to see it in numbers is a real eye-opener.
Here are some statistics taken from The State of Obesity project of the Trust for
America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (StateofObesity. org): Every state has an adult obesity rate that is above 20 percent with Arkansas the highest at 35.9 percent and Colorado the lowest at 21.3 percent.
In Arizona, 28.9 percent (almost one out of every three people) of the state’s total adult population is obese. Out of 50 states, Arizona ranks number 29.
For the month that I was tracking my patients, the percentage of obesity turned out to be 42 percent. So you could say Ahwatukee is a lot fatter than the rest of the state!
What is the point of this simplistic comparison?
Simply put, it is to wake readers up to the possibility that out of every 10 adults residing in and around Ahwatukee, at least four fit the medical definition of obese. That means that their body mass index (BMI) is greater than or equal to 30.
BMI is calculated by the following formula: divide weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) and then square that number. You can forego the calculation and look for BMI charts all over the internet; just plug in your height and
weight.
Obesity puts us at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, or diabetes, or both; not to mention the higher risk of developing some cancers. It doesn’t matter if Arizona’s (or Ahwatukee’s) obesity rate is higher or lower than the national average. The point is that any percentage of obesity is dangerous to our health.
Obesity in most cases is a very fixable risk factor.
Most obese people can lower their BMI to more acceptable ranges with sincere efforts in changing their eating styles and habits and increasing their overall level of physical activity. Some patients who are obese may need to include in their treatment plan pharmacologic therapies and/or referrals for surgical options.
The evidence is indisputable that obesity and even just being overweight (where the BMI is 25-29) is a disease process in and of itself that is inextricably linked to the development of the two leading causes of death in this country — namely, heart disease and diabetes.
As excess fat cells begin to accumulate, especially around a person’s midriff, other cells become less sensitive to the
effects of insulin on circulating blood sugar leading to the early stages of Type 2 diabetes, which only gets worse if left untreated and more fat accumulates.
In general, the excess fat cells also have a pro-inflammatory effect on blood vessels which is known to be a trigger the development of heart and other cardiovascular diseases.
Think of all the lives that would be saved if this epidemic of obesity and overweight could be dealt with like any other epidemic.
In a future article, I’ll take a look at statistics both nationally and locally for the incidences of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
–Agnes Oblas is an advanced practice nurse practitioner in Ahwatukee. Reach her at 602-4056320 or www.newpathshealth.com.
Opinion
The race is on, starting today
By Paul Maryniak
AHWTUKEE FOOT HILLS NEWS EDITOR
With the resolution of some high-profile Republican primary races last night — too late for the Ahwatukee Foothills News deadline — the final push to the Nov. 8 general election has begun.
For Ahwatukee residents, there are four local races that bear watching and learning about in the next six weeks or so.
Two involve Legislative District 18, which includes Ahwatukee as well as parts of Chandler and Tempe. The races for the two State House seats are competitive, with a Democrat and a Green Party candidate taking on the two incumbent Republicans. Likewise, the State Senate race is competitive, with Democrats taking on the winner of the bruising GOP primary battle between incumbent Jeff Dial and challenger Frank Schmuck.
In addition, there are contests involving governing board seats in both school districts that include Ahwatukee schools. Tempe Union High School District’s governing board is the most competitive among all school boards in Maricopa County, with six candidates chasing three
vacancies. Kyrene’s elections are almost as competitive, with five candidates running for three seats; there, only one of the three incumbents up for election is seeking another term.
I understand that a lot of attention will be paid to the top-of-the-ticket race, as well as the U.S. Senate contest in Arizona.
That’s why the Ahwatukee Foothills News will be concentrating most of its campaign coverage on the state legislative and school board races.
That coverage will be available both in print and at ahwatukee.com, and will include questionnaires we’ll be sending to the candidates. We want you to be able see their responses without being filtered by a reporter.
We’ll be running your letters, as well. First, we’ll be giving priority to the letters to the editor about these races, followed by those having to do with the races for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
It’s not because we think the presidential race is not important. But, frankly, there are numerous platforms for airing your thoughts on those races. There are not a lot of avenues for debating the LD 18 and school board contests. And we want the Ahwatukee Foothills News to be the number one forum
for those debates.
Regarding the two propositions on the ballot — recreational marijuana and the minimum wage increase — we welcome your letters. Please try to make them Ahwatukee-centric. There are many viewpoints one can have on these two props that relate to Ahwatukee, So rather than deal in generalities, letters to the editor should focus on why and how these issues are important to Ahwatukee residents.
All letters regarding candidates should be focused on the issues – and arguments as to why a particular candidate or candidates deserves Ahwatukee voter consideration.
Sadly, there will be more than enough attack ads on television without this newspaper serving as a medium for more ad-hominem arguments. We don’t need to turn AFN’s letters section into a garbage receptacle.
And that’s exactly what attack ads do, however effective they have become.
I understand that passions can run high at election time. But don’t you think it is about time that we put candidates’ feet to the fire and demand they focus on solutions rather than their opponents’ flaws, both real and imagined?
I daresay that one of the reasons our
political system is in the fix that it’s in is because we’ve allowed candidates to go on their merry way ripping their opponents to pieces without expecting them to state in very concrete terms how they intend to address problems and challenges.
As we compile questionnaires, I am inviting all of our readers to email me the questions they would like candidates in the legislative and school board contests to address. Please send them to me no later than Sept. 7, so we can include them in our questionnaires. After that deadline, I’m not sure we’ll be able to accommodate them, but we’ll still try.
As for letters, there are any number of other local issues that are not on the November ballot, and I encourage readers to feel free to address them at any time.
As for the elections, we don’t need to turn our letters forum into a cage-fighting arena. We want to encourage all of our readers to look at the AFN’s opinion pages as a forum to engage and hopefully motivate voters. I hope we’ll be hearing from you.
–Reach Paul Maryniak at pmaryniak@ ahwatukee.com or 480-898-5647.
Send letters to the editor to pmaryniak@ ahwatukee.com
LETTERS
Once open spaces are gone, they’re gone forever
Since True Life Companies announced its plans for developing for The Lakes Golf Course in the AFN, they have begun, what amounts to, a propaganda blitz attempting to coax Ahwatukee homeowners into giving up their rights and control over its use.
If successful, True Life and other land developers would be allowed to build houses in any manner they wish, as long as they conform to City zoning requirements.
True Life has used vague and unclear words and phrases such as “nurturing a sense of community,” “sustainability paths to the future,” and “community supported agriculture,” trying to convince us they know what is best for us relating to the golf course.
While David Sabow, True Life`s managing
director said their housing project will give Ahwatukee “something special,” Quinton Thornton, project manager, stated they are committed to protecting the golf course open space. Apparently, they will say almost anything to get what they want.
But let's be clear about one fact. In spite of all the praises and superlatives they heap onto their plan, our quality of life, as we know it today, will drop significantly if we give up control of the golf course lands. Adding over 300 homes to an already high-density residential area, will almost certainly create the negative effects of overcrowding which include traffic congestion, air and noise pollution and an increased threat of residential flooding. Also, let’s not forget, the real reason Mr. Sabow and Mr. Thornton are committing so much time and effort into their blitz. They
stand to harvest huge profits for themselves and their investors at our expense.
All of the allegations claiming that an upscale subdivision is the best use for the golf course lands are short-sighted and unequivocally untrue. The greatest value that these lands can ever achieve is simply to keep them as they are now — open spaces maintained in a basic natural condition for wise use and enjoyment, not only for all of Ahwatukee`s current generation of people, but its children`s generation and those following generations as well.
However, once these open spaces are gone, they are gone forever.
-Bill Lainskas
Lakes residents must not sign away their rights
It is extremely important that Ahwatukee’s residents tell True Life that they will not be deceived by promises of a Gilbert-like Agritopia on the site of the former Lakes golf course. True Life is not a builder. They buy properties, prepare them for sale to a developer (amend the CC&Rs) then sell them at a profit.
And the buyer is under no obligation to
bring True Life’s vision to fruition. True Life says that our property values are decreasing due to the eyesore that the course has become.
I wonder what will happen to our property values when a hundred acres of multi-story condos pop up and 48th Street and Warner Road becomes permanently gridlocked? Imagine Friday morning rush hour all day every day.
The residents of Ahwatukee refused to be strong armed by Pulte and True Life learned from Pulte’s mistake. Many of us have received a softly worded solicitation from True Life to vote in favor of changing the CC&Rs to allow development for something other than a golf course — something a judge has already turned thumbs down on.
If we all just cooperate and follow along like obedient sheep, things will be so much better. Nonsense! Ahwatukee’s residents must not sign away their rights based on grand plans that cannot be executed by True Life.
-Bill Baker
True Life wants to wear us down to get their way
A state Superior Court has ruled on Ahwatukee Lakes. The next step, an injunction, will tell True Life Companies what they can do, what they cannot do.
True Life is not through with us. They want to wear us down until they get what they want.
Citizens, don’t be conned by True Life Companies. Do not let them use your vote to change land restrictions on this beautiful parcel of open space. Say No. Have patience. This is a land of laws. To change the law, True Life needs you vote. No. No. No.
-Rebecca Elflmont
Ahwatukee Lakes entitled to a golf course
I’m a homeowner in FTV-1, adjacent to the Ahwatukee Lakes golf course. I received an e-mail from “info@AhwatukeeFarms.com,” asking me to “see their vision” and “sign the consent form” and return it so they can begin their development.
Here’s my response to them: Is Ahwatukee Farms a golf course?
Because if it’s not, our CCRs do not support it. I know that only 51 homes out of the 5,000 voting members back up to the land you want to develop, but that math has not resulted in our residents voting to change our rules so that those neighbors can suffer financially in lost property values while you profit.
Your company likely does things like this all the time in California and they probably thought having a local employee’s name on
the letter might help you position yourself in a sympathetic light, especially when you mention “community needs” and “tax revenues.”
Best of luck to you.
Many of the people you’re writing to have lived in Ahwatukee a long time too and they remember how nice it was to have a golf course called Ahwatukee Lakes. They remember paying a price for their proximity to the course and they also remember being promised (legally and in writing) that the land would always be a golf course.
They probably also remember that having that legal document puts all the power in their hands, not yours. They’ve been around a long time and they’ve seen a thing or two — including this — before.
These people are mostly from a generation who sticks together and who looks out for their neighbors and The True Life Companies is not one of them.
-Darla Williford
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP™
Boomers
• 6 hours of interactive classroom instruction
• An in-depth Social Security Benefit Analysis
• Individual workbooks for each day’s workshop
EACH WORKSHOP CONSISTS OF TWO SESSIONS
• Comprehensive list of available on line retirement resources
• Recommended reading material
• Fillable budget worksheets
• Guide to Medicare costs and benefits
• List of 8 basic estate planning documents
Kyrene schools chief: My three big goals for the rest of 2016
By Jan Vesely AFN GUEST WRITER
It’s hard to believe that August is almost over and our students, teachers and classrooms have settled into their routines and rituals.
I, too, have settled into my new Kyrene routine, focusing on the ways to improve the already impressive work that we do to educate our students day in and day out.
My focus now is taking all of the information I have gathered to start sharing, building and planning. I have been working with the Kyrene Governing Board on a concrete action plan for my next “90 days”, and I wanted to share some of the highlights of that plan.
By the end of this calendar year, I hope to deliver three key outcomes:
A comprehensive summary to be shared with the governing board and the community on the results of my listening and learning activities.
An outline of the process we will use to review the current strategic plan.
A plan on how we will all work together to put that strategic plan to work to make the changes necessary to make Kyrene the best school district it can be.
The first step in this process is to conduct a district-wide audit to help us gather the data we need to build and plan for the future.
The audit will look at things like whether our organizational efforts and resources are aligned to ensure all students are college and career ready; that we are taking appropriate steps to close the achievement gap; to increase our organizational effectiveness and efficiency in providing support to our schools; to review our curriculum services for evidence of effectiveness in improving student achievement; and an assessment of our professional development and capacity for meeting the training needs of principals, teachers and staff so that they can best meet the needs of our students.
The results of the audit will drive our efforts moving forward, from updating our strategic plan, to strengthening our support of our schools and teachers in
teaching and learning for students, and to guide our budget priorities.
Another very important focus of my next 90 days will be to engage staff, parents and the community in an open dialogue about their Kyrene experience.
My “Let’s Talk” tours which are starting this month will enable me to meet with staff and parent organizations to listen to their feedback on how they view the future of Kyrene.
We are in the process of establishing a “Let’s Talk” link on the Kyrene website for anyone — staff, parents, community members — to submit their improvement feedback for our district. I hope to share more info on where you can go to provide feedback in my next message.
We have a lot of work to do, but I am confident that together we can achieve great things for Kyrene.
Please recycle me.
–Jan Vesely became the superintendent of Kyrene School District July 1.
In the age of the selfie and the rest of social media,
wherever you go, you are rarely present these days “ Once upon a time, pictures were precious things.”
By David Leibowitz
Summer vacation took us to the coast of Oregon and a postcard sunset, purples and pinks trickling down the sky into the horizon. We sat on the beach watching until no more than a sliver of sunlight remained. Then we turned our backs to the surf and saw the gathered crowd.
Families and couples, a few singles, a woman in tie-dye walking a setter. Maybe 30 people in all. Almost to a person, they shared one thing in common: They were not spectating the sunset itself, but watching the coming of dusk secondhand through the lens of a smartphone.
It’s what we do these days. We don’t so much take in amazing views as prepare them for display, for posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, our precious moments Snapchatted to strangers, our experiences hashtagged to be witnessed thirdhand somewhere else by someone else. We are supposed to believe that this mass sharing is a good thing, that it better
connects us across space and time.
My response, in a word: Bunk.
Once upon a time, pictures were precious things. Film cost real money, as did developing at Fotomat or the drugstore, and people thought before clicking the shutter 12 or 24 or 36 times on a vacation. Photographs were pressed into albums to be trotted out come the holidays, or to be pored over years later the way I came across a Polaroid pinned in a scrapbook just last week— myself and my younger brother, Matt, posed in denim jeans and Rawlings baseball gloves on the stoop of our old apartment in Queens.
You can still barely read my mother’s handwritten caption along the picture’s margin: “March 1974. David’s first baseball game. Won 6-4. He hit a homerun.”
If I close my eyes, I can still hear my parents’ excited shouts as I rounded third base. Today, my mom and dad would have been too busy Spielberging the event to yell, lest they forget the rule of thirds and screw up the framing, thus depriving mankind of another made-for-YouTube classic.
In 2016, no sooner has little Davey crossed home plate than the scene has been uploaded
and emailed to friends and family, typically to be deleted without a click-through.
Fear not, though, because the same video will reappear in your feed shortly, beside posts depicting last night’s gluten-free dinner, someone’s sweaty mug of craft beer and a Vine of last night’s Coldplay concert— seven seconds of pinheads, strobe lights and muddled noise.
My point? Wherever we go today, we are rarely present. Not to get too grad school about it, but there is a difference emotionally and intellectually between being a witness and a photographer, a participant and a viewer.
By the same token, there’s an even greater difference between embracing a moment or living through it simply for the sake of “checking in” on FourSquare.
For all the ways technology has allegedly made life better, it has also drained away
some of life’s simple joys, like the sight of the sun dipping below the ocean.
Used to be, we captured a moment to hold onto it forevermore, to save it for ourselves and to share with those we love. We imprinted memories on celluloid because they represented the best seconds of our lives, a chosen snippet of time too valuable to let go. Photos were finite; the happiness they circumscribed infinite.
Now, we live in the age of the selfie, a time when photographs are taken mostly to prove we were there and you, my friend, were not. We snap away, all day, every day, capturing the world around us, but missing most everything.
–
David Leibowitz is a freelance writer and public relations expert who has called the Valley home since 1995. Reach him at david@leibowitzsolo. com.
History shows it: Raising corporate taxes won’t bring back good jobs
By Tom Patterson
Americans are more polarized than ever during this depressing election season, but they agree on one thing. Voters hope that somebody somehow can get the economy back on track and bring back better-paying jobs.
Hillary has her answer. Government will provide more jobs! She’s promised the “biggest government jobs program since World War II.”
But wait, there’s more. Her economic program includes raising the minimum wage, increasing unemployment benefits, ramping up immigration and mandating paid leave and access to child care. How any of these proposals would create jobs is anybody’s guess.
But government spending to create jobs and boost the economy has been tried before. In fact, President Obama went full bore, with a $836 billion stimulus program specifically to juice the economy.
To avoid the harmful effects of taxes, the spending splurge was paid for by trillion dollar deficits for four straight years. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve policies created
record low interest rates.
It didn’t work. According to former Sen. Phil Gramm and Michael Solon of US Policy Metrics, in spite of 10 recessions since 1948, the U.S. economy grew at an average rate of 3.5 percent. The President’s Office of Management and Budget predicted his aggressive policies would produce 4.5 percent growth.
Instead, growth has been below 3 percent every year since. It’s now about 1 percent, eight years in.
The middle class is not imagining that pinch they feel. Per capita income grew seven times faster during the Reagan recovery and 10 times faster in the ’60s under Kennedy/ Johnson. Future taxpayers are stuck with a mountain of debt, yet we’re still mucking along.
Contractions are a fact of economic life. They are often beneficial in clearing out unproductive economic actors and producing renewed growth. According to Graham and Solon, of the 30 contractions since 1870, only two were followed by prolonged slow growth and economic suffering.
Not coincidentally, the one prolonged contraction other than Obama’s was the only other one that was addressed by aggressive government intervention. In the
1930s, first Herbert Hoover and then FDR raised taxes, increased regulations and massively increased government spending for relief programs. The result was the Great Depression.
By contrast, Warren Harding in the early ’20s was also faced with a severely declining economy. He cut taxes and spending to push more money into the private economy. Happy days soon returned. You can look it up.
History is pretty clear that you can’t tax your way to prosperity. Strategies that shift resources from the private sector to government take the oxygen away from wealth creation. In fact, the single-most effective strategy for America to restore economic growth would be to cut the corporate tax rate.
Unfortunately, that proposal is wildly unpopular with today’s hard Left, like the Sanders and Warren supporters whose main obsession is soaking the “one percent.” Obama once told newsman Charlie Gibson that even if it would result in less government revenue, he would still favor raising the capital gains tax (also a perceived benefit for the one percent) “for purposes of fairness.”
But the evidence is clear that lowering corporate taxes would permit businesses to
expand, would provide their workers with the tools to make them more productive and would create more jobs. For example, a 2007 Federal Reserve paper tracking 30 countries show that a 10 percent increase in corporate taxes reduced wages by about 7 percent.
A Harvard study showed that American multinational firms pay higher wages in countries with lower tax rates. A Canadian study released just this May showed that wages actually fell by more than a dollar for each dollar corporate taxes are raised. There’s more, but the evidence is clear and convincing. High corporate taxes are a job killer and stunt economic growth.
Yet while the rest of the world seems to be catching on, the U.S. stubbornly clings to a 35 percent corporate tax rate, the highest in the developed world. Is it possible that’s one big reason why all the heroic, big-ticket efforts to jump-start economic growth have failed? Of course it is.
It’s time for Hillary Clinton and others to get over their ideological objections and do something to actually help beleaguered American workers. Cut the corporate tax.
– East Valley resident Tom Patterson is a retired physician and former state senator. He can be reached at pattersontomc@cox.net.
Realtor couple empasizing customer service with their new Ahwatukee dry cleaning business
By Paul Maryniak AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS EDITOR
Most people who don’t like the way their pants are creased or their shirts are laundered would find another dry cleaner.
Sam Perez and his wife Marcela bought one instead.
They recently opened Joy Cleaners at 4302 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee, in a spot previously occupied by another dry cleaner, Magic Touch.
Sam Perez only half-jokingly said it wasn’t inspiration but irritation that motivated him and his wife, who also are Realtors for Keller Williams.
“It was more like frustration. Every time I would pick up my clothes from the cleaners, I would always be irritated by the smashed collars, ‘dimples’ left on the shoulder/trap area from the hanger ends, and having double creases on my pants. My wife just got tired of me whining and said ‘Why don’t you open your own cleaners, then?’”
The suggestion came from a more-thanreliable source: Marcela’s family operates a retail clothing sales and suit and formal attire rental business in Mexico.
“They have their own cleaners to handle their rental clothing,” Sam Perez said. “So every time we are down there, I was able to see and learn more about the cleaning process. They have been a great help to us in helping us learn the business.”
Perez, who for six years commuted between Hawaii and the Valley for his real estate job, is running day-to-day operations from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. His approach is hands-on all the way, from greeting customers to being
involved in the cleaning processes themselves. He is handling his real estate leads in the afternoon, or handing them over to his wife.
He credits several people with helping him get grounded quickly in the art of dry cleaning.
“I am indebted to my business broker,
Terry Tretta, maintenance mechanic
Keith Swenski, reps John Cirillo and
Kurt Gnadt from Laundry & Cleaners Supply, and the previous owner Jay Kim, who spent time with me after the sale to get me acquainted with the cleaner’s customers and operations,” he said.
“They all came in and rolled up their sleeves and helped me get everything fine-tuned and running smoothly. The same service and care that they extended to me represents what we want to
give to our customers and, someday, the community.”
His is the third dry cleaners at the Ahwatukee site. The first was called “Sam’s.” Though he is no relation to the first owner, he said, “I would like to meet him some day to put his picture up on the wall as the original owner. I was able to
The Perez family, from left, Marsella, Leilani, 7, and Samuel, have taken over an established dry cleaners in Ahwatukee, at 4302 E. Ray Road. They will be inspecting each item of clothing for spots before cleaning, as can be seen in the bin in front of them.
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
DRY CLEANING
find some of the original laundry bags with his logo.”
Perez and his wife have already made big changes to a business they just bought July 1.
They have mapped a major remodeling to start this week that will separate the cleaning area from the customer waiting space, expanded hours of operation, and are offering free pickup and delivery. And they clean large items like comforters on site rather than serve as a drop-off for a wholesale cleaner.
He readily admits that customers will pay a little more.
“Our focus will be on quality work and exceptional customer service,” Perez said. “We may not have the lowest prices in the area, but will be focused on going the extra mile to give the best possible experience.”
That’s not how Perez initially thought of the business when he was buying it.
“When we purchased the cleaners, we were told that it used to be one of the top cleaners in Ahwatukee,” noting it had become “run down and not profitable.”
“We were unsure of how much time it would take to get it turned around.
We had initially planned on making it a ‘discount cleaners.’”
But after he began learning his customers’ tastes, he said, “I now feel that our customers want a cleaners that is willing to go the extra mile to meet their requests rather than being the cheapest.
“I also feel by changing our initial plans, that it will most likely take longer to build it up based on reputation and word of mouth versus lowest price. But we feel good about it. We feel we are building something we can stand behind and be proud of instead of being a discounter.”
That leads to what he said is one of his big challenges: attracting new customers and reconnecting with old ones.
“Running specials will hopefully drive in more traffic and give us an opportunity to win over and build new relations with new, past and current customers,” Perez said, adding that he plans to visit local businesses and even go door-todoor to nearby neighborhoods. “We are committed to turning it around.”
Part of that commitment includes the team he’s put together for day-to-day operations. It includes several veterans in the business as well as an expert who will provide on-site alterations from 2 p.m. to closing.
Perez also isn’t putting off a commitment to the community, whether
it involves his plan to install more ecofriendly machinery or his proposal to the Tempe Union High School District, to which he has offered free dry cleaning for Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high school cheerleaders’ clothing.
“Our primary focus right now is rebuilding the cleaners so that it can first reach profitability and then be in a position to give part of its profits back to the community, including local schools, charities, kids’ sports, clubs, and so on.
“Eventually, we hope to sponsor groups, teams, and be in a position to help need as it arises.”
And those double-creased pants and shoulder dimples are already history.
“It took me about 6 years to actually do it, but here we are. Our gentlemen are very pleased with their shirts and pants. I figured by finding solutions for the things that irritated me, that most likely it would help others frustrations as well,” Perez said, adding:
“We are spending more money and time per piece of clothing to ensure that we are taking care of these nuisances, but that’s fine. The most rewarding part is when customers notice the change and show their appreciation with kind words.”
Send your business news to pmaryniak@ ahwatukee.com or call 480-898-5647.
Arizona Mills opens electric charging stations
By Connor Dziawura AFN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Arizona Mills has introduced a new EVgo Freedom Station, which charges electric vehicles at a faster rate than ever before.
>> See CHARGING on page 35
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An electric vehicle charging station sits outside the Marshall's store at Arizona Mills mall in Tempe.
(Will Powers/AFN Staff Photographer)
Fall cooking classes join art sessions at Be…An Artist
By Coty Dolores Miranda
WRITER
Cooking classes for children and adults will launch the fall season at Ahwatukee’s Be… An Artist.
Owner and artist Sandra Marshall said her two-suite store at 4025 E. Chandler Blvd. will host Be…A Chef Cooking School, the first in her 18 months in business.
The Chandler Boulevard venue hosts classes and events, including First Friday Comedy Nights drawing and painting classes for children and adults — which routinely sell out — and 13-week improv classes. The next improv class begins Sept. 7.
The 2,100-square-foot facility has also hosted private birthday parties for all ages, with art classes included.
The business began as an outlet for Marshall, an artist, photographer, videographer, and, now, author of two books on food art soon to be released by Vesuvius Press. She wanted to share her love of creativity with Ahwatukee and East Valley residents.
“This is an art center for all ages and all abilities to explore their creativity with the understanding that everyone, at every age, has the ability to develop and express their creativity,” said Marshall.
Be...An Artist in Ahwatukee offers a large area for work as well as private birthday parties
Marshall helped organize the Great Ahwatukee Paint-Out several years ago. It provided art and murals for the previously unadorned walls on three floors of the Phoenix Ronald McDonald House.
“I do believe everything in life is art,” she said. “Every one of us is an artist in what we do for work, for play, for life.”
Cooking is another passion; both her
books deal with food art and include playful age-appropriate punning in the text.
Her studio’s kitchen is also new and is making the cooking classes possible.
The upcoming classes are divided by age: 5-8 years old, 7-10, 9-12, and 11-16. They range in time from one hour to
on page 35
Ahwatukee artist Sandra Marshall.
An easel beckons patrons to Be...An Artist in Ahwatukee. >> See ARTIST
(Special to AFN)
(Special to AFN)
(Special to AFN)
90-minute and two-hour sessions. Adult classes begin Sept. 19 with two-session and four-session options.
Chef Peter Rice, a Le Cordon Bleu instructor, and Nancy Diggs, an honors graduate of the culinary school, are teachers in both the children and adult classes.
Registration for these and other offerings can be done online at BeAnArtistAZ.com.
Marshall, a mother of children ages 9 and 11, said that being “high energy” is an asset when running a business and being a wife and mother. She said her best work often comes at 3:30 a.m.
But love also has a lot to do with it.
“I love everything that goes on at this studio. It is so artsy and this is who I am,” she said. “When there is a class with someone else teaching, I should be taking a break, but I want to take the class. When there is a party, and I hire other artists to host it, I wish I was there doing the party. I love what I do.”
Marshall also has a soft spot for the children who visit her venue.
“I love the tiny kids — sweet and adorable; the teens and tweens classes — they tell me all their drama each week; the moms who need a break because I
boxes at Be...An Artist is also used to hold popcorn that the kids eat during special film presentations.
(Special to AFN)
CHARGING
>> From page 33
The EVgo Freedom Station, Tempe’s first, provides DC Fast CHAdeMO and DC Fast Combo plugs to service a variety of vehicles, from the Nissan LEAF to the BMW i3. These chargers are compatible with American, European and Japanese dominant standard vehicles.
Arizona Mills’ new Freedom Station also can be upgraded as technologies evolve. Because most of the cost behind the Freedom Station is the power, EVgo designed it to be compatible with new charging ports in the future.
can relate; the retired guys who come in to learn to paint — which is inspiring; and the 95-year-old who just started painting for the first time ever and loves it. That is truly inspiring because it’s never too late to learn,” Marshall added.
Her family is on the journey with her, even if it means being together at the studio.
“My husband is a champ. I need to spend more time with him. In fact, I started Comedy Night at the studio for this reason. I needed a date with him even if it was with 92 other people,” she laughed. “I am in my happy place.”
Information: 480-247-6689.
Send your business news to pmaryniak@ ahwatukee.com or call 480-898-5647.
Make Extra Cash
“Fast charging for us means 50 kilowatts or greater,” said EVgo Vice President Terry O’Day. “That is about 10 times faster than what you might find in your home. The typical cars on the road today can get just about to full on a 30-minute charge.”
EVgo provides three charging levels. These levels operate at 120v, 240v and 480v. A 120v charger can take a day to charge a vehicle, while a 240v charger, which can power a dryer, is twice as fast. However, the Freedom Station operates at 480v and can provide fast charging for most cars, including BMW, Nissan and General Motors.
Now, EVgo is the largest provider of fast charging in the United States, with over 1,000 locations across the country.
“We have grown by leaps and bounds,” said O’Day. “In the last year, I believe, we opened up 25 new markets across the country, now bringing our total to over 50 markets where we’re currently operating.”
While Arizona Mills introduced its new charging station in the past several weeks, Simon Property Group, which owns Arizona Mills, has been partnering with EVgo to launch charging stations for several years.
“Simon Property Group really stays ahead of trends and we have been installing these charging stations at different Simon properties all over the United States for the last couple years,” said Arizona Mills General Manager Carol Fearns. “We recently just got all of our plans approved and got it placed at our property and we’re really excited to have it here.”
The charging station is off of Priest Drive, at Entrance 3 in the parking lot near Marshall’s.
Arizona Mills has two chargers and may expore adding more.
“The more things that we can help our customers do while they’re here shopping or eating is a plus. We felt like the charging station would be very convenient for those shoppers who are coming here,” said Fearns.
“It just gives them one less stop they have to make in their daily errands.”
This "boxcar drive-in movie" creation made by children make from recycled
SHOP MAIN STREET
Shop Local
Here are a few of the many businesses in Ahwatukee ready to serve you. To find more businesses: http://ahwatukeechamber.com/m/ listing/home
Keegan’s Grill
4723 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee. 480-705-0505
An open and airy personality with lots of outdoor seating, Keegan’s has worked hard to become the neighborhood go-to in Ahwatukee for independent dining because of our great value and attentive staff.
Spencer 4 Hire Roofing
4064 E. Woodland Dr., Ahwatukee. 480-446-7663
A premier company specializing in residential and commercial roofing services, Spencer 4 Hire Roofing is dedicated to providing customer service that is second to none.
Ikea-Tempe
2110 W Ikea Way, Tempe. 480-785-8209 x 1336
IKEA Tempe sells everything for the home all under one roof including furniture for living rooms, bedrooms, kitchen cabinets & countertops, appliances, bathroom vanities and accessories, lighting, rugs, mattresses, media storage and more!
Get to Know Your Chamber Breakfast Mountain Park Senior Living 4475 East Knox Road, Ahwatukee. 8-9 a.m. Thursday. Free.
Public Policy Speaker Series: Shelly Winson
8-9 a.m. Sept. 1. Community Rm, Mountain Park Senior Living 4475 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee. Free
Sponsored by: SRP
Silver Sponsor: Nick’s Computer Guys
Main Street Ahwatukee
BUSINESS
Women in Business expands Palo Verde Award categories
By Christie Ellis AFN GUEST WRITER
The Palo Verde Award was created by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce Women in Business in 2005 to honor the Business Woman of the Year.
This award is designed to identify and celebrate outstanding business women in our chamber and community. The women are nominated by fellow business and community members and the selection is based on each candidate’s leadership, professional accomplishments, mentoring and volunteerism. The award is presented during the annual Palo Verde Award Ceremony which will take place Nov. 10.
As we see the growth in the chamber, we want this award ceremony to grow with it.
This year Women in Business is excited to be awarding two new distinctions in addition to our Business Woman of the Year Award: Social Enterprise Award and Corporate Award.
What won’t be changing is the fun, good food and most importantly the
recognition of outstanding women in our community.
Since these awards are new, I want to share with you the criteria for each. Corporate Award nominees will be women who work in a corporate setting, show leadership in their career path and within their community. They have empowered change within and for others in their organization.
Social Enterprise Award nominees will exhibit success and passion for a cause. They will work for an organization that delivers positive social change as its core mission. They show leadership in their efforts and make a difference to the success of the cause.
If you know women who fit these criteria, as well as the criteria for the Business Woman of the Year, then be sure you nominate them.
Nominations are due by Sept. 23, so don’t delay in recognizing successful women in your life. Just by making a nomination, nominees will have their profile heightened within our community.
During the Palo Verde Award Ceremony, we will also honor women
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
The Specific Chiropractic Center
Name: Dr. Cameron Call
Address: 4425 E. Agave Road, Suite 104, Ahwatukee.
Phone: 602-753-7782
Email: cameron@thespecific.com
On the web: www.thespecific.com
What services or products do you provide?
I help people who live with chronic reoccurring conditions that have not responded well to other types of treatment. Whether it is migraines, headaches, digestive issues, chronic back pain that won’t go away, specific chiropractic care can help. I stand for a world where people are empowered to live their lives rather than enduring them. In our office we work directly with the nervous system and ensure that is is functioning as optimally as possible to enable your body to heal all on its own so you can live life beyond your pain.
who will be continuing their education by giving away $1,000 scholarships to a deserving woman over the age of 18.
In keeping with our mission of providing support for the business endeavors of women, these awards will be given to women who are pursuing their education, whether in college, trade school, online courses or continuing education classes.
There are no age restrictions, and application is open to high school seniors, college students, and women who are returning to school. Scholarship applications are available at the chamber office and the application deadline is Sept. 30.
The Palo Verde Award Dinner provides wonderful opportunities to be a sponsor, volunteer, and/or donate. We will have auction items, a wine pull, and raffle prizes.
Please feel free to call or drop off at the Chamber any donations or raffles. We will be hosting Donation Day on Sept. 27h to kick off the fundraising efforts.
We do want to thank in advance all who have come forward to start to help with the award planning. If you are interested, please call the chamber for details.
What are some exciting things happening in your business?
Besides seeing patients get life-changing results when they thought they would “ just have to live with it,” we are now planning our grand opening block party for September 15th from 4-7 PM. It is going to be a party the whole family can enjoy. The entire community is invited to come and celebrate with us and check out the exciting things we are doing here at The Specific Chiropractic Center.
What is your background and how did you come to be in this business?
I always knew I wanted to be involved in the service industry helping people. One summer during college I got a job working for a chiropractor and quickly fell in love with the work he was doing. I changed my major, went to chiropractic school once I earned my bachelors, and during school I learned about specific chiropractic care. I started to take care of my wife with this type of care and it helped her get of rid of chronic hip pain she had been experiencing since she was a child. I knew this was the type of chiropractic care I wanted to do for the rest of my life. We felt led to Ahwatukee and are excited to offer this unique style of care to not only our community but the people of Arizona.
Arizona Secretary of State Michelle Reagan is flanked by Women in Business Chair Christie Ellis, left, and Anne Gill, president/CEO of the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerceat the 2016 Back to Business Expo breakfast.
Future student CEOs and their families learn about the chamber's Young Entrepreneurs Academy during Information Night.
South Mountain Film’s Rafael Isaac films business people’s green screen message at the chamber's 2016 Back to Business Expo.
SPIRITUAL SIDE
Struggles
are temporary, no matter how long they seem to continue
By Lisa Jisa AFN GUEST WRITER
I’ve been dealing with a mold problem in my current home. Although there is no visible mold, my doctor was able to detect it in my lungs with testing.
My body sure knows this mold is a reality, as I wake up with itchy red eyes and a stuffy nose every morning. Mold is making my Lyme recovery journey take a lot longer than expected because it puts an extra burden on my immune system. Just because I can’t see the mold doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
It’s a lot easier to focus on what we can actually see, especially when it is bad. People behave in horrible ways, and awful things happen. It can be effortless to experience discouragement on a daily basis. But what we can’t see is a lot more real than what we can see.
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.
SUNDAYS
VALOR CHRISTIAN OUTLINES MISSION
Valor Christian Center in Gilbert offers “great praise and worship and great messages for today’s living,” according to Pastor Thor Strandholt, associate pastor. “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,
The Bible talks about a time when the prophet Elisha was surrounded by an evil king’s army. His servant panicked and wondered what they would do.
“‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:16-17)
Elisha was a man of great faith. He believed God had a supernatural army ready to go, and it was true. Oh, that my faith would increase and I would remember this more often.
Daniel prayed for days and days with no answer. Finally, he was visited by an angel, who told him that his words had been heard, but a heavenly battle had detained his coming in response to Daniel’s prayers for 21 days. (Read Daniel 10 for the full story.)
We don’t always know why answers to prayers take a long time (and often much longer than 21 days. Who knows what might be happening in the spiritual realm? Keep on praying!
Ephesians 6:11-12 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Again, keep on praying!
Paul refers to our struggles on earth as “light and momentary.” That’s not how I would describe things often, but it’s necessary to keep this thought in the forefront of my mind.
In 2 Corinthians 4:18, we are reminded, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what it seen, but what is unseen.
FAITH CALENDAR
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
MONDAYS
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.
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.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
The greatest unseen reality is that there is indeed life beyond what we can see. Life on earth is temporary and it doesn’t end here.
I find a great deal of encouragement in Jesus’ words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
Let’s fix our eyes on the invisible realities.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)
– Lisa Jisa lived in Ahwatukee from 20002015, spent the past year in Colorado, and is currently packing for an upcoming move to her homeland of Wisconsin.
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, 480-9173593.
WEDNESDAYS
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.
FAITH CALENDAR
“Nothing is too small or too large.”
DETAILS>> 6:20 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. One-time 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.
FRIDAYS
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. 480-838-
1414 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.
YOUNG FAMILIES HOLD SHABBAT
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.
SERVICE INCLUDES KIDS
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.
EITZ CHAIM INVITES NEWCOMERS
Congregation Eitz Chaim is traditional and egalitarian. Newcomers welcome. DETAILS>> 7 p.m., services at 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. eitzchaimphoenix.org.
TEMPLE EMANUEL LISTS SERVICES
Traditional service followed by an Oneg Shabbat. DETAILS>> 7:30 p.m. second and fourth Fridays, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. 480-838-1414 or emanueloftempe.org.
SATURDAYS
STUDY THE PRAYER BOOK
These special study sessions at the beginning of Shabbat morning services teach the structure of Shabbat services and how to follow in the Siddur (prayer book). Taught by Rabbi Leitner. Introduction to Judaism, Introductory Hebrew Reading for Adults, and Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah Preparation are cumulative, so no new students can be accepted mid-year.
DETAILS>> 9-9:30 a.m. fourth Saturday each month, Pre-register for fall by contacting Amy Shevitz at vped@tbsev.org.
WEEKLY SERVICES SCHEDULED
International, nondenominational church offers weekly Sabbath services. Congregational meeting in the morning and Bible study in the afternoon. DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m.-noon; 1:30-2:45 p.m. at True Jesus Church, 2640 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. 480899-1488 or tjcphoenix@tjc.org.
JEWISH KIDS PROGRAM AVAILABLE
Shabbat Yeladim is a free Shabbat program for Jewish children ages 3-7 sponsored by Ahwatukee’s NefeshSoul Jewish Community. Shabbat Yeladim is on the second Saturday of the month. Songs, stories and art project each month.
DETAILS>> 10-11 a.m. on the Valley Unitarian Universalist Campus, 6400 W. Del Rio, Chandler. Contact Rabbi Susan Schanerman at rabbi@ nefeshsoul.org or nefeshsoul.org.
STUDY AND WORSHIP IN TEMPE
DETAILS>> Temple Emanuel, 5801 S. Rural Road, Tempe. Optional study session at 8:20 a.m., Shabbat morning service at 9:30 a.m., followed by a kiddush. 480-838-1414 or emanueloftempe.org.
Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ahwatukee.com
Get Out
Angry Crab Shack is a hands-on experience
David M. Brown
The mascot is a snarling red crab clawing a trident.
But patrons at the Angry Crab Shack don’t even need a fork, let alone a trident, to dig into the restaurant’s wide array of seafood.
What they will need is patience, especially on the weekends, because all the Angry Crab Shacks in Mesa and Ahwatukee, as well as three other Valley communities, draw long lines of customers, especially on the weekends.
“We went at 6 in the evening on a Friday and you couldn’t even find parking,” patron Ruth Carlton said of her recent attempted visit.
Since opening about three years ago in a Mesa strip mall that had been a Bermuda Triangle for two other restaurants, the Angry Crab Shack has become such a hit with its heaps of steaming seafood and laid-back atmosphere that its co-owners have opened replicas at 3820 E. Ray Road, Ahwatukee; 2808 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix; 7608 W. Cactus Road, Peoria; and 310 N. Litchfield Road, Goodyear.
And they’re getting ready to open their sixth restaurant at Haws and Guadalupe Road, east Mesa this fall.
All the shacks mirror the same
atmosphere as the original location at Guadalupe and Alma School roads, Mesa.
You don’t need silverware, the bib is free, and you can sign your name or favorite saying on the restaurants’ walls when you need a break from plunging into food that’s often plopped in front of you in a steaming bag.
Some menu items may require lots of water or soda since there are five levels of “Spice It” levels to much of the fare, ranging from the ultra-hot “Scorching Scorpion” to “Wimpy.”
At all Angry Crab Shacks, the focus is old-fashioned bag-boiled seafood.
Patrons select the super-fresh contents — clams, salmon, Dungeness crab, blue crab, crawfish, lobster, shrimp, vegetables — and pick sauces and herbs that include Cajun, lemon pepper, garlic, and the signature Trifecta. A la carte items include corn-on-the-cob and sausage.
Angry Crab Shack cooks food to order, and friendly servers bring it to the table.
And that takes a lot of muscle, with a total of more than 300 employees across all five restaurants, including 75 at the original location and 47 in Ahwatukee.
Some of those employees are busy shucking thousands of oysters weekly.
“We’re the only ones in the Valley who throw those puppies on the grill
with Parmesan, butter and chili flakes,” said regional manager Autum PerrySevilla, whose husband is a co-owner.
She also noted that guests often find pearls in their oysters.
Guests also learn to karate chop crustacean shells and clean shrimp, heads included.
“You walk into one of our restaurants, and there’s so much energy,” said Ronald Lou, another shack co-owner and former owner of Chandler’s C-Fu Gourmet. “I walk in and see a row of seniors like myself, and it’s a whole new uplift every time.”
Lou once played with the old Houston Oilers in the National Football League and before that as a center for legendary Arizona State University coach Frank Kush. A participant in the first two Fiesta Bowls, he was the first Chinese-American to play in the NFL.
Now, it’s all seafood all the time.
“Just bring an attitude: Here you eat with your hands. If you’ve just had your nails done or bought a new business suit, this might not be your place,” he added with a smile.
The other owners are David Eng, Jason Lopez, Andrew Diamond, and PerrySevilla’s husband, Dan.
Sevilla and Eng were long-time patrons of C-Fu Gourmet, and they thought Lou would help give birth to their idea for Angry Crab Shack because of his 25-plus years in the restaurant industry, especially his experience buying fresh seafood from quality vendors.
“We’re at the airport three times a week picking up live clams, lobsters, crabs and crawfish when in season,” Sevilla said. Angry Crab’s taps and bottled beer draw on local sources, including SanTan Brewery, Four Peaks, Sleepy Dog and Uncle Bear.
Chicago-born Sevilla worked at Valley bars, lounges and restaurants while attending ASU.
“This sparked a desire in me to be part of the industry and help create the Angry Crabs,” he said.
He and his wife thought the Valley lacked non-fancy restaurants like the ones he remembers from his Chicago youth and she enjoyed in Pasadena.
“In our Arizona market, we were missing that great seafood restaurant, so we decided to bring it in the form of this warm, community- and family-based southern seafood boil to the East Valley,” Sevilla said.
Angry Crab Shack co-owners Dan Sevilla and wife Autum Perry-Sevilla, restaurant regional manager, stand behind a table of American Service Animal Society members. Society founders Gerad and Debbie Claseman sit in front of Dan.
A plate of crab claws, corn on the cob and assorted seafood and Cajun sausage is typically spread out for Angry Crab Shack diners to dig into with their hands.
(Special to AFN)
(Special to AFN)
ANGRY CRAB
>> From page 39
For the Mesa start-up, the team chose a challenged building vacant for two years. It had been the locale for two restaurants that closed after only a year or two in business.
Angry Crab Shack server and Mesa resident, Shawna Cotney, in fact, had formerly worked at one of those dead eateries.
“We have guests who remark on what a change the space has undergone,” Perry-Sevilla said. “They’re very proud to have a thriving business right in their neighborhood.
Mesa is the ‘mother ship,’ .., where it all started,” she added. “It holds our initial anxiety as well as our realized dreams. It’s the beating heart of our company, a little ‘cocoonier,’ a little ‘shackier,’ perhaps, because it was our first.”
Here, Zoe Sevilla of Gilbert is the general manager; Mike Cooper, Tempe, and Kyle Ledda, Chandler, assistant managers; and Jessica Park, Chandler, kitchen manager.
Though similar to the Mesa location in atmosphere, each shack has its unique aspects, as well.
The Ahwatukee store serves BBQ, too, and is the only Angry Crab Shack that offers pizza. The location also has the
largest of the Angry Crab bars and a giant TV wall.
The Ahwatukee restaurant general manager is Robert Cissell, a Gilbert resident; Chris Beard, Tempe, and Tina Meyers, Maricopa, are assistants, and
Oscar Holmes, Mesa, is the kitchen manager.
The Ahwatukee location also supports many programs at Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista high schools.
That’s typical of the shack owners’
commitment to their communities. They host Local First events, recycle those piles of shells through a local composting company for farms, parks and school gardens, and sponsor the Cajun Festival every April in downtown Chandler. They’ve also sponsored programs in other schools, including Dobson High in Mesa and Mesquite Junior in Gilbert, and organize volunteer outings for their staff.
In addition, the restaurants raise money for local police and fire departments and have donated directly to the 19 families of the Hotshot firefighters who died in Yarnell three years ago.
One of the owners’ favorite groups is the Gilbert-based American Service Animal Society (dogsforvets.com), which unites veterans with service and companion dogs. Every day, a 10-percent discount for American active and veteran military, police and fire forces and teachers applies.
“There was no certainty that we would succeed in the early days, but we held to our vision of creating a space where the community could come together to enjoy celebrations as well as a place that our staff wants to come to work to every day,” Sevilla said.
“We’re providing high-quality seafood at affordable prices in a highly interactive atmosphere,” he added. “It’s a magical concept: unique, delicious and insanely fun.”
The festive, laid-back atmosphere in Angry Crab Shack’s Ahwatukee location is replicated at the restaurant’s other four locations.
(Special to AFN)
The Nash features a full month of special jazz concerts
The Nash in downtown Phoenix’s Roosevelt Row is featuring .jazz artists throughout September.
Recognized by Downbeat Magazine as one of the top jazz venues in the United States, The Nash is named for Phoenix native and jazz drummer Lewis Nash.
The Nash hosts classic jazz and new music concerts as well as performances by student musicians, local pros and touring artists, weekly jazz jam sessions and workshops.
The Nash’s September calendar includes Grammy-nominated Marcos Creg, the local group House of Stairs, and a return engagement of the phenomenal Francine Reed.
In addition, every Sunday features student and pro musicians playing together, unrehearsed, in a variety of combinations. Student jazz musicians and singers are welcome, with house band, grand piano, guitar and bass amp, drum set and sound all provided.
Here’s a rundown of its September performances:
Trevor Anderies Quintet Sept. 2.
“At a time when the sounds heard most often are merely stale copies of the
past, Trevor Anderies is a truly welcome breeze of fresh air,” a Nash release said, adding the group is “bringing forth the highly creative, exciting and innovative improvisations of the 21st century.”
Emilio Vargas and Ray Lebert Sept. 9.
Emilio Vargas and Ray Lebert perform jazz arrangements of tunes across the history of video games.
The Ray Lebert Quartet has been playing together for three years and
performs throughout the Phoenix area. For their upcoming Nash show, the group will tackle its own musical arrangements from video games, such as Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Zelda.
Devon Bridgewater and New Nuance Sept. 10.
Bridgewater’s New Nuance last
performed at the Nash in August 2015 and is now producing a new recording for release in 2017.
House of Stairs Sept. 16.
House of Stairs is a quartet of multidimensional jazz musicians that mix elements of pop and progressive soul with electronic instruments and looping devices. The band includes vocalist and loop artist Holly Pyle, Garrison Jones on keys and keyboard bass, Stephen
and synth for added textures.
Beth Lederman and Jazz Con Alma Sept. 17
Translating as “Jazz with Soul” or
“Jazz with Spirit,” Jazz Con Alma plays music “that ranges from traditional to contemporary music with the spirit of
>> See THE NASH on page 44
Avalos on drums and Shea Marshall on a collection of instruments including bass clarinet, saxophone, harmonica, accordion
From apples to art, Labor Day weekend offers many diversions
By Justin Ferris GETOUT/AFN STAFF WRITER
Tony winner opening soon
“The Drowsy Chaperone,” described as “a musical within a comedy” and a five-time Tony-award winner, centers on a Broadway aficionado simply called “Man in Chair.” Join him as he listens to, and comments on, a cast recording of the fictional musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” that comes to life in his apartment.
Details>> Times Vary, Thurs.-Sat. Thursday-Oct. 2. Hale Centre Theatre, 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbert. Tickets: $30 (adults), $22 (students), $18 (5-12). 480497-1181 https://www.haletheatrearizona.com/
Tour art in Phoenix
People can visit some of the best
museums and galleries in downtown Phoenix for free on the first Friday of every month. Don’t feel like walking? Try out the free First Friday Trolley with hubs at five major locations, including the Phoenix Art Museum.
Take advantage of Labor Day weekend to escape the Valley heat by heading up to Flagstaff for the Coconino County Fair, featuring livestock and an auction, carnival rides, a demolition derby, food and food-eating contests and live music. Don’t forget to say “Hi!” to Coco the Cow.
Details>> 10 a.m.-10 p.m., FridayMonday. Coconino County Fair, 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop Flagstaff. Tickets: $8 (adult), $5 (6-12 and seniors), Free (5 and under). 928-679-8000 http://coconino. az.gov/countyfair
Wild Horse hosts drag races
Start your engines for a night of exhilarating drag racing. Show up to watch, or enter your own car or motorcycle to see how fast you can make it off the line. Just be sure you read up on the rules first; safety is a priority.
Details>> 7-11:30 p.m., Friday. Wild Horse Motorsports Park, 20000 S. Maricopa Road, Chandler. Tickets: $40 (participant), $15 (crew, spectators),
Free (12 and under). 520-796-5601 http:// www.racewildhorse.net/
Tempe run honors heroes
Honor the heroes of Sept. 11, 2001, and local first responders, veterans and fallen military members by joining a 5K run or 1 mile run/walk around Tempe Beach Park. Compete for one of the 68 prizes and enjoy free offerings from more than 20 vendors.
Details>> 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado, Tempe. Tickets: $35 (5K), $25 (1 mile). http:// www.travismanion.org/
Experience the Andes
Get a glimpse of the vibrant culture that inhabits the longest continental mountain range in the world. Enjoy authentic traditional music and dance, watch an enlightening presentation
>> See CALENDAR on page 43
on Andes instruments and eat South American-themed food. The kids will enjoy face painting and craft time.
Details>> 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. Tickets: $20 (general), $15 (13-19), $10 (4-12), Free (3 and under). 480-478-6000 http://mim. org/
Expo features items for women
Grab the girls and head out for a full day of shopping in one spot. The Women’s Day Out Expo features the latest fashions, beauty supplies, health products and more. Plus, browse exhibits, watch fitness demonstrations, score
free product samples and win door prizes.
Details>> 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday. Glendale Civic Center, 5750 West Glenn Drive, Glendale. Cost: Free. Phone URL
Enjoy fare from best chefs
Spend the day sampling food from some of the Valley’s best chefs at Phoenix Cooks. Add in matching beer, wine and spirits, along with cooking demonstrations, and you end up with every foodie’s dream day.
Kick off the college football season with an all-Arizona match-up as the Arizona State University Sun Devils take on the
Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks in the revamped Sun Devil Stadium.
Details>> 7:30 p.m., Saturday. Sun Devil Stadium, 500 E. Veterans Way, Tempe. Tickets: $11-$150. 480-965-3482 http:// www.thesundevils.com/
Take advantage of the apple harvest to pick your own apples right off the tree. Plus, enjoy an “All You Can Eat” apple-themed pancake breakfast, applesmoked burgers, homemade apple pie, and more. You can also pick Asian pears and buy other fresh produce.
Details>> 7:30 a.m.-3p.m., SaturdayMonday. Apple Annie’s Fruit Orchard, 2081 W. Hardy Road, Willcox. Cost: Varies by activity. http://www.appleannies.com/
Get more ideas for fun things to do in Ahwatukee - and beyond - at Phoenix.org.
Apple Harvest blossoms
THE NASH
>> From page 41
improvisation and the love of jazz always intact,” a Nash release says. It describes the group’s music as “jazz that is easy to listen to, but doesn’t compromise the integrity and creativity that make this music celebrated as America’s own unique art form.
Eric Rasmussen Quartet
Sept. 23
Free-wheeling improvisations and loving tributes to jazz masters past are typically on the bill when Eric Rasmussen leads his band.
Francine Reed
Sept. 24
has been part of Lyle Lovett’s Large Band since the mid 80’s, appeared on The Tonight Show, and appeared for many seasons in Seattle’s dinner-theatre cabaret, Teatro ZinZanni.
Brett Reed Trio
Sept. 30.
Brett Reed is a performer and
From the mid-1970s through the early 90s, Reed reigned as the most popular jazz and blues vocalist in the Valley. She
composer specializing in contemporary and improvised music. He regularly performs as a solo percussionist, as a member of several ensembles, including Crossing 32nd Street, Skin & Bones, a percussion duo he co-founded with Terry Longshore, and as a jazz vibraphonist in solo and ensemble settings.
Information: The Nash is at 110 E. Roosevelt Road, Phoenix. Tickets: www.thenash.org or
SUDUKO
GameNight: Pride continues showing off out of state
Photos and story by Jason P. Skoda
CORONA, Calif. – It’s no wonder Mountain Pointe heads out of state on an annual basis these days.
The Pride won an early season out-ofstate battle for the fourth straight year in impressive fashion as Mountain Pointe manhandled Upland, California, High 4122 Saturday as part of the Brothers in Arms showcase.
“We are representing the whole state, not just our school or our city,” senior cornerback Antwaun Woodberry said.
“We want to show everyone that Arizona is a great football state every time we play.”
Mountain Pointe scored on three of its first four drives and punted just once in the first half to jump on Upland by 20 points.
Quarterback Noah Grover connected
with three receivers for touchdowns as Gary Bragg scored on a 10-yard swing pass out of the back field. Isaiah PolaMao took advantage of single coverage when the safety was late reacting for a 48-yard score and Jaydon Brooks split two defenders at the 10-yard line with a spin move on the way to a 31-yard score.
“We saw their safeties came in hard, so we knew we had some good matchups on the outside,” said Grover, who finished 9
for 14 for 276 yards and four touchdowns. “We work a lot on that in practice, the timing with the deep ball and where (Pola-Mao) likes it.”
Pola-Moa added a 77-yard touchdown in the second half on a third-and-17 from the 23 to finish with five catches for 215 yards, two scores and an interception on defense.
“He’s a great, great player,” Pride coach
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The Pride was ready to roll after coming out of the locker room.
Mountain Pointe 41, Upland (Calif.) 22
MP 13 7 14 7 --41
U 0 3 6 13—22
First
MP –Bragg 10 pass from Grover (PAT blocked), 8:05
MP- Pola-Mao 48 pass from Grover (Abercrombie kick), :15
Second
MP- Brooks 31 pass from Grover (Abercrombie kick), 10:03
U – Mojarro 23 FG, :32
Third
U – Mojarro 30 FG, 12:15
MP – Pola-Mao 77 pass from Grover (Abercrombie kick), 7:38
MP – Hodge 72 run (Abercrombie kick), 3:59
U – Potts 34 pass from Baldwin (2 point failed), 1:55
Fourth
MP-Bragg 36 run (Abercrombie kick), 3:04
U – Unknown touchdown, 1:44
Team statistics MP U Rush-yards 31-303 18-10
Att-comp-int 9-14-0 9-30-1
Pass yards 276 135
Total yards 579 145
First downs 17 8 Fumbles/lost 2/1 4/2
Penalties 11-110 4-29
Individual statistics
Rushing
MP – Bragg 20-160, Hodge 6-98, Brooks 1-(-)1, Grover 1-(-)1, Salgado 3-45. U – Seymore 9-21, Jones 3-10, Baldwin 6-21.
Norris Vaughan said. “Our quarterback had a great game, and he found Pola a few times for big plays.”
Meanwhile, the Pride defense stuffed the run and the Upland quarterback David Baldwin wasn’t accurate enough to take advantage of open receivers.
“We saw on film that if he felt pressure, he got rid of the ball in a hurry,” Woodberry said. “Our D-Line and linebackers were going to get after him and the DBs were ready for the ball came out quick.”
The second half was about the Mountain Pointe offensive line wearing down Upland as Bragg and Rashie Hodge, who had a 72-yard touchdown run, found themselves in the second level
of the defense time and again.
Bragg finished with 160 yards and Hodge had 98 as the team cranked out 303 yards on the ground.
“We wore them out in the second half,” senior guard Rudy Rauls said. “The coaches said we wanted to hit them in the mouth, and we didn’t hit hard enough in the first half. The second half we really went after them.”
The Pride have now topped Bishop Gorman and Reed from Nevada, as well as Bakersfield and Upland from California in recent years.
“I don’t why,” Vaughan said of their out-of-state success. “I guess we are just better than most teams we’ve faced. When
our guys are challenged they met it.”
Mountain Pointe will now get a bye before facing Chandler, which lost 56-49 in the second game of the double header in California, on Sept. 8.
“We’re in a good spot,” Vaughan said. “We’re 2-0, have some time off and can get ready for Chandler. That’s going to tell us a lot about where we are at against a very good team.”
– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow @AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.
Mountain Pointe senior running back Rashie Hodge breaks loose for a big gain the first half in the win over Upland.
The Mountain Pointe student body was represented in California to support the Pride.
Man of Pride Rauls balances being class president, starting lineman
By Jason Skoda AFN PREP SPORTS DIRECTOR
Rudy Rauls has a way about him that has attracted the attention of a lot of people.
You don’t get elected senior class president at a big school like Mountain Pointe High without having a bit of that “it factor.”
It’s the smile, the attitude and the approachability.
Even at football practice, when someone outside the program approaches the team, he has been known to introduce himself as the class president and welcome the visitor.
“He has a very outgoing personality,” Pride offensive line and assistant head coach Aaron Frana said, “and always has a smile on his face.”
That type of personality — or being the class president for that matter — isn’t always associated with being a football player. But Rauls pulls it off as the Pride’s starting right guard on the offensive line as well as playing in the defensive line rotation.
When pressed, Rauls couldn’t decide
whether he was more proud to be the class president or a starting offensive lineman for the Pride, who are in a bye week.
“That’s a good question,” he said. “I take pride in being myself, and representing the school as much as I can. Being a Mountain Pointe football player means a
lot to me. It’s huge. I’ve been in student council for over 10 years from elementary school all the way up.”
The 6-foot-1, 260-pounder has been a pleasant surprise thus far, considering he was on junior varsity last year as a junior after he missed some time dealing with family issues.
Scouts started noticing him down the stretch last year, and he ended up getting to play in the first round of the playoff of another player’s injury.
“He got his shot and has run with it since,” Frana said. “When he straps on the pads he gets after it.”
Rauls, who is the strongest linemen in the weight room, lives with his uncle, Leon Savage, a bus driver in the Kyrene School District for more than 20 years. He feels it has helped him mature and open up to possibilities.
“God has gotten me through all my trial and tribulations,” he said. “I have had great guidance. My Uncle Leon, the coaches, teammates and Mountain Pointe have been there for me.”
Pride senior quarterback Noah Grover said, “Rudy is a great kid whether that’s being in the classroom or on the field. He is very outgoing and positive and is always trying to help others around him.
“In the locker room, Rudy is one person that everyone can always count on to either pump up the team and hype us up or even give an emotional inspirational speech.”
Rauls was reflective during the Pride’s trip to California last week after missing last year’s road trip to California.
“It’s been amazing. It’s great,” he said. “I’m surprised I’m not crying yet…. I am so thankful to be part of this.
“All my coaches are like fathers to me, especially Coach Frana.”
It is pretty clear in listening to Rauls’ words, and seeing his eyes when talking about his school that the senior class made the right choice in April in voting for Rauls as their representative.
“I told my school I love Mountain Pointe and I want to be the voice of the Pride,” he said. “Mountain Pointe has been there to help me and support me, push me all the way.
“I try to always be where I want to be and that is Mountain Pointe.”
– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
– Check us out and like the Ahwatukee Foothills News on Facebook and follow @AhwatukeeFN on Twitter.
Mountain Pointe senior guard Rudy Rauls is also the senior class president and cherishes both roles he has for his school.
Mountain Pointe senior guard Rudy Rauls (left) gets a block on an Upland linebacker.
(Jason Skoda/Special to AFN)
(Jason Skoda/Special to AFN)
Sweet home Ahwatukee
DV’s Humphrey eases
into transition from Alabama
By Jason P. Skoda AFN SPORTS DIRECTOR
Caleb Humphrey had known since May that the day would come, but it didn’t really hit home until the furniture in his Alabama home started disappearing in July.
The true reality that he was going to be playing for new coaches, in a different uniform and with new teammates came when he met the Desert Vista High coaches just before team camp in Show Low on July 18.
“I didn’t take it seriously until a week before we moved and the furniture was gone,” Humphrey said. “It was very hard to deal with. At first I didn’t want to.”
Soon after arriving in Ahwatukee, Humphrey met Thunder coach Dan Hinds, and instead of heading with the team to camp, he worked out with former Thunder player and current assistant coach Derek Kennard.
“We met him briefly and we loaded up the buses,” Hinds said. “I was immediately impressed by his size. He stayed and worked with Coach Kennard. I stayed in touch and Derek had great things to say about him. He called him a smooth cat.”
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound strong safety is quiet and reserved, but not on the field. He quickly impressed the coaching staff
in practice and the intrasquad game.
“The first time I noticed him was in our scrimmage against each other,” Thunder defensive coordinator Mike France said.
“We kept seeing him come up strong and making hits. It’s like the old (Vince) Lombardi thing you don’t have to see a good tackle, you can hear it.
“I could hear him making those hits. After that, we took him from free safety to rover and he is handling it really well.”
Humphrey, who played both free and strong safety on varsity for Shades Valley High in Birmingham as a sophomore, had a solid debut against Perry in the season opener. He gets his second start with the Thunder (0-1) on Friday against Basha (0-2) at Thunder Stadium.
“It was a feeling-out process,” said Humphrey, whose younger brother, Colby, is a slot receiver on the freshmen squad. “The hardest thing might have been the practice schedule. In (Alabama) practices are not as long but the intensity is about the same.”
Hinds said the program was lucky to get a family like Humphreys to move into the neighborhood, and he appreciated the way the family went about it, compared to some of the transfers that have become all too common in Arizona.
“You know how it goes sometimes,” Hinds said. “I wasn’t getting phone calls from Alabama asking what can you do for my kid. They moved to the neighborhood and brought him to the high school in the neighborhood. To me, that’s the way it should be.
“We are happy they are with us. Great parents. He is the kind of kid I like coaching.
“He is a ‘Yes sir,’ ‘No sir’ type kid and quiet. He comes every day, practices hard, plays hard and is a great student.”
Humphrey, who ran the 400 and competed in the triple jump in track for Shades Valley, got a taste of Arizona football the first week of the season and was impressed with the atmosphere but said Alabama will be tough to beat.
“Some of the (Alabama) stadiums are huge,” said Humphrey, who attended a high-achieving school called Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School on the campus of Shades Valley.
“When you had a good rivalry, you could really hear it. The fans, the band and everybody.
“The first game (against Perry) here had a good atmosphere. We let the
game get away; first game jitters. Going forward those are games we can win.”
Especially if Humphrey progresses into the player the coaching staff believes he will over the next two years.
“It’s like getting pennies from heaven,” France said. “He just looks like a next level kind of guy. We are happy with him at safety right now.”
– Contact Jason Skoda at 480-898-7915 or jskoda@ahwatukee.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES AND SUDOKU
The reality of moving from Alabama to Arizona didn’t really settle in until Humphrey was standing in front of the Desert Vista coaches and introducing himself.
Desert Vista High junior safety Caleb Humphrey makes a tackle and an impression early in fall camp after moving from Alabama.
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
(Cheryl Haselhorst/AFN Staff Photographer)
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