East Valley Tribune: Chandler/Tempe Edition - Dec. 18, 2016

Longtime

Mesa

volunteer Rick Jones dies

L.A. couple moves acting studio to Mesa, ready to

My Sister’s Closet consignment store celebrates 25 years

BY MIKE BUTLER Tribune Staff Writer

Jason Patterson and friend Megan Looser felt like hitting some golf balls on a recent Friday morning.

Instead of heading to a golf course, however, they decided to try Topgolf in Gilbert for the rst time. It was chilly that morning, but the two were comfortable in their heated bay, lounging on the sofa and sipping mimosas between shots.

“It’s fun. I like it,” Patterson says. Looser agrees.

“I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” she says.

It’s the kind of scene that gives operators of daily-fee golf courses in the East Valley pause. Although the health of East Valley golf is robust—for now—operators know they must attract millennials and their kids if the game is going to be a viable business 20 years from now.

December 18, 2016

Next generation of golfers being grown in East Valley

released Dec. 13 from the Cactus and Pine Golf Course Superintendents Association and the University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. at number is up from the $3 billion economic impact golf had in 2004, the last time the two groups conducted the statewide study.

Arizona golfers played 11.6 million rounds Chandler/Tempe Edition

In 2014, the Arizona golf industry contributed $3.9 billion in sales to the state economy. at’s according to a report

ose sales generated $72 million in state and local taxes. e golf industry employs

18,700 full- and part-time workers. But when you throw in multiplier e ects, the industry supports an estimated 41,700 Arizona jobs and $1.5 billion in labor income. Residential real estate premiums associated with homes built on or near golf courses is estimated at $2.1 billion.

Childhood cancer survivor gives back, becomes a nurse

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR Tribune Staff Writer

Call it fate, call it kismet, call it karma. Joel Nava calls it the opportunity to live his dream.

Nava is a registered nurse at Cardon Children’s Medical Center, where he began working a couple of months ago.

But, his connection to the children’s hospital goes back much further. Nava is a childhood cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with leukemia at age 13 and underwent 2½

years of chemotherapy before being declared cancer-free. It was a short-lived celebration. ree months later, Nava relapsed and was readmitted to the hospital.

He remembers well the conversation with his doctor when he was initially diagnosed. He was just about to complete seventh grade.

“ e doctor told me I had leukemia. I was like, ‘Give me a vaccine or whatever,’” Nava said. “I thought they could just x it.”

His doctor explained that leukemia is blood cancer. at sunk in, Nava said.

“I knew cancer was bad,” he said.

He was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he stayed for two weeks before going to Banner Desert Medical Center, which then housed Banner Children’s Hospital. e separate Cardon Children’s Medical Center, next door to Banner Desert, opened in November 2009, close to the time Nava was declared cancer-free for the second time. Nava remembers his nurses at the Banner hospitals well.

“ anks to the nurses, it was a lot better

Historic Mining Camp Restaurant Historic Mining Camp Restaurant

THE SUNDAY

EAST VALLEY

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The East Valley Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in singlecopy locations throughout the East Valley. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of the Tribune, please visit www.EastValleyTribune.com.

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than it could have been,” Nava said of his treatment and frequent hospital stays.

He was lucky, he says, because he responded well to chemotherapy.

e rst time they told him the cancer was gone, “I tried to go back to being 16,” Nava said.

His return to being a regular teenager didn’t last long. Just a couple of months, later he started having severe headaches.

“My symptoms had never manifested in my head,” he said of his initial cancer issues.

e pain prompted him to call his oncologist, who conducted a spinal tap.

at showed that some spinal uid was building up in his head. e uid was removed and Nava felt better almost immediately, until he was told his leukemia was active again.

“ ey tell you there’s a chance you’ll relapse,” Nava said. “I didn’t expect it at all. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen. I thought things would be normal, but it’s not when you have cancer.”

e relapse hit hard, Nava said.

“I felt things were falling out of place,” he said.

He found it signi cantly harder to deal with the diagnosis and return to the hospital the second time.

“I was tired,” Nava said. “I didn’t want to do it all again.”

He did do it all again, thanks in big part to his mom, Maria del Carmen Felix Estrada. Also helping were his siblings and the doctors, nurses and aides at the hospital.

“ ey all picked me up and carried me,” Nava said.

ree years later, at age 19, he was again declared cancer-free, a status he’s maintained for six years. In most cancer diagnoses, staying cancer-free for ve years is the magic number.

fantastic opportunity,” he said.

Registered Nurse Christine Jorgensen has worked at Cardon for 16 years and was one of the nurses who cared for Nava when he was a teen.

She and other Cardon nurses “are so excited” to have Nava on their team.

“I think he will make a great oncology nurse,” Jorgensen said.

e pride she has for Nava’s success

study abroad program as a junior. When he came home he realized he didn’t want a career in biochemistry and declared a new major: Japanese.

In a conversation around midsemester, his friend “randomly said her sister was a nurse.”

Nava started talking about “how awesome” nurses are, remembering his time in hospitals.

“ Now I think of it, more or less, as a positive experience. ”

—Joel Nava

It’s become easy for him to look back now and “only remember the good stu .”

ose memories include playing cards all night with nurses and doing other silly things with the sta .

“I remember having fun with them,” he said. “Now I think of it, more or less, as a positive experience.”

Nava began his nursing career almost exactly a year ago, working 10 months at Banner University Medical Center before moving to Cardon.

Leaving University wasn’t a decision he made lightly.

“I loved it there, but when I got told about the Cardon opening ... it was a

is evident as they work together with patients. Jorgensen hovers closely over Nava’s shoulder, but lets him do the work.

“It’s heartwarming,” she said. “I’m so proud of him that he’s a nurse and he followed this path.”

Cardon nurses recognize that Nava brings a big bonus to the job— perspective.

“He’ll be a great patient advocate,” Jorgensen said. “He knows what these kids are going through.”

Nava received his nursing degree from Arizona State University in August 2015 after following a convoluted path. He was a biochemistry major for three years. He spent 10 months in Japan as part of a

He experienced “a weird, eureka moment” during that conversation.

“It hit me, nally. I wanted to be a nurse,” Nava said. “Obviously, I’m impulsive.” He immediately knew he’d be a pediatric cancer nurse.

Nava spouts o a long list of superlatives as he describes his Cardon job and co-workers: fantastic, super, awesome.

“I love bedside nursing, and that’s what we do here,” he said.

While a newcomer to the workforce, Nava can’t imagine a better job in life. He recognizes that careers require growth and change, “but this is literally my dream job. I love it. I’m so happy to be here.”

– Contact reporter Shelley Ridenour at 480898-6533 or sridenour@timespublications. com. – Comment on this story and like the East Valley

in 2014, which is equal to the number of rounds played in 2004.

Ed Gowan, executive director of the Arizona Golf Association, says rounds played plummeted during the recession years, but have been ticking up about 2 percent per year for the past couple of years.

With the youngest baby boomers at 52 years old and the state attracting about 100,000 new residents per year, Gowan says the Arizona golf industry is well positioned to thrive over the next 15-20 years.

If demographic trends continue, Gowan says he can see 15 or more new residential golf courses being developed in the northwest Valley, toward Wickenburg; and an additional ve in the Queen Creek area toward Florence.

Of course, he adds, the Valley will also lose a few existing golf courses where land values soar, triggering shifts to residential and commercial redevelopment.

Growing the game

Dan Sullivan, a PGA teaching pro and director of instruction at Topgolf Gilbert, says the venue’s Summer Golf Academy attracts hundreds of youths. Winter junior and adult golf leagues are also popular.

e facility o the 202 and San Tan Village Parkway racks up staggering statistics: 421,075 player visits and 22.5 million balls hit in 2015; 64 percent of guests are male, 36 percent female; 54 percent of visitors are 18-34.

“I really enjoy the teaching aspect here,” says Sullivan. “ ere are so many entry-level golfers.”

Sullivan admits his primary goal is to turn casual Topgolf visitors into repeat Topgolf customers. But when students express a desire to play a traditional golf course, he sends them to Green eld Lakes in Gilbert and Augusta Ranch in Mesa, two very popular East Valley short courses.

Don Rea, owner-operator of Augusta Ranch, says he appreciates those referrals.

“Whenever and wherever somebody is swinging a golf club, it’s good for golf” Rea says.

Rea pulls out all the stops in the slow summer months to get the Augusta Ranch HOA and the general public to engage with his golf course.

He o ers night golf every other Friday with glow balls, which attracts millennials who like to have a couple of beers and smoke cigars while playing.

“We turn people away,” he says.

Rea also hosts free movie nights on the practice range. He’s even created a foot golf course—played with a soccer ball— with holes o to the sides of the regular greens.

“Will foot golfers become regular golfers? Probably not,” he says. “But I don’t care. People are getting out of the house, playing with their families.

“I own a golf course, but I’m in the people business. e only part of golf that is dead is Dad spending 10 hours at the club on a Saturday.”

Augusta Ranch is one of seven Valley golf courses partnering with a new Scottsdale-based smartphone app called Get Out! Golf that allows golfers to buy golf time in 30-minute increments instead of setting aside the two or four hours it takes to play nine or 18 holes.

A similar web-based service named Quick.golf charges time-starved golfers for the numbers of holes they play.

Of the three Arizona golf courses participating so far in Quick.golf, two are in Chandler—San Marcos and Lone Tree.

Growing the juniors

Rea is using his in uence as a national PGA board of directors member and chair of the junior golf committee to push an initiative that aims to get student athletes that play football, baseball, softball, soccer and basketball to adopt golf as their second game.

“We’re the perfect second sport,” he says. “You can play it when you’re 70. I can’t play basketball with my dad or play

Golf goes light on water use

The state’s more than 300 golf courses maintain about 32,000 acres of turf grass, but they accounted for a relatively paltry 3.5 percent of total Active Management Area water use in 2014, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

Agriculture uses about 70 percent of the state’s water supply.

Groundwater makes up 48.1 percent of golf water use; surface water, 10.9 percent; CAP, 14.6 percent; and e uent, 26.3 percent.

softball with my daughter, but I can play golf with them.”

If Bob McNichols, general manager of Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, wants to get a warm feeling about the future of golf, all he has to do is stroll out of the clubhouse and watch the horde of junior golfers who swarm the practice tee and green after school days and on Saturday mornings.

A couple hundred kids, some from poorer neighborhoods who wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity, get many hours of practice and play time at Longbow for $100 a year through e First Tee of Phoenix. e nonpro t organization’s volunteer teachers make it fun but also focus on instilling the game’s core values: responsibility, courtesy, honesty and integrity.

Many regular golfers make a habit of sponsoring the annual fee for a child, and many players donate clubs to the program.

Je Fisher, director of instruction at the Fisher Bryan Golf Academy at Longbow, says 65 kids participate in his various beginner, intermediate and elite junior golfer programs. For a few of those better players, golf is their primary or only sport, and they will play competitively in high school and even earn college scholarships.

But that isn’t the primary goal, says Fisher.

“Are they having fun? Are they getting better? We have parents and kids who have absolutely no desire to play competitively,” he says. “ ey just want to play as families.”

Golf’s big impact on economy

Golf tourism contributes $1.1 billion to the $3.9 billion impact that golf overall has on the state economy.

Interesting trivia: Travelers and Valley residents spend about $59 million per year attending the Phoenix Open and other professional tour events held in the state.

Of the estimated 11.6 million rounds of golf played in Arizona each year, onethird come from tourists and two-thirds from residents.

Sadly, “I can only claim two of those,” said Kirk Adams, Gov. Doug Ducey’s busy chief of sta , at a recent gathering of Arizona golf course superintendents.

Longtime insurance executive and Mesa volunteer Rick Jones dies

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Managing Editor

Rick Jones, a longtime Mesa insurance executive known for his commitment to his family and the community, died Dec. 12, four days after he turned 65.

e executive vice president and chief operating o cer of workers compensation giant CopperPoint, Jones had been elected in June as chair of the East Valley Partnership board, one of many organizations he championed in his free time.

Partnership President/ CEO John Lewis, who was mayor of Gilbert when he met Jones, said Jones’ 30 years in the insurance industry helped make him “very skilled at relationship-building in the Valley, which paid o immensely for CopperPoint.”

CopperPoint to sell workers comp in other states; and oversaw the beginnings of other commercial business lines,” the company said in a release.

Jones worked with the Arizona Insurance Council, Rio Salado Community College and Arizona State University in the creation of the Arizona Insurance Institute, which tries to encourage young people to consider working in the industry.

“He had a really strong work ethic, but he also had a tender heart for his family,” Lewis said. “He cared about his family. He cared about his company. He cared about his community.”

Survived by his wife Carol, four children and 18 grandchildren, Jones gathered with his entire family every Sunday, Lewis said.

“ at was the highlight of the week for him,” he said.

But he also “loved to get to work early in the morning and get a good head start on the day. I think he probably had 10 things done before I got into work,” Lewis added.

Hired in 2006 by CopperPoint as director of sales and marketing, Jones helped to create CopperPoint’s subsidiaries, for which he served as president. at enabled the company to price its insurance per risk after being limited to a one-price- ts-all model for decades.

“He also helped to design the long-term strategy that transformed CopperPoint from direct sales to a strong agency distribution channel; arranged a fronting arrangement to allow

As CopperPoint’s COO, he was responsible for operations in support of the company’s longterm strategy, focusing on daily activities for the company. He oversaw the company’s initiatives, insurance operations, underwriting, claims, distribution channels, product development, sales and related eld services, the company said.

A licensed insurance agent in 47 states and Canada, Jones was a past president of the Central Arizona Chapter of CPCU, three-term president of the Arizona Insurance Council, and co-chair of the Arizona Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.

He also was a member of the Dean’s Council at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, and served on the board of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, the Rio Salado College President’s Advisory Council, the boards of Chicanos Por La Causa and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

He held a master’s degree in business administration from ASU and was on the board of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Venture Partnership.

He also was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served as a bishop for a time.

“His example of Christ-like love and service will be missed by all,” his family said in an obituary.

Services were held Friday. e family asked that memorials be made in the form of donations to Chicanos Por La Causa at cplc.org.

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Homeless camp threatened by ADOT, but can stay for now

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

Agroup of homeless veterans and non-veterans camped near a Mesa freeway won a temporary Christmas reprieve from the Arizona Department of Transportation, after ADOT initially told them they had to leave by Saturday.

ADOT o cials had made it clear that the homeless camp, which has been located in an ADOT right-ofway since Dec. 6, must move and is not welcome to stay long term on state property. A veterans group targeted Gov. Doug Ducey’s o ce with phone calls and emails ursday to exert pressure after ADOT posted a no trespassing sign and issued its order to leave or get arrested.

“Camp Alpha,” run by Veterans on Patrol, has been operating west of Country Club Drive and north of McKellips Road for about a year, but is now at its third location after running into resistance from some businesses and government agencies.

Camp organizer Lewis Arthur started running a series of volunteer-operated homeless camps as an outgrowth from a previous campaign to publicize suicides by veterans. Arthur’s full name is Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, but he prefers to be known as Lewis Arthur.

Arthur said he knows the camp has attracted a lot of attention on social media from passing motorists on the Loop 202, who apparently spot it while driving. e camp is o a narrow dirt road that curls up a hill, near a fence that runs along the freeway.

“ We can reach the ones that the service providers can’t reach. ” —Lewis Arthur

Arthur is vowing to stay and get arrested if necessary, saying he refuses to turn his back and break his commitments to homeless people who have no other place to go.

Arthur is hoping Camp Alpha can remain at the Mesa location for three to ve months to “complete our mission,” but that prospect does not appear likely. In a statement released ursday afternoon, ADOT said it would work with Veterans on Patrol and the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services to provide services for those in need.

“People drive by and they don’t like the way it looks,” Arthur said.

e makeshift camp is a collection of tents, cheap plastic patio chairs and an old cable spool being used as a table. Volunteers bring the homeless meals. ey estimate that 35-40 people are typically camped there, but the uid population makes an exact number impossible.

Arthur said he has been on a “search and rescue mission” to nd homeless veterans since the summer of 2015, after the U.S. government said they no longer existed. He readily admits that many people at the camps have substance abuse issues and psychological issues stemming from their military service, such as posttraumatic stress disorder.

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Many of these veterans do not accept or follow rules set up by homeless shelters, such as not drinking or using drugs, Arthur said.

“ ey have an alcohol addiction. We use a harm reduction model,” Arthur said, unlike other facilities that have a zero-tolerance policy toward alcohol and drug use. He concedes that in the end, it comes down to someone with an addiction changing their life.

“My job is to get them an inch at a time” toward sobriety, Arthur said. “We can reach the ones that the service providers can’t reach.”

Dan, an Army veteran who declined to give his last name, said he became homeless when his daughter was murdered. While struggling to deal with his grief, he could not concentrate and eventually lost his job.

Dan said he works at day labor jobs and helps out around the camp. He is hopeful of getting back on his feet soon.

“We are not in anybody’s way,” he said. “ ese guys are just helping each other.” – Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@timespublications.com.

Santa to visit Kiwanis Wave Pool

Fresh off his worldwide Christmas trip, Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit the Kiwanis Wave Pool in Tempe.

From 1-5 p.m. Dec. 26, the Clauses will visit with children. The wave pool will be open for swimming and games. Milk and cookies will be offered to all.

Gift certificates to local businesses will be raffled off throughout the event, which is at the Kiwanis Rec Center, 6111 S. All America Way in Tempe.

Tickets can be reserved at apm.activecommunities.com/ tempeopportunities.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Family Flicks event in Chandler

Family Flicks is taking place in Downtown Chandler at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park West on Thursday at 6 p.m.

The free event will feature a screening of “Elf,” snow, a Santa visit with complimentary photography, free hot cocoa, popcorn for purchase and the chance to interact with some of Santa’s elves.

Preceding the event is the Chandler Farmers Market in the same location running from 3-7 p.m. This market will host additional craft vendors to purchase last minute holiday gifts and the usual weekly local vendors.

Guests are encouraged to bundle up and bring their own blankets and chairs to make sure they’ll be comfortable in the winter weather on the park grass.

The park is at 3 S. Arizona Ave. For more information, visit downtownchandler.org.

– RACHEL EROH, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Festive trolley ride tours holiday lights

Ollie the Trolley will take participants around the Southeast Valley for a three-hour holiday lights tour from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday. The tour is offered through Gilbert Parks and Recreation.

Legoland shop hosts ‘Holiday Bricktacular’

Arizona Mills and Legoland Discovery Center are hosting a ‘Holiday Bricktacular’ until Christmas.

Every weekend this month, participants will be able to build a Lego ornament and enjoy special themed activities.

The event will take place today, Dec. 24 and 25 at the store, 5000 S. Arizona Mills Circle, Suite 145, Tempe.

For more information, call 877-526-3960.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Free yoga classes in Mesa

Mesa is holding free yoga classes at Ho Ho Yoga, at the holiday tree Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m.

The free class is offered through Floating Lotus Yoga Studio and Natural Healing Center. Guests should bring their own yoga mat.

The event will take place at 1 N. MacDonald. For more information, visit downtownmesa.com or call 480-890-2613.

–

RACHEL EROH, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Free dental care offered on Christmas Eve

Comfort Dental offices in the East Valley are offering free dentistry on Christmas Eve as part of the company’s annual Care Day.

The group will meet at the parking lot in front of the Gilbert Community Center at 130 N. Oak St. Cost is $35 per person, with free admission to children under 3 years. Visit gilbertrecreation.com to register. The course code is #91080.

– SRIANTHI PERERA, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

The three East Valley offices will open at 7:30 a.m. to provide services on a first-come, first-served basis. Last year, 4,000 patients Valleywide were helped. These locations will be open for dental care:

• 1900 W Chandler Blvd., Suite 22, Chandler

• 1130 S Country Club Dr., Suite 101, Mesa

• 407 N. Lindsay Road, Mesa

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Man accused of selling fake ASU parking passes

A man created fake Arizona State University parking passes and sold them for $200 each before being arrested, police say.

Wayland Barton, 25, allegedly made passes on his home computer and sold them on Craigslist.

In September, undercover police responded to an ad and arranged to buy two passes. Meeting in Tempe, Barton allegedly said he bought the passes at ASU Polytechnic and was reselling them.

Barton was arrested and allegedly admitted forging the passes. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 19.

Mesa police searching for man behind armed robbery

Mesa police are looking for the man behind a Halloween mask during an armed robbery of an Econolodge Inn and Suites on Dec. 1.

According to police, the masked suspect entered the hotel near Main Street and Alma School Road just before 10 a.m. He showed a knife, jumped the counter and took money from the clerk before fleeing the property on foot.

Police say the suspect is a white or Hispanic man between 20 and 30 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and around 160 pounds. He has black hair and wore a white Halloween mask with blood printed on it.

At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a blue surgical glove, a dark zip-up sweatshirt, dark pants and black and white converse.

If you have any information, contact Mesa police at 480-644-2211 or tips can also be texted to 274637 with the word “MESAPD” followed by a message

– RACHEL EROH, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Shots fired at car on Loop 101

A car on Loop 101 near Broadway Road in Tempe was hit by bullets fired from another car last week.

The shots were fired from a maroon car at a white car. Five bullets hit the white car’s door panel, the DPS said. The passenger window also was shattered. There were no injuries. DPS is investigating.

Proposal would reorganize Maricopa Community Colleges

Maricopa Community Colleges’ 10 campus presidencies would be consolidated under a plan that has yet to fill out the details.

The reorganization addresses declining enrollment and the need to adapt to a new community college landscape.

In the East Valley, Mesa Community College and Chandler-Gilbert Community College, as well as their satellite campuses, would be overseen by an east region president.

Four colleges—Chandler-Gilbert, Phoenix, Glendale and Paradise Valley—already have vacant presidencies that haven’t been filled during the past year. – TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Body of missing man found in lake in Tempe

The body of a missing man has been recovered from a lake behind home in Tempe.

Police began searching Dec. 12 for a missing 30-year-old man who lives in the area and was last seen Dec. 11. The lake was quickly identified and a dive team recovered the body in it.

The man’s name wasn’t immediately released.

Police say foul play isn’t suspected and medical examiners will determine if any impairment was involved.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Tempe sexual exploitation suspect arrested in California

A Tempe sexual exploitation suspect who cut off his ankle monitor last year and left Arizona has been arrested in California.

Tempe police say 23-year-old Adam Leap was taken into custody recently in the Los Angeles area and is now awaiting extradition to Arizona.

Tempe police say Leap was arrested last March after he allegedly sexually exploited children between the ages of 9 and 16 online. They say Leap posted $200,000 bond on Oct. 8 and then sliced his ankle monitor sometime after that.

Police say a tip from the public led to Leap being located in California. Police worked with the U.S. Marshals’ Violent Offenders Task Force to find Leap and take him back into custody.

– RACHEL EROH, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

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ADA lawsuit attorney faces questions from federal judge

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

Acontroversial attorney argued that he is doing “God’s work” to help disabled Arizonans as he found himself the target of grueling cross-examination from a federal judge over the tactics he’s used in suing 1,700 businesses, including many in the East Valley.

e Arizona Attorney General’s O ce has accused Peter Strojnik of abusing the legal system by suing many small businesses over alleged Americans With Disabilities Act violations and making demands for large out-of-court settlements to cover legal fees, a practice also criticized by U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake.

Wake said Strojnik’s demands for $5,000 in legal fees on simple, virtually identical suits could not be possibly justi ed and criticized him for not adequately tracking the time he spent on cases.

handicapped parking spaces and van accessible parking spaces. e federal suit that landed Strojnik before Wake involved a MidFirst Bank in Gilbert that had a handicapped sign a couple of inches too low to comply with the law.

e Attorney General’s O ce has led a motion to dismiss more than 1,000 cases in Superior Court, saying the suits fail to demonstrate that a disabled person was prevented from using any business by the alleged ADA violations.

Wake noted that a series of Strojnik’s suits had been tossed out by his fellow judges for lack of standing, which means there was no evidence that an actual person had been denied access to a public place because of ADA violations.

At one point during a lengthy discussion of legal ethics and billing practices, Strojnik conceded that he was unable to answer one of Wake’s questions but defended his motives on behalf of disabled Arizonans unable to nd properly marked parking spaces.

“We are the good people. We are doing God’s work. We are not the bad guys,” Strojnik said.

He said that disabled people are the largest minority in Arizona and that the Attorney General’s O ce has failed to enforce the ADA, a landmark federal civil rights law, and a similar Arizona statute, even though the laws date back to the early 1990s.

In a separate court action, Strojnik and the Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation sued the Attorney General’s O ce on Dec. 7, seeking an unusual order of mandamus from a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to force the o ce to periodically inspect businesses and to enforce the law.

e federal and state laws required

e Attorney General’s O ce policy is to mediate complaints and to le suits only as a last resort, said Matthew du Mee, an attorney representing the o ce.  “ ere is no reason for the Attorney General’s O ce to ght with us. All we want is compliance,” Strojnik told Wake. Strojnik repeated one of his standard defenses, that he donates his legal fees back to the foundation, does not make a cent o the suits, and believes strongly in the cause of protecting the disabled. Wake said that Strojnik’s donation of his legal fees does not necessarily justify his tactics.

“If someone is victimized, it makes no di erence if you contribute money to charity,” Wake said.

John Doran, an attorney for MidFirst Bank, said Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities initially demanded $7,500 to settle the suit. He said the foundation also sued Quik Trip convenience stores three times, even though they are the subject of a federal consent decree with their stores being inspected every year to ensure compliance.

MidFirst eventually was o ered a $319 settlement to the suit, with a requirement for photographic proof that the sign was high enough.

“ is is drive-by litigation at its worst. is is no do-gooder case. It’s about somebody making money,” Doran said, describing the cases as “a money-making machine” for the foundation.

Wake said that he was going to toss out the federal claims against MidFirst and that he was still undecided on whether to send some allegations related to the state law back to Superior Court or to dismiss the case altogether.

– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@timespublications.com. –

Why do some people never experience a headache while you seem to suffer almost daily headaches or migraines? Can you imagine a world where you are pain-free, each day?

Suzy was a hard working professional. She worked for an engineering firm in Phoenix and was a single mother of two older and bright children. Ever since she was a child she looked at life positively. However, over the past few years, she began to experience excruciating headaches almost daily. Some days, her head would hurt so badly, all she could do was just get by at her job, go home and shut herself in her room with the lights out. Most nights she couldn’t help her kids with their homework. Her oldest was a great baseball player and she had to miss many games due to her migraines.

Suzy felt like she wasn’t the mom she had the potential she could be. She knew she could do better. She should be there for her kids more often. But she just couldn’t function after work as her headaches came so regularly. She steadily become more despondent and depressed. Suzy felt like she had tried everything to rid herself of headaches. She spoke with her physician about them and was given some prescription

medications. But they were expensive and just masked the problem. She was referred to a neurologist who took scans of her head and presented her with some possible surgical options. However, the risks and costs involved with surgery were just too much for her. She was stuck and the depression hit her hard that this may be the thorn in her side for the rest of her life.

One weekend she was talking to her friend who mentioned that an office in Chandler might have something to help her with her migraines. Surprisingly, she found that Dr. Tom Chamberlain of Chamberlain Orthodontics, had developed a rehabilitative approach to alleviating headaches for good, without the use of surgery, injections or medications. She was skeptical but decided to contact Dr. Chamberlain and his team.

When she met with Dr. Chamberlain, she felt so at ease in his office. Everyone was accommodating and positive. She just felt like part of a happy family. Everything that she had heard about Dr. Chamberlain’s treatment philosophy was as it was described to her. Might she finally have the hope of conquering her headaches once and for all? The relief

that filled her and the hope she felt was immense and overpowering. Over the course of 12 weeks, Suzy made short visits to the office, usually before and after work. She made friends with Dr. Chamberlain and his staff. From the very beginning she could feel a difference in her pain level with the treatment. Before she could even believe it, her pain had disappeared!

It was like she was a new woman. She was able to spend the quality time with her kids, she was able to finally exercise after work. At last, Suzy felt like she had control of her life. Is it time YOU removed headaches from your life or the life of your loved ones? Dr. Chamberlain has limited openings for this breakthrough treatment. If you suffer from headaches, jaw pain, migraines, tinnitus or TMJ pain, call today to see how you can rid yourself of these problems beginning today. To see if you qualify for this life-changing therapy, a diagnostic exam will first be performed. A thorough diagnostic assessment fee is usually $450.00. If you call and mention Suzy’s story, you can receive the assessment for only $200.00. You owe it to yourself to live pain free...headache free. CALL NOW!

Chandler Locations: 3800 W. Ray Road (Ray & McClintock)

L.A. couple moves acting studio to Mesa, ready to make stars

BY RACHEL EROH Tribune Staff Writer

The Howeys have always followed their hearts, from Bill proposing to Carla on their rst date to selling their house and living on a boat for ve years. So, when they felt it was time to leave their Los Angeles acting studio for something di erent, they didn’t hesitate.

As their clients began to get regular acting work and started to ask for more classes, Bill and Carla grew tired of the L.A. life. ey wanted to go back to a slower pace and started a new acting studio in Mesa.

“ e reason we moved was to just slow it down a bit and not work so hard,” Carla said.

Bill said he was not ready to retire and wanted to see if their business, e Howey Acting Studio, would appeal to actors in the East Valley area.

Bill is the acting coach while Carla prefers to sit in the audience and critique the scenes, she said.

“I’m a great audience,” Carla said.

e Howey Studio o ers two classes, a foundation class and an advanced class. Each is $200 for four weeks of classes. Ideally, the Howeys want as many actors as they have chairs, which would be 14 per class, Carla said.

With 35 years of acting coach experience, Bill has seen many of his actors come and go. Bill takes pride in

being the rst acting coach of George Clooney.

Bill and Carla have coached other successful actors like Max Green eld, Kevin Christy, Rebecca Budig and Dan Mintz.

However, the Howeys don’t want their experience to intimidate any new actors from taking their classes, they said.

“If you were going to go to a doctor, would you rather go to a doctor straight

out of medical school or someone who has been in the practice for a lot of years?” Bill asked.

e Howeys want their actors to work every class and to receive the attention they need. If an actor needs more attention, Bill said he will make sure to give that actor the time they need to work on their skills.

“I’m not run by the clock,” Bill said.

e Howeys have experienced some

obstacles in their move and the opening of the new studio, Carla said.

When some actors hear that they are from L.A., they assume that their business is a scam, Carla said.

In order to spread the word that their acting studio is open and a legitimate business, Bill has started giving free acting evaluations up through December for those who prepare a one to twominute monologue.

Jennifer Candy, one of their previous students they worked with in L.A., said she wishes they hadn’t moved to Arizona but understands their desire for something new.

“Bill and Carla were amazing,” Candy said. “ ey helped me gure out who I was as an actor.”

Before working with the Howeys, Candy had trouble making her scenes natural and authentic, she said. Now, Candy has received parts on Disney shows and gained the con dence to create her own talk show, “Couch Candy.”

“I don’t think I would have gotten to the point where I would have wanted to create something on my own without the support of Bill and Carla,” Candy said.

Bill said he is careful to never direct the actors, instead preferring to ask questions to help the actors create realistic and vulnerable characters.

“We want the actors to be outside of their comfort zone, because that’s where the magic happens,” Carla said.

Mesa’s technology accelerator Launchpoint grows quickly

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR Tribune Staff Writer

The level of participation at a Mesa technology accelerator has tripled in a few months, and city o cials credit the rapid growth to its new location.

Launchpoint moved to the Mesa Center for Higher Education at 245 W. Second St., coming downtown from the southeast Gateway Airport area, according to Kim Lofgreen, the city’s

marketing and business development director.

Six new companies have become part of Launchpoint, Lofgreen said, bringing the total number of participating businesses to nine. ose businesses use 2,100 square feet of o ce and lab space at the higher education center, where Wilkes University is located and some o ces and classes for Benedictine University are also based.

e higher education center o ers Launchpoint ventures furnished o ce

space, access to conference rooms, classrooms, use of collaborative work spaces, a lounge and phone and internet connections for fees ranging from $100 to $250 a month. For an additional fee, businesses can access science and engineering labs and an expanded collaborative work space program.

e Launchpoint program includes training sessions and events, such as eight recent discussions about technology.

Mesa Mayor John Giles is excited about the relocation of Launchpoint to

the city’s downtown.

“It’s a great t in our e orts to revitalize Mesa’s core as an important technology employment center for the East Valley,” Giles said.

e city created Launchpoint to accelerate the growth of young technology companies with the intent of creating high-quality jobs and boosting economic growth in Mesa.

– Contact reporter Shelley Ridenour at 480898-6533 or sridenour@timespublications. com.

Program gives hope to students with autism disorders

BY ADRIANA BECERRA Tribune Staff Writer

One in 64 children in Arizona is identi ed with autism spectrum disorder, according to the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program.

ere are only a handful of schools or programs that specialize in teaching children with autism spectrum disorder, however.

“ ere are not a large number of schools because it is a big investment in a specialty eld,” said Robin Rollando, Chief Executive O cer of Pieceful Solutions. “It takes an inordinate amount of time and expertise to develop a program like Pieceful Solutions has in place.”

Pieceful Solutions operates in three East Valley schools for students with autism spectrum disorders. e educational program runs on a multileveled and research-based model to help customize learning to each individual student.

provide teachers and sta with e ective strategies for teaching students with autism, to maximize learning and minimize challenging behaviors,” said Aaron Blocher-Rubin, Founder and CEO of Arizona Autism United. e main focus of the partnership is focusing on equipping teachers with the tools and strategies to help ensure students with autism are getting the best education they can.

“Students bene t as teachers are trained to develop and implement systems and strategies that encourage positive behavior and motivate students,” said Rollando. “Teachers need a toolkit that they can utilize to address a myriad of student behaviors in the classroom.”

Without being able to implement full programs into schools, training teachers to help them implement systems that encourage positive behavior is the next best thing.

“ eir commitment to their students, combined with our expertise in improving behaviors in kids with autism, will make a meaningful di erence for students and their families, at school and at home,” said Blocher-Rubin.

Pieceful Solutions has recently teamed up with Arizona Autism United, a nonpro t organization dedicated to providing services and helping to achieve a high quality of life to those with autism spectrum disorder.

e partnership’s main focus is to support teachers and help improve the education of students with autism.

“ e goal of this partnership is to

Many schools are slow to take up programs aimed at helping students with autism because of the cost. Still, he believes the outcome is worth the price.

“Schools need to make the investment to make sure students with autism are receiving a high-quality education,” said Blocher-Rubin.

TEMPE

Tempe dedicates memorial for public safety providers

Tempe has unveiled a public safety memorial at Tempe Beach Park.

e memorial honors the Tempe re ghters, police o cers and canines who have lost their lives in the line of duty. e Tempe Police Department has lost ve o cers since 1919 and Tempe Fire, Medical Rescue has lost one re ghter. Tempe has also lost three canine o cers.

Artist Benjamin Victor sculpted “Answering the Call,” the name of the Tempe Public Safety Memorial. Victor’s work includes several police, re ghter, and war memorials and is shown at the National Sculpture Society in New York City at the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol and around the world. His portfolio is at www. benjaminvictor.com.

CHANDLER

Chandler nursing home named among nation’s best

Fifteen Brookdale skilled nursing communities, including Brookdale North Chandler, have been named the best in the industry nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Nursing Homes” for 2016-2017 report.

U.S. News has traditionally awarded the “Best Nursing Home” title to skilled nursing communities that receive a high rating from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

e magazine now has examined whether the nursing homes have demonstrated consistently high quality over time and gives higher attention to medical quality measures.

U.S. News also evaluated whether residents with very high or extremely high need for rehabilitation received signi cantly more time in therapy than CMS mandates.

Brookdale North Chandler is at 2555 N. Price Road, Chandler.

GILBERT

Gilbert police get grant for DUI enforcement

e Gilbert Police Department has been awarded $100,000 by the Arizona Governor’s O ce of Highway Safety for DUI enforcement.

e grant period is Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 3017.

In addition to regular enforcement, the funds will allow Gilbert o cers to both attend court sessions and complete a full enforcement work week.

MESA Man, Woman of the Year chosen for city of Mesa

Debby Elliot has been chosen Woman of the Year, and Mike Whalen is Man of the Year, selected by the Mesa Citizen of the Year Association.

Elliot is a long-time resident of Mesa who has been active in numerous community non-pro t organizations for many years. She has a record of volunteer service that encompasses arts and humanities as well as human services.

Mike Whalen is a prominent civic leader, community volunteer and businessman. He was elected to the Mesa Council in 2000 and served two four year terms.

e Mesa Citizen of the Year Association is one of the oldest groups of its kind in the state. Founded in 1935, the organization annually selects two individuals in the community who have dedicated a signi cant amount of time to volunteer activities.

Desert Ridge band invited to Holiday Bowl

e Desert Ridge High School marching band has been invited to participate in the Holiday Bowl.

e band will perform in a halftime nale in the San Diego game on Dec. 27.

Under the direction of Stephanie Campbell, the band has performed at the 2013 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade and the 2014 Fiesta Bowl Parade.

Utility customers can give with monthly bill payment

e ABC: A Better Community program is seeking donations for the holiday season and into the new year. Giving now will allow you to take a charitable contribution donation on your 2016 tax return.

Mesa utility customers can automatically donate with their monthly utility bill payment. Residents can enroll at mesaaz.gov/abc to enroll, or can call 480-644-2221.

Residents who aren’t City of Mesa utility customers can donate with a check mailed to City of Mesa Customer Service, P.O. Box 1466, Mesa, AZ 85211-1466. Donors should write “ABC: A Better Community” in the memo area.

Fake news comes at you from an unexpected place,

and it’s real too

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

When the debate about “fake news” crescendoed recently, my ears pricked. As a once-ink-stained wretch who toiled many years for newspapers and in radio and who has never completely left journalism behind, I’d like to think the news we consume is actually … news. As in objectively researched, demonstrably true and relevant to our lives.

Yeah, I know. I spent way too many summers hu ng fumes when my dad took me with him to work at the paint factory.

Sure, stories like the PizzaGate pedophile sex ring, which seemed too insane to be true, turned out to be exactly that—as fake as the rumor that the new Star Wars movie is anti-Donald Trump. But the real story of fake news

The war of words

I am 12 years old and working on my Communications merit badge for Boy Scouts and I wanted to share my view about political disagreements.

I think that though people may disagree about political views, if we fight and bicker among ourselves we will not be able to stand as strong as we would if we were united. Though this may not be a civil war in the sense of weapons, it has become a war of words.

– Kaiyu Hanks – Gilbert

The role of immigrants

Immigrants play a rather important role in the history of the United States.

In the 1840s, Irish immigrants were pouring into the land of opportunity while their home country undergoes terrible famine. The large influx of foreigners created tensions between the left and right at this time as each had their own solution for the immigration issue.

In all of America’s history the subject of immigration, and the inclusion of other ethnic groups, has been controversial and caused many brutal encounters through time. Why? What is it in America that caused this stir?

isn’t that it’s fake. It’s that we don’t realize how much other news is fake as well.

Like pretty much all the news you see on your local TV newscast every night at 4 o’clock, 5, 6, 9 and 10. Let me explain. I would de ne fake news as any story or series of stories that distorts the audience’s sense of reality. Meaning that a story can be factually accurate—a store along Broadway Road was robbed last night—but so lacking in context that it promotes unwarranted fear or a sense of chaos. And therein lies my indictment of television news.

e majority of stories they cover involve crime or motor vehicle crashes. e net e ect of these stories is to create the impression that Arizona is a ird World place, a state where you can be murdered, robbed or involved in a fatal collision at any moment.

e truth? Since at least 2006, when the Department of Public Safety began compiling its statewide uniform crime report, crimes like murder, robbery and

car theft have dropped like a stone. And that’s not taking into account the 13 percent increase in Arizona’s population during that time, further reducing your chances of ending up in an episode of “CSI: Gilbert” the next time you and the kids head out for a Happy Meal.

Consider:

Last year in Arizona, the 6.8 million of us who live here collectively su ered 226,115 reported crimes. at’s down 38 percent from the 312,519 crimes logged in 2006. Murder? Down 66 percent. Robberies? Down 47 percent. Vehicle thefts? Down 234 percent. In 2006, Arizonans su ered 140,197 car crashes. ose accidents killed 1,296 people. Last year? 116,609 crashes that killed 895 people. You can do the math. Sorry for all the numbers, by the way. I know they’re hard to read and boring. You know, like facts. Facts can be unsexy, aggravating tidbits that, presented truthfully, deaden the visceral emotions brought on by twisted wreckage, corpses

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Throughout history, immigrants have helped create some of America’s greatest structures, from the Irish immigrants helping build Rockefeller center to African-American slaves building our capitol building. Immigrants time and time again have helped build and shape America.

Immigrants make up much of America’s economy and welfare. According to the DREAM Act “Small businesses owned by immigrants employed an estimated 4.7 million people in 2007 … these small businesses generated more than $776 billion annually.” Immigrants also make up a large part of America’s innovators, engineers and scientists, pulling in 33 percent of engineers, 27 percent of the mathematicians, computer scientists, and statisticians, and 24 percent of the United States physical scientists.

– Maddie Vaughn – Mesa

Santa and skulls

We just went by a housing development in Mesa (near Hobby Lobby) and were shocked to see 10 skulls with Santa hats on the entrance wall. We know about free speech, but does this include insulting believers at Christmas time? We cannot figure out how skulls fit in with Christmas. We are saddened by this development that

allows such crass decorations. What is our world coming to?

– Christine Latten – Apache Junction

Retired generals make sense

The left and their cohorts in the news media are gnashing their teeth over the selection of three retired generals—Flynn, Mattis and Kelly—to be Trump’s national security adviser, Defense secretary and Homeland Security honcho.

There is good reasoning behind the choices, in my opinion. I believe we have been at war on several fronts for some time now, and it has escalated exponentially under the Obama administration. Without even considering the overt actions in the South China Sea, Crimea, Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, etc., the cyber war by the Chinese, Russians North Koreans, Iranians and various other bad guys has reached a fever pitch and is probably the most dangerous while being the least visible.

The theft of our military technology is the main reason for the rapid advances being made by the Chinese military, not to mention the theft of intellectual property of our high-tech industries. Attacks on our financial system—our economy being one leg of our national security— by the Chinese and Russians are constant but

chalked o on the sidewalk and “live breaking news coverage” of shootings, stabbings and su ering.

My point: If you don’t like “fake news” because you don’t like people fooled into thinking a situation is true when it isn’t, you should also decry the obscene ow of “real news” that similarly creates unwarranted fear in our streets and homes. Because, truth be told, all those nightly news crime stories, all that death and destruction told ad nauseum, shares the same DNA as fake tales like “thousands of Trump supporters screamed ‘We hate Blacks. We hate Muslims.’” Fake news exists to wrench the heart, to provoke emotion. Real news? It’s directed rst at the head, then the heart. It titillates less and educates more. Fake news is about disgust and fear, anger and fright. Come to think of it, real news never really had a chance, did it?

– David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Reach him at david@leibowitzsolo.com.

the probing of our infrastructure is forewarning as to how initial attacks will begin (such as taking control of our dams or shutting down our national electrical grid). It stands to reason that, as a warning to our enemies, we are moving military leadership into critical command positions until those enemies decide to stand down.

This is the age-old policy of “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” Now, we need a strong Secretary of State to carry the word to our friends and enemies that America is back.

Jim

– Mesa

Stand for election integrity

I do not care if you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent. The true legitimacy of the presidential campaign we just witnessed should be investigated to protect the valid integrity of our democracy. We have had a foreign intervention into our very own presidential election.

The electors that certify the election through the Electoral College have a solemn responsibility under our Constitution to have their questions answered about the legitimacy of this election.

Tempe leaders want to hear input over bike lanes

BY MARK MITCHELL, RANDY KEATING AND ROBIN ARREDONDO-SAVAGE Tribune Guest Writers

As a forward-looking city, Tempe strives to provide a high quality of life for all of its residents.

Since the Tempe in Motion program was launched over 20 years ago, our aspiration has been to become a multimodal city that o ers residents a variety of ways to get to and from the places that make up their daily lives. e desired outcome is self-evident: more people walking, taking public transportation, or riding bikes reduces the number of cars on the street, easing tra c congestion and pollution.

Bicycle lanes are important to the development of every city. Tempe has over 150 miles of bike lanes crisscrossing from ASU, all the way down south to the Tempe Lakes. is has earned Tempe numerous awards and recognitions as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country.

We are proud of the bicycle infrastructure that has strongly contributed to making Tempe the best place in the Valley to live, work and raise a family. e presence of

bike lanes is a necessity because statistics clearly show that riding in a bike lane is safer than is riding on the sidewalk. Bikes and cars can, and should, share the road.

e removal for a tra c lane on McClintock Road has been the source of much debate over the past year. Data from the city shows on average the bike lanes have around a dozen users during peak tra c hours.

e challenge we face is how to provide safe spaces for those traveling on bicycles while balancing the 25,000-30,000 automobiles that move north and south on McClintock each and every day. Many residents have questioned the need for the newer McClintock lanes considering the presence of existing bike lane options on Country Club Way, Lakeshore, and College.

Lack of ridership isn’t the only concern. Many residents have voiced concerns about tra c delays, the safety of students near and around school zones, increased pollution generated from congestion, and the challenge of being able to comfortably enter and exit surrounding neighborhoods and businesses along McClintock.

e goal of multi-modal infrastructure

is to make it easier to get around, yet travel times on McClintock have increased.

is is particularly evident heading south in the evening during rush hour. For example, data collected in October 2016 showed it took about 65 percent longer to travel from University to Baseline southbound during the afternoon rush hour as compared to February 2014.

e current conditions on McClintock Drive aren’t ideal for motorists or bicyclists. We understand your frustration, and hope to do something about it. We believe the key is to address the concerns of neighbors who travel McClintock Drive by car, while accommodating bike safety needs.

at is why we’ve directed sta to propose options that will restore the street to its original con guration and maintain a bike lane. ere will be upcoming opportunities for public input, and you have our commitment that Council will examine every option carefully.

Please share your thoughts on this issue by emailing councilcommunicator@ tempe.gov.

– Mark Mitchell is mayor, Robin ArredondoSavage vice mayor and Randy Keating councilmember for the city of Tempe.

We as patriotic Americans should be very upset and should stand up with these electors that have requested all the intelligence communities’ findings about this foreign intervention. If investigations by the intelligence community finds ties between Donald Trump and his campaign associates, and the Russian government interference in the election, these electors should block this election. They need to vote their conscience no matter what party or state they are associated with. These electors need to stand up and protect the very fabric of our democracy that has been hacked.

‘Bigly’ mistake

Kindly inform David Leibowitz that Presidentelect Trump is not saying “bigly” but rather “big league” (“Forget Trump, here’s Arizona’s 2016 Person of the Year,” Dec. 11). It appears Mr. Leibowitz is in need of a hearing exam. Bigly.

– C.K Trowbridge

To submit letters: Go to eastvalleytribune.com/opinions and click “Submit letter” or email forum@evtrib.com.

"It's hard to describe how wonderful it is to see her enjoy life again."

Our memory care program helps residents engage in meaningful daily activities and regain their sense of purpose.

My Sister’s Closet consignment store celebrates 25 years

BY DAVID M. BROWN Tribune Contributing Writer

The three sisters––Ann and Jenny Sincer and Tess Loo––give, give and give.

eir Arizona-based Eco-Chic Consignments Inc. is a trio of high-end designer consignment stores: My Sister’s Closet (recycled designer apparel and accessories for women); My Sister’s Attic (recycled home furnishings); and Well Suited (men’s apparel).

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, My Sister’s Closet has become a $25-plus million business with 15 stores in the Valley and San Diego and Encinitas, California.

Two years ago, the sisters added My Sisters’ Charities rift Store at e Fulton Promenade, 4985 S. Alma School Road, Chandler.

e for-pro t consignment stores contribute revenue, manpower and unsold merchandise for My Sister’s Charities Foundation, a Chandler-based nonpro t includes the thrift store. e store employs three and has one volunteer.

Jenny and Ann started My Sister’s Closet in 1991.

“We decided we could create our own resale store that didn’t look like other less-desirable resale stores,” said Ann. at rst store opened at Town & Country Shopping Center at 20th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix, and the company expanded with the other locations.

“We’ve watched how other consignment stores throw out merchandise or store it in warehouses, and we didn’t want to do

Google self-driving car project

Spun off into

new company

Google’s self-driving car company has moved under the parent company Alphabet and will be an independent group called Waymo.

e self-driving cars have been driving around Chandler and the East Valley since April as part of tests for the new technology. In a statement, Waymo says it will start

that, so we came up with the idea for the Chandler thrift store and for donating all of its proceeds to charity,” she added.

Each of their Arizona and California locations sells consigned items at 60−90 percent below retail value. ose items that do not sell in the consignment stores are trucked to the Chandler thrift store and in California to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s thrift store in Encinitas.

And, if items don’t sell at the Chandler thrift store, where they are $1 to $10 with no sales tax, they are sold to a Valley recycler. ese proceeds and all net pro ts from sales at the nonpro t Chandler thrift store are donated to Valley nonpro ts, after the sisters expense rent, insurance, employee pay and utilities.

Closet Desert Village at Pinnacle Peak, also in Scottsdale, gathered 205 bags and the Town & Country Phoenix location 147 bags, with everything going to the three Arizona Humane Society thrift stores in the Valley, including one in Tempe.

e company donates at least three to six truckloads every week to all of the charity thrift stores, including theirs.

“In addition to raising so much money to help our community, our thrift store also gives people the opportunity to buy great clothing and home goods for as little as a buck or two,” Jenny said.

has a Dinner With Wolves event every year to bene t SWCC and Defenders of Wildlife.

e Arizona Nature Conservancy received $30,000-plus in 2015. Other regular bene ciaries are Animal Defense League of Arizona, Banner Alzheimer’s Foundation, Friends of Animal Care and Control, HALO Animal Rescue, the Phoenix Art Museum and, a favorite, the Arizona Humane Society.

“My Sister’s Closet provides AHS with a large volume of in-kind donations, ranging from clothing and home decor to accessories and home furnishings, which we are then able to sell in our own thrift stores, with the proceeds going back to AHS’ lifesaving programs and services,” said Bretta Nelson, public relations manager for the Arizona Humane Society. “Since 2010, this partnership and friendship has helped countless number of pets go on to live wonderful lives.”

In late August, Ann and Jenny, for instance, collected 186 bags of clothes and accessories from the Lincoln Village Store in Scottsdale and delivered them to the Chandler thrift store; they estimated that those bags can raise $25,000 for the nonpro t community.

And, employees at the My Sister’s

commercializing the self-driving cars and the technology that runs them.

e company recently opened up its rst facility in Chandler.

East Valley Partnership forum

to feature ASU president

e PHX East Valley Economic Forum, the premiere annual event from the East Valley Partnership, will feature ASU President Michael Crow.

e event will be at noon Wednesday

In the rst six months after opening the Chandler thrift store, the company netted more than $70,000 for charities. And in 2015, their total charitable giving exceeded $200,000, Ann said.

In 2016, the company has donated $12,000 to Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, $30,000-plus for Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (SWCC) to protect the Mexican gray wolves as well as other sums. My Sisters’ Charities also

at the Tempe Mission Palms hotel, 60 E. 5th Street in Tempe.

e event brings together civic, education, business and other community leaders to discuss regional and state issues.

More passenger records set at Gateway Airport

Two milestones were surpassed recently at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

e 100,891 passengers who traveled through the airport that month re ects

“I love wildlife and preserving our country’s nature, I love animals like children, and, of course, we have to look out for each other with the women’s causes,” said Jenny, who was born in Colorado Springs, attended Arizona State University as an undergraduate.

“My sisters and I have always volunteered and tried to help the community,” Ann said. “ ere are so many worthy organizations out there to support, and we are very proud to be able to help many of them help people and animals toward better lives.”

For more information, go to mysisterscloset.com and mysisterscharities.org.

the highest-ever number of monthly passengers at Gateway. And, the eight millionth Allegiant passenger passed through in October.

Allegiant began ying in and out of Gateway in 2007.

e 100,891 passengers re ected an 8 percent increase from October 2015, Gateway spokesman Ryan Smith said.

“More and more air travelers are discovering the value and convenience of using Gateway airport,” airport Executive Director and CEO Brian O’Neill said.

All-Tribune selections

Tribune Prep Sports Director Jason P. Skoda’s selections for the 2016 All-Tribune athletes will be presented the next three weeks. This week, badminton, boys golf and girls golf winners are highlighted. Dec. 25, boys and girls cross country and swimming selections will be presented. Jan. 1, selections for football and volleyball will be published.

Badminton:

Weber quickly becomes champ

BY JASON P. SKODA Tribune Prep Sports Director

Apparently, Natalie Weber is a pretty quick learner.

She went from giving badminton a chance to unassuming state champion from one season to the next.

“I was new to the varsity experience last year and was more of a learning year for me,” she said. “For me, it was about learning a di erent style of play until I felt like something clicked.”

Oh, it clicked all right.

e Mesquite junior went from being ousted in the state quarter nals to a player that went the whole year without being truly tested to be named the Tribune Badminton Player of the Year.

Weber went 26-0 on the season without having to play a third set all year long.

“She was pretty dang good as a sophomore, so I knew she had a chance to be very good,” Mesquite coach Mark Hanna said. “Natalie was extremely dominant, but she never actually knew how good she was until the very end when she started getting awards and recognition.”

Weber had two things going for her despite not being an overpowering hitter, according to Hanna—she’s left-handed and has a deft touch with the racquet.

“Her success is attributable to her court spatial awareness,” he said. “She can slide and lunge to any part of the court. She’s not overpowering, but will absolutely pick you apart with her placement.”

Weber also plays basketball for the Wildcats and believes it is one of the reasons she adapted to the sport so quickly.

“ e footwork, and conditioning really help,” she said. “ e biggest part is the court awareness. I just know where I need to be and how to get there.”

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

All-Tribune Badminton

First team singles

Name

Natalie Weber

School

Comment

Mesquite Division II state champ was rarely challenged, going 13-0

Denise Nieves Skyline Division I state runner-up makes first team for second time

Alexia Mee Chandler Made DI state semis before finishing fourth

Lauren Rusk Campo Verde Senior finished fourth at the Division II state tournament

Player of the Year: Weber

Coach of the Year: Lerina Johnson, Perry – Led the Pumas to an undefeated regular season, taking the East Valley Region title along the way, to go 13-0 heading into state meet. Fell short of team title by losing 5-3 to Xavier in Division I state finals.

Honorable mention

Sonia Velu, Desert Vista; Riya Karla, Corona del Sol; Madison Duyck, Queen Creek

First team Doubles

Names

SchoolComment

Dominique Garcia/Tori Albin Perry Duo upset No. 1 seed to make DI finals

Amber Beeney/Ashley Church Mountain View DI state quarterfinalists entered state as third seed

Katie Cross/Jillian Lagasca Perry DI second seed finished fourth at state meet

Kelsey Decker/Sabel Holloway Campo Verde DII champions rolled through state tourney

Justine Gardner/Rebecca Farias Mesquite Tandem finished as DI runners-up

Honorable mention

Lana Le/Maggie Trias Skyline; Aarzoo Kumar/Marina Mehling, Desert Vista

Boys golf:

Change in golf swing works out well for Svendson

BY JASON P. SKODA Tribune Prep Sports Director

When Tyler Svendson gave up hockey and focused on golf full time, it wasn’t as easy as turning in the ice skates for golf shoes.

“ ere was little bit of con ict between the two swings,” said Svendson, who still takes to the ice once in a while. “My golf swing started to get better and it was a ecting my hockey, so it was part of the reason I quit.”

It was a wise decision.

Svendson, who got serious about golf in the eighth grade, has been getting steadily better on the links ever since starting out as Desert Vista’s No. 6 as a freshman.

e senior developed into one of the state’s top players and nishes his senior year at the Tribune’s Boys Golfer of the Year.

He nished tied for second at the state tournament and had a big hand in the under winning their rst state championship as Desert Vista played awlessly on the back to nine to top Hamilton by eight strokes.

Svendson shot a 68-68-136 at Grand Canyon University’s course to nish three strokes o the lead, but his nalday 68, which included a 4-under on the back nine, was the third best round of the day.

“It was perfect timing for everything,” he said. “Finishing as the state champions is a great way to nish a high school career.”

Svendson is expected to play collegiately, with the most interest coming from New Mexico State and Arizona.

e game came easy to Svendson, who ended the regular season ranked No. 13 by Iwanamaker. With an average score of 1.6 under par, his work ethic allowed him to become one of the state’s top players.

“I was pretty natural from the start,” he said. “I was straight down the middle, and rarely o to the side of the fairway. I didn’t have much distance then when I was playing with Dad. I kept hitting it in the fairway and I’ve worked hard on everything else since then.”

e biggest development has been his ability to nish o rounds.

“Tyler developed a unique ability to close this season for our team,” under coach Matt Russo said. “Tyler shot a combined 7-under par over the nal three holes of each tournament. For many golfers, this is when mental and physical fatigue or pressure may set in. Tyler was able to elevate his game in the most crucial moments this season.”

–

All-Tribune boys golf first team

Name SchoolComment

Brian Seo Desert Vista The state’s top-ranked player finished sixth at state Mason Andersen Hamilton Competitive nature was hurt by fourth-place finish at state

Branden Meyer Campo Verde After finishing third in DII last year, seventh in DI Tyler Svendson Desert Vista Was part of the surge to get Thunder first DI title Davis Evans Desert Vista Shot a final round 66 at state meet to finish second

Player of the year: Tyler Svendson

Coach of the year: Matt Russo – In his third year, Russo helped the Thunder finally win a state title, winning the DI event by strokes thanks to an incredible 12-under back nine.

All-Tribune boys golf second team

Name SchoolComment

Matt Schwab Seton Catholic Finished second in DII state meet and 12th in regular season

Damon Vilkauskas Desert Ridge Came in 11th at the DI state tournament

Caden Christopherson Perry

Alejandro de Zavala Seton Catholic Ranked No. 2 in DII regular season and seventh at state

Brock Goyen Highland Interesting career ended with 11th place finish at state

Honorable mention

Zach Burkholder, Campo Verde; Nick Hedman, Hamilton; Wade Klein, Mesquite; Gabe Salvanera, Queen Creek; Britton Liming, Red Mountain; Gabriel Velarde, Red Mountain; Logan Eatherton, Williams Field.

Girls golf: Li straightens out game

BY JASON P. SKODA Tribune Prep Sports Director

The golf clubs arrived one Christmas to get it all started for Hannah Li.

Not too long after that, her parents pointed out that there was a golf course nearby. By the time she was 8, the Hamilton senior was seeing renowned coach Kent Chase and her game really took o .

But it wasn’t until this summer that her game truly came together.

“I made a major improvement when my long game started to stabilize,” she said. “My drives weren’t going left or right. My irons were going right to the green. One of the girls started calling me a pin seeker.”

All-Tribune girls golf first team

ere may be no better name to have in golf other than champion.

Li, who is the Tribune’s Girls Golf Player of the Year, nished for in a tie for the rain-shortened 6A Conference state championship with a 2-under 70. e inability to play the second round and have a chance to win it all didn’t sit well at rst with Li, but then she realized she did all she could.

“At rst I wanted that second round, but I gured tying for a state championship is pretty good,” she said. “A lot of it is luck and sometimes it pushes you through. ere are some things out of your control and you have to understand that and make the most of it.”

–

NameSchoolComment

Hannah Li Hamilton Won a share of DI title, ranked No. 4 on the year

Jenny Bae Hamilton Freshman ended regular season ranked No. 3 in DI

Belle Balkan Red Mountain Finished sixth at DI state, ranked No. 18 in DI

Tara Greig Mesquite Highest finisher at DII state with a tie for sixth

Emma Lower Corona del Sol Fourth-ranked player shot 77 in truncated state tourney

Player of the year: Li

Coach of the year: Steve Spykstra, Hamilton — The Huskies finished second in the Iwanamaker rankings and second at the one-day state meet. Had plenty of talent to deal with and managed to get the girls to play together throughout the season.

All-Tribune girls golf second team

NameSchoolComment

Bailey Anderson Campo Verde Ranked 10th in DII and finished 13th at state tournament

Toni St. John Hamilton Finished regular season ninth in DI and seventh at state

Maisy Alsen Mesquite Came in 16th at DII state after entering event No. 23

Alyzzah Vakasiuola Hamilton Ranked 13th in DI but only fourth on Huskies Brooke Beyer Desert Ridge Finished in a tie for eighth place at state tourney

Honorable mention

Anya Ross, Desert Vista; Rachel Fujitani, Hamilton; Lorel Hayward, Highland; Dakohta Kreil, Perry; Grace Balkan, Red Mountain; Reyna Hernandez, Gilbert.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Baseball tourney coming to Arizona

e Boras Foundation announced recently that Arizona will host the inaugural Southwestern Classic.

e Boras Baseball Classic of Arizona will feature 16 teams from around the Southwest, with games beginning March 8, 2017.

e 16 high school teams participating in the tournament are guaranteed a minimum of three games, with a fourth game for the two schools that reach the highly anticipated championship game.

e Boras Baseball Classic tournament bracket will be made available at the Boras Classic website, borasclassicaz. com, in early 2017.

Chandler has two freshman All-Americans

Chandler High graduates Dustin Woodard and N’Keal Harry were selected as freshman All-Americans for their exploits during their rst year playing college football.

Woodard, a 6-2½, 275-pound guard, was selected as one of the top freshman linemen in the country after starting all

year for Memphis.

Harry, who nished with 58 catches for 659 yards with ve touchdowns, was picked by Campus Insiders after being one of the main targets for Arizona State quarterbacks.

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

Looking for convenience, Catholic businessman creates pocket-size rosary

BY RALPH ZUBIATE Tribune Executive Editor

“It was a random idea that popped up while I was struggling with things,” said Brad Kendrex. e next thing you know, the Wallet Rosary was born, a way for Catholics to stay in prayer without having to keep track of a traditional rosary.

“A rosary is a good reminder to stay focused on religious things … but it’s a pain,” he said candidly.

Kendrex explained his epiphany on his website, walletrosary.com

“As I tried to unlock my door fumbling with the knot of Abe Lincolns and Hail Marys, I found myself looking for an option to keep a rosary on hand without having to choose between my rosary and my car keys. I’ve tried rope rosaries (lost to the wash) and keychain rosaries (broke in half), but wanted something di erent. I was looking for a rosary that was rugged, light to carry and easily navigated with adult-sized hands. So we made one.”

His idea for a stainless-steel card easily carried in a wallet is evidently is a hit, as the fundraising e ort he launched on Kickstarter was a success.

“Originally, I was looking to get back the cost of production, but we more than doubled it,” he said from his home in Queen Creek.

Kendrex’s strong Catholic faith led him to this unexpected business venture.

“I was a Knight of Columbus, and one of the things you try to do is carry a rosary with you,” he said. “Within the Catholic culture, that’s important.

“It’s not too practical to carry around a big one. My wife Katie has a dainty, sparkly one that’s always breaking or tangling.

“Always being business-minded, I was trying to think about solutions. I was thinking, ‘Is there another way to design this?’ I was thinking of ways to make it sleeker or smaller.”

He thought of a wallet-size solution.

“It kind of goes along with other products I’ve seen, like wallet utilities,” Kendrex said. “Credit-card screwdrivers or wrenches, for example.”

Kendrex had seen similar rosary cards before, but the designs didn’t work for him.

“I was looking around and had my ideas, and I’d seen cards with little bumps for the beads in passing. I found that those were so small.

“Everything out there was raised surfaces. When everything isn’t working, you ip it inside out and do the opposite.”

Kendrex settled on a design that instead of bumps features holes to represent the “Hail Mary” beads, and a cross for the “Our Father,” or the Lord’s Prayer.

On his website, Kendrex talked about the process.

“After sketching out the initial design concepts for a at ‘beadless’ wallet rosary, we created digital models and produced 3-D printed prototypes to test the

various designs for size and feel before moving to nal production in metal.”

He said his family and friends thought it was clever.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve stumbled upon something.’”

Other Catholics don’t seem to have any issues with the unconventional rosary design.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this,” said Tom Perna of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Gilbert. “It’s a great tool for Catholics that nd themselves not able to carry a rosary with them.

“I nd it to be a useful tool to pray with in a place where maybe it’s inconvenient.”

Perna, who is director of adult evangelization and adult catechesis, even envisions a new use for the Wallet Rosary.

“ is is great when you’re at the gym, when you’re on the treadmill. is is perfect. When you’re on one of the machines, you can sit and hold it.”

After raising the money, Kendrex began production and has since started delivering the rst Wallet Rosarys.

“Sales have been steady, and I’ve been busy,” Kendrex said. “Not retirement busy, but I have a couple out every day.”

He’s delivered around 200 Wallet Rosarys, with another order to his manufacturer soon to deliver by Christmas.

“I might go out and get myself one,” Perna said.

ere’s no doubt that Kendrex is doing something he loves for the faith he loves.

“ is is just a little passion project,” he said, aside from his full-time work at a community college.

“ is is really, for my wife Katie and me, one of those little nudges for keeping faith in your life,” he said. “We are hardly folks using rosary beads all day long, but it’s important to keep it front and center. is gives us the opportunity to insert it in our lives.”

Next up, more designs and more distribution.

“I don’t know that we’re going to add a di erent product, but we’ve had ideas for di erent variations, materials and designs themselves,” Kendrex said. “Maybe a little bit more themed, around the Virgin Mary, for example.”

He’s gotten some approval from unexpected channels, too.

“We’ve even been on an everyday carry website, a place that talks about pocket gear. ey pro led the prototype. at fueled a lot of referrals.

“We’re at the point now that we’re talking about taking it a little more widely.”

– Contact Ralph Zubiate at 480-898-6825 or rzubiate@timespublications.com.

– Comment on this article and like the East Valley Tribune on Facebook and follow EVTNow on Twitter.

Hanukkah’s start celebrated at two sites in East Valley

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR Tribune Staff Writer

Two public menorah lightings are planned in the East Valley to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

e Chabad Jewish Center of Mesa plans a lighting ceremony and other events at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 26 at Superstition Springs Center at 6555 E. Southern Ave. in Mesa.

e Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life plans a candy menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 28 at the Phoenix Premium Outlet Mall in Chandler.

Rabbi Laibel Blotner said the annual ceremony in Mesa should run for about

SPIRITUAL SIDE

SUNDAY, DEC. 18

WALK THROUGH BETHLEHEM

First Baptist Church Chandler’s 4th annual Walk Through Bethlehem Live Nativity will guide visitors through the city of Bethlehem, past the stable of live animals and end at the manger and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Food trucks and photo opportunities will be available. Carolers will be singing on the grounds.

DETAILS>> 6-8 p.m., 3405 S. Arizona Ave, Chandler. Cost: Free. Information: fbc.net or 480-963-3439.

an hour. Besides the menorah lighting, doughnuts and potato pancakes— latkes—will be served. Crafts for kids are planned and John Fitzsimmons is to present his comedic magic show. Children will receive gelt, or coins, as is tradition during Hanukkah.

e event takes place on the lower level of the mall, near Sears.

Mesa Mayor John Giles is expected to participate, said Blotner, the executive director of the Chabad of Mesa.

Blotner said the menorah is lit to symbolize a 2,100-year-old battle when Jews were being persecuted and their temple was besieged by Syrian Greeks. A group of guerilla Jewish ghters defeated

HANDEL’S ‘MESSIAH’ SING-ALONG

The Stapley Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gilbert is hosting a community sing-along with orchestra. Individuals and families are welcome, including children. There is no admission and no donations will be accepted. The orchestra for this event is open to the community, but requires attendance at rehearsals which are held Sunday evenings from 4-6:30 p.m. until the performance.

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., 1100 N. Cooper Rd, Gilbert. Cost: Free,. Information: Richard Ewer at 480-507-5758 or richard. ewer@gmail.com.

the Syrian Greeks. After the battle, the Jews wanted to light the menorah, but had only enough oil for the eight candles to burn for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted eight days, he said.

Since then, Jews have lit the menorah, adding one candle per night, during the eight days of the Hanukkah celebration.

e lighting signi es that people must constantly grow spiritually, he said.

“A little light dispels darkness,” Blotner said. “We have the ability to spread the light.”

Hanukkah begins this year on Dec. 24.

Menorahs are also on public display during Hanukkah at Dana Park and near the movie theaters in Mesa Riverview. A

GERMAN CHRISTMAS SERVICE

Christians of all denominations are welcome to the Christmas Service in German language. A recorder ensemble, brass choir, children’s and adult choir will be featured. A brief children’s play will give an answer to the question “Why do we celebrate Christmas.” Pastor Cordula Schmid-Wassmuth from Washington, D.C., will give the children’s message and the sermon, all in the German language.

DETAILS>> 4:10 p.m. caroling; 4:30–5:30 pm Christmas Service; 5:30 p.m. fellowship. Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. Information: weihnachtsgottesdienst.org or 480-961-4649.

candle is lit each night at those two sites, but no celebrations are planned, Blotner said.

In Chandler, the lighting of the giant candy menorah is a rst, Rabbi Mendy Deitsch said. Deitsch is the director of the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life. It combines ancient tradition with a modern twist, he said.

People can then partake of the doughnut dipping bar, take a chance at a ra e drawing and hear live music. All kids get a free gift.

MONDAY, DEC. 19

MENORAH WORKSHOP

Chabad of the East Valley and Lowes are offering a workshop for kids to make their own menorah from wood and other supplies. Parents must accompany their children and there is no charge for attending. There will be a raffle for Hanukkah prizes.

DETAILS>> 5-6 p.m., Lowes, 2900 W. Chandler Blvd. Register at info@chabadcenter.com. Information: 480855-4333 or chabadcenter.com.

FRI.-SAT., DEC. 23-24

CORNERSTONE CHRISTMAS

Cornerstone Church in Chandler will have Christmas services along with 100 tons of snow, sledding, a petting zoo and a carousel. Food vendors will be onsite on Friday.

DETAILS>> Friday at 3:30, 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday at noon, 1:30, 3, 4:30 and 6 p.m. 1595 S. Alma School Road. Christmas services will also be held at Cornerstone San Tan Campus, 21802 S. Ellsworth Rd. in Queen Creek. Information: cornerstoneonline.com/christmas.

SATURDAY, DEC. 24

‘THE LIGHT OF LOVE’

Join us as we celebrate the joyful coming of the Light of Love for Christmas Eve. Christmas music will fill the air at this positive, uplifting holiday service.

DETAILS>> 4 p.m. Interfaith CommUNITY Spiritual Center, 952 E. Baseline, Suite 102, Mesa. Information: Rev. Julianne at 480-593-8798 or interfaith-community.org.

Skate expectations

Find real outdoor ice rinks in the East Valley

BY JUSTIN FERRIS

Get Out Editor

When you think of winter in Phoenix, the word “ice” doesn’t immediately spring to mind. With our typical 50- to 70-degree winter daytime temperatures and unceasing sunshine, frozen water won’t stay frozen for long.

With that in mind, an outdoor ice rink seems like an absurd idea and a guaranteed failure. However, every year a few organizations undertake the expense and technical difficulty to make it work. Let’s find out where you can enjoy the fruits of their labor in and around the East Valley.

Winter Wonderland Ice Rink

In December, Main Street in Mesa lights up with Merry Main Street, which offers plenty of holiday activities, including the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink in City Plaza. The 4,000-square-foot rink holds 125 people at a time, and you can enjoy plenty of holiday lights, Santa’s sElfie Village and more before and after skating.

WHERE: Mesa City Plaza, 20 E. Main St., Mesa

COST: $10 per person for one hour of skating. Includes skate rental. Groups of 2050 pay $7 per person.

MORE INFO: merrymainst.com/icerink.

Ice Skating on the Farm

During December, Schnepf Farms transforms into a Winter Wonderland with fresh Christmas trees, snow sledding and a 3,400-square-foot outdoor ice rink. Aside from general skating, “Pond Hockey” games take place—contact Schnepf Farms to reserve the rink—and there is even a Winter Classic Pond Hockey Tournament.

WHERE: Schnepf Farms, 24610 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek

WHEN: Until Jan. 15, Daily except Tuesdays, noon to 8 p.m.

COST: $12 per person, includes skates (or you can bring your own)

MORE INFO: schnepffarms.com.

CitySkate Holiday Ice Rink

Smack-dab in the middle of downtown

Phoenix you will find a decently sized outdoor ice rink, complete with holiday lights, a huge Christmas tree and other winter-ish accouterments. It makes for a

WHEN: Until Jan. 1; 5-10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Special holiday hours.

nice backdrop while gliding across the ice.

If you skated here in the past, be aware that CitySkate handles admissions differently now. It breaks each day into multiple two-hour sessions—two sessions on Mondays to Thursdays and three sessions on Fridays to Sundays—with a limited number of passes per session to cut down on crowding and lines.

WHERE: CityScape, 1 East Washington St.,

Phoenix

WHEN: Until Jan. 8, 5-11 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and 3-11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Special hours for holidays.

COST: Passes cost $15 at the gate, or you can buy a $25 Express Pass online that lets you skip any waiting in line. The pass does include skates.

MORE INFO: phxicerink.com.

Giovanni Zoppé rejuvenates his circus with new ringmaster, trapeze act

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Contributing Writer

Asixth-generation circus performer, Giovanni Zoppé is a fan of mixing up his show each year. The 2017 Zoppé: An Italian Family Circus, which comes to the Chandler Center for the Arts from Dec. 27 to Jan. 8, is no different.

Only two elements from last year’s performances remain, the rest of them have been revamped.

That includes the opening, closing, the ringmaster and the horse act, Zoppé says. The dog act has changed, but it’s still my brother-in-law and sister.

The Zoppé Family Circus welcomes guests into the intimate 500-seat tent on the lawn at the Chandler Center for the Arts for a one-ring circus that honors the best history of the Old-World Italian tradition. The circus is more than 160 years old, with its roots planted in 1842 when a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppé wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, he met a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda. Because Napoline was a clown, Ermenegilda’s father saw him as beneath her and disapproved of their relationship. The two ran away to Venice, Italy, and founded the circus that still bears

their name.

Nino the Clown has been a mainstay at the circus. This year, the audience will enjoy Raoul Gomiero, the new ringmaster. Zoppé’s longtime friend was recruited from Italy, where he worked as a ringmaster and actor.

IF YOU GO

Where: Chandler Center for the Arts’ Lawn, 250 N. Arizona Avenue, Chandler

When: Tuesday, Dec. 27, to Sunday, Jan. 8, times vary

Cost: $15-$40

More info: http://chandlercenter.org

“As the ringmaster, I introduce every act,” Gomiero says. “I’m always on stage while the show is going on. I don’t perform trapeze, contortionist or trampoline, I’m always there because I have to be ready for everything that is happening.”

Besides Gomiero’s participation, the audience will see a flying trapeze act that’s new this year.

“It’s extremely unusual to have a flying trapeze in the size of our tent,” Zoppè says. “It was hard to get somebody to do it. I haven’t been able to do this before this year. It’s one of the best flying trapeze acts I’ve ever seen and it’s inside of our tent. It takes over our whole space.”

Chandler restaurant spices it up with emphasis on Paleo-diet menu

BY COLLEEN SPARKS Tribune Contributing Writer

Anew Chandler restaurant owner is on a mission to prove healthy food doesn’t have to be bland.

Several fellow East Valley restaurant owners and nutritional experts say she has the recipe for success.

Bellus and Paleckova want to help the community eat healthier and feel better as so many people have autoimmune diseases and food sensitivities. More than 23.5 million Americans have autoimmune diseases, according to a National Institute of Environmental Sciences report in 2012.

Iva Paleckova opened Blooming Beets Kitchen, a gluten-free restaurant on West Ray Road near North 54th Street in The Shoppes at Casa Paloma, on Dec. 1. Her diverse Paleo-diet menu has no grains or gluten and no processed sugar.

“It’s absolutely delicious,” Paleckova said. “One thing I really wanted to prove is healthy food doesn’t have to be boiled chicken and steamed broccoli.

Paleckova teamed up with Joey Bellus, who owns Optimal Performance Training in Chandler, to open the restaurant. She modeled it after her Blooming Beets Kitchen that she opened in Boulder, Colorado, in 2014. She’s planning to open another restaurant in Denver next year.

Up to one in 141 Americans has celiac disease, an autoimmune disease in which ingesting gluten damages the small intestine, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.

“We fry our food in avocado oil,” Paleckova said. “It’s high-quality meat, pastured chicken, pastured bacon, grass-fed beef. It’s like go back to nature and really trust it.”

(Ben Bradley/Special to the Tribune)

Iva Paleckova, owner of Blooming Beets Kitchen in Chandler, said her paleo diet menu “is absolutely delicious.”

Bellus, the Chandler Blooming Beets’ general manager and co-founder, said some popular foods on the menu are baconwrapped dates, a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, wild-caught salmon and a bunless smoky wild burger made with ground elk, venison, bison and wild boar and a poached egg.

Sugar-free juices and gluten-free gin, beer and wine are also on the menu, as well as a molten chocolate lava cake.

Bellus, who has owned his personal training studio for nine years, met Paleckova through a personal development class and enjoyed her food in Boulder.

“I said we need to bring this to Arizona,” he said. “She’s so serious about the integrity of your food.”

Paleckova had previously worked in corporate marketing and finance before deciding to open a restaurant.

“I was getting into Paleo,” she said. “I got really interested in the science of nutrition.”

A Paleo-style diet focuses on eating like our prehistoric ancestors did, with unprocessed food such as all-natural meats and fish, along with fruits, seeds and leafy vegetables.

Healthy eating is becoming more popular and accessible around the East Valley.

Pomegranate Café on East Chandler Boulevard near 40th Street in Ahwatukee is a vegan café with vegetarian options.

Vegan food contains no animal products, including eggs, milk or butter. Customers who don’t want to go vegan can order farm-fresh eggs and organic cheese.

“What’s behind our philosophy is good, whole organic, unprocessed food,” said coowner Cassie Tolman. “It protects from all kinds of the diseases that are plaguing us right now. You just feel really good.”

Anna de Jesus, a registered dietitian and president of Nutrition Alliance in Tempe, is eager to try Blooming Beets. Her company provides registered dietitian nutrition services, classes for businesses to get food licenses and nutritional analysis for restaurants.

After feeling bloated and nauseated after meals for many years, de Jesus discovered her sensitivity to gluten a few years ago. She said eating a gluten-free diet since then has helped her to be in “probably the best shape and health I’ve been in since forever.”

Leslie Robin, the owner of the vegan restaurant Desert Roots Kitchen on South Mill Avenue near 4th Street in Tempe, said most of the food on her menu is gluten-free “by default.”

“Most of my customers aren’t even vegetarian,” Robin said. “They just get sick of pizza and burgers and tacos. They come to my shop because it’s real food.”

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Life Events

Obituaries

VELLA, FrankJoseph,Sr.

A ge77,haspassedawayonDecember2,2016.Frankwasbornon 05/25/1939,toJosephandJeanneVellainNewYork.Frankissurvive d byhistwochildren,FrankJVellaJrandVictoriaVellaandmanygran d children.Frankwillbemisseddearlyandwewillneverforgetthesacrificeshemade.Servicewasheldonhisbehalfinaprivateceremony. PleaseSigntheGuestbookat eastvalleytribune.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE NEEDED!

Needed

PlaceanAnniversary,WeddingAnnouncement, In Memoriam, Obituary

East Valley Tribune 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway #219 • Tempe, AZ 85282

480.898.6465

class@timespublications.com

Deadlines

Classifieds: Thursday 10am for Sunday

Life Events: Wednesday 5pm for Sunday

AZ) w/ 5 yrs

& Bach's Deg.

be proficient in US GAAP & IFRS. Public acctg & int'l corporate managerial exp reqd. CPA or similar foreign designation preferred. Some domestic & int'l travel reqd. Resumes to Steve Rivers, Managing Partner, Rivers & Moorehead, PLLC, 398 S. Mill Ave, Ste 307, Tempe, AZ 85281-2840

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE NEEDED!

We are currently seeking for customeroriented service representatives to act as a liaison, provide product/ services information and resolve any emerging problems that our clients might face with accuracy and efficiency. The target is to ensure excellent service standards and maintain high customer satisfaction and should have good computer skills. Salary/Weekly: $405

Seeking Exp Cardiovascular MA/CVT to work in Chandler/Casa Grande locations MA cert. required, CVT cert. preferred. Send resume to aeberle@pcvc md

Int’lPurchasingMgr, BassCabinetMfg (Mesa,AZ):Oversee supplychainefficiency/ensurecontinuousflowof products;Developcapacity,inventory,resourceplans;UnderstandKCMA,MBCI productperformance reqmts.Bachelor’sin Managementand6 mosasintern/associateincabinet/furniturebusinessreq. Add’ldutiesandreqmtsavailuponrequest.Emailresume andcoverltrto careers @basscabinet.com.

Interested person(s) Should contact Steve: leroysteve@ hotmail com for more info and wages

Wholesale 1 PHX 2 Mesa Email or call jhabib@ imperialwholesale com 480-986-6900

We are currently seeking for customeroriented service representatives to act as a liaison, provide product/ services information and resolve any emerging problems that our clients might face with accuracy and efficiency. The target is to ensure excellent service standards and maintain high customer satisfaction and should have good computer skills.

Salary/Weekly: $405

Interested person(s) Should contact Steve: leroysteve@ hotmail com for more info and wages

Landscape laborers, 36 temporary full-time positions.

Duties: Laborers will be needed for turf care pruning, fertilization, irrigations systems maintenance and repair, general clean up procedures and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units. Work in the outdoors, physical work. 3 months landscape EXP REQ. No EDU REQ. Drug testing REQ.

Days & Hours: 40 hours/week (6:00am-2:30pm); day shift; Mon-Fri. Dates of employment: 02/05/1711/05/17. Wage: $11.74/h, OT $17.61/h if necessary. Raises, bonuses, or incentives dependent on job performance. OJT provided.

Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary, lodging) to the place of employment will be provided, or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period. Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer. Employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, equipment and supplies required to perform the job. Job location: Maricopa and Pinal counties, AZ. Employer will provide daily transportation to and from the worksite.

or contact the

FurtmannBrosLLC5742WMarylandAveGlendaleAZ85301seeks45“ temporaryfull-time HelpersofCarpentertowork&resideinPhoenix Metroplexareatohelpcarpenters,use,supply &holdhand/electrtools&materials,cleanwk area.Bend,lift&holdup50Lb,3moexpinRes constr,workinextweather,onjobtrainavail, noedureqd,travelinPhoenixMetroplexarea M-F7am-3pm$15.81/hrOTifneeded$23.72 from2/15to11/15/17.US&H2Bworkersoffered samewages&workingconditionstoinclude paidpost-hireddrugtest.Sglewrkwkcomputes wages.Weeklypmt.H-2BWrkrtobepaidU.S. Consulate,border,lodgingfeeson1stworkwk onacompanycheck“ Transportation(including meals&totheextentnecessarylodging)to placeofemploymentoritscosttoworkersreimbursed,iftheworkercompleteshalftheemploymentperiod.Returntransportationprovidedif theworkercompletesemploymentperiodoris dismissedearlybyemployer.Toolsprovidedat nochargetoworker”Applyinpersonatnearest SWA,call520.866.3608orfaxres520.836.5876 AttnDesiraeDiazorfaxrestoemplr 623.691.8037AttnAntonioPortilloREJP: 2484069.

JTGPalmPoolPlasteringInc2202WThomas d,Phoenix,AZ85015seeks7“ temporaryfullt ime ”GeneralLaborerstowork&residei n PhoenixMetropolitanareatousehand/power tools;preparesites/cleanworkareainresconstr,assistotherconstrlaborers.Bend,lift&hold up50Lb,3moexp,workinextweather,on-theobtrainavail,noedureqd,travelinMetropolitanareaM-F7am-3pm,40hr/wk@$15.07/hrO avable@$22.61from2/15to7/15/17.US&H2B workersofferedsamewages&workingconditionstoincludepaidpost-hireddrugtestSgl e w rkwkcomputeswages.Weeklypmt.H-2 B rkrtobepaidU.S.Consulate,border,lodging f eeson1stworkwkonacompanychec k Transportation(includingmeals&totheextent n ecessarylodging)toplaceofemploymentor i tscosttoworkersreimbursed,iftheworke r completeshalftheemploymentperiod.Return transportationprovidediftheworkercompletes employmentperiodorisdismissedearlybyemployer”“ Toolsprovidedatnochargetoworker A pplyinperson@nearestSWA , c all520.866.3608faxres520.836.5876Attn : DesiraeDiazREJP2498151

BacktoNatureLandcareInc4303WVanBuren#1,Phx,AZ85043seeks10 “temporaryfullt ime” LandscapeLaborerstowork&residei n P HXMetropolitanareatolandscapeus e h and/pwrtools/equip,installsprinklersystms B end,lift&holdup50Lb3moexpworkinex t weather,onjobtrainavail,noedureqd,travelin MetroplexareaM-F6am-2pm@$11.74/hrO avail@$17.61from2/15to11/15/17.US&H2B workersofferedsamewages&workingconditionstoincludepaidpost-hireddrugtestSgl e wrkwkcomputeswagesWeeklypmt “Transporta tion(includingmeals&totheextentnecessarylodging)toplaceofemploymentoritscost toworkersreimbursed,iftheworkercompletes halftheemploymentperiod.Returntransportat ionprovidediftheworkercompletesemploymentperiodorisdismissedearlybyemployer” H -2BWrkrtobepaidU.S.Consulate,border, l odgingfeeson1stworkwkonacompan y check“Toolsprovidedatnochargetoworker “ Theemployerguaranteestoofferworkhours e qualtoatleast¾oftheworkdaysineac h 1 2weeksoftotalemploymentperiod” Applyin personatnearestSWA,call520.866.3608,fa res520.836.5876AttnDesiraeDiazorfaxemp lr602.926.8201AttnAmandaZimaRE : JP2496603

SPGConstruction6331WVanBurenSt, Phoenix,AZ85043seeks15“ temporaryfulltime”Helperofplasterertowork&resideinPH M etroplexareatouse/supply/hol d materials&toolscleanwkarea/equipinresconstr.Bend,lift&holdup50Lb3moexpworkinex t weather,onjobtrainavail,noedureqd,travelin MetroplexareaM-F7am-3pm@$14.96/hrO i fneeded@$22.44from2/15to11/15/17 US&H2Bworkersofferedsamewages&worki ngconditionstoincludepaidpost-hireddrug testSglewrkwkcomputeswagesWeeklypmt -2BWrkrtobepaidU.S.Consulate,border, l odgingfeeson1stworkwkonacompan y check“ Transportation(includingmeals&tothe e xtentnecessarylodging)toplaceofemploym entoritscosttoworkersreimbursed,ifth e w orkercompleteshalftheemploymentperiod R eturntransportationprovidediftheworke r c ompletesemploymentperiodorisdismisse d earlybyemployer.Toolsprovidedatnocharge t oworker ”ApplyinpersonatnearestSWA , call520.866.3608orfaxres520.836.5876Attn D esiraeDiazorfaxemplyr877.329.4774Att : MarioSalgadoRE:JP2498104

NOTICE TO READERS:

Most service advertisers have an ROC# or Not a licensed contractor in their ad, this is in accordance to the AZ state law.

Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC): The advertising requirements of the statute does not prevent anyone from placing an ad in the yellow pages, on business cards, or on flyers.

What it does require under A.R.S. 321121A14(c) www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01165.htm is that the advertising party, if not properly licensed as a contractor, disclose that fact on any form of advertising to the public by including the words not a licensed contractor in the advertisement.

Again, this requirement is intended to make sure that the consumer is made aware of the unlicensed status of the individual or company.

Contractors who advertise and do not disclose their unlicensed status are not eligible for the handyman's exception.

Reference: http://www.azroc.gov/invest/licensed by la w.html

As a consumer, being aware of the law is for your protection. ou can check a business's ROC status at: http://www.azroc.gov/

Announce ments Announcements

Carolyn A Jones, Ph D Is closing her private practice in Chandler, AZ December 27th, 2016 If referral assistance is needed, please contact her before the closure date. Contact information after that date may be obtained at the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners, (602-542-8162)

Auto motive

Motorhomes/ RVs

For Sale

Brand New Park Models Holiday Special with Front Porch Must Sell 818-481-9310

You never know what you’ll find

Auctions & Estate Sales Estate Sale Sunday 12/18 -12/20

Prayer Announcements

O Holy St Jude! Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor for all who invoke you, special patron in time of need; to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart, and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance; help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition. I will never forget thy graces and favors you obtain for me and I will do my utmost to spread devotion to you. Amen. St. Jude, pray for us and all who honor thee and invoke thy aid. (Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary s, and 3 Glory Be s after this.)

Real Estate For Sale

Real Estate For Rent

Manufactured Homes

55 Windsor Park in Mesa

Has open lots waiting for your new home as well as homes for sale, already set up and ready to go. Come by and choose which option will work for you.

Contact Debbie at 480-969-7192

Apartments

2 Bedroom 1 Bath Apt by Gilbert & Main in Mesa Laundry, covered parking & patio $625 Nick 480-707-1538

ALMA SCH & MAIN 1bd, 1 bath Bad Credit ok No Deposit. $600/mo. Includes all util. (602) 339-1555

Crismon & University 3bd, 2 bath Fenced ard Bad Credit ok No Deposit. $900/mo. (602) 339-1555

LG 2 Bd/1Bth Apt

Idaho & Southern Apache Junction $550 $450 Deposit

Small Storage Shed, Ceramic Tile & Off St Parking, Credit Check 602-690-4042

Rooms For Rent

Mesa $550 Completely furnished studio, 1 person, priv entr, french door, 1/2 bath, shared kitchen, cable, internet, near bus, w/d, util included. 480-461-1342

Homes For Sale

Meetings/Events

Re|Engage marriage program

6:30 p.m. Wednesdays Whether you’d rate your marriage a two or a 10, this class will help you reconnect

Chandler Christian Church 1825 S. Alma School Rd., Chandler Info and registration: chandlercc.org/reengage

Christian Business Networking, Chandler BiMonthly Chapter

7:30 a.m. second and fourth Tuesdays of the month Offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and business referrals.

Chandler Christian Church, Room B202 1825 S. Alma School Rd., Chandler Info: Maia, 480-4250624, christianbusinessnetworking.com

Meetings/Events

Grief Care

6:30 p.m. Wednesdays

A place to come share your feelings or just listen to others as we try to navigate through our grief. ou don t have to do it alone. Epiphany Lutheran Church, south campus old church building 800 W. Ray Rd., Room 325, Chandler, a quarter mile south of Alma School Road on the north side of Ray. Info: griefcareaz@gmail.com

H O P E Help Overcoming Painful Experiences 7 p.m. Tuesdays Free weekly small-group sessions helping people overcome emotional pain caused by divorce, grief, addictions and more; free childcare for children ages 10 and younger.

Desert Springs Church, Room 106, 19620 S. McQueen Rd., Chandler Info: hope4all@comcast.net, helpovercomingpainful experiences org

JumpStart 11:45 A-4:30P. Saturdays

JumpStart is a sidewalk Sunday school community outreach program serving some of the poorest neighborhoods in Chandler, offering snacks, games and teachings about Jesus to area children.

Participants meet at Faith Family Church 11530 E. Queen Creek Rd., Chandler Info: Joanne Sweeney 480-539-8933

East Valley Jewish Couples Club

Offers once-a-month social activities such as dining, movies, plays, etc. for Jewish couples in the 45- to 65-year-old age range. Info: Melissa, 480-785-0744, beadlover@cox.net

Meetings/Events

Women’s Life group 10-11:30 a.m. second and fourth Friday of each month. All women are invited to a Bible study and discussion of how the lessons can relate to our current lives. Every lady brings something different to the group and learns from each other to get to know new friends. Sun Lakes United Church Of Christ, Sun Lakes Country Club Chapel Center, 9230 Sun Lakes Blvd., Sun Lakes. Info: Jan Olson, 480-802-7457 or Joy ing, 480-588-1882

NONDENOMINATIONAL, GREAT PRAISE AND WORSHIP, GREAT MESSAGES FOR TODAYS LIVING! OUR MISSION IS “EVANGELISM, HEALING, DISCIPLESHIP, THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD! VISIT US AT ValorCC.com.

SENIOR SONGBIRDS LOO ING FOR MALE AND FEMALE SINGERS. If you are age 50 and love singing and entertaining, we would be happy to have you check us out at one of our rehearsals. We are all volunteers and perform weekly at assisted living and care centers. We sing secular songs primarily from the 30's, 40's, and 50's, as well as patriotic and gospel songs, from September through May. We rehearse Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Pyle Adult Recreation Center, 655 East Southern Avenue, Tempe, AZ. For more information, call 480-775-0730.

- Mark Twain

it does require under A.R.S. 32-1121A14(c) www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01165.htm is that the advertising party, if not properly licensed as a contractor, disclose that fact on any form of advertising to the public by including the words not a licensed contractor in the advertisement.

Again, this requirement is intended to make sure that the consumer is made aware of the unlicensed status of the indiv idual or company.

Contractors who advertise and do not disclose their unlicensed status are not eligible for the handyman's exception.

Reference: http://www.azroc.gov/invest/licensed by law.html

As a consumer, being aware of the law is for your protection. ou can check a business's ROC status at: http://www.azroc.gov/