East Valley Tribune: Gilbert Edition - Sept. 11, 2016

Xeriscaping grows as a way to save water, bring beauty

Renovated front yard ‘looks like it belongs here’

BY MIKE BUTLER TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

When Carl Hermanns and his wife, Jeanne Powers, moved from San Diego in 2001 to teach at ASU, they were attracted to Tempe’s ranch houses and the established Meyer Park neighborhood especially.

e emerald-green lawn in front of their new home seemed out of place in the desert, though.

“It looked like a back-east kind of lawn,” Carl said.

Jeanne was more blunt.

“It was ugly.”

In the last couple of decades, much of the Valley has

to

xeriscaping, Gilbert Water Conservation Specialist Haley Paul said. It saves water, and it shows an appreciation for the natural desert.

Knowing little about desert plants and xeriscaping themselves, Carl and Jeanne joined the Desert Botanical Garden. ey also took a class from the City of Tempe, taught by Ron Dinchak, longtime Life Science teacher at Mesa Community College and designer of the award-winning Xeriscape

East Valley’s tragic 9/11 experiences radiate hope, peace

BY JIM WALSH TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Fifteen years ago, the East Valley and the rest of the United States froze and watched in horror as planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania.

Many Americans cried as the tragic news footage was seared into the nation’s collective memory, playing repeatedly on news reports as more than 3,000 victims were mourned, the worst foreign attack on U.S. soil since Japan bombed Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier. It seemed as if the world was coming to an end that morning.

Others in the East Valley suffered a personal loss that would change their lives

SEPT. 11: 15-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Flags help heal in Tempe .............. Page 5

Leibowitz: More to do ................ Page 20

Pastor's 9/11 journey ................... Page 29 Cities offer incentives ................... Page 8

THE SUNDAY

from page 1

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forever. Donna Killoughy Bird lost her husband, Gary, the father of their children, Andrew and Amanda. Rana Singh Sodhi of Gilbert lost his brother, Balbir, and Balbir’s son lost his father.

At first glance, Killoughy Bird and Singh Sodhi would appear to have little in common. Killoughy Bird is a retired commercial litigation attorney who grew in Chicago and is a devout Catholic. Singh Sodhi grew up in the Punjab region of India, immigrated to the U.S., launched a successful business career and is a devout Sikh.

But Killoughy Bird and Singh Sodhi, who had every reason to be bitter and even hateful after suffering such tragic losses, both have devoted the rest of their lives to serving humanity. They have both chosen to embrace tolerance, acceptance and the pursuit of peace.

have him,” Killoughy Bird said. “In the short time that God puts us on earth, if we live our lives the way Gary lived, we will be remembered.”

“ In the short time that God puts us here on earth, if we live our lives the way Gary life, we will be remembered. ”

- Donna Killoughy Bird

Gary Bird, 51, of Tempe, a community volunteer and real cowboy who grew up riding horses on ranches near Cottonwood; Delta, Colorado; and Kingman, was the only Arizonan killed in the World Trade Center attacks.

Bird’s death seemed like a cruel irony, while Balbir Singh Sodhi’s murder seemed like a tragic case of mistaken identity and an example of the ultimate cost of hatred and bigotry.

Bird had spent most of his life helping others through his family and his volunteer work with the Tempe Boys and Girls Club and the Tempe Kiwanis Club. He had just landed his dream job as a risk manager with Marsh & McLennan Companies, a professional services and insurance firm. Bird was attending an orientation meeting when the company’s office was obliterated by a hijacked plane. He was one of more than 60 Marsh employees killed.

Killoughey Bird takes solace in knowing that her husband lived such an exemplary life that he is still remembered 15 years after his death. She described him as a humble, quiet servant of humanity who looked for opportunities to help others and always delivered on his promises.

“Every year, in the weeks before 9/11, I remember how blessed I was by God to

Killoughy Bird said she was touched by a letter she received after her husband’s death from a woman who had never met either of them. The woman recounted how she rode the same bus to downtown Phoenix with Gary, and how she observed that Gary would give up his seat for an elderly or handicapped person.

“Everyone who knew Gary admired him,” said Dr. Jeff Eger, a Mesa optometrist. “Everyone knew Gary made Tempe a better town.”

He said that he served with Gary on the board of the Tempe Kiwanis Club, and that Bird was his friend and mentor.

“I would like to think because Gary was so unique, authentic and unselfish, that he would be a role model for a ‘we’ society instead of a “me’ society,” Eger said.

Balbir Singh Sodhi, 49, who immigrated to the United States from India because of his love for the Bill of Rights and its guarantee of freedom of religion, did not die in the terrorist attacks, but he died four days later because of them.

Singh Sodhi was gunned down in front of his East Mesa gas station on Sept. 15, 2001, by Frank Roque, an angry man who mistakenly thought he was retaliating against a Middle Eastern terrorist. Singh Sodhi, who had no connection to the Middle East, was wearing a turban in observance of his Sikh religion.

Singh Sodhi’s murder was the first hate crime slaying in the aftermath of 9/11.

He would not be the last Sikh targeted, even though Sikhs were not implicated in any terrorist attacks. A Sikh truck driver was wounded in a shooting in North Phoenix but survived his injuries. Other Sikhs were harassed.

In his diary, Singh Sodhi had thanked Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, for the all the blessings in his life. He had driven a cab, saved his money, bought the gas station and had a family. It was the perfect American Dream, until it was shattered by ignorance. Singh Sodhi wrote that he was ready for any mission the Guru had in store for his life.

A Mesa jury sentenced Roque to death, but that sentence was later reduced by the Arizona Supreme Court to life in prison without possibility of parole because of concerns about whether Roque was mentally ill.

See how the the world has changed in 15 years, from tech to entertainment. Go to http://tiny.cc/911changes/.

Singh Sodhi quickly emerged as a powerful symbol of the need for diversity, tolerance and acceptance. Rana Singh Sodhi, a Mesa restaurant owner, businessman and Balbir’s brother, has dedicated the rest of his life to educating others about the Sikh faith and preaching acceptance and inclusion.

“His death will not be in vain,” Rana said. “It’s more awareness of different cultures.”

Rana and his family remember Balbir every year on the anniversary of his death at a memorial service held

XERISCAPE

from page 1

Demonstration Garden on campus. Under Dinchak’s guidance, Carl and Jeanne devoted a hot summer to killing their Bermuda grass lawn with herbicides. When they were sure it was dead, a contractor came in with a Bobcat and scraped it off. He also created small hills and contours to add interest and to collect rainwater.

A flagstone path bisects the front yard. A cascalote tree, which erupts in showy yellow spikes in fall-winter months, anchors one side of the northfacing front yard. A feathery sweet acacia presides over the other half of the yard. With the trees set, Carl and Jeanne planted Southwest stalwarts such as desert milkweed, Arizona yellow bells, brittlebush, ruellia, bird of paradise and fairy dusters.

In the backyard, the couple kept a venerable olive tree and planted a fig tree. Creosote and hop bushes and other lowwater shrubs provide a lush backdrop

Workshops

Gilbert

Thursday, Oct. 20 — Drip irrigation design and installation, 6:30-9 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 27 — Landscape watering, 6:30-9 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 3 — Smart water system controllers, 6:30-9 p.m. Register at gilbertaz.gov or call 480-5036098. All classes are held at the Southeast Library assembly room, 775 N. Greenfield Road.

Desert Botanical Garden

Wednesday, Sept. 14 — Water harvesting, design and implementation, 6:308:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17 — Irrigation system maintenance, 9 a.m.-noon.

Saturday, Oct. 1 — Drip irrigation design and installation, 9 a.m.-noon.

Wednesday, Nov. 2 — SketchUp, getting started, 6:30-8:30 p.m. (SketchUp is a computer modeling program that can be used to design a landscape.)

for accent plants such as candelilla and slipper flowers. In summer and prolonged periods of drought, a drip irrigation system keeps the plants in good health.

“There hasn’t been a day we haven’t been glad we did it,” Carl said. “It’s pretty. It looks like it belongs here.”

Over in the McCormick Ranch section of Scottsdale, Walter Thurber and his wife went through a similar xeriscaping learning curve when they moved from the suburbs of Philadelphia in the 1990s. After dumping the front lawn, the Thurbers landscaped specifically to attract birds.

Hummingbirds love their namesake chuparosas, while other feathered friends are drawn to desert hackberry, fourwing saltbush, little-leaf cordia, wolfberry and fairy duster. The Thurbers kept a

small patch of lawn in the backyard, which their dogs enjoy, but also created a 425-gallon pond—another bird magnet.

Walter said he’s catalogued 70 different species of birds that have visited the garden. “And this is a very built-up area.”

The Thurbers’ garden has been a Tour de Bird stop in past years, the Desert Rivers Audubon Society’s popular East Valley garden tour. This year’s tour will be Nov. 5.

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

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

Wednesday, Nov. 19 — SketchUp, the next steps, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 — The art of watering, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Register at dbg.org. All classes are at the garden.

Chandler

Tuesday, Sept. 13 — Water-wise edible gardening, 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 15 — Watering and timer operation, 6-8:45 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22 — Irrigation troubleshooting and repair, 6-8:45 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29 — Smart irrigation controllers, 6-8:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 12 — Rainwater harvesting, 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Register at chandleraz.gov/water. All weekday classes are held at the Chandler TechShop, 249 E. Chicago St.

Healing Field is personal as people bring their own 9/11 experiences

BY MIKE BUTLER TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Carrie Vidamo of Gilbert couldn’t be one of the more than 300 volunteers this time that helped set up the nearly 3,000 flags for this year’s Healing Field in Tempe, which honors the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

She’s in a full-arm cast as the result of a recent off-road motorcycle accident. But she’ll be among the rows of flags, with her two kids, 13 and 10. She’ll visit the flags that bear the names of former Morgan Stanley co-workers who died in the attacks. She’ll wonder once more how she survived. She’ll pray Psalm 91.

“It makes you value every day you wake up, that’s for sure,” Vidamo said.

Vidamo was living in Chandler 15 years ago when she and two other Valley stockbrokers flew to New York City for training. On the second day of training, Vidamo had stepped out of the office on the 61st floor of the World Trade Center south tower for a minute when the plane slammed into the building.

Joe Lutrario was an NYPD officer on Sept. 11, 2001. “It was total chaos,” he said. “There were people running, people jumping, debris falling."

everyone, though. No children on the ground were killed that day.”

outside the Chevron station at 80th and University Drive. e event features Indian food and prayers for tolerance. e 15th anniversary, he said, holds no special significance to him.

Rana owns the Guru Palace restaurant in Mesa.

ree years ago, Rana said he was buying some flowers for the memorial service when he came across some people he never expected to see again. It was Frank Roque’s daughter and his wife.

Rana said he recognized Roque’s daughter because she testified on behalf of her father during the trial.

“I said, ‘Your Dad killed my brother,” Rana said. “She said, “I’m so sorry.”

Rana said he invited the Roques to the memorial service but they declined, saying they might come some other time.

“His memory is part of American history. His turban is in the Smithsonian, with his bracelet, his clothing and his diary,” Rana said.

She thought a bomb had exploded. She remembers how the tower swayed back and forth as she and others made the slow, harrowing walk down the stairwell. By the time she reached the 50th floor, the other plane hit the north tower. She thought that was a bomb, too.

Vidamo remembers the relief she felt reaching the ground floor and running away from the tower. When she turned around a few minutes later, it was gone.

She may very well have run past Joe Lutrario, who was an NYPD officer at the time. He lives in East Mesa now. Lutrario and his partner were assigned to a counterterrorism task force that was established when the World Trade Center was attacked in 1993. ey were on patrol near the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel when the first plane hit. While running toward the south tower, they were approached by the frantic leader of a nearby daycare center. Fifty to 60 children needed help.

“It was total chaos,” Lutrario said. “ ere were people running, people jumping, debris falling. I was grabbing children under each arm. We got

Continuing to help people evacuate, Lutrario was buried by rubble when the south tower collapsed. His shoulder badly injured, going in and out of consciousness, Lutrario remembers hoping that someone would find him the next day.

Fortunately, a firefighter rescued him much sooner. Lutrario was taken to triage for treatment, but no one could keep him from going back out to help.

He offered first aid where necessary and escorted fleeing survivors to the harbor, where boats ferried them to safety to the Jersey shore.

Lutrario went back to Ground Zero the next day and every day until the end of October, doing search and rescue. In addition to the four anchors and screws in his shoulder and lasting respiratory issues, Lutrario suffers from PTSD.

“Some days are overwhelming,” he said. “I’m just glad I had an opportunity to help that day. I do not look at myself as a hero. I just did what I had to do, alongside many.”

Lutrario was the keynote speaker at Healing Field in 2012. e event has helped him find comfort and cope with the aftermath of that terrible day, he

Tucson, Denver, Portland, Los Angeles and Detroit.

“I think all of the victims have the same value to their lives. Everyone who lost their lives deserves the same respect and honor,” Rana said.

“Hate never brings peace,” he said. “I don’t know how long I will live but this is for the rest of my life.”

But like Rana, Killoughy Bird still believes she has an obligation to use her rich and unique experiences in life to help others.

After Gary’s death, she and her family established the Gary E. Bird Family Foundation scholarship through the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. It awards a scholarship yearly so that a seventh grader from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Tempe can attend one of the six area Catholic high schools.

Killoughy Bird worked with author Charlotte Rogers Brown to publish a memoir titled “Nothing Will Separate Us: A Widow’s Memoir of Faith, Grace and Miracles Since 9/11.”

Rana said he is also scheduled to appear as a panelist on Sept. 27 at Rio Salado Community College at a forum titled “Hate, Terrorism and 9/11.” He also is scheduled to speak at events in

She said she has studied the lives and works of people who “radiate peace,” including Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. “ at is my mission in this world, to be an instrument of peace,” she said. 9/11 from page

said. “It’s an incredible undertaking, to make sure these people aren’t forgotten.”

Healing Field is called a living memorial because it’s meant to help visitors, survivors, relatives and friends of those who died heal and remember, said Mark Poisson, past president of the Tempe Exchange Club, which co-hosts the event with Tempe.

“Every single time I’ve shown a loved one to the flag they’re looking for, they break down in tears,” Poisson said. “It just means the world to them.”

Each of the flags has a card bearing the name of the 2,977 Americans who perished in the attacks. Poisson said he was moved last year when one visitor took it upon himself to start shining the boots that are placed underneath the flags of the victims of the attack on the Pentagon. Many others joined in to help him.

Teddy bears are placed beneath the flags of the children who died on the planes that day. Yellow ribbons are pinned to the flags of first responders. Blue ribbons

Pro-marijuana campaign questions Chandler medical firm’s opposition HEALING FIELD

BY HOWARD FISCHER CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

AChandler firm that could lose business from legalized marijuana is now the largest contributor to a campaign to stop that from happening here.

Reports filed with the secretary of state’s office show Insys Therapeutics, whose sole product is an opiate spray to treat pain for cancer patients, gave $500,000 to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy. That is nearly four times more than the second largest donation to try to defeat Proposition 205, which was $110,000 from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

J.P. Holyoak, who chairs the committee pushing the initiative, said the interest of pharmaceutical companies in keeping marijuana illegal comes down to protection of profits. He said firms don’t want the competition.

“They want to be able to push their far more addictive, far more harmful and far more dangerous opioid drugs,’’ Holyoak said. He said that is particularly true of

honor the flight attendants killed, said Exchange Club member Doug Royse, whose wife is a flight attendant.

Aerik Braaten has the strange experience of seeing the flags 362 days a year, because he volunteers his warehouse at the Arizona Canine Center in Chandler to store them. One of the flags bears the name of his good friend, Fred Cox Jr.

Although they went to separate Valley high schools, the two became fast friends when Cox started dating the sister of the woman Bratten was dating. Cox left the Valley to seek his fortune in New York and worked at the World Trade Center.

“It still makes me sad,” Braaten said. “When I heard the Healing Field needed storage space, it hit home.”

The 13th annual Healing Field at Tempe Beach Park concludes Sunday and is open to the public until 8 p.m. The candlelight vigil with keynote speaker begins at 7 p.m.

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

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

Mesa charter school sued, accused of teaching religious doctrine

BY HOWARD FISCHER CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

Aa company like Insys whose business relies solely on a single product: Subsys, a sublingual fentanyl spray.

In its own prepared statement, Insys said it opposes the initiative “because it fails to protect the safety of Arizona’s citizens, and particularly its children.’’

And the company noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for any medical use.

“We believe that all available medicines should meet the clinical standards set by the FDA,’’ the statement says.

The statement says Insys has nothing against the cannabinoids, the ingredients in marijuana, assuming they are properly used. In fact, the company says it has seven such products in development.

Deguire, for his part, said there’s also reason to look at who is supporting Proposition 205.

Most of the cash has come from the Marijuana Policy Project, an out-ofstate interest. And he noted a series of five-figure checks from donors who that “stand to make millions if Prop 205 passes, with no regards to its negative effects.’’

national organization filed suit Wednesday against an Arizona charter school with ties to a member of the state Board of Education, accusing it of using state funds to illegally teach religious doctrine.

The federal court lawsuit claims that Heritage Academy—which has three campuses in Maricopa County, including one in Mesa—is violating the First Amendment, state constitutional provisions and Arizona laws through the instruction provided to students as well as required reading.

Attorney Richard Katskee, legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that specifically includes teachings of founder, president and teacher Earl Taylor Jr. that the Ten Commandments, including those that mandate the worship of God, must be obeyed to attain happiness.

The school, which has grades 7 through 12, also teaches that socialism violates God’s laws, he said.

Among the academy’s board members are Jared Taylor, of Gilbert, who is Earl’s son. Taylor was one of Doug Ducey’s first appointments last year to the state Board of Education. He is running for re-election this year.

Neither Taylor would comment on the specifics of lawsuit. But the elder Taylor said he has answered similar allegations in the past for the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.

Under Arizona law, private and even for-profit corporations can set up charter schools. They are considered public schools, entitled to state aid and cannot charge tuition.

They are exempt from some—but not all—of the regulations that govern traditional public schools. And there is a specific requirement that a charter school “ensure that it is nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies and employment practices and all other operations.”

There also is a state constitutional provision that bars the use of public money for religious instruction and a separate one forbidding the use of state taxes for any sectarian school.

Katskee wants Judge Eileen Willett to declare that what the school is doing with state funds is illegal and essentially force the owners to make a choice.

“If it’s a private school that charges students tuition and gets no state money, it can teach religion, it can teach all the theology and religious doctrine that the school’s operators would like,” he said. “If the school won’t stop, then the state should have to stop giving it money and have to stop recognizing it as a public institution.”

Gilbert celebrates Constitution Fair

The largest celebration in America of the U.S. Constitution is this Saturday in Gilbert.

The Constitution Fair, which wraps up Constitution Week, will feature replicas of the White House, U.S. Capitol and Independence Hall. Actors dressed as Benjamin Franklin and Abigail Adams will also visit.

The fair begins at 6 p.m. at the Gilbert Civic Center.

For more information, go to constitutionweekusa.com/ the-constitution-fair.

– RALPH ZUBIATE, TRIBUNE EDITOR

Tips for parents to help their kids with science projects

The Arizona Museum of Natural History is hosting an event to teach parents to better help their children on science projects.

The 20-minute presentation Saturday by associate Curator of Anthropology Emily Early will be followed by a Q&A session. There will be two talks; one at 11 a.m. and another at 1 p.m. The event is included with the regular price of admission to the museum.

The museum is at 53 N. Macdonald in Mesa. – TYLER DRAKE, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Downtown Chandler

Art Walk features Hispanic heritage

THE WEEK AHEAD

Expo to welcome crafters to Mesa

The Mesa Convention Center will host a Stamp & Scrapbook Expo this weekend. Stamping and scrapbooking companies will have demonstrations, exhibits and prizes for crafters.

For hours and ticket prices, contact info@scrapbookexpo.com or go to scrapbookexpo.com.

– TRIBUNE REPORT

Ball drop for prizes is part of Mesa

Pro-Am Tournament

The Mesa Chamber of Commerce is staging its 2nd Annual Golf Ball Drop on Friday as part of the Pro-Am Golf Tournament.

Golf balls, which will be dropped by helicopter at Las Sendas Golf Club, may be purchased. The golf ball that lands in the hole or closest to the hole wins a pair of round-trip airline tickets.

Golf balls can be bought by calling the Chamber 480-969-1307 or in person at the Chamber Offi ce at 40 N. Center St., Suite 104.

The deadline to make purchases is 5 p.m. Thursday.

– TRIBUNE REPORT

Fencing open house to celebrate Olympic sport

Arizona Fencing Center in Mesa will have an open house to celebrate the success of U.S. athletes at the Rio Olympics.

Live demonstrations and an opportunity to take part in a brief fencing class will be available.

Downtown Chandler Art Walk is partnering with local cultural organizations in honor of Hispanic Heritage month. There will be handcrafted art from over 30 local artists, ballet folklorico, a mariachi band and a Tucson-based salsa-rumba fusion band.

The Art Walk is free Sept. 16 from 6-9:30 p.m. at A.J. Chandler West Park along San Marcos Ave at 3 S. Arizona Ave.

– TYLER DRAKE, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

The event, at 1905 S. Macdonald, Suite 5, will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.

– TRIBUNE REPORT

Cities offer incentives for reduced water consumption

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Much of Arizona is, of course, a desert, and water is a major commodity. So much so that leaders in three East Valley cities have implemented programs to help and encourage residents to save as much water as possible.

Xeriscaping has grown due to the passage of the state’s groundwater management act in 1980, as well as a greater appreciation for the desert lifestyle and changing perceptions of yards, said Gilbert Water Conservation Specialist Haley Paul.

Obvious changes by such agencies as the Arizona Department of Transportation in removing turf from roadsides and installing desert landscaping helped many people take notice of xeriscaping, she said.

ADOT’s changes came in response to the groundwater act, which forbids grass along the slopes next to roads in the Phoenix area. The department had already been transitioning to low-water plants and trees for decades, ADOT spokesman Steve Elliott said.

Gilbert doesn’t offer rebates for landscaping changes as Mesa and Chandler do, Paul said, although that option is being explored.

Nonetheless, the city has other forms of outreach that are helping it “grab big buckets of water,” such as working with homeowners’

associations to encourage less turf in common areas and proper watering techniques.

A city employee can measure the amount of lawn and desert landscaping in a development and determine how much water should be used and report that to the HOA every month, Paul said. Since that program began in 2009, the city’s saved 300 million gallons of water.

“It’s a win-win for the city and for customers,” Paul said.

Gilbert officials don’t want people to abandon landscaping at their homes and businesses, Paul said.

“We don’t want it to look bad,” she said. “No one is interested in seeing only rocks and cacti.”

The desire to have beautiful landscaping that uses less water on private property is shared by officials in Mesa and Chandler.

Donna Difrancesco, the conservation coordinator in Mesa’s environmental and sustainability division, has watched the Valley change from its old “oasis look” to xeriscape and desert plants.

A couple of decades ago, it was “much more typical to have grassy landscapes,” she said. In the 1990s, “things changed.” The housing construction boom brought more xeriscaped properties and desert landscaping became more popular.

Unfortunately, Difrancesco said, most

people kept using the same amount of water to care for a xeriscaped yard that they did when they had a lawn.

So, Mesa produced booklets for residents which explain how to properly water desert plants.

“We use more water than other places in the country and we are a desert,” she said.

Mesa has had a landscape rebate program for decades. Originally property owners or developers could get part of their water development fee refunded if they installed a desert landscape.

The program “was initiated to encourage desert landscaping before it was popular,” Difrancesco said.

Then people started calling the city asking what sort of refund they could get if they removed lawns at their homes.

So, in 2007 the City Council approved a grass-to-xeriscape rebate. The city pays single-family homeowners as much as $500 to remove a minimum of 500 square feet of healthy grass. In a typical year, about 30 people complete the application process and project, she said. There are specific requirements that people have to meet to qualify, she said, including some plants— an all-rock landscape won’t qualify. And, artificial turf doesn’t count in the square footage formula.

Right now, that’s the only rebate in Mesa.

Do’s and don’ts

of xeriscape planting

We think of these as Arizona plants; you see them everywhere.

But they are actually non-native to our desert and, surprisingly, don’t belong here. They don’t thrive as well as native flora and often require more water than is optimal, or are less heat-resistant than they need to be:

But, the city will soon implement a similar rebate for HOAs, commercial properties and apartment complexes, Difrancesco said. If those properties remove 10,000 square foot of grass, they become eligible for a $5,000 rebate from the city.

She and other city officials expected more people to participate in the rebate effort, but she readily acknowledges that “grass removal is difficult. Bermuda grass is tough. That’s why it’s so good to plant here.”

All three cities encourage water conservation efforts, which includes avoiding leaks. In Gilbert, people can get free water efficiency checkups by city employees, Paul said.

Those checkups are designed to help people identify how they use water, especially when consumption jumps dramatically. City staffers track big swings in water use and send letters to customers who experience such changes. The same process is followed in Chandler. Between 400 and 500 Gilbert customers— both residential and commercial—take advantage of that checkup each year.

The culprit? Often it’s simply that people are overwatering their trees, shrubs and lawns, Paul said.

Improving water efficiency helps save both water and money, Paul said.

Chandler city officials promote water conservation by offering financial incentives, similar to those in Mesa.

The city also has a xeriscape demonstration garden designed to offer people tips.

Three rebate programs operate in Chandler, geared to reduce water consumption, Chandler Water Conservation Coordinator Cathy Rymer said.

In Chandler, homeowners are eligible to receive $200 for new construction, if at least half of the yard contains low-water plants. People who install smart or weather-based irrigation controllers can receive a maximum rebate of $250.

The third rebate offered in Chandler is for people who remove grass and install desert plants in its place, Rymer said.

For every 1,000 square feet of grass removed, a $200 rebate is given, up to a total of $3,000 per property. Private residences, commercial properties and homeowners’ associations are eligible for the rebate.

Chandler water customers can also take advantage of the city’s free water audit program, like Gilbert offers.

— Contact reporter Shelley Ridenour at 480-8986533 or sridenour@timespublications.com. — Comment on this story and like the East Valley Tribune on Facebook and follow EVTNow on Twitter.

Charter schools dominate list of top state high schools

Charter schools are among the tops in the state based on a new ranking of public high schools.

The rankings, based on 2015 SAT test scores, ranked Basis Peoria fi rst in Arizona. In the East Valley, Basis Chandler was fourth, Gilbert Classical Academy was 12th, Arete Preparatory Academy in Gilbert 19th and the New School for the Arts and Academics in Tempe was 20th.

The fi rst non-charter East Valley school on the list is Hamilton High School, at 21.

– RALPH ZUBIATE, TRIBUNE EDITOR

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Janitors walk out at ASU to protest safety

Workers with Olympic Building Services walked out for one day to protest safety at Arizona State University campuses.

ASU has contracted with Olympic to provide janitorial services. It said the one-day walkout on Sept. 1 was a dispute between the workers and their employer, Olympic. It said it would not comment on a contractor’s labor and management controversies.

In August, the janitors had tried to unionize, but were fi red by Olympus, said Josselyn Berry, executive director with Progress Now Arizona. She said the janitors were later rehired.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

in the foster care system

‘Recycle Your Bicycle’ to help kids

Auto Nine Earnhardt Auto Centers around the East Valley are hosting the “Recycle Your Bicycle” charity event.

Gilbert-area principal resigns; students walk out in support

The Higley Unifi ed School District has voted to accept the resignation of the principal of one of its high schools.

Earnhardt will collect bicycles and give them out to foster children around the holiday season.

The dealership will collect bicycles at nine locations in three cities in the East Valley:

In Chandler, Earnhardt Chandler Cadillac, Earnhardt Ford and Earnhardt Chevrolet.

In Gilbert, Earnhardt Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, San Tan Hyundai, Earnhardt Maserati and Earnhardt San Tan Volkswagen.

In Mesa, Earnhardt Buick GMC and Earnhardt Toyota Scion.

– TYLER DRAKE, TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Walgreens to offer disposal of outdated drugs

Terri Wattawa, principal of Williams Field High School in Gilbert, submitted her resignation after being placed on leave earlier. The Higley Unifi ed School District would not say why it took that action.

Students at the school walked out of classes last week in support.

Wattawa came under some scrutiny last year for a series of senior pranks at the school. She acknowledged approving some of the antics, but said later that they got out of hand. – RALPH ZUBIATE, TRIBUNE EDITOR

Gov. Doug Ducey and Walgreens announced a new way to dispose of outdated prescription drugs. Kiosks at Walgreens stores throughout the East Valley will accept medicines for disposal. A start date was not announced. Disposing of pills at such a station is safer than fl ushing or otherwise discarding them, said Erin Sharp, who directs Walgreens’ pharmacy and retail business.

Ducey and company representatives also said every Walgreens in Arizona will soon offer Naloxone, an antidote to an opioid overdose, without a prescription.

– TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Mesa rider wins championship in Texas

Lin Johnson of Mesa captured the world championship title in pleasure driving at the 2016 American Quarter Horse Association Select World Championship Show in Amarillo, Texas.

Johnson showed the American Quarter Horse PR The Green Bay. The 2007 brown gelding, sired by Green With Envy and out of PR Fancy My Decks, was bred by Judy Pryor of Omaha, Nebraska.

In the pleasure driving class, entrants competed $700 and prizes. – TRIBUNE STAFF REPORT

Schmuck promises ‘very positive’ general campaign for key district

BY PAUL MARYNIAK TRIBUNE MANAGING EDITOR

Frank Schmuck went to bed on primary election night before finding out he had become the Republican candidate for State Senate in the district that includes a good bit of three East Valley communities.

“I told my family the FAA requires me to get eight hours of sleep before takeoff so I just went to bed,” the Southwest Airlines pilot said.

Schmuck, 50, of Tempe, a decorated Persian Gulf War veteran, ousted incumbent Republican Jeff Dial in Legislative District 18 with nearly 53 percent of the vote to his opponent’s 47 percent, according to unofficial results.

But Schmuck in an interview two days after his Aug. 30 victory promised he’ll wage a different kind of campaign against Democrat Sean Bowie, an Ahwatukee resident and political newcomer who works as a senior policy analyst for Arizona State University’s provost office.

Positive campaign promised

“It will be very positive and will be focused on the issues,” Schmuck said, calling Bowie “a good person.”

The victory culminated a campaign in which Schmuck relentlessly questioned Dial’s military record as he campaigned through the parts of Tempe, Chandler and Mesa that comprise LD 18, which also includes Ahwatukee.

The election sets up two legislative novices in a district that some political observers think could decide whether Democrats wrest control of the Senate from Republicans, who hold a two-seat advantage.

Although Republicans hold a registration edge over Democrats in LD18, the district also is home to a significant number of independents. The latest available figures show the district has 48,142 Republicans, 40,897 Democrats and 44,039 independents or voters registered with a minor party.

As the largest annual event of its kind in the East Valley, the expo provides a dynamic setting for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer outreach.

Location:

Mesa Convention Center 263 N. Center Street Mesa, AZ 85201

Date/Time Information: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Admission is free with a business card and attendees have their chance at winning gift cards, door prizes, raffles and giveaways.

The expo is a joint production of the Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa Chambers of Commerce and draws exhibitors, attendees and talent from these powerful organizations.

Bowie said that he thought, “Schmuck and Dial didn’t like each other.” And that he knew from conversations with Schmuck that he was upset that Dial may have misrepresented his own military service record.

But Bowie also believes voters turned thumbs down on Dial because of the Legislature’s recent history of continuing cuts in funding for K-12 and higher education.

“Part of the reason Jeff lost is people are unhappy about education cuts, and that’s Democrats, Republicans and independents,” Bowie said. “They want to see new representation. That’s been my message. Dial has been there a long time and Republicans have done nothing but cut school funding. We saw a lot of support for Schmuck.”

involved in some way in public policy discussions.

There was no contest in the primary election for the state House in LD 18 for either party.

That means that this fall, incumbent Republican state representatives Jill Norgaard and Bob Robson will be running against Democrat Denise “Mitzi” Epstein and Green Party hopeful Linda Macias. Epstein is a former Kyrene schools governing board member.

Education is key Campaigning fiercely on a vow to gradually eliminate Arizona’s income tax, he believes the pursuit of happiness is based on two fundamentals—education and legal immigration.

Dial, who served two years as an LD 18 representative in the State House 201012 and then won a four-year term in the Senate in 2012, had little to say about the results. He said Schmuck “ran a good campaign” and that he intended to stay

Bowie appears to be focusing much of his campaign on ending one-party rule in the State Capitol and restoring education funding.

“The main reason I am running is to restore funding to education,” Bowie said.

Concussion awareness increases among teens, survey finds

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Asurvey of 304 Arizona teenagers showed that one-third of the respondents who are high school senior athletes report having suffered a concussion at some point in their playing career.

e random survey was conducted for the Barrow Neurological Institute. Data wasn’t collected on what high schools the students attend, Barrow spokeswoman Carmelle Malkovich said.

Officials at Barrow called the findings both encouraging and troubling.

“While the number of teens who have suffered a concussion is disturbing, we are pleased that the survey also shows that Arizona youth are becoming informed about concussions and the dangers of not being treated,” Dr. Javier Cardenas said.

Cardenas is a sports neurologist at Barrow’s Concussion and Brain Injury Center in Phoenix.

“I have a lot of kids who watch out for their teammates,” he said.

All Arizona high school athletes are required to complete the Barrow Brainbook module before they play any sport. Barrow released that module at the start of school in 2011.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association mandates participation.

Arizona State University last month became the first NCAA-affiliated university to begin requiring it.

In spite of the AIA requirement, the Barrow survey showed that 25 percent of the students polled had not received any information about the signs and symptoms of a concussion. However, not all of the students surveyed reported that they participate in school sports.

Survey data showed that 42 percent of the students who have suffered a concussion are not afraid of any long-term effects.

According to the survey, some students are choosing to not participate in sports because of concussion concerns. Of the respondents, 1 in 4 boys said they decided to not play football and 1 in 10 girls said they won’t play soccer because of worries about concussions.

Valley Christian High School Athletic Trainer Troy Hanzel said he’s not seeing similar percentages at his high school in Chandler.

“If kids don’t play sports, it’s some reason other than a fear of concussions,” he said.

e survey also tallied how many student athletes would report a possible concussion. Cardenas said he was especially pleased with the fact that 79 percent of the students said they’d tell their coach immediately. According to the survey, 30 percent would tell their parents, too. Only 4 percent said they wouldn’t tell anyone. Just 13 percent said they would wait for a stop in the game before reporting the injury. And, 89 percent said they’d report it if a friend or teammate was concussed and didn’t tell the coach or parent. That trend of helping fellow teammates is evident at Valley Christian, Hanzel said.

According to WestGroup, which conducted the survey for Barrow, 169 of the 304 students play sports, the other 135 don’t. Students who don’t participate in sports are not required to take the Brainbook module. The survey also showed that 61 percent of the students are more aware of concussions now than they were a few years ago.

“I have noticed a big change in awareness,” Hanzel said. “Kids are becoming more informed from the media and the Brainbook program.”

Perry High School football coach Preston Jones said the numbers from the survey didn’t surprise him. e athletic trainer at Perry discusses concussions with players, he said, and all their athletes take the Brainbook module.

e margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points at 95 percent confidence for the full sample of 304 teens. e margin among the 169 athletes is 7.5 percentage points.

Barrow has conducted previous concussion surveys, Malkovich said, but this is the first time students were polled. It may become an annual survey, she said, but that hasn’t yet been determined. is survey was conducted online in June.

– Contact reporter Shelley Ridenour at 480-8986533 or sridenour@timespublications.com. – Comment on this story and like

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Teachers learn to ‘Stop the Bleeding’ in a crisis situation

BY JIM WALSH TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Educators were plunged into a different world as a trauma surgeon flashed disturbing pictures of bleeding patients on a screen during a presentation recently at Liberty Arts Academy, a southeast Mesa charter school.

Dr. Sydney Vail’s message was powerful but simple. If the unthinkable happens, don’t scream, don’t get hung up on procedures. Focus on the wound. Do everything possible to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible, and then call 911.

“It used to be that this was protected, hallowed ground. It’s not anymore,” Vail said, speaking about schools. “Just having common sense and a few resources can make a big difference in people living or dying.”

Vail now serves as the director of trauma surgery at Maricopa Medical Center, but in 2007, he was a surgeon at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in southwestern Virginia. He said he treated three victims who were shot in

the head during one of the United States’ most infamous mass casualty shootings, at Virginia Tech.

Thirty-three victims died that day, and 23 more were wounded. One of the victims he treated died after she was shot in her dormitory. Two others who were shot in the head in a classroom building survived.

“The faster we can stop the bleeding, the better the chances for survival,” Vail said.

He told 18 staff members at the training session that national statistics show it typically takes police about six minutes to arrive and four minutes for firefighters to arrive at an emergency call. He noted that it was civilians who were attending the Boston Marathon who took action to help victims of a terrorist bombing.

Two bombs went off near the race’s finish line on April 15, 2013, killing three people and wounding at least 264. Vail said the actions of bystanders to staunch the bleeding almost certainly saved lives and lessened injuries.

“Police aren’t going to be there first,

you are,” Vail told the teachers. “You have to figure out how to make the best of what you’ve got.”

Vail and others showed the teachers how to use tourniquets and Quik Clot gauze, which is treated with a substance derived from clay to stop bleeding within three to five minutes. They are the same gauze rolls and pads used by the military and by paramedics.

Now, they will be available to teachers in a supply cabinet at Liberty, thanks to a donation by Manny Montoya, a parent at Liberty who works for the manufacturer, Z-Medica.

It was the first training session Vail has presented at a school and is part of the federal “Stop the Bleeding” campaign, launched after a slew of campus shootings that has staggered the nation.

Roz Schoppet, special education coordinator at Liberty, learned how to use a tourniquet during a training session after Vail’s presentation. Vail told her and other educators to put the tourniquet high up on shooting victim’s arm or leg and to wrap it tight to stop the bleeding.

A tourniquet will last for about two hours, Vail said, buying the patient time for police and firefighters to arrive and to get victims to a trauma center for treatment.

“It wouldn’t bother me at all. I had never used a tourniquet before,” Schoppet said.

Schoppet and Jessica Hansen, a specialneeds coach who instructs teachers, said they focus on their students every day and are not preoccupied with the possibility of a shooting. The reality of the threat from a potential campus shooting only enters their minds when another campus shooting occurs elsewhere and they read or see media reports.

“We can’t live in fear,” Hansen said. “We know we create a safe place for students every day. It’s one more thing we can do to keep the students safe.”

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

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

ASU researcher applauds new federal rule on antibacterial soaps

BY GAVIN MAXWELL CRONKITE NEWS

Arizona State University researcher Rolf Halden has been warning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the dangers of ingredients found in antibacterial soaps for more than a decade.

His research focuses on how manmade pollutants found in personal care products seep into our natural resources and, eventually, our bodies. He said the FDA has been slow to react to the recommendations of environmental scientists, but the agency has finally taken action.

e FDA issued its ruling on the safety and effectiveness of soaps and washes containing certain antibacterial chemicals on Sept. 2. e ruling effectively bans 19 chemical compounds from the popular over-the-counter products.

Halden, the director of the Center for Environmental Security at the Biodesign Institute, called it a “public health victory.”

e FDA’s announcement states that companies can no longer market antibacterial washes containing these ingredients because manufacturers failed to demonstrate that the chemicals are safe for long-term daily use and more effective than regular soap and water in preventing illness. e FDA explained that some research shows long-term exposure to these ingredients, such as triclosan and triclocarban—the most common of the 19 chemicals used—can be harmful to public health.

Hand-washing products containing these chemicals go down drains and into water treatment plants, where a considerable amount ends up in our groundwater supply, according to Halden’s research. e chemicals re-enter homes in drinking and bath water. In 2004, Halden and a team of researchers discovered triclocarban pollution in metropolitan areas across the nation.

“(Triclosan and triclocarban) are among the most abundant man-made pollutants. ey are present everywhere, in our drinking water, urine, blood, breast milk and in newborns,” Halden said.

e prevalence of these toxins across the U.S. is due to their popularity among manufacturers. ey have been popular additives to products for more than 40 years.

“Right now, the market consists of over 2,100 products, and the vast majority of which contain one of the 19 active ingredients,” said Andrea Fischer of the FDA.

Potential health risks include bacterial resistance, hormonal imbalances and increased chance of cancer, according to Halden’s research. Fischer said the FDA’s ruling sends a message that the potential health consequences of these ingredients outweigh the benefits.

companies have not been able to produce enough scientific evidence to convince the FDA of their claims, Fischer said. Meanwhile, some manufacturers are ahead of the FDA’s new regulation. She said two major manufacturers, Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, announced on their websites that they would phase out triclosan in their antibacterial products prior to the ruling.

All manufacturers have one year to comply with the FDA’s new regulation. FDA officials said they hope the rule will curtail the level of toxins across the country.

However, some manufacturers claim these ingredients help to kill more bacteria than regular soap. ese

“I certainly can say we detect (the 19 chemicals) wherever we look, and that includes here in Arizona. is ruling will have a local effect in limiting pollutants,” Halden said.

Serrano’s restaurant helps DePaul Society feed homeless in Mesa

Homeless people who relied on lunch from St. Vincent de Paul’s dining hall never missed a meal when it was gutted by a fire July 4.

Nor have they missed the monthly meal that Serrano’s Mexican Food restaurant has been providing for the last 13 years.

No one was injured in the blaze, which started at about 4:30 a.m. Independence Day in the ceiling of the hall, Broadway Road and S. MacDonald Street. Immediately after the blaze, Paz de Cristo stepped up and opened its community center, 424 W. Broadway Road, Mesa, to serve meals from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

The average 300 homeless people who rely on St. Vincent de Paul will continue eating there until the society’s hall reopens, probably in November, spokeswoman Esther Martinez said.

And they’ll continue enjoying the free catered meal provided by Serrano’s, which also purchased large floor coolers to keep guests comfortable while they eat in Paz’s outdoor patio.

“Running a successful business wasn’t the only mission of the Serrano family,” Martinez explained. “Coming from

a strong faith-based background, the family has always greatly valued giving back.

“The red bracelets that each family member wears inscribed with ‘Faith, Family, Food’ attests to this belief.”

So, the Serrano family’s siblings and staff bring freshly made tortillas, meat, beans, rice and house-made salsa for the homeless at the DePaul Society’s hall.

Serrano’s has been an East Valley fixture since 1919, when the family, originally from Sonora, Mexico, heard about a new town north of Tucson that was beginning to prosper. They moved to Chandler and set up a clothing store.

Ernie and Eva Serrano then changed their business to a restaurant in the 1970s.

“Mom was a great cook,” said the couple’s daughter, Theresa, among eight siblings who now run the five restaurants.

“She always cooked huge meals for the entire family, and we had wonderful recipes on both sides of the family.”

She said the family’s service to the homeless is part of the family’s tradition.

“Giving back is huge for us. It’s what we are. And it’s what we were taught growing up. There are so many people out there without food. And that’s our

(Facebook/Special to the Tribune)

business—food,” Theresa Serrano said.

Added her brother Ernie: “We were blessed and we felt like we needed to give back. Not having a plan in mind, we called St. Vincent de Paul.”

He said he and his siblings feel “like family” with the society’s staff and the people they serve.

Volunteers can sign up to help serve lunch. For information, go to stvincentdepaul.net/volunteer or call 602-261-6886.

Beloved Zia Records owner dies of stroke, brain hemorrhage

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GETOUT/TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Zia Records owner and vice president Brian Faber died Sept. 4 of a stroke and brain hemorrhage.

He was 45.

Zia released a statement saying he passed away surrounded by his wife, family and friends.

“Brian was full of boundless energy and he worked hard to continue the long legacy of Zia Records,” the statement said.

“With Brian at the helm, Zia Records expanded and grew. His enthusiasm, wit, love of people and vision helped fuel

our company. He believed in people. He inspired us to believe in ourselves.”

The statement listed one of Faber’s favorite quotes, by Carl Sagan.

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

“In Brian, we saw how that fearless curiosity and desire to learn guided a life,” the statement read. “We were privileged to know Brian, and will miss him more than words convey.”

Tributes to Faber have poured in to Facebook.

Details of a memorial service and fund will be shared soon.

The family requests privacy.

Twins overtake Banner Desert hospital: 9 sets arrive in 3 days

BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR

TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Adouble take?

Fahgettaboudit. Try nine double takes.

That’s what medical personnel at Banner Desert Medical Center found themselves doing a couple of weeks ago.

In three days, nine sets of twins were born at the Mesa hospital—arriving between Aug. 31 and Sept. 2.

All the double births were expected by the parents. But, the nine sets of parents and newborns were not expected all at once by the hospital staffers. None of the moms had been scheduled for delivery during those three days.

“All of these twins took us by surprise,”

Registered Nurse Sara Horton said. “Most of the moms trickled into the hospital, already laboring.”

Twins often arrive early, and nearly all of these did, but none “too early,” she said.

The dynamics in the delivery rooms change fast for the hospital employees to accommodate all the extra babies.

“It’s busy for all of us, but fun,” Horton said. “We delivered a kindergarten class of just twins in the last three days.”

And, it wasn’t just twins in the ward that week. About 38 babies were born in that three-day stretch, the other 20 arriving as single births.

Often, Banner Desert will have one or two sets of newborn twins in the hospital at the same time, but none of the nurses could recall ever having nine sets at once.

“It’s a huge blessing to be part of all these

kids’ birth adventures,” Horton said.

Keeping with norms, eight sets were fraternal twins, with just one set of

identical twin boys delivered. The mix included six sets of fraternal boy-girl twins; one set of fraternal twin girls and

two sets of twin boys—one identical and one fraternal.

Statistics show that most twins are fraternal, not identical, Horton said.

The babies hail from throughout the Valley and Pinal County. At least one new father is a twin himself. Michael Walsh and Destiny Kerr of Florence are parents of the identical twin boys— Brayden and Jaxson, born at 7:35 a.m. and 7:38 a.m. Sept. 2. Michael has a twin sister, born a few minutes before him. And, by the way, she’s pregnant now. Not with twins, however, he said.

Jaxson weighed 3 pounds, 3 ounces, and is spending some time in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“He’s good,” dad Michael said, “he’s just too small and needs help breathing.” Brayden weighed 4 pounds, 13 ounces. They arrived about two weeks early.

Destiny and Michael have a 2-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.

“We’ve gone from a 3-bedroom house to a 5-bedroom one really fast,” Michael said, with a laugh.

The parents expect life to be a bit overwhelming for a while, but are hopeful the twin boys will get into the same routine and schedule, making things easier.

And, one grandma, Michael’s mom, already flew in to help, with Destiny’s mom planning to arrive later to pitch in, they said.

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

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

Speakers series in Chandler looks at Beatles, Ghost Riders and big bands

Chandler’s Our Stories Speaker Series, ongoing multimedia presentations of the city’s and Arizona’s history, will have three free public shows this fall.

Presented by Chandler Museum, Chandler Public Library and the Chandler Historical Society, the series features first-person accounts by guest speakers that include demonstrations, music and other special attractions.

“Each of us remembers times in our lives when we heard a song on

the radio, at a live show or around a campfire,” said Chandler Museum

Administrator Jody Crago. “The fall speaker series explores some of the most well-known music and songs in American history, as well as songs that aren’t as well-known performed by singers we all recognize.”

The first installment, “From Liverpool to Abbey Road,” is at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Chandler Sunset Library, 4930 W. Ray Road. It features the history of the Beatles and their influence on society by local rock historian Vincent Bruno, who also will discuss the excitement of

Beatlemania and each band member’s post-Beatles work.

Sunset Library also will host “Ghost Riders in the Sky: The Story and Songs of Stan Jones” at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 27. Speakers Michael Ward and Keeter Stuart delve into the life and music of western songwriter Stan Jones.

An Arizona native, Jones wrote classic cowboy songs such as “Cowpoke” and “Burro Lullaby.” His most famous song, “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” has been performed by Johnny Cash, The Outlaws and many more. Keeter Stuart, the great-nephew of Jones, will perform

classic western songs his uncle wrote. On Oct. 29, Chandler Basha Library, 5990 S. Val Vista Drive, presents “Swing into History” at 10:30 a.m. with speaker and music historian Erik Larson discussing the influence and legacy of big band music and musicians such as Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald.

Larson also will play recordings from his personal collection and share historical trivia.

No registration is required. For information, call 480-782-2751 or go to chandlermuseum.org.

Store has new, high-tech way to save dunked phones

BY RACHEL EROH TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Anew technology at Verizon TCC stores is so good, a spokesman says, not only will it save a wet phone, “it’ll blow the customers’ socks off.”

Redux, a new drying technology, is featured at all Verizon TCC stores. The Mesa location at 6555 E. Southern Ave., Suite H15, now has one, too.

The Redux machine is the size of a shoebox and uses a vacuum chamber to lower the boiling point of water and safely eliminate all moisture trapped within a phone. In layman’s terms, the machine revives the phone to its previous glory.

Before Redux, James Shrake, the business development manager at TCC, has delivered the bad news about customers’ water-damaged phones.

“I’ve had to tell hundreds of customers ‘I’m sorry, your data is gone,’” Shrake said.

The Redux machine can save contacts, messages and photos in a process that takes less than one hour. It has even been recovered devices from more than just water damage; the Redux has also saved phones from tomato soup, Windex, sweet tea, red wine and beer.

“There hasn’t been a liquid yet that we haven’t been able to remove,” Shrake said.

Inspiration hit co-founder Joel Trusty when his wife put her phone through a cycle in the washing machine. Instead of employing the trusty bucket of uncooked

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

EAST VALLEY

Goodwill centers hosting hiring fairs this month

Goodwill of Central Arizona will conduct several hiring fairs this month. A few events will take place in the East Valley this week.

The first is Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the McKellips Goodwill Career Center, 106 E. McKellips Road in Mesa. Wednesday, events are scheduled for the McClintock Career Center at 1546 E. Southern Ave. in Tempe, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Also that day, McKellips Career Center will host from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Job seekers should bring copies of their resume and should dress professionally. For more information, go to goodwillaz. org/events/category/job-fairs.

rice, Trusty knew he could save the phone his own way. He enlisted his friend and neighbor, Reuben Zielinski, for help. Together, they created the Redux machine.

The cost for a drying treatment ranges from $50 for a basic phone to $90 for a smartphone, along with a $10 diagnostic fee. If the phone is beyond repair, the only charge is the diagnostic fee.

Redux also offers a membership program to Verizon customers for $29.99, which includes two recoveries of a device for two years.

There is also a discount for customers who have insurance on their phone, which cuts the price to $50 for a smartphone and $20 for a basic, plus the diagnostic fee.

Jesse Schromen, the sales market manager for TCC, had to use the machine on his own phone three weeks ago. Now it’s working perfectly, he said.

“We could sell you a new phone for $800 or we could dry your phone for $50 to $90 and save all your data and pictures,” Schromen said.

The machine has even been able to save other electronics such as hearing aids, digital cameras, flash drives, Bluetooth headsets and portable gaming systems.

Shrake stressed the proper steps for saving a set phone. First, do not plug it in to an outlet. Turn off the device right away and remove the battery if possible. And let the Redux machine do the hard work.

Fire cadet program deadline is this week

The East Valley Regional Cadet program is launching in October and will run through May.

The Mesa, Superstition, Queen Creek and Chandler fire departments are running the program open to youth 14-18 years old.

The application is at mesaaz.gov, and must be completed and dropped of by tomorrow at the Fire Administration Office, 13 W. First St. For more information, contact Capt. Joe Garcia at joseph.garcia@sfmd.az.gov or call 480-982-4440.

MD, FACS

Now scheduling appointments at our Chandler, Gilbert & Mesa Locations

We are pleased to announce the opening of the Ironwood Breast Centers, delivering comprehensive care of malignant and benign diseases of the breast. Dr. Cashman and Dr. Champagne have extensive experience in breast surgical oncology and treatment of malignant and benign diseases of the breast. Our multidisciplinary team approach includes surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, social service support, nutritionist, integrative services, and genetic counseling.

To schedule an appointment please call 480-792-6006. www.ironwoodcrc.com

Tempe shop lets riders build their own bikes, skateboards

BY ADRIANA BECERRA TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Crazy designs, every color imaginable, twinkling lights and a gumball machine.

This is what you first see walking into State Rideshop, a new bicycle shop that opened in Tempe on Aug. 1.

Behind the explosion of color are rows and rows of bicycles, skateboards, long boards, penny boards, bike accessories and apparel.

State Rideshop is a full-service bike, board and repair shop. Owners Mehdi Farsi, Reza Farsi and Eric Ferguson opened the shop after realizing there weren’t any shops catering to college students.

The energizing vibe is perfect for college students, the store’s main demographic. Ferguson said they wanted to be as close to Arizona State University’s Tempe campus as possible.

Students aren’t the only ones taking advantage of what State Rideshop has to offer, though.

“There’s nothing better than to get on your bike or your long board and just like riding around the neighborhood and getting some exercise or getting outside or chasing the kids,” said Ferguson.

“ We know our customers, we know what they want, and we’ve selected the product that kind of matches that ”

“There really wasn’t any like cool places with cool products and so I think it really just seemed starved for what we’re doing,” Ferguson said.

What they’re doing is attempting to strip the intimidation factor of bike shops.

Farsi explained that skate shops typically are emerged in a skateboard culture that can be intimidating to the casual customer looking for a bike. State Rideshop wants to cater to that casual customer.

“We know our customers, we know what they want, and we’ve selected the product that kind of matches that,” said Mehdi Farsi.

There’s nothing intimidating walking into State Rideshop.

An open space, an impressive beer barrel stereo system, charging stations, and monitors playing various skate movies, these quirks make the space fun but laid back. Ferguson said this is attributed to emulating surf shops.

“The feel of your surfing communities, your beach communities is a more pleasant feel. I think it’s more relaxed, I think it’s more fun,” explained Ferguson.

State Rideshop

922 Apache Blvd, Tempe, (602) 253-4653

State Rideshop is not the only project for the trio. In 2009, Reza and Mehdi Farsi and Ferguson opened State Bicycle, a manufacturer, distributor and retailer of bicycles.

It grew from a little warehouse in Tempe to selling bikes online across the world. Farsi said it’s amazing to see a bike sold across the globe, but he finds it more thrilling to see this happen in person.

“It’s a whole different experience when we’re in the shop and people come in and we see their reaction the first time they see the bikes,” said Mehdi Farsi, “That’s what makes it exciting.”

Carter Mitchell, employee at State Rideshop, agrees.

“It’s like they’re buying a car for the first time. It’s really cool to see that emotion,” Mitchell said, “We’re here for the customers, not for the bikes.”

The store prides itself on working with customers no matter what type of bike or board they have, their riding level, or their problem. State Rideshop vows to work it out.

“We’re problem solvers here,” Ferguson explained.

This is evident with the store’s “BYOB” packaged. Customers are encouraged to “Build Your Own Bike/Board” by mixing and matching colors, wheels and patterns to build a completely customizable creation.

Helping people purchase the right bicycle, board, accessories and apparel is the fundamental reason Reza and Mehdi Farsi and Ferguson opened State Rideshop.

“This is what we like, this is what we love, this is what we do,” said Ferguson.

MESA

Mesa fire chief named winner of national honor

Chief Harry Beck of the Mesa Fire and Medical Department was named the Fire Chief of the year at a ceremony in San Antonio.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs made the announcement. Beck has been with the department for more than 40 years.

Dobson Ranch Park playground to be redone

Dobson Ranch Park’s 20-year-old playground is to be renovated with new inclusive features.

The new swings, zip lines and other pieces are tailored to children with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities. The renovation will cost Mesa $700,000. The playground already had met the basics requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

CHANDLER Chandler seeks vendors for Chuck Wagon Cook-off

Chandler is seeking merchandise and food vendors whose products include local, historic and Old West elements, as well as Western artists, for the seventh annual Chandler Chuck Wagon Cook-off. The event, held by Chandler Museum and Pardners of Tumbleweed Ranch, will take place at Tumbleweed Ranch on Nov. 12.

The cook-off requires competitors to cook at chuck wagons, preparing a five course meal authentic to 1880s cattle drives.

Vendors can find applications online at chandleraz.gov/chuckwagon or by calling 480-782-2751. Vendor applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Sept. 23.

Chandler Library awarded $11,050 for wartime programs

The Chandler Public Library will present a series of programs on the American experience during wartime. The programs are made possible by a $11,050 grant from the Arizona State Library. The “America in Times of Conflict” series begins in November and continues through April 2017. It will include panel discussions, lectures,

oral histories, exhibits and movies.

For more information, call 480-7822800 or go to chandlerlibrary.org.

TEMPE

ASU announces 13 new online degree programs

Arizona State University has expanded its online undergraduate and graduate degree programs to 110 total by adding 13 new programs.

The undergraduate programs include Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Tourism and Business Administration; and Bachelor of Science degrees in Community Health, Nutrition – Food and Nutrition Management, Health Care Coordination, Business Data Analytics, Marketing, Management and Psychology. New graduate programs include a Master of Education in Educational Technology, a Master in Nonprofit Leadership and Management, a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Analytics in Higher Education and a Graduate Certificate in the Science of Health Care Delivery.

Enrollment for these programs is now open for the Fall B semester, starting October 2016.

For more information, go to asuonline. asu.edu.

Startup School will teach basics of a new business

ASU Startup School, a free business and startup training course, begins Tuesday and runs through Oct. 25 at Mesa THINKspot, 635 N. Power Road. The courses are 5:45 to 7:30 p.m.

Participants will be taught how to develop a successful venture, present to the market and understand customers.

The course is free but registration is required as space is limited to 40 students.

To register, visit events.mesalibrary. org and register for the Tuesday. This will enroll you for all six sessions.

Memory Café to open for those with Alzheimer’s

Tempe and the Banner Health Alzheimer’s Institute will open the Memory Café on Wednesday at the Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road.

The café is meant for people living with memory loss and their caregivers.

From 9 a.m. to noon, the weekly café will be a comfortable, safe and engaging place to meet with others dealing with memory loss, remain socially active and get connected to programs and resources.

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ TRIBUNE COLUMNIST

The emotional imprint has faded after 15 years, the raging sense of fury coupled with desolate loss. Still, the mental images from that day seem fresh: Staring at CNN near sunrise on a Tuesday, the 11th day of September 2001, and watching the World Trade Center towers tumble down.

The pictures of that day have come to feel like tattoos now, permanent, an iconic reminder of a specific event, certain people, a precise moment in time. This morning, 15 years to the day, the networks will rerun their 9/11 news footage, but journalistic reminders are almost unnecessary: We all remember where we were at that moment. We all can close our eyes and reimagine those hijacked jetliners tearing apart the

During the 9/11 anniversary, simply remembering isn’t enough Government keeps making more promises it can’t hope to fulfill

BY TOM PATTERSON TRIBUNE GUEST WRITER

America’s public pension systems are poised to bring bitter disappointment to millions who are depending on them for a financially secure retirement. As the baby boomers surge into their golden years, 41 percent in the age bracket 55 to 64 have zero retirement assets, clearly depending on someone else to provide for them. They’re going to find that irresponsible politicians, union bosses and actuaries have neglected to fund the promises that have been made. For government workers, politicians at all levels have the same goals when designing pension systems. They want to provide the most generous benefits possible for employees who, until recently anyway, were paid less salary than private-sector counterparts. But they don’t want to have to raise taxes.

Union officers prove their mettle to the rank-and-file by successfully negotiating for outsize benefits with early eligibility,

buildings, the shower of the debris, the fireball, the noxious cloud of ash eclipsing the streets of New York. We can see the Pentagon burning. We can visualize the tail of an airplane, United Flight 93, come to rest amid the scorched earth of a Pennsylvania countryside.

Which leads me to certain questions appropriate for this anniversary morning, 15 years to the day: Like, is simply remembering enough? Or is a memory not attached to significant action, to feelings sufficient to motivate us, nothing more than a grim photograph? And finally: Have we done enough to honor the dead of September 11th?

That day, the president of the United States, George W. Bush, eloquently summed up the moment in the form of a promise: “This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace,” W. told us. “America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this

time. None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.”

Go forward, we did. We flew the Stars and Stripes from our cars and trucks and porches. We donated money, blood and time. Some of us, the best of us, enlisted and went off to war. The rest of us put aside petty political fights and partisan bickering for a time. In the face of unimaginable evil, we functioned as united states, not just the United States.

Now, it’s 15 years later. Could that sense of unity be any further in the distant past?

We have raised a Freedom Tower on the site in New York City, created monuments and museums, made movies and dozens of hours of documentaries. We have new airport security procedures, new rules for immigration, a “new normal” created by a new journalistic and political cliché—“the war on terror,” which we as a nation appear destined to

fight in perpetuity.

For all that activity since September 11th, all the congressional reports and commemorations, all the political speeches, all the missions accomplished, all the terrorists killed—even Osama bin Laden, the mastermind—what’s left 15 years later is a lingering sense that perhaps we missed a moment, a chance to learn from the most hideous history lesson ever perpetrated on American soil.

I’ve heard it suggested that we need to make this day, 9/11, a holiday, a national day of remembrance, a day of mourning and respect. I respectfully disagree. We don’t need to pause and reflect. We don’t need more parades, more speeches. We don’t need one more day off work. We need the opposite of that. We need to go back to work. We need to go forward. We need to be worthy of that list of 3,000 Americans dead.

minimal or no employee contributions and ample opportunity to further increase payouts with pension spiking.

To the union bosses, paying for the largess is someone else’s problem.

There’s a solution for this mismatch of champagne tastes and a beer budget.

Simply jack up your projected rate of return on investment funds to make it appear that future promises to pay are

The result is that government funds use an average projected rate of 7.6 percent for their portfolios, well above the performance achieved by conservatively managed retirement funds. Even using those rosy projections, government-funded government pension funds are about $1 trillion underfunded. If they used the more realistic risk-free rate, the funding shortfall would be about $3 trillion.

“ American taxpayers are pretty sturdy … but there are limits to what they can endure. Some dark clouds are out there. ”

adequately funded even if they’re not.

You may think this unethical for the actuaries who authorize the projections, but it’s all perfectly legal. Due to a glitch in the law that defies logic, private-sector pensions must project asset growth using a “risk-free” rate based on the yield of U.S. Treasuries, while government pensions can use pretty much whatever rates they can get an actuary to approve.

The justification for the discrepancy between private and public projected returns is that governments are the ultimate too-big-to-fail guarantor of investment benefits. Unions are happy to go along with the ruse, in the belief that taxpayers can always be squeezed a little more when necessary to make up for shortfalls.

But the ability of taxpayers to bail out troubled pension plans may be coming

into question. American taxpayers are pretty sturdy, especially when not bogged down by excessive taxation and regulation, but there are limits to what they can endure. Some dark clouds are out there.

Most of us are aware that the federal debt is now up to $19 trillion, a potentially threatening range. Obama’s response on his way out has been, rather than even a token reduction, a 35 percent increase in this year’s deficit, piling an additional $590 billion onto the burden that taxpayers downstream must bear. But taxpayers are also being required to shoulder additional responsibilities. Since the Feds took over student loans, taxpayers are on the hook for all defaults and deferments, totaling hundreds of billions.

Since the 2008 housing crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now provide explicit guarantees for home mortgages. That’s a taxpayer tab of $150 billion yearly according to Moody Analytics.

In another housing crisis, taxpayers’ exposure would be from $300 billion to $600 billion.

Medical care costs, especially the parts paid for by taxpayers, are going through the roof under Obamacare, especially the provision that expanded Medicaid well into the middle class. Unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare are simply astronomical. Many private pension plans are underwater also, so unions are trying to muscle into line for a federal bailout. And Social Security, the granddaddy of federal

pensions, doesn’t have any invested funds at all. Instead, it operates like a Ponzi scheme with current beneficiaries paid from workers’ contributions. So subsidized private and public pensions, Social Security, student loans, housing finance and medical care are all morphing into middle-class entitlements. The Leviathan state seeps into more corners of our lives, giving each of us the impression that someone else is going to pay for our stuff. Instead, we become more dependent and impoverished.

– East Valley resident Tom Patterson is a retired physician and former state senator. He can be reached at pattersontomc@cox.net.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Concern over Hillary’s memory loss?

Should we start being worried about Hillary’s health?

Transcripts of her FBI interview concerning her “extremely careless” (FBI Director Comey’s words) handling of classified— including “eyes only” top secret—information reveal that the former secretary of state answered questions about her conduct 30-40 times with “I can’t remember.” She also told them that, due to her concussion in December 2012, she was fuzzy on details of some meetings she attended while recovering.

Some of the “non-remembered” events, however, occurred in 2009 as she prepared to take the reins at the State Department. She didn’t remember getting briefed on proper handling of classified material, or of the legal consequences for failure to do so. She didn’t remember being briefed on how to recognize such material. Nor does she remember signing the legal document swearing, under perjury law, that she had been briefed. That memory loss might explain why Director Comey felt that setting of the private server “for convenience” didn’t prove intent to break the law because she couldn’t remember that it was a crime. She also couldn’t remember the circumstances surrounding her decision to set up a private server for communication of government business instead of using the U.S. government-supplied system. She did suddenly remember that she had used some 13 different phone devices and 5 tablets instead of just the single device she had “misremembered” while explaining to the American public about the server—for convenience. She also “misremembered” either when she told a congressional investigating committee that she “certainly knew” how to recognize classified material or when she told the FBI she thought the “C” on such documents was for alphabetizing rather than indicating “Classified.” It’s not clear in which instance her memory failed her. So should we fear for her mental health? Are these “in and out” memory functions indicative of early-stage Alzheimer disease or dementia? Could the concussion in 2012 have made it worse? She was, after all, diagnosed with “traumatic brain injury” such as NFL players and boxers incur. Clinton defenders say (she hasn’t faced questioning at a press conference in over 9 months) she believes all the emails should be made public because she is the most “transparent” secretary

of state ever to hold the office—which makes it odd that the private server was used in the first place. Or could the problem be something more genetic—such as “Clintonitus,” better known as “congenital liar syndrome.”

We may never know because the released documents show that very few follow-up questions were asked by her FBI interviewers in what had to be the poorest criminal investigation interrogation ever conducted. She may as well have been interviewed by Chris Mathews on MSNBC. Chris wouldn’t have been available, however, as he still suffers the “shivers down his leg” from covering President Obama’s campaign.

– Jim Barber – Mesa

We can do better than Douglas

Superintendent Diane Douglas continues to prove that she is not a leader for Arizona. She is certainly not a leader for Arizona students, their parents and their teachers.

Over the last several years, she has not proposed anything that would improve Arizona public schools. She continues to show her disdain. Now, no one really cares who she supports and it’s rather obvious, but once again she flouts her “perceived power” by showing her support for Donald Trump using a government-funded account.

And of course we all know that comparisons will be made. And yes, I understand that no “secrets” were potentially exposed. But Diane Douglas continues to show she has no willingness to understand or do the job that she was elected to do. Her actions continue to be petty and vindictive. Arizona schools, their children and their teachers deserve better.

– Kristine Tolman – Mesa

Just one word for the candidates

Business Business

Tempe’s Changing Hands is more than a bookstore to readers

BY JENNIFER HAALAND TRIBUNE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Wherever Changing Hands is, becomes the center of Tempe,” says the independent bookstore’s longtime customer Barbara Colby. “It was true when they were on Mill and it’s true today about the corner of Guadalupe and McClintock.”

Since Changing Hands Bookstore opened its doors near campus 43 years ago, Colby, an ASU faculty member and watercolor artist, has evolved right alongside the retail community beacon. In that time, it’s become hard to separate the life of the store from the lives of its patrons.

Founding owners Gayle Shanks and Bob Sommer set the business up in 1974 as an independent used bookstore that could help find rare or out-of-print editions while serving as a community meeting hub. Though it’s outgrown numerous expansions, become rated among the top indie bookstores in the country and hosted hundreds of celebrity and famous author events, it’s stayed true to its humble beginnings. Especially the real lives and unique readers who come looking for answers.

“I love our customers because they’re actively seeking a better life, looking to know more,” says assistant manager Joel Magruder. “My proudest moments here involve drawing a crowd of people to engage about a potentially sensitive issue.”

From book clubs to poetry roundtables to writing workshops and craft fairs, Changing Hands Bookstore is a neighborhood gathering space with Valley wide reach. Game nights, volunteer orientations, sketching classes and gardening discussions are among the endless special interests they host.

Proud of their longevity and the stability they’ve provided the community, co-owner Shanks sits in her shoebox of an office piled high with advance copies of next season’s books and lined with posters of inspirational authors’ quotes.

Legacy Business

This is a continuing series of stories highlighting longtime East Valley businesses.

If you know of a Legacy Business, contact rzubiate@timespublications. com.

“Books are the building blocks that we are talking about. They hold the ideas of our culture,” she says. “People are figuring out how their worlds work while reading percolates inside their brains. As a bookseller all these many years, I just know that books change lives.”

Changes at Changing Hands

Those books have altered the company’s course, too. Shanks zeroes in on three major changes. Most recently, they established a sister store in 2014 just off the light rail in downtown Phoenix. It includes First Draft Book Bar for coffee, spirits or cocoa, along with extra dedicated event space. Secondly, their few original owneremployees have grown to 60 employeepartners, each of whom Shanks has a personal hand in training.

The third enormous pillar is the ever-

increasing, impressive list of visiting authors. Gloria Steinem and Jamie Lee Curtis are two of many this month, while Jimmy Carter, Ozzy Osbourne, Isabelle Allende and Barack Obama are a few big names in seasons past.

“We have a minimum of one event, oftentimes two or three every single day of the year,” Shanks says.

Catalysts for change

Culture shifts that felt shaky at the time have also ultimately contributed to Changing Hands’ thriving community niche. For instance, Shanks was disheartened when big box stores and national chains started overtaking downtown Tempe. It prompted the store’s move off of Mill “into the suburbs” at McClintock and Guadalupe in early 2000.

“I always said I didn’t think I wanted to do that, and then it turned out to be one of the best moves we ever made,” Shanks reflects. “Our kid section when we began was about a quarter of the size it is now. We just had to keep expanding.”

She goes on to describe the “pierced” teens who “read like crazy,” buses that drop off special-needs clients, story-time

Coffee house goes back to the source for beans: the family farm in Brazil

BY JIM WALSH TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Growing up in a small town in southeastern Brazil, Julia Peixoto Peters never imagined that she would quit her job as an attorney, convince her husband to quit his dream job as an aerospace engineer, and return to her roots.

Peixoto Peters never liked going to the family’s coffee farm, which dates to her great-grandfather planting the trees in the late 1800s. She grew up in Batatais, Brazil, a short distance from the farm. She wanted to go to the beach and to more glamorous big cities that were hours away.

But when Nelson Peixoto, her grandfather, passed away in 2012 at age 91, Peixoto Peters started to think about her family’s legacy. Her grandfather and her father, Jose Augusto Peixoto, had labored on the farm for decades. Her father, a retired physician, is now 70 and has suffered two heart attacks.

So Peixoto Peters, 37, and her husband, Jeff, 38, quit their jobs, dipped into their savings and opened Peixoto, a trendy downtown Chandler coffee shop not far from the San Marcos Hotel and Chandler City Hall, 18 months ago.

Their Arabica coffee beans come straight from the family farm. They also sell the beans as part of a wholesale business to delis, restaurants, even hightech companies that want to treat their employees to top quality specialty coffee. No, it’s not a catchy name, Peixtoto, but in this case, it says it all. With such a rich family history, any other name would not do. Jeff Peters thought he was being clever when he spelled out the name phonetically on the company’s logo, “Pay” “Sho” “Tow.”

“It’s a big deal,” Peixoto Peters said, when asked about her family’s legacy.

“It’s something I never thought I would be responsible for. For the longest time, I was not involved in the family business.

“Eventually, our family legacy would have disappeared if I didn’t do something about it. It’s our family name. That’s what I am carrying forward.”

The farm covers 600 acres, a modest size for Brazil, one of the world’s top coffee producing countries. In a good year, it produces about 2,000, 132-pound burlap bags of coffee beans.

Her father tells stories of planting trees when he was 5 years old and taking the beans to market on a mule. The farm, known as Sao Jose da Boa Vista, sits on a 4,000-foot high plateau with a view of the Rio Grande River.

“I didn’t see the beauty in it until I was here,” Peixoto Peters said. “You don’t know what you have until you don’t

perk up their bottom line.

have it anymore.”

But there have been a lot of bad years, either due to sagging wholesale coffee prices or poor weather and disappointing crops. That was why Peixoto Peters said her family encouraged her when she was younger to get an education and to go into some other line of work.

She studied law in Brazil and eventually graduated from the University of Arizona’s law school. She went to work for DHL, a German-owned delivery company, while her husband, Jeff, who grew up in Michigan wanting to become a rocket engineer, actually achieved his goal by working for Orbital Science in Chandler.

Jeff Peters said he always loved his job, but Julia, also the mother of their 5- and 6-year-old children, did not love her job and sort of knew something was missing.

“I did law for awhile but it was not my passion,” Peixoto Peters said. “I had this drive, this compelling thing inside me,” to

open a unique, locally-owned coffee shop.

“My dad had this product but could not make ends meet,” she said. “I always knew there might be a better way for him to sell his coffee. We plowed all of our time, savings and energy into this.”

That’s why Julia and Jeff turned down an offer to move their business or start another shop in north Scottsdale. They don’t want to turn into another Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, with a standard taste and menu.

“We have no interest in outside investments,” Jeff Peters said. “We want to make specialty coffees available to everyone.”

As part of his transformation from rock engineer to coffee entrepreneur, Jeff Peters bought a giant coffee roaster and customized it, using his knowledge of electronics to create a series of flavor profiles designed to enhance the natural taste of the beans.

Their coffee typically is described as having notes of chocolate, peanut or hazelnut. It doesn’t taste like an average cup of coffee, and that’s the point, Jeff Peters said. He is trying to separate Peixoto from hundreds of other coffee houses.

Jeff Peters said coffee should never be acidic, and his roast is light to medium in texture. Each latte served at Peixoto comes with a design on the top that resembles a work of art. It usually resembles a tulip. It turns out tulips are popular in southern Brazil.

The tulip is more than something cute to impress customers, he said.

“It’s a quality control step. If the barista hasn’t pulled the shot of espresso correctly or steamed the milk properly, you can’t do the art,” Peters said.

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

sessions in the morning that are bilingual or accompanied by sign language. Another catalyst for change was when Amazon started selling books. About then, the bookstore hit their stride in a funky, unique gift line. The Changing Hands folks believe in the pure value of a book, which is pre-priced. They avoid discounting books except on special occasions. Instead, they’ve integrated fun, beautiful things that align with new books or reading trends. Those incidental purchases please their customers and

“”I tell our new employees, ‘You can buy books anywhere. But you can’t buy the experience of Changing Hands anywhere but here.’ For me, THAT makes all the difference,” Shanks says.

“It’s more than a bookstore, right?” 40-something Khristine offers as she browses for gifts a few aisles over. “They feature local artisans. The staff picks for books are really good, too, like they’re my neighbors.”

Colby echoes, “They know Tempe. They listen and adapt to the newcomers, but they haven’t forgotten the original core that has been coming for decades.”

Higley players stand tall, don’t let size keep them down

BY JASON P. SKODA

TRIBUNE PREP SPORTS DIRECTOR

When the roster lists both at 5-feet-8, and the competitive streak runs as deep as it does in both Mason Crossland and Draycen Hall, there is going to be a battle.

So there they stood back-to-back, shortly after practice started, waiting for someone to tell them who was taller.

While it might still be debatable depending on whose hair is poofier on that particular day, there is no question these two both play big on Friday nights and are a large reason why the Knights were ranked No. 5 in the Tribune’s 4A Conference rankings heading into this week’s action.

“It’s amazing to me,” Higley coach Eddy Zubey said. “The way Mason throws the ball time and again despite how small his hands are. My 10-year-old son wears bigger shoes than him, but always competes.

“Then Draycen steps in (at running back), and after leading the team in catches (71) last year, he is ranked among the top rushers in the state.”

In the two games heading into Friday’s home game against Scottsdale Saguaro, which is ranked No. 15 in the nation by MaxPreps, the Knights were able to dominate their two opponents offensively. In the past, it was essentially the passing game as Crossland entered the year with 72 career touchdowns (17 interceptions) and more than 6,000 yards through the air.

This year, though, the running game behind an improved offensive line— tackles Will McKeon and Matt Hicks, guards Jordan Gianzero and Brendan Tapia and center Jonathan Gianzero— and the toughness of Hall has given the offense much-needed balance.

Hall played running back on the freshman team, moved to slot receiver last year, and is back to being seven yards behind center.

“It’s more of a natural position for me,” he said. “I did whatever I was asked to do last year and I got some carries, but now I am focused on running the ball and picking up as many yards as I can.”

So far so good as the 170-pound junior averaged 10.5 yards a carry entering the game against the Sabercats. He had 495 yards on 47 carries with five touchdowns.

“He is a three-sport athlete with wrestling and track, and I think all of that stuff gives him great balance and instincts,” Zubey said. “This year, we were forced to put him at running back the week of the first game because we had a player quit and a transfer who has to sit out until week six.

“So what do we do? We turn to Draycen and he has been terrific.”

Crossland is off to a bit of a slow start (lower completion percentage, higher interception percentage) compared his previous two years, but he is still playing a very high level. He had 660 yards in two games with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.

“My arm strength is a lot better,” he

said. “I am reading defenses better. The biggest thing that has helped me a lot is being poised and calm and not getting frustrated on the sidelines.”

The Knights’ defense—led by linebackers Christian Deltrane and Cade Matthews, linemen Austin Mathews and Robby Sheldon and free safety Keegan Powell—has played well.

As good as Higley has been to start the year, Saguaro brought a different challenge on Friday as a perennial championship contender and a talented roster that has brought at least 107 offers for 18 players from 48 different colleges.

When the two teams met in 2014, Higley was on the wrong end of a 70-14 loss. This year’s game is expected to have some highlights. A segment of the game will also be shown during Sunday night’s NBC broadcast of the CardinalsPatriots game.

Higley believed it was more prepared to

hold up against the Sabercats than the debacle two years ago.

“Sag U is going to be a different kind of challenge,” Zubey said. “When I was at De La Salle, we used to say we stepped off the bus with a 14-0 lead because of who we were. There is some of that with Saguaro. We get to face them now, and if we play them again (in the playoffs), that aura won’t be there.

“They are nasty, physical and they walk out with a chip on their shoulders to prove something every week.”

And each week, Higley lines up successfully with two of its players who do not fit the typical mold of a football star.

“It’s our thing—being small fries or whatever,” Crossland said. “We like being short. People ask if we are brothers sometimes, and in a way we are on and off the field.”

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

Knights go prime time on NBC during Cards’ game Sunday night

BY JASON P. SKODA TRIBUNE PREP SPORTS DIRECTOR

Higley’s sixth-hour football class was a little more unfocused than most days.

It’s not every day a group of high school football players find out they are going to be featured on a national broadcast of an NFL game.

“I looked at Cooper Jones—we’ve been

friends forever—and we both had huge smiles on our faces,” Knights quarterback Mason Crossland said. “I got the chills personally. We are excited for that, and what it means for us.”

The NBC camera crew for Football Night in America will be at Higley’s game on Friday against Saguaro, which is ranked No. 15 nationally by MaxPreps, and will air a segment during the CardinalsPatriots game on Sunday night.

The NBC crew is also expected to be at Thursday’s Chandler-Mountain Pointe game to shoot some footage of the state’s two top-ranked teams.

Zubey tried to keep the kids in check.

“We do character qualities of the week, and this week it is about balance,” Zubey said. “Last week, we had the UofA coaches here, and this week the Oregon State already told me they are going to be here. We are playing the No. 15 team in

the nation and NBC is coming, but none of that matters at 7 o’clock, so we have to be balanced in that situation.”

The segment, which will include clips from the game, may or may not center around that fact that three of Higley’s players—Cooper Jones, Chris Crescione and Crossland—are all products of the NFL flag football program.

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

Campo Verde hopes success continues at next level

BY ZACH ALVIRA TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Repeating as state champions is never an easy feat to conquer let alone doing so after moving up a division the next season.

The Campo Verde High boys golf team is facing that exact situation this season after the reclassification of divisions by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. The 2015 Division II champs were placed in Division I for the 2016 season, which began two weeks ago.

While at first questioning the move, the Coyotes now look to take advantage of playing against some of the top teams in the state.

“We might have been a little bummed at first because we thought we would have been very competitive and could have gone back to back in Division II,” Dan Hallaran, coach of the boys golf team, said. “We rethought that and now we look at it as a huge challenge and have already proven with a few tournaments and matches that we can compete.”

A major factor for the Coyotes success in capturing the Division II title was the individual play by Branden Meyer, Zach Burkholder and Trey Davalos, all of whom finished in the top 10 in the state tournament.

With the trio, along with all but four members from last years’ team returning, moving up a division becomes easier for the Coyotes as they are able to compete without the pressure of having to defend their state title.

“This is our first year in Division I so whatever happens that is going to be our best finish,” Burkholder said. “We are just relaxed and excited about the challenge.”

Even without the pressure, Campo Verde still looks to be one of the top teams in the division. Throughout the off-season, members of the Coyotes squad participated in club golf tournaments, traveling to different states to show off their skills and improve on a national level.

For Meyer specifically, a learning curve came in May after switching swing coaches before hitting the road to take part in national tournaments, including a national qualifier in Minnesota.

“The experiences were good and the results are starting to back up my choice to switch swing coaches back in May,” Meyer said. “Now I am starting to find my game a little bit and start shooting

some good scores.”

Burkholder had quite the summer as well. He was one of four golfers selected to represent Arizona in a national tournament in Oregon. There, Burkholder recorded his first holein-one, but another accomplishment trumps all for the senior golfer.

“I committed to a Division II college in West Texas (Lubbock Christian University),” Burkholder said. “That has been a dream of mine to play college golf, and I want to turn pro after, but that was the first step.”

With tournaments and college commitments behind them, the Coyotes turn their focus to the 2016 season.

Even without a target on their back, the expectation for the talented group of golfers is to continue to improve throughout the season and embrace the challenge that is Division I.

“I think we can definitely improve on what we did,” Hallaran said. “The competition is greater, but we relish the challenge.”

New course

The Division I boys state tournament will be played at the renovated Grand Canyon University Golf Course, formerly Maryvale Golf Course, while the others remain the same (DII boys at Randolph Golf Course, DI girls at Aguila Golf Course and DII girls at Del Urich Golf Course).

Big events

The Antigua National High School Golf Invitational was this weekend at McCormick Ranch and always

serves a barometer for what teams have a championship-level roster and expectations.

The Brophy/Xavier Invitational is Sept. 23 at Grand Canyon to give some of the boys teams a chance to play at the new championship venue.

The Prescott Girls Invitational is Sept.

30-Oct. 1 at Antelope Hills and includes East Valley teams Desert Vista, Mesa Mountain View, Gilbert, Corona del Sol, Basha and Mountain Pointe among the 12-team field.

The players

Four of the five players who were selected for the All-Tribune boys golf team return as the Hamilton duo of Trueman Park, who won medalist honors at state last year, and Mason Andersen are back along with Highland’s Brock Goyen and Campo Verde’s Meyer. Other players who will have be up for medalist honors every time they tee it up are Alejandro de Zavala of Seton Catholic and Mike Finnegan of Perry. On the girls side, Hamilton’s Rachel Fujitani and Hannah Li return after earning All-Tribune first-team honors last year, while Corona del Sol’s Emma Lower, Highland’s Lorel Hayward, Mesquite’s Tara Greig and the Balkan sisters, Grace and Belle, at Red Mountain, will also be top players in 2016.

– Staff writer Jason P. Skoda contributed to this story.

Rob Thomas and good friends Counting Crows come together for tour

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GETOUT/TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Rob Thomas admits he’s a “stage hog.” So he has every reason to believe that he and longtime friend, Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, will join each other on stage while touring together this summer. The jaunt hits Ak-Chin Pavilion on Tuesday. “I’ve been friends with Adam for 20 years,” said Thomas, who also fronts Matchbox Twenty. “I can’t believe we’ve never actually

IF YOU GO

What: Counting Crows, Matchbox Twenty and K Phillips.

When: 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13. Where: Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix.

toured together, then Live Nation brought it up.

“I want to have as good of a time this summer as my fans do. That’s what the summer’s all about. With a band like the Counting Crows, it’ll happen.”

Duritz seconds that, but wouldn’t commit himself to joining Thomas on stage.

“Maybe,” he said coyly. “I would hang out at Matchbox gigs. We used to get drunk and go on stage with each other.

“We’d sing ‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.’ I don’t know why, other than that was our favorite song. It also depends on how my voice is holding up. I’ll have to see if it’s OK for me to sing two times in a night, instead of one.”

Finally time

Cost: $26-$80.50. Information: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.

Thomas, who is solo on this tour, said the timing was perfect for both

acts to travel together. It’s challenging, though.

“The idea of coming in for one and a half hours, trying to take 20 years of music and put it together in a CliffsNotes version is sometimes hard,” he said.

“But it’s worth it. There are songs that people want to hear and then you have the songs you know you want to play. Fans are going to get some new stuff, some Matchbox stuff and some covers. We’re going out every night and I hope that everybody on that side of the stage has a good of a time as we are.”

Thomas, who released the album “The Great Unknown” in 2015, said his solo band is “all about joy. We love to play music.”

out a couple months ago and we had no idea that we had both moved to New York a decade ago,” he said.

“That was really funny. But he lives a little outside of town. That’s probably why we never ran into each other. I live in Greenwich Village.”

(Special to the Tribune)

Thomas collaborated with Santana for the song “Smooth,” which won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

That’s coming around at a good time for Thomas, whose wife, Marisol Maldonado, had brain surgery last year.

“She’s hanging in there day by day,” he said. “She comes out with me for part of the tour as well. It’s a nice getaway for me, her and the dogs. It’s very cathartic performing music and sharing that with fans. I think it’s really helping when I go through hard times.”

Thomas has also been writing “like crazy.”

“There’s a lot of solo-sounding stuff,” he said. “It’s very personal and it has a very singer-songwriter acoustic vibe happening right now.”

Thomas said he focuses on the melody first.

“The melody draws somebody in,” he said. “After a few runs with the melody, the people start to pay attention to the lyrics, if they fall in love with a song.

“The melody is kind of like that hot girl/ hot guy at the bar that you see across the room. The melody brings you over. If you talk to them and you discover they have a nice personality and have a lot to offer, that’s what the lyrics are about.”

So close, yet so far

The duo of Thomas and Duritz have known each other for two decades, but there was one important thing they didn’t know about each other.

“The funny thing was we were hanging

Duritz has been spending his free time on two projects—another album and a musical, the latter with playwright Stephen Belber.

“He writes straight plays,” he said. “Neither of us have written a musical before. It’s very challenging for me, but I like the idea of writing something that’s not for me.”

Counting Crows are pushing their critically acclaimed 2014 album “Somewhere Under Wonderland.”

“I love it,” Duritz said. “I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s brilliant. It may sound egotistical, but you’re supposed to love what you do. If not, you should have finished it. Get it right.” Duritz has worked so hard on his music that often his personal life has taken a backseat.

“I’m still trying to find a way to do this job and have a life,” he said. “I’ve always been really good at one but not the other.

“I was a bum when I was a kid. When you’re a musician, you’re doing other kinds of jobs that you don’t want to do. I spent 10 years doing that. Now I’m a workaholic. I really know how to work, but I don’t necessarily know how to do the rest of the things in my life.”

On Tuesday, he will work hard at his show with Thomas.

“You have to keep yourself interested so I don’t think I owe anybody a song on a particular night,” he said. “I think you just owe them a great gig with full passion, intensity and attention. One thing you can say about the Counting Crows is we’ve never phoned in a gig because we’re never playing a song we don’t want to play.

“I’m not tired of anything at this point.”

(Cheryl Haselhorst/Tribune Staff

A group of Gilbert teens celebrate solving the puzzles and riddles that freed them from a locked room at called Break the Crypt. It’s part of the new entertainment trend called “escape rooms.” The winners are, from left, Michele Flamm, Mikelle Henrichsen, 16, (arms raised) Holly Ray, Ashley Watts, 17, Cassidy Schafer, 16, (back of head), Kyle Wride, 16, (arms raised) and Chantelle Hunt, 17.

Gilbert couple’s business offers ‘escape’ into a world of challenging puzzles

BY ADRIANA BECERRA TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Sixty minutes. Eight players. Multiple puzzles. One way out.

It may sound like an action movie, but it’s the premise of The Crypt, a new entertainment facility opened by a Gilbert couple.

“You are put into a room with a specific goal and a time limit to solve puzzles, riddles, find clues and arrive at the final solution,” said owner John Keating, who just opened the “escape room” three weeks ago at 4302 E. Ray Road.

normal room. Not much décor covers the small room. Yellow light reflects sharply off of the wooden floors, walls and furniture.

It’s reminiscent of a quaint log cabin. The scorching, desert summer and strip mall that houses the facility melt from the mind as participants are immersed in the cool cabin.

IF YOU GO

What: The Crypt . Where: 4302 E. Ray Road.

Open: 6-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Cost: $25 to $28 per person, depending on room size and time allotted. Booking takes place solely online.

Players pay $28 to be locked into one room with a group, preferably of eight people. They must solve a series of puzzles and riddles in order to unlock the door, and do it within 60 minutes.

Reservations: breakthecrypt.com.

Information: www.facebook.com/breakthecrypt.

The Crypt is the newest addition to the growing escape room community, bringing the total to five in the East Valley.

At first glance, The Crypt seems like any

Little do they know that puzzles and clues surround them, taunting anyone willing to look close enough.

Big Brother is taunting players as well; Keating supervises the teams from a

DETAILS>> 7:30 p.m., Sept. 15. Mesa Arts Center, One E. Main St., Mesa. Tickets: $37-$100. 480-644-6500. mesaartscenter.com.

‘Cabaret’

The Tony-award winning Broadway musical dances and sings its way back to Phoenix. Don’t miss out on this tale of love and heartache set against the backdrop of World War II. It includes smash songs “Cabaret,” “Willkommen” and “Maybe This Time.” Oh, leave the kids at home. Details>> Times Vary, Sept. 13-18. ASU Gammage, 1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe. Tickets: $20-$150. 480-965-3434. asugammage.com.

Daryl Hall & John Oates

Formerly known simply as Hall & Oates, legendary Songwriters Hall of Fame musicians Daryl Hall and John Oates bring their mix of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B to the Valley. You can hear their hits “Rich Girl,” “Kiss on My List,” “Out of Touch” and plenty more favorites from their 40-year career.

Details>> 7 p.m., Sept. 14. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N 83rd Ave., Phoenix. Tickets: $28-$905. 602-254-7200. akchinpavilion.com.

The Monkees

“Here we come, walking down the street …” Hey, The Monkees are back with Good Times: The 50th Anniversary Tour. Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork will do a full set of your favorite Monkees hits, plus some acoustic and solo songs.

Galaxy Dance Festival

Watch amazing ballroom dancers compete in the luxury of the historic Arizona Biltmore. Styles range from Country & Western, American Smooth and American Rhythm to International Latin and International Standard. Be aware that there is a dress code.

DETAILS>> Times Vary, Sept. 15-18. Arizona Biltmore, 2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix. Tickets: $25-$693. 740969-2431. galaxydancefestival.com.

Arizona Restaurant Week

Foodies rejoice! Once again, you can enjoy some of the finest cuisine in Phoenix for reasonable prices. For more than a week, visit any of 200 participating restaurants in Phoenix or Tucson for a delectable three-course prix-fixe (“fixed price”) meal.

DETAILS>> Sept. 16-25. Locations vary. Cost: $33 or $44. arizonarestaurantweek.com.

Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market

Get your deal on with one of the largest vintage markets around. This locally founded three-day event offers up furniture, furnishings, clothing, decorations and much more courtesy of more than 144 Arizona vendors.

DETAILS>> 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Sept. 17-18. WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale. Tickets: $8 (+$5 for parking). junkinthetrunkvintagemarket.com.

ESCAPE

monitor in an adjoining room.

The first, and currently only, room in The Crypt is called the Puzzles of Superstition Mountains.

“The idea of that room is that it is an abandoned gold miners’ cabin and it kind of ties in to the legendary Lost Dutchman of Superstition Mountains and trying to find his lost gold mine,” Keating said.

Keating and his wife, Tammy, delved into the concept of escape rooms after realizing it melded their dream of owning their own business with something that is just plain fun. They opened Aug. 19.

“I found that this is seriously the best job that I’ve ever had,” Keating said.

Keating comes from 20 years of a corporate background, which he found lends well to escape rooms.

He said managers come for teambuilding exercises with their employees. This is especially fun for Keating, as most employees come from different backgrounds, and therefore bring new insights and strategies to solving the puzzles.

Employees are not the only ones taking advantage of The Crypt. Teenagers, couples, families, even some younger kids, have come to experience the room, Keating said.

video games, which is helping the digital age become more interactive.

“There is some movement back towards that social interaction away from the ‘Let’s all just sit in a room and play a video game’ back to ‘Let’s all go experience something together,’” Keating said.

Eventually, people will be able to experience up to six rooms at The Crypt. As of now, one room is built out, but Keating hopes by the end of September to have another room completed, with another added every two months.

Once all six rooms are built, Keating will go back and either strip or revamp the existing rooms, following that same twomonth pattern.

A huge aspect that Keating hoped to change was the hint system. He said other facilities let players fumble around for a while before the operator arbitrarily decides to give them a hint.

“Having that decision based on somebody sending you a hint whether or not you really need one was a little bit frustrating,” Keating said.

What the Crypt does differently is simple: Add a button that players can push when they want a hint.

He is even planning on bringing his own kids to experience the room this month.

Keating believes that people enjoy escape rooms because not only are they fun, exciting and challenging, but also because they let you “escape from the rest of the world.”

The rest of the world seems to have experienced escape rooms before the United States. They popped up in Asia and made their way through Europe, and only recently have come to the states, according to Keating.

Keating believes that they have become popular because they are live versions of

Keating also added a scoring system. Each team of eight gets a score depending on how fast they get out and how many hints they use. Keating said this helps level the playing field.

“If I’m playing a game and I win the game, I want to know that I’ve won the game,” Keating said.

Not only are escape rooms competitive and challenging, and build camaraderie, Keating said, they’re also just really fun.

“There is a really fun adrenaline level those last five minutes. Where they’re just rushing around, ‘We’re almost there we’re almost there,” Keating said, “It’s fun. It’s challenging and rewarding.”

ANSWERS TO PUZZLE & SUDOKU

Faith

Pastor recollects how much life, and faith, changed after 9/11

BY RALPH ZUBIATE TRIBUNE EDITOR

Tom Shrader was in Virginia that day, having spoken to a convention of executives in New York City earlier that week. He was like millions of other Americans when he heard that an airplane hit a building.

“I remember we were standing in a gift shop, and a lady was saying, ‘My, that’s a big accident, how did that happen?’

“You didn’t think terror then,” he said. “The world has changed so much.”

Shrader was lead pastor of East Valley Bible Church in Gilbert at the time. Now, he’s pastor emeritus for the church, since renamed Redemption Gilbert.

Shrader and his wife Susan were staying at Hot Springs, Virginia, during that visit. On a day off, they were tourists, visiting Appomattox Court House.

Low Back Pain Research Study

This study is to see if the Erchonia® MLS, a non-invasive, investigational device that uses low-level laser light, which will be compared with placebo, can help to relieve minor low back pain that has been ongoing for at least 3 months.

The study involves nine visits to a test site and recording some information at home.

Compensation up to $250 For qualified participants.

Please contact Dr. Trevor Berry, DC at South Mountain Chiropractic Center at 480-756-2600 for details.

“Then we heard what happened, and the park was closed. You had to go.”

In the days after the 9/11 attack, planes around the nation were grounded. Instead of waiting in Virginia or trying to find an empty seat on an Amtrak train, he decided to rent a car to get back to Arizona.

“I was trying to find a map, and I asked the guy at the rental place. He said, ‘You go down here, make a right, and when you get to Flagstaff, take a left.’

“I didn’t realize I-40 was outside.”

On that long, difficult drive, Shrader found out something interesting about the mood of the nation.

“The further you got from the East Coast, the less impact it had.

“That was the way it felt like, driving further away from the pain.”

Shrader and his wife had only a radio on the drive, and heard news bulletins and stories on the way back. It didn’t seem as desperate on the radio. But, he said, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

“We’d get to a hotel, and once you flipped on the TV, it was a totally different scene. Radically different.”

He saw a different world on the road, too.

He remembers rolling in to Henryetta, Oklahoma, to eat some barbecue. “The Pig Out Palace. At the center of every table, there was a roll of paper towels.”

Shrader saw many other people there and on the road in pain, trying to make their ways back home in the aftermath. Uncertain of their next move.

“Every car I saw was filled with five or six people in suits.”

At the time, people were seeking comfort and answers. Some sought that in churches.

“Back in Arizona, businesses in the area were calling, asking us to open up the church. They wanted their employees to

be able to pray.

“We were helpless and scared. You kind of intuitively kick out to something bigger than you.

“It’s a pattern that follows. Either it pulls you closer to God, or it shatters who you really are.”

Shrader and his wife got back to Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 15.

“The next Sunday was like Christmas. The church was jammed. It was a lifechanging experience.

“That lasted two weeks.”

Some commentators at the time were expecting a spiritual revival in the United States. Shrader wasn’t.

“I can be a bit cynical, but I think it was a collective foxhole conversion.

“You survive the moment and it reinforces the illusion that you’re self-

sufficient. But it really exposes how needy, how vulnerable we are. It’s all outside of our control, but not outside God’s control.”

Shrader still preaches these days, though not as often. He knows that 9/11 still resonates, but in a different way.

“I have this view that we have our own 9/11s around us. We’re sick, we’ve lost a job. For us, it’s personal, traumatic.

“The comfort we find is in knowing Christ, and knowing that God is sovereign. Faith is assurance that He is in control.”

There were things to learn from 9/11, Shrader said.

“One of the big messages is that we’ll never be the same again.”

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

Catholic Charities offers tips on decompressing and avoiding stress

BY REBECCA SAUER TRIBUNE GUEST WRITER

How many times have you arrived at work already feeling stressed and your workday hasn’t even started?

Work can be a big stressor, even if you love your job. Living with chronic stress can cause loss of sleep, depression, decreased immune function and other health problems.

If you need help learning to reduce stress, make an appointment with a Catholic Charities counselor. Our services are fee-based with a sliding scale based on your ability to pay.

Meanwhile, the good news is there are many strategies to help reduce workrelated stress:

Peaceful moment: Take a few minutes to relax by yourself before leaving for work. Gaze out the window, listen to some soothing music, or take a slow walk around the block.

Body awareness: While driving to the office, be aware of your body tension, such as hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. Focus on relaxing and dissolving the tension.

Drive slow: Stay in the right-hand lane and go only the speed limit. This means leaving the house in plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed.

Stoplight check-in: When you stop at a red light, pay attention to your breathing and relax your muscles. Smile. Do not check your phone or email.

Deep breath: When you arrive at work, take a moment to orient yourself before getting out of the car. Take a deep breath

and exhale slowly.

Desk check: While at your desk, consciously relax. Pay attention to your body tension and let it go.

Time to unwind: Take a two-to-fiveminute break in the morning and afternoon to unwind. Go for a walk around the outside of the building.

Lunch break: Eat your lunch away from your desk. Visit with fellow employees, but don’t talk about work.

Make a list: Before you leave your office, make a list of what needs to be done the next day. By doing this, you don’t need to worry that you will forget an important item and you can focus on enjoying your evening.

Avoid road rage: On the way home from work, drive the speed limit, don’t rush. Relax your hands on the steering wheel. Listen to some soothing music. Avoid

CALENDAR

SUNDAY SEPT. 11

BOOK SWAP AND ICE CREAM SOCIAL

Bring a book and/or take a book (all for free) and enjoy some ice cream.

DETAILS>> 4 p.m. at Desert Palm UCC in Tempe, 1230 E. Guadalupe Road. Information: 480-831-0065.

CHABAD HEBREW SCHOOL OPEN

Registration for Chabad Hebrew School is now open for the upcoming 2016-17 school year. Hebrew School takes place at the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, and will start Sept. 11.

DETAILS>> Sunday mornings 9:30 a.m.-noon for children 5-13. Information: chabadcenter.com.

TUESDAY SEPT. 13

AGING IS SERIES’ FOCUS

Mountain Park Community Church in Ahwatukee is hosting a 10-week series called Senior Focus, designed to “enhance the Christian journey and quality of life for seniors, their families and those coping with aging through education, support, information and referral,” according to a release. Facilitated by Katy Gilbert, Steve Gilbert and David Johnson, the group “will address the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial needs of seniors and their loved ones,” the release said.

DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m., 2408 E. Pecos Road. Register: www.mountainpark.org; information: afettis@ mountainpark.org.

SATURDAY SEPT. 17

EXHIBIT ON THE LIFE OF MOTHER TERESA

The Missionaries of Charity will celebrate the life and canonization of Mother Teresa with an exhibit. DETAILS>> Mass 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima, 1418 S. 17th Ave., Phoenix. The exhibit will follow until Sept. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Information: 602354-2472, sr.anthonymary@diocesephoenix.org.

SUNDAY SEPT. 18

PSYCHOLOGY PRESENTATION Senior Minister Rev. Tom Martinez will be presenting a

listening to the news.

Breathe deep: When you pull into your driveway, take a minute to relax with slow, steady breathing. As you exhale, let go of all the worries from work. Orient yourself to being home.

Comfy clothes: Change out of your work clothes when you get into the house. This will help you relax and make the shift from work to home.

Often we take our work stress into our homes. Leave it at work. Instead of rushing through traffic to get home, allow your commute to service as a transition time so you will be ready to interact with family and friends.

Rebecca Sauer is the lead counselor for Catholic Charities, which provides care for people of all faiths. Information: 602-749-4405, www. catholiccharitiesaz.com

lecture on the interface between Indigenous and Depth Psychology.

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m. after church. Desert Palm UCC in Tempe, 1230 E. Guadalupe Road. Information: 480-8310065.

THURSDAY SEPT. 22

MEGA CHALLA BAKE

The Chabad Jewish Women’s Circle joins other Jewish women from the East Valley to learn the ancient art of challah baking.

DETAILS>> Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. Cost: $18 per person, $15 for students. Information: info@ chabadcenter.com or call 480-855-4333.

SATURDAY OCT. 29

TRUNK OF TREAT

Pilgrim Lutheran Church & School will host its annual Trunk of Treat event. Church members will decorate their car trunks and fill them with treats. Members of the community are invited to bring their children to tour the “trunk of treats” for candy. Appropriate costumes are encouraged. A bounce house will be offered as well.

DETAILS>> 5:30-7 p.m., Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School, 3257 E. University Drive, Mesa. Information: 480830-1724 or email office@pilgrimmesa.com.

SUNDAYS

VALOR CHRISTIAN OUTLINES MISSION

Valor Christian Center in Gilbert offers “great praise and worship and great messages for today’s living,” according to Pastor Thor Strandholt, associate pastor. “Our mission is evangelize, healing and discipleship through the word of God.”

DETAILS>> 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. 3015 E. Warner Road. Information: valorcc.com.

HORIZON SEEKS YOUNG PEOPLE

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

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

BEREAVED SHARE GRIEF

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

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

UNITY OFFERS INSPIRATION

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

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

KIDS LEARN JEWISH LIFE

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

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

RABBINIC LIT COURSE OFFERED

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

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

UNITY OFFERS A PATH

Unity of Mesa says its Sunday service offers “a positive

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Tempe celebrated the canonization of Mother Teresa last week with a concert. Pope Francis declared her a saint earlier that same day.

path for spiritual living” through “transformational lessons, empowering music and various spiritual practices with an open-minded and welcoming community.”

DETAILS>> 9 a.m. Spiritual discussion group and meditation practices group. 10:15 a.m. service. 2700 E. Southern Ave., Mesa. Child care available at 9 a.m. Nursery for infants through kindergarten at 10:15 a.m. 480-8922700, unityofmesa.org, joanne@unityofmesa.org.

MONDAYS

JOIN CHRIST-CENTERED YOGA

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

DETAILS>> 6-7 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E. Pecos Road. Greg Battle at 480-759-6200 or gbattle@moutainpark.org.

CLASS TARGETS THE GRIEVING

Classes for those grieving over death or divorce.

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

STRUGGLING FIND SUPPORT

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

DETAILS>> 7 p.m., 1825 S. Alma School Road, Room C201, Chandler. Pastor Larry Daily, 480-963-3997, ext. 141, larrydaily@chandlercc.org or chandlercc.org.

TUESDAYS

DIVORCED FIND COMFORT

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

DETAILS>> 6:30-8 p.m., Mountain Park Community Church, 2408 E Pecos Road, Room 117, Ahwatukee, 480759-6200 or mountainpark.org.

FINDING HEALING FOR PAIN

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

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

SENIORS ENJOY ‘TERRIFIC TUESDAYS’

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

DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m. to noon, Barness Family East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. evjcc.org or 480-897-0588.

HOLY TRINITY OFFERS GRIEFSHARE

DETAILS>> 2 and 6:30 p.m., 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480963-4127.

READ BIBLE FOR PLEASURE

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

DETAILS>> 7 to 8 p.m., Chandler Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1188 W. Galveston St. Lori, 480-917-3593.

BOOK CLUB

A discussion of Robert Jones’ “The End of White Christian America.” The group then will meet with the author on Oct. 21 at the Desert Palm UCC at 8 p.m. DETAILS>> 7 p.m., Sept. 20, 27 and Oct. 18. Desert Palm UCC in Tempe, 1230 E. Guadalupe Road. Information: 480-831-0065.

WEDNESDAYS

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

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

DETAILS>> 6:20 p.m. at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. mvlutheran.org/ celebraterecovery or email cr@alphamvlc.com.

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY OFFERED

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

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

TAKE A COFFEE BREAK

Corpus Christi offers a coffee break with scripture study, prayer and fellowship.

DETAILS>> 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 3550 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee. Loraine 480-8931160 or CoffeebreakMin@aol.com.

GET A ‘SPIRITUAL SHOWER’

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

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

DIVORCED FIND COMFORT

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

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

CHABAD HOLDS TORAH FOR TEENS

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

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

THURSDAYS

MAN CHURCH IN CHANDLER

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

DETAILS>> Doors open 6 a.m., message at 6:30 a.m. 1595 S. Alma School Road, Chandler. Bob, 480-726-8000 or cschandler.com/manchurch.

Classifieds

Employ

Employment General

Metasofttech Solutions has openings for Software Engs (SE) Operations Research Analysts (ORA) and Computer Systems Engs (CSE) in Chandler, AZ

SE/ORA candidates must have US Masters degree/foreign equiv or Bach +5 yrs exp; CSE candidates must have US Bachelor/foreign equiv SE/ORA skills in Net/ASP Net/SQL/ XML/WebServices/AngularJS: CSE skills in Java/Agile/Scrum/Iterative/Waterfall to analyze/design/develop/ implement/test software/systems Email resume to Thamiya at hr-us@mstsolutions com with ref no 2016-19 for SE; 2016-20 for ORA; 2016-21 for CSE on resume and ref EVT ad

Employment General Employment General

Drivers Needed P/T 2-3 days Mesa Area Professional Appearance Good driving record required Retirees welcome! 866-560-6245

HUMAC has multiple openings for Software Engineer (SE) & Operations Research Analyst (ORA) in Phoenix, AZ SE & ORA candidates reqs Masters degree/US equiv and/or bachelors degree + 5 yrs exp SE reqs skills in SQL, Oracle, J2EE, JSP, SAP, JAVA, & UNIX; ORA reqs skills in WebLogic, ClearCase, Oracle, JAVA, & UNIX to analyze/dsgn/dev/ implement/test systems & applics

Email your resume to Sri at hr@humacinc.com with ref no 2016-19 for SE; 2016-20 for ORA on front of resume & reference ad in East Valley Tribune

Mountain Vista Medical Center is seeking EVS Attendants for immediate hire FT/ benefited Must be available weekends and holidays Please apply to: jobs mvmedicalcenter com

Janitor Position MonFri $8 05 7pm-2:30am 60th Freeway and Country Club Location (Mesa) Posicion de limpeza lunes-viernes 7pm - 2:30am Please call / llama (602) 437-8869

PT Day Porter

$9-10/hour Main and Dobson, Mesa Monday-Friday Derrick 623-210-8719

Only serious need apply

Employment General

Contact:

Experienced Truss Workers Needed! 1st and 2nd shift openings!

Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Comapny is seeking skilled truss builders to help assemble large trusses

The ideal candidate will have experience building trusses onsite in a manufacturing plant and be able to lift up to 100 lbs Prior Foreman or Sawyer experience a plus This person will be working in a hot environment or outside

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package Apply Online at: www foxgal com/careers Apply in person at:

Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber CompanyTruss Manufacturing 245 N Neely Gilbert, AZ 85234

EEO/AA/Vets/Disability/Drug-Free Workplace

480.898.6465

class@timespublications.com

Deadlines

Classifieds: Thursday 5pm for Sunday Life Events: Thursday 10am for Sunday

f orm requirements gathering; design, develop, review, test & release activities; provide technology consulting to clients; drive projects independently & provide quicker solutions throug h onshore--offshore model Must have Bachelor’s in Computer Science or related field & 5 yrs IT

force com or other object oriented language experience (such as Java or C# NET or VB NET) Must have 2 yrs

SFM, LLC, d/b/a Sprouts Farmers Market - Senior Data Scientist in Phoenix, Arizona

Expected to engage in sophisticated marketing and merchandise planning analysis including development of predictive models for driving better decisions on buying, pricing, promotions effectiveness, revenue management, marketing, supply chain, and operations Master's degree in Operations Research, Statistics, Industrial Engineering or related field 3 yrs exp with the following: quantitative & model implementation, designing & developing algorithms for supply chain management, incl working w/statistical software (including R & Python ), machine learning packages; optimization software, XML and SQL; and w/algorithmic prototyping, data visualization, forecasting, development of predictive models using simulation software & machine learning algorithms, and/or optimization routines

Reply to: Jay R Andrews SFM, LLC, d/b/a Sprouts Farmers Market 5455 E High Street, Suite 111 Phoenix, Arizona 85054

CAREGIVERS

Starting Wage $9 50 per hour! Hiring for all East Valley cities Call us today for more information or stop by our Recruitment Event: Date: Wed Sept 28th

Time: 9:00am - 2 00pm

Location: 1930 S Alma School Road, Mesa AZ 85210 - (ResCare HomeCare Office)

Great Caregiver Candidates:

* Are Caring & Compassionate

* Looking for Rewarding Work

* Have LIFE Experience Caring for a Loved-One and/or Currently a PROFESSIONAL Caregiver

* Would like to Give Back to the Community While Earning Income

* Seeking Part-Time & Flexible Hours

Training is Provided for FREE! Open Caregiver Positions:

* Companions * Personal Care Attendants

* Caregivers with Habilitation Experience a plus

For more details please call: Robin or Carol at 480-491-1140 www ResCareHomeCare com

Meetings/Events

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

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

MARICOPA URBAN COUNTY AND MARICOPA HOME CONSORTIUM CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT TO INCLUDE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT, AND EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT

JULY 1, 2015 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2016

In accordance with U S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, Maricopa County, through its Human Services Department (HSD), administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) In addition, the Maricopa HOME Consortium, through HSD as its lead agency, administers the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) HSD has compiled the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the above-listed programs for the period of July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 The CAPER describes how the HUD funds were used by the Urban County and the Maricopa HOME Consortium to accomplish program objectives during Fiscal Year 2015-2016

The draft CAPER is available for public comment beginning September 14, 2016 at 234 North Central Avenue, Third Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 and online at the Maricopa County’s website http://www hsd maricopa gov/cd

Citizens are invited to provide comments through September 29, 2016 at 5:00pm Comments may be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed to the Maricopa County Human Services Department, Community Development Division, 234 North Central Avenue, Third Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 or e-mail address is milner@mail maricopa gov

It is the policy of Maricopa County not to discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability Maricopa County recognizes its obligation to provide overall program accessibility Persons with special needs for assistance in translation, or who are disabled should contact HSD at (602) 506-5911 or TDD (602) 506-4802

Para información en español, favor de comunicarse a las oficinas de Maricopa County Human Services a 602-506-5911

Rob Wall

Nationally Known Hearing Aid Expert

By popular request, we have arranged for Rob Wall to visit our offices.

Mesa Location

Tuesday, September 13th

Wednesday, September 14th

Peoria Location

Thursday, September 15th

Mr. Wall is one of the most successful hearing experts in the country. He has helped people find the best solution for hearing difficulties for over 15 years. In addition, he has conducted educational workshops for hundreds of hearing instrument specialists all over the United States. He will be able to answer your hearing health questions as well as show you how today’s Invisible Hearing Solutions are the best we’ve ever seen!

Special Open House Event!

Featuring Nationally Known Hearing Aid Expert, Rob Wall

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

September 13, 14 & 15

ABC Hearing Center is proud to have served our community with care and compassion for many years. To extend our appreciation, we are having a special event September 13th & 14th at our Mesa location and September 15th at our Peoria location.

During this event, Hearing Exams and Consultations will be FREE! Come learn about our new hearing technology – NuEar NOW and iNOW™ Made for iPhone™ hearing aids.

Hearing Health Care Coupon! up to $1,000 OFF!

Discount taken off MSRP. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Expires 9/15/16 a Pair of NuEar NOW™ Wireless Hearing Instruments

Hearing Health Care Coupon!

Batteries for up to 5 Years!

With the purchase of a new hearing system. Limit one voucher per customer. Expires 9/15/16

ABC Hearing Center 7165 E. University Dr., Bldg. 17, Suite 167 Mesa, AZ • 480-498-2210

ABC Hearing Center 14155 N. 83rd Ave., Bldg. 7, Suite 147 Peoria, AZ • 623-565-9170