The Foothills Focus Cave Creek 02-15-2023

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Collaboration leads to land conservation

Arizona has taken a step toward preserving its natural beauty for generations to come through the power of collaboration.

The town of Cave Creek, Maricopa County, and the Desert Foothills Land Trust are conserving nearly 30 acres of critical land near the trailhead of the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, a special part of the state’s pristine landscape.

For several years, the town of Cave Creek, Maricopa County, and Desert Foothills Land Trust have been working together to

identify and protect lands that surround or are adjacent to the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.

The recent listing of a critical property for sale presented an opportunity to protect the land forever. Thanks to the partnership, the land has now been protected. The land trust negotiated the purchase, and the town and county provided the funds for it. The town and county now own the land, and land trust holds a conservation easement, ensuring its protection in perpetuity.

“The protection of this property was one of our highest priorities,” said Vicki Pres-

ton, president and chief executive officer of Desert Foothills Land Trust.

“The development of several homes and driveways adjacent to the trailhead would have had a detrimental impact on the conservation success of the area.

“This was a very difficult deal, with many moving parts, none of which could have been accomplished alone. Having the expertise of so many was invaluable, and the true want for this to happen by all of us is what pushed it over the finish line.”

Preston has a strong personal connecsee CONSERVATION page 4

Cave Creek vice mayor offers water expertise

Cave Creek Vice Mayor Kathryn Royer has lived in the town since 1996, relocating here after she was recruited to work for Central Arizona Project (CAP) as its first communications director.

She calls it a “very quiet and peaceful community.” However, commercially it’s changed.

“We had to go in that direction,” she said. “Financially, we were in dire straits during the 2008-2009 recession. I wasn’t

on the council then but there was a small ‘white paper’ committee put together to assess our financial forecast. Because the town is heavily dependent on sales tax revenues for most of its operating budget, the committee realized that the Carefree Highway Corridor had to be developed to generate sufficient tax revenues to maintain the town.”

Royer recognizes that Walmart is the largest sales tax revenue generator for Cave Creek — more than all the businesses in the town core combined. “It all

page 4

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An edition of the East Valley Tribune

The Foothills Focus is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the North Valley. To find out where you can pick up a copy of The Foothills Focus, please visit www.thefoothillsfocus.com

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MAYOR from page 1

adds up and is what has allowed us to sustain ourselves and create our own automatic-aid fire department in 2021 without having a property tax.

“Despite the commercial growth, our council is well aware and respectful of the residential neighborhoods in the area.”

Royer was encouraged to run for town council in 2018 and was successfully re-elected in 2022 to serve a third two-year term. She was nominated and voted by her peers to be vice mayor this term. Her priorities for Cave Creek’s future include financial viability, fire protection, water resources and open space preservation.

“The reason I ran in the first place was because of the water situation,” she said.

“I worked for CAP for 20 years until I retired in 2016. Along with the state, SRP and other local and regional water managers, we have the ‘best of the best’ water expertise in Arizona. I knew that Cave Creek had not done enough to protect its excess water supply from CAP. That’s when I decided to run for office and offer my industry experience and professional resources to my community.”

She said Cave Creek had not used its full allocation of Colorado River water it receives from CAP. “We should have been ‘banking’ our excess water in the ground for the future. We were able to accomplish water banking just last year. Now, with the extreme drought on the Colorado River, CAP has been asking if municipalities with excess water will contribute that surplus to help save Lake Mead,” Royer said.

“We’ll see if we can bank our excess water at least one more year before we sell it back to CAP. My focus will always be on our local and state water supplies and protecting them for our future. Secure water supplies are necessary for life and to protect home values.”

Water education and outreach to businesses and residents throughout the state is vital.

“With so many people moving to Arizona from other parts of the country, they don’t necessarily understand the finite water supplies we have,” the Midwestern native said.

Royer said she is looking forward to working with her new councilmembers, including Tom Augherton, Dusty Rhodes and Paul Eelkema. “I plan to continue working collaboratively with town staff and all councilmembers regarding our town’s policies, operations and maintenance.”

As a former news reporter and communications director, Royer is a firm believer in transparency in government. She said she encourages public attendance at the biweekly council meetings and also hosting additional public meetings on subjects of critical importance, like the recent water forum with experts from the state, CAP and Cave Creek’s water utility.

When the town was creating its fire department, she said it held multiple outreach meetings for the public. Economic experts analyzed the town’s finances, budget and long-term projections to determine if it could fund a department solely with general funds.

“We were able to do that, and people walked away satisfied that we had the right public process to ensure we

could fund our own fire department without a property tax,” she said.

Royer regularly makes herself available to the public and media to answer questions.

“Not everyone can attend our meetings, but they’re livestreamed, and the audio recordings are online,” she said. “Reading about council plans and actions in newspapers is important for our messages to get out and for our decisions to be understood.”

Outside of government, Royer is the parent of two adult children who graduated from Cave Creek schools and Arizona colleges. She has a 1-year-old granddaughter.

An avid music fan, Royer enjoys taking in Cave Creek’s live music scene.

“This is a great town with a lot of live music of all genres,” she said. “I try to enjoy the live music scene as much as possible.”

She and her second husband, Gabe, who met at Harold’s Cave Creek Corral in 2009, are world travelers. His retirement goal was to travel as much as possible; Royer enthusiastically tags along.

“We have been to 29 different countries — maybe more than that,” she said.

“We’ve been to China, Egypt, the Amazon, and Europe many times. I’m a big fan of France. I love Paris. We enjoy how much we can learn from different cultures and seeing how amazing the world is really. It brings our home life back into perspective, and we never take anything for granted. We feel so very fortunate to live in Cave Creek. It’s important to see how other communities and nations live. It helps us appreciate our lives, family, and friendships in so many ways.”

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CONSERVATION from page 1

tion to this project, sharing that “this was a huge win for all of us, and I’m personally proud of this deal.”

“The county is thrilled to have acquired this parcel of land near Spur Cross Ranch, which enlarges the footprint of the Conservation Area,” said District 2 Supervisor Thomas Galvin.

“I appreciate all the hard work that

the Desert Foothills Land Trust and R.J. Cardin’s team at parks put into this effort to ensure that the land will be protected for future generations.”

District 3 Supervisor Bill Gates said he’s excited about the acquisition, stating that “had it not been for our great partnerships with the town of Cave Creek and Desert Foothills Land Trust Inc., this transaction may not have been possible.”

Luke Kautzman, Cave Creek’s development services director, stated that “Preservation was, is, and will be into the future, the cornerstone of Cave Creek’s image.”

With the protection of this 30-acre property, there are now over 9,701 acres of dedicated open space in the town of Cave Creek, enhancing the success of conservation efforts even further.

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Museum, Kiwanis host archaeology expo

The Cave Creek Museum will partner with the Kiwanis Club of Carefree to host an archaeology fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the museum.

Local organizations will have informational booths and speaker presentations. Presenters include Scott Woods from 2 to 3 p.m. in the property’s historic church. In addition, the Desert Foothills Chapter

of the Arizona Archaeology Society Desert Awareness committee will present a pottery demonstration and the museum will teach split twig figure and beading.

The museum will showcase an art demonstration and an excavation activity so children can conduct a mock dig.

No registration is required.

The 52-year-old museum’s mission is to preserve the artifacts of the prehistory, history, culture and legacy of the Cave Creek Mining District and the Cave Creek/Carefree foothills area through education, research and interpretive exhibits.

The Cave Creek Museum is at 6140 E. Skyline Drive in Cave Creek. It is open October through May. The museum can be reached at 480-488-2764 or cavecreekmuseum.org.

Six lifestyle habits to shape your heart health

February is recognized as American Heart Month, a health observance that encourages Americans to understand the importance of heart health and adopt healthier behaviors that can decrease the risk of serious health outcomes, such as a heart attack or stroke. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

By adopting healthier lifestyle habits, individuals can learn to incorporate small, but powerful changes into their day-to-day routines that can help prevent heart disease. The CDC states that living a healthier lifestyle can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack.

Living a longer, healthier life starts with taking care of your heart. Here are six lifestyle habits that can be implemented today that may improve not only heart, but whole-body health.

1. Choose healthy foods and drinks. By choosing healthy meals and snacks, you can help prevent heart disease and heart complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and less processed foods. Eating foods high in fiber and low in saturated and trans fats can help prevent high cholesterol. Because drinking alcohol can raise your blood pressure, if you choose to drink, limit the amount of alcohol consumed to one drink per day for women, and two drinks per day for men.

2. Keep a healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight is important. Peo -

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

ple who are overweight or suffer from obesity have a higher risk for heart disease. Extra weight can put extra stress on the blood vessels and the heart.

3. Get regular physical activity. Any physical activity is better than none. It can be helpful to choose an activity that you enjoy, such as biking, yoga, walking, swimming or tennis. Physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight and help lower your blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. For adults, the surgeon general recommends two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking or biking, every week for heart health. For adolescents and children, it is recommended they get one hour of physical activity daily. Talk with your doctor before significantly increasing your activity level. Ask about the amounts and types of activities that may be best for you.

4. Don’t smoke. Cigarette smoking and tobacco use can increase your risk of heart disease. If you are a nonsmoker, do not start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. Talk to your doctor to learn about ways to help you quit.

5. Take charge of your medical conditions. If you have a medical condition such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, you can take steps to help lower your risk of heart disease. Monitor your cholesterol as recommended by your health care provider, check your blood pressure on a regular basis and manage your blood sugar levels if you have pre-diabetes or diabetes. If you take medication to treat any of these dis-

see HEART page 9

Mesa, AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin. The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

The only way to effectively treat chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is by targeting the source, which is the result of nerve damage owing to inadequate blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet. This often causes weakness, numbness, balance problems. A lack of nutrients causes the nerves degenerate – an insidious

cannot survive, and thus, slowly die. This leads to those painful and frustrating consequences we were talking about earlier, like weakness, numbness, tingling, balance issues, and perhaps even a burning sensation.

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Balloon fiasco raises questions about Biden

He may not wear a white suit or a string tie — nor sport a silver goatee — but it appears as if Joe Biden wants to emulate the late Colonel Harland Sanders.

Sanders made millions with Kentucky Fried Chicken and franchising that fried fare… Well after his 65th birthday.

The popularity of KFC now extends all the way to the People’s Republic of China.

Biden, for his part, hopes to increase his popularity here at home so that he can stay in the White House for eight years, even though he’s now 80. Certainly, he must have fatherly pride in the popularity that his son, Hunter, now enjoys in China, in addition to his business success there.

That’s why it now appears that Ol’ Joe — with considerable help — has developed a national security “secret recipe.”

Admittedly, it is a curious concept, the notion of a deliberately delayed takeout service. Call it “Slow Joe’s ‘Biden’ Our Time.” Ask for it Wednesday, and you’ll see the order carried out on Saturday.

So what transpired off the South Carolina coast on the first Saturday in February could accurately be described as a new type of “Chinese takeout.”

An American fighter jet finally shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that had unfettered access to some of our most sensitive military sites after a weeklong trek across sovereign U.S. airspace.

Continuing “changes in narrative” emanating from the Potomac swamp began as soon as a video of the balloon taken over Montana was posted to social media sites, and the Billings Gazette published its account on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The reports from Big Sky gave birth to a rapidly changing Big Lie.

The immediate challenge for the “Biden Bunch” was clear — somehow how our “woke” military leaders had to appear awake, in charge and giving clear advice to the increasingly befuddled “Leader of the Free World.”

Instead of exhibiting the fundamental instinct expected of military leadership — protecting Americans — our now hyper-politicized Pentagon officials were engaging in what they believe to be a much more urgent priority: shielding a lone American octogenarian from any further collapse in his poll numbers.

That led, in turn, to a seemingly endless stream of “clarifications” that could be more accurately described as contradictions.

We were initially informed that American intelligence had been tracking the balloon since it had taken flight in China. Then for good measure, “unnamed sources” insisted that similar balloons had breached American airspace on four earlier occasions during Donald Trump’s presidency. It was subsequently reported that those incursions had previously been undetected.

To modify the “Orange Man Bad” narrative, the NORAD commander had to go on the record and appear red-faced. Said General Glen D. VanHerck, “It’s my responsibility to detect threats to North America, (and) I will tell you that we did not detect those threats.”

VanHerck then made himself an early favorite for the “Best Bureaucratic Euphemism “ Award, describing the failure as a “domain awareness gap.”

The ever-helpful “Politico” then took its turn at creative writing, publishing

a “timeline” of the events surrounding the balloon’s flight across America and insisting that Biden wanted the balloon shot down over Montana, but that VanHerck — in cooperation with Joint Chiefs’ Chairman Gen. Mark Milley — persuaded Mr. Biden to wait until the balloon was off the Atlantic Coast before taking any military action.

It’s not enough to call Milley “silly,” but that must suffice for this family publication.

Any American military commander who would brag to Bob Woodward that he intervened to disrupt the chain of command because of his distrust of Donald Trump — to the point of secretly calling his Chinese counterpart to pledge that America would not launch an attack — is not courageous, but confused, to put it mildly.

In stark contrast to his oft-observed confusion, Joe Biden had a clear-eyed motive to delay shooting down the balloon — his son’s “business connections” to Beijing.

Hunter Biden hasn’t had the longterm relationship that Kentucky Fried Chicken has enjoyed there, but the younger Biden has been generously compensated by businesses connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

And unlike Colonel Sanders, Joe Biden’s “secret recipe” may result in our collective goose getting cooked.

Arizona lawmakers won’t drag you down

When you consider the many threats faced by Arizonans on a daily basis, the usual evils come to mind: Double-digit inflation; chaos along the southern border; the fentanyl crisis; the Valley’s massive shortage of housing; our rising violent crime rate.

Toss in political turmoil and the ongoing insanity surrounding the 2022

election and it’s a long list.

All of which explains why this year’s session of the Arizona Legislature has seen conservative Republicans introduce no less than four bills targeted at that noted scourge … drag shows.

Apparently, there are gangs of marauding drag queens all over the state plotting to corrupt your kids. Or as freshman state Sen. Justine Wadsack, who seems to be driving this crazy train, explained at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing last week:

“I have enjoyed many drag queen performances in my day, as an adult, around adults, in a roomful of adults. It’s been a great time. I have nothing wrong with the drag queen performances. … What I do have a problem with is when they go into the public libraries or the schools. I have watched them literally stand onstage wearing a G-string with breast implants.

“And leaning over to a 5-year-old girl who has a dollar bill in her hand ready to put the dollar bill in this per-

son’s G-string while this person leans over and says, ‘Are you thirsty for some milk little girl?’ … A 5-year-old does not need to be going up to a drag queen and putting dollar bills in their G-string.”

My guess is you, too, find the above absolutely absurd and completely unbelievable.

There’s not a chance in hell that southern Arizona Republicans sent

HEART from page 7

eases, it is important to follow your doctor’s instructions carefully. Never stop taking medication without first talking to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

6.Get good sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep isn’t just important for your energy levels, it is also critical for your heart health. More than 1 in 3 Americans say they do not get the recommended amount of sleep, which for most healthy adults is at least seven hours each night. Lack of sleep is associated with health problems such

LEIBOWITZ

someone named “Wadsack” to the Legislature.

Sadly, they did.

Wadsack’s bill to combat drag shows isSB1698,a poorlywrittenaffair which seeks to make it a felony to expose a minor to “an adult oriented performance or an adult oriented business,” including a “drag show,” defined as a performance involving folks who “engage in singing, dancing or a monologue or skit in order to entertain an audience of two or more people,” while wearing clothing or makeup “opposite of the performers or group of performers gender at birth”

This heinous offense would carry a minimum five-year prison sentence – surely sobering news for the actors set to appear in the June performances of “Hairspray” at Gammage on the Arizona State University campus.

Also at risk, as I read the bill: Any parent who screens “Tootsie,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” or “Big Momma’s House” for a kids’sleepover party.

Wadsack claimed to have evidence at the committee hearing,where a different anti-drag bill – Anthony Kern’s SB 1028, which would ban drag shows on public property or anywhere a child might see it – passed out of committee by a vote of 4-3.

Said Wadsack:“If you guys don’t believe that these things happen, I have the documented proof. I just can’t put them up on the screen for you.”

If you ask me, these proposals sound

as high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes and obesity, all of which can raise your risk of heart disease. Some things you can do to get better sleep include sticking to a regular sleep schedule, do not eat or drink within a few hours of bedtime, keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet, and get enough physical activity during the day.

It’s true that some habits are hard to break, but remember that small steps can lead to big victories. Take one habit at a time and with a series of small changes, you are on your way to a healthier lifestyle and healthier heart.

like what our Legislature has specialized in for as long as I can remember: A solution in search of a problem.

Do I support sexualizing children, or a massive expense of tax dollars to sponsor Drag Queen Story Hour? I absolutely do not.

But the screeching here far outweighs the threat, given that such events targeting children appear to be non-existent.

From where I sit, the best defense against children being exposed to drag shows – or other sexual material – is something else that apparently doesn’t exist in our state.

Responsible parenting.

I miss the days when Arizona’s legislative leaders believed in such principles, instead of political make believe. Because silly bills like Wadsack’s? They’re a real drag.

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Business: 623-551-3700

justin.simons.j663@statefarm.com

justin.simons.j663@statefam.com

Is Mickey Mouse a dog or a cat?

President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt owned a little dog that was always getting into fights and consistently getting the worst of them. On one occasion, his dog tackled a mangy cur and took a beating. Someone said to President Roosevelt, “Your dog isn’t much of a fighter.” “Oh, yes, he’s a good fighter,” replied the President, “He’s just a poor judge of dogs.”

Here are some actual police responses to angry people’s statements they pulled over for breaking the law. Their answers remind me of Theodore’s little dog engaging big dogs more potent than him. For example, “Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?” Another example of a police response is, “If you run, you’ll go to jail tired.”

Now, here’s an example of someone who chooses their battles wisely. A police recruit was asked during an exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your mother?” He said, “Call for a backup.” There’s a recruit who knows how to choose his battles.

The Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 7:9,

“Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger rests in the hearts of fools.” Someone once said that anger is a wind that blows out the lamp of the mind. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get angry too quickly in today’s ‘short-fused’ world. We see things that need changing or don’t seem fair to us, and we want them changed and changed now. So be wary. Anger is one letter away from danger.

Friends, please don’t fight every battle or issue you see. You aren’t designed for that. If you do, you could become a person of war. It’s one thing to be in war; it’s another thing for war to be in you. When that happens, you adopt a destructive lifestyle where the end justifies the means.

You start down a more dangerous road than a productive road in achieving solutions to our cause or issue. You lose perspective. You blame, demonize and even break the law to justify your behavior. Then you lose what you are fighting for, becoming more hurt and angrier at everyone. Anger is an acid that can harm the vessel in which it’s stored more than anything on which it’s poured.

Remember this truth: People who fight dragons for too long become dragons themselves. What’s on the outside of you gets inside of you. Why? What we focus on is what we become. So if you

don’t like something, and it’s not essential or significant, take away its only power: your attention. By the way, never get angry at somebody who knows more than you. After all, it isn’t their fault.

In her book, “Teach Your Team to Fish,” Laurie Beth Jones talks about how Jesus chose His battles wisely. “Imagine how Jesus felt when He saw a Roman soldier hit a Jew, watched people spit on prostitutes or walked past crucified people in Jerusalem. This horror was a regular occurrence. Yet there is no record of Jesus leading any protest marches, overthrowing Roman tyranny or halting the execution of others. Why not? Didn’t He care? Of course, He cared. But Jesus was wise enough to choose His battles, to save His energy for the one battle He could win that would change history forever. It was not because He picked up His sword, but because He laid down His life.”

Laurie Beth Jones says that balance, poise and knowing how and where best to apply pressure while maintaining grace, character and dignity will ultimately get you closer, in the long run, to where you want to be.

Here are some questions to ask ourselves. What battles am I fighting currently? Should I be fighting them? What business or calling am I really in? Am I hurting or helping the cause I’m fighting for by fighting? Am I battling because of some unresolved issue in my life? Am I just opposing myself when I battle and distracting attention from the main point?

The reason I’m writing this article right now is that I’m concerned about the problems we are having with a minute number of police who are making all other police look evil. It is maddening what has happened in some of our cities. Like you, I am very, very concerned about this.

But remember that God made the government the avenger of wrong, not anyone who is offended or some angry crowd. In times like these, there are judges and juries in government that will determine the guilty and give a verdict. What we don’t need is someone taking the law in their own hands that ends up just as guilty as the guilty. Believe me, we don’t need more dragons. That’s a lose-lose for everyone.

Jesus chose His battles carefully and wisely, and we can too. Otherwise, we become just another poor judge of dogs. Remember, anger not transformed is anger transferred. Unfortunately, mangy curs seem to thrive on that.

Here’s the officer’s final question to us: Is Mickey Mouse a dog or a cat?

Ed Delph is a noted author of 10 books, as well as a pastor, teacher, former business owner and speaker. He has traveled extensively, having been to more than 100 countries. He is president of NationStrategy, a nonprofit organization involved in uplifting and transforming communities worldwide. For more information, see nationstrategy.com. He may be contacted at nationstrategy@cs.com.

Abrazo Health offering heart health screenings

Low-cost vascular risk assessments from Abrazo Health will be available at Desert Foothills Family YMCA from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 22.

The Angioscreen system can help identify potential risks for peripheral artery disease, heart attack or stroke.

Angioscreen exams take only about 10 minutes and assess a person’s circulatory system to provide information about blood flow in the neck and ankle arteries, heart rhythm, blood pressure and fitness. Cost for the screening is $59 and includes:

• Quick carotid ultrasound (checks for artery blockages)

• Ankle-branchial indexes

(checks for peripheral vascular disease)

• EKG (checks for Afib)

• Blood pressure check

• Private consultation with clinician Participants get a confidential, color printout with photos of the carotid

arteries and exam results. A clinician provides a brief consultation to explain the results, which participants are encouraged to share with their personal physician for follow up.

“February is Heart Month. Every 30 seconds, an American has a heart at-

tack and every 45 seconds, a stroke. About 80% are preventable. Isn’t 10 minutes worth your time to see if you are at risk?” said Cindy Roberts, a nurse and Abrazo Health outreach manager.

“Only a physician is qualified to fully interpret the significance of the measurements and ultrasound images in the context of an individual’s personal medical history. The Angioscreen information can be used by participants to share with their doctor and should not replace regular examinations and consultations with their personal physician,” she said.

Abrazo Angioscreen Event

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BC graduate studies music in Vienna

Hannah Wren traveled from Anthem to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, to study classical music to be with the best.

The school provided just that. The daughter of Rob and Diane Wren, the junior trumpeter recently returned from a month-long residency in Vienna with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra, rehearsing, performing and experiencing music in a city known for its worldclass orchestras.

“It was a really awesome experience,” said Wren, a 2020 Boulder Creek High School graduate.

“The Vienna trip was one of the main reasons I came to a school so far away. It’s not exactly close to Anthem. I heard of the Vienna trip and staying a month in a city that’s so geared around music and classical music, in particular, was amazing.”

While abroad, Wren took part in a four-credit course taught by Luther faculty. This year, Martin Klammer, professor of English, and Kathy Reed, Paideia director and instructor in music, led the students through an in-depth study of Angus Robertson’s “The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna.” Class lectures were paired with experiential visits to important places in Vienna, including the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Belvedere Palace, and to memorable performances including Brahms’ “First and Second Symphonies” at the Konzerthaus and “La Boheme” at the Staatsoper.

While music is the heart of the residency, Wren also experienced distinctive Viennese traditions — from enjoying goulash and schnitzel for meals, to attending a formal officers’ ball at the

Hofburg Imperial Palace. Some students ventured on side trips to Hungary, Slovenia or Salzburg.

The Luther College Symphony Orches-

tra performed its free Vienna Residency Homecoming Concert on Feb. 5, in the Center for Faith and Life Main Hall on the Luther College campus. It was livestreamed, too.

Conducted by Daniel Baldwin, the Vienna Residency Homecoming Concert featured a variety of works including Leonard Bernstein’s “Overture to Candide,” Antonín Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 8” in G major, George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Anatoly Lyadov’s “Kikimora, Op. 63.”

Wren has been involved with music since she was 10 years old, when she picked up the trumpet.

“My dad played the trombone,” she said about her father, who now plays bass at Cross of Christ Church. “I stuck with the trumpet. It’s such a versatile instrument. It works with jazz, classical, Broadway and pop.”

She’s been in the classical music world since her sophomore year of high school, participating in the Phoenix Youth Symphony.

“There, I fell in love with it,” said Wren, who was a member of the Boulder Creek marching band. “My biggest inspiration to really get into it was Matthew Kasper. He kindled that love for classical music and performing.”

Kasper is the resident conductor of The Phoenix Symphony and the artistic director of the Phoenix Youth Symphony.

A fan of singer/trumpeter Bria Skonberg, Wren is planning to attend graduate school, perhaps in London, England.

“I have family in England and London,” she said. “I thought that would be a really great place to start a career in classical music.”

The Luther College Symphony Orchestra is Luther’s largest and oldest orchestral ensemble. The group is made up of more than 80 student musicians, representing a variety of academic disciplines. Many members also sing in a choir, play in a band or jazz ensemble, and form small chamber groups. Every four years since 1977, the student musicians live, practice and perform in Vienna for three weeks during the month of January.

Music professor Baldwin has served as director of orchestral activities at Luther since 1997. As the head of the music department, Baldwin conducts Luther College Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and teaches courses in conducting. He received his formal training in string pedagogy as a teacher in the University of Texas String Project. Before teaching at Luther, Baldwin served as director of orchestral activities at Central Washington University.

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Foothills Focus Executive Editor

When Andrew McMahon was a teen in California, he adored Green Day and Weezer. He showed his love of them by playing in a tribute to both acts called Tweezer.

“We played three shows,” McMahon said with a laugh. “We were pretty good, as far as cafeteria lunch performers go.”

Fast forward to 2004 and he met his heroes. His former band, Something Corporate, opened for Weezer on its Australian tour.

“That was life changing, getting back into that sphere,” he says.

Now, he’ll reunite with Weezer and Green Day when Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness joins the bands to play Innings Festival’s first day on Saturday, Feb. 25.

“It really hit me,” he said about the schedule. “It makes me nostalgic.”

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness is gearing up to release its fourth album, “Tilt at the Wind No More,” on March 31. He expects to preview a few songs from the record at Innings.

“My goal, at least by Innings, is to learn the song ‘Lying on the Hood of Your Car,’” he said.

“We have (the first single) ‘Stars’ in the mix. Until the record comes out, we’re going to lean on the tunes that are out.”

He recorded “Tilt at the Wind No More” with producer Tommy English, who has also turned the knobs for McMahon’s 2017 effort “Zombies on Broadway.” He says while he was recording, he pined for that moment of freedom and youth.

“I’m so proud of it,” he said about “Lying on the Hood of Your Car.”

“When you do this for as long as I have, you’re always on the hunt for something that feels like magic, something to hang your hat on. That

song is really special.”

McMahon wrote the first verse in 2019 and loved it, but struggled with the storyline.

“It has this sort of nefarious, scary setup for a story, possibly,” he said. “When I came back to it last January/February, suddenly this is a song about me and my friends and my early romantic relationships, and how we were driving around after curfew. It’s all centered around the freedom of our cars. Through that lens, I connected the dots and finished the song.”

The songs were written in various sessions. “Stars” was started before the pandemic. He finished “New Friends,” but once the pandemic hit and the world locked down, he switched gears and penned the book “Three Pianos: A Memoir.”

By writing “Three Pianos,” he cleared his head of trauma — his father’s struggle with addiction and his public battle with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in 2005 at the age of 23.

“I was clearing the deck of a lot of trauma and history that I hadn’t quite confronted,” he said. “It set me up for the writing sessions that followed this album and started the process of me getting back in the studio.

“I’ll be turning 40 when the record comes out. I will have been on the road for more than half of my life. I wanted the songs to reflect that, to reflect the places I had been through, an aspiration to be free of past trauma and to be looking forward to the future and what could be.”

Over the last two decades, McMahon has experienced musical rebirth many times and has consistently arrived on the other side stronger.

The East Coast-born, SoCal-based artist first co-founded the pop-punk outfit Something Corporate in 1998,

see MCMAHON page 16

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Ex-pitcher brings hard-driving rock to Innings

Former D-backs pitcher Bronson Arroyo missed the sounds of Spring Training: the crack of the bat, the ball meeting the mitt. It’s easy to feel sentimental about the spring — especially when COVID-19 took away those opportunities.

“After 22 years in baseball, it’s easy to get nostalgic about February and March for me,” Arroyo says.

He’s returning to Arizona and Florida for Spring Training this year to perform as part of Innings Festival. It comes to Tempe Beach Park & Arts Park Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, and Raymond James Stadium Grounds in Tampa on Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19.

Performers include Green Day, Weezer, the Black Crowes, the Offspring, the Pretty Reckless, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, the Glorious Sons, Heartless Bastards and Annie DiRusso on Saturday and Eddie

Vedder, Marcus Mumford, the Revivalists, Mt. Joy, the Head and the Heart, Umphrey’s McGee, Magic City Hippies, Paris Jackson and Hazel English on Sunday.

Baseball players making appearances are Ryan Dempster, Jake Peavy, Randy Johnson, Dontrelle Willis, Grady Sizemore, Kevin Mitchell, Bret Boone, Vinny Castilla, Matt Williams, Edgar Martinez and Mike Cameron.

“It’s going to be great to get out there and play some music,” Arroyo said. “I did the one in Tampa, and I played just a couple songs with (former players/musicians) Jake Peavy and Bernie Williams.

“I was also there as a baseball player, signing autographs, teaching pitching.”

When he was playing baseball, he couldn’t attend Innings Festival, as the days are brutal.

“A lot of time, Spring Training days beat you up miserably,” he said with a laugh. “They’re early days. You get to the park at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. You’re so used to getting to the park at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It throws

your body out of whack a little bit. You’re just starting to get in shape. They’re really running you hard as a pitcher. Those first three weeks of Spring Training are exhausting.”

Arroyo played for the D-backs in the 2014 season after signing a two-year, $23.5 million contract.

On June 16, Arroyo was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career, after leaving a start early against the Dodgers with an elbow injury. Three weeks later, he had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL, forcing him out for the remainder of the 2014 season. In 14 starts of the 2014 year, he went 7-4 with a 4.08 ERA.

“When I think about the D-backs days, I think about my arm hurting the whole time,” he said. “I only had seven wins before the All-Star Break in 2014. I always felt like it was an uphill grind. I felt like I always had to prove myself. It was a rough season for me.

“They were the friendliest organization to fans and players. The guys who worked

in the clubhouse — (strength coach) Nate Shaw and (director of sports medicine) Ken Crenshaw — were great. I was frustrated. It was the first time I was hurt.”

For the last two decades, Arroyo has regularly performed around the country, usually playing sets of cover songs to raise funds for philanthropic causes. Now, after his retirement from baseball, Arroyo shares his own music with the world for the first time.

He and his band, The ’04, will release the album “Some Might Say” on Feb. 17.

“Some Might Say” features 10 original songs filled with hard-driving guitars, powerful choruses and vivid, observational lyrics penned and sung by Arroyo.

“The theme throughout the album is my optimism for life,” Arroyo said. “I’ve always been about being present and enjoying the moment. The glass is always half full — that’s the thread that ties all the songs

see BRONSON page 15

BRONSON from page 14

together.”

Though he doesn’t appear on the album, Arroyo credits his friend Vedder with playing an important role in the record’s creation.

“I played him the demos, some which were still really raw, and he went through every single song critiquing and adding little notes to my lyric sheets. Afterward, he was like, ‘Hey, man — you got something here.’”

The ’04 band features A-list musicians including Jamie Arentzen (who also plays with Miley Cyrus, Butch Walker & American Hi-Fi), bassist Ed Valauskas (Juliana Hatfield, Gravel Pit), guitarist Clint Walsh (Dwarves, the Motels) and drummer Eric Gardner (Gnarls Barkley, Tom Morello). Legendary Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes

also makes an appearance on the track “Side FX.”

At Innings, Arroyo guarantees a good time.

“We’re playing the whole album and a couple of covers to fill a bit of time,” he said. “It’s a pretty rockin’, high-energy set. It’s full-on rock ’n’ roll. There’s nothing soft about it. Most of the songs are riff-driven. It’s a little loud and a lot of energy. That’s what rock ’n’ roll is all about.”

Innings Festival

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26

WHERE: Tempe Beach Park and Arts Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe COST: Tickets start at $112 for one-day pass

INFO: inningsfestival.com/arizona

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serving as the group’s singer, pianist and songwriter and leading the band to major chart success in the early 2000s.

Soon after, McMahon resurfaced with the more personal solo project Jack’s Mannequin, finding success through three studio albums. In 2014, McMahon released his debut album under his own name and new moniker, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, featuring the breakout top 5 alternative radio singles “Cecilia and the Satellite” and “Fire Escape.”

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness — McMahon (lead vocals, piano), Bobby Anderson (guitar), Jay McMillan (drums), Mikey Wagner (bass) and Zac Clark (keys) — has since released the hook-packed albums “Zombies on Broadway” (2017) and “Upside Down Flowers” (2018), amassing over 275 million total streams to date, performing at such marquee festivals as Lollapalooza.

McMahon has also sold nearly 2.5

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previewing songs from their upcoming album “ Tilt at the Wind No More.” (Lindsey Byrnes/Contributor)

million albums across all of his musical projects, received an Emmy nomination for his work on the NBC show “Smash.”

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Additionally, in 2006, McMahon founded the Dear Jack Foundation after surviving ALL. The nonprofit charity provides programming that directly benefits adolescent and young adults diagnosed with cancer to improve quality of life and create positive health outcomes from treatment to survivorship for patients and their families. For more information or to donate, visit dearjackfoundation.org.

McMahon said there’s an existential bent to the music, a sense of trying to pass on some of his wisdom.

“The crazy, early stages of life can be kind of tricky and test your mettle,” he added.

He admitted he’s had a difficult few years. He learned to breathe and take the good when he could get it right.

“I understood that if I’m standing on two feet and I have a roof over my head and I’m feeding my family, I’m doing better than a lot of people,” he said.

“I appreciate that on the hard days. I had to find a way to celebrate the fact that I’m alive. I tried to write some of that into this music.”

Innings Festival

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 25: Weezer, The Black Crowes, The Offspring, The Pretty Reckless, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, The Glorious Sons, Heartless Bastard and Annie DiRusso

Sunday, Feb. 26: Eddie Vedder, Marcus Mumford, The Revivalists, Mount Joy, The Head and the Heart, Umphrey’s McGee, Magic City Hippies, Paris Jackson and Hazel English WHERE: Tempe Beach Park & Arts Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe COST: Tickets start at $112

INFO: inningsfestival.com/arizona

Caurus Academy focuses on the whole student

Caurus Academy elementary school

Principal Michael Weakley Jr. has watched his students do amazing things in and out of their intimate classroom settings.

They show up early in the morning to exercise during The Daily Mile, doing their best to walk, run or jog a mile to get the juices flowing. They enter their classrooms with the best of intentions: to study hard. The children stick around after class to participate in extracurricular activities.

Caurus fosters learning in children with its Responsive Classroom approach, a re-

search- and evidence-based approach to education that is associated with greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement and improved school climate. Responsive Classroom has been recognized by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as one of the most well-designed, evidence-based social and emotional learning programs, according to staff.

Responsive Classroom practices help educators build competencies in four key domains — each of which enables and enriches the others:

• Engaging Academics: Teachers create learning tasks that are active, interactive, appropriately challenging, purposeful and

connected to students’ interests.

• Positive Community: Teachers nurture a sense of belonging, significance and emotional safety so that students feel comfortable taking risks and working with a variety of peers.

• Effective Management: Teachers create a calm, orderly environment that promotes autonomy and allows students to focus on learning.

• Developmental Awareness: Teachers use knowledge of child development, along with observations of students, to create a developmentally appropriate learning environment.

“Our students work hard here,” Weakley said. “We have fun here, but they’re meaningful lessons. We’re not your traditional teachers in front of the classroom talking at the students. It’s very individualized and we provide the kids with opportunities that they might not get at other schools.”

The academy’s days kick off on the right note. At the bell, Weakley and his staff hold the doors open for the students, while music plays, welcoming students to the day.

“We play music, and each day has its own music theme,” Weakley said. “We get them excited to be behind these doors. They greet their teacher, whether it’s a handshake or a hug.”

Then, they head to their morning meet-

ing, where the children shake hands with their peers and learn respect.

“We’re really teaching them those skills that sometimes, we think, get lost in day-today living,” Weakley said. “Then we culminate on Fridays with our whole-school meeting where we bring every single kid into the gym.”

It stresses Caurus C.A.R.E.S. — cooperation, assertion, respect and responsibility, empathy and self-control. The mantra helps students learn and practice social and emotional skills.

Recently, the school updated its curriculum to the HMH Curriculum by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to meet the Arizona state standards.

“We had a curriculum team who went through a wide variety of curriculums to find out what would be best for our kids here,” he said.

“The curriculum team did a great job in finding out. They thought, ‘Hey, this is going to be good for us. It’s going to be challenging. It’s going to drive the kids and it’s going to be fun because they’re going to be engaged.’”

Because it’s a new curriculum, they’re still learning daily. Math was updated to Eureka Math Squared, which focuses on the application of math.

“As a whole it really allows for our amazing group of teachers to really reach the students and individualize their education,” Weakley said.

The staff is truly invested in the community, including their students, Weakley said.

“The staff is resilient, too, with what happened over the last couple of years,” he add-

ed. “They love the school. I have teachers who have been here 11, 12, 13 years.”

Weakley is so committed that he’s enrolled his daughter into Caurus Academy. The students’ parents feel the same way, he added.

“Any chance they have to volunteer, they take advantage of it,” he said. “We like that. We did a fourth-grade program this year where a parent came in and spoke about the Hopi tribe. It was great to be able to link that.”

The schooling is bolstered by specialized clubs and programs. The Daily Mile, led by teachers Amy Francis and Andrew McKinney, have made a significant difference in the behavior and learning of students.

“What we’ve seen is a tremendous reduction in students who are tardy and an increase in academics and academic scores,” Weakley said.

After school, Caurus boasts sports, Pokémon, scrapbooking and arts clubs. Weakley sees it as a way of further supporting the children.

“COVID-19 took a toll on us,” he said. “We want to reintroduce things like music and foreign language. It’s just not core content. We have art. We have PE. We have to be able to meet the needs of all students.”

That includes fieldtrips, which are tailored toward the grade. Mainstays include science camp in Prescott, the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa and Legoland in Carlsbad, California.

“We create those memories for the kids,” he said.

41900 N. 42nd Avenue, Anthem 623-551-5083, caurusacademy.org

Know

STUDENT CHRONICLES

Audra Glasco of Cave Creek earned a Master of Science from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. UA awarded over 1,650 degrees during its fall commencement ceremonies. A recent economic analysis found that a degree from The University of Alabama can pay more over time than investments in United States stock market indexes. The university provides numerous opportunities for service and growth to help prepare future generations through its educational, cultural and social experiences.

Reis Beuerlein of Cave Creek made the president’s list at Mississippi State University in Mississippi. Beuerlein was among 4,174 students named to the fall 2022 president’s list. Students on the president’s list achieved a 3.80 or better grade-point average, based on a 4.0 scale, while completing at least 12 semester hours of course work with no incomplete grades or grades lower than a C.

Megan Zapp of Phoenix has been named to the dean’s list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the fall semester of the 2022-23 academic year. Zapp, a sophomore majoring in psychology, was named to the dean’s list for the College of Arts and Sciences. More than 6,900 students at Nebraska were named to the deans’ list for the fall semester. Qualifications for the dean’s list varies among the eight undergraduate colleges and the Explore Center.

Meghan Flaherty of Phoenix was one of four Shenandoah University students in the Division of Athletic Training who excelled at the Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association (VATA) annual meeting in January in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Graduate athletic

training students Cade Watts, Molly Sobolewski, Chloe Tannenbaum and Meghan Flaherty earned first place in the VATA Quiz Bowl, a “Jeopardy”-style competition featuring athletic training programs from Virginia. Watts also won the Professional Athletic Training Student Research Award for his presentation, “Relationship Between Sports-Related Concussion and Cervical Muscle Strength.” As the winner of the VATA Quiz Bowl, the Shenandoah team takes temporary ownership of a traveling trophy. As part of tradition, the SU students are allowed to add one item that represents Shenandoah University to the trophy. Watts, Sobolewski, Tannenbaum and Flaherty, as champions of the VATA Quiz Bowl, earned a spot in the MAATA Quiz Bowl in May. Shenandoah University was established in 1875, and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, with additional educational sites in Clarke, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

Jaime Perez of Phoenix was named to the dean’s list at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the fall 2022 semester. To qualify, students must pass four or more letter-graded courses with no failing grades during the semester and earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Delaney Luzny was named to the University of Vermont dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester. Luzny of New River is majoring in linguistics at the Burlington, Vermont school. To be named to the dean’s list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20% of their class in their respective college or school.

Lisa Jurmu of Phoenix was named to the fall 2022 quarter dean’s list at

CHRONICLES

from page 20

Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida Campus in Port Orange, Florida. Palmer College of Chiropractic, the first and largest college in the chiropractic profession, has campuses in Davenport, Iowa; San Jose, California; and Port Orange, Florida.

Faith Chadwick of Phoenix made the 2022 fall dean’s list at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. She is majoring in medical studies and Spanish. To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have a minimum 3.50 GPA on no fewer than 12 credit hours. DeSales University is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal arts Salesian, Catholic university, under the leadership of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales.

Victoria Krayeski of New River was named to Upper Iowa University’s fall 2022 dean’s list. To be honored at the Fayette, Iowa school, the undergraduate must have earned a

minimum 3.50 GPA and be enrolled as a full-time student. She is a nursing major.

Dana Krause of Phoenix was initiated into the Arizona State University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society. The society welcomed 646 new initiates from 23 universities during December 2022. Students initiated into the society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than 5% of students on a campus are invited to join each year.

Mikaela Morris of Cave Creek has been named a presidential scholar at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. She is a senior majoring in mechanical engineering. Presidential scholars must achieve a minimum 3.80 grade-point average and carry at least 14 credit hours.

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