August 20-September 2, 2016
www.SanTanSun.com
Friends recall UA football player from Chandler who died in his sleep BY JASON SKODA AND CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Friends and family continued to mourn University of Arizona senior offensive lineman and Chandler graduate Zach Hemmila, who was found dead Aug. 7 in Tucson. Hemmila, 22, died in his sleep, according to Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne. Circumstances behind Hemmila’s death are unknown. “We lost a great young man,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez told reporters. “Everybody in the program is hurting.” Hemmila was expected to compete for the starting center on the offensive line. He was a three-year starter for Chandler before graduating in 2012. “His family was always big supporters of Chandler football,” said Wolves coach Shaun Aguano, who was an assistant when Hemmila was on the team. “It’s a tough time right now.
The cause of death for Zach Hemmila, shown here practicing with the University of Arizona football team, has yet to be determined. Hemmila died in his sleep
I got a lot of calls from his former teammates. We’re all in disbelief. He was one of my babies.”
Aguano, who found out about the death from Arizona assistant Charlie Ragle, said he will remember more than
Hemmila’s toughness on the field. “His smile and his quirkiness stick out,” the coach said. “He was a great teammate.” Former Chandler coach Jim Ewan said Hemmila’s athleticism separated him from others in the trenches. “He was probably the only offensive lineman who played four years of lacrosse in high school,” Ewan said. “He was an offensive lineman who could move really well. It’s all very sad. “He was well liked and popular and not a trouble maker. He did all his work and made sure he finished his commitments.” Family and friends are sharing condolences and stories on Twitter with the hashtag #Forever65. It is the second time in less than a year that a local football player has died in his sleep. Perry senior Michael Roach passed away in December. see ZACH page 4
New museum to take over McCullough-Price House BY SRIANTHI PERERA
Chandler history buffs have been awaiting a new museum for decades. Now, they can look forward to one on the site of the historic McCullough-Price House, near the Chandler Fashion Center, to open in the fall of 2018. Recently, Chandler City Council awarded more than $600,000 to an architectural firm—Weddle Gilmore Architects LLC—to design a 10,000-square-foot, single-story building that will connect to the 3,300-squarefoot historic structure. “The two structures will then become the new Chandler Museum,” said Jody Crago, the city’s museum administrator. Crago said that the architectural firm has been given direction to design a modern building that’s respectful of the 1938 Pueblo revival home that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. “We don’t want it to detract or put the National Register status of the McCullough-Price House at risk. The new structure is supposed to work in conjunction with the historic structure,” he said.
The new building will contain at least 4,000 square feet of gallery, programming and education spaces, collection storage and a research and archives library for the city’s photographs and document collection. A redesign of the McCulloughPrice House’s interior is also in the works. Currently, the historic structure accommodates an archive research center, satellite exhibition space and the museum staffers, who moved from the former museum in downtown Chandler. “We’re excited at the opportunity to produce a modern museum for the city of Chandler. There’s been a lot of people looking forward to this for a number of years,” Crago said. Until 2012, Chandler’s history was exhibited in a cramped, former library building in the downtown area that was constructed in 1957 and had developed infrastructure issues (it was later demolished). City officials planned a new museum downtown, in a site located behind the Serrano’s Restaurant, to be readied for Chandler’s 2012 centennial year. However, the plan was ditched due see MUSEUM page 4
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Chandler and Gilbert unite to market their attractions, such as birding at Chandler’s Veterans Oasis Park. Photo by Tim Trumble
Chandler renews ‘Sunny Arizona’ partnership with Tempe BY CONNOR DZIAWURA
Chandler will continue a long-standing partnership with Tempe to promote the cities as one stop for tourists. The “Sunny Arizona” campaign “focuses on promoting our two communities as a single destination that targets the AAA consumers and travel agents, and then a little bit of
see SUNNY ARIZONA page 4
F E AT U R E STO R I E S City wants ideas for entertainment site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development to add hotel, offices in Chandler . . . . . . . . . . . . Chandler publisher shines a light on literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona’s top restaurant thrives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Musician to play, learn in Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
See WHY on page 18
North American consumer markets,” said Chandler’s Tourism Development Coordinator Kimberly Janes. The board of directors for the Tempe Tourism Office, which operates as a nonprofit organization and receives funding through the Tempe
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