Ahwatukee Foothills News 08/23/2023

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

www.ahwatukee.com

Holiday display group is now Light Up Ahwatukee

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

The organization that for a quarter century had been responsible for the holiday lights display on Chandler Boulevard has rebranded itself to take on a broader civic mission aimed at elevating a sense of community in Ahwatukee.

The Festival of Lights organization is officially no more.

In its place, the six people who currently comprise the nonprofit’s board recently vot-

Tempe Union and academics part of new leader's DNA

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Ask Dr. Stacia Wilson who, as an English major, is her favorite author and she answers American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, readily quoting his observation that “There’s nothing as sacred as the integrity of one’s mind.”

That line also seems to sum up her career as an educator – and her approach to her new job as interim superintendent of the Tempe High School District, overseeing the development of about 13,000 young minds.

The district’s governing board picked Wilson two weeks ago after her boss, Superin-

see WILSON page 16

ed to become Light Up Ahwatukee. Its mission will include supporting other community charities, maintaining the Festival of Lights Kick-Off party the Saturday before Thanksgiving as well as the springtime Wine and Beer Festival and possibly starting new community-wide events down the road.

The rebranding also clears up some confusion in the community over the difference between the now-defunct Festival of Lights group and The Foothills HOA when it came to responsibility for fundraising for the lights

display along the medians of Chandler Boulevard between 24th Street and Desert Foothills Parkway.

That confusion emerged in a series of posts on the Ahwatukee 411 Facebook site after the Foothills HOA sent a fundraising solicitation to its 4,200 homeowners as it approaches a deadline of Aug. 31 to raise $50,000 for this year’s display.

Under a 2021 agreement with the now-

see LIGHT page 12

The 2023 football season for Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools begins this week and both teams are pumped. Thunder senior wide receiver Barrett Reginald, left, and Pride running back Christian Clark, share their respective teammates’ excitement. For a full preview of the season, see page 37. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

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Maui tragedy hasn’t burned local travel agent’s business

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AND KEN SAIN AFN News Staff

Though obviously on a different scale compared to the human tragedy of the wildfires in Maui, the disaster has created a nightmare for area travelers and travel agents.

Ahwatukee travel agent JoAnne Michaud was one of the lucky ones.

An experienced traveler as well as the owner of the local Dream Vacations franchise, Michaud was far away from the Valley Isle and her clients had already completed their Maui vacation or have been planning to take one later this year or early next.

Nevertheless, the disaster broke Michaud’s heart and created a different challenge for her as a businesswoman.

That challenge reflects an even bigger concern for Maui as crews continued their grim search for more victims with the death toll earlier this week at 111 and more than a thousand more unaccounted for.

She said Maui officials are giving conflicting messages to travel agents and others that have created uncertainty around their biggest economic driver –namely, tourism.

“Part of Maui has been impacted and part of Maui has not,” Michaud explained, “and it’s a very touristy area that’s been impacted.

“What we’re hearing from the people on the island and the tourism officials is a lot of people are pulling out of Maui. Even if tourists were scheduled to go to areas not impacted by the fires, they are asking for travel agents' help in telling people, ‘if you are going to these different areas, please keep coming.’

“So many people are canceling now that it’s making it hard for people to continue employment.”

Michaud said the conflicting messages arise from the fact that some of the daily updates travel agencies are receiv-

see MAUI page 4

ing come from hotels near the fire-ravaged part of the island.

They’re saying their power is out and they can’t accommodate guests. “They’re asking people to not travel,” Michaud said.

But the hotels and tourist officials in the untouched part are begging travelers not to change their plans.

“There are parts of Maui that are going to want to see tourism because they’re going to need the jobs to continue.”

“I have a lot of people planning on traveling to Maui, but at this time, I did not have anyone there,” Michaud said. “I had people there over the summer, I have people that are or were planning on going in the spring and they’re kind of waiting to see.

“But right now, I have not had to regroup. Most of my travelers have been in Europe, actually.”

The impact on Valley agencies and vacationers differed with some.

SanTan Valley resident Misty Pollina spent the past eight months planning a big corporate trip to Maui. A week before the trip was scheduled to leave, she got a

Pollina, co-owner of The Pixie Planner in Tempe, had less than a week to redo eight months of work.

“I work with a large company in the Phoenix area every year on their corporate incentive trip,” Pollina said. “I’ve been working for eight months with them on welcome parties, farewell dinners, all kinds of private events, of course. Tons of excursions for these 24 people.”

When she heard of the fire, she said, “It kind of was panic mode in the beginning and things were just kind of all starting to happen and come out about how bad the fire was and all of that.

“So I said let’s give it 24 hours because I kind of need things to settle a little bit.”

Once it became clear Maui was not an option, Pollina talked with representatives from the company and they chose an alternative site, Cancun, Mexico.

message from her assistant to check the news.

Maui was on fire.

Wildfires spread quickly over the Ha-

waiian island on Aug. 8, fueled in part by the winds generated by Hurricane Dora, causing a frightful human toll and about $3.2 billion in property damage.

She said she was able to put together most of the events they had planned for Maui, but that the trip wouldn’t be as nice as what they originally had planned.

Pollina said she really appreciates

see MAUI page 5

JoAnne Michaud of Ahwatukee, who owns a local Dream Vacations franchise, said she was lucky: her clients had either already gone to Hawaii or were not planning trips until later in the year. (AFN file photo)

MAUI from page 4

the airlines and hotels refunding all the money. They did not need to deal with travel insurance and that helped her arrange the Cancun trip quickly.

Chandler resident Jordan Cooley said he booked a zipline/climbing adventure to Lahaina, the city hit hard by the wildfire, the day before fire swept through that community.

“I wound up canceling and getting most things refunded,” Cooley said. “I have rebooked to the Big Island.”

While he was looking for housing, he said he saw a few listings that there was no vacation booking so they could provide housing to evacuees.

“The hotels were extremely full,” Cooley said.

While most people are apparently getting full refunds, it hasn’t been that easy for everyone.

Nikki Pugliese-Rich said she was having trouble canceling her Airbnb reservation in Maui. Cassie Hepler wrote in a social media post she was getting frustrated with her attempts to reschedule a Maui trip with the hotel, airline and car rental agency.

Melissa Yetter, from the Cruisin Couple Travel Agency in Chandler, echoed Michaud’s assessment of the conflict that exists between the fire-stricken area and the rest of Maui.

“I personally have reached out to each individual that would have been traveling to Maui between now and December,” Yetter said.

She said she told those clients, “Out of respect, could I just reroute them to either Kauai or Oahu. Everybody has been more than accommodating.”

Yetter said this tragedy has hit her hard because she once lived in Hawaii, before moving to Chandler 24 years ago.

Most airlines and hotels are giving full refunds to anyone who had planned to travel to Maui, Yetter said.

She said the fire destroyed an area nearly every tourist knows well.

“That is where a lot of the tourists stay,” Yetter said. “If you were to say Front Street to anybody who’s visited Maui, they would know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s where you picked up the ferry to go over to the other islands.”

Yetter said she was in Maui in May at the area that has now been destroyed.

“We sat out there watching all the boats coming in and out, and the surfers and music,” she said.

Tourism represents about 25% of Hawaii’s economy. The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism projected tourism would bring nearly $21 billion to the state this year.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority issued this update: “In the weeks ahead, the collective resources and attention of the federal, state and county government, the West Maui community, and the travel industry must be focused on the recovery of residents who lost loved ones, homes, their belongings, and businesses.”

Asked if the proliferation of natural disasters linked to climate change have adversely impacted the travel industry, Michaud said the global shutdown during the pandemic appears to have largely trumped any such fears.

“People want to travel, they want to just get out there,” she said. “And a lot of people are doing bucket-list trips. …I’ve got a lot of people that are like, ‘We were planning on doing this trip later; we’re doing it now. We’re not waiting anymore.’

“With a lot of trips that people have been thinking about taking maybe they might be doing it later in life, they’re finding ways to do them.

“Yes, there are issues with climate change. Yes, there are issues with natural disasters. But I think people are used to hearing about it. Yes, there’s devastation. Yes, it’s terrible. But people still want to travel.”

Information: jmichaud.dreamvacations.com, 919-452-0227.

BY ALEX HAGER KUNC

Federal officials are easing water restrictions after an unusually snowy winter in the mountains helped replenish the beleaguered river and its reservoirs and led to new Colorado River forecasts from the Bureau of Reclamation.

But the river’s users – which include Arizona and six other Western states, 30 Native American tribes and Mexico – are still under pressure to reduce demand.

than two decades, and experts widely agree that one wet winter will not be enough to correct the imbalance between supply and demand on the river’s water.

But the snowy winter helped buy time for negotiators who will decide how the river’s water will be shared in the future, with current rules set to expire in 2026.

New projections from Reclamation –the federal agency that manages Western water – show Lake Mead’s water level falling just below 1,068 feet in January of next year. A shortage is triggered any time that number is below 1,075 feet.

“We are still on the precipice of a lot of uncertainty,” said Kyle Roerink, director of the nonprofit Great Basin Water Network. “The precarious nature of our modern water cycle should give all water managers pause.

“We just have to think, how are we going to live in a world where there’s going to be much less?”

Overall water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell have been declining for more

Reclamation releases a new version of the 24-month study each month, projecting the next two years of water availability. The August study is used to determine if cutbacks are needed in the coming year.

In 2022, the agency’s August projec-

tions dealt the first-ever mandatory cutbacks to some water users and thrust the Colorado River’s supply-demand imbalance into the national spotlight. In 2023, those cuts were expanded.

This August study will roll back 2023’s water restrictions. New cuts, which will be put in place in 2024, are the same size as the cuts in place for 2022.

Arizona will lose about 18% of its Colorado River supply and about 8% of the state’s total water use. Nevada will lose about 7% of its water allocation.

Current cutbacks are based on agreements written in 2007 and 2019.

The Central Arizona Project, which brings Colorado River water across the desert to supply the Phoenix area, will feel the brunt of Arizona’s cuts.

Brenda Burman, CAP’s director and a former Bureau of Reclamation commissioner, said the cuts are difficult for farmers in Pinal County, but will not have short-term impacts on homes and businesses in the Phoenix metro area.

“In 2024, you should not be concerned about the water coming out of your faucet,” Burman said. “But in the long term, you should know that we are in shortage. This is not something new. We expect that there is a smaller river.”

Human-caused climate change is making the western U.S. warmer, upsetting the natural processes that keep water flowing through the Colorado River. At the same time, the river is seeing steady demand from tens of millions of people from Wyoming to Mexico. More than 70% of that demand for water, however, comes from agriculture.

In the past four years, the amount of water stored in Lake Powell dropped particularly quickly. In April, water levels

dipped to the lowest they’ve been since the reservoir was first filled in the 1960s.

Conservationists who campaign for the draining of Lake Powell celebrated the return of once-submerged geological features and animal habitat, but water managers scrambled to protect infrastructure reliant on certain reservoir levels.

Hydroelectric generators within Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell, depend on a steady flow of water to keep turbines spinning.

During the recent stretch of dry years, electricity output decreased because of weaker flows, and if water levels dropped any lower, they would have fallen below the pipes that pull water into the generators and threatened irreparable damage.

A string of particularly dry years led water managers to focus on protecting infrastructure in the dam. Now, they are expected to turn their focus to a long-term reworking of how the Colorado River is shared.

“We’re going to be back to the brink soon enough,” Roerink said. “So anyone who’s resting on their laurels, whether it be folks in power markets or water users, I think are living in a fallacy.”

Decisions about where to store the region’s water were, for a few years, shaped by the urgent need to prop up Lake Powell, keeping those turbines spinning and keeping electricity flowing to about 5 million people across seven states.

This year’s boost to Lake Powell is expected to lift some of that urgency and let negotiators from each of the seven states that use the river focus on longterm decisions about the river’s future.

“All of us who rely on the river, who rely on our amazing infrastructure, have to be able to come to the table and show how they can live with less,” Burman said.

Court allows biological Kyrene boy on girls team

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Abiological male who identifies as a girl will be allowed to play on girls teams at Aprende Middle School in Chandler - at least for the time being.

In a brief order Aug. 14, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected separate bids by Republican legislative leaders and state schools chief Tom Horne to delay the effect of an order issued last month by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Zipps blocking the state from enforcing its 2022 ban on transgender girls from playing with and against other girls.

That most immediately means that the transgender girl in the Kyrene School District and another in a Tucson private school will be able to participate in girls’ sports as this new school year begins –precisely what Horne, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma had sought to prevent by seeking a stay of Zipps’ order.

They argued to the appellate judges that, absent their intervention, the 11-year-old student at Aprende Middle was to participate in a cross-country competition on Aug. 14.

The appellate judges apparently were not impressed by the arguments, turning down the requests for a delay in the ruling and instead setting a schedule for the attorneys for both the challengers and the affected girls to file legal briefs. And that means the court will not even consider their arguments until at least November, if not later.

Horne, reacting to Monday’s order, said he was not alarmed.

He pointed out that, strictly speaking, the litigation affects only these two transgender girls whose bid to participate in girls’ sports was brought in federal court by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association allows its students to participate in interscholastic sports with other schools and so far has allowed 11 transgender girls to participate in boys teams.

Horne told Capitol Media Services he

needs to battle this particular lawsuit because he’s sure the legal fights won’t stop here.

“My view is that this is a first step towards letting males play in female sports in general,’’ he said.

“So this is a long-term fight,’’ he continued. “And I think it’s as important enough issue that we’ll win it in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Petersen, R-Gilbert, rapped the appellate judges, stating, “Bad rulings like this are just another reminder why the 9th Circuit is the most radical and overturned in the nation.”

The 2022 law requires public schools and any private schools that compete against them to designate their interscholastic or intramural sports strictly as male, female or coed. It specifically says that teams designated for women or girls “may not be open to students of the male sex.’’

The Kyrene Governing Board reluctantly included the ban in its policy after some members fiercely condemned it, conceding they risked losing state aid if they balked.

However, the district has told Zipps it will not defend itself in the current litigation, conforming to the same position adopted by the Gregory School in Tucson and state Attorney General Kris Mayes.

Zipps rejected claims by Horne and the legislative leaders that it would be unfair to allow those who were born as males to participate against females. The judge said the evidence Horne presented claiming that prepubescent transgender girls are stronger does not hold up under scrutiny.

Zipps also said that the 2022 law violates Title IX, a federal law that bars discrimination based on sex in educational opportunities. She said it deprives transgender girls “the benefits of sports programs and activities that their nontransgender classmates enjoy.’’

In seeking to stay the order, Horne argued just the opposite. He said that allowing

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COURT from page 9

Jane Doe, the transgender girl in Kyrene, to compete in cross-country events with other girls would not be fair to them.

“Unless Doe finishes the race behind every biological girl participating in the race, Doe’s participation will necessarily displace a biological girl from finishing in a higher-ranked position,’’ the schools chief argued. “Those biological girls will be irreparably harmed in the absence of a stay.’’

The attorney for Petersen and Toma had their own arguments, including what he said is the right of state legislators to set public policy and adopt laws like the one challenged here.

“Permitting a single transgender-

female athlete to participate on girls’ teams permits and prolongs a continuing violation of law,’’ wrote John Sauer.

In her extensive ruling last month, Zipps relied heavily on the claim that transgender girls are girls.

She acknowledged that children are “assigned’’ a sex at birth which generally matches physiology. But the judge said that is different than “gender identity.’’

And the judge said efforts like the 2022 law to deny transgender girls the opportunity to participate in sports with other girls – and she does consider the plaintiffs to be girls – can be harmful, citing high rates of attempted suicide in the transgender community.

Pecos performance

Barb Good (bottom) got a front-row view of a fan dance during the Chinese Dance Festival at the Pecos Community Center’s senior citizens’ meeting space Aug. 18 while Liz Flake and Marcia Carter (top) checked out origami cranes for sale at the event, arranged by the Phoenix Human Services Department. To keep up with senior center activities: 602-534-5366 or phoenix.gov/humanservices/programs/older. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

defunct Festival of Lights group, the Foothills HOA has been responsible for setting up, tearing down and funding the electric bill for the lights display.

The homeowners association contributes $50,000 to the estimated $130,000$150,000 cost of the display and the Foothills Club West Association has traditionally kicked in $25,000.

The Foothills HOA then relies on some major sponsors – including Safeway and San Tan Ford – as well as small contributions to make up the difference.

In all, the HOA hopes to raise $50,000 by next week. Foothills resident Carrie McNeish, who is helping to lead the fundraising effort, said the HOA needs to know before September how much it has for the display.

Most of the cost involves City of Phoenix fees for permits and traffic control along Chandler Boulevard during set-up and tear-down, she said.

Moreover, McNeish added, the display itself can’t be done by amateurs, especially given the fact that a crane must be used for some of the lights

“It’s a very big expense,” McNeish said. “We need to know how much money we have in the pot so that when we go out to bid, we know how much money we have to spend.”

Checks for the lights display should be made it out to the Foothills Community Association with “Foothills Holiday Lights Donation” in the memo field. Mail it to: RealManage, Attn: Cathy Van Galder, 3930 S. Alma School Road, Chandler, AZ 85248.

While Light Up Ahwatukee will continue to financially support the lights display, its board has bigger goals, according to board President Maria ReyesSmith and member Morgan Vanderwall.

For one thing, Vanderwall said, “We are now going to be more focused on other community charitable organizations, in addition to the Lights.”

She said the group decided to “keep the word ‘light’ in the name…because with ‘light up,’ you can interpret it in many ways. We can bring happiness. We can bring jot to the community.”

The group has launched a new website – LightUpAhwatukee.org – that partly helps residents understand the difference between its role and the role the Foothills HOA plays in the lights display.

“We really really don’t want the com-

munity to be confused” when it comes to the holiday lights display, Vanderwall said, saying Light Up Ahwatukee and Foothills HOA have a partnership to maintain that tradition.

But the Light Up Ahwatukee site also “will have a list of events that we’re going to start planning for the community.”

Two of those events are the traditional ones started years ago by the old Festival of Lights group – the Beer and Wine Festival and the Kick-Off Party.

The party had been cancelled in 2021 for various reasons and last year returned with a different date and different focus.

Instead of being held the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, the event was moved to the Saturday before the holiday. This year, it will run 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 18.

The group also added more local artisans and crafters selling their wares –and potential holiday gifts – to get away from what one organizer called booths with businesses "handing out brochures or trying to get people to sign up.

Vandewall said about 10,000 people attended last year’s Kick-Off Party and that the Beer and Wine Festival – moved from June to April this year – was “very successful.”

She said the group also will be changing the Kick-Off Party's name – possibly to "Holiday Festival – and is continuing to ponder what other features can be added to that event.

Reyes-Smith and Vanderwall said Light Up Ahwatukee also wants to put more of a spotlight on other local organizations and said it could launch other community-wide events as time goes by.

“We have so many cool stories and happenings and charities and local businesses and stuff in Ahwatukee that we kind of really want to make it our mission to highlight more of those,” Vandewall said.

“By having this new name and new vision, we can do more,” she continued, adding the group wants to restore a sense of community in Ahwatukee that newer residents likely never experienced.

Light Up Ahwatukee has also named its "charity partner" for 2023: the Junior League of Phoenix, a longtime organization of women "committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and to improving the community through the effective action

and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable," Vanderwall said. More about the group can be found at jlp.org.

Proceeds from the holiday festival will benefit the Junior League of Phoenix and the Foothills Community Association.

Reyes-Smith, an engineer who has lived in Ahwatukee for 17 years, got involved with the reconstituted board of the now-defunct Festival of Lights in 2019 partly because she is a certified sommelier and could lend her expertise to planning the Beer and Wine Festival. She also teaches wine education classes and has established relationships with many restaurants in the community.

She said she joined initially because her three children had attended the Kick-Off Party from the time they were very young and that she and her husband also enjoyed the past beer-andwine events.

She said that she's energized, as are the rest of the board members, by the new name and mission of the group.

“I’ve been attending all these events. I’ve loved them,” Reyes-Smith said. “I enjoyed every moment of them and I can give back now and be part of planning them.”

The other board members are: Kimberly Bolton, Christianne Acosta, Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber President Andy Hayes, Kristi Ohman and Vanderwall.

As Light Up Ahwatukee continues to develop, it has three pressing needs for volunteers to join its board, Vanderwall said.

The board is seeking an event logistics committee lead who would coordinate "all the moving parts involved in ensuring events go smoothly."

“We already have the park locked down and we have the stage locked down,” Vanderwall said, “but we really need someone to come in and be the visionary and in charge of logistics.”

The board also needs a food truck committee lead and a special events committee lead. The latter would coordinate "extra event categories for the Holiday Festival such as the motorcycle parade, dog costume contest," she explained,

“We’re prepared as a board to work together to make it happen but ideally, we would love for someone to come on board and just kind of embrace it and be

The Light Up Ahwatukee board includes, from left, President Maria Reyes Smith; Kimberly Bolton, marketplace chair; Christianne Acosta, sponsorship chair; Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber President Andy Hayes, sponsorship co-chair; Kristi Ohman, volunteer chair; and Morgan Vanderwall, marketing chair. (Special to AFN)

BY SYDNEY CARRUTH Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – When federal student loan payments resume in October, they are expected to pull as much $71 billion in otherwise disposable income out of the economy annually – including $5.3 billion in Arizona.

The economic pain could be very real for the 43 million borrowers – about 880,000 in Arizona – who will have to start paying back their student loans after a pause of more than three years that began as a pandemic-relief measure.

“We hear from borrowers, some even in Arizona, who are telling us that when payments restart, they’re not going to be able to afford food, they’re not going to be able to afford rent, they’re not going to be able to afford health care,” said Cody Hounanian, executive director of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

While the amount those repayments will pull from the economy appears daunting, a Moody’s Analytics report said it will only account for about 0.4% of the nation’s disposable income, what Moody’s economist Bernard Yaros calls a “modest headwind” to the overall economy.

“It’s a drag, but it’s a very modest one at that and it’s really not enough to derail the economy,” Yaros said, noting that the payments are projected to reduce personal consumption expenditures by 0.2% next year.

$20,000 of some borrowers’ debts.

Biden, who campaigned on a promise of broad debt relief for student borrowers, has since responded with alternative plans that his administration hopes will stand up to congressional and Supreme Court demands.

Those include a repayment “on-ramp” –which protects borrowers’ credit scores by not reporting missed payments for a year – and an expansion of a current plan that caps monthly payments for some borrower to 10% of income and forgives loan balances after 20 years of regular repayment. The expanded plan would halve those limits, to 5% and 10 years.

Before the president announced his latest plans in June, the Education Data Initiative estimated that $5.3 billion will be siphoned from Arizona’s economy by debt repayments.

That’s about 1.5% of the state’s $350 billion gross domestic product, said Lee McPheters, an economics professor at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.

McPheters said the repayment “is one of those things where the impact on those individuals affected by the policy is large but the overall impact on the economy is relatively small.”

He estimated the average individual monthly student loan payment in Arizona will be around $500, or about $6,000 per year. With a median Arizona family income of $75,000, that means borrowers will put roughly 8% toward repayments.

Yaros said slowing inflation, interest rates that are likely at their peak and a stubbornly resilient job market all hold more weight in the long-term health of the U.S. economy than the dollars that will be lost to the loan payments over the next year.

“None of this is to minimize the micro impacts that this will have on certain demographics or certain households,” Yaros said.

“For certain groups of people, this is going to be big, they will have to pull back on their spending in order to start making these student loan payments.”

“Younger consumers with smaller annual income will have to make some hard decisions about their spending, but overall the economy will continue along the normal business cycle,” McPheters said.

The Moody’s analysis found that regions of the country that have the highest student loan balances also had a belowaverage median age.

Yaros said the amount of debt “does not seem as onerous in Arizona compared to other states,” particularly East Coast states.

Repayments are scheduled to restart Oct. 1, after a whirlwind summer in which Congress voted to block the Biden administration from further extensions of the pandemic-era moratorium, and the Supreme Court overturned a separate White House plan that would have forgiven up to

Moody’s said Philadelphia had the highest debt, at $5,859 per capita, and the Atlanta metro area was second-highest, at $5,830.

By comparison, the Phoenix-MesaScottsdale area was highest in Arizona, at

Younger borrowers have a bigger share of student loans to repay. (Moody’s Anaytics)

LOANS from page 14

$3,749 student debt per capita, followed by Flagstaff, at $3,274. Yuma had the lowest debt per capita in Arizona, at $1,675.

Rawley Heimer, an economics professor at the Carey School, pointed to the multiple universities in Arizona that have “relatively low tuition” as one reason for the relatively low debt of state residents.

“The typical Arizonan who goes to those schools is almost certainly left with significantly less financial obligation than somebody who, for example, might go to an expensive private school out of state,” Heimer said.

But he and McPheters agreed that, while relatively low, the payments are not necessarily good news for young borrowers who have low incomes and high debt balances.

“Younger people are trying to save up for large purchases, so it could have effects on the housing market where people who previously were trying to save up money for a down payment are instead going to have to pay back their debt obligations,” Heimer said.

The Supreme Court’s rejection of Biden’s debt-relief plan is “particularly impactful for younger individuals, who have not benefited from a lot of the government policies that have been in place for many years” that have allowed older generations to build wealth, he said, pointing to mortgage income tax deductions.

Facilitating such intergenerational wealth transfers could benefit the economy in the long-run, Heimer said.

“Any time the government can give a gift to people who are younger generations of 20 to 40 or so, I think it’s a net benefit for the country’s economic future as a whole,” he said.

Even in a state like Arizona, and even with the benefits of Biden’s latest debtrelief plans, Hounanian said there is still a longer-term threat to the economy from the resumption of student debt repayment.

He said the plans will only delay an inevitable series of student-debt defaults, which he worries will hold “dire consequences” for vulnerable borrowers.

Hounanian pointed to a June Consumer Financial Protection Bureau survey that found roughly one student debt holder in five has risk factors that suggest they will struggle when payments resume.

That includes an increase of 24% in other monthly debt payments since the start of the pandemic.

“We, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve are really concerned about a wave of student loan defaults, either 12 months from now, two years from now, once you know the domino effect of all of this really starts to tap in,” Hounanian said.

The study pointed to the progressive rise in interest rates over the course of the three-year moratorium, which translated to higher monthly payments across debt products.

Hounanian said those increases, along with factors including an increased cost of rent and housing and a lack of clear information on student loan repayment programs have “multiplied” the financial obstacles borrowers faced even before the pandemic.

“Many will have to choose default over, you know, the safety and health of their family,” Hounanian said. “When a borrower is faced with making a student loan payment, or keeping a roof over their head, they go with a roof over their head.

tendent Dr. Kevin Mendivil abruptly announced his retirement.

Education and Tempe Union are both hard-wired in Wilson’s DNA.

She comes from a family of distinguished educators.

Her career somewhat mirrors that of her mother, Dr. Marjorie Kyle, who started as an English teacher in Roosevelt School. She eventually earned her doctorate and became a professor for the Maricopa Community Colleges District, mainly at Mesa Community College.

Wilson's paternal grandfather was dean of students at Arkansas University of Pine Bluff and his wife headed a reading program there.

Even Wilson’s father, Air Force Lt. Col. Stanley Kyle, Ret., had something of a connection to education – and Tempe Union. As a marketing sales representative for IBM, he sold equipment to various school districts, including Tempe Union.

“He kind of had connections with the district even before I started going to school,” Wilson said with a chuckle.

Wilson’s own connection to Tempe

Union – and Tempe – run deep.

She is an alumna of Fuller Elementary School in Tempe, went to Fees College Prep Middle School and spent her freshman year at Marcos de Niza High School

an English teacher at Desert Vista High School in its very first year of operation. She had gravitated to English in college partly because “I love reading literature and to this day love storytelling but yes, probably because there is this history between my grandmother and then my mom with that.”

Because Desert Vista was so new, she said, “I started to learn different aspects of the school. I got a chance to work with new teachers coming in…and just kind of mentored them throughout the year.

She also was part of the school’s accreditation process, so she continued learning more about the nuts and bolts of school operations.

At the same time, Wilson worked on getting her masters and doctoral degrees from Northern Arizona University as her career at Tempe Union gradually shifted into school administration.

before transferring to McClintock High, where she participated in numerous clubs and activities that included track and field and student council.

Her decision to make education a career came during her freshman year at Hampton University in Virginia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English secondary education in 1996.

“I thought I wanted to be a child psychologist,” she recalled, “and very quickly realized that wasn’t my thing.”

She talked with an advisor about education and recalled, “in my 19-year-old brain, I saw being in school as not really working. I kind of thought ‘Okay, I had these great school experiences and school was always fun to me and filled with fun things in class and people caring for me. So, I thought, ‘yeah, that’s not really work and I’ll get paid.'”

Wilson confesses, “I was wrong about the work part."

"Clearly it’s work. However, I loved it because you’re going in each hour and you have this different group of students and you’re watching them get excited about learning – watching them where they don’t know something and then they get to knowing something and become proud of themselves and then just celebrate that with their parents.”

So after Hampton, Wilson returned to Tempe and spent a year substitute teaching, mostly at Tempe Union campuses, before getting a job in 1997 as

In 2018, Mendivil, who had just been named superintendent, made Wilson the district’s second in command as associate superintendent.

Along the way, she met her husband of 15 years, Roderick Wilson, a healthcare executive.

And even though he grew up in North Carolina, Roderick has become a kind of Tempe Union alumnus by proxy: “My husband at one point would travel every week and he would always wear a Tempe High shirt,” she said. “He kind of has ‘Tempe awareness.’”

Now, as the third woman in the top job at Tempe Union and the second AfricanAmerican female to hold the interim superintendent title, Wilson said she feels a number of emotions along with a determination to bring her A-game to the task at hand.

She is grateful for all the support she said she has received not only from the governing board members and staff, but also from students, parents and other districts’ superintendents.

Her email in-box has exploded with offers to help and words of encouragement from all kinds of people since she was formally named to the position on Aug. 9.

“Honestly, I am just honored and grateful that people had the confidence in me to lead the district,” Wilson said.

“I have teachers and mentors and people around the Valley who have just see WILSON page 19

Dr. Stacia Wilson is settling into her new role as interim superintendent of the Tempe Union High School District. (Special to AFN)

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TU board to search firm for superintendent

AFN NEWS STAFF

The Tempe Union Governing Board on Aug. 16 met behind closed doors to discuss Dr. Stacia Wilson’s contract as interim superintendent and the its search for a permanent replacement for Dr. Kevin Mendivil.

In the wake of Mendivil’s abrupt decision to retire earlier this month, the board emerged from the meeting with no public discussion of either agenda item for the executive session.

But Board President Armando Montero said in a statement that the board would soon ask for proposals from executive search firms.

“Once a search firm is engaged, a timeline will be developed and shared with you,” Montero said in an open letter to the district community.

“We anticipate that we will have quality candidates both internally and externally, and that the final candidate will begin on July 1, 2024,” he said adding:

“We are committed to transparency during this process and we look forward to keeping you updated as this search moves forward. We plan on involving families, students, and community members in this search process and details will be released once they are finalized.”

He also said the board thanked Wilson and the rest of the district’s administration “for remaining focused and committed to the success and education of our students during this time of change.”

The board’s goal of having a new top administrator in place before the 202425 school year begins means that the new board that will be formed as the result of the November 2024 election won’t have to worry about finding a new superintendent.

Three seats will be up for grabs on the November 2024 ballot and at least one seat is assured of being filled by a newcomer as Berdetta Hodge already has announced she won’t be seeking a third term in light of her 2022 election to the Tempe City Council.

Montero and Sarah James will have to decide whether to seek re-election to a second term as their terms end at the end of next year.

The last time a Tempe Union governing board had to find a new superintendent was in 2017, when then-Superintendent Kenneth Baca announced he was leaving after the 2017-18 school year.

That board opted against an outside search for a superintendent and ended up picking Mendivil.

The district announced Mendivil’s surprise retirement on Aug. 9 – a week after James had started a discussion about his performance goal for the current semester.

She wanted it more closely tied to one of the goals the board ultimately approved on Aug. 16.

Those goals include improving the overall academic performance on the ACT tests taken by freshmen and juniors.

The goals call for an overall increase of 5% in tests results for all freshmen and juniors and 10% for certain student subgroups whose performance on this year’s ACT tests was well below the average score for all Tempe Union students. Those subgroups primarily involve Black, Hispanic and disabled students.

The other goals include reducing the percentage of all students that are chronically absent and increasing the number of students who complete the FAFSA application for federal aid to attend a post-secondary college, university or trade school.

During the Aug. 2 board meeting when these goals and Mendivil’s performance goal were discussed, James was opposed to his proposed goal of creating measurements for improvement in academic performance.

Measurements of student improvement prior to the administration of the 2024 ACT tests has been a lengthy topic of discussion by the board and administrators.

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New program aims to reduce youths’ suicide attempts

BY SOPHIA BIAZUS Cronkite News

Teen Lifeline, a local nonprofit dedicated to preventing teen suicide, has introduced a local initiative with a goal of reducing repeated suicide attempts.

Modeled after the Caring Contacts program for adults, volunteer teen peer counselors will reach out to teens who have been discharged from the hospital following a suicide attempt with supportive phone calls, texts, handwritten notes and care packages.

Caring Contacts is an intervention program used throughout the U.S. where patients released from the hospital after a suicide attempt are sent brief expressions of care and concern from someone who has interacted with the patient.

The support continues for about a year.

Jennifer Connor, Caring Contacts’ local intake specialist, said in an email that their own studies have shown the program reduced suicide deaths and de-

creased future hospitalizations among adult participants.

“We believe this incredible program will have a similarly positive impact among Arizona’s teens because it reaches high-risk patients that do not stay in therapeutic care,” she said.

Connor said the youth initiative is based on the belief that teens are generally more willing to confide in their peers.

“It really focuses on the connectedness and having that peer connection,” she said. “They are able to relate to our peer volunteers since they are the same age. Overall, anyone reaching out for help is very brave and they’re encouraged to reach out.”

Teen Lifeline expects to help more than 600 teens in Maricopa County during the yearlong program underwritten by Mercy Care, the not-for-profit health plan that offers care for children, adults and seniors eligible for benefits from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

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All 83 trained volunteer peer counselors are allowed to reach out to participants in Caring Contacts, Connor said.

For youth patients, participation is optional. Parents receive a form to fill out in the hospital before their teenage child is discharged, Connor said. They can opt in to Caring Contacts by completing the form and returning it to their nurse prior to the teen’s hospital discharge. The hospital then provides the patient’s contact information to Teen Lifeline

Peer volunteers do not receive details about the suicide attempt. Connor said the volunteers reach out to patients within 24 to 48 hours of their discharge from the hospital to reduce feelings of isolation, increase connectedness and provide resources.

In Maricopa County, Aurora Behavioral Health, Banner Health and Southwest Behavioral and Health Services have signed up to refer teen patients to Caring Contacts.

Connor said she expects additional hospitals and behavioral health services to participate in the future.

Dani, a junior studying social work at Arizona State University, started volunteering as a peer counselor during her senior year in high school after she lost a friend to suicide.

Dani’s last name has been withheld to protect her anonymity as a peer coun-

selor.

“I didn’t know what to do or how to help,” she said. “I decided if I started volunteering (at Teen Lifeline) I could learn what to do and how to be more helpful in the situation.”

Teen Lifeline volunteer peer counselors are between 15 and 18 years old. All must undergo a minimum of 72 hours of training where they learn how to communicate and how to be an effective listener before they start taking texts and calls.

“After volunteering, I learned that one of the biggest things that you can do is to just be a listening ear and a person that they know they can turn to who will just listen,” Dani said.

She said that her training has helped her treat everyone with no judgment and to be there for them, whether it’s in her personal life or on the hotline.

Teen Lifeline started in 1986 as a hotline for teens considering suicide, and volunteers have answered more than 315,000 calls and texts since its beginning.

In 2022, volunteer peer counselors answered more than 43,000 calls and texts from teenagers struggling with ideas of suicide. It has expanded to offer life skills training for volunteer and preven-

Counselors receive messages from teenagers who have called to express their gratitude. Teen Lifeline keeps the messages and hangs them in their hotline room. (Courtesy of Teen Lifeline)

WILSON

been really encouraging.”

“And now, … I’m just focused on trying to get everything down.”

She said Megan Sterling, the district’s executive director of community relations, advises her to pace herself because she’s the kind of person who plunges headlong into work.

“I’m trying to do it all,” she confessed, adding that she knows “I have to take care of myself but I’m excited to do the work.

“I see a lot of potential in our district and we have some great history and great foundations we can build on.”

While she said she learned much about the job’s wide and varied duties as associate superintendent, she also spent a considerable part of her first 10 days at the district’s helm getting out into the community and campuses.

And she said she has been working on deepening a relationship with the governing board – one area that she didn’t have to worry much about as associate superintendent.

Wilson also expressed a keen awareness of the deep and unique traditions at each of the district’s six campuses.

And she also has a keen awareness of the challenges facing high school students today – especially those created by technology, specifically social media and smart phones.

“At the beginning of being an administrator,” she explained, “social media

wasn’t there. I didn’t experience the distraction of all of that.”

While she noted the benefits technology has brought to students and teachers, she said, “There’s a downside to that.”

“I just think that with technology, there are a lot of different ways to expose

students to things that probably aren’t the safest,” Wilson said, adding that teachers, support staff and administrators face the challenge of “how are you supporting students and just trying to get them focused.”

That focus was outlined in her letter to students: “It is my sincere hope that this district provides you with the tools, resources, and support you need to achieve your goals and aspirations.”

While the governing board is still working on the details for its search for the district’s next superintendent, Wilson said she intends to apply for the job.

But true to that part of her DNA that belongs to Tempe Union, Wilson added, “Regardless I’m committed to the district. I want to do right by our families and I want to see us work well together.”

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Billboard ruling could affect other zoning

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Being offended by a new billboard in your neighborhood does not give you the legal right to challenge a decision by local officials to allow it, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 16.

In a unanimous decision, the threejudge panel said anyone seeking to overturn such actions has to show they have suffered a “sufficient particularized palpable injury’’ to have legal standing to go to court. That means something more than concerns about the aesthetics of the area, they said.

Kimberly MacEachern, representing the homeowners, said the ruling has much broader statewide implications –and not just involving billboards.

She said the same laws that regulate appeals of decisions by local boards of adjustment about where billboards can go also govern rulings granting variances from zoning ordinances that oth-

erwise govern what is and is not permissible in certain areas.

At the very least, that can include everything from required setbacks and requests to construct detached additional structures to whether certain “home occupations’’ can be allowed in residential areas.

“You’ll have situations like you have here where you basically have an unreviewable decision that is contrary to the zoning law and no one can check it because there’s no one that qualifies under those standards,’’ she said, calling it “a broken system.’’

“It gives the developers and the billboard people powers that no one else in our government has,’’ MacEachern said. “There’s nobody that would qualify under the standards for standing.’’

The case decided Wednesday involved efforts by Clear Channel to relocate three billboards onto the facade of a newly planned tower at Central Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix to be built

on the site. The company also wants to convert two of those billboards from static to digital.

A zoning adjustment hearing officer approved relocation but not conversion. But that last half was overturned by the board of adjustment.

That led to an appeal by the Arcadia Osborn Neighborhood Association and several individuals.

Arizona law allows lawsuits by any “person aggrieved’’ by a decision by the board.

Appellate Judge James Morse Jr., writing for the three-judge panel, said he and his colleagues interpret that broadly, “with an eye towards promoting the ends of justice.’’

Still, he said, there are limits.

“To have standing to bring an action

under the statute, a plaintiff must allege ‘particularized harm’ resulting from the board’s decision,’’ Morse wrote.

“An allegation of generalized harm that is shared alike by all or a large class of citizens generally is not sufficient to confer standing,’’ he continued. “In other words, general economic losses or general concerns regarding aesthetics in the area without a particularized palpable injury to the plaintiff are typically not sufficient to confer standing.’’

Morse said the individual property owners asserted harms related to traffic safety and loss of aesthetic value in the area. And that, said the judge, is focused on the frequency with which they use the intersection adjacent to the prop-

see

Experiment experience

Eighth grade students at Summit School in Ahwatukee pretended to be chemistry interns, working in pairs on solutions to six problems – without directly speaking to their partners. “Their only form of communication was writing back and forth on a shared Google document,” a school spokesman said adding they “had to silently collaborate and figure out a systematic way to collect enough data to solve the puzzle.” Sixth graders had their own lab challenge as well in learning basic activities in a lab. (Courtesy fo Summit School)

Conservative area historian had rock n’ roll roots

BY CECILIA CHAN AFN Staff Writer

In his early years growing up in the East Valley, Larry Schweikart was a long-haired drummer in rock-n-roll bands, one of which later opened for Steppenwolf.

Today the 72-year-old, white-haired, bespeckled Schweikart is a renowned history professor and author who has penned dozens of books, including a New York Times No. 1 bestseller.

“So right after high school I went to Arizona State and got a degree in poli sci,” said the Chandler resident. “The whole time I was racing cars and playing rock 'n roll music and paid no attention to my grades. I barely got a degree.

“Immediately after I graduated that weekend – I graduated on Friday and that Sunday I was on a van to play rockn-roll in Peoria, Illinois.”

Schweikart drummed for various bands, driving from one gig to the next, and while he was with the band Rampage, opened for groups, including the James Gang, Savoy Brown and Mother’s Finest.

He’s met a “very drunk” guitarist Pete Townshend of the legendary band The Who at the Troubadour Club in LA and he’s hung out with Southern rock pioneer Gregg Allman.

But in reality life on the road wasn’t at all glamorous.

“It was one hard lifestyle,” Schweikart said. He recalled playing at a club on a Sunday night near Arizona State University, finishing by 2 a.m. and then driving to Louisiana to open on a Tuesday night.

And after the band paid its expenses –gas, food and lodging – Schweikart said he got a $5 weekly salary, enough to buy a daily cup of coffee and doughnut for five days. The band ate red beans and rice six nights a week and on Saturday, chicken was added to the menu, he said.

“I weighed 129 pounds and wore a size 29 pants,” he said.

Although he was living the life of a rock-n-roller, Schweikart said he didn’t drink, do drugs and always wore ear plugs when drumming, which he credited for saving his hearing.

He said that as a Christian, he didn’t think it was right or made sense to indulge in alcohol and drugs.

“There is no more fun to be had than to be the only straight person in the midst of a bunch of people doing LSD,” he said.

“Somewhere around 1976, the end of 1976, I got tired of the road, which was very hard and some members of the band had left and rather than try to reform I came back to Arizona,” he said.

“When I got to ASU, my plan wasn’t to become a professor,” Schweikart said. “It was to be a teacher during the day and play rock-n-roll in the clubs at night.”

But he said he lost interest when he taught 7th-grade reading at a public school in Eloy.

He’d start teaching at 8 a.m., drive home for night classes at ASU, go play a gig until 2 a.m., go home and be back at school by 8, which wore on him, he said.

When he received his master’s in 1980, he quit playing the drums, which he has no regrets doing so.

Besides, he also knew that he could never become a star drummer as he couldn’t read music.

Grounded in the East Valley Schweikart headed for the family home near Colorado and Erie streets, two blocks from his former alma mater Chandler High School. Schweikart and

“During the time I believe what he said was ‘publish or perish. If you want to earn a living as a university professor you have to publish.’”

Schweikart took that advice to heart even though “I’ve not written anything in my life, not so much as a diary.”

His first paper ended up being published and won first place for best paper in the country in the Phi Alpha Theta Southwest Regional, according to Schweikart. The paper was about Robert Peary’s discovery of the North Pole.

The following year, he took second place in the contest with a paper about President Abraham Lincoln and the Mormons and how he dealt with them during the Civil War.

The same student had never won in consecutive years let alone one from the same school.

Schwiekart was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, to present his paper on Peary before the American Historical Association.

his mother, Eunice, ended up in Chandler after his father, Earl, died.

His father was the ranch manager of Daugherty Ranch in unincorporated Higley and the family lived in a house across the street from Joe’s Farm Grill.

“My dad died in 1960 and we were basically thrown out of the manager’s house since he was no longer the manager,” Schweikart said, adding that his dad had already by then purchased the home in Chandler.

The house no longer exists and Higley was later annexed mostly into Gilbert.

A scholarly turn

Schweikart intended to get a certificate at ASU to teach junior high and high schools and continue playing the drums.

Instead, taking a required American history class for that teaching certificate “literally changed my life,” Schweikart said.

“I loved what the professor said,” Schweikart said, recalling he asked the educator, “‘What do I have to do to get a job like yours?’”

The professor told him he needed to earn a master’s and a doctorate and “he got me in the master’s program in ASU,” Schweikart said.

While at ASU, the department chair asked Schweikart if he would be interested in a project – the Arizona Bankers Association wanted a pamphlet on the history of banking in the state.

Schweikart agreed to take the job at minimum wage.

After researching the subject, Schweikart said it took him one night to write the first chapter – 30 pages that covered the first 20 years of banking in Arizona.

The book was released in 1982 to “decent reviews,” he said.

“Most amazing thing about that is I never had a banking, finance or economics course in my entire life,” he said. “But I was able to immerse myself in banking documents.”

In 1980, Schweikart earned his masters in history and ASU “kicked me out,” because the university said it was not big enough to get him a job.

For his doctorate, he attended the University of Santa Barbara in California, which then housed the country’s preeminent history department. He said he turned down a free ride to Claremont McKenna College in California because being “pretty conservative,” he didn’t feel it would work in his best interest.

To say Dr. Larry Schweikart is a prolific writer is an understatement. The Chandler author, whose roots lay partly in then-unincorporated Higley, is surrounded by everything he’s written. (Courtesy of Dr. Larry Schweikart)

“I needed somebody who could work with me, somebody who wouldn’t torpedo my career,” he said. He found it in Professor W. Elliot Brownlee, a business historian at UCSB.

Under his advice, Schweikart expanded his previous writing on banking to a 1,000-page dissertation on banking in the American South from 1836-65.

The paper was named one of the three best economic dissertations and he went to New York City to present it to the Business History Association. Schweikart said that was the only time that he felt scared, standing in front of a room full of economists.

After earning a doctorate in history in 1983, Schweikart taught for a year at University of Wisconsin-Richland Center. From there he got a job that lasted the rest of his career – 31 years teaching at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Hobnobbing with intellectuals

Some of Schweikart’s fond memories included rubbing elbows with notable intellectuals.

In 1990 he and other young scholars were invited to Munich by the Mont Pelerin Society, an organization of economists, philosophers and historians.

“Many of the leading economists of the day were in this group,” he said. “I was in a room with five Noble Prize winners and I was not one of them.”

He recalled being with these standouts at a social event on a barge going down the Danube River and having a lively debate over the Federal Reserve System with economist and statistician Milton Friedman, a 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize recipient.

“It was a good debate,” said Schweikart, who added that he won although Friedman also claimed victory.

Schweikart was a prolific writer, publishing 85% to 90% of any paper he wrote.

“I out-published the History Department at the University of Dayton after six to seven years,” he said.

In 2004, a book he co-authored with Michael Allen, “A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror” came out and climbed to No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

The book is described as the definitive conservative history of the country,

“correcting the biases of historians and other intellectuals who downplay the greatness of America’s patriots.”

It’s in its 40th printing with half a million copies in print and fulfilled Schweikart’s goal of selling a book that was being read by “regular people.”

His books include “48 Liberal Lies of American History,” “Reagan: The American President,” and “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1: From Washington to Taft.”

Predicting Trump victory

Schweikart also predicted that Donald Trump would win the 2016 election and wrote a book in advance, “How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution.”

But publishers would not touch it –that is until Trump won, according to Schweikart.

In 2020, Trump appointed Schweikart to the National Board for Educational Sciences, which helps manage the Institute of Education Sciences.

Schweikart’s expertise wasn’t just confined to the classroom or books.

He has appeared on media outlets such as CNN, Al-Jazeera Television and TV talk shows by hosts, including Glenn Beck, Tavis Smiley and the late Rush Limbaugh.

He also is a regular speaker with Young America’s Foundation, a conservative

20 books that he’s solely authored or co-authored. He’s also ghost-wrote 10 books.

In 2010, he produced and created “Rockin’ the Wall,” a documentary about rock music’s part in helping bring down the Berlin Wall and includes interviews with musicians on both sides of the wall.

The conservative historian Schweikart also found time to have a family. He met wife Nadia, who goes by Dee, in 1987 in Dayton while she was working at a health club as an aerobics instructor.

Dee got him interested in aerobics and soon the couple was teaching the class at various Ohio health clubs until the mid 1990s when he quit to focus on his writing. Their only child Adam was born in 1988.

In 2016, Schweikart retired and the couple moved to Chandler.

youth organization.

Although Schweikart’s list of published work is long, he personally counts

He said he probably could have stayed on the job with the university for several more years but he “saw danger on the horizon” with political correctness and

Dr. Larry Schweikart met President George W. Bush in 2006 when he was invited to discuss military history. (Courtesy of Dr. Larry Schweikart)

HISTORIAN

people getting censored.

“I’ve not had one iota of trouble,” he said. “My department loved me. My department protected me.”

But Schweikart didn’t go riding off into the sunset.

Since 2004 people have been clamoring for him to write a curriculum for A Patriot’s History but he didn’t have support – that is until he met someone who bankrolled him to develop three years of courses.

The benefactor also took care of the initial web development and branding.

In 2017, Schweikart unveiled the wildworldofhistory.com website, featuring homeschool curriculum for American history and world history for a price.

The curriculum includes video lessons, visual aids, study guides, tests and answers. He has seen his business grow every year since its launch.

The lessons are in a video format “because kids these days don’t read,” he said. One-third of American high school and college students don’t read a single article that’s not required by their classes in a year, he added.

For Shweikart, being a conservative historian means “to me the facts are conservative.”

For instance, “the larger story is that whites came over here and tried to exterminate the Indians and were on a mission to wipe them out,” he said.

The reality was when European settlers first arrived on the East Coast, the native Americans didn’t see them as a

LIGHT from page 12 in charge of it,” Vanderwall said.

But Vanderwall hopes other residents will find the time and passion to join the board, which also is will be needing a lot of volunteers for the soon-to-be-renamed Kick-Off Party.

The Festival of Lights organization was founded in 1995 by three women who wanted to keep the lights display on Chandler Boulevard that had been set up by homebuilder Del Webb to attracted buyers to the Foothills community.

One of those women, Janyce Hazlett, said she and her two friends, Susan Ballman and Dawn McGraw were saddened when Del Webb ended the promotional display and so they decided

threat but saw them as another tribe to be dealt with either through warfare or alliance, he said.

He pointed to the French and Indian War, when the indigenous people allied with the French against the British.

“Again, you go with what the facts are,” he said. “If facts tell the story, you report

at a holiday party in 1994 to create a new effort to keep the lights burning in December.

As time went on, they created the beer and wine festival and Kick-Off Party to raise the money needed to run the display.

Both events will now help Light Up Ahwatukee support both its charity partner of the year and Foothills HOA's costs for the light display.

In a 2020 interview with AFN, Hazlett recalled how the Festival of Lights, by then organized as a nonprofit, worked feverishly to raise money for the display.

“During the early 2000’s, our primary sponsors were Realtors, title companies, medical and dental offices and various local businesses,” she said.

“The last of the Revolutionary generation of (Thomas) Jefferson, (James) Madison and (James) Monroe died out and a new generation of people came out to explore the West,” he said. “It was an amazing period.”

He said when people today complain that “politics is nasty,” nothing could be nastier than the politics of the 1800s.

He pointed to Vice President Aaron Burr, a Republican, killing former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, in a duel in 1804; the deadly knife fight on the floor of Arkansas General Assembly in 1837 where the House speaker killed a state representative with a bowie knife and in 1856 when a South Carolina House representative nearly beat to death a Massachusetts senator in the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Congress.

“They didn’t stop carrying pistols in the Senate until the Civil War,” he noting that the seventh U.S. President Andrew Jackson fought a number of duels, by some accounts over a 100.

“Politics is tame today compared to back then,” he said.

There’s no slowing down for Schweikart.

the facts.”

Shweikart said his favorite historical period is the beginning of 1800 to the Civil War because the country was changing so rapidly with the invention of the steamboat and railroad.

The United States also doubled its size in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase.

“The monies raised at these events went directly to fund the lights and we were fortunate many folks from these companies, from schools and lots of community supporters became involved and joined committees or just showed up to take on any tasks,” Hazlett said, adding:

“Although there were some challenging years during the recession and our sponsors thinned out somewhat, most returned in recent years and seem proud to be supporters.”

The FOL soon partnered with other charities for help and support. Every year, for their volunteer efforts and auction contributions related to the beer and wine event and Kick-Off Party, three charities were selected to share a portion

His latest book “Patriot’s History of Globalism: Its Rise and Decline” released in February and he’s got another book due out in 2025.

He also has no regrets spending his youthful years chasing after gigs.

“I’m so glad I did it,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But it was one hard lifestyle.”

of the proceeds.

Once Hazlett moved to East Mesa after the 2020 Kick-Off Party, a new version of the Festival of Lights organization emerged that included Reyes-Smith. Vanderwall signed on as it began planning last year's Kick-Off Party.

Hazlett its excited about Light Up Ahwatukee, stating, "I am thrilled to see the new organization evolving into a vital community entity, focusing on events and charitable efforts benefiting Ahwatukee."

"The resilience and growth of the volunteer base (which now encompasses some adults who attended as children), exhibits the strength and determination of people who realize the importance of community and tradition"

As a young man, Larry Schweikart. seen here in the middle of the front row, was part of the Rampage Band. (Courtesy of Dr. Larry Schweikart)

EVIT providing firefighting training program

AFN NEWS STAFF

Anew partnership between the East Valley Institute of Technology and Superstition Fire & Medical District aims to prepare students for fire and emergency jobs in small communities.

Those communities don’t have their own fire and emergency medical departments and rely on fire districts for that help.

“After completing EVIT’s Fire and Emergency Services program, students who want to pursue careers in large urban communities in Arizona usually attend fire academies hosted by cities such as Phoenix, Mesa, and Tucson,” EVIT spokeswoman CeCe Todd explained.

“But smaller communities often don’t have the resources for an academy and find it difficult to hire and train qualified applicants.”

The Superstition Fire & Medical District’s sponsorship of the EVIT program “will give students the opportunity to earn state-recognized Fire I and Fire II credentials, which will allow them to apply to work as firefighters in smaller ommunities that do not have academies,” Todd said.

“This partnership is an example of EVIT’s mission to serve our communities,” said Chief Academic Officer Dr. Ronda Doolen. “In this case, our community is the state of Arizona.

“Our smaller community neighbors need firefighters and emergency personnel and with the support of the Superstition district, EVIT fire students will be prepared to serve those communities.”

EVIT’s partnership with Superstition doesn’t prevent EVIT students from pursuing a career in larger, more urban departments, but, “The partnership with the Superstition District gives students more options if they want to start working right away after completing their EVIT program,” Doolen said.

The partnership will include collaboration between EVIT staff and members of the Superstition district, content expertise and knowledge by the fire dis-

trict, job shadowing opportunities for EVIT students, fire district personnel supporting EVIT training and skill development.

Todd also noted the program will help both EVIT and the fire district “provide a viable workforce to communities across the state.”

“Although SFMD firefighters attend post-hire Regional Fire Academies as part of our Valley-wide automatic aid agreement, we felt this was an incredible opportunity to provide educational connectivity, focused access to potential candidates, and assistance to our Arizona fire service partners across the state as we all face unprecedented recruitment challenges,” said Superstition District Chief John Whitney.

“Providing this sponsorship enables EVIT to produce state-certified firefighters for agencies that need personnel immediately,” Whitney said.

“It also provides a high level of education and exposure for the students to experience the fire service. With the support of our governing board of directors, we truly appreciate the opportunity to partner with EVIT. We are excited to participate in the program’s future development.”

About 180 students are currently enrolled in the EVIT Fire and Emergency Services program.

In addition to the new Fire I and Fire II credentials, EVIT students can earn certifications in CPR, National Emergency Medical Technician, Wildland Fire Fighter Certificate, and more.

“Giving our students more opportunities to be successful while also helping our neighbors in need is what EVIT is all about,” Doolen said.

“We are using our taxpayer-funded resources to bring about positive change in the lives of our students and our community.”

EVIT offers tuition-free career training for East Valley high school students and tuition-based programs for Phoenixarea adults at two central campuses in Mesa and a branch campus at Apache Junction High School.

Information: evit.com.

Expires 8/31/23.

Industrial mega-site returns to VPC Monday

AFN NEWS STAFF

Anearly 511,000-square-foot complex of three light industrial buildings along I-10 is scheduled to return to the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee on Monday, Aug. 28, as it seeks a zoning change that would allow it to court an expanded pool of tenants.

Developer Via West’s plan for the largely built complex on 50th Street near E. Thistle Landing Drive, just north of Chandler Boulevard, will be heard at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 at Pecos Community Center.

Via West leased the land from Kyrene School District for at least 77 years in a deal that district officials said would generate over $100 million in revenue over the course of the lease.

The developer made its initial presentation to the committee in April and Monday’s hearing marks its next step in the city approval process. It would then go to the Planning Commission for its recommendation to Phoenix City Council.

During the April hearing, some committee members expressed concerns about potentially hazardous chemicals on the site that might result from an expanded pool of tenants.

Attorney Carolyn Oberholtzer presented the plan to the committee on behalf of Via West, explaining it wants a minor General Plan amendment and related zoning change for the 28.6-acre site.

Because the site is currently zoned Commerce Park/General Commerce Park, the developer wants a Planned Unit Development classification in order to court a wider range of companies for occupancy in the three buildings, which are about 40 feet high.

That expansion of potential uses provoked VPC member Darin Fisher to express concern about the companies that could lease space and the fact they would be allowed to include hazardous materials in their manufacturing processes.

Both Fisher and resident Lei Finke also expressed concern over the developer’s traffic study estimate that the complex would generate 1,742 vehicle trips a day – mostly by semi-trailer trucks, according to Via West’s presentation to neighbors last fall.

The Kimley Horn traffic study said that about 200 vehicle trips would be added to the morning and evening rush hour.

Kimley Horn said the total number of trips was far less than the 2,858 daily trips that would have been generated if the site had been developed as an office complex as previously planned.

During Via West’s neighborhood meeting last year, the developer’s representatives said the trucks like would exit the complex and head north on 50th, then turn right onto Ray Road in order to hit I-10.

Conversely, the developer’s representative said in April, trucks would likely queue up in the south bound lanes of I-10 at the Chandler Boulevard exit to turn right and then right onto 50th Street to reach the complex.

All that traffic concerned resident Finke, who reminded the committee of the 417-unit apartment complex planned for 50th Street within a few hundred yards of Converge Logistics.

Calling 50th Street “notorious for speeders” with two “quasi-blind curves” near its intersection with Thistle Landing, Finke echoed another citizen’s written remarks about the “terrible gridlock” that will be created at 50th and Ray.

Fisher also worried about traffic in the area, calling 50th and Ray one of the “two worst intersections in rush hour here.”

Noting “Phoenix doesn’t limit delivery times for these trucks,” he said there was a strong potential for 24/7 truck traffic that would likely create an annoyance for nearby households amid the rumble of truck engines and the hiss of air brakes.

But Oberholtzer said, “These kinds of manufacturers, their schedules don’t always match 9 to 5 so sometimes they get deliveries in the evenings and the middle of the night. But most of them do daytime.”

As for congestion, she reiterated the Kimley Horn estimates that the Converge Logistics Center actually was cutting by 1,000 daily vehicle trips the traffic that the previously planned office would have generated.

Fisher was more concerned about what would be going on inside the companies those trucks would be visiting, saying the rezone would “change materially the manufacturing capabilities on the site.”

He said that since semiconductor companies are included in that list of possible tenants, “that means you’re us-

ing some of the most toxic and dangerous chemicals available.”

Oberholtzer noted that a tenant handling hazardous chemicals would need additional city permits.

To get those permits, the company would be required to go through additional levels of scrutiny for safety by city fire inspectors.

Oberholtzer said the zoning classification “spells out very clearly as to hazardous materials storage, a fire review, all of the environmental quality reviews, what the limitations are. They also have noise limitations and the agencies that are in charge of those various environmental quality considerations.

“It’s not always specific, but it absolutely points you to all of those reviews and when you are doing your occupancy certification and your tenant improvements,” she continued.

Fisher remained adamant, saying “It’s not a minor change, It really is pretty big”

Oberholtzer also note, “The city doesn’t get to pick tenants, we establish the framework for the use and then the tenants have to get through the process. But what Via West is exceptionally good at –and motivated to stay that way – is fitting the right tenant mix with each other.”

Developer Via West wants a zoning change that would allow it to court a wider range of companies as tenants for the massive 511,000-square-foot complex of three buildings on 50th Street just north of Chandler Boulevard. (File photo)

BILLBOARD from page 20 erty.

“But it is not enough that a plaintiff has suffered the same kind of harm or interference as the general public but to a greater extend or degree,’’ Morse said.

Nor was the appellate court swayed by arguments by one of the plaintiffs that she works in a building within view of the property.

“She claims that she may be distracted by them if she chooses to work in other public areas of the building or in a nearby cafe,’’ he said. Not good enough,

SUICIDE from page 18

tion education in schools.

The demand for services like Teen Lifeline is increasing. The organization received a 50% increase in annual calls and texts since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death for Arizonans ages 10-24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 694 deaths among people under 24 from 2020 to 2023.

In 2020, suicide was the 10th leading overall cause of death in Arizona, with 1,363 certified deaths attributed to suicide for all ages. Arizona’s rate of suicide per 100,000 of population was 35% higher than that of the U.S.

Morse said.

MacEachern said the solution may lay with the Legislature, which restricted their rights to protest those decisions.

“You either have to be a taxpayer within so many feet, which is arbitrary and capricious, or be one of these people that falls into one of these vague categories,’’ she said, meaning someone with a “sufficient particularized palpable injury.’’

“And it takes you two and a half, three years to even figure out if you have the standing to make the argument,’’ MacEachern said.

Finding help

Arizona youths dealing with thoughts of suicide, depression, trouble at school, fights with a significant other, family issues or who just need to talk, can call the Teen Lifeline hotline at 602-248-8336 (TEEN) or 800-248-8336.

Peer counselors ages 15 to 18 answer the hotline from 3 to 9 p.m. daily, including holidays. Adult counselors take over the rest of the time 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Teens can text the hotline from noon to 9 p.m. weekdays and 3 to 9 p.m. weekends.

For additional help, dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (TALK) or the local Crisis Response Network at 602-222-9444.

www.ahwatukee.com

Mt. Pointe Theatre marks 30 years with a comedy

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Mountain Pointe biology teacher

Corey Quinn’s passion for the high school’s theater program runs deep.

“I’ve been directing for 24 years – kind of lost count,” said Quinn, a Pride alumnus who returned as a teacher after getting his degree. “I’ve definitely directed at least 35 shows over those years and been involved in many more.”

That passion – and the district’s new calendar – explain why Quinn wasted no time assembling a cast and crew for Mountain Pointe Theatre Company’s first production of the 2023-24 school year.

Auditions were held as soon as the new year began July 19 and rehearsals started the following week.

“It was a bit odd to start so early, but honestly once the ball was rolling it was like any other show,” he said.

That resiliency will be on full display in a few days as the Mountain Pointe Theatre Company presents a comedy throwback to the 1950s with “The Mouse That Roared” at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25, and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at the school, 4201 E. Knox Road, Ahwatukee.

Based on a satirical book born in the “Ban the Bomb” era of the 1950s, “Mouse” involves a tiny, nearly bankrupt Alpine country that invades America because the duchess believes the surest way to wealth is to lose a war with the United States because it will pour aid, relief and rehabilitation on the vanquished. The only problem: the little country wins.

Made into a successful play and a movie starring comic genius Peter Sellers, “Mouse” marks a special anniversary for the Mountain Pointe Theatre Company.

But two-week breaks in both semesters now make it “hard to take a break mid- show and not have kids forget all

that we learned,” he said.

“But we will manage,” he added. “Kids are pretty resilient.”

The theater company is marking 30 years of entertaining audiences and

Y OPAS a rewarding experience for volunteers

BY KAIA CANFIELD AFN Guest Writer

The YMCA Outreach Programs for Ahwatukee Seniors is a free community service available to seniors in our area needing a little help.

And it’s volunteers like Kathleen Kretschmar who help Ahwatukee seniors get around – and enjoy some companionship.

Kathleen was asked about her experience and her answers provide insight into the altruistic motives of the remarkable Y OPAS volunteers.

How did you became interested in volunteering with Y OPAS?

After raising seven children, my youngest is now in college and I have more time available. A friend of mine, a long-time Y OPAS volunteer, invited me to check it out at a Saturday morning Volunteer Appreciation Event. I was hooked!

Give an example of how you juggle work, family responsibilities, vacations, being a snowbird, etc. and manage to fit volunteering with Y OPAS into your life?

I am a retired CPA and have lived in the area since 1990. I cared for my elderly parents after they moved here in 2003 until their passing. Growing up, my grandparents lived with my family near the end of their lives as well.

Helping Seniors in my community is a natural extension of my family history of car-

ing for our elderly. It’s the right thing to do. I do travel often and Y OPAS lets me schedule around my availability. Raising seven children, I have had to be organized, and prioritize the things that were important to me. Does your family get involved also and do they approve of the volunteer service you provide?

My family has been involved with various service groups over the years. I feel spending time with family and volunteering is much more important than cleaning!

When some of my children were younger, we served together through the National Charity League and East Valley Boys Service Club.

Did your family instill these values in you and the desire to help others? Or who or what was your inspiration?

Kathleen Kretschmar became a Y OPAS volunteer after reading AFN’s reports about the nonprofit. (Special to AFN)

Ellie Alfonso as Duchess Gloriana XII, center left, talks to Brianna Nunez as Tully Bascombe, on the eve of their country’s successful invasion of America with only an army equipped with bows and arrows. Looking on are Molly Corbin as Countess Mountjoy and Karl Pollett as David Benter in the Mountain Pointe Theatre Company’s presentation of “The Mouse That Roared.” (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

engaging students in what became a springboard for some to have careers on stage or behind the curtain.

And, Quinn noted, “The Mouse that Roared” was the company’s very first production. “I was a student at Mountain Pointe,” he said. “I even remember seeing it myself.”

Because of its historical significance, all Mountain Pointe students get in for free. Others can find ticket information at mptheatreco.com.

Quinn selected “Mouse” for two reasons.

“I thought it would be good to do the show out of respect for where this theatre company began and how far we have come in over 30 years,” he explained.

Besides, he said, “It is a fun, cute, funny, and actually very relevant political show.

“This is an old show and it is pretty silly and ridiculous,” Quinn said. “The small country of Fenwick is pretty dated – soldiers with bows and arrows in a modern world.”

The 1959 movie fell flat with critics and theatergoers in England, it was a box office hit in the United States.

It also has been called Sellers’ prequel of sorts to the more bitter Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove,” in which he played three different roles.

Quinn believes “a good comedy has more than just good laughs” and that while “Mouse” has a style of comedy different from today’s, “there is a feeling you get when watching it – similar to an old classic movie.

“This one also has undertones of politics and war,” he added. “In the show there is a ‘Q-bomb’ similar to a nuclear weapon and some of the topics of conversation are similar to those discussed with the atom bomb when it was created.”

Quinn noted “Mouse” is appearing on Mountain Pointe’s stage at the same time that the blockbuster movie about the father of the atom bomb, “Oppenheimer,” is playing on the silver screen a coincidence he called “very cool.”

Quinn said “Mouse” has a simple set “with platforms and lighted areas where scenes begin and end without blackouts.

“This keeps the show moving and flowing nicely,” he explained. “Also, we are using projection to set the stage for scenes with images and video that help

the audience know where we are in the play.

“This helps keep the focus on the actors and their abilities. Keeping the audience informed and not confused is always our goals. But between the actors and crew, we do a pretty good job.”

The Mountain Pointe Theatre Company has other stage treats in store over the

WHY SETTLE FOR ORDINARY?

coming year, including “Waiting For Godot” Nov. 3-4, “Puffs” on Feb. 2-3, and the musical “Zombie Prom” April 5 and 6.

The cast for “The Mouse that Roared” includes Ellie Alfonso, Matlyn McShane, Lilliana Lopez, Danielle Mahoney, Brooklyn Cole, Melanny Rivera, Kimberly Bonagofski, Shilaah Amaroo, Danielle Mahoney and Lilliana Lopez;

Also, Addison Redwanc, Holly Deeney, Matlyn McShane, April Coyers, Layla Hamilton, Brianna Nunez, Molly Corbin, Karl Pollett, Anissa Moreno, Owen Klanke, Maia Pattison, Alex Blunt, Kirk Conyers, Micah DeMoss; Mohogany Rembert, Anissa Moreno, Ariel Alexis and Alex Guenther.

Some cast members piull double-duty as part of the crew.

The crew includes: Stage Managers Xander Gaede and Hannah Kinsman and Technical Director Noah Campos.

The crew also includes: Owen Klanke, Abigal Mckeown, Adrian Olivera, Brooklyn Cole, Molly Corbin, Danielle Mahaney, Ashelyn Surman, Lilliana Lopez, Maya Patron, Addison Redwanc, Kirk Conyers, Micah DeMoss; Also, Naomi Jewell, Layla Hamilton, Maia Pattison, Leo Martin, Cameron Weber, Matlyn McShane, Jordyn Holguin, April Conyers, Ariel Alexis, Melanny Rivera, Charles Salt, Karl Pollett, Kendra Brierly, Analiese Frommelt, Alex Blunt, Amaris Moreno, Holly Deeney, Odie Winn, Emma Kulinowski, Anissa Moreno, Shilaah Amaro, Mohogany Rembert, Elie Alfonso and Alex Guenther.

Brianna Nunez as Tully Bascombe takes stock of her army, which includes, from left, Molly Corbin, Alex Guenther, Ariel Alexis, Mohogany Rembert and Micah DeMoss. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

I was raised in Southern California and my parents were great examples of helping in the community.

My dad was my soccer coach when I was younger. He was very involved with the local Elks Lodge, serving in various leadership roles over several years and was the leader in collections for the V.A. hospital.

My mom was involved in Girl Scouts and PTA when I was younger. She cooked holiday meals for the Salvation Army and was the female counterpart to my dad’s leadership roles in the Elks. It was through their example I came to believe that helping others should be part of my usual commitments.

How do you and your family benefit when you personally donate an hour here or there to help a senior who needs a ride or a cheerful, friendly phone call to someone confined to their home?

I set my volunteer schedule based on my availability. My husband is supportive of my commitment to Y OPAS. We make sure an appropriate vehicle is available for me to pick up a client.

The Y OPAS organization shows ap-

preciation for volunteers with a variety of events including happy hours, coffee and kolache gatherings, etc. A smile and a thank you from my Y OPAS client is all I need to keep me volunteering time and time again.

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer for Y OPAS? What keeps you motivated to continue volunteering?

This has been the best volunteer experience I have had due to the flexibility and ease of scheduling and all the appreciative Y OPAS clients and staff.

The training program was convenient and informative, so I was comfortable to jump in and get started. There are a variety of opportunities for driving, friendly in-person and phone visits, luncheons, dominoes, art classes, and other social activities to help keep seniors engaged.

The variety of opportunities makes it fun for me as well as I usually stay with the client when I take them to the social

activities.

This gives us time to chat and become more familiar with each other and I even learned how to play a new dominoes game.

What types of services do you like to sign up for and how much time does it require from you? Is it difficult to sign up or select a time that works for you?

My favorite service is my friendly visits with “Miss Betty.” She is 95 and often has a story to tell of her time serving missions in the Philippines. Recently when I visited her, I shared videos and pictures of my recent travels and she enjoyed that a lot. I have also driven several clients to luncheons, dominoes and personal appointments.

I enjoy the ease of scheduling using Ride Scheduler. My questions are answered about the time required, the location the client is going to, any access issues to their homes, if they use a cane or walker, and even if they require a special

height vehicle.

Friendly visits are scheduled for an hour, but we usually talk longer than that! The luncheons and other social events are usually scheduled for 90 minutes to two hours. Personal appointments are usually one to two hours as well.

How do the clients treat you? Do you feel appreciated? Has anyone touched your heart in a special way?

The clients are grateful and always express their thanks for the visits and rides. Getting to know them, they greet me with smiles.

They feel important and seem to enjoy introducing me to their friends at the social functions. All my clients are special. They appreciate everything I have done for them!

What would you say to someone if they are considering volunteering?

Volunteering for Y OPAS is a simple, rewarding way to give back to your community on your schedule. You will make new friends of all ages.

For more information on becoming a client or a Y OPAS volunteer, contact valleyymca.org/opas or call 602-212-6088.

Revamped Night for Kyrene has tickets, seeks sponsors

The Kyrene Foundation is now offering tickets and seeking sponsors for a revamped version of the annual Night for Kyrene, which raises funds for the foundation’s mission of helping the entire school district’s community.

It will be held 6-10 p.m. Sept. 9 at Wild Horse Pass and include a plated dinner, cash bar, a wine pull, music by Picaso & Twin Strings and a silent auction that will also be available online.

“Sponsors are critical to the success of our event, and are a wonderful way for local business to make a significant impact in our community,” the foundation said in a release, urging interested parties to email nightforkyrene@ kyrenefoundation.org. Tickets and information on sponsor benefits is at e.givesmart.com/events/wTu.

The foundation also is putting out the call for silent auction items, saying it welcomes gift cards and baskets, services, memorabilia, staycation packages and more.

Donors can contact nightforkyrene@ kyrenefoundation.org.

Corpus Christi Knights of Columbus ramping up for golf tourney

Confident the heat wave will ebb by September, the Corpus Christi Knights of Columbus Council 10062 is asking golfers to save Sept. 9 for their annual Memorial Golf Tournament.

This year’s tournament honoree is Jim McGrath and this is Knights’ 32nd event. Proceeds will benefit Knights’ Charities, the K of C Ukraine Solidarity Fund and Folds of Honor Arizona, a nonprofit providing scholarships to qualifying family members of fallen military and first responders.

Registration is taking place now and includes a full round of golf, beverages, cart prizes and lunch for $140 per player.

The tourney will be at the Arizona Grand Golf Course in Ahwatukee with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.

Sponsors are also needed. Three sponsorship levels are available with each carrying a variety of benefits.

Knights of Columbus 10062 Charities, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) organization. Call 480250-2208 and leave a call-back number

or visit kofc10062.org to download registration and sponsorship forms.

Assistance League has Action Week wish list

Assistance League of East Valley will kick off Action Week on Aug. 21-27, a nationwide promotion by the National Assistance League to provide clothing and supplies for local school children. The local organization has published wish lists of items online.

Assistance League of East Valley is an all-volunteer group with a deep commitment to helping children and vulnerable adults in the east valley communities. Last year the organization provided clothing and supplies for 6,530 children and homeless teens, as well as assault survivor kits for 3,827 individuals in crisis.

During Action Week, the organization is calling on the community to support their mission by donating supplies and money, volunteering their time, and spreading the word.

The wish lists are at rightgift.com/nonprofits/assistance-league-east-valley.

Campaign for women’s shelter slates benefit golf tourney

Janice’s Center, a unique women’s shelter that is being planned by Ahwatukee resident Shanté Saulsberry, will be held beginning at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 21 at McCormick Ranch Golf Club, 7505 E. McCormick Pkwy., Scottsdale, on its Pine Course.

The four-person team scramble has room for a maximum 144 players. Breakfast, lunch and prizes will be part of the package.

“This golf tournament is the first for Janice’s Women’s Center and a very important fundraiser to help establish the first safe house offered under the care of JWC to support women and children suffering from domestic violence,” said Saulsberry.

Saulsberry is also seeking sponsors.

Information for sponsors and registration can be found at charitygolftoday. com/sponsor?e=11548&ce=f7ae7b

Saulsberry envisions Janice’s Women’s Center will offer victims comprehensive services that would include can involve legal assistance, counseling, job training, childcare, and more.

Nonprofit weight-loss support program at Rec Center

A TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly)

Club chapter is meeting at 6 p.m. every Wednesday in the board room at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center, 5001 E. Cheyenne Drive. It’s preceded at 5:30 p.m. by socializing and optional weighin charts.

The club was formed in Wisconsin in 1948 and has grown over time to become an international organization. The 28-year-old Ahwatukee club offers education, fun contests and sharing of weekly progress at its meetings “without negative judgments.”

For more information, contact Meg Hoffman at 602-486-9100.

Ahwatukee Toastmasters offers growth opportunities

For over 35 years, the Ahwatukee Toastmasters has maintained a continuous presence in Ahwatukee, providing the know-how, practice and encouragement to help members improve their

communication and leadership abilities. Toastmasters meets 7-8 a.m. every other Tuesday at Esperanza Lutheran Church, 2601 E. Thunderhill Place, Ahwatukee. For more information, call or text Ed Prestwood at 480-603-8359, or search Ahwatukee Toastmasters. The group’s chair is Jianhong Zhou, who can be contacted at smiqua.zhou@gmail. com.

Ironwood Library offers free activities for all ages in August

Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, presents a variety of programs for children, teens and adults. Unless otherwise noted, no tickets or registration is required.

Information: phoenixpubliclibrary. org.

Full STEAM Ahead

Children ages 6-12 explore hands-on creative ways to design, experiment, and invent Aug. 26, 2-4 p.m., in this drop-in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) program.

New store aims to be after-school hangout

BY GERI KOEPPEL AFN Contributor

Anew locally owned water and ice business in Ahwatukee Foothills hopes to be less of a place to run in and out for necessities and more of a community destination, thanks to a lineup of multicultural snacks, sweets and toys.

Hillside Water and Ice Cream opened Aug. 13 in the Ahwatukee Mercado plaza on East Elliot Road at South 48th Street near Safeway.

e bright, cheery spot sells water rells, bags of ice and rifty ice cream as well as an extensive selection of Mexican candy, sodas and frozen treats, Japanese packaged foods and more.

Ahwatukee residents Herman and Wanlin Lam were inspired to open the shop because they thought the plaza “was missing a water store for the convenience of the neighborhood,” Herman

said. e nearest water and ice store is a mile south on Warner Road and 48th Street.

Wanlin and Herman Lam of Ahwatukee on Aug. 13 opened Hillside Water and Ice Cream, which sells purified water, bagged ice, ice cream and an array of imported snacks, candy and toys.

ate a place for kids to go after school.

“We want to get away from the traditional style of water and ice [stores],” Herman explained. “ at’s why we named it ‘water and ice cream’ rather than water and ice.”

Although other water and ice stores sell ice cream, shave ice and candy, Hillside’s multicultural selection of food and drinks is unusual.

Herman noted that Aubree was the “technical adviser” on the initial lineup of merchandise, which also includes Japanese toys.

“My daughter, she likes to shop,” Wanlin said, so they asked for her ideas on what to carry.

But the Lams also envision it as a “hangout,” they said. ey have two children—a daughter, Aubree, 12, and son, Liam, 11— and said one goal was to cre-

Treats include Japanese wafer sandwiches with chocolate or matcha ice cream, boba milk bars, Mexican frozen fruit bars and bags of imported chips

Local woman left the high seas to clean homes

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

There was a time when Elizabeth Stone lived the nautical life aboard luxury yachts in the Caribbean, Aegean Sea and along the eastern seaboard.

Her position was as chief stewardess aboard these yachts, some self-owned, others vacation chartered, and oversaw as many as 10 sta ers who ensured common spaces and guest quarters were kept immaculate. Stone’s special and personal touches were a part of the luxury service.

Stone also served some high-pro le clients, among them Ed Sheeran, the Bacardi family and her personal favorite, Judith Susan Sheindlin, better known to the public as Judge Judy.

Following those years on the high

seas, she’s brought the skills of keeping these multimillion dollar yachts “ship shape” to the desert with her own cleaning company, e Fresh Sweep.

Entrepreneurship is familiar to Stone, having owned her own boutique tour company in Charleston, South Carolina, in her mid-20s. She served as a local tour guide for small groups, but opted to close that business after deciding to take on the yachting gig.

“My yoga teacher at the time encouraged me to give it a try, saying I was young, I was single, I should get on a boat,” recalled Stone, a Texas A&M University graduate.

“Within three months, I advanced to chief stewardess, developing a passion for hospitality, cleaning, organization

see SEAS page 34

Ahwatukee resident Elizabeth Stone, founder and owner of The Fresh Sweep, an organizational, home and commercial cleaning service previously worked as chief stewardess on yachts serving high-profile clients. (Special to AFN)

RECOGNIZING WOMEN LEADERS

1520 SOUTH LONGMORE, MESA

From city hall and the statehouse (and Senate) to corporate offices and boardrooms, women are making a remarkable difference in our community.

From

From city hall and the statehouse (and Senate) to corporate offices and boardrooms, women are making a remarkable difference in our community.

and

On September 20, join us as we recognize women leaders at the PHX East Valley Partnership’s annual Statespersons’ Event.

On September 20, join us as we recognize women leaders at the PHX East Valley Partnership’s annual Statespersons’ Event.

Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker

Anna Maria Chávez, president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation and one of the world’s top experts on women’s leadership

Anna Maria Chávez, president

world’s top experts

Panel

Anna Maria Chávez, president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation and one of the world’s top experts on women’s leadership

Panel Discussion: Propelling More Women into Leadership Roles

Discussion: Propelling More Women into Leadership Roles

Moderator: Stacy Derstine, APS

Panel Discussion: Propelling More Women into Leadership Roles

Moderator: Stacy Derstine, APS

Panelists:

Panelists:

1520 SOUTH

Moderator: Stacy Derstine, APS

Panelists:

• Toni Broberg, state president, Arizona and New Mexico, AT&T

• Toni Broberg, state president, Arizona and New Mexico, AT&T

• Jenn Daniels, CEO, Horizon Strategies

• Toni Broberg, state president, Arizona and New Mexico, AT&T

• Jenn Daniels, CEO, Horizon Strategies

• Rosa Inchausti, city manager, City of Tempe

• Jenn Daniels, CEO, Horizon Strategies

From city hall and the statehouse (and Senate) to corporate offices and boardrooms, women are making a remarkable difference in our community.

• Rosa Inchausti, city manager, City of Tempe

• Dr. Tammy Robinson, president, Mesa Community College

• Rosa Inchausti, city manager, City of Tempe

• Dr. Tammy Robinson, president, Mesa Community College

• Sarah Watts, president/CEO, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce

On September 20, join us as we recognize women leaders at the PHX East Valley Partnership’s annual Statespersons’ Event.

• Sarah Watts, president/CEO, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce

• Dr. Tammy Robinson, president, Mesa Community College

Keynote Speaker

RSVP

RSVP

RSVP

• Sarah Watts, president/CEO, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce

Anna Maria Chávez, president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation and one of the world’s top experts on women’s leadership

Ticket packages of 10 are $1,000 and individual tickets are $100. For more information, visit www.phxeastvalley.com or contact Jessica Hubbard at 480-532-0641 or jhubbard@phxeastvalley.com.

Ticket packages of 10 are $1,000 and individual tickets are $100. For more information, visit www.phxeastvalley.com or contact Jessica Hubbard at 480-532-0641 or jhubbard@phxeastvalley.com.

Panel Discussion: Propelling More Women into Leadership Roles

Ticket packages of 10 are $1,000 and individual tickets are $100. For more information, visit www.phxeastvalley.com or contact Jessica Hubbard at 480-532-0641 or jhubbard@phxeastvalley.com.

Moderator: Stacy Derstine, APS

Panelists:

• Toni Broberg, state president, Arizona and New Mexico, AT&T

• Jenn Daniels, CEO, Horizon Strategies

• Rosa Inchausti, city manager, City of Tempe

• Dr. Tammy Robinson, president, Mesa Community College

• Sarah Watts, president/CEO, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce

RSVP

Ticket packages of 10 are $1,000 and individual tickets are $100. For more information, visit www.phxeastvalley.com or contact Jessica Hubbard at 480-532-0641 or jhubbard@phxeastvalley.com.

SEAS from page 32

and making things beautiful and simplied,” she said.

After moving to Arizona with herancé Tucker Bomar, an Intel contract worker, the two bought and renovated a house in Ahwatukee. During that period, Stone clicked on the possibility of once again starting her own company.

Even though her Texas A&M degree in communications had led to a career start in public relations on Oahu, the experiences she honed guided her career move in the Valley of the Sun.

Stone chose to establish a house and commercial cleaning service, combining it with organizational services.

She envisioned her company to be a notch above competitors and dedicated it to “bringing a touch of opulence and perfection” to homeowners and business clients.

“We want e Fresh Sweep to create a pristine and elegant atmosphere in every home we touch,” she said.

To date, a majority of her clients have been in Phoenix and points north. Now, she’s focused on growing her business closer to home.

e Fresh Sweep o ers premium home and commercial cleaning, and organization services.

Her commercial division is headed by Ahwatukee resident Joshua Wilson.

“I really enjoy my job. Being a consultant and quality control expert for commercial cleaning clients is so rewarding,” said Wilson, 26, “and seeing spaces transformed from our high standards is truly ful lling.”

Stone’s website, eFreshSweep.com provides details on each of her cleaning services and the organizational service.

Bookings for all can be done easily online.

e Fresh Sweep’s Organization Service includes a complimentary 30-minute consultation via Zoom. is can be the organization desired for any space, from organizing a speci c area - o ce, child’s room, pantry, to an entire house, or even the hodgepodge of holiday boxes stored in the attic.

eir organization service includes a goals discussion with the homeowner, the cleaning and space planning of the designated area, personal product purchasing and returns, labeling, donating,

LA CASA DE JUANA

AND MOUTHWATERING FOOD

recycling and shredding, and more.

Besides full-service organizing, clients can select to have monthly or seasonal refresh options, and even holiday predecorating and post-holiday packing of lights, ornaments and other decorations.

Cleaning a home or condo before listing for sale is also available and renters facing a move-out inspection can appreciate a stress-free, white glove cleaning with The Fresh Sweep. AirBnB owners and absentee landlords, no matter where they are located, are also served.

Hannah O’Brien of Miami, Florida, discovered e Fresh Sweep online, and after one cleaning of her Valley home, was sold on the company.

Purchasing the house in 2019, O’Brien had planned to move to Gilbert where she has family, but the pandemic scuttled those plans. She chose to keep the property as a rental.

“I’ve had my Gilbert rental property for several years and have gone through multiple cleaning companies - most of which ended up being aky or doing a poor job,” said O’Brien.

“I came across e Fresh Sweep through an Instagram ad, and reached out. Elizabeth gave me a call immediately and we discussed my needs. So far, the quality has been excellent and I’ve had

no issues with reliability, and that has been such a relief.”

Being more than 2,000 miles away didn’t hinder O’Brien’s review of the work done by e Fresh Sweep.

“My rental is a two-bedroom, 1 ½-bath just under 1,600 square feet house. Because I live in Miami, I was unable to see the results rst hand. Elizabeth and her team took the time to send me pictures and videos! We now have a contract together in which they clean after each rental. ey are the only cleaners I have come to trust in the East Valley.”

Home cleaning services o ered have three choices available: Rapid Revive, the quick clean; the Renewed Bliss, the standard clean; and the top-of-the-line Flawlessly Fresh, the deep clean. Each comes with detailed check lists of what tasks will be done.

All cleaning plans available are explained thoroughly on e Fresh Sweep website. Stone said special requests are “always welcome.”

Online reviews have proven to be most complimentary for the home cleaning, commercial cleaning and organization services provided by e Fresh Sweep.

In addition, all cleaning team members pass background checks and drug testing.

Information: eFreshSweep.com

BESTOF 2022

If you thought you have been to a Mexican restaurant lately you probably need to reconsider and visit La Casa De Juana in Ahwatukee. The fare is authentic Mexican, and when we say authentic we mean it, unlike many of the restaurant chains that call themselves Mexican. Upon entering you’ll be dazzled by the colorful décor, the tables and chairs are beautiful, Mexican painted murals, colorful banners hanging from the ceiling and the gracious service with warm orange and yellow tones echoing throughout the restaurant will make this your favorite Mexican restaurant. With great lunch and dinner specials, we have Happy Hour Monday - Sunday from 2 - 6 PM with $5 House Margaritas, $4 Beers, $5.95 Cheese Quesadilla, $8.95 Chunky Guacamole and $9.95 Juana’s Nachos. Live music every Thursday night in our Ahwatukee location and every Friday at our Tempe location. In conclusion The flavorful salsa, the delicious margaritas, the extraordinary and well-priced food will definitely keep you coming back.

Don’t hesitate to stop by the Ahwatukee location

3941 E. Chandler Blvd. (S/W corner Chandler & 40th St) to make your next reservation call 480-626-9295

www.juanashouse.com

and snacks. Drinks in a cooler include Jarritos, Mexican Coke and Ramune Japanese soda.

Also, a variety of instant noodle cups start at $1.99. “If you buy cup noodles and want to eat here, we will provide water for you so you can enjoy it right away,” Herman said.

Another di erence at Hillside is their drinks lineup. ey have a long list of avored lemonades including strawberry kiwi, pineapple coconut, mango peach and more, with popping boba available for an extra $1.

Other beverages include shakes, malts, root beer oats, Shirley Temples, chai, ai ice tea, matcha latte, black tea, and freshly squeezed orange juice. ey plan to add an espresso machine for affogatos and a ordable co ees, and more is to come.

“We are thinking of adding more ice cream products like cookie ice cream sandwiches,” Wanlin said.

e Lams moved to Ahwatukee in 2018 after living for many years on the East Coast. Herman came to the U.S. from Hong Kong and Wanlin moved from Taiwan; they met while attending college at Pennsylvania State University.

e couple worked in logistics for a major corporation and moved to Arizona for a job relocation. ey chose to live in Ahwatukee because they liked the community, schools and mountain views.

When the Lams decided to open their own business, they settled on water be-

cause it’s a basic need and the tap water here is so hard.

ey have a self- lling station with six reverse osmosis (R.O.) taps as well as two taps of alkaline water, which has a higher pH level and contains some minerals.

“Our water, it doesn’t have any plastic taste,” Wanlin explains. “Sometimes when you buy bottled water in the supermarket, it tastes a little bit weird.”

Also, she added, it creates a lot of waste.

Hillside Water and Ice Cream sells R.O. water for 40 cents a gallon and alkaline water for $1.55 per gallon.

It also features daily specials: Monday, buy one, get one ice cream cone or dish; Tuesday, buy one, get one snow cone; Wednesday, $3.50 avored lemonade (regularly $5); ursday, buy one, get one half-o ai ice tea; Friday, buy two 5-gallon jugs of water and get one free; and on weekends, $3 o a purchase of $20 or more.

e Lams said they plan to rotate the merchandise, from ice cream avors to other products, based on customer feedback.

“We’ll try to nd whatever is new or trending to keep our customers happy,” Herman said. “ ey’ll always see something fresh.”

Hillside Water and Ice Cream

4747 E. Elliot Road, No. 10. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 480-779-8018.

Job growth slowing down in Arizona

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Eorts by the Federal Reserve Board to cool the economy may be working in Arizona.

New gures released last week by the state O ce of Economic Opportunity show that 38,865 Arizonans led for unemployment insurance last week, the most recent gures available. at is up 30.5% from the same week a year earlier.

At the same time the “hires rate’’ – the number of people brought on board by employers, is at its lowest level since early 2021. And the number of job openings is also down.

Overall, the private sector lost 11,400 jobs between June and July. at compares with the pre-pandemic average of a loss of about 7,000 for this time of year.

All this comes as the Fed has steadily increased the cost of borrowing as it works to move the national rate of in ation from 9.1% a year ago to its target rate of 2% – and

do it with a “soft landing’’ for the economy.

e situation has been more dire in Arizona, where in ation in the Phoenix metro area – the only area of the state which is measured – peaked at 10% and is now down to 4.4%.

“We are starting to see slower year-overyear growth nationally as well as here at the state level,’’ said Doug Walls, the agency’s labor market information director.

And some industries are more a ected by the higher interest rates.

“We saw the slowdown in construction,’’ he said, though that sector of the Arizona economy still picked up 1,700 jobs in July.

More pronounced has been a slowdown in nancial activities, a sector that includes those involved in issuing mortgages.

“A large part of the increases could be attributed to the federal funds e ective rate,’’ said Walls.

e gures about the rates of hires and openings also may support the idea that employers, concerned about where the economy is headed, are being more cau-

tious about adding to their payroll.

“ at could be one possible answer to the numbers that we’re seeing, certainly with the ‘hires rate,’ that certainly has come down to a rate that looks more in line with pre-pandemic rates,’’ he said. But Walls said the numbers are about where they were in 2019.

One other indication about what employers are thinking, said Walls, is the decrease in the number of people working for temporary help agencies. He said that is a sector of the economy that tends to boom when times are good and companies are looking for a quick source of new help.

“ ose could be indications that employers don’t want to get out in front of their skis,’’ Walls said.

“ ey’re being more strategic in their hiring,’’ he said. “We’re watching that play out in the numbers.’’

Overall, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point in July, to 3.6%.

And while the state shed about 11,400 private sector jobs, overall private sector employment is still 45,400 more than a year earlier.

One of the weakest sectors of the economy is retail trade which lost 3,000 jobs in July, nearly a full percentage point. Walls said this appears to be part of a post-pandemic trend.

When people couldn’t go out, he said, they bought more products. at was re ected nationally as more than 42% of what people were spending in early 2021 was on goods.

Now, he said, people are more interested in services they can buy. And that percentage spent on goods has dropped to 39%.

Among the employers losing workers in July were warehouse clubs, supercenters and other general merchandise retailers.

Elsewhere, employment at bars and restaurants dropped by about 3,200, something that is not unusual for most of the state this time of year. And there was a small drop in manufacturing employment.

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

The wait is over for the Mountain Pointe football program.

The hype surrounding the team after last year’s step forward and the influx of transfers will now be put to the test in a real game setting. Head Coach Eric Lauer and his assistants got a look at what they have during the four-team scrimmage they hosted that featured 6A semifinalists Red Mountain and Casteel, as well as the two-time defending 6A Conference champion Highland.

But that was just a small sample size. The real thing starts Friday on the road at Valley Vista in Surprise.

“We’re excited,” Lauer said. “We just want to get there and put it to bed. Win or lose and get ready for the following week.”

The expectations from those both in-

side and out of the program are high. Much of that is for good reason.

The offensive line returns junior Kaleb Jones and seniors Christopher Winston and Neiafu Leha, starters from a year ago. They also return Texas commit Christian Clark and fellow Division I running back Randle Parker.

Robert Knorr, who transferred from Maricopa, has taken great strides throughout the off-season to improve in every way. He showed that last Tuesday by connecting on a 50-plus yard pass to Rylon Dillard-Allen, a Desert Vista transfer, for a touchdown against Casteel.

“He’s been huge,” Lauer said of Knorr. “From when he got there to seeing what he has done to get acclimated to our offense, leading our guys and being positive, there’s nothing more we can ask from him.”

The mindset is different this season for

the Pride. They play fast and physical, not backing away from any challenge.

And that’s across the board with every player. Even those who are incoming freshmen.

The defense flies to the ball and has become a violent unit, gang tackling every chance they get. Winston and Jones

go both ways for the Pride, helping set a new tone for a defensive line that now has both size and strength with Saguaro transfer Aaron Thomas and Desert Vista transfer George Longoria at either end.

Mountain Pointe became a destina-

see

Pride gearing up for season opener Desert Vista embracing underdog role in new season

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

Desert Vista’s football program hears some of the outside noise.

They’re overlooked. They’re told they will have a down year. They’re told with 12 players leaving the program, they’ll have to rebuild.

But Thunder players aren’t focused on what others say. If anything, they’re using it as motivation.

“We’re the underdogs, right? That’s what everyone sees us as,” junior defensive lineman Offisong “Offi” Okon said. “When they get the element of surprise, it turns out great for all of us. The whole team is ready. Our coaching staff is ready. We think we’re going to go out there and do great things to change the culture of DV.”

Desert Vista has quietly started building

a new culture around first-year Head Coach Scooter Molander. It’s like what he established when he helped Brophy become a powerhouse for 13 seasons. It’s also like what he built at Eastmark, the school that in just its third varsity season dominated the 3A Conference and won a state title.

Little did Molander know at the time, Desert Vista — where Eastmark beat Thatcher for the championship — would be the next stop of his career. He saw it as a challenge just like other see VISTA page 40

Desert Vista junior defensive lineman Offisong “Offi” Okon is embracing the underdog role this season. He hopes he and his team can shock opponents and start building a new foundation for the Thunder football program.

(Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

Mountain Pointe running back Christian Clark kept the ball close to his heart during a scrimmage last week. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

Thunder, Pride flag football excited to make history

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

The popularity of flag football has been on the rise in Arizona and across the nation in recent years, as more and more schools begin to implement teams to compete alongside other sports offered at the high school level.

The growth in popularity was so prevalent in Arizona, it forced the Arizona Interscholastic Association to fast track it and make it an officially sanctioned sport for the 2023-24 school year. That means a bigger regular season schedule, more teams to play and of course, the opportunity to compete for a state title.

“I’m really excited,” Mountain Pointe senior Amiya Dedrick said. “I’m really glad we get the opportunity to go out there and show what we can do.”

Dedrick, like so many other seniors, is a trailblazer for the sport.

She joined last spring when Mountain Pointe implemented its club team. The Pride played a small schedule, mostly

against Chandler schools in the final season as a club sport.

She learned unity, how to bond with teammates and most importantly how to play the game. It was a rewarding experience for her as she said she never imag-

ined she would have that opportunity at the high school level. But she’s thankful.

districts, including Mesa and Deer Valley. The rise in popularity not only for players but for in-state media warranted the addition of the girls.

Head Coach Sergio Ramirez said it was a good preview for how much attention the girls will get in the season. That has him and his team ready to go.

“We could start tomorrow,” Ramirez said. “We were one of the schools lucky enough to have some games last season. We cannot wait.”

Chandler Unified was the first to lead the way for girls’ flag football teams, hosting spring club seasons where district schools played each other and competed for a district title.

Last season, the district branched out to play teams like Mountain Pointe, Eastmark and Xavier, among others.

The rise in popularity has also brought along scholarship opportunities. Several girls were offered at the event.

“If a year ago you asked me if I would be sitting here doing interviews for it being an official sport, I wouldn’t have ever thought of this,” Dedrick said. “It feels nice to have younger girls seeing now that they have the opportunity to do this.”

Dedrick was one of two players present at Tempe Union’s media day, now an annual event held last year for the boys’ football programs. This year, the girls came along.

The same was done at other school

“To receive offers to college for a sport you really like is an amazing thing,” Desert Vista senior Monica Woodruff said. “The fact that we can do it now for flag football, it’s great.”

Unlike Mountain Pointe, this will be the first year of flag football at Desert Vista. Once the announcement was made several girls hit the field for a tryout process.

Mountain Pointe High School flag football players Amaya Moreno and Amiya Dedrick, and head coach Sergio Ramirez believe they’re ready for the season. Amaya, a freshman, will also play tackle football this season. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

Desert Vista High School flag football players Alexia Smith, Monica Woodruff and CoHead Coach Derek Herring are excited for the inaugural flag season. Herring believes his girls can make history at the school. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

tion school over the summer. Both due to the college recruiters scouting the talent that was already there and the winning culture Lauer has built with veteran coaches like offensive coordinator Brian Whitacre and defensive coordinator Zach Griffin, who came over from Basha and has already made a difference.

“Coach (Griffin), he’s a great coach,” Parker said. “Defense looks great with the people we have. So, I imagine when we get all of our transfers, our defense is going to be lighting people up.”

Mountain Pointe received 12 transfers from Desert Vista alone. In total, 27 new student-athletes enrolled to play for the Pride.

Four came from Chaparral and were a part of a freshman class that went unde-

feated last season. Though some of the players, such as linebacker Jaylyn Colter, started on varsity for the Firebirds.

This year’s team is the closest Lauer has come to replicating what Norris Vaughan built when Mountain Pointe was a national power. The Pride have a swagger about them, one that exudes confidence.

They remain humble off the field knowing they still have to prove themselves. On it, however, they feel they can beat anyone.

Many around the state have penciled Mountain Pointe in as a team that may find itself in the Open Division at the end of the season. That alone would be a major step toward Lauer’s goal of reviv-

see PRIDE page 40

VISTA from page 37

coaches across the Valley. And for good reason.

Since Dan Hinds retired after the 2020 season Desert Vista has had three different head coaches. Ty Wisdom led the Thunder to the playoffs in his only year with the team. Nate Gill stepped in to change the culture and, after a tough season and some personal matters, he stepped away to focus on his mental health.

That opened the door for yet another savior of sorts to try to bring Desert Vista back to its winning ways. Molander saw the opportunity and took it.

“I don’t go shopping for jobs,” Molander said. “When I saw this open, I said, ‘Yeah.’ It’s been everything I thought it would be.

“We knew we needed to be consistent and we knew it would take time for them to buy in. I’m super proud of their efforts.”

What he inherited is a group of players eager to outwork every other team they come across this season. Whether it be in the weight room, classroom or on the field. They have a chip on their

shoulder, and they played like it in their scrimmage against Boulder Creek last Wednesday night.

The defense was dominant, keeping the Jaguars out of the end zone. Up front, Okon ran through opposing offensive linemen to shut down run lanes. That freed up Desert Vista’s linebackers to fill holes.

The secondary was lockdown, led by senior corner Mekhi Toms, who had an interception.

Offensively, Desert Vista’s running backs, led by Senior Isaac Acedo, ran hard through holes opened up by senior Owen Lee and the rest of the offensive line.

Senior quarterback Zach Brown and sophomore quarterback Seth Hanson, who are in the middle of a battle for the starting spot, showed poise in the pocket. Brown connected with senior wideout Barrett Reginald on a deep touchdown pass. He did it again a few plays later to freshman wideout Max Sprott, who will quickly become a star alongside Reginald and star wideout Roan Martinez, who didn’t play in the scrimmage.

Hanson came in and tossed two

touchdown passes himself, one of which was to Sprott.

No matter who wins the starting job, Lee said he is confident in both of them.

“I have my full confidence in both of them,” Lee said. “Us as an offensive line, we have complete trust in both of them. They both lead the team. They both are great quarterbacks.”

While just a scrimmage, Desert Vista showed unity and buy in to what Molander and his staff are trying to accomplish with the program.

“Chemistry, it’s been about two months … amazing,” Okon said. “The foundation (Molander) is bringing in with his coaching staff, it’s one of the best I’ve played with. We’re all one as a unit.”

The real test, however, comes Thurs-

PRIDE from page 39

ing the program. Though many would be happy with simply making the 6A Conference playoffs as one of the top seeds.

Especially Week 6 when all 27 transfers become eligible, adding depth at key positions, Mountain Pointe may very well be the favorite to win the title.

“Their first day they felt at home,” Clark said. “We treat them like they’ve been there for years. It’s an automatic brotherhood when they got here.”

Games, however, still need to be played. They have to make it past Valley Vista in Week 1 and Palm Desert (California) on the road. They also have a meeting with Centennial, an Open team

day night against a resurging Perry team that just two years ago was in a similar spot the Thunder are now.

The players share an elevated level of excitement for the start of the season. The senior class feels they’re leading the way into a new era of Desert Vista football.

They have realistic expectations for themselves. They don’t expect an appearance in the Open Division, but they have their sights set on the 6A Conference playoffs. Lee said an appearance in the postseason would set the program up for future success.

“I believe we will win games this year,” Lee said. “Even if we don’t win a state title or go far in the playoffs, we’re setting up the team for success.”

last season that has only gotten better.

Chaparral is also on the schedule this season, as well as region foes Corona del Sol and rival Desert Vista. Those two games typically decide who “runs ‘Tukee.”

While Mountain Pointe will be favored in most of its contests, everything still must be earned. That’s what Lauer has preached since his return as head coach in 2020.

Though he feels his roster is poised to go out and earn every victory.

“It’s just so different,” Lauer said. “The group we have is a good group. We’re excited to see what happens.”

Co-Head Coach Derek Herring said it was amazing to see a large number of girls show interest in flag football. Many of them also play other sports such as softball in the spring, so they were athletic and picked up the game quickly.

He said they have a chance to make history at the school.

“For me, I can’t put it into words,” Herring said. “We’ve been talking about maybe doing something other programs in our school haven’t had a chance to do, to become a sport and in the same year make it to state. That’s a really neat position they’re in.”

Like other seniors, Alexia Smith is excited. She knows she is helping lead the way for a new sport in the state and that is a feeling that’s hard to describe.

“I think it’s amazing because until recently women didn’t have the opportunity to play football,” Smith said. “Now to be able to be in that graduating class and go into college and play, it’s an awesome opportunity.”

Beyond simply having an opportunity, the girls also show their athleticism.

Every position outside of the quarter-

back is eligible to go out for passes in flag football, unlike tackle where five offensive linemen must stay to block. But in order to find those open receivers in flag, teams need quarterbacks capable of making short to long throws.

Luckily for Mountain Pointe, it has freshman Amaya Moreno.

Not only will Moreno play flag football this fall, but she’s also competing for the starting spot on the Pride freshman tackle football team. She competed in some 7-on-7 tournaments this summer with the boys, throwing deep balls over the top for touchdowns.

She said it’ll be difficult to manage her time, but she’s already gotten into a routine. Now she’s just excited to finally play some games.

“I’m definitely excited,” Moreno said. It’s a good group of girls with great coaches. We’re ready for the season.”

Both Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista will compete in the 6A Conference for the inaugural flag season this fall, which has 59 teams in total.

The Pride will face Mountain View to open the season on Aug. 29, while the Thunder face Mountain Ridge.

Ahwatukee band will be rocking 59 X Fest

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GetOut Editor

For over two years, Ahwatukeefounded rock trio Viper Club and Popsicle Stick Airport, comprising Queen Creek and Gilbert indie rockers, have been managed by Phoenix-based artist management company 59 X Records.

During that time, the bands toured the nation playing festivals as well as gigs around the Valley. But Saturday, Aug. 26, the two rock out ts will co-headline the inaugural 59 X Festival at e Rebel Lounge in Phoenix.

“ is is a really cool festival because it has all of these really cool bands,” said Viper Club vocalist Jack Vanderpol, who grew up in Ahwatukee and attended Horizon Honors High School.

e festival features 10 acts with music beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Popsicle Stick Airport

Popsicle Stick Airport — often called PSA by its fans — began as a four-piece indie-pop act.

After a year of jamming as a band and a year of dormancy caused by the pan-

‘Hungry Caterpillar’ is a little kids’ delight

BY LAURA LATZKO Get Out Contributor

With his story “ e Very Hungry Caterpillar,” Eric Carle not only taught children about the stages of a butter y’s life but captured their imagination as well. Rockefeller Studios brings the story to life with a production featuring puppets and audience participation.

“ e Very Hungry Caterpillar Show” will visit the Madison Center for the Arts from Saturday, August 26, to Sunday, October 8. It kicks o the theater’s 20232024 Broadway season.

Rockefeller Studios has done over 2,000 performances of the show around the world.

“Along with “ e Very Hungry Caterpillar,” the theater company will also present other stories by Carle, including “ e Very Lonely Fire y,” “10 Little Rubber Ducks” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.”

VIP ticketholders will have a chance to take photos with the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

e show features 75 puppets of different shapes and sizes, representative of the characters in the stories.

“ ose are relatively small. ey are maybe 12 inches,” said Associate Producer Krista Robbins. “Of course, the caterpillar in ‘ e Very Hungry Caterpillar’ goes from a baby to a regular-sized caterpillar. He’s eaten all the food, and

Viper Club includes high powered vocalist Jack Vanderpol mof Ahwatukee and his younger brother, drummer Nate Vanderpol, long-time friend Carl Gumpert on bass and seasoned touring guitarist Gianni Jinx. (Submitted)

demic, members took a stab at making music in late 2021 and made a name for themselves with such exuberant shows that they caught the attention of Ami Rogers, 59 X Records artists development manager, who currently manages the band and others around the Valley.

“Before 2021, we were just playing shows in backyards, at parks, a lot of

small, DIY venues, co ee shops or record shops,” recalled vocalist Rhys Green, a Queen Creek resident who attended Benjamin Franklin High School.

“We got an o er to play at e Rebel Lounge – a venue we’re all fans of and have been there a million times to see bands play.… I think that show just gave us the pat on the back we needed.”

Since it came under the management of Rogers and 59 X Records, PSA has toured overseas while expanding its fan base locally.

On Aug. 26, the band promises to jam a set list that will make fans want to dance.

“We always try to not be boring by switching up our sets each time,” Green said.

is set will be especially di erent for fans of the band as Green said it will unveil tracks from an upcoming EP titled

see FEST page 44

The show features 75 puppets of di erent shapes and sizes, representative of the characters in the stories.

now you have this big, stu ed caterpillar that turns into a butter y.”

“ e choreography that happens backstage with the assistant stage man-

ager is as intense as it is with the puppeteers,” Robbins said.

see CATERPILLAR page 44

ACROSS

1 Rescue

5 Ozone, for one

8 Protracted

12 Carolina college

13 Roswell sighting

14 Falco of "The Sopranos"

15 "Game on!"

17 Snitch

18 Service charge

19 Rowing need

20 Road curves

21 Schlep

22 Deity

23 Everglades wader

26 Cure-all

30 Bump into

31 "Terrif!"

32 Astronaut Armstrong

33 Tennis tactic

35 Tea biscuit

36 Present location?

37 Expected

38 Thesaurus compiler

41 Drone

42 Airline to Sweden

45 Awestruck

46 "We should discuss this"

48 Actress Gilpin

49 Env. insert

50 Hybrid fruit

51 Adolescent

52 Bonfire residue

53 Inlets

DOWN

1 Narcissist's love

2 Sheltered

3 Cast a ballot

4 Em halves

5 Soviet labor camp

6 Miles away

7 Tofu source

8 #1 hit by David Bowie

9 Rhyming tributes

10 Egyptian river

11 Hair goops

16 Sulk

20 A billion years

21 Words at the start of a lesson

22 Talk on and on

23 Ambulance VIP

24 Earth (Pref.)

25 Gym unit

26 Skillet

27 Biz bigwig

28 Aachen article

29 Pub pint

31 Repair

34 Cauldron

35 Totals

37 Hollanders

38 Engrossed

39 Curved molding

40 Impale

41 Coop group

42 Long tale

43 Friend

44 Aspen gear

46 Meadow

Do you know what cooking question I get asked a lot? “What can I do with chicken?”

With JAN D’ATRI GetOut Columnist

What to do with chicken?

Try this easy recipe

Believe me, it’s a question I ask myself as well. But chicken, as you know, is incredibly versatile. From homemade chicken soup, to a stir fry, sauté, or baked fried, breaded and grilled, chicken is our go to. Still, we’re always looking for one more way to prepare it.

I’ve got a fantastic chicken dish that’s flavorful, simple and uses readily available ingredients. Let’s start with the main ingredient, the chicken breast. Choose fresh, and if they are large, you may want to carefully slice them in half lengthwise.

To safely tenderize, I place the chicken breasts in a double gallon size zippered plastic bag, completely sealed. If you don’t have a mallet, a small heavy skillet or pot will work. Pound the chicken

breast to about a 1/4” thickness.

Now for the cheese. One of the most flavorful cheese spreads you can buy is Boursin. The varieties you’ll find most often are the garlic and fine herbs or shallot and chive. But if you’re lucky enough to stumble across the pepper variety, it works really well in this dish.

Two cheeses are distributed on the chicken which gets rolled up and wrapped in ultra-thin slices of prosciutto. That’s pretty much it. Roll it up, bake it up and serve it up for dinner tonight.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED CHICKEN BREASTS

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 1 package Boursin cheese, room temperature

• 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 package (6-8 slices) thin sliced prosciutto

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in double gallon sized zippered bags. With a mallet on the smooth side, pound the chicken 1/4” thick.

Place the pounded chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Spread an even amount of Boursin cheese over all four chicken breasts.

Evenly distribute mozzarella cheese on top of the Boursin. Carefully roll up chicken, seam side down.

Wrap each chicken roll with a slice of prosciutto, tucking the ends under the chicken roll. Melt butter and olive oil together in baking dish or glass pie plate.

Place chicken rolls in baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. With a pastry brush, baste the chicken rolls several times during the cooking process with the butter/olive oil mixture.

(This will give the chicken rolls added flavor and a beautiful glossy finish.)

Serve with pasta, rice, vegetables or a salad. Serves 4.

The Story of Boursin Cheese

It started in 1957 with François Boursin, a French cheese maker who was quietly trying to perfect his cheese before he introduced it to the world.

But in 1961 a newspaper mistakenly reported that François had infused the cheese with garlic, and his product became an overnight sensation.

FEST from page 42

“EP For Fairies II.”

“A lot of our music is just centered around the sound the band creates when it is played live,” Green said. “I hope the audience thinks that we’re di erent, that we stand out and I hope they feel comfortable and have a lot of fun.”

Viper Club

Although Ahwatukee area rock trio Viper Club boasts a slightly edgier sound than Popsicle Stick Airport, the band took a similar route to come under Rog-

ers’ and 59 X Records’ management.

ough the band formed in 2018, Vanderpol said, “2021 was the year that we really started making a name for ourselves.”

Since Rogers began managing it, Viper Club has released three singles and an EP and toured across the nation.

Vanderpol says one of his favorite memories from this partnership is emceeing the 59 X Fest in Atlanta last year. Viper Club played it again this year.

“It gave us an opportunity to have a broader network across the states,” he

said, adding the Atlanta audience’s enthusiasm astonished him.

Because of this, he has high hopes for what the crowd will look like during the Phoenix festival.

“We do a lot of crowd participation during our show, so there’s a lot of jumping, singing, mimicking and stu like that,” Vanderpol said. “We’re very loud and because we get everyone so involved, our set feels like it’s 15 minutes long even though it’s 45 minutes or longer.”

ough Viper Club’s performances can feel a bit brisk, Vanderpol says that the band’s tune “Retweet” is always a crowd-pleaser.

Vanderpol hopes to generate a connection between the audience and the

festival’s supporting acts.

“Connection. at’s the biggest thing for us,” Vanderpol said. “What we want to see is some kind of connection and we hope our show grabbed somebody in the right way so that audience members can wake up the next day, text their buddies and say, ‘I saw this band last night and they were really great. I felt like I was a part of it.’”

59 X Fest

WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26.

WHERE: The Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road

COST: $15 plus fees in advance, $20 day of show

INFO: therebellounge.com/events

“ at person is handing o puppets, grabbing one thing from one puppeteer, taking another and handing it o . e one person that is backstage is responsible for getting the three puppeteers all 75 puppets.”

Robbins said the puppets help to bring the story to life for audience members.

“All of Eric Carle’s stories, they are methodic and beautiful, and the imagery is just so stunning. We just add the visual with real life, big-scale puppets,” Robbins said.

e actors handling the puppets also narrate the stories.

“We read it very slowly so that they’re paying attention to the puppets in front of them and the imagery,” Robbins said.

e puppeteers wear white and perform with a white background, where there are projected images inspired by classic Carle textures and colors.

“It really feels like when you’re watching the show, you have opened up a book,” Robbins said. “You have the blank page, and these puppets come to life in front of you.”

Robbins said the show – designed for those 7 and younger – exposes young children to live theater.

“Nine times out of 10, it’s their rst show ever. We’re creating all of these little theatergoers… e parents are just so

thrilled to see their kids watching their rst show. It’s very, very sweet,” Robbins said.

Many children and adults who attend the show have grown up with the book and have nostalgic memories attached to it, she said.

Kids can read along with the puppeteers.

“Because most of the kids know the book so well, they will talk along with us,” Robbins said.

“We slightly encourage it by saying, ‘He ate through,’ and they know it’s coming. ey will say, ‘three apples.’ en, the puppet eats three apples. And then the puppeteers will say, ‘but he,’ and the kids will say ‘was still hungry.’

“Because that’s the last of the four shows, by that point they’re so excited and so thrilled to be interacting with the show. You have an entire audience reading along with you. It just adds to the magic of the show.”

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show”

WHEN: Various times Fridays to Sundays, Aug. 26 to Oct. 8

WHERE: Madison Center for the Arts, 5601 N. 16th St., Phoenix

COST: Tickets start at $15

INFO: 602-664-7777, themadison.org

CATERPILLAR from page 42