Gilbert Sun News 010123

GoFundMe asks here cover wide range

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Christmas isn’t the only season for giving and spreading kindness.

For crowdfunding platforms it’s a year-long activity, as it is for the largest and better known GoFundMe.

Since its launch in 2010, the California-based GoFundMe has become the go-to online fundraising tool for charities and just

about anybody who wants the public to help bankroll their expenses.

Within minutes someone can set up a money request on the global site, which to date has helped individuals and charities raise over $25 billion, according to GoFundMe, which did not respond to questions for the story.

The requests this year for donations run the gamut

GoFundMe says help for animals is one of its fastest growing categories, with over $50 million raised for dogs and cats, including $1.8 million donated this year. Among the recipients is Gilbert-based Love Heals Rescue, which wants for $6,000 to help Pumpkin, a puppy with the often-fatal virus parvo. (Courtesy GoFundMe.com)

Water rate hikes in Gilbert users’ future

mental compliance due to the increasing cost to maintain operations.

ilbert residents and business owners are likely to pay more for every time they send dirty water down the drain such as from washing dishes and flushing the toilet.

The town is looking to bump the monthly flat fee by 32% or $8.02 to transport and treat wastewater and by 59% or $2.51 for environ-

If the council approves the proposal at the Feb. 21 public hearing, the increases would take effect April 1. Council also has the option of lowering the rate increase.

As proposed, residential customers would see their monthly bill increase to $32.75 from $24.73 for wastewater. Commercial customers’ current rates vary and the in-

crease would be reflected accordingly. For the environmental compliance rate all customers currently pay $4.28 a month, which would increase to $6.79.

The environmental compliance fee covers the Town’s expenses for preventing storm water runoff and air pollution with measures, including street sweeping, drywell

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Higley mum on plans in wake of bond defeat

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Higley Unified School District officials had hoped to use a $77.2-million bond for capital projects, which included a new elementary school, buying security cameras and maintaining floorings and roofs.

But with the voters’ rejection of the bond request in November, it’s unclear if those projects will go away or if there are other dollars to fund them.

“Higley Unified is working closely with school administration and district leadership to prepare budget options for the district going forward without a bond,” said CFO Tyler Moore in an email. “Higley has and will continue to prioritize safety and security in its capital planning and work with remaining budget to other major maintenance throughout the district.”

Moore said staff will present the fiscal year 2023-24 capital budget to the

school board for first review Feb. 8 and that it will outline the plan for the district’s need without a bond.

“The district does anticipate some major maintenance projects needing to be postponed and or repaired and not replaced,” Moore said.

The bond was the district’s second attempt at the ballot box after having lost the election for a $95-million bond the year prior.

After that 2021 failure to persuade voters of the need, the district polled voters and with their feedback pared back the ask.

Although HUSD dropped the original proposals to use bond monies to buy land and to pay off a middle-school lease and promised no tax-rate increase, 58% of the voters still said no.

The district, located in the southeast corner of town, serves approximately 13,000 students in its 16 campuses located in Gilbert and Queen Creek.

The northern part of the district is ex-

pected to see student growth in the next five to eight years, hence the need to build an elementary school there.

The bond’s other proposed major projects totaling $38.6 million included upgrading the Higley Center for Performing Arts and commencing Phase 2 renovations at Higley High School.

The fall groundbreaking for Phase 1 at Higley High includes the construction of a 24,000-square-foot, two-story building with 12 classrooms and an upstairs lecture hall. The projected movein date is in July for the coming school year.

Phase 2 included redoing the restrooms and the cafeteria, adding more plants on campus, renovating the gym into a competition gym and a “rethink” of the amphitheater.

But following the bond rejection, the district held a Nov. 30 community meeting and presented a recommended modified Phase 2.

While the master plan for the next

phase is being postponed until more funding is available, the modified plan focuses on priorities, including restrooms renovations, campus security such as additional fencing and lighting, exterior weatherization and a new paint scheme. The estimated cost for the modified plan was between $1.7 million and $2.3 million.

As for the district’s two financially costly middle school leases, the Governing Board gave the go-ahead Dec. 14 to refinance them.

Currently the district pays $4.4 million each year to service the two 40-year leases executed in 2012.

The district has been making annual lease payments for a decade and has about $124 million outstanding for the remaining 30 years or until 2053. The total estimated payment by the district for the entirety of the lease is over $178 million.

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Gilbert man eyes mayoral run in 2024

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

At 51, Shaun Krauser has worn many hats throughout his career – Maricopa County prosecutor, law firm partner, radio talk show host, adjunct professor and public speaker.

He now wants to be Gilbert’s mayor. Krauser plans to make a formal announcement Jan. 6.

“So this isn’t something where we kind of sat around and said, ‘let’s give it a shot,’” Krauser said recently. “We’ve been talking the last four months, involved in dozens of meetings with individuals in town, at the state and the national level – is the time right, can we play a role at having an impact?”

According to Krauser, those individuals include state Senate President-elect Warren Petersen, R-LD 14; Cindy Biggs, who serves on the Gilbert County Island Fire District Board and is married to U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ; former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, who dropped out of the governor’s race in 2022 and Gilbert Councilman Laurin Hendrix, whose last day in office is Jan. 10. Hendrix was elected to a state House seat in November.

Krauser said he has also met with “the average citizen out there and getting feedback from them.”

He may be unknown to the general public but he says he has deep roots in Gilbert.

He grew up in Mesa and in 1981 his parents bought a home in Gilbert, which is still owned by the family. He spent his teenage years working at a business in the Heritage District and he’s raised his six children for the last 20 years in Gilbert.

These days Krauser travels around the world and state speaking on the Constitution, leadership and liberty. He’s also penned a book, “Your Nation to Save: A Line-By-Line Explanation of the US Constitution.”

the challenges and demands facing the town.

But he said he’s been involved behind the scenes.

Krauser, who has a 25-year background teaching constitutional law, said he has acted as a sounding board for Hendrix and former Gilbert Councilmen Jared Taylor and Victor Petersen on things the council was considering.

“I was working with them as they served their time on council,” said Krauser, who was an adjunct professor of constitutional and criminal law at the Phoenix and the Glendale Police academies.

Petersen left office in 2018 and Taylor in 2020.

Krauser’s political involvement also comes from having worked with people who testified in front of Congress, and having counseled a number of politicians behind closed doors to make sure they were in compliance with constitutional standards, he said.

And, he’s worked extensively with the Republican Party and has trained precinct committeemen.

said Krauser, who’s been attending the council meetings. “Eighteen months will allow me to build relationships and meet people I will be involved in representing.”

Ahead of Jan. 6, Krauser gave a look at his campaign platform, which includes streamlining government and protecting personal liberties.

It was unclear if Mayor Brigette Peterson intended to run for re-election. She did not respond to the Gilbert Sun News for comment.

Regardless if she runs or not, “I’m very excited to bring fresh, new ideas,” Krauser said. “A lot of people are not happy with what’s going on in Gilbert. A lot of people are not happy with the way the current council is running this town.”

And the mayor’s nine ethics violation complaints against her make her vulnerable, he added.

Peterson was cleared of all wrongdoing by an outside attorney although she was noted for exercising poor judgment.

Taylor said Krauser has been asked to run for various offices in the past, including that of the U.S. Senate and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

“I have always felt that he’d be great in any elected office, but the timing wasn’t right,” Taylor said. “Given the struggles with our current leadership, I knew we needed some positive change and Shane’s name came to mind so I asked him if he’d consider running.”

“Frankly, I thought he’d say ‘No’ given our previous discussions but he was open to learning more so we took the idea for a walk and here we are.”

Taylor ticked off a list of qualities that Krauser would bring to the table, benefiting residents.

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Krauser has never run for elected office, served on any town board or commission or graduated from the Gilbert Leadership program – where participants learn about local government and

Although the mayoral race isn’t until 2024, Krauser said announcing now will give him the time to build name recognition and support.

“It’s rather irresponsible for someone to say six months before a mayor race that they want to play ball, too,”

“First, he understands the role of government and the importance of protecting individual rights,” Taylor said. “Second, his law-enforcement background is very needed at a time of rising crime in Gilbert and Arizona.

“Third, he is able to communicate a positive vision for Gilbert. He’s treats everyone with respect and is a unifier, not a divider which is much needed in our community.”

An

of

Shaun Krauser

from classroom supplies and Girl Scout projects to relief efforts for crisis events such as Hurricane Ian in Florida and the war in Ukraine.

The “Stand with Ukraine” fundraiser launched by actors Mila and Ashton Kutcher in partnership with GoFundMe is the platform’s second-largest campaign of all time, raising $37 million from over 75,000 donors.

For 2022, there’s been a 110% increase in money raised for baby formula, a 60% increase for gasoline and a 10% increase for groceries, GoFundMe reported.

With a donation made every second, 28 million people so far this year have sent or received funding, the public nonprofit said.

In Gilbert, over 500 people and groups have set up an account on the platform.

Most requests are for help with funeral expenses, memorials or medical bills such as for a dad of six children.

A Gilbert woman set up an account for the Valley man and his family after he suffered a massive heart failure in October and is in the hospital fighting for his life. To help with expenses, she set a goal of $200,000 with $120,777 raised so far for the family.

And then there’s the sister in Gilbert who is raising money to help bury her brother, who died unexpectedly. She’s received $1,147 of her $20,000 request.

According to GoFundMe, one in three fundraisers is started for someone else.

Another popular ask in Gilbert is for animals – to help with things such as rescue efforts, medical expenses, fostering costs for horses saved from abuse and slaughter, and physical therapy costs for Serenity, “the broken kitten” with a bum leg.

Over 20 donors gave a total $1,500 toward the $2,000 needed for Serenity.

There’s also the Gilbert-based Love Heals Rescue asking for $6,000 to help Pumpkin, a puppy with the often-fatal virus parvo.

Pumpkin, the group said, was born to a mother who was never vaccinated and her entire litter of seven puppies was exposed. Pumpkin tested positive for parvo and another litter mate is now

showing signs of the virus.

Vet visits and meds run about $1,000 per puppy, according to the rescue. So far, $3,521 was raised for the cause.

And there’s the 16-year-old teen who is hoping the community will come through with $780 to help pay for surgery for her 2-year-old chameleon. She’s received $150.

One of the success stories involves Gilbert Dogs 24/7, which surpassed its fundraising goal of $1,170 to send Ryker, a 3-year-old German Shepherd for month-long training so he’ll get adopted. The dog was surrendered at the boarding and daycare facility in January and has fear issues with new people.

GoFundMe said help for animals is one of its fastest growing categories and that there are more repeat donations made to these fundraisers than any other fundraising category.

To date, over $50 million have been raised for dogs and cats with $1.8 million donated this year.

Education is another popular mon-

ey-giving category.

A high-achieving high school student in Gilbert is asking the community to help with paying $3,200 to complete a Spanish immersion trip to Costa Rica for his school break in 2024. He’s gotten $450 so far.

And a dad is requesting $2,500 to help send his 8th-grade daughter on a school trip to Washington, D.C. He’s received $270.

And then there’s a Gilbert woman asking for $50,000 to send a mom of two children, who earned a Harvard degree online, to Columbia University for a graduate degree. She’s received $20.

Additionally, GoFundMe’s received over $400,000 in donations to LGBTQ+ causes.

There’s a $3,000 request to fund student walkouts planned locally in Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler for items such as megaphones, water and banners. No date is given for the walkouts and so far, $1,650 was raised.

The organizer said the walkouts are

to protest two new state laws that “marginalize LGBTQ students in favor of parents rights.”

There’re also four requests to help pay for gender-reassignment surgeries, including one from a transgender man needing top surgery. The Gilbert man raised $850 of his $10,000 goal.

Some atypical requests include a Gilbert man asking for $50,000 to help support his family when he starts serving a two-year prison term. The man – no court records were readily found for him in Maricopa County – didn’t receive a dime.

A 67-year-old man is seeking $150,000 to buy out his soon-to-be ex’s share of their home. Apparently, she sprung the divorce on him a few weeks back and wants to sell but he loves the house and neighborhood and wants to keep the home.

Also, a Gilbert woman received $800 of her $10,000 goal for skin surgery after an extreme weight loss and another woman achieved $620 of her $10,500 goal for legal fees to obtain a Green Card.

There’s also fundraising accounts set up for the two Gilbert cops – Officer Rico Aranda wounded in the line of duty and Sgt. Tom Edgerton injured in an off-duty motorcycle accident.

The online requests in town go from needs to wants in some cases.

One man is attempting to raise $5,000 for a “brother in Christ” and cites a number of Biblical verses about the joy of giving. He doesn’t give a clear reason for the fundraiser or what the money will be used for yet eight donors gave $3,650.

And a woman who found spiritual enlightenment wants the community to come together and give her $1,500 to go through training so she can “lead other women through the process of connecting with the Spirit.”

“I ask that you help me on this journey of raising money so we can glorify Him and His creation throughout every aspect of our lives,” she writes. So far, she’s received $20.

One man is hoping to raise $200 to help his older brother repair his car after “he had a stroke of stupidity and made

One requestor is seeking $1,500 for undefined training so she can share the Gospel with other women. (Courtesy GoFundMe.com)

Among the Gilbert requests on GoFundMe.com is one seeking $200 to help defray costs of repairs from an accident. (Courtesy GoFundMe.com)

an expensive mistake.” He received $5.

While another is asking for $5,000 to help pay off his and his girlfriend’s debts. His request garnered zilch.

And another person is asking for $400 to help replace his AirPods, which were accidentally flushed down the toilet. He, too, got just $5.

An expectant mother is asking for $125,000 to help pay for items her baby will need such as diapers, wipes and blankets. A donor gave $5.

One of the largest requests comes from a woman who’s seeking to raise $1

million so she can retire and spend time with her grandchildren. She explains that she needs open-heart surgery and is fearful her days are numbered. So far, she’s raised $20.

A number of political requests also can be found for Gilbert such as from a woman wanting to raise $1 million to send those entering the county illegally to sanctuary cities – those with a policy that discourage local law enforcement from reporting the immigration status of individuals.

“This money will be used directly for

BOND from page 3

Under the district’s plan the outstanding bond debt will be paid off, which also eliminates the fees and restricted fund deposits now being paid and the lessee JMF-Higley 2012 LLC would be removed.

The district will instead make its principle and interest payments directly to the bank.

At the Dec. 14 meeting, Moore told the board that the interest rates have changed since November, when the issue was first discussed, and is now more advantageous for the district.

District Attorney Jim Peal also informed the board that JMF-Higley has agreed to the terms and for the district to proceed.

transportation from border states to sanctuary cities across the United States of America,” the Gilbert woman wrote. She’s received $25 for her effort.

The global crowdfunding market is projected to almost triple by 2025, according to Fundly, another crowd-

funding site. Other crowdfunding sites include Donorbox, Kickstarter, Crowdfunder, Indiegogo and a host of others.

Globally, $34 billion has been raised through these platforms, according to Fundly.

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AZ firefighters pioneer ‘forever chemical’ treatment

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER GSN Staff Writer

Donating blood can save lives, but in the future, doctors may also prescribe rolling up a sleeve and exposing a vein for the health of certain donors.

Research from Australia published in 2021 suggests blood donations reduce the donor’s concentration of a class of toxic substances called “per- and polyfluoroakyl substances,” or PFAS, popularly called “forever chemicals.”

PFAS don’t really last “forever,” but they earned the moniker because some stay in the body for almost 10 years and accumulate in organs, blood and bones with repeated exposures.

Recent research link PFAS to higher cancer rates, decreased birth weight, hormone disruption, elevated blood pressure and increased incidence of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

Firefighters are at higher risk of PFAS exposure due to the chemicals in foams and protective gear as well as in household products burned in fires.

The Australian study showed firefighters with high PFAS levels who gave blood regularly saw a 10% decrease in their levels after a year and those who gave plasma – the clear part of the blood – dropped 30%.

Arizona firefighters could play a key role in developing the next chapter of this insight when the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association partner on a $4 million study this year that hopes to enroll 1,500 Arizona firefighters.

The study came in response to a call from the AFCA for more research on PFAS and firefighter safety.

At roughly 20% of the professional firefighters in Arizona, the Arizona study could provide a pool to confirm whether regular blood and plasma donations lower PFAS and produce measurable health improvements.

Arizona firefighters who volunteer will have their PFAS levels tested and those with the top 20% of concentrations will give blood every 12 weeks or plasma ev-

This map identifies sites in Arizona where PFAS have been detected in groundwater. (Courtesy Environmental Working Group.)

ery six weeks. Their PFAS levels and DNA health indicators will be tested at the beginning and end of the study.

Those with lower levels will have the option to join other studies and participate in other interventions involving diet and exercise.

Lead investigator Dr. Jeff Burgess, a professor and director of the U of A’s Center for Firefighter Health Collaborative Research, said the Arizona study aims to validate the Australian study and take it a step further by also measuring firefighters for “biomarkers of toxicity.”

The biomarkers will provide data on whether lowering PFAS blood levels improves health, as researchers suspect it will.

“It’s going to be a big deal,” he said of the study. “In addition to being able to determine whether we can lower the PFAS levels in firefighters and have a beneficial effect, these same findings should be generalizable to individuals in the general population that also have elevated PFAS levels.”

Burgess and collaborator Dr. Floris Wardenaar of Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions don’t expect any difficulty recruiting the target number of participants because the research questions came from local firefighters.

Burgess said firefighters want to know their PFAS levels, and one immediate perk of the study is getting that information.

Burgess said the results of the study could have implications far beyond the firefighting community.

sure,” Burgess said. “Maybe it’s in their drinking water. Maybe they get exposed to it at work. … This will help all those individuals.”

Some may wonder, what happens to those who receive donated blood from people with elevated PFAS – won’t they inherit the health risks?

PFAS could be passed to blood recipients, but Burgess said the benefits of the donated blood outweighs the risks of the limited exposure to blood with elevated PFAS.

“We’ve been really close to talking with the main blood and plasma donation centers in the state, and … they are supportive of this study,” Burgess said. “There’s a strong benefit of giving blood and plasma. It’s needed. These are life saving products.”

Everybody’s problem

Due to their surprising heat-, waterand stain-resistant properties, developed in the ‘40s and ‘50s, PFAS have been used in both household products like non-stick pans and stain protectors as well as industrial uses like aerospace manufacturing.

With a chemical bond between carbon and fluorine atoms, one of the strongest in nature, PFAS molecules resist breaking down in the body and environment.

PFAS are slowly being phased out from many consumer products, but because of their persistence in the environment, they have found their way into the soil, air and water all across the world, including Arizona, and will continue to pose dangers.

To get a sense of the volume of PFAS used in the modern world, consider that just one large PFAS producer, 3M, reported to shareholders last month that it currently sells $1.3 billion worth of PFAS each year.

That disclosure was part of a December announcement in which the company said it would be phasing out production of PFAS by 2025.

Burgess said global PFAS blood levels are slowly decreasing, a shift that he

(University

“There’s a lot of those people out there who have higher levels of PFAS expo-

Dr. Jeff Burgess, professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, said the Arizona study aims to validate the Australian study and take it a step further by also measuring firefighters for “biomarkers of toxicity.”

of Arizona Health Sciences/ Kris Hanning)

enforcement and air quality monitoring. According to the Town, if it doesn’t comply with the state and federal mandates, it can be fined at a rate of $70,000 per violation per day.

The proposal also calls for increases to reclaim water rates, which are not paid by residents but by entities such as HOA companies, schools, construction companies and golf courses.

According to a town-commissioned rate study in November, the ongoing operations and maintenance costs for wastewater was projected to increase at an average rate of 2.7% between Fiscal Year 2022-23 and Fiscal Year 2026-27.

Also one-time expenditures are expected, ranging from a high of $4.6 million in Fiscal Year 2022-23 and a low of $22,000 in Fiscal Year 2025-26. Some of the assets included in wastewater are 18,576 manholes, 852 miles of gravity sewer lines and two wastewater treatment plants.

The ongoing expense for environ-

Chandler Gilbert Arc has been serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the East Valley since 1975, providing community living, community based employment and day services and training.

The town mapped out future water and sewer rate hikes for both resident and commercial consumers. (Town of Gilbert)

City of Chandler, college partner on student jobs

BY KEN SAIN GSN Staff Writer

The City of Innovation is doing it again.

“Other municipalities are calling me saying, ‘How’d you guys do that?’” said Rae Lynn Nielsen, the city’s human resources director.

The other cities are calling to ask about a new internship partnership between Chandler and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Like many other employers, the city is having trouble filling open position. Nielsen said they currently have about 110 openings. The college has about 13,000 students who are looking for real-world work experience to both give them an edge when they enter the work force, and also to give them a taste for different jobs that are out there to make sure they are on the right career path.

The city and college have teamed up to address both of their needs. They are sharing one employee, Devon Mohan, to coordinate CGCC students taking on internships with the city.

The city and college are splitting the cost of Mohan’s salary and benefits in half. He has two supervisors, one who works for the college and Nielsen, who works for the city.

A pilot program kicks off this month with an expected hire of 10 interns to work at city departments for between 10 and 19 hours a week. The city will pay them for their work. The internships will last either 12 or 16 weeks.

Nielsen said the city has a history of finding some good employees through internships. “We have 25-year employees that are here based on those programs,” she said. “So I think that’s our goal is to hopefully bring them in and keep them.”

Mohan has been meeting with the city’s department heads to figure out how CGCC students can help.

“That was a really exciting piece for me, was getting to go around and meet all of the various departments that are here, ask them ... ‘where could you see an intern fitting in with your depart-

ment, your division? What would they learn,’ and then I would get to tie it back to the academic programs that we offer at the college.”

Mohan’s job will be to match what students want to learn with openings the city has. For example, one student wants to be a wedding planner, which

is not something the city does. However, the city does have an events coordinator, who stages major events like the Parade of Lights and Chandler Contigo festival.

Nielsen said many inside the city are looking forward to the interns starting.

“There’s a lot of buzz at the director

level,” Nielsen said. “’When are we going to start this?’”

The city used to get most of its high school interns from the Cooperative Office Education program, but Nielsen said they phased that out. She said they hope to bring it back at some point.

She said a number of those 25-year employees she was talking about earlier came from that program. The city also takes interns from other schools, including Arizona State University.

However, the partnership with Chandler-Gilbert Community College is a new concept that they hope will inspire college students to think about careers in city government.

“I’ve been in local government at three different places, and people always think of police, fire, garbage, Nielsen said.

“When we start talking about the Museum and the Center for the Arts, and all the social media side of it, we’re really trying to highlight all of the exciting things that we have.”

The city is just one employer looking to get students interested in its openings. The college often hears from businesses that are also struggling to bring in new employees.

“In career services, we do get constant emails and phone calls from employers saying we have all these gaps to fill help us, and everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, can we can we come to make classroom presentations?’” said Deb Ruiz, the manager for academic advisement and career services for the college. She’s Mohan’s other supervisor.

“We can’t have 100 employers come and take classroom time away to make a presentation.”

Mohan said he’s eager to get to work, for both the city and the college.

“I’m excited,” Mohan said. “I don’t think that all of the students at Chandler Gilbert Community College are aware of the amount of opportunities that are just a couple traffic lights down.

“So I have the ones who are already reaching out to me, but I am excited to continue to reach out to the other students as well.”

Chandler-Gilbert Community College’s Deb Ruiz works with a federal work student at the school as part of her job overseeing a new partnership with the city to place students in internships. (Chandler-Gilbert Community College)

Devon Mahon works for both the City of Chandler and Chandler-Gilbert Community College to help place students in city internships. (City of Chandler)

compared to the drop in lead levels in blood after changes to laws regarding lead in gasoline and other products.

But due to PFAS’ persistence and wide usage, change will not be overnight.

One way PFAS spread from industrial sites and firefighting training facilities is by leaching from contaminated soils into groundwater.

Testing by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has shown this process happening in Arizona, and with long-term drought potentially pushing Arizona cities to rely more heavily on groundwater reserves in the near future, the question of groundwater contamination by PFAS and its health consequences could not be coming at a more critical time.

In 2018, the ADEQ checked for PFAS in 109 public water service wells across the state, out of the state’s approximately 1,500 public water wells.

The good news was 81% of samples had no detectable PFAS, but 5.5% of wells it tested contained PFAS levels above the EPA Health Advisory.

The report concluded that PFAS groundwater contamination in Arizona “tends to be localized near potential sources” of PFAS, such as firefighter training facilities, airports, factories and active or former military sites.

In the East Valley, wells with PFAS detections have been found in the City of Tempe water system and Salt River Public Works on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

In Mesa, PFAS have been found in groundwater near the landfill of the former Williams Air Force Base, now Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

ADEQ research determined PFAS have never been manufactured in Arizona.

“Most people in the United States have been exposed to some PFAS,” an EPA website concludes. “Most known exposures are relatively low, but some can be high, particularly when people are exposed to a concentrated source over long periods of time.”

mental compliance was expected to increase approximately 5.0% per year with a one-time 13.3% increase in operations and maintenance costs between Fiscal Year 2022-23 and Fiscal Year 2023-24.

If both utilities continue to operate at their current rates, they will end the budget year June 30 and subsequent budgets in a deficit, according to the study.

The town’s utility services are funded by user fees.

With the proposed rate increase, Gilbert would have the third-lowest average utility residential bill compared with surrounding municipalities, according to the study.

Council and staff first discussed the need to increase the monthly rates for these utilities at a financial retreat in March. Also, at that retreat the council gave staff the go-ahead to begin the rate study with Willdan.

The town has engaged in an information campaign to alert the public of its intent and two workshops are scheduled for this month. Additionally, all reclaimed water customers were notified

by special letter earlier this year.

The rates for the town’s other two utilities – drinking water and environmental services or trash and recycling were approved earlier this year and went into effect in April.

Town staff also has indicated that it will review utility rates more frequently with council so that any changes would be more often and in smaller amounts.

RATE INCREASE BRIEFINGS

The Town of Gilbert is holding two open houses to present its proposal to raise wastewater, reclaimed water and environmental compliance rates.

• 4 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Public Safety Training Facility, 6860 S. Power Road.

• 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at Gilbert Police Department Amphitheater, 75 E. Civic Center Drive.

The open houses also will be streamed live at gilbertaz.gov/GilbertLive for virtual viewing.

More information regarding this proposed rate increase can be found at gilbertaz.gov/ UtilityRates.

Residents with financial hardship can visit gilbertaz.gov/CommunityResources to find information about utility payment assistance and other community resources.

The town comparted what Gilbert residents pay for water compared to other municipalities. (Town of Gilbert)

Traditional names in the past for 2022 newborns

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

New Arizona moms and dads aren’t choosing the names for their children this year that their own parent selected for them.

New figures from the state Department of Health Services show the names that were most popular a quarter century have all but disappeared from this year’s Top 20 list.

The lone exception for girls is Emily, the fifth most popular name for girls in 1997. And it hung on, only barely, at No. 20 for 2022.

And what of the names that were so popular back then? Good luck finding newborns this year with the same names.

Consider Jessica, the most popular name in 1997. There weren’t enough new parents this year for that name to even crack the Top 100. Ditto Alexis, Ashley and Samantha, which came in second, third and fourth, respectively that year: all fallen off the list.

So what replaced them?

Olivia remains the top choice for new-

born girls for the third year in a row. That is followed by Emma, Isabella, Sophia and Luna.

A similar situation exists among parents of newborn boys, though the shifts in parental preferences aren’t quite so radical.

Jacob, the most popular name back then, fared no better than 49th this year.

Michael, however, which was right behind at second place in 1997, fared better. It now comes in at No. 18.

And Daniel, third in popularity back in 1997, dropped to sixteenth position.

Instead, Liam remains the top choice this year for parents of newborn boys for the third year in a row.

Also posting repeat performances are Noah, Mateo and Oliver, which followed as second, third and fourth this year, matching the data from 2021.

Still, there were some major shifts from even a year ago.

Luca, which logged in at No. 48 a year ago, rocketed up in popularity to crack the Top 20.

And Violet, which had been at No. 32 in 2021 moved up to No. 17 for girls.

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC

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

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

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves

TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

PAIN

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

The drugs your doctor might prescribe will temporarily conceal the problems, putting a “Band-Aid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

Thankfully, Mesa is the birthplace of a brandnew facility that sheds new light on this pressing problem of peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. The company is trailblazing the medical industry by replacing outdated drugs and symptomatic reprieves with an advanced machine that targets the root of the problem at hand.

1. Finding the underlying cause

2. Determining the extent of the nerve damage (above 95% nerve loss is rarely treatable)

3. The amount of treatment required for the patient’s unique condition

Aspen Medical in Mesa AZ uses a state-of-the-art electric cell signaling systems worth $100,000.00.

Th is ground-breaking treatment is engineered to achieve the following, accompanied by advanced diagnostics and a basic skin biopsy to accurately analyze results:

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

The treatment works by delivering energy to the affected area(s) at varying wavelengths, from low- to middle-frequency signals, while also using Amplitude Modulated (AM) and Frequency Modulated (FM) signaling

It’s completely painless!

THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THIS TREATMENT IS COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND MOST INSURANCES!!

The number of treatments required varies from patient to patient, and can only be determined following an in-depth neurological and vascular examination. As long as you have less than 95% nerve damage, there is hope!

Aspen Medical begins by analyzing the extent of the nerve damage –a complimentary service for your friends and family. Each exam comprises a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and comprehensive analysis of neuropathy findings.

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until January 31st, 2023. Call (480) 274-3157 to make an appointment

Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this offer to the first 10c allers YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL (480) 274-3157 NOW!!

We are extremely busy, so we are unavailable, please leave avoice message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Aspen Medical 4540E Baseline Rd.,Suite 119 Mesa AZ, 85206

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

Depending on your coverage, your peripheral neuropathy treatment could cost almost nothing – or be absolutely free.

Falling child vaccine rates here alarm health officials

BY COLE JANUSZEWSKI Cronkite News

Vaccination rates among schoolchildren in Arizona have steadily declined since 2012, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the drop across the state.

The trend is unlikely to reverse any time soon, which could result in serious health consequences for Arizonans in the future, experts fear.

Since 2020, routine preventative health care visits and vaccinations for kids have fallen 30% to 50% in Arizona, said Dr. Sean Elliott, who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases and is an emeritus professor of pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. The drop occurred because doctor’s offices were shut down by pandemic precautions.

“There were no in-person health visits,” Elliott said. “Children were not coming to the pediatrician’s office for their routine care and vaccinations.”

But even as pandemic restrictions

have been lifted, he said, parents still aren’t bringing their children to the doctor.

Arizona’s vaccination rates also have been depressed by misinformation campaigns about vaccines and a distrust in governments overseeing public health, which Elliott said deepened during and after the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, there continues to be the anti-vax movement,” he said. “Pre-pandemic, the rates of vaccines, the rates of uptake of science and the trust in health care professionals was already being attacked and was suffering.”

“The biggest concern, both at an individual level and at a societal level, is that growing up kids will be increasingly at risk for what used to be preventable pediatric illnesses – like measles and mumps,” Elliott said. “And the time to protect them with vaccines is in the first couple years of life. It takes their immature, brand-new immune system and gives it the exposure it needs to create lifelong protection.”

Although children can be vaccinated

later, the risk for the most serious infections occurs within the first few years. Elliott also said immunocompromised children will be put at risk because Arizona has dropped below the herd immunity threshold of 95% vaccination rate.

“When we drop below a certain percentage of a community that is vaccinated, then those infections can gain a toehold and can create cases,” he said.

Arizona has seen recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and mumps, according to the state Department of Health Services. Elliott said health care providers and governments can take steps to stem the wave of anti-vaccination.

“The most important thing is to get kids and families back into their primary care provider’s office,” he said. “It is, thankfully, still true that most Americans trust their health care providers if they have an opportunity to listen to them and ask them questions.”

Why Arizona

One reason Arizona is pioneering the question of PFAS and blood donation is the strong relationships between local researchers and the fire service.

Another is the availability of grant money to do community-directed research.

The $4 million price tag for the PFAS study comes from the Technology and Research Initiative Fund, a pot of money created through Prop. 301 in 2000 and funded by sales taxes.

Fred DuVal, chair-elect of the Arizona Board of Regents, said the fund is intended to encourage the world-class researchers who work at state universities to tackle Arizona-specific projects.

“We’re trying to fund projects that taxpayers relate to and address problems people are facing,” DuVal said, adding that governors’ priorities also influence the selections.

The projects funded by this year’s TIRF grants include Valley Fever and dust research, managing waste from abandoned

mines, mitigating wildfire risk and smart tree watering to cool down cities.

DuVal said the TIRF grants, which are approved by the Board of Regents, are selected in a more subjective way than other competitive scientific grants might be.

He said winning projects for TIRF grants should be able to pass “the Circle K test.”

“If you can’t explain your research in the time it takes to buy a cup of coffee, then you aren’t doing your job,” DuVal said.

He added that this principle was especially important because the research is funded directly by taxpayers, who should be able to understand what they’re funding.

DuVal is excited about the firefighter blood donation study, the second-largest grant this year behind the Valley Fever project.

“We want to take this to scale,” he said. “If we can solve (this problem), it’s a national-scale, global project.”

EV parents sue Snapchat over son’s fatal OD

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER GSN Staff Writer

Zach Plunk, 17, died of a fentanyl overdose outside his family’s house in Mesa in August 2020. His final moments were caught on his parents’ doorbell camera, which recorded the football player leaving the house at 3 a.m. to buy a pill from a dealer, then sitting down on the curb outside the house.

“He didn’t even make it back in the house,” his mother Wendy Plunk told the Tribune..

Zach was found unconscious by a 15-year-old boy jogging at 5 a.m. He called 911 and began CPR, but Zach was gone before the ambulance arrived.

Roy and Wendy Plunk, who adopted Zach when he was 6 months old, said police told them their son had enough fentanyl in his system to kill five people.

The Plunks say a dealer sold Zach a pill made of the powerful opioid fentanyl mixed with binders and molded into a copy of a prescription opioid pill.

They say Zach, who dreamed of playing football and studying forensic science at Baylor University, suffered chronic pain after a shoulder injury his freshman year that required surgery and many treatments.

Zach occasionally turned to social media to buy Percocet to self-medicate, his parents said.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Los Angeles Superior Court, attorneys for the Plunks said Zach should not have turned to Snapchat for pain relief.

But they charge that Snap, the parent company of the app, should not have designed the platform in a way that allows dealers on the black market to connect with underage kids like Zach.

They also allege that Snap was negligent in design features that prevented them from monitoring Zach’s activity and enabled their son to connect with a dealer in the middle of the night.

The Plunks are one of 16 parents of minors across the country who died of overdoses from fentanyl obtained via Snapchat.

So far in 2022, Mesa Fire and Medical medic have responded to 42 opioid overdoses in patients 19 or younger, according to the city’s data portal. Five incidents were fatal.

In a sign of the scale of the fentanyl trade, the Mesa Police Department seized over 700,000 fentanyl pills in a single bust in November.

The Plunks said they’re suing Snapchat to force changes to the social media platform and get the word out to more parents about the dangers of fentanyl and

the role of social media in trafficking.

“You think, ‘my kids would never do drugs.’ But you don’t know what’s in the back of your kid’s mind when they’re on social media. You don’t know what it’s feeding them,” Roy said.

Product design

Snapchat was founded in 2011 and is based in Santa Monica, California. The company is valued at $15 billion.

Snapchat was known early on for allowing users to send messages that disappear after they are viewed by a recipient.

Roughly 60% of its users are under 25, according to social media management company Hootsuite, and 20% are under 18.

After Zach’s death, Wendy became involved in support groups for grieving parents and noticed that many of the overdose stories she heard also involved Snapchat.

In the suit, Wendy estimates 30% of the parents she has met through support

groups lost children after they purchased drugs on Snapchat. Another 30% came from people their kids met in person, and the rest were from unknown sources.

“The number of drug dealers on Snapchat right now would blow your mind,” said Laura Marquez-Garrett, an attorney for the Plunks. “They’re not using Instagram, they’re not using Facebook because they believe, based on Snap’s marketing, they believe they can’t get caught on Snap.”

The complaint alleges that dealers are attracted to Snapchat’s disappearing message feature and the ability for dealers to appear as a suggested “friend” on users’ feeds.

The app “is engineered to evade parental supervision and law enforcement’s detection and acquisition of criminal evidence,” it states, and this was “the direct and proximate cause of the untimely and tragic death and injuries at issue.”

Roy Plunk also blames the flow of fentanyl across the border for the problem of young people dying, but he also blames social media for putting the fatal pill in his son’s hand.

“The main thing is just Snapchat. It has to be opened up. They can’t have these secret meetings where it just, ‘poof,’ goes into thin air,” Roy said.

In response to a request for comment on the Plunks’ complaint, a spokesperson for Snap provided the following statement:

“The trafficking of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl is an urgent national crisis. We are devastated that these counterfeit drugs have taken the lives of so many people, and our hearts go out to families who have suffered unimaginable losses.

“We are committed to bringing every resource to bear to help fight this national crisis, both on Snapchat and across the tech industry overall.”

It also said, “While we can’t comment specifically on active litigation, we can share all the progress we have made in this area. We use cutting-edge technology to proactively find and shut down drug

Wendy and Roy Plunk of Mesa lost their son Zachariah in August 2020 to a fentanyl overdose after he bought counterfeit oxycodone through Snapchat, (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

Drug deaths from synthetic opioids, mostly involving fentanyl, have increased dramatically in Maricopa County. (County Public Health Department)

dealers’ accounts, and we block search results for drug-related terms, instead redirecting Snapchatters to resources from experts about the dangers of fentanyl.”

“We have also expanded our support for law enforcement investigations, promoted in-app educational videos warning about the dangers of counterfeit pills that have been viewed over 260 million times on Snapchat, and are partnering with the Ad Council, nonprofit organizations, and other platforms on an unprecedented national public awareness campaign that launched in October.”

Matthew Bergman, the founder of the Social Media Law Center in Seattle, which is representing the Plunks, said he decided to apply his product liability experience to social media cases after a Facebook whistleblower testified to Congress in 2021.

The whistleblower revealed internal documents showing the extent that the social media platform was aware of the dangers posed by social media use.

Social media platforms have been shielded during the rise of the internet by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which limits websites’ liability for content posted by third parties on their sites, but Bergman said this principle doesn’t apply to the Snapchat suits.

“The focus of our cases has been that it’s the design of the product, not the content, that caused injury,” Bergman said.

“If there were a video arcade that catered to kids, and there was a room in the back of the arcade that was used to exchange drugs, and the owners of the arcades knew that this was an active drug exchange site, they would be responsible,” Bergman said.

No one immune Wendy and Roy said Zach’s friends still stop by the house to talk with them.

Making friends was one of his gifts. He “just had that magnetic personality, you know, and he loved everybody,” Roy said.

There’s both sadness and pride in their voices when they remember Zach.

The Plunks are ready for a legal fight over their complaint because they’ve channeled their grief into a drive to help others and prevent similar incidents.

“It’s devastated us,” Roy said of the losing Zach. “Main thing to keep us going is to try to save other lives. Get the word out.”

Part of the Plunks’ message is that fentanyl is everywhere now, and no family or neighborhood is immune from the danger of this drug.

Wendy’s advice for parents is clear: “Don’t let (kids) on Snapchat, don’t let them on Instagram, don’t let them on social media, whatsoever.”

“We know that’s not going to happen,” Roy said, “but at least they have to watch their accounts.”

A 2016 study by the National Library of Medicine also found that “education is a key player” in getting children vaccinated. Some parents choose not to vaccinate their kids because of misplaced fears about the ingredients and side-effects of vaccines, the study said.

Another solution Elliott proposed is to limit religious and personal exemptions – which have ticked up since pandemic restrictions were loosened. Currently, the Arizona Department of Health Services says parents can opt to not vaccinate their children if they submit a signed ADHS Personal Beliefs Exemption Form testifying that immunizations are against their personal beliefs.

Even with government intervention,

Elliott and the National Library of Medicine said, the most challenging and most important thing is to regain the trust of the American people.

“Healthy relationships between a practitioner and parent can go a long way toward helping patients” vaccinate their children, the National Library of Medicine study said. “Trust is paramount and will help put parents at ease and help them overcome unmerited fears.”

“No one is trying to hoodwink or hide information,” Elliott said. “If I am asked a question by a concerned vaccine hesitant parent, I am going to give them an honest answer but they have to ask the question.”

“Well,” said the new hearing aid user as she drew a deep breath.” my hearing loss cost me three friendships that I know of, a strained relationship with my husband, two grandchildren who think I don’t understand them, boredom at church, and lost interest in attending get-togethers.”

After a reflective pause, she added: “Sure I invested some money to get these hearing aids... but it doesn’t compare with what it cost before I got them.”

Waste Not leader chosen for special program

BY JOSH ORTEGA GSN Staff Writer

Each year, sustainability nonprofit Arizona Forward selects a handful of professionals from around the state to become “emerging leaders in sustainability action.”

So it was no surprise that Arizona Forward President/CEO Lori Singleton welcome Hillary Bryant to the Emerging Sustainability Leaders 2022-23 program for her commitment, professionalism, and passion for environmental sustainability.

“I have a very deep love for my environment,” said Bryant, executive director of the Scottsdale nonprofit Waste Not, which at 35 years claims to be one of the oldest food rescue organizations in the U.S.

Its aim is to “transform a broken system by connecting tens of thousands of Arizonans with quality food that would otherwise go to waste” and said it has “diverted

more than 100 million meals from landfills to the plates of struggling families.”

“I am incredibly honored to have been selected as an Emerging Leader in Sustainability through Arizona Forward’s

leadership program,” Bryant said in a statement. “This year’s cohort is full of extraordinary people that are dedicated to climate action and sustainability, and I am proud to walk alongside them as we continue to create meaningful change and impact in Arizona.”

From a young age, Bryant grew up in Gilbert when the town still had a strong farm presence. She also would visit her grandfather’s house in the White Mountains and the area near Show Low.

“As I grew up, I started volunteering for different types of nonprofits, none of them were really sustainability focused, per se, but I grew to love my community,” Bryant said.

Not until college did Bryant join her love for the environment with a love for her community.

In 2017, she graduated with a bachelor’s in public health from Northern Arizona University, where she focused much of her degree program on environ-

mental health and creating systems that help people and the planet, specifically how our communities and environment shape us and our health.

Bryant said she is dedicated to creating lasting, systemic change in Arizona and is excited by Arizona Forward’s opportunity to meet and learn from others who have advanced sustainability efforts in the state.

“I am so excited to be immersed in this program for the next seven months and to create partnerships that can bring awareness to the connection between food waste, climate change, and the well-being of local communities,” she said.

Bryant said the program consists of experts from government, architecture, energy, water, and land and forest conservation.

But Bryant said she’s only one of two people in the program that focuses on

HD SOUTH starts year with informative programs for all ages

NEWS STAFF

HD SOUTH Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum will offer a series of informative programs for people of all ages this month.

Programs are led by artists, historians, storytellers, botanists and scientists; experts in their field who share their knowledge and skills with our community.

Located in the heart of the heritage district at Gilbert and Elliot roads, the building that houses the museum opened as Gilbert Elementary School in 1913. It is the oldest building in Gilbert and is the only one on the National Register of Historical Places.

Gilbert Museum is a repository of artifacts chronicling the town’s rich history,

featuring newly remodeled exhibits and interactive displays. Many of the educational programs are free. Information: hdsouth.org/calendar. Unless otherwise noted, registration is required.

Vintage Home Life Exhibit, Through Feb. 19

Vintage and antique artifacts used in homes in the early to mid 1900’s include oil lamps, irons, kitchen implements and utensils, toasters, butter churns, coffee grinders, and more to keep early

Gilbert homesteads running smoothly. Every piece in the exhibit is from HD SOUTH’s private collection and they have never been on display in one exhibit. It is free with paid museum admission.

Movie Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 10

Each month HD SOUTH will be showing a different movie in the Neely Community Room. Snacks and refreshments are available for purchase. Movies will be rated from G to PG. This month’s movie is “Inside Out.” Attendance will be limited to 30.

Food Sustainability in the Desert, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Jan. 14

There are many things in the desert that can be used to make ingredients for

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

GSN

Hillary Bryant has been recognized for her commitment to sustainability as head of the nonprofit Waste Not. (Social Television Network)

Kendra Stanger, Environmental Technology Center Coordinator at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, helps students learn about Arizona through programs that bring environmental lessons to life. She will lead a workshop at HD SOUTH this month. (Special to GSN)

favorite foods. Chandler Gilbert community college sustainability expert Kendra Stanger will educate participants on food sustainability in the desert. She will also discuss using desert mesquite pods to make flour.

Paint and Sip Night, 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 17

During this workshop, participants will be taken through techniques to make their own personal art projects. Participants are encouraged to bring a beverage. Ages 21 and up.

Art With GVAL, 10:30 a.m.-noon Jan. 21

A member from the Gilbert Visual Arts League will lead participants through a workshop where they will learn new artistic techniques and make their own personal art projects. All supplies will be provided. Ages 10 and up.

Let’s Talk Mental Health, 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 24

Facilitated by Paula McCall, founder of the Semicolon Society, this informative program will teach attendees more about mental health issues and awareness and will provide information for treatment sources and wellness options.

STEM Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon Jan. 28.

Local college professors and teachers will lead participants through science experiments that will allow kids to create their own bouquet of coffee filter flowers. All supplies will be provided. Ages 6 and up.

Mushrooms And Stones, 6:30-8 p.m. Jan. 31

Small business owner Michelle Taylor will discuss the benefits of medicinal/ functional mushrooms and energetic stones.

food systems, and she loves that.

“I really love bringing the perspective of food waste and circular economy,” Bryant said. “Because it’s not necessarily a part of sustainability that people think about right away.”

“We really have a dual mission of alleviating hunger and then also keeping good food out of the landfill, therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions, specifically methane,” Bryant said.

It’s that dual mission that attracted to Bryant to join the nonprofit in the first place.

Waste Not comprises a team of professional drivers and food rescue volunteers to collect fresh food from local food businesses such as catering companies, resorts, and event venues, and deliver that food the same day to nonprofits who provide critical community services, such as housing and employment assistance.

Each year, 40% of food is thrown away, while nearly 1 million people in Arizona are struggling with food insecurity, and last year, Waste Not “recued” nearly 2.4 million pounds of food and redirecting

it to critical community services such as housing and employment assistance.

“I really love that we’re so efficient that we can tackle two problems at once, in such a meaningful way,” Bryant said.

Anyone can reduce food waste, Bryant said.

They can consider composting, paying attention to expiration dates, planning out household portions more accurately, utilizing clear containers to know what is being stored in the refrigerator and then following the FIFO Method – first in, first out.

“The things that basically have an expiration date that’s closer, you put that at the front of your fridge and you use those things first,” Bryant said.

Bryant said she looks forward to the rest of the program and learning from other experts.

Hillary will be part of “a talented and diverse group of other young professionals that will be leading the charge to expand environmental sustainability in their communities and their places of business,” Singleton said.

Ob uaries

480-898-6465

obits@timespublications.com

Deadline: Wednesday by 5pm for Sunday

Norece Leaonard Hatch

Norece ‘Shorty’ Hatch was born to Leonard and Dorothy Hatch on March 27, 1947. He is the oldest of 7 kids. Darnell Brown (Tom), Ray (deceased), Don (Kay), Ross (Karen), Gwynn, Lynn Romney (Jess). He grew up in Northern Arizona. He graduated from Ashfork HS, then served a 2 year mission in Central America for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In 1969 he married Nivla Lamoreaux of Gilbert, Arizona. They moved to Flagstaff where Shorty earned a BS degree in business. The family moved to Gilbert out on Ray Road where he ran his business, Shorty’s (and later Spartan) Electric. He was an electrical contractor for 40 years.

They had 9 children. After 28 years the family moved out to south Higley Road where the family continued to grow. Shorty and Nivla left in 2011 for a mission in Córdoba Argentina. Nivla passed away in March of 2012 while they were serving there. In 2016 Norece married Mary Rogers. In the Spring of 2018 they served a temple mission in Madrid Spain. Mary made Shorty very happy.

On Tuesday, December 27th, 2022 Shorty passed away of natural causes in his home, after having the best couple of days participating in family traditions. He is survived by Mary Rogers Hatch, Shamaine Wright (Mike), Titia Mann, N Cody (Melanie), Yana Reidhead (Keevin), Cozette Fox (Sean), Tima Hird (Nick), Toah, Taffy Sherwood (DJ), Koay (Rianne). 43 grandkids and 14 great grands. He was a large spirit in a short body. He served his community, his family, and his friends.

A funeral service will be held from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM on 2023-01-07 at Power Ranch stake center, 4170 S Ranch House Parkway Gilbert, AZ. A viewing (wake) will be held from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM on 2023-01-07 at Power Ranch Stake Center, 4170 S Ranch House Pkwy.

Robert Henry Becker

Robert Henry Becker died on November 3, 2022 at the age of 93. Born in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, Bob worked for AllisChalmers, Deutz-Allis, AGCO, Melroe and Armstrong Tires in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas and Arizona. He was a faithful and enthusiastic volunteer for St. Peter Lutheran Church, California Rare Fruit Growers - Arizona Chapter, and New Frontiers for Lifelong Learning at Mesa Community College.

Bob is survived by sisters Bernice Hunt and Margaret Reynoldson, daughters Teresa Becker, Bonita Sweda (Thomas Sweda), and Katrina Becker (Howard Schuler), grandchildren Timothy and Jennifer Sweda, and companion Peggy Randolph.

He was predeceased by wife Dorothy Chung Becker and parents Herman and Lena Becker. He is greatly missed. Bob Becker’s memorial celebration of life will be held at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 1844 E. Dana Ave. in Mesa, AZ at 3PM on Saturday, January 28, 2023.

More information and full obituary at https://everloved.com/life-of/robertbecker/.

Lucille Gardner Jenkins

January 13, 1925 – December 14, 2022

Lucille was born January 13, 1925 in Miami, Arizona to William Alvin and Afton Luella Porter Gardner. She had a wonderful life growing up on a farm in Elfrida, Arizona. She Attended Brigham Young University majoring in Home Economics. She and her husband raised their eight children in California. She worked as a bookkeeper most of her life and enjoyed the challenge of balancing down to the penny. She was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and took great joy in all the positions she held with them. She was very good at keeping in touch with her and her husbands extended family members and the friends from when they met. She outlived them all, crossing out their names in her phone book when they passed away. She is preceded in death by her sister, Dorothy Powell and her husband, Gordon W Jenkins. She is survived by her children; Bradley (Holly) Jenkins, Christine (Barry) Hackett, Karen (Rod) Johnson, Mark A Jenkins, Denise (Brent) Crabtree, Renee (Lee) Pyper, Brett (Joanne) Jenkins and Kimberlee (Brent) Hawkins; also 22 Grandchildren and 30 Great Grandchildren.

Former QC bean counter now grinds them instead

BY MARK MORAN GSN Staff Writer

Sandy Prue has always liked coffee as more than an average cup of Joe.

“Growing up I loved the smell of coffee, but it was not until I did a 126mile relay walk that I started drinking it,” she recalled. “And I lived in Washington State and there are coffee shops on every corner.”

“And I’ve probably gone to almost all of them and I’ve probably tried all the different kinds of coffee kind of searching for that perfect cup of coffee,” she said.

Now Prue lives in Queen Creek and has turned that love of coffee and the quest for the perfect cup into a local business called Fill Your Cup of Coffee.

“I’m a very positive person and I wanted to put a spin on ‘fill your cup with gratitude,’” she said of her inspiration for the company name. Prue came to Arizona not long before the pandemic brought the economy to a screeching halt and with it, her plans to return to the workplace.

Prue decided it was time to go back to work but not in the same field where she spent her career as “an accountant for 30-some years.”

“I decided I am done being an accountant and I want to do something different and not work for someone else and work for myself,” Prue said. “I was kind of done doing taxes and working those long hours. And I love coffee and I thought I could sell it really easily.”

So, she went from counting beans to roasting and selling them.

“I went and researched local roasters in the area around here and I found one and loved it and that’s how I started,” Prue said.

Currently, Fill Your Cup of Coffee is solely an online shop with no brick-andmortar store yet.

So Prue is hitting the road every weekend and bringing her product directly to local customers.

She wants them to smell, taste and ask questions about the super-smooth, highend java, rather than just hope people stumble across her website and buy a bag of coffee beans or the other products she sells online.

“I go to markets and I have my coffee in Sip and Shop Arizona at the San Tan Mall, and I sell my bags of coffee in there.” Prue said. “I go to all the farmers markets.”

That’s where Prue thinks she stands to make the most headway, handing out samples to shoppers who may be more apt to try something new when they are at a market and more likely to make an impulse buy, especially on something like gourmet coffee or tea.

“So, I have been to the Apache Junction farmers market, the Mesa swap meet, the Vintage and Vino market at the Queen Creek horse arena three times, a car booth sale in Maricopa. I’ve done one in Scottsdale,” she said.

“So, I go to wherever the markets are and I see which one does well, and if it does well, I keep going back.”

Prue said people who try her coffee and like it at the farmers markets are driving sales on the website.

“My philosophy is that if I hand out samples and usually if they sample it, they will buy a bag. And if they buy it and they like it, they will go on my website and order it again,” Prue said.

Prue estimates that, depending on the market, she sells between 10 and 40 bags of coffee per day in person, far outpacing her current online sales.

Selling the coffee locally and in person also allows her to save shipping costs, which she said, have become prohibitive to the point that she eliminated the shipping fees for buyers online.

In the new year, however, she said those fees will be added into the price, which currently ranges between $13 and $15 on the website. Prue said she does have a mission beyond simply making a profit, adding that she has always been driven by wanting to be a good community citizen.

“5% of our net profit each month will go

to an animal rescue organization.” Prue said. “Each month there will be a vote for where the proceeds will be donated. Volunteering for 9 years at an animal rescue organization, my goal is to continue giving back to the animals in need.”

Prue’s business uses only Fair-Trade coffee, which means that the beans have been audited throughout the supply chain to meet certain sustainability and labor standards.

“By buying Fair Trade we always know where the coffee is grown, who grew it, how they are treated and the benefits they receive through direct trade,” Prue said. “This helps farmers improve their lives, families and community lives.

Prue said coffee shops and retail outlets that sell large volumes of coffee often roast their beans in huge vats at high temperatures to keep up with the demand, but which can result in a bitter beverage.

Prue said her supplier’s approach to not only roasting, but also washing the beans, guards against that.

“When you have a green coffee bean, before it can be roasted you have to wash it, which takes out some of the impurities of it, and if you wash it more it takes out that acidity,” she said.

Prue said her beans are washed seven times before they are roasted very carefully.

“If the bean is over-roasted you will get that more acidic flavor,” Prue said.

Prue’s goal is to eventually have a brick-and-mortar location in Queen Creek, where she can provide a welcoming space for people and offer them “that perfect cup of coffee and put an extra pep in your step.”

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

Sandy Prue owns Fill Your Cup of Coffee, an online-only Queen Creek business that she opened after leaving a 30-year career as an accountant. (Special to GSN)

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