Gilbert Sun News - 10.18.2020 by Times Media Group

Sellers market prevails in Gilbert

Mayoral hopefuls detail spending

PAGE RE2

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An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

This Week

NEWS.................................3 GPS, Higley schools earn A+ honors.

BUSINESS................ 23 Campo Verde student’s business a beauty.

FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Council just says no to recreational weed BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

ilbert is saying no to the sale, cultivation and storage of recreational marijuana in town. Town Council last week voted unanimously for the ban should voters approve Proposition 207 on Nov. 3, which legalizes cannabis use and possession for adults. The initiative also would impose a 16 percent tax on pot sales. “I look at this subject from a standpoint of transportation safety-point-of-view,” said Vice Mayor Yung Koprowski, a transportation engineer. “It’s very important to me – road safety and people do not have acci-

dents that result in injuries and deaths. “So simply put easier access to an impairing drug such as marijuana will almost certainly result in a higher number of those accidents.” Koprowski said although studies contradict each other on the long-term impact of recreational marijuana use, they almost always show a short-term increase in the damage of property and loss of life in study areas where weed consumption for enjoyment is legal. “I believe it will be detrimental to our town and will be voting in order to prevent its passage and therefore I will be supporting this ordinance tonight,” Koprowski said. The town received 78 comment cards that

Gilbert to resume late utility fees, disconnects

were overwhelmingly from residents opposing the ordinance and three in support. Arizona voters approved medical marijuana use in 2010 but rejected recreational use of the drug in 2016. Today, there are 14 states where it is legal for adults to use marijuana other than for health reasons. Councilwoman Kathy Tilque said she was on the stakeholder group that developed a good ordinance regulating medical marijuana in town and the latest proposal builds upon that. Under the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, municipalities can prohibit marijuana establishments and testing facilities in their

see TOWNWEED page 7

Lights, camera, etc.

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

SPORTS...................... 28 Gilbert brothers excel on and off the gridiron.

COMMUNITY.......................................20 BUSINESS.............................................23

PUZZLE....................................... 27 SPORTS.......................................28 CLASSIFIED..........................................32

ith the local economy on the mend, Gilbert will resume late fees in November for delinquent water customers and cutting service in January. The town stopped doing both actions earlier this year to help residents experiencing financial hardship during the economic impact of the pandemic. “We have not disconnected residents or any of the accounts since March,” Kelly Pfost, budget and management director, told Town Council last week. “We have about 1,500 eligible right now. We are definitely trying to get help to those people in this situation.” Town utility employees have been visiting residences and making contact with delinquent customers and providing them with information where they can get help with their wa-

see UTILITY page 5

Filmmaker Thomas Bonifield of Gilbert, left, and photography director Josh Maas discuss a scene as they prepare to shoot on location in Michigan a Christian Christmas movie he’s debuting next month. For details, see page 20. (Courtesy of Thomas Bonifield)

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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NEWS

GPS, Higley get new A+ school ratings BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

hen it comes to educational excellence, six Gilbert schools made the grade. The Arizona Educational Foundation recently announced that they were among 44 public schools that received the A+ School of Excellence Award for 2020. Campo Verde and Highland high schools, Carol Rae Ranch and Ashland Ranch elementary schools and the Gilbert Classical Academy – all part of Gilbert Public Schools – Sossaman Middle School in the Higley Unified District received the recognition. “We are delighted to add five schools this year, to make a total of 14 schools currently recognized as A+ Schools of Excellence by the Arizona Educational Foundation,” GPS Superintendent Shane McCord said. “We are so proud of the work our administrators, teachers, students, and families have contributed to achieving

this prestigious accolade. “The ‘A+’ truly represents the dedication, academic excellence, and support delivered every day on our campuses in Gilbert Public Schools.” HUSD Associate Superintendent Dawn Foley said her district also was pleased with Sossaman’s accomplishment. “We are so proud of Principal John Dolan, the faculty and staff, the students and the Sossaman community for creating an outstanding academically focused, student-centered school that truly prepares students for future success in high school and beyond,” Foley stated. “Mr. Dolan and his team have worked hard to develop programs for students to enrich their academic and extra-curricular endeavors while supporting each student’s social and emotional needs. The A+ School of Excellence Award for Sossaman Middle School is well deserved and appreciated.” The pre-K to12th-grade schools selected for going above and beyond everyday

expected practices will each receive $500 and a banner to display touting their achievement. The schools retain the A+ designation for four years as long as they remain an “A” or “B” school. The grades are different from the ones the Arizona Department of Education hands out each year to all public schools. The state’s letter grades are based on factors such as student academic growth from year to year, high school graduation rates and AzMerit scores. According to the foundation, its program increases confidence in the state’s public schools, creates greater parent and community support and serves as an economic driver for some communities. “The A+ School of Excellence Award shines a spotlight on the positive stories and successes occurring in public schools,” said AEF Executive Director Kim Graham. “The application and evaluation pro-

see GRADES page 4

Spence farewell takes jabs at replacement BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

ouncilman Bill Spence reiterated his support for public safety, condemned racism and took a few jabs at his replacement during his last Town Council meeting last week. Spence must step down Nov. 2, the day before Councilman-elect Laurin Hendrix is to be seated after defeating him in the Primary Election. “It’s old news that I was narrowly defeated. While I received nearly 25,000 votes, my opponent received 26,000,” said Spence. “Most will say that I lost, however, I consider it to be an incredible victory. “My opponent is a career politician. He had name recognition and the support of a well-organized political network. He spent a staggering amount money – around $6 to my $1.” Spence, a political newcomer, said society has embraced behavior that infringes on people’s right to have political opinions. Spence was appointed to serve nine

Bill Spence sat on the Town Council dais for the last time last week. (Town of Gilbert)

months of Eddie Cook’s term until a winner was picked in the Primary to fill the remaining two years. After the primary, Hendrix sued Spence and the town to be seated immediately instead of waiting until January. “Let me be very clear,” Spence said. “At no time have I ever stated or inferred

that I would disregard the ruling of a court having jurisdictional authority over this case. Any suggestion to the contrary would be absolutely false.” He stressed his remarks were not directed at the lawsuit but rather at things that happened during the campaign. A judge ruled Hendrix could take his seat on Nov. 3, but Hendrix has filed an appeal. A panel of three judges is scheduled to hear the appeal at 10:15 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20. Hendrix also has filed for recovery of his attorney fees. According to August invoices, the town’s paid $21,621 for outside legal counsel, which includes Spence’s attorney cost. The town last week had not received the September invoices. Spence said he felt it was important to say a few things while he was still a sitting councilman. “I have been an advocate for our first responders from day one,” said the retired Navy lieutenant commander. “I will

see SPENCE page 4

NEWS

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

GRADES from page 3

cess for this program is comprehensive and rigorous,” she added. “We applaud these schools for exceeding expectations to meet their students’ needs and for achieving overall success despite the many challenges that face the education community statewide,” she added. Application deadline for the 2021 awards ended in August. Schools that apply for the honor must submit written applications that are reviewed by a panel of judges comprised primarily of A+ School principals, superintendents and district administrators. Panels may also include teachers from A+ Schools, higher-education personnel and other Pre-K-12 professionals.

Schools that apply for the A+ School of Excellence recognition must first have an “A” or “B” grade from the state. The school’s principal also must have completed at least three full years as leader of the applicant school. Applicants must provide demographic information, a description of current programs and practices, documentation of parent and community involvement, a profile of the school’s principal and the school community’s commitment to excellence, equity, service and sustained high achievement. Once a written application passes the first hurdle, the judges does a day-anda-half site visit and vet the programs and

activities described in the written application. Schools that earn the award share traits, including showing a strong commitment to academic excellence, cultivate learning-centered, safe-school environments and actively address students’ social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs, according to the foundation. Other GPS campuses with the A+ distinction that is still current include Islands, Meridian, Oak Tree, Patterson, Playa del Rae and Towne Meadows elementary schools; Greenfield and South Valley junior high schools and Gilbert High School. Playa del Rey Elementary campus has been awarded the distinction four times,

the most of GPS’s campuses. Chandler Unified won three new A+ designations for Haley Nicole Knutsen, Navarrete and Riggs elementary schools. Chandler schools have earned the A+ distinction81 times since the program’s inception in 1983 – the most of any Arizona school district, said CUSD spokesman Terry Locke. “We are proud of the schools for sticking their neck on the line to see how they compete among the best in Arizona,” Locke said. “It’s a rigorous process that includes an internal examination. Families who attend these schools know how great they are. Now the rest of the state does as well.”

never, ever consider defunding our Police Department. I will always fight to ensure that our police, fire, and ambulance service are properly trained and equipped to safely do their jobs while providing the standard of service demanded by the residents of Gilbert. Simply stating support

for our first responders doesn’t matter. Actions, not words, matter.” He then addressed the weekly protests at Warner and Gilbert roads between pro-police and Black Live Matters supporters. “God knows that I am a staunch sup-

porter of our First and Second amendments,” he said. “However, I emphatically denounce white supremacy and racial intolerance. I denounce discrimination in all forms against a person’s sex, ethnicity, sexual or religious preference and political ideology. “I am a gun owner and I carry often. However, I believe that armed individuals dressed in camouflage and carrying a Confederate flag are promoting a message of hatred and intolerance.” Spence added while he supported free speech and expression, he will never support the burning of the American flag, which has been done at the protests. Spence noted the country is more divided than ever and said what he’s heard from residents include “I am afraid to put up a yard sign.” “I am afraid to comment on a social media post.” “I am afraid to get involved.” “I am afraid to run for office. “Those who know the details of my political experience are astonished by the brazen, unethical and even illegal actions that were taken against me,” Spence said. “My situation is not unique. In fact, it

seems to have become the new norm for some in our local elections. “We should be able to live in our community and be involved without fear of physical threats, harassment of our families, vandalism, and other forms of bullying and intimidation.” He said Gilbert residents need to demand accountability, affiliate with people who encourage them to think “rather than dictating what to think” and elect those who are proven servant leaders through action and not words. Mayor Scott Anderson thanked him for his service to Council and to his country. Councilmen Jared Taylor and Scott September echoed the sentiment. September also thanked Spence for working to bring to a vote last Tuesday the town’s sponsorship of the new USS Arizona submarine. The council voted 7-0 to be the host, which will not cost Gilbert any money. Instead, the Navy league of the United States-Phoenix Council will be responsible for all fundraising for activities associated with the USS Arizona.

SPENCE

from page 3

ADVERTISEMENT One man’s opinion Edition #15

GILBERT

BEHIND the Scenes Gilbert Mayoral Race If you are happy living in Gilbert with our low taxes, low water prices, great rubbish disposal and the best police department in the state, your candidate should be Brigette Peterson. If you want to defund the police department, limit funding for roads and highways, cut funding for parks and possibly save one or two pennies on your taxes vote for the other guy.

I will be voting for

Brigette Peterson George Dottl, Taxpayer

Your news 24/7 www.GilbertSunNews.com

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

NEWS

UTILITY from page 1

ter bills. Gilbert also is working with nonprofit AZCEND to contact those in the greatest need and encouraging them to apply for financial help. The 1,469 delinquent accounts equate to $330,000. In comparison during April to September last year, the town disconnected 1,867 customers for nonpayment. Pfost also updated Council on the state of the town’s economy overall, which was doing well. She said the recommendation is for the town to fully use its current fiscal year budget and not hold off on any planned spending. According to Pfost, the town’s unemployment rate has dropped by more than half from its highest of 11.4 percent in April. “We’ve been very, very fortunate here in Gilbert that the unemployment rate that had spiked in the early months of the pandemic has come back down,” Pfost said. “It’s right around 4.5 percent right now so it’s a good trend right there (with) new jobs in the area.” Before COVID-19 hit, the town’s unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in February and 3.3 percent in January. Pfost said one of the hardest hit sectors in town comprised of restaurants and bars, which were forced to curtail operations or close during the pandemic. “In the early part of the pandemic, March and April, our restaurants were experiencing quite a big drop from what their normal revenues were compared to the prior year,” she said. She said sales tax revenue from Gilbert restaurants and bars dropped 25 to 28 percent for those months but with the community supporting them, there was a 3 percent increase in tax revenue for May and June. But the revenues have dipped since then with August sales at minus 2 percent, according to Pfost. “In comparison with some of our surrounding communities, they’re close to the 20 to 30 percent decrease,” she said. “So, it’s still a decrease from prior years but we are seeing a lot of strength in Gil-

This chart shows how tax revenue from Gilbert bars and restaurants has fluctuated since the pandemic began in March. However, the town updated the last column to indicate a 2 percent decline rather than 7.(Town of Gilbert)

Town budget and Management Director Kelly Pfost delivered an overview on the town’s finances to Council last week. (Town of Gilbert)

bert’s particular economy in this area hardest hit for us, the restaurant area.” The town has held off spending on some items budgeted for the current fiscal year as it monitors its collections of sales tax revenue – which comprises the largest portion of its income. Pfost said the sales tax revenue is coming in above last year. For instance, during July and August, the town saw an 11 percent increase in sales tax compared with the same months in 2019. For the most recent month, the town saw a 5 percent increase, according to Pfost. She said the town’s other major revenue sources also were doing well. Stateshared revenue was 10 percent higher for the first three months of the current fiscal year. Councilman Jared Taylor asked Pfost to explain the disconnect between what someone may see on the streets with vacant storefronts and that of the relatively positive numbers. Pfost said a weakness of the data is that staff only sees the total sales and not where consumers spent the money. She said there likely has been a shift in spending with some businesses seeing

revenue increases and others a decline in customers. “My recommendation is to still be very conservative,”said Taylor, who noted the town wasn’t hit as hard because its economy isn’t focused heavily on tourism. He explained the unemployment number was a bit artificial because businesses that got loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program were effectively paying employees to do things because they didn’t have work. “There’s lots of businesses that have slowed down but their people are still on payroll being funded by some of these loans, which are going to run out,” he said. He said the employment number “looks really good and no doubt that’s probably the ‘number of people’ that are employed on W-2 payrolls,” but said “how many of them actually have meaningful work is sort of the fake element.” “It’s really going to be interesting if we don’t get another round of stimulus to support that,” Taylor said. Taylor said the sales tax revenue also was temporary because of the $1,200 stimulus checks. “There was a big consumer trend to use some of that money to do large ticket-item sales and so I don’t dispute those are factually accurate,” Taylor said. But if the town commits to hiring the 82 positions in the budget – an ongoing cost – it would be relying on “relatively shaky sales data largely driven by government stimulus,” he said.

“It’s not going to be sustainable,” he added. “To me we should have a lot of caution on unstable revenues with a step-function in the expenses.” Pfost said staff doesn’t know where the stimulus money was spent or if people spent it in one lump sum early on or continued using that money. “One of the things that gives me comfort is we are seeing high numbers above our projections and above last year for several months in a row,” Pfost said. “We only had one month that had a 1-percent decline, so that gives me some comfort,” she said. “We are seeing a longer trend as opposed to a single spike right around the time the stimulus checks would have gone out.” She said the town was on track to receive $108 million to $110 million in actual sales tax revenue as opposed to a budgeted figure of $97 million. “So, even if we do see some decline in that data over the next half of the year, next eight months, we have a cushion built in that we haven’t included that as our ongoing money,” she said. “It would be one-time money for the upcoming (fiscal) year.” Mayor Scott Anderson said he agreed with Taylor that the town should continue to be conservative and cautious in its spending and continue to monitor revenues. “We will be moving forward with full use of budget and will continue to keep council updated on any changes in revenue patterns as the year progresses,” Pfost said after the meeting.

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

TOWNWEED from page 1

NEWS

jurisdictions but they can’t restrict the ability of a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary to have a dual license to sell marijuana for recreational use at the same location. Attorney Lindsay Schube, representing Curaleaf, the only medical marijuana dispensary in Gilbert, spoke in favor of the ordinance as it would not affect the business’ future operation as a dual-license holder. According to the state Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the proposition would generate an estimated annual $166 million in revenue from tax and licensing fees, which would go to entities such as community college districts, law enforcement and roads. Councilman Jared Taylor said he supported the town’s proposed ordinance although some may question why someone like him who favored small government would do so. “There is an important role govern-

ment has in certain things like the vice industries,” Taylor said. “When you have something that plays on the weaknesses of individuals, especially our youth, the government absolutely has a role.” He pointed to the gaming industry and the stock market as examples where government regulation was needed. “So, this is an important part of where the government does have a proper role,” Taylor said. “And, I think it’s expressed well in this particular ordinance being proactive. “I’ve heard many times from our Police Department the issues that they are dealing with relative to this particular topic and their opposition to this and I stand with them on that to continue to have Gilbert as a very clean, safe and vibrant atmosphere like our former mayor use to talk about quite a bit. So I think this upholds this standard that we’ve worked so hard for.” Councilwoman Aimee Yentes said she

hoped voters will resoundingly reject the proposition. She said the 17-page initiative was written to protect the medical marijuana industry’s monopoly. “Hopefully, voters will see the wisdom and the negative externalities seen in other states and take the opportunity to say this is definitely not right for Arizona,” she said. Mayor Scott Anderson said comments he received from many people focused on how Gilbert could pass up on the potential revenue from the initiative. “Well, the revenue is probably going to cover some of the very issues that the vice mayor and council member Yentes have already discussed,” Anderson said. And he didn’t take stock in comments that Gilbert would be out on an island by itself in adopting the ordinance. “We know that many of the communities around us are doing the exact same thing that we are doing right now,” he said. “So, I feel we are in a safe place.

Our primary responsibility up here is the health, safety and welfare of our community and I’ve seen too much evidence that going forward with what is suggested in Prop. 207 could jeopardize that and I would not be in favor of that in the community.” Proposition 207 also would allow anyone convicted of certain marijuana-related crimes to petition for the expungement of their criminal record. Supporters of the proposition include former Gov. John Fife Symington, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice and Arizona Dispensaries Association. More groups, however, are opposed to the measure, which include Gov. Doug Ducey, the Yavapai County Attorney, the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, Saddle Mountain Unified School District in Litchfield Park, U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

$300 million a year earmarked for education. What’s not necessary, said James, are some other provisions tucked into the measure. For example, it allows these new recreational marijuana shops to share premises with existing medical marijuana facilities. James said it changes the laws for medical marijuana dispensaThousands of Arizonans sign petitions to get the marijuana initiative on the ballot. ries – such as removThe petitions were dropped off at the Secretary of State’s office earlier this year. ing the existing re(file photo) quirement that medithere’s a lot of detail on all those pages cal marijuana dispensaries be operated beyond making it legal to possess up to as nonprofit entities. an ounce of the drug and up to six plants. That was one of the selling points beBut he said that is necessary to ensure hind the 2010 measure that legalized that marijuana is properly controlled, marijuana for certain medical condithat there are limits on how it can be tions. marketed and, potentially more signifProp 207 also eliminates the requireicant, that it generates the estimated ment for dispensaries to have a medical

director. Campbell dismissed those concerns as irrelevant. He said even if medical marijuana now would be sold by those seeking a profit, that won’t necessarily boost the cost. “It will be market-driven,’’ Campbell said, calling medical directors unnecessary because the initiative includes requirements for testing as well as limits on the strength of edible marijuana products. There is no cap on the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – in the leaves and flowers that are sold. As much as James says the 17-page initiative is too chock full of provisions versus simple decriminalization, there also are more restrictions that she actually wants in the measure. There’s the issue of advertising and promotion. The measure would not only prohibit sales to those younger than 21 but also ban the sale of products that resemble

Opponents say marijuana prop a minefield

he way Lisa James sees it, Proposition 207 is not about whether people should be able to use marijuana. She said if Arizonans want that there’s a simple solution: Repeal the laws that now make its sale and use illegal. But James, who chairs Arizonans for Health and Public Safety – which opposes the initiative – said that’s not what’s on the ballot. “If they wanted to do that, they could do that in a page and a half,’’ she said. James said it’s a complex set of regulations on 17 pages that is financed by for-profit organizations that will benefit if it wins approval. Prop 207 also has drawn the opposition of the Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chad Campbell, chairman of Smart and Safe Arizona, the industry-financed campaign, which crafted and is backing the measure, does not dispute that

see PROP page 10

NEWS

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

EV Veterans Parade names grand marshal GSN NEWS STAFF

eflecting this year’s East Valley Veterans Parade theme of “Celebrating Lives of Service,” Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser has been named as the Grand Marshal of the Nov. 11 event. This year’s parade format will be “in reverse” with spectators forming the parade driving past 25 to 30 of the annual parades most popular entries. The Parade Association said it selected Jasser “as a model of a life spent in service to his country and his fellow man.” Jasser, now in private practice in Phoenix, served as a medical officer in the Navy for 11 years, leaving the service as a lieutenant commander in 1999. While in the Navy, he received the Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. He was Chief of Residents at Bethesda Naval Hospital and was selected to be Staff Internist at the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was the only physician on duty,

along with four corpsmen, during the of Delegates. 1998 attack on the U.S. Capitol and he He has written several books, along and his corpsmen treated the wounded. with many articles for national publicaJasser has specialized in internal tion, hosts his own radio show and has medicine and nuclear testified in front of cardiology in private Congress. practice since 1999 afJasser has become ter finishing his Navy known nationally and service. internationally as an He is a bioethicist activist for Muslim reand has provided bioform though his work ethics education and as founder and presconsultation for Banner ident of the AmeriHealth since 2003. He can Islamic Forum for served on the Maricopa Democracy, a countCounty Board of Health er-ideology, count2004-12 and the Area er-terrorism national Agency on Aging board security organization from 2007 to 2012. in Phoenix. He is a former presHe co-founded in Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser ident of the Arizona 2015 the Muslim ReMedical Association, serving from 2006- form Movement, a coalition of pro-liber07, and is currently one of four delegates ty Muslim reform-minded organizations for the Arizona Medical Association to based in the United States, Canada and the American Medical Association. Europe that rejects interpretations of He also chairs the Private Practice Islam that call for any violence, social inPhysicians’ Congress at the AMA House justice or politicization of the faith.

The parade will start at University Drive and Center Street and head south to 1st Street. Details on the parade route and participating entries are at evvp.org and its Facebook page at facebook.com/ EastValleyVeteransParade. East Valley residents can also watch for details in the Mesa Tribune. When the annual Mesa Veterans Parade fell victim to necessary budget cuts in 2006, local residents Gerry Walker and Frank “Gunny” Alger spoke out on behalf of the 40-year-old Mesa tradition. Walker said, “There will be a Veterans Day parade if it is only me marching down the street with Frank watching.” The Marine Corps League Saguaro Chapter in Mesa took the lead and the Mesa Veterans Parade Association was formed. In 2013, the all-volunteer organization changed its name to the East Valley Veterans Parade Association to reflect the participation of parade entrants and sponsors from most East Valley communities. Donations to this 501c3 nonprofit organization are tax-deductible.

off, so it would need other municipalities’ beer and soda cans, plastic bottles and other items to make the project worthwhile. Mesa City Council has not made a commitment to build a regional facility, but it tentatively backed the concept and asked Scott Bouchie, environmental management and sustainability director, to pursue the plan further and report back in six months. Bouchie said that Gilbert, faced with many of the same issues as Mesa, has expressed preliminary support for the concept, but details are yet to be hammered out. Unlike Gilbert, Mesa suspended recycling in March at the onset of the pandemic but is resuming limited service Oct. 26. “We’ve had preliminary discussions and they are definitely interested,’’ Bouchie told Council on Thursday. “I think with the

into recycling,’’ Mesa Mayor John Giles said. “We have a commitment to recycling and sustainability.’’ Gilbert residents also have expressed their support for continuing a recycling program and many respondents in a town survey have indicated they’d pay extra to keep the program going. Giles said that all potential options for resurrecting the program depend on the cooperation of residents, with tolerance for contamination dropping along with many commodity prices. “We need to be more sophisticated with our recycling,’’ Giles said. Bouchie said he welcomes the return of recycling and that residents will need to demonstrate they want it through cooperation. “You can either be part of the solution or

Mesa woos Gilbert on regional recycling plant BY JIM WALSH GSN Staff Writer

esa is pursuing a potential long-term solution to recycling through construction of an East Valley regional center estimated to cost $30 million-$38 million. While the regional center would free the city from the risk of price increases, cancellation of contracts and even uncertainty over whether the material actually get recycled, it also would require regional cooperation along with the high price tag. Officials said Gilbert has expressed interest in joining the effort, though Mesa has months of negotiations with the town and other municipalities before it can determine whether the plan is feasible and affordable. Mesa does not generate enough recyclable material to make such a facility pay

City of Mesa and Town of Gilbert, we could be at full capacity. With growth, I think we would be at full capacity in about 10 years.’’ Mesa already has selected a possible location for the regional facility – on some city-owned property at Pecos and Sossaman roads, which is near the Gilbert border – he said. Chandler and Queen Creek would have more difficulty participating in such a regional arrangement because they do not pick up their garbage, contracting instead with private companies that own private recycling facilities, Bouchie said. Bouchie’s report, which is based on consultation with experts at Arizona State University, said it would likely take four to six years to bring such a regional facility to fruition. “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘charge me an extra buck or two, I want to get back

see RECYCLING page 9

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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RECYCLING from page 8

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part of the problem,’’ Bouchie said. “I think the next several months will determine the future of what recycling looks like in Mesa.’’ Recycling was once a cash cow for Mesa, Gilbert and most other municipalities until China, which received the bulk of America’s recyclables, imposed tighter restrictions on the types of nonrecyclable items that were in shipments it accepted. Locally, recycling became even more problematic after recycling facility owned by Republic Services burned down in October 2019 and other companies had either canceled contracts or raised rates. A contract with United Fibers remains in effect, but the contractor will only accept up to 6 tons of materials. Mesa generates more than 30 tons, leaving a shortfall until Republic rebuilds their plant by the third quarter of 2021. City Manager Chris Brady said Mesa does not like being vulnerable to the decisions of private companies, which have canceled contracts, raised rates, restricted what can be recycled and refused to even guarantee that recyclable materials would

even get recycled. “There may be a need for short term solutions. The regional solution would need to be vetted out more,’’ Brady said. “We know we can keep sputtering along and do private sector contracts. We may end up doing a hybrid of two or three’’ options. Other options mentioned by Bouchie include building a smaller, cheaper facility that would only handle a portion of Mesa’s recycling or contracting with Phoenix, which operates two facilities of its own. A Phoenix regional solution would involve building transfer stations at a cost of about $20 million-$25 million. Council members Jen Duff and Dave Luna immediately supported building a regional recycling center. Luna compared such an effort with regional agreements on wastewater treatment. Councilman Kevin Thompson immediately expressed support for a less ambitious regional solution. But Luna said, “I think the regional arrangement will be positive. We know we need this. Why not share the cost?”

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN WARNING! Our clinic is taking every precaution and we follow strict CDC guidelines to ensure that our patients, clinic and staff are SAFE! Mesa, AZ — The most common method your doctor will recommend to treat your chronic pain and/or neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects. Chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow.

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2) Stimulate and increase small fiber nerves

As you can see in Figure 2, as the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to “die” they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms.

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determined after a detailed neurological and vascular evaluation. As long as you have not sustained at least 95% nerve damage there is hope!

Fig. 2

2) How much nerve damage has been sustained.

In addition, we use a state-of-the-art diagnostics like the TM Flow diagnostic unit to accurately determine the increase in blood flow and a small skin biopsy to accurately determine the increase in small nerve fibers! The Sanexas electric cell signaling system delivers energy to the affected area of your body at varying wavelengths, including both low-frequency and middle-frequency signals. It also uses amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) signaling. During a treatment session, the Sanexas system automatically changes to simultaneously deliver AM and FM electric cell signal energy. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT SANEXAS IS COVERED BY MEDICARE AND MOST INSURANCE! Depending on your coverage, your treatment could be little to no cost to you! The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be

Aspen Medical will be offering this chronic pain and neuropathy severity examination from now until OCtober 31, 2020. Call 480274-3157 to make an appointment to determine if your chronic pain and peripheral neuropathy can be successfully treated. Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this FREE consultation offer to the first 15 callers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL Call 480-274-3157 … NOW! We are extremely busy and if your call goes to our voicemail, please leave a message and we will get back to you asap.

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PROP from page 7

humans, animals, fruits, toys or cartoons. And it specifically bans marketing marijuana products to children. James said that’s not enough. She wants to block promotion of marijuana that children can see. “They could have restricted their access on social media, for instance,’’ she said, saying youngsters are spending a lot of time on the internet. She conceded there is no such ban on promoting alcohol or tobacco. But James said that is irrelevant. “I can see a lot of things on the internet,’’ she said. “But that doesn’t mean I want to see more of them.’’ There’s also the issue of driving while drugged. The initiative spells out that it remains illegal to operate a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft “while impaired to even the slightest degree.’’ Only thing is, there is currently no technology, similar to a breath test, to determine the level of THC in someone’s blood. Even if such a device becomes available, there is no standard in the initiative to say that a specific THC level is a presumption of driving impaired, the way someone with a blood-alcohol level is presumed to be driving drunk.

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

Then there’s the issue of how Proposition 207 is structured. It limits the number of recreational marijuana facilities that can be set up. Campbell said Arizonans don’t want a situation like Denver where recreational outlets have popped up all over the city. But it pretty much guarantees that the operators of existing medical marijuana dispensaries will get one of the new licenses. “This is about big marijuana money and a whole commercial industry,’’ James said. That provision, in turn, helps explain why virtually all of the $3.5 million collected to hire the paid circulators to put the issue on the ballot and finance the campaign came from companies that already have marijuana facilities in the state. If the state simply decriminalized marijuana possession and use, those exclusive licenses to sell the product would be worthless. But Campbell said it makes sense to have some controls and make it safe. For example, he said, there are product standards and testing. And there even are some restrictions on how it can be marketed to ensure that ads are not targeting those younger than 21 for

whom the drug would remain off limits. “The entire point of this is to create a safe regulatory environment for the use of this product in a responsible manner,’’ Campbell said. He compared it to how the state regulates the sale of alcohol. There is a bit of a parallel there. Aside from age restrictions, Arizona limits the number of licenses for bars. But there are no limits on how many restaurants can serve alcoholic beverages. And there are no caps on the number of grocery and convenience stores that can sell alcoholic beverages. “Voters don’t want it to be unlimited,’’ Campbell said of retail marijuana outlets. He did not dispute that the operators of the existing 130 medical marijuana dispensaries would get first crack at the licenses for recreational sale of marijuana. But Campbell pointed out there also is a requirement to give out 26 new licenses under a “social equity’’ program to help those who are from communities “disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws.’’ And there are provisions for added dispensaries as population grows. The initiative does have some options for local control. It allows cities and counties in unin-

corporated areas to limit the number of retail outlets and marijuana testing facilities, regulate their hours of operation and outright prohibit both. But restrictions on recreational facilities cannot be more restrictive than those imposed on medical dispensaries. And there can’t be new restrictions on recreational marijuana outlets if they’re operated at the same location as an existing medical marijuana outlet – something that again gives an advantage to those already on the ground. Prop 207 also sets up a procedure for anyone who has previously been convicted of drug possession to have the criminal record wiped out. The arguments by foes that this isn’t a simple repeal of laws making it a crime to possess marijuana still leaves the fact that it is the only proposal on the November ballot to allow adults to use the drug for recreational purposes. James sidestepped the question of whether she and others who oppose this measure would support simple decriminalization. “I think that you would see differences of opinion,’’ she said. “There are some people who are fine with decriminalization,’’ James said. “But Prop 207 is not the way to do it.’’

Nielsen’s campaign war chest twice Peterson’s

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

att Nielsen has amassed a sizeable campaign war chest of $100,316 compared with Brigette Peterson’s $45,649 as the two face off for the mayor’s job at the Nov. 3 ballot box. Nielsen is a political newcomer and businessman while Peterson resigned from her council seat to run for the position after then-Mayor Jenn Daniels decided not to run for re-election. According to the third-quarter finance reports filed last Thursday, Nielsen received most of his recent contributions from Gilbert residents and loaned his campaign $20,000 for a total of $50,040 out of his own pocket. He

Matt Nielsen

Brigette Peterson

also got $500 from the Freedom Club PAC, which supports candidates who embrace small government.

His expenditures of $84,144 included $30,436 spent from July to September, mostly for consulting from The Reso-

lute Group. Some of Peterson’s notable donors listed in the latest filing included Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board member Jill Humpherys, who gave $60; Higley Unified Governing Board member Greg Wojtovich, who gave $50 and attorney Lindsay Schube, who recently came before the Council representing a medical marijuana dispensary in town as it voted to prohibit recreational marijuana facilities in Gilbert. Schube spoke in favor of the ban as her client’s business would not be affected by it and could apply for a dual license to sell pot for non-medical uses under Proposition 207 should it pass in November.

see CAMPAIGN page 16

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Special ed families feel ‘disregarded’ by CUSD BY KEVIN REAGAN GSN Staff Writer

ane Andersen was willing to give Chandler Unified School District a pass when the pandemic first started back in March. She understood why schools had to close and had low expectations for how her 14-year-old son, Mattie, was going to be educated for the rest of the school year. Mattie is blind, mentally impaired and requires special help to accommodate his cerebral palsy. So, Andersen knew online learning probably wasn’t going to work. He is one of more than 4,600 special education students in the district who require individualized education plans. As Andersen’s other children finished out their school year doing assignments virtually, Mattie had to try and complete activities sent home by his teachers. “That fourth quarter was hard for all kids,” Andersen said. “But for my son.... online learning was really a joke. I mean it wasn’t even challenging. It was silly.” One assignment asked Mattie to practice good etiquette while attending a movie theater – an activity Mattie normally wouldn’t do even if a global pandemic had not shut down every cinema in Arizona. “No learning really occurred there,” Andersen said about her son’s assignments. Then the next school year started in August and CUSD decided to keep its schools closed until the second quarter starts this week. Since mid-August, some students like Mattie had been allowed to visit their school for about seven hours per week to receive hands-on instruction with a special education teacher. Although Andersen thought seven hours was an “inadequate” amount of weekly instruction, she figured it was better than nothing and gave CUSD another pass. But Andersen is close to running out of patience with the school district. After the CUSD Governing Board narrowly voted to allow elementary students to come back to school in September, Andersen could no longer keep her frustrations to herself. The board’s decision notably left out mid-

Jane Andersen is frustrated with what she considers the lack of adequate attention CUSD has paid to educating her son Mattie, who is Blind and mentally impaired. (Courtesy of Jane Andersen)

dle and high school students, who have had to wait until Oct. 13 to return to campus. Andersen felt her son – who is starting his first year at Perry High School – could not wait another month. She began writing letters to administrators asking why special education students couldn’t come back sooner. “It was frustrating to me that my son was kind of disregarded,” the mother said. “It’s been really difficult because he needs full one-on-one attention all the time.” Chandler Unified has had to contend with several dilemmas over the last six months as it navigated the challenges of trying to figure virtually educate 46,000 students learning at home. Parents have been demanding for months to have the schools reopen and some have gone so far as to threaten to pull their child out of CUSD if the district didn’t comply. But parents like Jane Andersen can’t simply take her son to a private school. It costs up to $37,000 to enroll in a school that could accommodate Mattie’s needs, Andersen said, and the deadline for families to seek a scholarship or a state voucher already expired.

So, the Andersens have been left to wait until CUSD decided to welcome back students like Mattie to its high schools. Waiting an extra month may not seem like much to other families, Andersen noted, but it can feel like an eternity for a 14-year-old who has been receiving very little meaningful educational engagement for months. Terry Locke, a spokesman for CUSD, said the special education issue is a matter of shuffling resources. CUSD considered bringing special education students back sooner at the high schools, but Locke said it would have been impossible while the majority of them were still learning at home. “While we were one of the first districts to provide special (education) services,” Locke said, “it would have been difficult to provide full-time special education classrooms without reopening the school.” Elisa Taylor, another CUSD parent, said she has not been satisfied with the district’s reasoning for not allowing special education students to return earlier. Her 13-year-old daughter Ari should be attending Payne Junior High, where she’s involved in several extracurricular

activities. Despite Ari’s epilepsy and cerebral palsy, she is a social butterfly who loves being around her peers at school, Taylor said. The last six months have been particularly challenging for Ari, her mother said, because unlike her siblings, Ari is physically confined to the family’s home and cannot easily stay connected with people her own age. “She can’t just ride her bike down the street, go to a friend’s house, text somebody – it’s just not the same thing at all,” Taylor said. Online learning has turned out to be a daily struggle for Taylor and her daughter. Each week, the teenager receives a few hours of in-person instruction and completes one 45-minute virtual lesson. But Taylor said she feels Ari isn’t getting the same level of engagement out of virtual learning compared to her other children. Furthermore, Taylor has to assist her daughter through activities and assignments sent home by Ari’s teachers and the mother doesn’t always feel qualified to offer the best one-on-one instruction. “I’m not a teacher. I may be educated, but this is not my specialty,” Taylor said. “And she’s sick of working with me half the time.” Taylor said she had foolishly presumed that when students started going back to school on Sept. 14, her daughter would be among the first pupils to return. It wasn’t made clear the older special education students would have to wait until October, Taylor noted, so the news turned out to be devastating for her family. Another of Taylor’s children has already transferred to a charter school because she didn’t want to wait any longer for classroom instruction. Taylor hopes her other children won’t have to follow because she still values and appreciates public education. Like Taylor, Andersen doesn’t want to perceive CUSD as an enemy in this situation. Yet she feels compelled to bring attention to an injustice when she sees one. “I believe in public education and I love our school district,” Andersen said. “But when they’re wrong, I will let them know.”

NEWS

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

GOP lawmakers to examine guv’s powers BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

even months into a gubernatorial-declared emergency, top Republican lawmakers have created a panel that will examine whether the powers they have given to the governor need to be curtailed. State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, and Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, were appointed to a panel formed by Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, and House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa. It is charged with trying to determine if Arizona has the proper balance between the need of the state’s chief executive to respond to unforeseen events and the role of the Legislature in providing oversight. Issues will range from what is needed to trigger a gubernatorial declaration of an emergency to exactly how long it can go on without needing legislative approval. That last issue has become a sore point among some lawmakers who note that Gov. Doug Ducey declared an emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March and it is still in effect, with no hint from the governor of when he is ready to

businesses with everything from occupancy limits and bans on evictions to prohibitions against dancing in bars. And Cara Christ, the state’s health director, has said she expects that bars, now closed for normal operations under Ducey’s directives, will not be able to resume normal operations until sometime next year. State and federal judges have so far rebuffed various legal challenges to Ducey’s authority, Scottsdale Republican Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita will co-chair a panel reviewing the saying the existing emergency powers the Legislature gave the governor after 9/11. (Capitol Media Services) laws give him wide latitude, even to declare it over. override certain laws. All indications are that won’t happen Brett Johnson, a private attorney hired soon. by Ducey and paid for with taxpayer dolDucey continues to use those emer- lars, has told judges there is no reason gency powers to limit the operations of for them to intercede because lawmak-

ers remain free, with a simple majority vote, to cancel any emergency. That, however, is not a realistic solution when the Legislature is not in session, as is currently the case. It takes a petition with two thirds of both the House and Senate for lawmakers to call themselves in to even have the vote. Fann told Capitol Media Services this isn’t about Ducey. She said the governors of all 50 states and the president all have had to deal with this unprecedented situation. But she said the current situation isn’t what lawmakers had in mind when they granted governors broad powers. “The assumption (was it) would be a Rodeo-Chedeski Fire,’’ the 2002 blaze that burned more than 468,000 acres in eastern Arizona, “or a 9-11 or something that would last a short duration,’’ Fann said. “Nobody foresaw that it would be something like this that could potentially for on for months.’’ Ducey appears cool to the whole idea of reviewing his powers – at least not while he’s still exercising them. “These are unprecedented times, and there will be plenty of time for after-action reports once we’ve navigated

But Sharon Tuttle’s emergence as a write-in candidate means the election is on. The candidates on the ballot include: Joel Wirth, the district’s former chief financial officer; Jason Olive, an architect and parent of two CUSD students; and board President Barbara Mozdzen, who is seeking her fourth consecutive term. Longtime board members David Evans and Karen McGee declined to run for re-election this year – opening the door for some new voices to be added to a board that presides over one of Arizona’s largest school districts. Questions submitted by the SanTan Sun News to the candidates revealed a

the ballot expressed anxiety over how CUSD would continue to navigate the pandemic-related chaos. Mozdzen, who voted to reopen, said her first priority for the next year will be making sure the district corrects any learning gaps students experienced while schools were closed. COVID-19 also created a multitude of social-emotional problems that may have interfered with students’ learning, she said. “Family situations could be unstable due to loss of employment, or long stretches of confinement, and this can

see UGENTI page 16

CUSD board candidates set out priorities BY KEVIN REAGAN GSN Staff Writer

he three candidates on the ballot for Chandler Unified School District Governing Board have a range of priorities and goals they’d like to achieve if elected by the voters on Nov. 3. But a former CUSD teacher has her sights set on upending one of them with a write-in campaign of her own. Normally, the county would have canceled the board election if there were only three candidates for three seats – which is what happened in the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board race.

broad spectrum of concerns they have about CUSD as it continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Class sizes, budget woes and unstable enrollment were mentioned by all three candidates. Tuttle did not respond. Chandler Unified’s current board members have spent the last six months making tough decisions about how the district was going to react to the tumultuous pandemic. The uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 often resulted in a split among the five board members on when and how CUSD would reopen its 42 campuses. Each of the three board candidates on

see BOARD page 15

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

BOARD

from page 14

NEWS

impact the ability of children to focus on learning which will also have to be addressed,” Mozdzen said. Mozdzen also expressed apprehension about the district’s finances in the coming months. CUSD administrators have already estimated a budget loss of $21 million due to a recent dip in enrollment. “The pandemic has impacted our budget negatively this year,” Mozdzen said, “and declining enrollment due to build out and aging communities will impact our budget negatively in the future.” Wirth, who retired from the district in 2018, has concerns about school funding as well. He believes the district’s first priority in the near future should be to find additional revenue streams to supplement the district’s budget. CUSD administrators have said the projected budget loss has been due partly to a decline in usage of the district’s community and after-school pro-

grams, which were canceled during the pandemic. Wirth said he would like to see these community programs broadened to generate more revenue for CUSD. “I would greatly expand our community education program which provides services to students in the summer, offering all programs indoors,” he said. “These programs would include but not be limited to sports, academics, fine arts and personal enrichment.” Olive thinks the district should be preparing for a future that could include a major decline in enrollment. Although CUSD had been expecting to see a major boost to enrollment over the next decade – so much so the district built another high school to accommodate future growth – the district started this school year with 1,600 fewer students than expected. “Our district is not growing like it once was so (we) will have to shift our mindset around what we are doing,” Ol-

ive said. “We can’t be caretakers here. We have to get ready for what is coming.” When asked about his thoughts on how CUSD handled the pandemic, Olive said the district’s online schooling wasn’t always effective or constructive for his own children. “I thought that the initial response from the district was not as good as it could have been,” he added. “My child did not do well in the spring. Since the summer, the online teaching has improved but it is not a good substitute for in-person learning.” Wirth thought CUSD did an “adequate” job responding to COVID-19 while Mozdzen admitted online learning did not work for many families. Before COVID-19, the school district was routinely called out for its response to issues involving equity, race and students’ mental health. CUSD began offering services that address their social-emotional needs of

students and Mozdzen said she wants to see these services to continue. “Learning these skills positively impacts the ability to achieve in school, career, and life,” Mozdzen said. “Strong social/emotional skills have been shown to improve student achievement.” Tuttle, now an English Learners teacher for Casa Grande Elementary School District, touts her “proven track record of commended performance” as an educator. She describes herself on her website as “a staunch advocate for equity and social justice measures that affect the well-being of students, families, staff and school systems. She also has worked with Stand Up Speak Up Save A Life, a nonprofit that addresses teen suicide and the issues that lead to it, and worked on the Arizona Education Association’s Ethnic Minority Leadership Task Force, according to her LinkedIn web page. She taught in CUSD from 2016-19.

BY ALLISON ENGSTROM Cronkite News

Navajo and Coconino counties, among others, he said. “In terms of numbers of new cases, we are on a path headed toward exponential growth,” LaBaer said. “The tricky thing about exponential growth is that it doesn’t look like it’s growing very fast at first. The numbers day over day don’t look like they’re big changes. But then all of a sudden, it really can take off. And so I am concerned.” On May 29, the state reported 909 new cases. One month later, on June 29, the daily number peaked at 5,461. Last Thursday, newly updated metrics posted by the county health department showed that all Gilbert ZIP codes remained in the moderate category for virus spread. Two of the three benchmarks – for positive new test results and percentage of hospital visits with COVID-19 symptoms – remained in the minimal spread category while cases per 100,000 people were in the moderate category. Most Gilbert ZIP codes showed be-

tween 30 and 40 cases per 100,000 except for 85295, where cases were twice that number. When cases first began popping up across Arizona in March, Gov. Doug Ducey and county and municipal leaders implemented policies to help prevent spread. The closure of nonessential businesses, along with mask mandates, were credited with slowing the disease in the community. But as cases started to decline, restrictions eased, too. For example, schools across the state have been reopening, and in Maricopa County alone, 21 have reported COVID-19 outbreaks since August, according to county statistics. Higley Unified has reported only one active COVID-19 case while Gilbert Public Schools reported five – three at Desert Ridge High and one each at Desert Ridge Junior High and Campo Verde High School. As of Oct. 1, no county in the state remained in the “substantial” transmission

category, meaning restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and other businesses could begin reopening. “The choices Arizonans have made in the interest of public health have gotten us to this milestone,” Dr. Cara Christ, director of the state health department, said at the time. But there must be a balance between public policy and personal responsibility, LaBaer said, urging anyone in a public-facing job or who interacts with new people to get tested on a regular basis. “We’re still not testing enough,” he said. “People are just not showing up.” LaBaer noted that things might only get worse with Halloween weeks away, followed by Thanksgiving and the December holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. He advises parents to proceed with caution if they plan to allow their children to trick or treat. He recommends wearing masks that cover nose and

Health expert fears COVID trend in state

prominent health expert expressed worry last week about rising COVID-19 numbers across Arizona, saying the trend is reminiscent of early summer conditions that preceded a spike in cases and rollback of measures to reopen businesses. “This is a moment to sort of stop and take measure and think hard about: What can we do to prevent this?” said Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute. The institute tracks case trends across Arizona’s 15 counties as well as the nation. LaBaer said 902 new cases were reported by Wednesday morning by the Arizona Department of Health Services, and “we haven’t seen that in a while.” One week ago, that daily number of new cases was 786. Cases are rising in Maricopa, Yuma,

see COVID page 16

NEWS

UGENTI

from page 14

through what’s in front of us,’’ said press aide Patrick Ptak. He said his boss is following the laws as they now exist. But Ugenti-Rita told Capitol Media Services she already has some ideas of things that need change in the statutes. One would be some sort of time limit on how long an emergency could last without getting the approval of state lawmakers for an extension. Ugenti-Rita said there could be some flexibility in how that is crafted. But she said the current situation is not acceptable. “We’ve been in this now for seven months,’’ she said. “So clearly, we have moved out of an emergency,’’ Ugenti-Rita continued. “Now we’re just in a state of crisis, I guess?’’

COVID from page 15

mouth, avoiding big groups of people and wiping off candy wrappers before the kiddos dig in. Traditional trick-or-treating and indoor parties have been designated as high-risk activities by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LaBaer said upcoming holiday parties should be kept small and restricted to immediate family, noting that larger gatherings have been found to be COVID-19 “super-spreaders.” If events can’t be kept small, he recommends mask-wearing, social distancing and testing before the event to ensure safety. “We have to really be thoughtful about gatherings of people,” LaBaer said. “It’s just not good right now to bring a lot of people together, and if people are coming together, they really need to be wearing masks and maintaining distancing.”

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GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

The result, she said, is that one branch of the government is running it. There is precedent for such an approach. The National Conference of State Legislatures says that in six states, the expanded executive power under an emergency has a built-in expiration date of between two and 60 days, depending on the state and the type of emergency. “It makes sense that we have triggers in place and statutes in place to deal with unprecedented situations,’’ Ugenti-Rita said. “But this has gone on for far too long, with no end in sight, minimal communication (from the governor) about what to expect,’’ she continued. “It’s completely gutted the legislature and we need to bring back the balance of pow-

er.’’ The state Health Code provides broad authority for the Department of Health Services during a state of war or a gubernatorial-declared emergency “in which there is an occurrence of imminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bioterrorism, an epidemic or pandemic disease, or a highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin that poses a substantial risk of a significant number of human fatalities or incidents of permanent long-term disability.’’ Those powers include mandating treatment of vaccinations of those who have been exposed, quarantine of some individuals, mandating medical examinations for exposed persons, and ration of medicine and vaccines. The more sweeping powers are in a

separate section of Arizona law. These give a governor who has declared a state of emergency “the right to exercise, within the area designated, all police power vested in the state.’’ The only statutory limit lawmakers have put on the governor in these situations is that she or he cannot impose new restrictions on the possession, transfer, sale, carrying, storage, display or use of firearms. Ducey has cited that section of law in everything from a now-expired stay-athome order to prohibiting residential evictions and telling businesses like restaurants, bars, gyms, fitness centers and water parks how they can operate. Ugenti-Rita said she wants to begin hearings right away, “like yesterday.’’

Some of Peterson’s largest donors include Howard Morrison, who gave $6,000, according to the finance filing. Morrison, a partner for developer Morrison Ranch, was treasurer for mayoral candidate Lynne King Smith, who lost in the primary, and he now co-chairs Peterson’s campaign. Peterson also received $3,000 from the Jenn for Mayor committee. Former Mayor Jenn Daniels has endorsed Peterson and also serves as a co-chair on the campaign. Peterson’s $22,972 in spending so far included expenses for social media services, sign stickers, newspaper ads and meals at restaurant for campaign meetings. Peterson is running as an insider who knows the ropes and can hit the ground running while Nielsen touts that his business acumen prepares him for the leadership role. King Smith, the other mayoral candidate, has declined to endorse either of her Primary challengers. Although the mayor’s seat in the primary ended in a run-off, three council seats were decided in August. Scott Anderson was re-election and newcomers Kathy Tilque and Laurin Hendrix won a place on the dais. Others who also ran included may-

oral candidate King Smith and council candidates Tyler Hudgins, Bus Obayomi and Bill Spence. Spence was appointed to the council in March and was to serve nine months until the election picked a winner to finish off the remaining two years of Eddie Cook’s term. According to her filing, businesswoman King Smith accumulated $106,818 for her election campaign and spent $69,380. Anderson, who retired from the town as its planning and zoning director, raised $13,085 and spent $4,836 for his successful bid for a second term. Tilque, the retired longtime head of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, reported raising $15,815 and spending 10,970. Business owner Hudgins garnered $18,993 in his campaign war chest and spent $15,970 while Obayomi, a digital consultant, raised $4,367 and spent all of it. For the two-year seat, Hendrix, an entrepreneur and former state legislator, raised $44,750 and spent it all compared with Spence, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, who raised $6,204 and spent $5,329. Spence and Hudgins did not file their third quarter reports.

Republican Cook, who left the council after he was appointed Maricopa County assessor in February, is trying to hold onto his job in November against Democrat Aaron Connor, a Phoenix resident. Cook reported raising $185,116 for his election and spending $42,181 while Connor raised $64,425 and spent $48,124. The bulk of Connor’s donors were individuals although he also received money from PACS, including $300 from Grand Democrats and $100 from Northwest Democratic Breakfast Club. His expenses included largely marketing services. Cook’s recent donors included Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger, who gave $250, and Jim Hayden of Tempe who gave $5,000. The latest Political Action Committee donations to Cook included Pinnacle West PAC with $1,000, Salt River Project PAC, $600 and Home Builders Association of Central Arizona PAC, $500. Cook also loaned his campaign $25,000 in the recent filing, for a total of $170,000. His expenses included paying for campaign consulting and marketing.

CAMPAIGN from page 10

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

NEWS

Chandler moving Erie students to new Gilbert school BY KEVIN REAGAN GSN Staff Writer

handler Unified officials have decided to relocate Arizona College PrepErie’s 800 students to a new high school under construction near Gilbert and Ocotillo roads in Gilbert. The Governing Board voted unanimously on Oct. 14 to move Erie’s campus to a bigger facility designed to accommodate up to 2,000 students. The board additionally approved adjusting some of enrollment boundaries for other high schools in order to balance out enrollment numbers at all six campuses. Students currently attending the district’s other high schools – not including Erie – won’t be impacted by the boundary changes because the adjustments will only start to apply with the class of 2025. The new high school, which is set to open in July, has been under construction for the last year and is intended to help relieve some of the overcrowding seen at the district’s other schools. The board was presented with a number of options for how it might redraw the district’s boundary lines to account for the new campus and ultimately picked a plan that moves Erie students from their current campus near Dobson Road and Chandler Boulevard. Assistant Superintendent Craig Gilbert said this option was recommended by the district’s administrators because it allows for more students to experience Erie’s model of instruction. “This has been a very successful school and I think bringing this success to many students in our district is a viable option,” Gilbert said. The U.S. Department of Education named Erie a Blue Ribbon school last year for its excellent academic performance and many of the school’s students have attracted publicity over the years for innovative projects. Unlike the district’s bigger high schools, Erie only accepts students through an open enrollment process that involves filling out an application. The new high school, which will adopt the “ACP-Erie” name, is expected to continue the open enrollment process and draw

some additional students who had previously been assigned to Perry High School. Eighth graders living within the perimeter of Ocotillo, Cooper, Lindsay and Chandler Heights roads will be joining Erie’s existing students as the first crop of pupils to attend the new school for the 20212022 school year. Before the board made its boundary changes, some families voiced concerns over how Erie’s students would mix with students who are assigned to attend the new school. Erie has a reputation for its heavy student workload and some parents worried their children couldn’t keep up with the school’s expectations. Gilbert said Erie’s homework requirements are comparable to the district’s

Myron Blueford, an Erie teacher, pointed out how Erie is still a relatively young high school and is still developing a campus culture. So parents shouldn’t fret about their children not fitting in, he said, because they can be part of Erie’s journey of growth and expansion. “This is not necessarily an established culture that we’re going to be projecting onto them,” Blueford said. Although Erie plans to keep its name and mascot, the school’s administrators will eventually have to decide whether the school should continue mandating students to follow a specific dress code at its new campus. Principal Rob Bickes said he’ll be holding community meetings over the next The green area bordered in gray is the site of Chandler Unified’s new high school in Gilbert, which is currently under construction. (CUSD)

other high schools and the school’s course catalog is not much different from the others. The new Erie campus will offer many of the same programs and amenities that can be experienced at any typical high school, he added. “It is going to be a comprehensive high school,” Gilbert said. “And all the things that we offer at all our schools is what our plan is to offer at this school as well.” Another concern parents expressed involved the close-knit, communal culture Erie has become known for throughout the district. Some parents worried this culture could be lost by moving over to a bigger campus and others felt their child might not feel accepted in this type of learning environment.

few months to figure out whether Erie should continue requiring students to wear uniforms. Bickes said he has already sketched out a schedule over the next few months for how he’ll begin the process of acclimating Erie’s existing and new students to the new facility. Erie’s staff is excited to move over to a campus that will be able to accommodate more programming, Bickes added, and they’re eager to welcome a new cohort of students into the Erie family. “I’m very excited for a new chapter,” the principal said. In addition to offering Erie a bigger campus to grow, CUSD leaders commended their boundary plan for its potential economic benefits on the district’s budget. Board President Barbara Mozdzen is

grateful CUSD may be able to avoid having to spend up to $7 million on renovations at Erie’s current campus by moving the school over to a newer facility. Erie started out as a high school with a graduating class of only 10 students, Mozdzen noted, and has proven its need for a better campus to fit all the students wishing to enroll. According to district records, Erie’s current campus was intended to only accommodate 765 students and the school ended the last school year with 817 students. “I’m very much in favor of being able to give them a place to continue to grow,” Mozdzen said. The board’s reshuffling plan also involves redrawing some of the boundary lines for Hamilton High School, the district’s largest campus which ended the last school year with more than 4,000 students. CUSD will move Hamilton’s perimeter of Chandler Boulevard, Alma School, Pecos and McQueen roads to Chandler High’s boundary. This move would be the least troublesome considering the perimeter is geographically adjacent to Chandler High’s campus, officials said. Chandler High has new facilities to accommodate an extra horde of students, district officials added, that could help Hamilton’s campus from becoming too crowded. The district’s boundary plan further involves moving a section in the area of Val Vista Drive, Ocotillo, Lindsay and Chandler Heights roads out of Perry High’s boundary to Basha High. CUSD said reshuffling the boundaries in this way will hopefully keep enrollment levels at each high school campus between 1,500 and 2,000 students. At the end of the last school year, none of the district’s schools had fewer than 2,000 high school students. If Erie’s students had remained at their current campus, then CUSD would have had to move more of Perry’s boundaries over to the new school and carve up more of Hamilton’s enrollment zone. Administrators claim the district’s reshuffling plan best ensures the least amount of disruption for students and maximizes the district’s existing resources.

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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Take stock of your housing needs as market flourishes BY MINDY JONES NEVAREZ GSN Contributor

riving around Gilbert, it’s easy to see that activity is starting to pick up as we make our way into the last few months of 2020. The campaign signs aren’t the only thing coloring the sides of the road. We’ve got lines outside of Joe’s Farm Grill and Liberty Market again. The Gilbert Cinema’s Movies in the Park are back showing to a limited audience. A grand opening this weekend unveiled the new amenities at the Gilbert Regional Park, including a 7-acre lake, 10-acre event lawn and six sand volleyball courts. The real estate market has been holding

things down for Gilbert while the events, group activities and much of what we did for school, work, and recreation either went away entirely or took a massive hit to normalcy. Other sectors including real estate have seen disproportionate levels of success through the pandemic with a record number of sales, historically significant levels of appreciation and a market that continues to thrive despite the uncertainties that many face in their home and work lives. October is typically the tail end of one of the slowest times in the annual real estate calendar but nothing follows a normal pattern in 2020 and real estate certainly is no exception. The real estate market is defying the laws of seasonality by posting unforgetta-

ble numbers representing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for Valley residents. Gilbert’s market strength rose again last week as it currently sits nearly five-times the strength of an inventory-deficient market. The below-average inventory and the above-average demand have created an environment where homes are on the market for less than 30 days and in many Gilbert neighborhoods less than the time it takes for them to be made active on the MLS. We have hit an all-time low LESS THAN 200 homes available for sale; the town and active listings have crossed the threshold

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of $200 per square foot – meaning that we are seeing 10-15 percent appreciation increase annually. Builders are still building less inventory than they did between 1996 and 2007 – meaning that the likelihood of them helping us catch our breath and give buyers some room to exhale is slim to none. There is a great value proposition for new construction right now with prices rising slower than the resale market and the lack of updated inventory at some of

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

Valley home prices going up, up and away BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor

he steadily high demand for homes is sending desperate buyers in search of new houses instead of resales – but they shouldn’t expect developers will take any offer that comes along. So says the Cromford Report, which closely monitors the Valley’s housing market, which also reported that home sales on average over the past month in Gilbert ZIP codes 85233, 85234, 85295 and 85296 sold above the listed price. “With low supply and high demand,” it said, “we see the unusual situation where the average selling price exceeds the average list price becoming more commonplace.” And no relief will be found in newbuilds, it said. “With the chronic shortage of re-sale homes, many buyers are turning to new-builds,” Cromford said last week.

“Here they will not face multiple offers, but they may well find some builders are not accepting contracts except for homes that are near completion.” The reason won’t make buyers happy. “Prices are climbing steeply and some developers do not want to tie themselves to a fixed price until the home is almost complete,” it said. “The builders are experiencing an extreme seller’s market and buyers (and their agents) are likely to feel a little less appreciated than usual.” Developers are finding themselves in the catbird seat. Homes are moving so quickly on both the resale and new-build markets that developers “can also spend less on sales and marketing,” Cromford said. Demand has not declined for months in the Valley’s market. Active listings across Maricopa and Pinal counties for September were down 41 percent from September 2019 by 41.1 percent, excluding homes

where the buyer’s offer was contingent on selling their own home and those that were under contract but where the seller was seeking back-up offers. When those homes were added to active listings for September 2020, listings were down 24.4 percent from a year ago but up .9 percent from August because there were 73 more houses on the market last month, Cromford said. More discouraging news for buyers involves price. The median sales price for homes sold last month was $327,000 – up 17 percent from September 2019. Yet, despite that, sales last month were up 20.5 percent over September 2019. “It is unusual for the number of listings under contract to be higher on Oct. 1 than Sept. 1, but this is what we see in 2020,” Cromford said. “Even more startling is the amount by which the number of listings under contract exceeds the 2019 level – 34 percent. The market

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was strong this time last year, but now it is on fire.” “To be fair,” it added, “September had one extra working day in 2020 compared to 2019, but this does not take much away from the impressive number of closed listings.” All of these trends prompted Cromford to warn that people who expect a rash of foreclosures in the Valley soon can expect disappointment, “There have been a number of articles written predicting that home prices will fall next year because of the damage to the economy by the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said. “This will cause some people, those who took those articles seriously, to be very surprised by the huge increase in pricing that is currently going on.” Cromford predicts, “The upward price trend will continue for the near

...a Tradition of Trust

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

HOUSING from page re1

their most marketed price points. It’s unlikely that we’ll see folks shy away from entering into drawings for homesite lots, being afraid of non-refundable deposits or pushing back on the builder-friendly contract terms they are presented with. Right now, getting the deal is the deal and that’s going to continue to be a hard pill for people to swallow – but potentially a very profitable one. We need only reflect on those local residents who bought their home just one year ago who can now refinance their property and often remove their mortgage insurance because their 5 percent down payment has quickly turned into 20 percent equity thanks to sky rocketing appreciation. We are posting more and more listings every day – outrageously high numbers for this time of year. Yet, the demand remains strong enough that we simply can’t make a dent in the inventory that we need to replace. Sellers are asking 15-20 percent more for their homes and 35-45 percent of

homes are selling for over asking. We don’t expect this trend to reverse any time soon. Families are making life changing decisions to capitalize on historically low rates and jaw dropping appreciation numbers setting themselves up for the uncertain times to come. My advice? Take it one step at a time. If you own your home, find out how much its worth, how much you owe and what your interest rate is because refinancing might be an option for you. If COVID has changed your working or schooling needs, take inventory of what you need in a home that you don’t have and determine if you can make those changes to the house that you have – or if you’ll need to move because your buying power has never been greater. If you are renting, add up what you’ve spent in rent in the last year and if its less than the appreciation you would have seen in a home you purchased when you signed your lease. Consider what it would take to become

a home owner because it’s cheaper now than it’s ever been. Think about what a change of 1 percent in interest rates would mean for your buying power, what 1 percent decrease in sales price would mean for your equity and what a 1 percent rise in rental rates would mean for you as an investor. The only thing that’s constant is change and knowing what that change would mean for you lets you plan for the worst, expect the best, save more than you think you can, give more than you’ve ever given, and continue to be grateful for the choices you have to make. Mindy Jones Nevarez, a Gilbert Realtor and owner of the Amy Jones Group at Keller Williams Integrity First, can be reached at 480-250-3857, Mindy@AmyJonesGroup.com or AmyJonesGroup.com

- Mindy Jones Nevarez, a Gilbert Realtor and owner of the Amy Jones Group at Keller Williams Integrity First, can be reached at 480250-3857, Mindy@AmyJonesGroup.com or AmyJonesGroup.com

Gilbert Real Estate Snapshot

MARKET from page re2

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and medium term, making any price reductions in 2021 rather unlikely.” In Maricopa County, it noted, foreclosures last month plummeted by 79 percent from September 2019. Meanwhile, the upward trend in price is so steep that it predicts year-overyear increases will soon hit 20 percent. “The economy has severely damaged the finances of a large number of people,” it said. “However, most of those people were unlikely to be in a position to buy a home anyway. Those who are in a position to buy a home have had their determination to do so increased dramatically by the pandemic. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening.” It also cited recent data suggesting “there is unlikely to be the sort of foreclosure flood that we saw in 2007 through 2012. “ “We currently have no more than a molehill, it said, adding: “The market is still showing no sign of weakness.”

Provided by the Amy Jones Group Your Local Real Estate Team (480) 250-3857 | www.amyjonesgroup.com • Average Days on Market: 31 days Down from 32 Days Last Month

• Active Listings: 189 Down from 193 Listings Last Month

• Monthly Sales: 523 Down from 533 Sales Last Month

• Listings Under Contract: 601 Down from 603 Listings Under Contract Last Month

• Average Sales Price: $458,862 Up from $444,629 Last Month

• Monthly Supply of Inventory: 0.8 Down from 0.9 Monthly Supply Last Month

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REAL ESTATE

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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COMMUNITY

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NBC streaming service honors Gilbert ranger BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

ark ranger Supervisor Jody Becker’s duties include everything from inspecting playground equipment for safety to chasing down pet bunnies left to fend for themselves at Gilbert’s Riparian Preserve. The longtime town employee – who will mark 25 years in January – was recently honored for her service by Peacocktv, the NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, and the National Recreation and Parks Association. The special celebration recognized the real-life Leslie Knopes and Ron Swansons, characters in the network TV sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” which ran on network TV from 2009-15 and continues to be streamed on Peacock, which is owned by NBCUniversal. Becker and four other essential park workers around the country were each

“Parks and Rec” star Jim O’Heir, who played Jerry Gergich on the popular sitcom, interviewed Gilbert park ranger Supervisor Jody Becker. (Peacock)

given a plaque and interviewed by Jim O’Heir, who portrayed Jerry Gergich, an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee in Indiana. “I guess I am kind of mystified to some degree,” Becker said. “I don’t think I did

anything that special but on the other hand if you look at the fact my guys had just as much responsibilities as me in all of this, I am really proud of my people. I really wished they could have been directly included.” Though the Ahwatukee resident’s ac-

complishments are many, she is mainly credited with developing Gilbert’s park rangers. When Becker was hired in 1996, she replaced one of two non-uniformed caretakers assigned to help with maintenance duties at the town’s major parks, which at that time included Freestone, Crossroads District, the first phase of McQueen Park and a handful of neighborhood parks. Today, there are eight uniformed rangers tasked with protecting and securing the town’s nine major parks and 14 neighborhood parks and their amenities. Despite several new parks coming on line, including the 272-acre regional park, Butler’s favorite remains Freestone near Lindsay and Guadalupe roads. That’s where she started her career. “The others were, ‘oh, a woman working at night, aren’t you scared,’” Butler recalled being asked at the time. “Freestone

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PARK page 22

Gilbert filmmaker’s Christian movie set for release BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

ilbert resident Thomas Bonifield is bringing a Christmas message of hope early this year. The longtime TV journalist turned filmmaker and screenwriter is debuting his first faith-based movie, “Miracle on Christmas” on Nov. 3, Election Day. “I started writing this last fall before all this turmoil happened in the country,” Bonifield said. “It’s really not my doing. It’s the hand of God. It’s a very timely message for where we are in the country, anxious and fearful of the circumstances in light of the virus and political division.” The movie tells the tale of Mary Boyce, a Christian woman wavering in her faith

From left, First Assistant Director Ryan D’Silva, writer/director Thomas Bonifield and Director of Photography Josh Maas plot out some scenes. (Courtesy of Thomas Bonifield)

until an unexpected visitor arrives for the extended-family holiday celebration and changes everything, according to Bonifield on his Christian film blog. Bonifield’s new career direction was a natural progression of what he had been doing for nearly three decades. He said there are a lot of similarities between the two professions – especially the visual story telling. After graduating from Arizona State University in the mid-1980s, Bonifield worked as a producer for Fox 10 Phoenix, ABC News, NBC News as its deputy foreign news editor and Moscow bureau chief and IHA, an international news gathering agency in Istanbul.

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MOVIE page 22

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MOVIE from page 20

“For the last eight years of my career as a journalist it was in an executive role, CEO of news in Istanbul, Turkey,” Bonifield recalled. Bonifield’s journalism work took him all over the world where he’s interviewed U.S. Presidents Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush, Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and Russian President Vladimir Putin and covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and wars in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he didn’t want to be on the road anymore and three years ago, he and his wife and three children moved to Queen Creek and then to Gilbert four months ago. “I thought a lot of it and prayed a lot,” he said. “Screenwriting was the best way to go.” Bonifield used some of his life experience in his screenplay. “When we were still in Istanbul, my family and I endured a difficult year where my wife had serious health problems, her dad died and my contract unexpectedly ended early,” he said. Despite the three traumatic events, Bonifield said as Christians, he and his family experienced an inner peace. “This was the catalyst for the (screenwas the worst, the hardest one to do and I liked that because it was a challenge.” At the time, Freestone had no sprinklers at the softball fields and so, at the beginning of her shift, Butler would have to water the grass by hand, lugging a heavy, water-filled hose from one field to the next. Summers were the worst because the water would create an uncomfortable humidity as she stood there watering, according to Becker. Because the town used treated wastewater for the parks, she would work her entire shift covered in mud and smelling of effluent, she said. “It was great,” she said. “I loved it. It kind of reminded me about the old Army recruitment commercial, ‘We get more done before 6 a.m. than most people do all day.’ The work was kind of the same.” Becker, who is a certified playground safety inspector, also oversees court-appointed community service and county crews, rescues and rehabilitates wildlife and work on graffiti abatement.

PARK from page 20

play),” said Bonifield, who began actively practicing his faith while involved with Campus Crusade for Christ at ASU. “Even in times of trouble, God is in control.” The film was shot in February and March in Brighton, a suburb in Detroit, Michigan. Bonifield’s screenplay originally had the location set in the Valley but was told by

Green Apple Entertainment that a Christmas movie needed snow. Green Apple is a distributor of independent film and TV content. So, cast and crew flew to Michigan and initially got the white fluffy stuff. “The first half of the shoot was buried in half a foot of snow and over one weekend the temperatures went to 55 degrees and all the snow disappeared, which is bad,” Bonifield said. “This move takes place on one day, Christmas Day. I was sweating bullets and prayed like crazy over the weekend.” Bonifield said movies backed by big studios would simply go back and re-shoot the scenes but he was on a tight budget and didn’t have that luxury. The film cost just under $500,000 and most of it was self-funded. “We came up with solutions to make it work so people hopefully won’t notice,” he said. Although the film talks about faith, Bonifield said it’s not done is a heavy-handed way so it would reach a broader audience. “I’ve made it universally acceptable,” he said. “There are universal issues here, love of family, fidelity to family, forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption and support of

family. I made it so it appeals to anyone out there irrespective of your faith.” So, on Election Day, the DVDs will line the shelves of major retailers like Walmart and Target and the movie will be available on-demand and in digital format. Bonifield said he is working on deals to bring screenings to venues, with more information to be announced at a later date. “I think if this movie has some success, I would love to have a sequel,” Bonifield said. “Christmas movies have become an absolutely phenomenon. Hallmark makes 40 brand new Christmas movies a year and Lifetime makes 30 Christmas movies a year – that’s 70 made-for-TV movies every year in America. “Interestingly, I think when you consider there are 100 million Americans who attend church every week, there’s a huge faith-based community out there and Hallmark and Lifetime do a great job but from a secular perspective I think there is a place for us as Christian filmmakers.”

Becker was asked what she liked best about her job. “It’s hard to choose between getting to rescue and being in contact and close up to the wild critters out there,” she said. Another big appeal of the job is no one day is the same, she added. “I might come to work and spend four to six hours on playground safety inspections and on the way from one to the next I may get a call to the Preserve to chase a pet (abandoned) there. You can’t leave them out there for coyote bait. “People turn their domesticated pets loose in the Preserve and don’t understand they are handing them a death sentence.” She’s rescued pet dogs, cats, bunnies, tortoises and iguanas from the Preserve and parks and turned them over to the appropriate rescue groups. One aspect of the job she doesn’t particularly relish is using her enforcement powers when there are violations. “It’s not our favorite thing,” she said,

adding rangers preferred to educate the public for voluntary compliance. Becker also gives back to the community through a successful Junior Ranger program, she and her staff facilitate that educates 6- to 11-year-olds on the responsibilities of a park ranger. So far, 24 youths have completed the program. Becker said she didn’t learn of the TV show until after its first season and soon became a fan. When it comes to the show character she most identified with, Becker picked two – Amy Poehler’s Knope and Retta’s Donna Meagle. Meagle, the office manager for the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, surprised people with things from her background like she served on a NASCAR pit crew and came in ninth in Italy’s Got Talent. “I sometimes surprise my colleagues when they discover things I did before coming here,” Becker said. “I was in the

Army, I used to jump out of airplanes and I used to fight fires.” Knope is the main protagonist of the show and for most of its duration was the parks department’s deputy director. “Leslie is really passionate about what she does and that is why I may identify with her to a degree because people tell me, ‘you’re like a Leslie,’” Becker said. Becker said she was totally surprised by the award and didn’t realize she was even nominated for it. She has received other recognition for her work. She was Gilbert Employee of the Quarter in 2001 and the Gilbert MVP for Innovation in 2014. “Honestly it’s not so much my own accomplishments but the thing I am most proud of is my team,” Becker told O’Heir during the interview. “A lot of the things I’ve been acknowledged for are things we, my entire team and I are responsible for.” To see the video: Go to Peacocktv.com”

PIX4: Actor Brett Varvel gives a treat to Gabrielle, the 7-year-old black Labrador who plays the family’s dog, Snowy, during the filming of “Miracle on Christmas.” (Courtesy of Thomas Bonifield)

WHERE TO WATCH

To view a clip of the movie, go to miracleonchristmas.com

BUSINESS

Business

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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Speakeasy celebrating 2nd year with expansion BY ANNIKA TOMLIN GSN Staff Writer

hen Nick Medina and Corey Potts were in the telecommunications business, they traveled around the world, hitting speakeasies in their free time. Two years ago, the pair opened the Prohibition-inspired bar The White Rabbit at 207 N. Gilbert Road, downtown. “About two years ago we went out to dinner and came down to Gilbert,” Potts said. “We were waiting in line to go someplace and Nick pulled out his phone and we’ve had this building forever and he said, ‘What do you think about carving 2,000 square feet and creating a speakeasy?’ I said, ‘Yep, let’s do it.’ We literally came up with the idea pretty much that night. It’s just a passion project.” Speakeasies came into prominence during the Prohibition Era. They were hidden and accessible only through a

Owners Nick Medina and Corey Potts have given their White Rabbit a speakeasy ambience and atmosphere that has proven so popula that they are expanding. (Special to GSNt)

secret password. That appealed to Potts and Medina. “We just really like the atmosphere and the ambiance of a speakeasy just

because it’s so different from anything here,” Medina said. “It’s not a country bar or a dive bar. It’s just a different feeling and ambience with a different energy

when you walk into the speakeasy versus another type of bar and that’s what attracted us to that type of bar.” After offering a password, guests are taken down a staircase and through a secret door. The door is covered in artifacts with an illuminated rabbit as the door handle. Potts said they refuse to dust the entrance because real cobwebs add to the ambience. “We don’t have crazy passwords,” Potts said. “Most of our passwords are slogans or sayings from the 1920s,” Medina adds. “For example, the last one I believe is ‘whisper sister,’ which is basically the definition of a female proprietor of a speakeasy.” Another previous password harkened back to “Gone with the Wind”: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” The owners thought it was appropriate for the envi-

see RABBIT page 24

Gilbert teen builds all-natural beauty brand BY STACI HAUK GSN Contributor

ailey Black has high aspirations in the beauty and business arena. The Gilbert teen and Campo Verde High School student started creating products two years ago at age 16 and has built a successful in-home beauty brand called The Good Bar. “I’ve always been creative and very business-minded and I knew it was something I wanted to pursue in the future,” Kailey said. “When my mom introduced the idea of making lotion bars, a light bulb went on my and I came up with The Good Bar. The Good Bar has since transformed into a beauty and self-care brand that is chic and made to inspire confidence

Campo Veerde High School student Kailey Black is building a brand of beauty products called The Good Bar. (Special to GSNt)

within each person who uses the products.” The Good Bar’s focus is bringing the customer high quality and natural ingredients – which means a promise that each product is cruelty free. Most products, excluding ones made with beeswax, are vegan friendly. “I do extensive research to make sure the oils used in my products have amazing benefits to my customers,” Kailey said. “Some of my favorite oils to use

are sunflower oil, Vitamin E oil, hemp seed oil and grape seed oil,” Black shared. With a significant social media presence on Instagram (@shopthegoodbar), Kailey has built a following that started with her eclectic array of lip glosses. “My most popular product would have to be my lip glosses,” she said. “The scents and flavors are heavenly and my glosses are known for their smooth, non-sticky feel. Current customer favorites would have to be wintergreen and cherry limeade.” With fall, Kailey has embraced her excitement for her favorite season with innovative new products. From fall inspired tubes to two new

see GOOD BAR page 24

BUSINESS

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

RABBIT from page 23

ronment. In the 1920s to 1940s, speakeasies were named after animals to get around the prohibition laws. “What really appealed to us with a white rabbit is coming down the rabbit hole,” said Medina. “That whole experience of not necessarily ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but maybe Jefferson Airplane.” The White Rabbit has a room dedicated to photographs of people from the 1920s to ’40s that were given to them by social media followers. Potts and Medina contributed photos of their grandparents. Potts said a man in his late 60s came to The White Rabbit’s soft opening and quickly recognized a picture of woman in a wedding dress. “He goes ‘I love this place; it is cool because you see that picture there, I sent into you. That’s my mom.’ It gives me goosebumps thinking about it,” Potts said. The owners give bartenders and servers the space and environment to thrive. “Our No. 1 cocktail we sell is Bartender Special,” Medina said. “Behind the bar they will ask you what you want your base to be and how do you want your drink. Do you want it fruity? Floral? Or vegetal? Then they go back and create everybody their own signature cocktail.” “It’s really about creating something

Guests can enjoy a cocktail amid an atmosphere reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties at the White Rabbit. (Special to GSN)

special not only for our staff but the community.” The White Rabbit will soon finish The Parlor Room and The Rabbit Hole, two new rooms in the establishment. “The Parlor Room is for when we get a lot of requests to do buyouts here. Especially on Fridays and Saturdays, it is very difficult to do,” Potts said. “We have the additional square footage so we’re actually building that out for people to do buyouts or overflow. It’s still going to have the same look, feel and experience of The Rabbit but it’s dedicated for that purpose.” The Parlor Room will include seating for up to 100 people but will only be open for 50 percent capacity along with

Tune In To Your Community

the rest of The White Rabbit once it passes a health inspection and obtains a certificate of occupancy. “We’re also building what’s called The Rabbit Hole, which is going to be our speakeasy within a speakeasy,” Potts said. “We’re still working with that one.” The Rabbit Hole is a space for a private party with up to 18 people and with its own mixologist that will be open reservation only Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. “We are going to schedule out the bartenders two to three weeks out in advance,” Potts said. “They are going to create their own menu, and everyone is going to know the experience that they are coming in for.”

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The White Rabbit is open at half capacity, while following CDC guidelines such as social distancing, temperature checks and masks. After shutting down twice during the pandemic, Potts and Medina are hopeful they are in the clear. “It was difficult because we shut down and then we reopened and then we were told to shut down again,” Medina said. “It was difficult for us and for our employees to do that. “Hopefully we won’t get shut down again—we’ll see. Fingers crossed. Everything has been going well so far. The White Rabbit’s bartender Fernando Zelaya calls the speakeasy’s beverage program ever-changing. “The beverage program at The White Rabbit is quite complex because it’s constantly being changed. We’re constantly innovating,” he said. The White Rabbit will mark its second anniversary this month but due to the pandemic occupancy restrictions, Potts and Medina will not celebrate. “I wish we really could do something but with COVID right now it’s pretty difficult to do anything other than the 50 percent occupancy. Even the live music is kind of on hold right now,” Medina said. “Once for sure COVID is over, we plan on doing quite a few different events.” Information: twr.bar. 480.750.0099, twr.bar

GOOD BAR from page 23

glosses – Pumpkin Spice and Coffee Cake – she also is introducing new face masks and lip and body scrubs along with her Birthday Collection. “My goal in life is to create,” she said. “I love building brands and seeing my visions come to life. “My goal for the future is to become a successful entrepreneur and CEO of multiple companies in the beauty, fashion and business industries,” she added. “My goal for The Good Bar is to grow on a national scale and be known for inspiring people to chase their dreams and become the best versions of themselves by being happy, healthy and confident.”

BUSINESS

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

Pandemic creating havoc with state job numbers

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

rizona added 30,200 new jobs last month but the question of what that means in an unemployment rate is a little less certain. On paper, the state Office of Economic Opportunity puts the seasonally adjusted jobless rate for September at 6.7 percent. That follows a 5.9 percent figure for August and 10.7 percent the month before. What’s causing these wild swings is not the number of people working. It’s the number of people not working but reportedly looking. The way the state figures it, another 151,727 people joined the workforce between August and September. That includes both those working – a figure that did not change markedly – and those who said they are looking. But the month before, the workforce figure dropped 151,220.

What’s going on? More to the point, are these swings real? Doug Walls, the agency’s research administrator, said blame COVID-19. Not the virus itself, he said, but the pandemic has resulted in some issues with the surveys of households that determine the size of the workforce along with other factors. It starts with what Walls said is “the volatility that’s come from the COVID-19 pandemic.’’ “One thing that we’re hearing from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor is that there are challenges that the Local Area Unemployment Statistics are going through and the LAUS program is experiencing associated with the impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce movement,’’ he said. That, he explained, is complicated by the fact that these numbers are based on a survey of just 1,400 Arizona households.

So, some big month-to-month changes in who is employed, who is not and who is looking – all pieces of determining the jobless rate – can play havoc with the data. “It is a challenge to parse out whether those are actual changes in the economy or those are due to the large swings and large changes in the workforce because of COVID,’’ he said. Can the numbers now being released for September be counted on as reliable? And was that 5.9 percent rate for August – which led Gov. Doug Ducey to crow about the recovery – accurate? “Fair points,’’ Walls conceded. “This is something the BLS is working to address.’’ But making true comparisons month over month may be difficult. Walls said BLS used some “modified methodology’’ in coming up with the September figures in an effort to address some of the drastic changes in the numbers.

Still, Walls said he believes the September numbers are accurate enough. “They’re not making dramatic changes to the methodology or approach,’’ he said. “The month-tomonth comparisons are still justifiable.’’ At least for the time being. Walls pointed out that there is a “benchmarking’’ process where the numbers are reexamined at the end of the year, opening the door to retroactive adjustments to the figures now being released. But those revised and presumably more accurate numbers won’t be available until March. A clearer picture of the Arizona employment situation may come from a separate survey of employers. It starts with that addition of 30,200 jobs. But fully a third of those were in public education, people who are

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Skates or cleats? Gibson brothers finding own paths BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor

ellen and Cayden Gibson of Gilbert admittedly don’t have much free time. If the two aren’t on the gridiron with Arizona College Prep’s varsity football team, they can often be found on the ice playing double-A club hockey. Sometimes, they can even be found on the wrestling mat or practicing discuss and shot-put throws. But when all else fails, they’re likely navigating their way through rigorous course loads as part of ACP’s curriculum. “It’s definitely tough, time management is a big part of it,” Kellen said. “I was still doing travel my freshman year, so I would have a workout for football then be on the ice for hockey. I just had to find a time for homework any chance I got. “I think my brother will have to figure that out, too.” Kellen, a senior linebacker for the Knights, has emerged as a captain and among the several players now receiving attention from college programs. Cayden, while only a freshman, mirrors his older brother’s 6-foot-2 frame from the defensive end position. The two didn’t start playing football until they entered high school. Their first love while growing up in Anchorage,

Arizona College Prep senior Kellen Gibson (left) and freshman Cayden Gibson (right) not only have gained recognition for their play on the gridiron, but on the ice, too. (Zach Alvira/Arizonan Staff)

Alaska always involved ice skates and hockey pucks. Even when they moved to the Valley in 2012, their love for hockey carried on. The two play at the double-A level in the Junior Coyotes club organization. Practices take place at the Ice Den in Chandler. They previously competed at the tri-

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Cayden said. “That’s where all the talent is and that’s where you will get noticed.” Kellen began playing hockey at the triple-A level when he was in the eighth grade. That level of hockey is the highest for players in the high school age group. Once he began playing football at ACP, however, he realized the demand was too high to continue and compete in other sports. After dropping down a division to double-A, his love for football grew. Still a four-sport athlete with football, wrestling, hockey and track and field, he’s beginning to find himself put hockey on the backburner a bit in favor of pursuing a collegiate football career. “Just looking at all the opportunities with football, I knew I had to try it out,” Kellen said. “I knew I couldn’t play football and then immediately travel for triple-A hockey. I dropped down a level to still play competitively as a way to kind of keep that door open just in case.” Cayden, however, hasn’t quite made the transition like his brother. He missed the first two Monday’s of official practice for the Knights to skate in front of coaches for the same club as Kellen. Their parents have always imagined them playing on the same team in any sport, and despite them being four years apart in age, they have that opportunity

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GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

BROTHERS page 29

this season. As for his favorite sport, he still favors hockey. “I would probably say hockey is still my favorite,” Cayden said. “First of all, it’s cool. It’s indoors. When I play I just feel free. I think it’s the speed of the game. It’s a team sport but there’s no other feeling than when you score a goal in hockey.” ACP head football coach Myron Blueford expects both Kellen and Cayden to make a dramatic impact this season for

the Knights. Blueford knows what to expect from Kellen, who was the starting middle linebacker last season. While he was slightly unsure of what to expect from Cayden heading into summer workouts, Blueford’s confidence in the freshman becoming an impact player right away for the Knights has grown. He’s shown constant improvement on a daily basis and adds depth to a defense that already returns some of the most talented players in the state, let alone the

3A Conference. “When Cayden walks in, he doesn’t look like a freshman,” Blueford said. “Kellen set the bar for this program when he came in. Now, Cayden has had the chance to look up to that and realize what it takes to get to his brother’s level in terms of college attention.” Arizona College Prep opened the 2020 season on Friday against San Tan Foothills. Ahead of the game, the Gibson brothers expressed their excitement.

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For Kellen, it was to have a chance to play his senior year after a summer of uncertainty due to the pandemic. For Cayden, it was his first shot at playing the sport at the highest level in high school. But both also enjoy the fact they get to share the experience together. “We’ve definitely gotten closer through all of this,” Kellen said. “It’s been fun so far. Just to help him see where he fits in with this team and learn the game, it’s awesome.”

Stand Against Tyranny. Stand With Trump. “Our Historic Way of Life is at Stake” Open Letter from Military Leaders to the American People

As senior leaders of America’s military, we took an oath to defend the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic. At present, our country is now confronted with enemies here and abroad, as well as a once in a century pandemic.

As retired military officers, we believe that Donald J. Trump has been tested as few other presidents have and is the proven leader to confront these dangers. It can be argued that this is the most important election Gen. Alfred Hansen, USAF, Ret., Gen William R. Looney III, USAF, Ret., Gen. Lance Smith, USAF, Ret., ADM. Mark Fitzgerald, USN, Ret. ADM. Thomas B. Hayward, USN, Ret., ADM. Jerome L. Johnson, USN, Ret., ADM Leighton Smith, USN, Ret., ADM. Steven White,USN, Ret.ADM Paul Yost, USCG, Ret., LTG Edward Anderson, USA, Ret., LTG Emil “Buck” Bedard, USMC, Ret, LTG William G. Boykin, USA, Ret.LTG Dennis Cavin, USA, Ret., LTF James Chambers, USAF, Ret., LTG Matthew T. Cooper, USMC, Ret. LTG, Gordon E. Fornell, USAF, Ret.LTG Jay Garner, USA, Ret, LTG Stan Green, USA, Ret,.LTG Earl Hailston,USMC, Ret.,LTG D.J. Heljlik, USMC, Ret,.LTG James H. Johnson, Jr., USA, Ret, . LTG Timothy A. Kinnan,USAF, Ret., LTG James M. Link, USA, Ret.LTG Frederick McCorckle, USMC, Ret. LTG Thomas McInerney, USAF, Ret.,LTG Thomas J. Owen, USAF, Ret.LTG Garry L. Parks, USMC, Ret. LTG Clifford H. Rees, USAF,Ret.LTG James C. Riley, USA, Ret. LTG Richard M. Scofield, USAF, Ret.LTG Leroy Sisco, USA, Ret.LTG Ellie G. Shuler, Jr., USAF, Ret.LTG Hubert G. Smith, USA, Ret.LTG David Teal, USAF, Ret. LTG William Thurman, USAF, Ret.LTG Garry Trexler, USAF, Ret. LTG Thomas C. Waskow, USAF, Ret.LTG Ronald L. Watts, USA. Ret. LTG R. L. Wetzel, USA, Ret.LTG John W. Woodmansee, Jr. USA, Ret.LTG John L. Woodward Jr., USAF, Ret.LTG Michael W. Wooley, USAF, Ret.VADM Edward Briggs, USN, Ret.VADM Toney M. Bucchi, USN, Ret. VADM E.W. Clexton, USN, Ret. VADM George W. Emery, USN, Navy, Ret.VADM W. J. Hancock, USN, Ret, VADM Peter Hekman, Jr., USN, Ret.VADM Gordon Holder, USN, Ret. VADM Paul Ilg, USN, Ret.VADM William Dean Lee, USCG, Ret.VADM James W. Metzger, USN, Ret.VADM James Pappas, USN, Ret.

VADM J. Theodore Parker, USN, Ret.VADM John M. Poindexter, USN, Ret.VADM Robert J. Spane, USN, Ret.VADM Edward Straw, USN, Ret.VADM Donald C. Thompson, USCG, Ret. VADM Howard Thorsen, USCG, Ret. VADM Nils Thunman, USN, Ret.VADM Jerry Unruh, USN, Ret.MG James E. Andrews, USAF, Ret. MG Joseph Arbuckle, USA, Ret.MG Paul Bergson, USA, Ret.MG Casey D. Blake, USAF, Ret.MG William G. Bowdon, USMC, Ret.MG Edward Bracken, USAF, Ret. MG Patrick Brady, MOH, USA, Ret.MG David Burford, USA, Ret. MG H. Hale Burr, Jr., USAF, Ret.MG Thomas Carter, USAF, Ret. MG. Carroll Childers, USA, Ret.MG Peter W. Clegg, USA, Ret.MG Jeffrey Cliver, USAF, Ret.MG John Closner, USAF, Ret.MG Richard S. Colt, USA, Ret.MG James W. Comstock, USA, Ret.MG Wesley Craig, USA, Ret.MG James Cravens, USA, Ret.MG Thomas F. Crawford, USAF, Ret.MG Gene A. Deegan, USMC, Ret.MG James D. Delk, USA, Ret.MG Robert E. Dempsey, USAF, Ret.MG Travis Dyer, USA, Ret.MG Neil Eddins, USAF, Ret. MG David Eidsaune, USAF, Ret.MG Fred E. Elam, USA, Ret.MG Peter Franklin, USA, Ret. MG John t. Furlow, USA, Ret.MG David C. Garza, USMC, Ret.MG Brian I. Geehan, USA, Ret.MG Timothy F. Ghormley, USMC, Ret.MG Francis C. Gideon, Jr. USAF, Ret.MG William A. Gorton, USAF, Ret. MG Lee V. Greer, USAF, Ret. MG John S. Grinalds, USMC, Ret. MG John Gronski, USA, Ret. MG Patrick J. Halloran, USAF,Ret. MG Gary L. Harrell, USA, Ret.MG Bryan Hawley, USAF, Ret.MG John W. Hawley, USAF, Ret.MG C.A.“Lou” Hennies,USA, Ret.MG Robert R. Hicks Jr. USA, Ret.MG Geoff Higginbotham, USMC, Ret. MG William Hobgood, USA, Ret.MG Bobby Hollingsworth, USMC, Ret. MG. Jerry D. Holmes, USAF, Ret.MG Clinton V. Horn,

since our country was founded. With the Democratic Party welcoming to socialists and Marxists, our historic way of life is at stake. …The Democrats have once again pledged to cut defense spending, undermining our military strength. The Democrats’ opposition to border security, their pledge to return to the disastrous Iran nuclear deal, their antagonism towards the police and planned cuts to military spending will leave the United States more vulnerable to foreign enemies. President Trump’s resolute stands have deterred our enemies from aggression against us and our allies.... We believe that President Donald Trump… will continue USAF, Ret.MG Dewitt T. Irby, Jr. USA, Ret.MG Donald L. Jacka, USA, Ret.MG William K. James, USAF, Ret.MG Alan D. Johnson, USA, Ret.MG David J. Kaucheck, USA, Ret.MG Michael C. Kerby, USAF, Ret.MG Anthony R. Kropp, USA, Ret.MG John A. Leide, USA, Ret. MG Vernon Lewis, USA, Ret. MG Thomas Lightner, USA, Ret.MG JamesE. Livingston, MOH, USMC, Ret. MG Robert E. Livingston, Jr., USA, Ret.MG John D. Logeman, USAF, Ret. MG Jarvis Lynch, USMC, Ret.MG O. G. Mannon, USAF, Ret.MG Randall Marchi, USA, Ret.MG Clay T McCutchan, USAF, Ret.MG John Miller, USAF, Ret.MG Paul Mock USA, Ret.MG Bruce Moore, USA, Ret.MG William A. Navas, Jr., USA, Ret.MG George Norwood, USAF, Ret.MG Ray O’Mara, USAF, Ret.MG. Joe S.Owens, USA, Ret.MG Richard Perraut, USAF, Ret.MG Ronald G. Richard, USMC, Ret.MG Ernest O. Robbins II, USAF, Ret.MG H. Douglas Robertson, USA, Ret.MG Nels Running, USAF, Ret.MG John P. Schoeppner, Jr., USAF, Ret.MG Richard A. Scholtes, USA, Ret.MG Gregory Schumacher, USA, Ret.MG Richard Secord, USAF, Ret.MG Mark Solo, USAF, Ret.MG Melvin Spiese, USMC, Ret.MG James Stewart, USAF, Ret.MG Michael P. Sullivan, USMC, Ret.MG Paul Vallely, USA, Ret.MG Russell L. Violett, USAF, Ret.MG Robert Walter, USA, Ret.MG. Kenneth W. Weir, USMC, Ret.MG Geoffrey P. Wiedeman, Jr., USAF, Ret.MG Gary C. Wattnem, USA, Ret. MG Richard Wightman, Jr., USA, Ret. MG Robert J. Williamson, USA, Ret.MG Michael N.Wilson, USA, Ret. MG Walter H.Yates, USA, Ret. MG. Albert Zapanta, USA, Ret. RADM Philip Anselmo, USN, Ret.RADM Stephen Barchet, USN, Ret .RADM Jon W. Bayless, Jr., USN, Ret. RADM Timothy Beard, USN, Ret. RADM James B. Best, USN , Ret. RADM Stanley D.

Bozin, USN, Ret .RADM Bruce B. Bremner, USN, Ret .RADM John T. Byrd, USN, Ret. RADL Norman Campbell, USN, Ret. RADM James J. Carey, USN, Ret. RADM Arthur Clark, USN, Ret. RADM Jay Cohen, USN, Ret. RADL David Cronk, USN, Ret .RADM Ernest A. Elliot, USN, Ret .RADM James. R. Fowler, USN, Ret. RADM George Furong, USN, Ret . RADM Albert Gallotta, USN, Ret. RADM William J. Gilmore, USN, Ret. RADM Andrew A. Granuzzo, USN, Ret. RDML John G. Hekman, USN, Ret .RADM Robert P. Hickey, USN, Ret. RADM Donald E. Hickman, USN, Ret. RADM Steve Israel, USN, Ret. RDML Grady L. Jackson, USN, Ret .RADM Ronny Jackson, USN, Ret. RADM John Graham King, USN, Ret. RADM Jon Kreitz, USN, Ret. RADM Charles Kubic, USN, Ret. RADL Bobby C. Lee, USN, Ret .RADM Douglas E. Lee, USN, Ret .RADM Frederick L. Lewis, USN, Ret .RADM Edward S. McGinley II, USN, Ret .RADM John H. McKinley, USN, Ret. RADM Mark R. Milliken, USN, Ret. RADM Ralph M. Mitchell, Jr., USN, Ret. RAML Robert Moeller, USN, Ret. RADM Douglas M. Moore, Jr., USN, Ret. RADM John A. Moriarty, USN, Ret. RADM David R. Morris, USN, Ret .RADM William E. Newman, USN, Ret .RADM Robert Owens, USN, Ret .RADM John F. Paddock, Jr., USN, Ret. RADM Marc Pelaez, USN, Ret .RADM Russell S. Penniman, USN, Ret .RADM Leonard F. Picotte. USN, Ret.RADM David P. Polatty III,

to secure our borders, defeat our adversaries, and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to join us in supporting the re-election of Donald Trump for President. 300 retired generals and admirals, including nine 4-star and fifty-two 3-star flag officers, have signed this letter endorsing the re-election of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Stands with America. He Fought the China Virus Joe Biden Defends China

www.flagofficersfortrump.com USN, Ret. RADM Brian C. Prindle, USN, Ret. RADM J.J. Quinn, USN, Ret. RADM Michael Roesner, USN, Ret. RADM Norman T. Saunders, USCG, Ret. RADM William R. Schmidt, USN, Ret. RADM Scott Semko, USN, Ret.RADM Doniphan B. Shelton, USN, Ret.RADM Robert Shumaker, USN, Ret. RADM Kenneth Slaght, USN, Ret. RADM Bernard J. Smith, USN, Ret. RADM Alton Stocks, USN, Re t.RADM Thomas E. Stone, USN, Ret. RADM Barton D. Strong, USN, Ret .RADM Jeremy D. Taylor, USN, Ret.RADM William E. Terry, USN, Ret. RADM Robert P. Tiernan, USN, Ret. RADM Lenn Vincent, USN, Ret .RADM George Wagner, USN, Ret.RADM Garry R. Wright, USN, Ret. RADM H. Denny Wisely, USN, Ret .RADM Ray Cowden Witter, USN, Ret.RADM Charles B. Young, USN, Ret.BG John Allen, USAF, Ret.BG John Arick, USMC, Ret.BG Mark Beesley, USAF, Ret.BG Charles L. Bishop, USAF, Ret.BG William A. Bloomer, USMC, Ret.BG Donald C. Bolduc, USA, Ret. BG Frank Bruno, USAF, Ret.BG Jimmy Cash, USAF, Ret.BG Clifton C. Clark, Jr., USAF, Ret. BG Peter b. Collins, USMC, Ret.BG Keith B.

Connolly, USAF, Ret.BG Howard G. DeWolf, USAF, Ret.BG Duane Deal, USAF, Ret.BG Philip M. Drew, USAF, Ret.BG David K. “Bob’ Edmonds, USAF, Ret.BG Curtis Emery II, USAF, Ret.BG Terry Ethridge, USA, Ret.BG Robert L. Floyd II, USA, Ret.BG Jimmy E. Fowler, USA, Ret.BG Jerome V. Foust, USA, Ret.BG CWilliam Fox, Jr. MD, USA, Ret.BG Edmund J. Giering, USA, Ret.BG Timothy J. Grogan, USA, Ret.BG Norman R. Ham, USAF, Ret.BG David A. Herrelko, USAF, Ret.BG C. J. Hindman, USAF, Ret.BG Stanislaus J. Hoey, USA, Ret.BG Thomas Honeywill, USAF, Ret. BG Tamhra Hutchins-Frye, USAF, Ret.BG James Johnston, USAF, Ret. BG Phillip Jolly, USA, Ret.BG Charles Jones, USAF, Ret.BG Robert Jordan, U.S. Army, Ret. BG Jack Kotter, USA, Ret.BG Douglas E. Lee, USA, Ret.BG Robert W. Lovell, USAF, Ret.BG Ronald S. Mangum, USA, Ret.BG Thomas P. Maney, USA, Ret.BG Michael H. McClendon, USAF, Ret.BG Michael P. McRaney, USAF, Ret.BG James M. Mead, USMC, Ret. Brig Gen Joseph Mensching, USAF, Ret.BG Bruce Miketinac, USA, Ret. BG Daniel L. Montgomery, USA, Ret.BG Hans Mueh, USAF, Ret. BG Charles W. Neeley, USAF, Ret.BG Michael I. Neil, USMC, Ret. BG John Nicholson, USA, Ret. BG Joseph Oder, USA, Ret.BG Guido J. Portante, USA, Ret.BG Teddy E. Rinebarger, USAF, Ret.BG Douglas J. Richardson, USAF, Ret.BG Steven A. Roser, USAF, Ret.BG Michael Scholes, USA, Ret. BG George L. Schulstad, USAF, Ret. BG Richard M.Tabor, USA, Ret.BG David B. Warner, USAF, Ret.BG David Weeks, USA, Ret.BG William O. Welch, USAF, Ret.BG Robert E. Windham, USA, Ret.BG Robert V. Woods, USAF, Ret. BG Robert H. Woods, Jr., USA, Ret.BG David Zalis, CH, USA, Ret.

Our Military leaders stand with Trump. 300 U.S. Retired Generals and Admirals signed an Open Letter supporting President Trumps’re-elections. For a full list of signers go to flagofficersfortrump.com This is the most important election in our history. The choice is between socialist/Marxist policies and our freedoms and the traditional way of life for our children and grandchildren. Vote for Trump

Paid for by JewsChoose4MoreYears@gmail.com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Carol Greenwald, Treasurer, 62 William St, NY, NY 10005, 845-743-0608

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020 PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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NEW TIMES REQUIRE NEW THINKING Better read this if you are 62 or older and still making mortgage payments. It’s a well-known fact that for many older Americans, the home is their single biggest asset, often accounting for more than 45% of their total net worth. And with interest rates near all-time lows while home values are still high, this combination creates the perfect dynamic for getting the most out of your built-up equity. But, many aren’t taking advantage of this unprecedented period. According to new statistics from the mortgage industry, senior homeowners in the U.S. are now sitting on more than 7.19 trillion dollars* of unused home equity. Not only are people living longer than ever before, but there is also greater uncertainty in the ecomony. With home prices back up again, ignoring this “hidden wealth” may prove to be short sighted when looking for the best long-term outcome. All things considered, it’s not surprising that more than a million homeowners have already used a government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan to turn their home equity into extra cash for retirement. It’s a fact: no monthly mortgage payments are required with a government-insured HECM loan; however the borrowers are still responsible for paying for the maintenance of their home, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if required, their HOA fees. Today, HECM loans are simply an effective way for homeowners 62 and older to get the extra cash they

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*Source: https://reversemortgagedaily.com/2019/12/17/senior-housing-wealth-reaches-record-high-of-7-19-trillion Reverse mortgage loan terms include occupying the home as your primary residence, maintaining the home, paying property taxes and homeowners insurance. Although these costs may be substantial, AAG does not establish an escrow account for these payments. However, a set-aside account can be set up for taxes and insurance, and in some cases may be required. Not all interest on a reverse mortgage is tax-deductible and to the extent that it is, such deduction is not available until the loan is partially or fully repaid. AAG charges an origination fee, mortgage insurance premium (where required by HUD), closing costs and servicing fees, rolled into the balance of the loan. AAG charges interest on the balance, which grows over time. When the last borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse dies, sells the home, permanently moves out, or fails to comply with the loan terms, the loan becomes due and payable (and the property may become subject to foreclosure). When this happens, some or all of the equity in the property no longer belongs to the borrowers, who may need to sell the home or otherwise repay the loan balance. V2020.06.30 NMLS# 9392 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). American Advisors Group (AAG) is headquartered at 3800 W. Chapman Ave., 3rd & 7th Floors, Orange CA, 92868. Licensed in 49 states. Please go to www.aag.com/legal-information for full state license information. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or a government agency.

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

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Garage/Doors

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Home Improvement HOME REMODELING REPAIRS & CUSTOM INTERIOR PAINTING Move a wall; turn a door into a window. From small jobs and repairs to room additions, I do it all. Precision interior painting, carpentry, drywall, tile, windows, doors, skylights, electrical, fans, plumbing and more. All trades done by hands-on General Contractor. Friendly, artistic, intelligent, honest and affordable. 40 years’ experience. Call Ron Wolfgang Please text or leave message Cell 602-628-9653 Wolfgang Construction Inc. Licensed & Bonded ROC 124934

ACTION CONTRACTING INC. WE DO IT ALL!

Bath & Kitchen Remodels • Car-Port to Garage Conversion Drywall & Stucco Repairs • Plumbing • Electrical • Can Lights Windows • Doors • Cabinets • Painting • Block Fences Wrought Iron Gates • Remodeling • Additions • Patios Tenant Improvements

East Valley

480-833-7353 - Office 480-430-7737 - Cell A+

-S

E NC

LIC/BONDED/INSURED Res/Comm’l ROC#218802

aaaActionContractingInc.com

General Contacting, Inc. Licensed • Bonded • Insured • ROC118198

One Call, We Do It All! 602-339-4766 Owner Does All Work, All Honey-Do Lists All Remodeling, Additions, Kitchen, Bath, Patio Covers, Garage, Sheds, Windows, Doors, Drywall & Roofing Repairs, Painting, All Plumbing, Electrical, Concrete, Block, Stucco, Stack Stone, All Flooring, Wood, Tile, Carpet, Welding, Gates, Fences, All Repairs.

Free Estimates with Pride & Prompt Service!

Your Ad can go ONLINE ANY Day! Call to place your ad online!! Classifieds 480-898-6465

OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE SERVICING & INSTALLING GARAGE DOORS AND OPERATORS

• Furniture • Appliances • Mattresses • Televisions • Garage Clean-Out • Construction Debris

ANOZIRA DOOR SYSTEMS

480.266.4589

Get Free notices in the Classifieds!

Not a licensed contractor.

2010, 2011 2012, 2013, 2014

Hauling

Meetings/Events?

josedominguez0224@gmail.com

“No Job Too Small Man!”

Ahwatukee Resident/ References/ Insured/ Not a Licensed Contractor

QUICK RESPONSE TO YOUR CALL! 15 Years Experience • Free Estimates

• Electrical Repair • Plumbing Repair • Dry rot and termite damage repair

SERVING THE ENTIRE VALLEY

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • QUALITY

• Serving Arizona Since 2005 •

Handyman

All Estimates arethe Free Call: Marks Spot• for ALL Your Handyman Needs!

Electrical Services

PAVER • CONCRETE REMOVAL • HARDSCAPE BONDED & INSURED • ROC#321648 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! FREE ESTIMATES • 16 YEARS EXPERIENCE RESIDENTIAL CALL JOHN: 480.797.2985 COMMERCIAL

DO YOU OFFER Lessons & Tutoring? Children need your help! Place your ad today Contact us: class@times publications.com or Call 480-898-6465

Submit to ecota@timespublications.com

• Old Pant & Chems. • Yard Waste

Irrigation

• Concrete Slab • Remodeling Debris • Old Tires

• Sprinkler/Drip Repairs • New Installs Poly/PVC • Same Day Service

NTY

5-YEAR WARRA

480.654.5600 azirrigation.com Cutting Edge LLC • ROC 281671

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

Irrigation

Landscape/Maintenance

Roofing

Plumbing

Insured/Bonded Free Estimates

Sprinkler & Drip Systems Repairs • Modifications • Installs

ALL Pro

T R E E

S E R V I C E

L L C

Prepare for Monsoon Season! LANDSCAPING, TREES & MAINTENANCE

Tree Trimming • Tree Removal Stump Grinding Storm Damage • Bushes/Shrubs Yard Clean-up Commercial and Residential PMB 435 • 2733 N. Power Rd. • Suite 102 • Mesa dennis@allprotrees.com

480-354-5802 Painting

• 20 Years Experience • 6 Year Warranty

480.345.1800

HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING

Superstition Landscape Maintenance

Junk Removal PLUS House Cleaning Call or Text Adrian

480•376•9803 or 480•925•1418

Honest & Reliable

FREE Estimates

Irrigation Repair Services Inc.

Free Estimates • Senior Discounts

480-338-4011

Beat Any Price By 10% • Lifetime Warranty Water Heaters Installed - $799 Unclog Drains - $49 FREE RO UNIT w/Any WATER SOFTENER INSTALL NO INTEREST FINANCING - 60 Months!! ‘A’ RATED PLUMBING REPAIR Free Estimates • Same Day Service

480-405-7099 ItsJustPlumbSmart.com

Paint Interior & Exterior • Drywall Repair Light Carpentry • Power Washing • Textures Matched Popcorn Removal • Pool Deck Coatings Garage Floor Coatings • Color Consulting

10% OFF 480-688-4770

www.eastvalleypainters.com Bonded/Insured • ROC#153131

480-706-1453

Licensed/Bonded/Insured • ROC #236099

Public Notices CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA NOTICE OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING DOBSON LIBRARY IMPROVEMENTS Project No. CP0903 Please join us for a virtual event discussing the upcoming Dobson Ranch Library Branch Improvements project. This project will update the entrance of the Dobson Ranch library branch, located at 2425 S. Dobson Rd., with a fresh, modern look and improved accessibility for the public. The renovated façade and entry will offer greater visibility and convenience for library users. The library expansion includes the addition of a THINKspot makerspace for the community to foster innovation and networking.

Location: Virtual Public Meeting: online at mesaaz.gov/engineering

Voted #1

Family Owned & Operated

Over 30 yrs. Experience

Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Free Estimates! Home of the 10-Year Warranty!

ROC# 256752

PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!

East Valley PAINTERS

We Beat Competitors Prices & Quality

www.irsaz.com

ROC 3297740

Tiles, shingles, flat, repairs & new work Free Estimates • Ahwatukee Resident

Date: Thursday, October 29, 2020

Licensed • Bonded • Insured Technician

480.721.4146

20+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

ROC#309706

Specializing in Controllers, Valves, Sprinklers, Landscape Lighting, P.V.C. & Poly Drip Systems

Call Lance White

BOOK ONLINE! STATE48DRAINS.COM

Bonded/Insured • ROC #223709

We Are State Licensed and Reliable!

Landscape/Maintenance

480-477-8842

SEWER CABLE COMPREHENSIVE, FULL-SERVICE PLUMBING COMPANY

Interior/Exterior Painting 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE Dunn Edwards Quality Paint Small Stucco/Drywall Repairs

ROC 304267 • Licensed & Bonded

HYDROJETTING

Now Accepting all major credit cards

Pool Service / Repair

Juan Hernandez

Pavers • Concrete • Water Features • Sprinkler Repair

PPebbleOcracking, O L Plaster R Epeeling, P ARebar IR showing, Pool Light out? I CAN HELP!

FALL SPECIAL! $500 OFF COMPLETE REMODEL! 25 Years Experience • Dependable & Reliable

Call Juan at

480-720-3840 Not a licensed contractor.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact Curt Albright, Michele Arrollado, Lucy Lopez, or Juanita Gonzales with the City of Mesa Engineering Public Relations Department at (480) 6443800. Si usted tiene preguntas de este proyecto, favor de llamar a Lucy Lopez, con la Ciudad de Mesa al (480) 644-3800. Published: Glendale Star, Oct. 18, 25, 2020 / 33823

MISSED THE DEADLINE? Call us to place your ad online!

480-898-6465

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

NOW OPEN

HAPPY HOUR

Every Day 2pm-6pm and 10pm-CLOSE • $2 OFF ALL Draft Beer and Appetizers • $4 House Wine

• $2 Well Drinks • $4 Titos, Bacardi, Tanqueray, Herradura Silver, Jack Daniels

ALL DAY SPECIALS

MONDAY $10 Burgers TUESDAY $5 Dos XX Draft and Frozen House Margaritas $4 Chips with Salsa and Guac $6 Nachos WEDNESDAY $10 Wraps

THURSDAY $8 Wings and Chicken Tenders FRIDAY $9 Fish & Chips and Fishy Wrap SATURDAY $10 Pizzas SUNDAY $10 Pastas

1026 S Gilbert Rd Gilbert AZ 85296 www.howlerssportsbar.com

480-687-2864

REGULAR HOURS : DAILY 11AM - 12AM

GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 18, 2020

The luxury and location you want, featuring a luxury Person Centered approach; Providing directed care to our residents that need a little extra.

• LivGenerations offers Assisted Living services right in the comfort and privacy of your apartment home. So you can continue to enjoy your same way of life with a little extra care. We simply come to you to provide the assistance you need. • Our Signature Services program is for those who require a little extra help and a little extra cueing with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, mobility, medication assistance, and more. • Memory Care at LivGenerations can bring comfort, care and joy to our residents’ lives… while bringing peace of mind to their family. It’s a beautiful environment designed specifically for those with memory loss - including amenities to provide comfort and familiarity.

LivGenerations Ahwatukee

LivGenerations Agritopia

15815 S. 50th Street | Phoenix, AZ 85048

2811 E. Agritopia Loop S. | Gilbert, AZ 85296

480-485-3000

480-485-2000

livgenerationsahwatukee.com

livgenerationsagritopia.com

I N D E P E N D E N T L I V I N G | A S S I S T E D L I V I N G | M E M O R Y C A R E | S I G N AT U R E S E R V I C E S