Gilbert Sun News 103022

Report backs mayor’s removal of sign carriers

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

An outside investigator said Mayor Brigette Peterson was doing her job when she ordered police to re move three sign-holding residents from the Sept. 20 council meeting.

The investigator therefore found no vio lations in the latest ethics complaint filed against her.

Now it’s up to Peterson or at least three

council members to decide within 10 cal endar days if they want to put the item on agenda for discussion. Otherwise the complaint is deemed dismissed with prej udice.

“Well, I feel that anything can be turned to a way to where it’s pretty and I think that is what the investigator did,” said Ter ri Naddy, who filed the complaint.

“My personal opinion is they looked at her trying to keep a quorum versus sin gling out Brandon Ryff, Mr. (Ryan) Han

delsman and the gal (Joanne Terry) be cause they were holding up signs.”

Naddy said others at the Sept. 20 meet ing also had the same signs that read “Stop Lying,” and “Don’t Mesa my Gilbert,” on the table in front of them and were not eject ed.

The residents who packed the room were expressing their opposition to The Ranch, a town-supported 300-acre light

EV women probe region’s ghostly doings

BY JOSH ORTEGA GSN STAFF WRITER

If you hear or see something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?

East Valley Paranormal!

Paranormal investigators Michelle Vin cent and Heather Rhyneer founded East Val ley Paranormal after a chance meeting at a local events committee. Despite a lifetime of occurrences with the occult, the ladies said even they don’t believe some of the menac ing moments they’ve experienced.

“We are skeptics, honestly,” Vincent said. “Because if I’m not shown something, I’m not going to believe it.”

Rhyneer, a dance instructor and choreog

Gilbert Residents

Heather Rhyneer, left, and Michelle Vincent, owners of East Valley Paranormal, investigate spooky

haunted house in Gilbert. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

Gilbert Public Schools is hosting a job fair

NEWS STAFF

It’s hard finding good help these days.

Just ask Gilbert Public Schools – or any other Valley district, for that matter.

With numerous positions of all kinds vacant, GPS has high hopes for its job fair 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Highland High School, 4301 E. Gua dalupe Road.

“Drop-in and meet our school and department staff,” said district spokes woman Dawn Antestenis. “Applicants will have the opportunity to interview on-site for full and part-time posi tions.”

GPS is looking for: Available po sitions include, but are not limited to K-12 teachers, special education teachers, social workers, paraprofes sionals, bus and van drivers, bus mon

itors, nutrition workers, classroom support staff, operations and grounds, before- and after-school staff, commu nity education staff, preschool leaders and staff.

Gilbert Public Schools, the seventh largest public school district in Arizo na with 39 schools serving 33,000 stu dents, says it’s offering “competitive compensation and benefits packages.”

The starting teacher salary is $52,000. Teachers graduating in De cember 2022 are encouraged to apply and paid student-teaching internship opportunities are also available.

“GPS offers supportive work envi ronments and regular professional de velopment opportunities,” Antestenis added.

Learn more about job openings at gilbertschools.net/jobs or email certi fied@gilbertschools.net.

Gilbert Public Schools’ job fair in spring drew some people interested in working for the district. (Courtesy GPS)

Woman says she’ll sue Gilbert over son’s injuries

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

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But the town ignored the claim, sub mitted July 27. State law considers a claim denied if no action is taken with in 60 days.

“Yes, I will be filing suit,” said Steph anie Gittings last week. She declined to give her son’s age but the claim said he is a minor.

The Town Attorney’s Office issued a statement, saying the park has had millions of visitors over the past three years and that “the fitness course and playground equipment were designed, manufactured, and installed in accor dance with the standards set forth in the Consumer Product Safety Commis sion’s Handbook for Public Playground

“In addition, playground equipment at Desert Sky Park – like all Town parks – are maintained according to industry-approved standards and are inspected on a regular basis,” the state ment said. “Injuries occur from time to time on playground equipment at Town-owned parks, and when notified of injuries, the Town investigates the circumstances surrounding the injury to determine the cause.

“The Town denies any allegations that the fitness equipment at Des ert Sky Park was deficient and that it failed to maintain fitness equipment at Desert Sky Park. “

The incident occurred Feb. 19 when the boy, who’s 5’4” tall and weighs 120 pounds, fell from the Extreme Jump Hang, a playground obstacle course.

The town debuted the first phase of Desert Sky, a 115-acre park between Pecos and Williams Field roads, in November 2019, touting a 3.-5-acre

lake and the American-Ninja war rior-style obstacle course for teens and adults.

“My son suffered a severe break in his arm,” Gittings said in her claim. “This resulted in an emergency depart ment visit, required re-setting, tempo rary casting, and will require further care from an orthopedic surgeon.

“Additionally, as a result of this fall, he has suffered other soft-tissue inju ries about his other arm, tailbone and back.”

Gittings said due to the injuries, her son had to miss several days of school and his spring season of football.

He was in a cast for six weeks, a structured base for three weeks, could not participate in spring break activi ties and was prohibited from any con tact sports for 16 weeks, she said.

She added that her son’s medical bills so far tallied over $5,000 and con

to increase.

“We don’t know the full extent of the damage to the soft tissue, wheth er or not my son will ever regain full and uninhibited use of his left arm, or what future loss he might have due to these injuries,” Gittings said. “He has endured physical pain and suffering as well as significant emotional distress resulting from being excluded from now a second season of his favorite sport.

“He has spent approximately 150 hours doing non-contact conditioning for a season that he will not be able to participate in. My son has been a multi-sport, year-round athlete for sixplus years and this news is devastating to him.”

She added that her son is under doc tor’s orders to wear a brace at all times and not push or pull anything.

Gittings added that she has experi enced a financial loss in registration fees and equipment purchased for a sport her son “cannot play for the fore

seeable future.”

Gittings faulted the town for negli gence after she examined the mainte nance logs and other records she re ceived from Gilbert through a records request.

“According to town maintenance records, the Town failed to properly maintain and correct known deficien cies of the installed equipment, sig nage, and surface protection for the better part of the 12 months that pre ceded my son’s injury,” Gittings said.

She said that the maintenance crew beginning in April 2021 “began consis tently noting the need for maintenance of the surface protection” and that a June 2021 inspection pointed out the need to replace the surface protection.

However, instead of replacing it, “the town continued to rake the surface protection one day per month on the date of inspection as a Band-Aid to the known deficiency,” Gittings said.

“In January and February 2022, it is again noted that the surface protec

tion needs replacement. The repeated use of this technique despite knowing replacement was required led to my son’s serious injury.”

She said it was unknown if her son’s fall would have led to injury had the surface protection been adequate.

“But what we do know is that the ex tent of his injures was a direct result of impact almost directly onto subsur face,” she said.

She cited the American Society for Testing and Materials’ standard for playground surfacing that calls for 9 inches of surface protection for falls greater than 4 feet. At the time of her son’s accident, the surface protection was “not even 1 inch deep where he landed,” she claimed.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, surfaces around playground equipment should have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rub ber-like materials.

Gittings also claimed that in Sep tember 2021, the maintenance crew began noticing a bent washer on the playground equipment and that the reports continued through February 2022, according to the latest reports she received from the town.

And, in October 2021, the town no ticed the instructional sign for the Jump Hang was missing and “it is largely unclear who this equipment is targeted towards,” she said. “This equipment is predominately used by young children as a result of ineffective danger warnings.”

She noted that she’s observed chil dren between 8-10 years old using the Jump Hang and witnessed their re peated falls to the ground.

This is not the first time that people have claimed to have been injured on playground equipment at Gilbert parks.

Two women filed separate claims for injuries they said they incurred while going down a concrete slide at Gilbert Regional Park.

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rapher, said that skepticism drives them to investigate every possibility for some thing that goes bump in the night.

“We love to try to debunk things,” Rhyneer said. “When someone tells us a story, we’re like let’s get in here and try to figure it out.”

Vincent, a graphic designer, said her first ghost experience happened at age 5 during a funeral – when she spoke to the man the ceremony was for.

“I really had no idea that I wasn’t talking to an actual person,” Vincent said.

Rhyneer said her first experience hap pened at her grandmother’s farmhouse in Missouri.

Against her grandmother’s orders, Rhyneer said she ventured to the second floor of the house and opened a door to find a larger-than-possible room full of nurses and men in bandages lying in beds.

“They were all walking past me like if I wasn’t there,” Rhyneer said. “And I felt like I was in a different time period.”

In 2018, the women met working on an event committee at Mesa Artspace Lofts in downtown Mesa.

Vincent said decorating in the art ist-residences’ main gallery had led to numerous ghostly occurrences, such as lights flickering in an empty utility room and a balloon she had to bat away for more than 15 minutes.

“There was a lady sitting [nearby] and her mouth was just on the floor hanging open,” Vincent recalled.

One of their first official investigations came from the gallery’s utility closet.

Vincent said they use “open-line inves tigations” that involve leaving an iPhone in the room with a recording device and walking a good distance away to listen to what happens on another iPhone.

After a long night of listening to “weird” sounds interrupting the static, Vincent said they returned to the utility closet “completely trashed” with chairs, tables and broom handles so strewn about that they had to crawl across the floor to re trieve their recording equipment in the far corner.

“That whole night was pretty scary,” Vincent said.

Rhyneer said they learned many les sons that night that have shaped their

investigations ever since, one of the most important being to use a video recorder.

“For that to be our first one, I think that was a good wake-up call on how we need to move forward in other investigations,” Rhyneer said.

Over the last four years, East Valley Paranormal has investigated dozens of historical places – such as The Nile The ater, Mesa Historical Museum – as well as dozens of private residences across the state.

Among them was a house in Gilbert where paranormal experiences became so frequent that a couple and their three children moved.

Michelle thought something might have been following one of the family members.

So the ast Valley Paranormal team went to the five-bedroom home, which was in disarray, apparently because the family left in the middle of the night.

Michelle said the investigation picked up some voices in one room and even a visible shadow figure on camera, but the scariest moment came at the very end.

“We were literally getting ready to leave,” Michelle recalled, when one of her

colleagues said “I don’t feel anything.”

Suddenly, one of their flashlights flew off a table and hit the wall so hard it left a mark.

Michelle she hasn’t spoken to the fam ily since the investigation last June but said they considered selling the house at the time.

Vincent said homes become a special priority if children become involved, such as when they collected a set of “creepy” stuffed animals because “they were both ering the child.”

“If there are children involved, we go right away,” Vincent said.

The equipment they use on investiga tions include and electromagnetic field reader, a “spirit box” that uses radio fre quency white noise to hear spirits and motion detectors that light up when ghosts pass it.

Vincent said real-life ghost hunting consists of “a lot of dirty, smelly, nothing happening.”

The ladies said they spend hours lis tening to their equipment emit white noise – which can become almost too boring only to have a brief encounter.

“It’ll amp up and then you might get

a really great 15 minutes out of a threehour investigation,” Rhyneer said.

From lights flickering at Terror Trader collectibles store in Chandler to strange shadow figures in Guild of the Vale in Mesa, Vincent said some of their experi ences can get to her sometimes.

That’s all part of a lifetime of paranor mal experiences, she said.

“When you grow up and you’re used to these things, you think everyone is used to these things, so it becomes normal for you,” Vincent said. “I just found a best friend who it’s normal for her to thank goodness because it’s very strange.”

Vincent said their investigations are as much about the apparitions and pol tergeists as they are about the history of each location that they learn.

“One of the things that has always got ten me about visiting a location is that people not knowing the history of what was there,” Vincent said. “This is the stuff we learned about in our history classes for Arizona history.”

Now, East Valley Paranormal has ex panded beyond investigations into other

Heather Rhyneer and Michelle Vincent of East Valley Paranormal say that this ordinary storage closet at the Mesa Artspace Lofts is a hotspot of paranormal activity, with lights that have a mind of their own and vibes that give some people odd feelings.. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

ventures, including a ghost tour through downtown Mesa.

The Rydables Downtown Mesa Ghost Tour is a 90-minute tour that spans about four blocks and covers all the para normal hot spots around Main Street.

Rhyneer said they play a lot of the au dio and video evidence on the tour that helps people learn historical facts and stories that many don’t know about –such as the tunnel system that’s under downtown Mesa.

Participants can “hear actual testimo nials from local shop owners and the res idents who have experienced the para normal,” Rydables says on its website.

The Rydables tour costs $69 for peo ple 12 and older and $39 for kids. Each Rydables cart can hold up to 400 pounds but the women limit each cart to one adult and one child 11 years or younger.

Rhyneer said Rydables approached East Valley Paranormal about a down town Mesa ghost tour and asked if they wanted to collaborate with them.

“They reached out to us after talking

to some of the people who work and own businesses in downtown Mesa that brought up our name to them,” Rhyneer said.

Eventually, the women plan to open a coffee shop as their home base, but can’t say more about the location except “it’s one of the most haunted buildings on Main.”

For now, Rhyneer said they’ll continue to investigate the supernatural because she has a quest to answer the why be hind each ghostly occurrence.

“We always walk away from an inves tigation and I’m always a little bit more confused,” Rhyneer said. “I want to solve it. I want to know what happens.”

TO LEARN MORE

Rydables Downtown Mesa Ghost Tour: rydables.com/ghost-tours.

East Valley Paranormal: East Valley EVPinvestigates.com.

YOUR GUIDE, RIGHT IN YOUR HOME.

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Look for your guide in the mailbox or download it at AZCleanElections.gov/guide or call 877-631-8891 for more information.

Rydables offers a 90-minute tour of haunted places in downtown Mesa. (Instagram)

industrial project that a developer has proposed adjacent to their neighbor hood.

Ryff, Handelsman and Terry were at the back of the room silently holding signs. Ryff and Terry stood against a wall out of the audience’s line of sight.

“I don’t know you can remove peo ple from holding a sign and not remov ing others for displaying a similar sign, just in a different fashion,” Naddy said.

Naddy added last week that she also filed a complaint with the state Attor ney General but has not yet heard back on its status.

Naddy’s Sept. 21 complaint said Pe terson violated two provisions of the Town’s Ethics Policy – fairness and respect, and loyalty. She called Peter son’s action to have Ryff removed “re taliatory.”

Both Ryff and Handelsman each filed ethics complaints against the mayor in 2021 and Ryff especially has been crit ical of Peterson at council meetings.

Peterson, in a written rebuttal to

Naddy’s complaint, said the audience was given repeated warnings about clapping, shouting and interrupting the Sept. 20 meeting yet “the behavior persisted.”

“I responded to the voices calling out from the back of the room (to the right of the main doors) and viewed multi ple signs being held up, over heads,” Peterson said.

“My request for removal was due to the continued and repeated disruption and to preserve meeting decorum, not due to what was on the sign nor who was holding the signs.”

Peterson maintained that she was unaware that Ryff was in the audience, “let alone one of the people involved with the disruptive behavior.”

In the video recording of the Sep tember meeting audience members are heard clapping after a woman be rated the council over The Ranch.

As Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes noted that there was one more speaker, Pe terson interjected and ordered offi

cers to “remove the people from the back of the room please. Those three people holding up signs.”

Peterson’s response said police had told people as they entered council chambers that they “could not hold up, wave or disrupt the meeting with their signs.”

Peterson noted “the increasingly disruptive and confrontational behav ior at Town Council meetings” and that residents have told her that they were reluctant to participate in meetings “out of concern of harassment, retalia tion or bullying from other attendees.”

“I must establish a balanced envi ronment where one person’s speech does not infringe upon the rights or wellbeing of others,” Peterson said.

Phoenix attorney William Sims, hired to do the investigation, agreed with Peterson.

Sims backed Peterson’s comment that the meetings have become in creasing disruptive by citing the Aug. 23 meeting in his Oct. 24 report.

At that meeting, a woman spoke in support of passenger rail and was lat er confronted by a person “who de manded to know why the person sup porting the transit matter had ‘lied’ to the council,” he said.

He said he interviewed a Gilbert Fire employee and a cop who both observed the confrontation, which oc curred outside the meeting room.

“As a result of that assertion the res ident who had spoken in favor of the transit matter broke into tears,” Sims said. “At one point during the confron tation one of the Gilbert officers had to step between the two persons in volved in the confrontation.”

Sims added that Ryff, Handelsman and Terry were removed after warn ings from the vice mayor.

“The Town Code is clear: the mayor chairs meetings of the council and pre sides over the conduct of the meeting,” Sims said in his report. “The mayor is

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“The requirement to maintain de corum was clearly announced by both the vice mayor and the mayor at the Sept. 20, 2022 meeting.”

Sims said Peterson’s conduct “could have violated the Ethical Policy if her conduct was not otherwise authorized under the Ethic Policy, under the Town Code and under applicable Arizona statutes.”

Sims cited five factors that support ed Peterson’s actions, including the duty to preserve decorum and to pre vent intimidation.

He said the claim that Peterson’s ac tion was retaliatory lacked merit be cause the mayor said she was unaware

that Ryff was in the room.

Regarding Naddy’s complaint that the trio was silently holding their signs when they were asked to leave, Sims stated, “waving signs, whether or not words are spoken, violates the an nounced policy barring the holding up of signs.”

Since that meeting, the Town has now banned all signs from council chambers.

And, Sims said, the removal of the three individuals was not preceded by silence.

“Audible comments were made that drew the attention of the mayor to the displayed signs,” he said.

“Additionally, recognizing that one of the policy objectives announced by

the mayor and vice mayor was to allow persons to speak freely, the waiving of signs opposed to the views of per sons attempting to communicate their views to council could be as intimidat ing as the confrontation that occurred outside the council meeting room on Aug. 23, 2022.”

Ryff disputed the investigation.

“I think that the report is concern ing, he said. “I was there, I know what happened. It’s factually inaccurate.”

Ryff, Handelsman and Terry earlier this month jointly filed a claim against Peterson for violating their First Amendment rights to free speech. The town said the review of that claim is not finished.

Ryff said the Aug. 23 incident cited by the mayor “is a narrative” that she is using to justify her actions.

He said the rules of decorum are de signed to allow for the facilitation of a meeting but that the mayor “is instead creating a narrative like there is a need to control unruly people who make other people feel uncomfortable.

“The last time I checked, you can’t strip people of their rights because what someone says makes someone else feel uncomfortable and who is the mayor to decide that?”

He also called into question the may or’s comment that she couldn’t see it was him holding the sign and that she heard yelling from the back of the room, which directed her attention there.

“The phantom noise was not collab orated by the video,” he said, adding that he made it a point not to make any sounds or move while holding the sign.

“She happened to look up and I hap pened to be in her direct line of sight.

“I’m her biggest opponent next to Ryan and (Councilman-elect) Jim Torgeson. How many ethics com plaints did we file? She knows who I am. I am in her nightmare every night.”

Ryff said the investigator’s report and the “mayor’s dishonest claims only further emboldens my desire to fight on behalf of our fellow residents as Americans protecting our First Amendment Right.”

At least nine ethics violations com plaints have been filed so far against Peterson since she took office in Jan uary 2021. She was also cleared in the previous eight.

In April, however, Peterson was found to have violated the state’s Opening Meeting law by the state At torney General.

Three people, including the two standing against the wall, were removed from the Sept. 20 council meeting for holding up signs while others in the room with similar signs were allowed to stay. (Cecilia Chan/GSN Managing Editor)

Industrial project OK appears likely here

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

GilbertTown Council is likely to approve a proposal to convert the bulk of 94.07 agricultural acres at the northeast corner of Lindsay and Germann roads, adjacent to Zanjero Park, into light-industrial uses.

Creation Equity also is seeking to re zone 3.90 acres of the site into general commercial. Currently the entire plot of land is zoned for business park use.

“That’s about 1.3 million square feet of employment industrial area,” said senior planner Keith Newman at the Oct. 20 Planning Commission meeting.

“Total office area square footage will be about 54,000 square feet. Each one of those six industrial buildings on the site will have an office component with it.”

Unlike The Ranch, a proposed 311acre light industrial project, Lindsay 202 has the backing of nearby residents.

Council will decide the fate of both proj ects, which are seeking major General Plan amendments and rezones, on Nov. 15.

The current land zoning hasn’t at tracted interest and that the pandemic has forced businesses to rethink their

workspaces, resulting in an “extremely volatile and shrinking rapidly” market for new commercial office space, ac cording to the developer – a partnership between Valley developer Creation RE and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives.

Newman said for the 3.9 acres at the

northwest corner of the property, two retail pads totaling 9,800 square feet is proposed. A total of 1,800 parking spac es are planned for around the industrial and commercial buildings.

Newman said two virtual neighbor hood meetings were held with 20 peo ple attending the first and 14 for the subsequent event.

“They had some traffic concerns –large-truck traffic that would be gener ated by the site,” he said. “There were questions raised by residents about truck noise (and) noise generated by some of the potential users and the ten ants.”

He said residents also voiced concerns that permitted users in the proposed rezone would not be compatible with their community to the south.

“And then, of course, they had con cerns about building size and proximity

neighborhood, and then impact on their neighborhood,” Newman said.

“So, as far as those two neighbor hood meetings are concerned a lot of the residents were concerned and not super supportive of the project in the beginning, but as things progressed, and as the applicant was able to meet with these residents, they were able to

a lot of the concerns that the res idents had.”

Newman said as the proposal current ly stands today, he’s only heard from one resident still opposed to the project.

“So, all of those concerns have basi cally been resolved by the applicant,” he said, adding that staff recommended approval.

Commissioner Anthony Bianchi asked and got confirmation that none of the trucks on the site would face any res idential neighborhood to the south or Campo Verde School to the east.

“They’re all internal to the buildings,” Newman said. “They won’t face those properties.”

Commissioner William Fay raised a question about potential truck traffic onto Germann Road, where homes are located.

“What’s to prevent truck traffic on Germann…and later Concord Street?” Fay asked.

Clint Emery, assistant Town Traffic Engineer, said there won’t be anything to prohibit the truck drivers from travel ing on Germann but that the road would have the capacity to handle it.

Land-use attorney Benjamin Tate stressed the outreach the developers did with the project to get consensus from residents.

“In fact, they’re now supporting it and the changes that we made as a result of that,” he said.

“The biggest change that’s necessi tating this project is the full dynamic change at Lindsay Road, which opens up a whole new world of possibilities for this site and really necessitates this project as an employment campus…in cluding a small amount of retail.”

A new traffic interchange opened in September at Lindsay Road along Loop 202 giving drivers more options to exit or enter the freeway.

Tate also updated the commission on significant changes to the project, in cluding placing a roundabout in the cen ter of four buildings close to Germann.

“The idea behind that again goes back to the traffic piece of this, which is try ing to direct all of our truck traffic to and from the signal at Lindsay,” he said. “This roundabout there …can accommodate semi trucks to then recirculate that traf fic back to the Lindsay signal and avoid going on to Germann.

“At the end of the day the whole idea behind the circulation pattern on this site is to push as much, if not all, of our truck traffic to, and from the signal on Lindsay road and using both the round about, and signage within the site and the circulation pattern the vast major ity of that truck traffic should circulate to and from a signal at Lindsay so that if any trucks are using that Concord drive way, it will be a very minimal number.”

Tate also addressed residents’ con cerns with potential users “and as it turns out, those are uses that are not de sirable to the developer as well.”

Through some collaboration, the de veloper has identified a list of land-uses for the proposed project as well as a list of “restricted uses that will not be per mitted,” Tate said.

He also pointed to the economic im pact Lindsay 202 would bring to the Town.

According to a study commissioned from Elliot D. Pollack & Co., the project would create 3,783 jobs with $165.4 million in annual wages and an annu al economic output of $696.1 million.

Lindsay 202 is expected to generate ap proximately $27.4 million in tax revenue during construction, including nearly $7 million in primary direct taxes to the Town, according to the study.

“This is ultimately the economic ben efits that the town would see with this project, which are pretty astronomical numbers in terms of the positive eco nomic benefit of projects that have,” Tate said. “This really will be a stunning proj ect at the end of the day.”

No one from the public spoke on the project. The commission voted 7-0 to recommend the council’s ap proval.

Gilbert Police form crisis response team

Ateam of Gilbert Police officers trained in dealing with indi viduals going through a men tal-health crisis is now on patrol in town, it was announced last week.

The Crisis Response Team is one of the first of its kind in the East Valley, comprising four officers and a ser geant skilled in crisis intervention, de-escalation tactics and crisis nego tiations.

“This team really focuses on margin alized and stigmatized communities,” crisis officer Calyssa Wilkerson said; “typically people that are struggling with mental health, behavioral health, substance abuse that maybe would be diverted through channels in the crim inal justice system, through hospitals. Through other things that aren’t really meeting the needs of the individual.”

The officers’ mission is to connect people in crisis to professional men

tal-health services, including partner ing with state and local agencies that offer services tailored to veterans and homeless individuals.

Officers need to have at least 40 hours of specialized training from clin

ical psychologists, doctors and men tal-health professionals in order to join the team.

What sets this team apart from the department’s patrol officers is in ad dition to their specialized training, the crisis officers will have the time and resources to guide people through the process of obtaining the services they need.

GILBERT BEHIND the Scenes

“We can sit there with them, talk with them, and we can come back,” said crisis officer Dakota Richter. “This is not just a one and done and maybe we’ll see you later. We are there for the long haul, so we really want to have that long -term solution, not just a quick fix.”

The chief made a pitch to Town Council during budget talks in May for the team in hopes of reducing arrests, overdoses, and use-of-force incidents.

As Gilbert continues to grow, so do calls that require a crisis-intervention response, according to the depart ment.

Department data showed that Gil bert cops in the first six months of 2021 responded to 480 suicide-at tempt calls and 112 mentally ill calls.

ed Community Bridges, which treats mental health and addictions. The department calls upon Community Bridges when dealing with individuals in crisis.

The treatment facility’s data also showed that Gilbert Police will re spond to over 600 mental-health pe titions and transport 240 people to treatment facilities annually.

Transporting patients eats into pa trol officers’ time on the street, which on average take one to one-and-a-half hours to complete the service call.

Before the implementation of the team, Gilbert Police had a part-time crisis intervention training coordina tor and a limited number of crisis of ficers who responded when available.

But due to the quantity of calls in volving people with mental illness or cognitive impairment, often they were being handled by officers with “far less training,” the department said.

According to Gilbert Police, data from communities with crisis response teams showed increases in public safe ty as well as a greater number of peo ple connected to appropriate levels of care.

Those communities also have wit nessed fewer overdoes, significant drops in the use of the emergency de partment, a reduction in inappropriate use of community resources, decreas es in arrests, lowered use-of-force in cidents and lower rates of suicide, ac cording to the department.

“This unit being a priority to our community really shows how much the community and the police depart ment cares about the most vulnera ble populations that we have and the people that are struggling in crisis and wanting to break out of the mold of po licing and find solutions that work for everybody,” Wilkerson said.

George Dottl, Taxpayer

Additionally, from April 1 to July 31 of the same year, Gilbert Police re sponded to 214 mental-health petition calls or involuntary commitment and took custody of 81 patients, report

People with questions or need to connect with the crisis response team, can email CRT@gilbertaz.gov or dial 9-1-1 for emergencies or text/call 9-88 to connect with the 24/7 National Suicide & Crisis Hotline.

One man’s opinion Edition #34

Bill Spence isn’t new to the Gilbert Town Council.

I actually paid for his advertisement in this very paper before I realized he’s the same Bill who in 2020, rubber-stamped for our current Mayor who loves apartments, big developers, and had 9 ethics complaints filed against her and at least one open meeting law violation and now I hear somebody is processing a civil rights action against her.

Bill isn’t new.... He’s the same guy just a few years later.

Jim Torguson, Chuck Bongiovanni and I will be supporting Bobbi Buchli and I hope you will do the same!!

Officers Calyssa Wilkerson and Dakota Richter are part of Gilbert police’s new crisis response team. (Town of Gilbert)

Council likely to OK Water Tower contract

and landscape.

Gilbert Council is expected on Tuesday to award a $109,600 contract to Willmeng Construc tion to help with the makeover of Wa ter Tower Plaza located downtown.

The aging 0.7-acre park, home to the town’s iconic water tower built in 1927, needs revamping, town officials say.

According to Rick Hooker, senior project manager, the contract award includes pre-construction services to provide design help before the final pricing for the project’s construction.

The town set aside a total budget of $5.9 million for the project, which in cludes $426,712 for design services.

Willmeng was one of five companies that submitted bids.

According to the town, the plaza since its debut in 2008 has become one of the premier open spaces in the heart of the Heritage District and at tracts thousands of visitors each year who go there for events or just to eat lunch.

Sharing space at the plaza is the Historic Adobe Pump House, formerly Gilbert’s first jail, a splash pad, water walls, a grassy area, seating and an in formal stage.

But, in the past decade the plaza is starting to show signs of wear and tear, Hooker said.

A 2020 an assessment of the plaza examined things such as the mechan ical water features, electrical systems

The assessment identified items that needed to be repaired or replaced because they’ve reached the end of their usable life, there were more maintenance-friendly options or there were advances in technology.

Council in January approved a rede sign, which took into account the pub lic’s feedback.

A two-week survey solicited over 3,000 responses from residents who wanted to see amenities, including a shaded picnic area, restrooms, grassy area for events., food truck connec tions and a shaded splash pad.

J2 Designs came up with two pro posed concepts for the plaza– one that is a step up from the original intent of the water tower with smaller areas for gathering and relaxation and the oth er on large events like concerts with more event seating and lawn space.

Both designs also incorporated flex ible hardscape, a splash pad and shade structures.

Because the drought is foremost in the public’s mind these days, officials pointed out that the Water Tower uses less water, 5,000 to 8,000 gallons compared with the average backyard swimming pool, which uses 10,000 gallons.

The water for the tower is recircu lated and sanitized and any improve ments will only increase water effi ciency, according to the town.

Other water-saving features in both concepts include less turf and the use

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Staff expected to do more public

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outreach as the designs evolve and anticipated to begin next summer and finish by summer 2024.

Water Tower Plaza is Gilbert is due to start getting a facelift. (Town of Gilbert)

Gilbert author turns heartbreak into comfort

BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor

nearly impossible to say chance alone was involved when Gilbert author Linda Jones found a broken seashell in Discovery Park last year.

It’s

Yes, as she noted, “It seemed so out of place on a dusty trail in the Arizona desert.”

And yes, it reminded her of her eldest son, Nathan Thomas Jones, who “loved seashells and collected them as a little boy.”

But it also seemed a symbol of her broken heart, which shattered on Jan. 22, 2014, when her son lost his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction a little more than 28 years after she brought him into the world.

Linda saw her discovery as something more.

Gilbert mom, 8 kids pin big hopes on video

GILBERT NEWS STAFF

Gilbertresident Katrena Besich and her eight children are BIG fans of singer-songwriter Michael Bublé –so much so that they’ve choreographed dance moves to his latest song “Higher.”

Besich’s video now ranks fifth in a national dance competition hosted by Bublé and dancer Derek Hough.

Now the single mom is asking for the public’s votes to put them in the No. 1 spot and win the grand prize – a trip to Los Angeles for four along with tickets to “Dancing With The Stars” finale on Nov. 21, tickets to Disneyland, a one-on-one face time with Bublé and a private dance

lesson with Hough.

The dance contest features multiple rounds of eliminations through Nov. 4 with a winner announced on Nov. 7. Each round lasts five days with the most recent round for the top 25 ending Saturday, Nov. 5.

People are allowed one vote a day and can view the video and cast their ballot at challenges.gigg.com/channel/michael buble/6318cf3da7e52b514b89ddbb#/ submission.

The Gilbert Sun News sat down last week to talk with mom Besich about their video.

Which two children are featured on the video?

The two children in the video are

Marlise and Hugo. My daughter who does dance and cheer is Carlin. She was originally going to make our video, but she struggles with anxiety and perfec tionism, so she gave up the day before the contest submissions were due.

Because our family loves Michael Bublé, my other children decided they wanted to submit a video so we could still have a chance of winning, meeting Michael Bublé, going to Disneyland and Carlin getting a private dance lesson with Derek Hough. We made a video of something that regularly happens at our house – dancing to Michael Bublé.

Part of the prize includes a private

dance lesson with Hough, which the family hopes to win and give to Carlin. Tell us a bit more about the budding dancer.

All of my girls have taken group dance lessons except Carlin, who attends Cooley Middle School. She did other activities, including gymnastics. When she signed up for electives last year, I was surprised when she signed up for dance. I didn’t think it would last. I was wrong. She talks about dance nearly every day.

She dances around the house whenever she has a chance or even at a store if fun music is playing. When we went to her first

Gilbert author Linda Jones lost her son Nathan Thomas Jones to drug and alcohol addiction eight years ago. She has now published a book about the tragedy. (Courtesy of Linda Jones)

Keno Hawker crossed the finish line on Octo ber 21, 2022, with fam ily by his side.

on July 24th, 1946 in Janesville, WI, Keno was the youngest of two boys in an active and loving family. An athlete like his broth er, Dennis, Keno was a multiple sports star in high school and college, lettering in football, basketball, and track.

studied business and economics at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and received an MBA from University of Wiscon sin – Madison. While in Madison, Keno dis covered a lifelong passion for economics and also for sailing, applying his economic philos ophies later in his public service and using his sailing skills throughout his life on boats from a 16 ft. Hobie-Cat to a 48 ft. Catalina.

Keno was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict. While serving his term in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, Keno married Marilyn Evans, with whom he had two chil dren, Ryan and Shelby. They raised their fam ily in Mesa, AZ, where Keno started a suc cessful asphalt products, sales and application business.

Keno loved life in Arizona. From owning cabins at Hawley Lake, Rainbow Lake and Haigler Creek, to becoming an instrument-rat ed pilot and flying his airplanes out of Falcon Field, racing his 400 Yamaha motorcycle in the desert, hiking to the top of Four Peaks and Weavers Needle, or just enjoying time on his family’s Apache Lake houseboat.

Keno’s athleticism continued throughout his lifetime. He competed the Alcatraz tri athlon twice. At age 39, he bicycled from San Diego, CA to Jacksonville, FL. Keno was also an accomplished juggler and uni

cycle rider. He enjoyed scuba diving around the world.

With the success of Keno’s business came the opportunity to serve his community, a time when he also met his wife, Mary Jo Vecchiarelli. Keno served in leader ship positions with Mesa Baseline Rotary Club, Mesa HoHoKams, Mesa Chamber of Commerce, ten years as a Mesa City Councilmember, and eight years as Mayor of Mesa from 2000-2008. As Mayor, Keno framed the path for a generation of sustain able growth in Mesa and the East Valley, including the expansion of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport, the 2002 Mesa General Plan, and passage of Prop. 400, which to gether created long-term infrastructure for transportation, mass transit, job creation, and economic growth.

Keno first met Penny when she presented a zoning case before the City of Mesa 33 years ago. Keno voted against the case but would later marry and find lasting love with the pre senter. During his active retirement, Keno en joyed traveling the world with Penny, spend ing time with grandchildren and gardening at home in Paradise Valley, Flagstaff, or their cabin in Young, AZ.

Keno is survived by his wife Penny Wolfswinkel Hawker of Paradise Valley, AZ, son Ryan Hawker (Renee Fry) of Quin cy, MA, daughter Shelby Hawker of Brook lyn, NY, stepchildren Erin Kolb (Rick), Clifford Jenkins (Lauren), and grandsons Beto Brea, Liam Hawker, Dillan and Wy lan Kolb. He was preceded in death by his father, Earle, mother, Genella, and brother, Dennis.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sun day, November 13th at 1:00pm, at the Mesa Arts Center Virginia G Piper Theater. Please consider making a donation in Keno’s honor to Mesa United Way.

school recital, she had parts in her dance numbers where she was highlighted.

When Carlin tried out for dance for this school year, she was able to make the advanced dance class. Because she loves dancing so much, she also tried out for cheer. She not only made the squad but is one of two cheer captains. Dancing was a hidden talent that she is just discovering.

Although all my girls love to dance, a private dance lesson with an amazing dance professional would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for Carlin. Attending the DWTS finale would be an amazing side perk.

The prize provides four people with airfare and tickets. Which members of the family will go if you win.

If we won, I would ask if we could trade the four airfare tickets for four more Dis neyland tickets. Then we would drive. I plan on crossing that bridge if we get there. Michael Bublé is big on family and I don’t think that accommodations would cost more (probably less) so I’m hoping they would agree.

If it came down to it, I would not leave any children who wanted to go to Disn eyland at home. The prize also includes hotel accommodations. Even if no adjust ments are made to the prize package, a family trip to Disneyland will be much

more affordable with the prizes included in this contest.

What’s so appealing about Bublés’ music?

After I had my fifth baby, I was searching for something to help bring more happiness into my life. Raising five young children – really, any number – is hard.

That was when I found Michael Bublé. I love how happy and fun his music was. It’s also pretty timeless and classy. His orchestra adds an incredible touch. His voice and talent is amazing.

My kids fell in love. I started going to his concerts. My kids wanted to go too and so I have taken all but one of them, my 15-year-old son who didn’t want to go. He is on the Spectrum.

When Michael Bublé released one of his newer songs in March, “I’ll Never Not Love You,” and posted a dance chal lenge for that song on social media, my kids wanted to do it. The song really res onated with us as it is about being hurt and then finding a new, lasting love.

The kids wanted to post the video on social media so Michael Bublé could see it. We made a public Instagram account, thecrazyeightz, so he could have the chance to see it. He did and even “liked” our video.

Keno Lynn Hawker

Katrena Besich and her eight kids are hoping her Gilbert neighbors and others will vote for the video her family produced for an online voting contest sponsored by singer-songwriter Michael Bublé. (Courtesy Katrena Besich)

“It was then that I felt Nathan telling me to write a book,” said the 11-year Gilbert mother of three other sons.

And now she has published that book. “Love Soars the Skies, A Mother’s Quest to Reach Her Son,”

Not long before Nathan’s death, Jones quit her legal assistant job to market her series of children’s books full-time.

Her four-book “Alphabet Anatomy” series, she explained, “creatively personi fies the alphabet letters according to their unique graphic features.

“The first two books present a fun, easy rhyme for each alphabet letter that facil itates visual and auditory recall of each letter’s name, sound, shape, and how to write it. It’s a playful, effective way for kids to learn because rhyming is a form of play.”

But it wasn’t long after she started to market the series full time that “my world came crashing down.”

“I never intended to write a book about losing my son,’ she said. “It shattered everything I ever believed in and almost

destroyed me.”

That broken seashell was among sev eral “signs and synchronicities” she saw coming from Nathan that “became more spectacular and supernatural.”

So she wrote the “Love Soars” to “give people hope that they truly can connect with their loved ones.”

“My book is a memoir about the heart breaking devastation of losing my son and my steadfast belief in the supreme, unyielding power of a mother’s love to soar past the stars and reach him in the place he now resides,” Jones said.

“I want readers to know there’s an invisible world that we cannot see with our mere five senses because earth – the heart planet – is tuned into one dial and one frequency. Yet that world really does exist and love is the abiding force that con nects them.”

She recalls how she “implored the uni verse to mercifully expand and lower its invisible, life-sustaining bridge to connect heaven and earth” and believes the two

worlds “merge together and prove that LOVE really does soar the skies.”

“I have to believe that all of us are capable of sharpening our vision,” she writes at one point, “so we may glimpse the wonders of eternity and fathom, in all its powerful glory, the mighty bond of love that forever weaves and sustains it.”

Her motto for writing has always been “Say what’s in your heart and touch someone else’s.”

And while she recommends the book especially for “grieving mothers because there is no greater sorrow than losing a child,” she also hopes “anyone who has lost a loved one can benefit by reading it.”

Writing the book wasn’t exactly thera peutic for Jones, who recalled that the pro cess “was brutal for me, having to relive the parts about losing Nathan and baring the most intricate portions of my soul.

“I had a lot of anxiety about it, and I’m so relieved it’s done,” she said. “I feel better now that I’ve put it out into the world and I believe it will help those whom it is meant

to help.”

Her book is available at amazon. com and many other online book plat forms.

Come for the treats, stay for the scares

BY KEN SAIN GSN Staff Writer

Business is going so well for Spooky’s Swirls that the owners have to close shop for four days just to prepare for the three days they are open.

“Have you ever been to a place like that?” asked chef and co-owner Lola Forbes. “We work four times longer than we’re open, and somehow it still works.”

In addition to a gluten-free bak ery, Spooky’s Swirls is also home to a museum filled with props from wellknown horror films.

“This theme came about a couple of different ways,” said Chris Szydlowski, who is also a chef and co-owner. “We had been food trucking for a while, and we wanted to open up a brick-andmortar bakery. I have also been collect ing props for about 25 years now.

“We had a couple of other owners who are prop collectors, who wanted their own museum. I said, we want our own bakery. So we decided to combine the two.”

The combination of tricks and treats worked. And yes, they do see an uptick in business just before Halloween.

“We didn’t know how it was gonna work out,” Szydlowski said. “But, you know, we’d like throw it at the wall and see what sticks. And we not only were embraced by the horror community, but especially the gluten free commu nity.”

She said that may be the ultimate key to their success. Szydlowski said there was a need for a gluten-free bakery of fering desserts in Chandler and they filled it.

The highlight of the museum before Halloween was the original Sam cos tume from the film, “Trick R Treat.”

That, however, was due to be replaced after Halloween.

One of the fan favorites, Szydlowski said, is their collection of the wardrobe from the 1988 classic “Beetlejuice,” which are screen matched (the top of the line for collectors).

But there are plenty of other scares in the collection, including a ghost from “Ghostbusters,” Freddy Krueger’s

face from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and half of the “Swamp Thing.”

Parts of the collection are swapped out and replaced by other items. And the desserts also change.

“Right now the movies that are fea tured in the bakery are “Halloween Ends,” “Trick R Treat,” Forbes said. “We just finished a big round with “Hocus Pocus” and ghostface is always … you

know the “Scream” killer is always su per popular.”

Szydlowski said they opened the bakery in 2019 and that most of the collection in the museum is hers.

She said horror films are so popular because people want that escape.

“It gives people an opportunity to

Lola Forbes, chef and co-owner of Spooky’s Swirls Gluten Free Bakery in Chandler shows off some Halloween fare in the Horror and SciFi Prop Preservation Association Museum that is also part of the business. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

see all this terribleness and kind of be able to be a voyeur perhaps,” Szy dlowski said. “That psychologically, I think it helps a lot of people.

“I think embracing it was a way for me to handle psychologically, maybe to deal with some of my personal de mons.”

They sell so many treats on week ends that they’ve been known to run out of some of their products on Sat urdays. They no longer take custom orders.

“It’s just her and I,” Szydlowski said.

Forbes was featured on the Food Network during Season 8 of its Hal loween Baking Championships. That season is currently airing so the final result is not known.

“Even if you’re crazy and you’re not in the mood for a chocolate chip cook ie, you’re still going to have a good time when you come in here,” Forbes said.

Gilbert,

U.S.

Mark U.S.

Ramos, Javier Governor Hobbs, Katie Secretary of State Fontes, Adrian

Arizona Attorney General Mayes, Kris State Treasurer Quezada, Martin

Supt

Instruction Hoffman, Kathy Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kuby, Lauren Kennedy, Sandra County Attorney Gunnigle, Julie

Central Arizona Water Conservation District Arboleda, Alexandra Aguilar, Ylenia Graff, Benjamin Pederson, Jim

State Representative Reese, Brandy

Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) Humphreys, Jill Higley Unified School Board Wade, Amanda

Chandler Unified School Board Serrano, Patti

Maricopa City College At-Large Butler, Kelli

Baked goods this time of

at Spooky’s Swirls Gluten Free Bakery in Chandler reflect a Halloween theme. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

ACP’s Tierney swims through anxiety disorder

BY MADISON THACKER Cronkite News

At Kerry Croswhite Aquatic Cen ter, members of Arizona College Prep High School’s swim team jump in the pool and start their warmups on the kick boards.

Coach Kristine Nelson paces along side the lanes as freshman standout Ashlyn Tierney warms up with dol phin kicks and backstroke.

Tierney has already broken the 100yard backstroke record for the school and hopes, along with the rest of her team, to bring home the first Division III swimming and diving champion ship for the Knights.

Just two years ago, however, Tierney wasn’t breaking records or chasing a title. She was in a wheelchair with a numbness in her legs and unable to walk.

She had been sitting in class when she started to feel sick and within min utes, Tierney went from being able to walk to not being able to feel from the waist down. Tierney’s parents im mediately took her to the emergency room.

“The doctors did so many tests. And said, ‘You should be able to walk up,’ because there’s nothing wrong with my nervous system or my spinal cord,” Tierney said. “Three months kind of goes by … from being in a wheelchair to a walker.”

Tierney was diagnosed with con version disorder, the brain’s physical manifestation of anxiety. She also has vasovagal syncope disorder, which causes her to lose consciousness and faint.

“I couldn’t feel my anxiety or even recognize it to see that it was there,” Tierney said. “So my body kind of was like, ‘OK, you’re not gonna listen to me,

I’ll make you listen.’ And kind of just shut everything off.”

Tierney has been dealing with vaso vagal syncope disorder since she was 3 and is able to recognize when she is about to faint. Twice, she was in the pool when she began to feel woozy.

“It’s scary just going unconscious in the water. I’ve kind of learned how to deal with it and to recognize that it’s happening,” Tierney said. “I get to the wall and let someone know, my team mates are aware of it so it just kind of puts me at ease a bit more.”

Her teammates try to look out for

her even while they are swimming, heads down in the pool.

“I’m a certified lifeguard. It’s my job, I look for these things,” said teammate Ethan Ruhl. “When I see her hit the wall, I look up to check and make sure she’s all right. She’s been an amazing teammate so far, she’s really excelled in everything that this team is about.”

Three months after Tierney’s legs went numb, the use of her legs re turned.

Since then, Tierney has found healthy outlets to help deal with her anxiety. She finds fidgeting with jew

elry and listening to music helps her stay centered and calm.

While Tierney is eager to win and is chasing her goals, conversion disorder has taught her to let go of the pressure she puts on herself.

“Something that I learned through the conversion disorder is so many things are taken for granted so easily,” Tierney said. “So getting the change in perspective, my validation, my happi ness isn’t validated through winning or from a good race time.”

Tierney’s experience with conver sion disorder and her grit in the pool inspires her teammates to give it their all despite their own circumstances.

“I think she is such an inspiration to all swimmers because even though I’m older than her, she’s inspired me so much to push myself,” said Grace Burns, a junior swimmer. “She’s one of the best swimmers on the team. And even though she is one of the best swimmers, she has struggled in her own way.”

Tierney’s work ethic in the pool helps her lead the team.

“It’s great when you have a freshman that comes in and they just complete ly integrate themselves into the team,” Nelson said. “She’s always smiling, al ways positive, very consistent. I think she’s humble. So it’s just really... she’s already a great role model for every body.”

After learning how to walk again, Tierney’s strength is contagious.

“Having heard her story, I think there was an overcoming factor be cause she had to be in a wheelchair for a while, but any 12-year-old that goes through that has something that has to be inside of them,” Nelson said. “That’s strong. I think now as a 14-year-old, I think she’s got that inner strength, and it transfers over to other people.”

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Ashlyn Tierney’s poster example of determination is added motivation for her Arizona Col lege Prep swim team. “She’s one of the best swimmers on the team,” said teammate Grace Burns. (Brooklyn Hall/Cronkite News)

HD SOUTH offers array of programs next month

GILBERT NEWS STAFF

HDSOUTH will offer two exhibits and a series of informative pro grams for people of all ages in November.

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

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

Gilbert Museum is a repository of arti facts chronicling the town’s rich history, featuring newly remodeled exhibits and interactive displays.

Many of the educational programs are free, while some come with a small

charge to cover materials. Information: hdsouth.org/calendar. Unless other wise noted, registration is required for the one-time events at hdsouth.org and events are free.

9th annual league show

On display in Gallery 4, through Nov. 26 is artwork created by members of the highly acclaimed Gilbert Visual Art League.

“This showcase of gorgeous pieces highlights an assortment of mediums such as acrylic, pencil, oil, mixed media, and much more,” museum Executive Director Denise Lopez said.

Member show admission is included in the price of museum admission. For more information visitgval.org.

Vintage camera exhibit

On display through Dec. 12 are vin

Southeast Regional Library sets program

GILBERT NEWS STAFF

Regional Library offers free programs for people of all ages. To register: 602-652-3000 or mcldaz.org/southeast.

Southeast

Southeast Regional Library is located at 775 N. Greenfield Rd., Gilbert, and is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Sat urday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free but registration is required at mcldaz.org/southeast or 602-652-3000.

Kid’s STEAM Lab

6-6:45 p.m. Nov. 1

Love a good experiment? Enjoy fig

uring out how things work? Whether you’re an amateur or an expert, STEAM Lab will engage you in science, tech nology, engineering, art, and math topics that are fun for anyone.

One-on-One Digital Assistance

10-10:45 a.m. Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

People who need assistance learning how to download digital eBooks or audio books to their reading device can get personalized assistance with a library professional. Assistance is limited to questions about digital books and ser vices and will not address specific tech nical questions about each device. People should come with a knowledge of the basic use of their eReader device, such as

accessing device settings, accessing WIFI, how to login using device keyboard, etc. Class is limited to three people per ses sion.

Author Talk 2-3 p.m. Nov. 2

Local author Ron Parker discusses his book “Chasing Centuries,” which explores the depth and duration of human/agave co-evolution across the desert southwest, and discovers unusual agaves apparently associated with archaeological sites long since abandoned by residents of extinct ancient cultures. Adults.

I’m New Too! 6-6:45 p.m. Nov. 2.

An Arizona native, and an Arizona will discuss how to meet new people and places to visit and fun things to do in Ari zona. Adults.

Clothespin Wreath

2-3 p.m. Nov. 3

Create beautiful autumn themed wreaths with clothespins and other fall decorations. Registration required. Adults.

Gilbert Recycles

5:30-6:30 p.m. Nov. 3

The Town of Gilbert Environmental Ser vices team will teach people how to use recyclables while decluttering their home

Titled “Mysterious Laundry” by artist Laurie Beckman, this painting is one of 99 original works of art on display at the Gilbert Visual Arts League’s ninth annual show at HD South. (GVAL)

tage cameras and photography equip ment from HD SOUTH’s private col lection. Cameras used to be bulky, and unwieldy, but were filled with character and this exhibit “is a remembrance of that time, and it aims to spread the love for old school photography to all who view it,” Lopez said, adding this is the first time the artifacts are on display together.

Gratitude, Thanks, And Yoga

Nov. 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

This yoga class will be offered in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere allowing each participant to practice at their own pace and ability. No previous yoga experience is necessary. Led by instructor Rochelle Beasley, a certified yoga Instructor, the class will be a blend of centering, grounding, breathing tech niques (pranayama), poses (asanas) and guided meditation and relaxation. Bring a mat. Ages 16 and up.

STEM Saturday

Nov. 5, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

Local college professors and teachers will lead participants through science experiments that will enable partici pants to create their own coffee filter flowers safely. All supplies will be pro vided. Ages 6 and up.

History of Tequila—Part 1

Nov. 10, 7-8 p.m.

Tequila conocedora Luann Lennox will discuss the history of tequila,

including its historical significance to the Valley as well as how it is made. Part 2 is in December. Luann will dis cuss the sustainability of the tequila process and how modern methods have affected the way of life of the Jimador. Tastings will be provided. Age 21 and over.

Movie Night

Nov. 15, 6-8:30 p.m.

Each month HD SOUTH with be showing a different movie in the Neely Community Room. Snacks and refresh ments will be available for purchase. Movies are rated from G to PG. This month’s movie will be “Lilo and Stitch.” Ages 5 and up. Attendance is limited to 50.

Art Workshop with GVAL

Nov. 19, 10:30 a.m-noon.

Join HD SOUTH and the Gilbert Visual Arts League for this fun and interactive art workshop. Casey Harris will teach new artistic techniques and partici pants can create their own collages. All supplies will be provided. Ages 10 and up.

Author Visit and Book Signing

Nov. 29, 6:30-8 p.m. Gilbert author Jason Cvancara will have copies of his latest book, The 918 Files, and will sign them as well. The 918 Files is centered in Gilbert and has many historical ref erences dating back to the early days of Gilbert.

Fall In Love

Carts

to help celebrate America Recycles Day. Participants will get a better under standing of the importance of reuse, reduction and recycling and get some earth friendly swag. Adults.

De-Stress with Doggos

2-3 p.m. Nov. 4

Decompress from holiday stress with therapy dogs from Paws 2 Read. Adults.

Family Movie Party

10 a.m.-noon Nov. 5

Bring blankets and pillows to make a comfy seating spot for “Matilda” (rated PG for “adult themes”). All ages.

Horror Book Club

6-7 p.m. Nov. 7

Join the horror book group to discuss “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Adults.

NaNoWriMo Write-In

3:30-4:30 p.m. Nov. 1, 8, 15, 29

The goal: write 50,000 words in one month. Come to a weekly NaNoWriMo write-in to compete in word wars and gather around like-minded writers all aiming to achieve this goal. Adults, Teens.

Scrapbooking for Adults

2-3 p.m. Nov. 9

Make a scrapbook with our Cricut machine. All materials supplied. Adults.

Kid’s Craft Club 4-5 p.m. Nov. 9

STEAM Lab will engage kids in sci ence, technology, engineering, art, and math topics that are fun. School-age.

Teen Craft Night

6-7 p.m. Nov. 9

An evening of crafting with a calming atmosphere. All supplies included, craft varies by month. Teens.

History of Gilbert AZ 2-3 p.m. Nov. 14

Learn about the history of Gilbert with a lecture given by the Gilbert Historical Museum. Adults.

HealthRhythms Drum Circle

6:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 14

Drumming reduces stress, strengthens the immune system, and relieves tension and anxiety. HealthRHYTHMS drum cir cles use drumming as a tool for wellness, fun, and relaxation. All instruments are provided and no musical experience is necessary. Adults.

Digital Assistance: From OverDrive to Libby

2-3 p.m. Nov. 15

In early 2023, Overdrive will be fully discontinued and replaced by Libby. Bring your device for help downloading and using Libby. Participants must be familiar with the basic operation of their device, as well as having your passwords and library card number/PIN. Adults.

Historical Fiction Book Club

2-3 p.m. Nov. 15

The book for November will be “Resis tance Women” by Jennifer Chiaverini. Mildred, Arvid, and their friends resolve to resist Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party until one day their resistance cell is exposed. Adults.

Pajama Party Storytime

6:15-6:45 p.m. Nov. 21

Wear your favorite pajamas and join us in person for stories, songs, rhymes and fun. Only register the guardian or care giver who will be attending the event. Please do NOT individually register your child/children. There is room for a max imum of five individuals per family group. All ages.

Bookends Adult Fiction Discussion Group

10:30 a.m.-noon Nov. 22

Adults of all ages read and discuss fic tion titles. The title for this month is “The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot” by Mari anne Cronin. Adults.

Bad Art

2:30-3:30 p.m. Nov. 22

Make wonderfully bad art – the worse the better. All ages are welcome. The winner receives a terribly hideous trophy. All ages.

Neuropathy Is Often Misdiagnosed

Muscle cramping, difficulty walk ing, burning, tingling, numbness, and pain in the legs or feet are symptoms of neuropathy people live with every day,” explains Dr. Kerry Zang, podi atric medical director of CIC Foot & Ankle. “The thing is PAD has very sim ilar symptoms. So similar that in many cases, people are told it’s neuropathy when it may not be.”

Medicine is often prescribed. “Pills aren’t a cure, they just suppress the symptoms,” says Zang. “If neuropathy

isn’t causing the symptoms, the real problem could get worse.”

It’s important to determine if PAD (pe ripheral artery disease) is causing the pain or making it worse. PAD is plaque in the arteries which causes poor circulation.

“Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your feet which they need to stay healthy,” explains Zang, “When your feet aren’t get ting an adequate supply, they start send ing signals.” Those signals include pain, burning, tingling, numbness, or cramping.

The good news is PAD is treatable in

an office setting. Dr. Joel Rainwater, MD endovascular specialist explains, “We go into the bloodstream to find the blockage using imaging guidance. Then with small tools that can go into the smallest arteries, remove the blockage, and restore blood flow.”

Getting the proper diagnosis is the first step to getting better. “It’s all about find ing out what’s causing the problem,” says Zang. “When your feet burn, tingle, or feel numb, it’s your body telling you it needs help, and you should listen.”

If your neuropathy medication is not working, your symptoms may be an indication of another condition.

Stiff Joints Interfere with Everyday Living

One in 40 people over the age of 50 may find themselves limiting their activi ty because of a condition called hallux rigidus. It’s a degenerative disease of the big toe joint. As it progresses, the pain in the joint increases and motion decreases.

you from doing your favorite activity?

Do you have burning or tingling in your legs or feet?

Do you have leg or foot cramps with activity or at rest?

“People don’t realize the impact their big toe has on their life. It plays a role in balance, shock absorption, and forward movement as you walk,” explains Dr. Daniel Schulman, of CiC Foot & Ankle. “When the joint is stiff, it’s not able to bend and rotate properly, and it changes how we walk without us even realizing it.” These changes can lead to back or knee pain as well as discomfort in other parts of the foot.

“It always concerns me to hear that someone is playing less golf or stay ing home because they’re in pain,” says Schulman. “There are ways to help.”

The goal is to protect your feet from the repetitive stress of everyday activities. “We have several treatment options to not only relieve foot pain but help im prove how your feet work. If we can help your feet function better, in many cases the need for surgery can be avoided or at the very least postponed,” says Schul man. “Patients are always happy to learn about ways to alleviate their symptoms.”

For golfers, a stiff big toe can make their game suffer.

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Mesa, AZ – When it

comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin.

The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

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

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

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

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

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until October 31st 2022. Call (480) 274 3157 to make an appointment

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

so

leave a

we will get back to you as soon as possible.

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

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

Depending on your coverage,

peripheral neuropathy

cost almost nothing –

be absolutely free.

With JAN D’ATRI GetOut Contributor

This delectable dessert is an easy-to-make keeper

Ihad to lick my fingers before writing this column. I hate sticky keyboards.

I had to pry myself away from a cas serole dish that was bubbling with the most delicious, flavors-of-the-fall dessert I’ve had in a very long time. This caramel pecan pear pudding is a keeper. In fact, the minute I send this column off, I think I’ll make anoth er batch!

That pretty much sums up how I love this dish. I promise you, next week I will have a treat for you with pumpkin spice, which, I know is a favorite for many of you this time of the year. But, frankly, I’m a little burned out on the pumpkin spice anything-every thing-everywhere-at all times season right about now.

Let’s give pears some love! Actually, once this delectable dessert has baked up, the pears sort of tastes like caramelized apples, so if you’re not a pear lover like me, don’t bypass this one. It’s worth it.

I’m sharing this amazing dish with you for several reasons. It’s super scrumptious, can be made ahead and warmed when you want to serve it, and best of all, it’s simple to make.

Now that I’ve given you all the reasons to whip up a batch of harvest heaven, go grab that casserole dish, some D’Anjou, Bartlett or Bosc pears, and get baking. It’s winner, winner, dessert for dinner.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk

4 medium pears, peeled and cut into 1/2inch cubes

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for top ping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to at 375 degrees.

2. In a dry skillet over medium high heat, cook the pecans, stirring constantly, until they are toasted. Do not burn the pecans. (They continue to cook after removed from the heat.) Set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt, mixing well to combine.

3. Pour in the milk and whisk until mixture is well combined.

4. Stir in the pear cubes and toasted pecans, mixing well.

5. Spoon the mixture into an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish or 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

6. Bring the water to a boil. In a medium bowl, add the boiling water, brown sugar and butter, mixing well to dissolve the brown sugar, making caramel syrup.

7. Pour the syrup over the pear mixture.

8. Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes. (If casserole dish looks full, place a sheet pan under the dish so the syrup doesn’t spill over into the oven.)

9. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream. Caramel Pear Pudding can be made ahead and warmed just before serving. Makes about 8 servings.

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

Pros and Cons of Remote Work

During the pandemic, remote work became necessary for many who had never considered it before. While some corporations are mandating returns to the office, others are now more willing to hire people to work remotely, especially in a tight job market where qualified employees are scarce.

Data scientists at Ladders have been tracking remote work since the pandemic began, according to Forbes. com. They project that 25% of all professional jobs in North America will be remote by the end of 2022 and that number will increase in 2023.

Remote work is not for everyone or for every job, but some have found it creates a better work environment and they accomplish more.

PROS OF REMOTE WORK

The primary advantage to remote work that many adults cite is increased productivity.

We Work Remotely cited a sur vey that 86% of adults said they feel most productive when working alone and that 65% of those surveyed thought a remote work schedule would increase their productivity.

Researchers for the Harvard Business Review found that remote workers usually made more of an effort to have meaningful conversations with each other rather than just

engage in small talk.

Other advantages to remote work are:

• You don’t have to relocate.

• You save money and time on commutes.

• You save money on the costs of working, from lunches to parking.

• You can create your own work environment and control the noise levels.

• You can engage in more phys ical activity at home.

• You are more independent.

• You’ll become a communica tions expert.

CONS OF REMOTE WORK

However, even with all the advantages, it isn’t all roses. Those who have been working from home share some warn ings about the downsides and point out that it isn’t for every

one. Some disadvantages to remote work are:

• It can be lonely.

• There is a tendency to over work and get burned out. The lines between work and family life blur and the workday can be never-ending.

• You lose the water cooler moments that can inspire cre ativity when your co-workers give you ideas during impromptu discussions.

• Your work may not be seen as often, leading employers to pass you over for promotions or plumb job assignments.

• You may not have full access to the technological or other resources of the workplace.

MAKING THE BEST OF A REMOTE JOB

Once you land the remote

job, make sure you’ve created an environment that works for you. Will you be productive in your pajamas or do you need to create a separate office in your home where you won’t be disturbed?

Monster.com gives the fol lowing tips for working from home:

• Communicate often and cre ate as many opportunities for face time as you can.

• Stay professional. Don’t have your work calls interrupted by barking dogs, screaming kids or ringing doorbells.

• Be responsive. Return calls and reply to emails quickly so no one thinks you are slack ing. Be available for meetings and collaborations.

• Set specific times each day or week to check in with your colleagues.

Now Hiring in Mesa!

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Public Notices

STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF LUNA SIXTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT IN THE CHILDREN’S COURT In the Matter of the Adoption Petition of Leann Moreno and Raul Fernando Moreno, Petitioners. No. D-619-SA-2022-00002 Judge Jarod K. Hofacket Notice of Petition for adoption The state of New Mexico to the following named or designated persons: Mario Vonne Newton Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Adoption has been filed by Petitioners in the aboveentitled cause on April 7, 2022. Please be further notified that, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 32A527(E), you are required to file a written response to the Petition within twenty (20) days from the date of this notice if you intend to contest the request for an adoption decree of the prospective adoptee with the Sixth Judicial District Court, 855 S. Platinum, Deming, NM 88030. Failure to file a written response with the court shall be treated as a default and your consent to the adoption shall not be required. The Petitioner’s counsel is Benting Law Firm, LLC, 115 E. Ash St. Deming, NM 88030, (575) 546-6300. WITNESS my hand and seal of the District Court of Luna County, New Mexico, on this 19th day of September, 2022. Clerk of the District Court By Miriam Davila, Deputy. Pub-lished: East Valley Tribune, Oct 16, 23, 30, 2022 / 49726

No : 268266 Firm Name: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, CITY OF SAN JOSE b Address: 200 EAST SANTA CLARA STREET, 16TH FLOOR City: SAN JOSE State: CA Zip: 9511 3 Telephone: (408) 535 1900 Fax: (408) 998 3131 E Mail Address: cao main@san joseca gov 2 Employee in Need of Protec tion Full Name: AMBER ZENK 3 Respondent (Person From Whom Protection Is Sought) Full Name: WILLIAM GARB ETT 4 Notice of Hearing A court hearing is scheduled on the request for restraining orders against the respondent Hearin g Date 11/30/2021 Time: 9:00AM Dept : 4 5 Temporary Restraining Orders a Temporary Restraining Orders for personal con duct and stay away orders as requested in Form WV 100, Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, are: (1) All GRANTED until the court hearing 6 Service of Documents by the Petitioner At least five days before the hearing, someone age 18 or older not you or anyone to be protected must personally give (serve) a court file stamped copy of this Form WV 109, Notice of Court Hearing, to the respondent along with a copy of all the forms indicated below: a WV 100, Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (filestamped) b WV 110, Temporary Restraining Order (file stamped) IF GRAN TED c WV 120, Response to Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (blank form) d WV 120 INFO, How Can I Respond to a Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders? e WV 250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail (blan k form) Date: 09/20/2021 /S ERIK S JOHNSON To the Petitioner The court cannot make the restraining orders after the court hearing unless the respondent has been personally given (served) a copy of your request and any temporary orders To show that the respondent has been served, the person who served the forms must fill out a proof of service form Form WV 200, Proof of Personal Service, may be used For information about service, read Form WV 200 NFO, What Is "Proof of Person al Service"? If you are unable to serve the respondent in time, you may ask for more time to serve the documents Use Form WV 115, Request to Continue Court Hearing and to Reissue Temporary Restraining Order To the Respondent If you wan t to respond to the request for orders in writing, file Form WV 120, Response to Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, and have someone age 18 or older not you or anyone to be protect mail it to the petitioner The person who mailed the form must fill out a proof of service form FormWV 250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail, may be used File th e completed form with the court before the hearing and bring a copy with you to the court hearing Whether or not you re spond in writing, go to the hearing if you want the judge to hear from you before making an order You may tell the judge why you agree or disagree with the orders requested You may bring witnesses or other evidence At the hearing, the judge may make restraining orders against you that could last up to three years and may order you to sell or turn in any firearms that you own or possess Request for Accommodations Assistive listening systems, computer assisted real time captioning, or sign lan g u ag e in ter p r eter s er v ices ar e av ailab le if y o u as k at leas t f iv e d ay s b ef o r e th e h ear in g Co n tact th e cler k s o f f ice o r g o t o www courts ca gov/formsfor Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities and Response (Form MC 410) (Civ Code, § 54 8) ORDER ON REQUEST TO CONTINUE HEARING Case Number: 21CH010281 Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA 191 N FIRST STREET, SAN JOSE, CA 95113, DOWNTOWN SUPERIOR COURT 1 Peti tioner (Employer) CITY OF SAN JOSE 2 Respondent WILLIAM GARBETT 3 Next Court Date b The request to resched ule the court date is granted Your court date is rescheduled for the day and time listed below See 4 8 for more information New Court Date 12/06/2022 Time: 9AM 4 Temporary Restraining Order b A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is still i n full force and effect (1) The court extends the TRO previously granted on 09/20/2021 It now expires on (at the end of the court date listed in 3b) Warning and Notice to the Respondent If 4b is checked, a temporary restraining order has been issue d against you You must follow the orders until they expire 5 Reason Court Date is Rescheduled c The court reschedules th e court date on its own motion 6 Serving (Giving) Order to the Other Party The request to reschedule was made by the: a Peti tioner (Employer) (3) You must serve the respondent with a copy of this order This can be done by mail You must serve by: 10/01/2022 7 No Fee to Serve (Notify) Respondent NOT ORDERED Date: 09/06/2022 /S/ Sunil R Kulkarni, Judicial Of ficer Clerk's Certificate I certify that this Order on Request to Continue Hearing (Temporary Restraining Order) (CLETS TWH)(form WV 116) is a true and correct copy of the original on file in the court Date: 09/06/2022 M SORUM, Clerk o f t h e C o u r t O R D E R F O R S E R V I C E B Y P U B L I C A T I O N S U P E R I O R C O U R T O F C A L I F O R N I A C O U N T Y O F S A N TA CLARA Case No 21CH010281 CITY OF SAN JOSE, a charter city, Petitioner v WILLIAM GARBETT, an individual, Re spondent Date: September 6, 2022 Time: 9 00 a m Dep't: 4 Exempt from Filing Fees (Govt Code § 6103) After reviewing the Application for Order for Service by Publication of Petitioner City of San José, and it satisfactorily appearing therefrom that Petitioner has made reasonably diligent efforts to personally serve Respondent, WILLIAM GARBETT, and that Respond ent is a necessary party to this action and is both aware of this action and the contents of the Petition; and IT FURTHER AP PEARING that a Notice of Court Hearing (WV 109) (the "Notice") has been filed in the above entitled Court action, said Re spondent cannot, with reasonable diligence, be served in any other manner specified by sections 415 10 through 415 40 of the Code of Civil Procedure

Respondent WILLIAM GARB ETT

HEREBY ORDERED that service of the Notice be made

in the County of Maricopa, Ari zona,

in the County of Santa Clara, Cali

this action, and that publica

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified firm or team to act as the Job Order Contractor for the following:

WATER & WASTEWATER PLANT FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

JOB ORDER CONTRACT

PROJECT NO. JOC-W23

The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Contractor to provide Job Order Water & Wastewater Plant Facilities Construction Services. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the require ments detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project.

This Job Order Contract is for a broad range of maintenance, repair, mi nor and major construction work pertaining to water and water reclama tion plant or related facilities construction projects. The work is required in support of the City of Mesa’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and other City department requests. This will be an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract and will include a wide variety of individual construction tasks.

The initial term of the JOC contract will be for three (3) years and may be renewed up to two (2) additional one-year terms. The maximum con struction contract value for an individual job order issued under this con tract will be $4,000,000, or the maximum permissible limit authorized by the City at the time the job order is executed. Pricing shall be negotiated fee. Utility improvement projects anticipated to be completed under this JOC contract are based on, but not limited to the current 5-year Capital Improvement Program. Information on the Capital Improvement Pro gram may be viewed at Capital Improvement Programs City of Mesa (mesaaz.gov).

Renewal of the contract will be based on the successful performance by the JOC Contractor and the needs of the City. During the contract peri od, the City will identify construction tasks required to complete each specific job and will issue individual Job Orders to the Contractor to complete those jobs. The Contractor shall be required to furnish all mate rials, equipment and personnel necessary to manage and accomplish the Job Orders. The Contractor shall be required to maintain a management staff in order to receive Requests for Proposal (RFP), prepare and nego tiate proposals, receive signed Job Orders (JO) and Notices-to-Proceed (NTP), receive and initiate contract correspondence and provide other construction services to accomplish individual Job Orders. Job Orders will vary in size, with many anticipated to be of small to medium size. Some Job Orders may require incidental design services. The schedule for the work will start after award and will be ongoing over the life of the contract.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on November 2, 2022 at 8:00 am through Microsoft Teams. Parties interested in attending should request an invitation from Stephanie Gishey at stephanie.gishey@ mesaaz.gov. At this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-submittal conference is not mandatory and all in terested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not

they attend the conference. All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

Contact with City Employees. All firms interested in this project (in cluding the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attor neys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level play ing field for all potential firms, assure that contract decisions are made in public and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representa tive identified below.

RFQ Lists. The RFQ is available on the City’s website at https://www.me saaz.gov/business/engineering/construction-manager-at-risk-and-job-or der-contracting-opportunities

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (ex cluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifications in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@mesaaz.gov by Novem ber 17, 2022 at 2 pm. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz. gov/business/purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Job Order selection process or contract issues should be directed to Stephanie Gishey of the Engineering Department at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING

Engineer

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PUBLISHED: East Valley Tribune 10/30/22, 11/06/22

Valley