Gilbert Sun News 112022

Building trades court students

Council delays Ranch vote after stormy meeting

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Gilbert Town Council postponed action until Dec. 13 on The Ranch, a proposed 300-acre light industrial project, af ter developer IndiCap asked for more time to further revise the plan with residents, who jammed a meeting last week to again voice concerns about truck traffic, building heights and incompatibility with their neighborhood.

The Nov. 15 meeting, packed to overflowing mostly with Morrison Ranch residents, was raucous at times with two police officers es corting resident Christine Dees for shouting from the audience.

“I’ve been the one who’s been saying to the developer all along I think it’s too much light

industrial,” Mayor Brigette Peterson said be fore the 7-0 vote to delay was cast.

“I’ve said it over and over again,” the mayor continued. “I’m not comfortable with the proj ect. This case is a tough one.”

Peterson also responded to a resident who asked why the Town would partner with Ind iCap when one of its principals had question able past financial dealings.

“We do not give developers special treat ment,” Peterson said. “We are not going into business with this gentleman. This is not a pri vate-public partnership. This is a gentleman who’s potentially purchasing land in this town.

“Our role in that is to decide whether or not he can use it to the way he’s asking to use it.”

Higley eyes way out of costly school leases

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Higley Unified School District is looking to get out from under a costly 40year agreement for using two middle school buildings by refinancing the leases for a projected $10 million in savings.

The Governing Board is expected to approve a resolution Dec. 14 authorizing staff to move forward with a new deal if market conditions are right. Each year the district pays out $4.4 million to service the two leases approved in 2012.

“This has been a huge budget item,” district CFO Tyler Moore said at the Nov. 16 board meeting. “It’s in every single budget conversation that we’ve had.”

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

Moore presented a plan that called for paying off the outstanding bond debt and eliminating the fees and restricted fund

deposits now being paid. It also would cut out the lessee JMF-Higley 2012 LLC.

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

Currrently, the district’s payments go to JMF, which then forward the funds to the bank. JMF also receives a fee for managing the two campuses.

A refi with rates from two weeks ago would drop Higley’s total payment to $114 million, about a $10 million total savings for the remaining 30 years on the lease.

Broken bones and scraped scalps come with bull riding,

Ferguson opens massive warehouse in East Valley.

Christine Dees stood up and talked over May or Brigette Peterson, demanding that Morrison Ranch be moved up on the agenda during the Gil bert Town Council meeting Nov. 15, which drew a standing-room-only crowd. Dees was eventually ejected for shouting while others were speaking. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

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Inflation will be an unwelcome holiday dinner guest

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Awar half way around the world is going to take a huge bite out the wallets of Arizonans this Thanksgiving.

New figures from the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation put the cost of a typical dinner for 10 at $71.88. That’s up near 45% from 2021 and higher than its ever been since the organization began doing the annual surveys nearly three decades ago.

What’s causing much of that spike is the war in Ukraine, which has historically been a major world grain producer. The conflict and an on-again, off-again Russian blockade has tightened international supplies and driven up prices.

That, in turn, affects everything from feed for turkeys to the stuff and ingredients for dinner rolls.

But it’s not just that.

The country experienced its first major outbreak of avian flu since 2015. And to prevent the spread, producers killed entire flocks during the first half of the year if just one bird gets sick, resulting in the loss of more than 47 million birds according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Julie Murphree, outreach director for the organization, said the National Turkey Federation figures that will affect

THANKSGIVING from page 3

commercialization of the holiday season has been occurring for several years now.”

Burnstine said it depends on a person’s definition of “commercialization,” because turkey farmers make their killing this time of year and supermarkets and grocery stores push Thanksgiving seasonal foods and deals.

supply by 2%.

“But even a 2% drop in supply contributes to higher turkey prices,’’ she said.

Indeed. Shoppers from the organization found the average price of a 16-pound turkey topped $32. That alone is 65% higher than the cost for the same bird a year ago.

And then there’s the rising cost of diesel fuel and labor that affects pretty much everything that has to be raised or harvested and taken to market.

“The cost to produce those items have increased exponentially,’’ said Stefanie Smallhouse, a cattle rancher, alfalfa and specialty crop farmer from Pima County. And she said that because of the “complexities of our food system’’ the average farmer is generally not getting more money for their products.

Even the cost of packaging materials is up.

All that, for example, adds up to that 14-ounce box of stuffing setting you back $3.93. That’s $1.15 more than you would have paid last year.

Even vegetables, milk and cranberries are more dear this year than in the past.

What’s important to note in all this, however, is that annual the survey is based on the shelf price that federation shoppers found when they went to the store. More to the point, it does not include the savings that are available for customers who hold a grocer’s affinity card.

And there are some deals to be had.

Fry’s, for example, is offering its own Kroger brand frozen turkeys for 79 cents a pound to shoppers who have the company’s VIP Card and who buy at least $25 worth of other groceries. That compares with the $2-a-pound average found by Farm Bureau shoppers.

And a brand-name Butterball turkey can be had for 99 cents a pound with the same requirements.

Bashas’ is offering Norbest turkeys for 79 cents to its Thank You Card members with a $25 purchase. And the chain’s Food City outlets has the same deal, though no card is required.

And Safeway and Albertsons, now owned by the same company, are matching any deals at Fry’s or Bashas’.

The Farm Bureau did not do a survey this year for an all-organic dinner.

The high cost of Thanksgiving

Item

This Year Last Year

Self-basting 16 lb. turkey $32.02 $19.40

14-ounce cubed stuffing mix $3.93 $2.78

Pumpkin pie mix (30 oz.) $5.11 $3.86

9-inch frozen pie shell (2) $5.08 $3.46

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Whether people spend the weekend with family or hunting for deals at retail stores, Burnstine said the holiday weekend really sets itself apart from the rest of year.

“In the end,” he said, “while we can speculate as to the reasons why it is so, the fact is that Thanksgiving really sets itself apart from the rest of the year in the way that it draws the focus to a different kind of value.”

3 lb. fresh sweet potatoes $5.09 $4.26

Brown & serve rolls (12) $4.28 $3.14

Frozen peas (16 oz.) $2.27 $1.67

1 lb mixed celery & carrots $0.83 $0.70

1 gallon whole milk $3.34 $2 .49

Fresh cranberries (12 oz.) $3.01 $2 .54

Half pint whipping cream $2.79 $1.87

Gilbert

is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Gilbert.

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

Councilman Laurin Hendrix took cred it for asking the developer as a good faith gesture to put off the request for a major General Plan amendment and rezone of the land at the northwest corner of Pow er and Warner roads and conduct more meetings with residents.

The land is currently zoned approxi mately 56.5 acres for industrial use, 144.7 acres for general office and 101.2 acres for general commercial. IndiCap proposes 255 acres of industrial, 16.5 acres of general of fice and 30.9 acres of general commercial.

Hendrix said he met with the developer and with the most vocal Morrison Ranch opponents and that the talks were produc tive.

“I told (the developer) ‘don’t come back in December and say, “I had eight meetings so therefore support my project,”’” Hen drix said. “I don’t care if you have to meet every single day to try to work something out that can be workable.

“I encouraged the developer to try and make peace in the community, try to work together, don’t try to force this vote. I made it clear to them that I represented the citi zens of Gilbert.”

Councilwoman Kathy Tilque said she believed some people want to come up with a solution that would work for the residents and provide employment oppor tunities for the community.

“I’ve been committed to work with the residents and the developer along the way,” she said. “And we have seen some changes and I believe there is room for ad ditional change.”

Councilman Scott Anderson said the developer has already made a number of concessions, based on feedback from res idents

“Please don’t say the developer is not doing anything,” he said. “Sit down with them and talk about stipulations. Keep doing that to get to the final win-win solu tion.”

Councilwoman Yung Koprowski said she’s followed the case through the Plan ning Commission and recognized that it’s “a very emotional issue” and that she shared many of the residents’ concerns. She also acknowledged the revisions the developer already has made to appease the residents.

IndiCap added zoning for a 16.5-acre

business park on the western edge of the property that faces the Elliot Grove neigh borhood of Morrison Ranch and capped building heights for this land use at 35 feet. The developer also is adding a landscape buffer between the homes and the project site and moving two industrial buildings farther away from the neighborhood.

Koprowski then addressed a public accusation that she should recuse herself because she took a $5,000 donation from IndiCap and $500 from law firm Withey Morris during her primary election cam paign.

Withey Morris, which represented the developer for the project, also has given donations to others on council including the mayor, Tilque and Councilman Scott September.

Koprowski said that no dollar amount or project could cause her to compromise her integrity.

Someone from the audience shouted for Koprowski to “give it back” regarding the campaign donations.

Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes said she is a strong advocate of property rights but when it comes to a request for a rezone, the burden is high on the developer to not negatively impact surrounding interests and to show that there is a way to mitigate that impact.

“We have another month to bring some thing forward,” Yentes said, adding that the

Town received 1,337 on line comments and all but one opposed The Ranch.

September thanked Morrison Ranch resident Brian Mosley for working diligently with the devel oper and coming up with rational, creative recom mendations that are seen in the latest plan.

“The original plan was not acceptable in my view,” September said. “And I still think that there is work to be done and I think there is room for the developer to make additional con cessions or changes to the site plan or other soften ing especially along that western border” facing Elliot Groves.

Because the item was continued, the de veloper did not make a presentation.

And, despite Peterson warning that The Ranch might not be the same project in December, 18 residents nonetheless opted to speak. They were limited to one minute instead of the typical three minutes due to the number of speakers.

The residents said the light-industri al project does not fit in with their mas ter-planned residential community and it goes against the General Plan approved in 2020 by voters.

Penny Bertsche said the project was not in the General Plan that residents relied on when buying their homes in Morrison Ranch.

“The noise pollution, the air pollution, the traffic pollution that my family and neighbors are going to be living next to (and) experience 24 hours a day, every single day is not what was promised to us,” she said. “Not when we thought we would buy the homes in that neighborhood, not when we thought we would build homes in that neighborhood.”

Natasha Monahan countered a previ ous statement from the attorney for the developer that there was no interest for the land as zoned for 13 years, prompting the need for a rezone.

Monahan said property owner Dale Morrison during that time was using the

land to feed his 6,500 cows and now wants to sell the acreage. The developer has in dicated he will not close on the land if the Town denies the project’s application.

Diana Chambers implored the council to reject the project as proposed because if built, she said her property would lose half its value.

Tyler Farnsworth told the council to hold the developer to the approved Gener al Plan and that a vote for The Ranch “is a vote against the citizens you took an oath to serve and a vote for out-of-state devel opers and law firms that donated to some of your campaigns.

“Please do the right thing,” he said. “Pro tect the look and feel of this town that we so love. Don’t let this become a stain on your legacy.”

Jennifer Smith said that under the cur rent zoning, there would be 4,265 jobs generated versus 2,952 jobs with the pro posed zoning, which is a 64% loss in jobs.

Also, as automation increases, there would be more job loss in the industrial sector, she added.

And Jeni Everett said if the council were to approve the project that it put in a stip ulation banning semiconductor manufac turing on site.

IndiCap has said that the types of ten ants proposed for The Ranch included aerospace and aviation industry, high-tech manufacturing, specialty manufacturing, semiconductor-related users, medical and pharmaceutical companies, and electric vehicle component-related uses.

IndiCap representatives also have said that the amount of truck traffic would be “extremely limited” because just 10-15% of the docks on site would be used at any given time and that there would be more traffic under the current zoning..

Councilman-elect Jim Torgeson, who does not live in Morrison Ranch, noted that the council has voted for 46 consec utive zoning changes and this recent re quest would come at the expense of some residents.

“I want you to give thought to these people because these people haven’t been heard for years,” said Torgeson, a frequent council critic. “They just need to be heard. They need to be listened to. They may not

Sarah Stazza uses a poster held by Jennifer Wada to illus trate her idea while speaking during the council meeting. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

Gilbert Council reaches deal on pipeline flap

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

After a two-year battle, 24 homeown ers living under the threat of Gilbert taking parts of their backyards for pipeline repairs can now breathe a sign of relief.

Town Council on a 6-1 vote last week overrode a staff recommendation and chose a less intrusive option – acquiring land at the six manhole locations and in stalling a block wall around them to provide permanent access. The $17 million option was one of five on the table.

The approved motion included a June 1, 2023, deadline for the homeowners to clear any permanent obstruction that popped up over the years in the utility easement that runs through their backyards.

The town manager also was instructed to negotiate with all the homeowners to provide a see-through fence or gate in ex change for them paying for the cost of clear ing the easement. The view fencing would allow town employees to perform visual in

spections. Residents also can choose to sell their easement to the town.

“As I sit here and listen to the dozen peo ple speak here tonight the seven of us up here are government,” Councilman Laurin Hendrix said at the Nov. 15 meeting, adding:

“We’re essentially the kings here and we’ve had a dozen people come up here and politely and respectfully beg us to not take their property, take what belongs to them. That’s the most basic element of freedom and liberty, what’s this country is founded on.

“I can’t think of a more basic job of an elected official then to protect the popula tion from government. I abhor the idea of taking their property.”

Hendrix said eminent domain was creat ed for the greater good of the community “but you don’t use eminent domain as your first choice.

“You don’t use eminent domain to just benefit government because these other choices are more difficult,” he said.

He added that staff will decide a certain decision is better and present their data to

back up “how they decided that was better, which indirectly persuades us their opinion is correct and it’s better.”

He said although staff presented valid research and conclusion for their recom mended option, “I believe there’s more than one option that will work.”

There are a 36-inch deteriorating sew er line and an 18-inch reclaimed water line within the 25-foot wide easement and a 24inch portable water pipe line just south of the easement.

Both the reclaimed and potable water in frastructure also need rehabilitation or re placement anticipated soon based on leak history and age, according to the town.

Staff has argued for acquiring the ease ment from all 24 parcels, because it would ensure the Town of unobstructed access and the ability to do expected rehab work.

Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes said she ap preciated the time, effort and careful delib eration provided by staff and believed they were giving their opinion as professionals and technicians.

She said staff made a good case for emi

nent domain and didn’t want to put tens of thousands of residents at risk should a pipe break but that there were “options that have been presented that we’ve accepted as an organization are feasible, that we can do.”

She said she talked with someone at pub lic works who indicated that acquiring the easement from all 24 properties would be best if the town needed frequent access to do physical work, which it does not.

“Quite frankly, there’s been a huge deg radation over the last 100 years when it comes to the foundation of property rights in our country,” Yentes added.

Councilman Scott Anderson, who retired from the town as a planning director, add ed, “Eminent domain should never be used except in rare case. Infrastructure in my opinion is the one critical time that it can or should be used to promote public welfare.

“Our charge is to act in the interest of the entire Town of Gilbert, not special-interest groups. Most people don’t see neighbor

hoods as special interest groups but they do act in the interest of the neighborhood and your own property.

“The easement needs to be cleared. Again how do we guarantee access and a clean easement many years into the future? Own ership is the only sure way.”

But Anderson added that he was willing to take the short-term solution of either minimal land acquisition at manhole prop erties or putting gates around the man holes.

“I have struggled with this and I think the town staff has made an excellent argument for this to be a poster child for eminent do main,” Councilman Scott September said. “But the way I have looked at this in just the last few days is what is the least intrusive means to accomplish operational function ality, not necessarily operational perfection.

“What I support makes staff’s difficult job already harder. The ability to access, main tain and reasonably remedy failure I believe could be accomplished through” minimal acquisition at manholes.

Mayor Brigette Peterson said she was taken aback by the new opinions now com ing from her peers and noted the two years

spent studying and discussing the issue.

“I’m disappointed at the fact that we’ve had those discussions and now we are out here saying a lot of different things,” she said.

She said not having a cohesive council to support staff’s recommendation concerns her because of liability if a pipe breaks. She pointed to the water pipeline that un expectedly burst on the US 60 in Tempe in May, which caused damage and about a week-long closure.

She said she was concerned with the town not getting immediate access to the resident’s backyards knowing that the pipelines need work. And even though resi dents have said they are willing to grant ac cess 24/7 to the town, she said there was no legal agreement in place.

“We have no legal way to hold you to any of that,” Peterson said. “None because it’s your private property and that concerns me….I think staff’s been thrown a curve ball.”

Councilwoman Yung Koprowski, the lone dissenter, said acquiring the land from all 24 owners was a great need for the town, noting, “we are absolutely responsible for

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this service and these infrastructure assets.”

She said the option calling for acquiring land around the manholes would mean all three pipeline projects would have to be done at the same time to minimize impact, “which might have a cost savings but also have that fiscal impact all in the same few years with the capital improvements.”

“Then there are still risks in terms that we are putting this down the road,” Ko prowski added. “We are punting this at least 30 years, 20 years but we are still punting it and this situation is going to come up again and when something fails…you have that many millions of gallons of sewage going through that pipe in such a short amount of time that is going to have a really big im pact on those properties if it’s behind those walls.”

Koprowski, a civil engineer, said having the pipes in the public right-of-way also in creases early detection “because of people walking along those trails and things like that – from the smell mainly.”

She said the decision would affect at least 50,000 residents who rely on service from those pipelines.

Councilwoman Kathy Tilque said she

respected the staff’s recommendation but would like to have an option for something else.

She was still on the fence until council decided at about 12:15 a.m. to go into ex ecutive session to discuss the legality of a motion made by Anderson.

An hour later, Tilque made the motion that was supported by all but Koprowski.

Council also authorized the town manag er to execute contracts up to $300,000 for work associated with the sewer pipe.

And Council approved Nationwide Real ty Investors’ request for a five-story apart ment with 353 units at its 280-acre Rivulon development.

Three residents spoke out against the proposal. The vote for the minor General Plan amendment and rezone for the project was 6-1 with Hendrix the sole dissenter.

Council also approved a proposal for a major General Plan amendment and rezone for the Lindsay 202 industrial business park project to build on 94.07 acres at the northeast corner of Lindsay and Germann roads.

It’s how we treat you better.

agree with what you say but they need to know that they are being heard.”

Audience members also clapped, whis tled and shouted after the speakers spoke, causing the mayor to admonish them.

The vice mayor halted the meeting for five minutes to restore decorum and Pe terson threatened to recess the meeting if council was prohibited from conducting business.

Because residents are banned from car rying any signs into the chambers, some wore their message on T-shirts instead.

Dees, the woman removed from the

meeting, wore a T-shirt that read “Stop ly ing.”

When Peterson announced ahead of the discussion on The Ranch that the item will be continued, Dees shouted, “Let us speak. Let everybody speak about The Ranch.”

Despite a call for decorum, Dees re sponded, “Kick me out. I don’t care. It’s time to talk about The Ranch.”

As she continued to shout from the au dience, the mayor finally ordered her re moval.

“They are control freaks,” Dees shouted on her way out; “especially Brigette.”

A resident held posters with renderings of warehouses directly next to residential homes. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

Buchli likely winner in close council race

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

With nearly every ballot counted in Maricopa County it’s probably a safe bet that Bobbi Buchli is headed for a seat on Gilbert Town Council.

Newcomer Buchli was in a face-off against former Councilman Bill Spence in the Nov. 8 General Election and led by over 1,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

According to the county, the count was 99.4% complete on the evening of Nov.16 with an estimated 4,000-9,000 remaining ballots to be processed.

Deputy Town Clerk Judy Martinez said a special council meeting to canvass the election results is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 28 at Municipal Center II, 90 E. Civic Center Drive.

“It does appear at this point there would not be an automatic recount, but it will not be known until the County’s results are canvassed,” Martinez said.

The unofficial results by the Gilbert Sun

News’ deadline showed Buchli capturing 51% of the ballots cast with 40,195 votes compared with Spence’s 40% or 39,027 votes. She has been widening her lead since the weekend.

The updated results showed that 63.87 % of the total eligible voters in the county participated in the election. Gilbert’s turn out was 68.32% or 110,284 people voted.

In the school board races, the likely winners are newcomer Chad Thompson and incumbent Jill Humpherys for the two open seats. Thompson caught up and surpassed Humpherys in recent days with a total unofficial tally of 30,436 votes last Thursday morning compared with Humphery’s 29,253.

Candidates Collette Evans and Trina Jo nas trailed with 21,867 and 19,896 votes, respectively. The two-year seat was filled in the August Primary by Ronda Page.

Higley Unified School District’s appar ent two winners in the governing board race are Amanda Wade and Anna Van Hoek with 11,682 and 11,540 votes, re

spectively. The two took the lead early on and maintained it.

Brooke Garrett and Roy Morales gar nered 10,734 and10,555 votes, respective ly.

Headed for certain defeat is the dis trict’s $77.2-million bond, its second at tempt in as many years. Projects proposed in the failed bond included funding for a new elementary school, security cameras and wireless enhancements.

Fifty-eight percent of the voters or 18,179, resounding rejected the measure while 13,091 or 42% voted for approval.

At this time, there are no plans for a future bond, said district spokeswoman Alexis Sanchez, who shared the message that was sent out to staff and the commu nity.

In it, the district thanked the community for its support.

“As discussed in our 2022 bond propos al, our District is continuing to grow and

Bobbi Buchli

Shane & Adriane

we are expecting to see an increase in stu dents in the next few years,” the district said.

“The issues and areas of need addressed in the proposed bond will continue to be a challenge.However, our leadership team plans to regroup and gather feedback from various stakeholders within the commu nity to determine how to prioritize these needs.”

For Chandler Unified School District, which serves Gilbert students, the appar ent school board winners are Kurt Rohrs and Patti Serrano with 34,401 and 34,074 votes, respectively.

Candidates Charlotte Golla and incum bent Lara Bruner trailed with 28,983 and 27,689 votes, respective.

The conservative Purple for Parents group endorsed Thompson, Rohrs, Van Hoek and Morales.

The likely winners in the two Republi can-leaning state legislative districts that represent parts of Gilbert – LD 13 and LD 14, stayed the same for the recent count drops.

In the LD 13 state Senate race, Republi can incumbent J.D. Mesnard captured 52%

or 48,468 votes to Democratic challenger

Cynthia Hans’ 45,160 votes or 48%

Democrat incumbent Jennifer Pawlik re ceived 35% of the votes or 46,982 in the three-way race for two LD 13 House seats.

Republican Liz Harris increased her lead over fellow GOP candidate Julie Wil loughby in the most recent count. Harris garnered 43,714 votes to Willoughby’s 43,453.

In the LD14 state Senate race, Repub lican incumbent Warren Petersen easily won the seat against write-in Democratic candidate Kristin Clark. He garnered 94% of the votes in the latest unofficial count.

Petersen already has been named Sen ate president for the session that begins in January.

And in the contest for the two House seats in LD 14, Republicans Travis Grantham, incumbent, and Laurin Hen drix, whose Gilbert council term is up when he takes his House seat, are shoe-ins with 52,546 and 51,848 votes, respective.

They both captured 36% of the votes cast.

Democrat Brandy Reese trailed with 28% or 40,146 votes.

Labor-starved building industry hosts 4K students

BY DAVID M. BROWN GSN Contributor

Gilbert High School seniors Mason Reading and Lucas Beals attended this year’s Arizona Construction Ca reer Days because they wanted to know more about the industry.

Clarissa Tonkin, a student at the East Valley Institute of Technology, was there because she hopes to take her construc tion training into a decorative arts career.

The three were among a record 4,428 Arizona students participating in the 21st-annual event, organized by the Phoe nix-based Association for Construction Career Development and hosted by the Arizona National Guard in Papago Park in Phoenix.

Accompanied by 410 teachers, the stu dents traveled from 80 schools in 11 coun ties for AZCCD, which promotes career op portunities in – and dismisses stereotypes – about the high-paying construction in

dustry. With the country investing heavily in infrastructure during the next few years,

expect more emphasis on vocational train ing, said Stephen Cole, workforce develop ment trainer for California-based Rosen

din Electric, which has a regional Tempe office.

“I think the industry needs to incentiv ize young people to go into vocations the same way as recruiters and high school guidance counselors do for how many stu dents go on to college,” he said.

Cole noted that the base hourly pay for a journeyman union wireman is $32.55 in the Valley, not including the insurance and pension that comes with the job.

At the same time, electricians in the mining industry are earning as much as $48,194 annually, according to the Arizona Mining Association, while concrete readymix truck drivers bring in up to $72,000 per year, according to the Arizona Rock Products Association.

The students had an opportunity to in teract with 76 exhibitors and potential employers in Arizona.

For years, negative attitudes about

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programs. Enrollment in Cigna depends on contract renewal. © 2022

More than 4,000 area high school students attended a career day presentation by the labor-starved construction industry. (Courtesy of Rosendin Electric)

skilled labor work have predomi nated as high schools and parents pushed young people into college as the only sure path to success.

At the event, however, students and professionals talked about ca reer options without a high-cost –and often high-debt –college degree.

“AZCCD is the largest workforce development event in the state, generating a new pipeline of skilled workers. Our focus is attracting high school students to the industry while educating their teachers and counselors to the vast opportunities and careers available to make a very good living in construction,” said Rose Ann Canizales, president of the nonprofit event.

“We are ‘Building Tomorrows Workforce Today’ one student at a time.”

On site were general contractors, such as McCarthy Building Companies of Phoe nix and Chandler; specialty contractors, labor unions, regulatory and compliance firms such as the International Code Coun cil and the Arizona Building Officials Asso ciation.

Also attending were representatives of the National Electrical Contractors Associ ation, Associated General Contractors, Ari zona chapter, and the National Association of Women in Construction.

“This event is a massive collaboration of prominent industry leaders, educators, legislators and our honored military part ners who engage in positive dialogue sup porting the creation of educational cur riculum and workforce development for Arizona students,” said Steve Trussell, ex ecutive director of the Arizona Rock Prod ucts Association and the Arizona Mining Association, lead sponsors of the event.

“It has grown into a premier event in the state. Including this year’s group, more than 35,000 students have attended in its 21-year history.”

Stephen Cole, workforce development trainer for Rosendin, explained,” Young people often aren’t aware of the oppor tunities, and this event is a phenomenal opportunity to meet and talk with people in the industry who have made successful lives in the trades.”

One example of this is the company’s

The employee-owned company is one of the country’s largest electrical contrac tors, employing 7,500-plus people, with annual revenues averaging $2 billion.

Current Valley projects include the $800-million Meta Data Center project in Mesa and the $20-billion Intel Chandler semiconductor manufacturing plant in Chandler.

At the career gathering, Rosendin em ployees demonstrated technologies such as computer modeling and augmented reality as well as guided students on basic electrical wiring, power and hand tools and helped them bend conduit pipes, which appeared in various shapes such as hearts and canes.

They also noted that Rosendin has part nered with Grand Canyon University on a Pre-Apprenticeship for Electricians pro gram

The one-semester course combines col lege-level classes with hands-on learning fully paid for 80 students by the company and a government grant.

For employees, Rosendin will contrib ute toward the $10,000 for the four-year apprenticeship program offered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

McCarthy has been participating

WARNING!

PERIPHERAL

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

NEUROPATHY

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

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

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

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

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until 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. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL (480) 274 3157 NOW!!

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

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

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

CEO, Mike Greenawalt, a graduate of Sun nyslope High School in Phoenix who began his career as an electrician’s apprentice.

The district’s bond counsel Jim Giel said JMF, a nonprofit, technically owns Sossaman and Cooley middle schools under the lease agreements approved in 2012 and that the district owns the land.

He told the board a resolution would not lock them in.

“You don’t have to issue certificates of participation in this case to redeem those bonds,” Giel said. “You can adopt a resolution and wait for the market to see when interest rates make sense. You are not required to do anything with that resolution. It is not binding on you.”

He said once the certificates are issued, the existing bonds are paid off but the two middle schools are then encumbered again with a new lease financing and are pledged as collateral for the certificates.

“But let me stress, this lease financing that you could do to take out these bonds is very straight forward,” Giel said.

“We’ve done it a number of times for other school districts in the Valley and it’s really what the district should have done 10 years ago rather than do this,” he

continued. “This is tried and true and we believe there is a market for your COP.”

Board member Jill Wilson asked Giel if he’s seen a financing structure elsewhere in the state or the country that resembled the lease Higley entered into.

“No, it’s very unusual,” Giel responded. “You were the test case unfortunately. The group that got it through the prior administration tried to do it in other jurisdictions and other school districts in the Valley and we were able to warn the others off. As far as I know you are the only one that actually did it.”

Michael LaVallee, an expert in public financing, added that the district has the ability to do lease purchasing.

“You do it for coping machines and buses sometimes and you can do to a lease-purchase structure to finance buildings in our state,” LaVallee said. “The district could have done it on its own through the use of a publicly offered lease i.e a COP, which is what we are talking about here.

“But instead they routed it through

this nonprofit (JMF), through the IDA structure. It’s more akin to a charterschool financing. It’s the closest thing it’s akin to.”

IDA is the Industrial Development Authority of the City of Phoenix, which issued $69 million in bonds for the borrower JMF.

“Again, we don’t see it in the publicschool space at all other than in this district,” LaVallee said.

Wilson made it a point to tell the public that the leases were “approved many boards ago and two superintendents ago.”

LaVallee said the district would have immediate use of an estimated $1 million in the capital repairs fund, which would return to the district under the proposal, and it would realize an estimated increase of $365,000 annually to its budget.

“What that means is we’ve been earmarking $4.4 million basically off the top of our budget for this payment,” Moore said. “That would be reduced by $365,000 based on the current interest rates right now.

“That can fund a number of teachers. We can do a number of things with that even though interest rates are not in our favor right now but it still makes sense because of the operational funds that we will get back on an annual basis.”

Board member Kristina Reese likened the new proposal to a mortgage payment in that the district owns the two buildings.

She also got assurance that the money saved from the new deal would go back into the two middle schools.

Moore said if the board approves the resolution in December, the anticipation is to sell bonds in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

A December approval would give them time to make sure it’s still beneficial to the district and that it was not making a deal that would put Higley in a worst financial situation.

“I moved to Arizona in the summer of 2012,” Wilson said. “And this was something that we heard about since

> edwardjones.com | Member SIPC

State adds 100K jobs but housing limits more growth

BY FERNANDA GALAN MARTINEZ Cronkite News

Arizona will have added more than 100,000 jobs by the end of the year, with 86,000 of them in metro Phoenix, economist Dennis L. Hoffman told Wednesday’s 59th annual ASU/PNC Bank Economic Forecast Luncheon.

Arizona continues to have a progrowth economic setting with a com petitive tax structure, but declining housing affordability, inflation and in terest rate hikes threaten to slow eco nomic expansion, said Hoffman, direc tor of the L. William Seidman Institute, which is part of Arizona State Universi ty’s W.P. Carey School of Business.

HIGLEY from page 16

December 2012 these leases and what happened here.

Although the state is still adding jobs, Hoffman urged those attending the downtown Phoenix luncheon to take steps, such as emphasizing education, to bring more innovators and entrepre neurs to Arizona.

“I would like us to be more cognizant of the fact that young and innovative people can work and live anywhere in this country,” said Hoffman, who also is director of ASU’s Office of the Universi ty Economist. “We have to be attractive and welcoming to those folks.”

Hoffman was one of the economic ex perts who painted a fairly rosy outlook for Arizona against a backdrop of the nation’s slowing economic growth and high inflation.

Christopher Waller, a member of the

Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, said taming inflation remains the Fed’s top goal even if it means imposing short-term economic pain.

Arizona has done well in national rankings when it comes to the econ omy. For instance, it ranked fifth in a recent survey by job-resources website CareerCloud when it comes to offering the strongest employment prospects. It trailed Florida, Washington, Delaware and Nevada. The survey also said Arizo na offers employers a large and educat ed workforce.

Hoffman, pointing to census data, said Arizona remains the fourth fastest growing state in population growth and is among the top three destinations for domestic movers. Panelists pointed out

Arizona has long touted its relatively low cost of living and has lower mini mum wages than some other states.

The state’s minimum wage of $12.80 per hour is scheduled to increase to $13.85 starting Jan. 1.

Housing affordability, however, has declined because of rising home prices. Phoenix-area home prices are forecast ed to increase 1.7% in the 12 months starting in September, according to the most current S&P CoreLogic Case-Shill er Index.

“Housing is considerably less afford able here in Arizona than it was five years ago,” Hoffman said, adding that it’s especially hard on millennials and other younger home buyers.

see that we are working o something and not staying stagnant with out previous agreement. This was not a normal lease agreement.”

seeing a big uptick in student enrollment but didn’t have the bond capacity to build the middle schools on its own.

state grand jury in 2021 for alleged bid rigging and payoffs while at Higley.

“Since I joined the board four years ago this was something that has always been paying of the lease, paying of the lease, paying of the leases. I’m excited to

“We see the value of reaching stu dents to educate about careers in con struction,” said Amber Shepard, self-per form project manager for the company from its Chandler Innovation and Craft Workforce Center.

“At this event, they can see, feel and breathe construction,” she added, as as sociates behind her were cacophonously demonstrating nail driving.

In addition to her project work, Shep ard visits local schools to promote careers in the trades.

“We do a good job as a company, but there’s always more opportunity to bring more folks in: project managers, superin tendents, carpenters. Let’s bring in every one,” said Shepard, whose father recently retired from McCarthy after 35 years in the industry, starting as a carpenter and advancing to superintendent.

“It’s a cool thing, construction,” she not ed. “It’s always evolving!”

When the district executed the leases in 2012 it was during a time the district was

At Rosendin, Charity Mell leads the Out reach Team, visiting schools, where she talks about the industry and leads career fairs and talks about opportunities, includ ing for women who are significantly un derrepresented in construction.

“A big focus for us is fighting the myth that you have to be the guy on the side of the road with the hard hat,” she said, not ing that the company sponsors the AGC’s Culture of Care and is dedicated to devel oping opportunities for women and mi norities.

After moving to Florida, EVIT’s Tonkin, for example, plans to become a metal art ist, using her pipe-bending and welding skills acquired at the school. Her dream business will produce flowers, dragons and other designs to decorate companies and homes, and she plans to blog about welding.

Gilbert High’s Reading and Beals are optimistic about their opportunities, the first in welding and the latter in engineer

The leases were executed under the leadership of then-Superintendent Denise Birdwell, who was indicted by a

The state found that Birdwell was responsible for approving the convoluted financing scheme in 2012 to build those two new schools. all 21 years.

ing after continuing his education at ASU. “These jobs aren’t going to go away,” Read ing said. “They are going to be around for a while.”

Nationwide workforce shortages have become the most prominent industry con cern. In October, construction added just 1,000 employees despite a high demand for labor, according to an analysis by the AGC, based in Arlington, Virginia.

At the same time, national hourly earn ing bumped to $35.27, a 5.6% year-overyear increase, exceeding the overall pri vate sector figure.

“The construction sector would likely have added more jobs in October if only firms could find people to bring on board,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer in a prepared state ment with the analysis. “Labor market conditions are so tight, however, that the sector barely increased in size even as de mand remains strong for many types of construction projects.”

In Arizona, the industry needs about 1,000 electricians with the growth planned; other skilled tradesmen and –women will also be in greater demand, Cole explained.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be 80,000 new electrical jobs available every year until 2031.

“The pandemic sped up the ‘silver tsuna mi’ as baby boomers retired at a faster rate than they could be replaced,” he added.

He noted, too, that the construction in dustry must work on a glamour factor, to brand itself for millennials/Gen Z’ers. “We are connected to creativity. We build things,” Cole said, adding:

“It’s very rewarding in a way that work ing at the computer all day might not be. Some of our people take pictures of their work and share them on social media with others; they’re proud of what they’ve done. They can see what they are working on and come back years later and say, ‘I built that.’”

Broken bones no deterrent for bull riders

BY MARK MORAN GSN Staff Writer

Acrushed cheekbone, shattered orbital socket around his eye, more broken ribs than he can recall, multiple fractures of his nose, major reconstructive facial surgery and a “blown out” shoulder and knee, all before the age of 22, have not been enough to deter JC Mortensen from pursuing his passion for professional bull riding.

“I haven’t accomplished my dreams yet,” Mortensen said. “I still got some goals.”

Mortensen wants a shot at competing for a world championship, to be among the most elite riders in the world who, once they qualify, will gather in Las Vegas next May to compete for the National Finals Rodeo’s top prize.

“It’s like the Super Bowl of profession al rodeo,” he said. “They take the top 15 guys in the world and you ride 10 days in a row in Las Vegas. Ever since I was

born, this is somethin’ that I really wanted to do. I looked up to cowboys and wanted to be a cowboy my whole life.”

The road to Las Vegas runs through Queen Creek, at least as far as a bull riding championship is concerned.

This weekend, Mortensen will be among 80 of the top bull riders in the world competing for a spot in Las Vegas in addi tion to riding for $30,000 in local prize money in the X-TREME Bulls event, held at the Queen Creek Horse shoe Park & Equestrian Centre, Nov. 23, 25 and 26. “Man, it’s big money. I had a taste of big money at a young age,” Mortensen said. “I’ve been able to get

almost everything I’ve wanted. It’s given me a great job to be able to provide for myself and even more.”

Mortensen was ranked 13th in the world last year, his best season, he said, and pocketed more than $100,000 in prize money in 2021 alone. He estimates that he has earned closer to $200,000 over the course of his relatively young career.

But his sport means more to him money and fame.

“It’s an adrenaline rush and being able to conquer that,” he said. “It’s a pretty dang good feeling once you get off and you rode one for eight seconds. It’s been a dream of mine to ride buckin’ bulls since I was little and now to actually do it, it’s crazy.”

JC followed his father Judd’s footsteps into professional bull riding, and has never really wanted to do anything else, he said. Or, maybe he did not have much

Bull riding is not for the faint of heart, as this rider amply demonstrates. (Courtesy of Visit Mesa)

choice.

The expression “it runs in the family” comes to mind. Judd was a decorated pro cowboy, and JC’s grandfather and namesake, JC Trujillo, a world champion bare back rider, who bucked his way into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Judd Mortensen, who had his dad JC Trujillo as his coach, is retired now, and is passing the lessons down to the younger JC.

Now 44, and having endured his own share of broken bones and various injuries in one the toughest professions in the world, Judd Mortensen recalls what drew him to bull riding when he was his son’s age.

“I tell ya, when you start ridin’ bulls, it’s just kind of a challenge to yourself. Let’s try to do this. This is fun,” Judd Mortensen said. “Then you beat on your craft and get to where you can ride ‘em in rhythm and then all of a sudden they start paying you some money and it becomes a profession, you know?”

Among the lessons he has handed down to JC is that being a successful bull rider is not about fighting the animal, but about getting along with him, predicting his next move and figuring out a way to stay on a spinning, bucking 1,600 pound animal who wants nothing more than to have you off of his back…. For eight seconds at least.

“It feels so good to ride a bull when he’s spinnin’ hard and buckin’ fast, Judd Mortensen said. “Everybody thinks you just get on them and hang on tight. That’s really not the case.

“You want to get in rhythm with the animal and become one with him and you can’t even explain that feeling, to be an animal that is bucking hard and spinning fast and then you jump off and land on your feet and the crowd goes wild. And nowadays the payout is pretty dang good for a bull rider who can ride

good,” he added.

Mortensen did acknowledge, however, that perhaps more often than not a bull rider does not land on his feet, but on various other parts of the body when they are bucked off the bull, hence all of the injuries associated with the sport.

“Yeah, there is a huge danger and risk involved. Bull riding is a very rough sport,” he said. “But the guys at this level that are trained, they’ve done it a lot, they’ve got good, protective gear on, and they kind of know how to fall and get off.”

The younger Mortensen added ““It’s all about timing. They are way stronger than us for us to muscle up and pull ourselves back,” he said of the bulls. “We’re trying to predict their next move.”

The X-TREME bull riding championship event kicks off on Wednesday night with a three-band country music concert featuring Western Fusion, Nathan Dean and Josh Roy, all Phoenix area bands.

The bull riding begins on Friday, and so do a host of community focused events, including mechanical bull riding, stick horse races, western-themed events for kids, an Old West 6-shooter gunfight reenactment, roping machines and mutton busting, in which children ride or race sheep.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. on Friday with live music, dancing, vendors, and food trucks.

The high-stakes championship bull riding events take place Saturday evening.

Judd Mortensen has retired his spurs and chaps, but remains active in the sport. In addition to coaching JC, he is the head promoter for the X-TREME BULLS event this weekend.

“We’ve got some of the best riders in the world,” he said. “Just a lot of great names out here, going up against some of the best buckin’ bulls in the industry.”

Information: visitmesa.com/sportsplanner/queen-creek-xtremebulls

BY MINDY JONES GSN Columnist

Big news this week as the Valley shifts into a buyers mar ket after almost ex actly three months in a balanced one following an extreme inventory shortage that elevated home prices to their peak in May.

Buyers have reaped the benefits of this rapidly shifting market with nearly 45% of all recent sales involving concessions for mortgage rate buy downs, closing costs, and other seller-paid contributions.

But sellers are grappling with the re ality that home prices have fallen almost 10% in that same time period and the im pact of not being market-ready has risen to two to three times the opportunity cost that it carried in the 2021 market.

While downward pressure on pricing will continue to exist as long as demand is anemic, the housing market is behaving normally with only minimal inventory changes week over week as the new list ing count slows to a modest trickle.

Annual appreciation is still more than 30% for homeowners who have been in their home for at least two years and

their purchase price has almost doubled if they’ve been in their home for the last five, making the short-term loss more im pactful for pandemic buyers, sellers and investors looking to turn their inventory quickly.

New construction has returned to the Valley as a viable solution for buyers af ter two years of inaccessible inventory and inflexible pricing. That is peaking the interest of many who are finding resale inventory to be outdated and priced sim ilarly.

Gilbert finds itself in an interesting housing market. Restaurants are packed and growth abundant. The inventory and demand numbers continue to reflect the hesitation and fear that consumers feel over inflation and interest rates as well as some uncertainty and speculation about housing prices that are expected to re bound once interest rates fall.

While still historically low, the coupling of the increase in interest rates with the rapid escalation of home prices in a short period of time has caused some to ques

tion the value of their purchase and chal lenged the affordability of their purchase in the current market.

While short-term memory would say that selling prior to the peak of pricing would have been a better solution, the higher sales price would have come with less usable proceeds if purchasing in Gil bert. The average sale-to-list price ratio was 104%, which meant that much of a seller’s bottom line went to the opportu nity cost of buying the house and not the down payment, closing costs, or even the principal loan amount.

The active listing count is now just slightly higher than it was last quarter while both pending and under-contract listings having risen over the last month, bringing the Gilbert housing market to a similar position as we were in in 2015 but with nearly double the average price point.

With rental prices higher in Gilbert this month than they were in August – and 75% higher than in 2015 – the case for home ownership is still strong.

Why housing market today differs from crash era

Anew report from Realtor.com shows home listings increased 33% in October over October 2021. The increase in inventory is not because more people are selling but be cause fewer are buying.

The housing market has come to a near standstill in the last few months, leading

some to speculate it could be headed for a “crash,” an undefined state in which home values fall.

It’s happened before, as recently as 2009. Then, thousands of homes went into foreclosure and millions of home owners found themselves owing more than their homes were worth.

Could it happen again? Most housing experts point out that today’s market

woes are very different from 13 years ago.

Today, the market has stalled for one big reason – rising mortgage rates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market exploded. Prices surged because demand far outweighed supply. Low interest rates fueled record home prices

People with good jobs could afford to pay record-high prices for a home be cause the interest rate was 3% or less, providing an affordable monthly pay ment. But when the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate surpassed 7%, as it did last month, then the monthly payment was hundreds of dollars higher, meaning many people who would like to buy a home can no longer afford to.

As a result, home prices have already fallen from their record highs reached in June. But Alex Platt, principal agent with the Platt Group, part of Compass Real Estate in Boca Raton, Fla., says that is far from a “crash.”

“Look, no one knows what’s going to happen,” Platt recently told us. “But I don’t think there’s going to be a big ‘crash’ coming. Could there be a correc tion, sure? But prices nearly doubled in the last two years. So even if prices come down 10 or 15%, the market is still up.” But what about people who purchased homes last year, at the very top of the market? Could they trigger a crash, much like they did in 2009? Not really, experts say.

Most people who purchased homes in 2021 got a mortgage rate of 3% or less. As long as they stay employed they should be able to easily swing the month ly mortgage payment.

What’s different this time?

So how was 2009 different? At that time, the mortgage industry was approv ing loans to just about anyone, whether they could afford the home or not. The lender sold the mortgage to Wall Street

Buyers backing out latest trend in real estate

BY SAMUEL DONCASTER GSN Guest Writer

If you’re worried about what to do if a buyer backs out of a deal, you’re not alone.

Between the rise in interest rates and deprecation in the real estate market, buyers are currently backing out of real estate deals at an alarming rate.

When they do, it can leave sellers wor rying about the financial hit they’ll take –whether they can sell into to complete an other transaction, or even whether they’ll be able to move out of state on time.

Fortunately, sellers have protection once the relevant contingencies are com pleted.

For transactions under the standard Arizona Association of Realtors form, the most common way to get out of a contract is to cancel during the inspection period. During this time, buyers can cancel the sale with no penalty.

This is their chance to vet the house, get it inspected and make sure it’s up to their standards. Prior to the end of the inspec tion period, the buyer may cancel for any reason.

When the inspection period ends, the loan contingency often becomes the focus for buyers looking to renege. However, that’s a more limited source of relief.

The standard Arizona Association of Realtors contract explicitly states that failure to lock an interest rate is not an

unfulfilled contingency. That means if the buyer signs a contract with rates at 5% and then the lender offers a 7% loan to close, the buyer cannot back out because of that.

In other words, the loan contingency is a contingency of whether a loan is made, not whether it’s at an acceptable interest rate.

This particular contingency often spawns disputes when buyers attempt to manipulate it to avoid the binding effect of their contracts. The language of the loan contingency requires that a buyer make a “diligent and good faith effort” to obtain loan approval.

It imposes a deadline to submit a loan application and requires the buyer to promptly supply the lender with the documents it requests for underwriting. Therefore, buyers cannot get away with simply dragging their feet on the loan process until closing day.

After buyers wrongfully renege on their commitment, sellers may accept the ear nest money as their damages, but it isn’t required.

The standard Arizona Association of Realtors form contract makes it very clear that doing so is the “seller’s option.” The other option is to bring a claim for dam ages. In an environment of rising interest rates and declining real estate prices, the suit for damages will often be the better option.

In a damages claim, sellers can be com

investment banks within days so lenders didn’t care.

Many of these buyers put no money down and took out subprime mortgag es, which had a low “teaser” interest rate for the first year or two before the rate jumped to double-digits. When that hap pened, millions of those homes went into foreclosure, dragging home values down with them. It was the wave of foreclo sures that triggered the crash, flooding the market with repossessed homes.

Today, very few homes are in danger of default, even those whose values are now lower than the purchase price. Unlike more than a decade ago, most of today’s

buyers made significant down payments – of up to 20% – and still have some equi ty even if prices go down.

People who bought homes at the top of the market may feel like there’s a hous ing market crash, at least for a while. But most real estate economists predict the market will quickly right itself if prices fall too low.

Realtor.com notes that, unlike in 2009, the U.S. still has a severe housing short age. Even with rising interest rates, de mand is expected to exceed – or at least keep up with – the supply of homes.

Realtor.com provided this report

pensated for all their losses resulting from the buyer’s decision to back out. Often, this starts with whatever additional price reduction the seller must make to com plete the transaction with a new buyer.

In addition, buyers will have carrying costs for the property, including inter est on their own mortgage, utilities and maintenance. Some sellers will also be harmed in connection with other trans actions.

For example, if the seller was planning to buy another property and depending on his own sale proceeds to make the payment, a lost opportunity to complete

that transaction could entitle the seller to substantial lost profits.

Sellers can protect themselves by pro actively monitoring the loan. The stan dard contract requires that buyers and lenders provide updates on loan status “upon request.”

In addition, sellers shouldn’t be shy about soliciting backup offers. Finally, when a buyer backs out, they should talk to a lawyer early to understand their op tions.

Samuel Doncaster is owner and lead at torney at Fraud Fighters Law Firm here in Phoenix.

the horizon once demand picks back up.

The million-dollar question is how far away is that horizon and what impact will we see on housing prices in the mean time and mortgage rates in the interim.

The risk of timing the market is always the same, you don’t know when you’ve

hit the bottom until you are on your way back up.

Mindy Jones, a Gilbert Realtor and own er of the Amy Jones Group brokered by EXP Realty, can be reached at 480-250-3857, Mindy@AmyJonesGroup.com or Amy JonesGroup.com.

Call today to schedule your showing (480) 221-3034

MINDY fRom page Re1

State Capitol hosting Wreaths Across America

GSN NEWS STAFF

For the first time since 2013, the Arizona State Capitol will join more than 3,000 locations across the U.S. and international sites to host National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 17.

And keeping an East Valley tradition, both the Exchange Club of Chandler and Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Ceme tery are planning their seventh annual participating in the nationwide effort to remember the sacrifices of veterans who have passed away.

The Exchange Club of Chandler start ed the local observance but over the years, organizations such as Chandler Elks Lodge #2429 and the Exchange Club of Phoenix in Ahwatukee have become involved in remembering over 3,100 veterans buried at the Valley of the Sun Cemetery, 10940 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler.

Last year, approximately 2,800

wreaths laid on graves in Valley of the Sun Cemetery, according to Mark Whitaker, who leads the wreaths cam paign for the Exchange Club of Chan dler.

“We will need help from the commu nity to achieve the goal of sponsoring 3,100 wreaths,” he said.

The annual event consists of laying out the wreaths after a memorial cere mony. Volunteers gather around 8 a.m. Dec. 17 – coffee, hot chocolate and do nuts are provided – and at 9 a.m. begin laying the wreaths.

“Each wreath symbolizes the com mitment to remember and honor our

nation’s veterans and teach our chil dren about freedom and the sacrifice required to maintain our freedom,” Whitaker said.

“There will be an educational activity for children to help them learn about veterans. As wreaths are laid, we ask that the volunteers respectfully remem ber the veteran by saying the veteran’s name aloud.”

The formal ceremony will start at 10 a.m. and will be streamed on Facebook Live!

Until Tuesday, Nov. 29, people can sponsor a wreath with a $15 tax-de ductible donation to wreathsacrossa merica.org/AZ0084P.

“Whether you sponsor a wreath or not, we will need many volunteers to help,” Whitaker said.

Nationally, the nonprofit created to “Remember, Honor, and Teach” young people about those who have served is

Higley DECA prepares students for real world of business

BY ANDREW MAY GSN Guest Writer

Higley High School DECA prepares students for the fields of market ing, finance, entrepreneurship, and hospitality.

Its main goal each year is to teach stu dents about what happens in business and let them test their knowledge in sim ulated real-world situations. Students throughout the year work on campaigns, competitions, and a student-based enter prise.

A DECA Campaign is where the student organization does things to benefit the group. One campaign is aimed at increas ing membership and then recruit pro

fessional members. This helps students practice marketing in the club, which is an important skill to learn.

DECA also conducts community out reach and sponsors a community service project. Theseefforts help students prac tice networking with other organizations.

The Student Based Enterprise Manual is a competition-that requires DECA stu dents to write an 18–20-page paper on the daily operations and duties involved in running the student-led store at Higley High School, called The Armory.

In running this store, DECA students simulate real-world retail operations from pricing to marketing. The students

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Higley High students gathered to learn about the benefits of belonging to DECA recently.

(Courtesy of Andrew May)

The Wreaths Across America program has blossomed over the last decade and thousands of veterans who have passed away have been honored. (File photo)

UArizona names SRP chief Alumnus of Year

GSN NEWS STAFF

Higley High School DECA prepares students for the The University of Arizona College of Engineering has named Salt River Project CEO and Gilbert resident Mike Hummel its Alumnus of the Year.

Hummel, who also is SRP’s general manager, “watches nearly every football and basketball game, and made time to serve on both the UA Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the UA Engineering Industry Partner Board,” the university said.

Hummel, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1982, is a third generation Wildcat. After finishing his undergraduate in the Old Pueblo, he moved to the Valley, where he has spent more than 40 years with SRP. He launched his career as an electrical engineer in the construction department and in 2018 became general manager and CEO.

The 62-year-old father of two and grandfather of two said his time at UA “is a primary contributor to where I am today and the opportunities I have had. I enjoy trying to pay that back.”

Hummel also holds an M.B.A. from

Arizona State University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Arizona and Nevada; he also successfully completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nuclear Reactor Technology Program.

Hummel is a director on the boards for Teach for America, Electric Power Research Institute, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Large Public Power Council, and the Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited.

Joseph Grant Johansen loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, November 10, 2022, sur rounded by his family. He battled Lewy body dementia for a decade. The guiding stars in his life were love of family and of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was happiest when enjoying time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Joe was born on March 26, 1950, in Mount Pleasant, Utah to Grant Lamar Johansen and Louise Bagley. The fami ly grew to include three siblings, Connie Ames (Terry), Christine Redford (Jim), and Kent Johansen (Lisa). Graduate of North Sanpete High School, he partic ipated in baseball, track, football, and basketball.

Joe entered BYU majoring in microbiol ogy and was called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Japan, Tokyo Mission. He married his eternal sweetheart, Vic toria Lacey, whom he met at BYU, in the Provo, Utah Temple on June 8, 1972. He was a devoted and loving husband throughout their fifty years of marriage.

uaries

They enjoyed a rich life together raising their family while living in California, Kansas, Utah, and Arizona. They have seven children: Natalie Smith (Lance), Bridgett Johnson (Joel), Joseph Kell (Em ily), Summer McKay (Monroe), Tyler Grant (Karissa), John Brock (Megan), and Austin Clark (Natalie). Joe was a role model in education, missionary service, and hard work. To his children, Joe was a great coach during sport seasons and a tutor during school sessions.

His career in dentistry began at Univer sity of Southern California and contin ued through the service in the Army. Joe continued achieving academic excellence through Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency at University of Southern Cal ifornia. He established a practice in the Mesa Arizona community.

Joe is survived by his wife, Victoria, their seven children and spouses, twenty-five grandchildren, and three siblings. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 3rd at Mount Pleasant Utah 3rd Ward on 295 S State St in Mount Pleasant. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to LDS Charities or to the Church’s General Missionary Fund.

Joseph Grant Johansen

Mike Hummel

San Tan Charter helps breast cancer victim

Thanks to the efforts of the vol leyball teams at San Tan Charter School in Gilbert, an East Valley woman has an extra $1,300 for medical bills as she fights breast cancer.

The woman, stepmom of one of the team coaches, was helped by the school’s annual Dig Pink Beast Cancer Fundraiser.

This was the sixth year in a row that the school’s volleyball teams organized and raised money for a local resident who is battling breast cancer.

For all of October, the gym at San Tan Charter School was decorated with pink paper flowers and streamers while Head Varsity Volleyball Coach Nikki Revling and her players dressed in pink for each game.

“We are honored to help her pay some of her medical bills with the money we raised,” Revling said.

“Our families came together and made some beautiful raffle baskets that we

Some of the team members, from left, are: Back row: Rylie Morris, Isabella Bova, Briannah Gibson, Alie Oswald, Tatum Sarver, Sarah Dippre, Elliana Garcia, Lesly Martinez. Front: Erica Castillo, Peyton Schwinden, Gabriella Moshier, Isabella Ortiz, Agatha Caldito, Lexi Garcia, Kylie Bonner. (Submitted)

sold along with T-shirts,” she added. “In addition, half of our door charges and donations were all given to our coach’s stepmom to help pay some of her med

ical bills.”

Several other high schools joined San Tan Charter School in this year’s Dig Pink fundraiser, Revling said, adding

that Miami High School helped create awareness for the event, Santa Rita High School made pink T-shirts, Gilbert Classi cal wore pink socks to a game and Arete Prep hosted a Dig Pink game in October.

“Our Athletic Director Miyone Roan horse led the way by getting our vision out to the other schools in advance so they could participate. It was such a fun time and great experience for us all,” Revling said, adding:

“We also got a huge amount of support from our Team Moms, who purchased all of the decorations and made the pink shirts. Without them we could not have the success we have.”

Revling said she and her players look forward to hosting the Dig Pink breast cancer fundraiser each year, knowing that they will be able to help a woman facing breast cancer.

“It has been such a fun experience watching everyone’s faces light up when they come into our gym all decked out with pink everywhere,” Revling said.

who run The Armory purchase the prod ucts, determine prices, design class shirts, and other basic store-related duties.

Role play and certain writing events simulate real-world situations for stu dents, who propose ideas to a manager or someone on that job level.

In role-plays, students assume the role of an employee trying to promote a mar keting idea to a manager.

This teaches them skills such as speak ing clearly, problem-solving, and creative ness. In a writing event, DECA students create a written plan and presentation.

This teaches them a lot of necessary skills needed in a business orientated work force.

Overall, this student organization sets up aspiring entrepreneurs to be success ful in their respective fields.

DECA also sponsors trips that enable

members to network with hundreds of people.

It will take a lot of work to be success ful int he club but when the members are, they never stop wanting to be in DECA.

Andrew May is the Higley High DECA vice president of leadership.

responsible for wreath laying at Arling ton National Cemetery lays more than two million wreaths across the country.

In addition local memorial ceremo nies Dec. 17, there will be a ceremonial wreath laying at the State Capitol Build ing, Wesley Bolin Plaza,1700 W. Wash ington St., Phoenix.

“I hope this will be an annual tradi tion for Arizona and remind us, partic ularly during the holidays, of how much has been given by our service mem bers.” said the State Capitol WAA Coor

dinator Kelly McDonald.

The 2022 theme is, “Find a Way to Serve” and the inspiration for this year’s theme was Rosie the Riveters, also called “Rosies,” McDonald said.

“These women pulled together to do the work that needed to be done for our freedom during WWII and encourages youth to get involved in their own com munities to serve,” McDonald said.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, a Maine family that started this tradition got an eager reception to

their proposal.

“Several volunteers stepped up to help, including veterans from American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and a truck company owner who transported the wreaths to Arlington, Virginia, where a small ceremony was held at the cemetery’s Tomb of the Un known Soldier,” according to depart ment.

This remained a small yearly tradi tion for nearly 15 years until a photo taken at the 2005 ceremony went viral.

“Almost immediately, thousands of people wanted to know how to help or how they could begin a similar tra dition in their states,” the Defense De partment said.

By 2008, it had become a tradition at dozens of cemeteries across the coun try and has continued to grow, with more than two million graves at over 2,100 cemeteries.

The last day to sponsor a wreath for 2022 is Nov. 29, which is Giving Tues day.

HAVE COMMUNITY NEWS? Contact Cecilia Chan at 480-898-5613 or cchan@timeslocalmedia.com

4 Liv Generations facilities sold for $255M

BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor

Amajor player in the Valley’s net work of independent-assisted liv ing communities has pulled out of that industry to focus solely on tradition al multifamily complexes.

Liv Communities sold four Liv Gener ations senior complexes in Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Phoenix and Scottsdale to Clear water Living of Newport Beach, Califor nia, in a $255 million transaction earlier this month, according to Valley real estate tracker vizzda.com.

There was no announcement of the sale or Clearwater’s entry into the Val ley’s senior care/living community scene. Calls to Clearwater were not returned.

Scott Brooks, CEO of Liv Communities, said his company “continues to advance its mission of helping people live fuller

lives by providing hospitality-focused residential communities for people of varying ages and stages of life.

“As we exit the traditional senior living space, in addition to continuing to grow our conventional Liv multifamily portfo lio of communities, we are enthusiastic about exploring a new offering, Liv+, fo cused on active 55+ adults,” he said in a

prepared statement after this newspaper inquired about the deal.

“As for our LivGenerations portfolio, we are excited about Clearwater Living taking over as stewards for those out standing communities and residents,” Brooks continued. “We believe Clearwa ter holds the same commitment to cre ating a vibrant and high-quality place to

live and work and will help those com munities flourish for years to come.”

The four properties have been rebrand ed as Clearwater facilities.

The properties involved in the transac tion included, according to vizzda data:

-A 141-unit complex comprising two buildings built in 2016 on 7 acres on S. 50th Street near Chandler Boulevard, Ah watukee.

-A 122-unit, two-building complex built in 2013 on 5 acres in Gilbert’s Agri topia community.

-A four-building, 181-unit complex on 14 acres that opened last year at Scotts dale Road and the Loop 101.

-A single building with 110 units built four years ago on four acres at Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak roads.

Ferguson opens giant automated warehouse in Chandler

BY KEN SAIN GSN Staff Writer

Chandler is welcoming another busi ness heavyweight to the city after Ferguson, North America’s leading distributor of plumbing and HVAC sup plies, opened a new market distribution center on Queen Creek Road Nov. 15.

The facility is one of the ways the com pany with 37,000 suppliers hopes to im prove supply-chain slowdowns that have plagued companies since the pandemic began.

The Chandler location is the second such distribution center the company has opened as part of this new strategy, following the original in the Denver area. Eventually, the company hopes to have more than 30 of these centers.

The Chandler center adds 75 new jobs to the area and employs approximately

200 associates. The 365,000-square-foot facility distributes residential plumbing, lighting and appliances, commercial and industrial products to all of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

“We’re looking at between 32 and 35” distribution centers, said James Ogden, the Southwest director of branch opera tions for the company. “There’s a general rule, every NFL city should have a MDC.”

Chandler was the choice for the Phoe nix market.

“As we went through this process to find land in the valley of Phoenix, we will call it, there were many site toured, many things worked out, and I can tell you we’re very happy and thrilled that we ended up in Chandler,” said Marty Young, the company’s Southwest District Man

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

Clearwater Agritopia had been branded as Liv Agritopia until ti and three other Liv senior facilities were sold to Clearwater Senior Living earlier this month. (Facebook)

Marty Young, Ferguson southwest vice president, cut the ribbon on the company’s distri bution center in south Chandler on Nov. 15. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

ager. “It’s worked out wonderfully for us.” A market distribution center includes both a retail store for consumers and a gi ant warehouse for contractors. The goal is to have whatever part anyone is look ing for available for quick delivery.

Even at 385,000 square feet, the ware house turned out to be not big enough. That’s one of the problems with being one of the first ones built, company offi cials said.. The next one to open will be in the Houston area.

“We finally figured out on Houston how to do it correctly, because although this one runs great, it was undersized before we ever moved in,” Ogden said. “So we outgrew it before it was ever built.”

Both Young and Ogden said they plan to expand their new center. Ogden said they own 10 acres of land behind the cur rent warehouse and hope to build anoth er 240,000 square feet as quickly as it can be approved and built.

To improve efficiency, Ferguson is re lying on robots to hunt down whatever customers need. The company dedicates a three-story area of the warehouse to a

team of robots that scuttle about a hon eycomb like structure.

Whenever a box is opened for a part, the unsold products are put into a crate. The computer knows and tracks the ex

act location of that crate. When another customer wants the same part, the robot goes over to where it’s located and gets it. What if the crate they need is at the very bottom of that three-story structure?

“This is a test they did,” Ogden said. “And something on the very bottom is needed for a customer that’s standing at the counter, it takes about 12 and a half minutes to do.”

Ogden said that probably won’t happen often, because the slowest-moving prod ucts will naturally end up at the bottom over time.

“The robots work all day and night, saving on traditional warehouse costs and allowing us to fulfill orders quickly for faster same-day product availability,” said Michael Jacons, Ferguson’s south west vice president of supply chain. “The system also decreases manual handling of materials.”

In addition to the automation technolo gy, the facilities were built with efficiency at the forefront. Ferguson uses a special machine to make custom boxes based on the dimensions of each product to mini mize packaging waste.

Each building features LED motion de tector lighting systems to conserve elec

Strategies for combatting the impact of inflation

BY HAROLD WONG GSN Guest Writer

In 2022, the US in flation rate hit the highest since 1981.

According to recent U.S. Labor Depart ment data, the annual inflation rate was 8.2% for the 12 months ending in Sep tember, 2022, after rising 8.3% the pre vious month.

Some reports indicate that 60-70% of American families are living paycheck to paycheck. Many surveys show that inflation and the economy are the most important issue to voters before the mid term elections.

So, what are potential strategies that you can use to fight how inflation affects your family?

Buy a used car instead of a new car. For most car models, there is tremendous depreciation in value during the first 5

years. People have no idea how much a new car costs.

The inflation of the last two years has raised the price of both new and used cars to record levels. According to new data from Edmunds, for new vehicles the average auto loan is 70.4 months and the monthly payments exceed $700/month.

Example: In 2006, I bought a used, 8-year-old 1998 Lexus ES 300 vehicle. I paid $8,500 which was ¼ of what the original owner paid for the car when new. It had 85,000 miles on it and I now have over 272,000 miles.

Yes, I’ve had to do normal maintenance and, original parts of the car such as the front end and all shock absorbers have had to be replaced. The cost of insurance and annual AZ vehicle registration is way less than half of what it would be for a new car.

Suppose I had an average $50-a-month car loan because I bought a new car ev ery six years. The total payments over the

last 16 years would have been $96,000. This is the 3rd car I’ve owned that has gone over 200,000 miles.

Rent out part of your house via Airbnb, Vrbo, or a normal lease. I have one client, a nurse practitioner, who rents out part of her house for $1,500 a month on a oneyear lease.

Another client, a psychologist who works with veterans, spent $100,000 to build a casita by the pool at his house. He expects to receive $30,000+ a year in an nual rent.

Check with your city and HOA first to find out if there are any restrictions on short-term rentals.

Green energy equipment strategies. Es pecially with the new Inflation Reduction Act, which has allocated at least $370 bil lion of grants and loans for green energy technology, there are opportunities.

In one solar equipment leasing strate gy, the client saves half of his investment amount in taxes.

There is nothing more powerful in the tax code than a 30% solar tax credit and the ability to deduct 85% of the cost of equipment through either Section 179 or 100% “bonus” depreciation.

For many upper-middle-income fam ilies, income taxes are the single biggest expense item, even exceeding housing costs.

Increase the income from your invest ments. The average dividend yield from S&P 500 companies from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2021, has aver aged 2.02%.

One has the risk of having to own the stock in order to receive the dividend. Until the spike in interest rates during the past year, 2% was what one received from buying a 10-year or 30-year US Treasury Bond.

There are equipment leasing, real es tate investment, and private pension

An automated conveyor system moves blue product boxes through the new Ferguson Enterprises distribution center in south Chandler. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

A source said Liv Communities felt that its senior communities – which offer a range of living options from independent to assisted living to memory care – would be better served if they were under the umbrella of a larger provider that had more negotiating power for supplies and services.

Liv does have a traditional apartment complex adjacent to its former senior living complex in Ahwatukee and at one time boasted that it was designed so that younger tenants and residents of its oth er facility could mingle.

short-term stays, and has six complexes in California and one in Nevada in addi tion to its newly acquired Valley sites, ac cording to the company’s website. It also is in the process of building a seventh fa cility in California.

The company has said it is expanding its footprint in the west and partnered in 2017 with The Wolff Company to run its 18 senior living complexes across seven western states.

Clearwater Senior Living offers the same senior living options, including

FERGUSON from page 28

Clearwater CEO Tony Ferro on his web site states the company is committed to “providing high-quality retirement living and exceptional services for seniors and their families.” tricity.

There are 120 people employed in the warehouse area and another 100 or so in the front offices. Before moving to the MDC model, Ferguson relied on regional centers. The one that served the Phoenix area before this was located in Perris, Cal ifornia, and relied on a 1.3-million square feet facility.

Ogden said the biggest factor caus ing supply chain issues in their industry wasn’t necessarily the short shutdowns caused by COVID-19. It was the shortage of semiconductor chips.

“The microchip thing killed us,” he said. “Appliances, absolutely killed us. A lot of a lot of different things that you’re doing pumps with electronic controls, a lot of that stuff. It really was the microchips and that part is still bad. We’re still strug gling through that.”

You don’t have to be a contractor or

INFLATION from page 28

strategies that can generate a 7-10% an nual yield, with less risk than the stock market.

However, because few have invested in assets other than Wall Street stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, there is a time period required to get educated and feel comfortable. Always research any invest ment carefully.

To schedule a free consultation on tax es or retirement planning, contact Dr. Harold Wong at 480-706-0177 or har

company to shop in the Ferguson retail store. It’s set up just like a home supply business. You will pay retail prices, but if you’re looking for a specific, hard-to-find part, it may be your best bet.

You just may have to wait 12 and a half minutes to get it.

But Allison Finerfrock, Ferguson mdc general manager of southwest district, noted: “Supplementing our workforce with the new technology allows distri bution centers like ours to process more orders in a shorter amount of time. We are excited to better serve the contractor community with the products they need, when they need them.”

Ferguson

675 E. Queen Creek Road, Chandler 602-495-8300 www.ferguson.com

old_wong@hotmail.com. His websites are drharoldwong.com or solarbusiness investments.com. Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of Cali fornia/Berkeley.

Contact Cecilia Chan at 480-898-5613 or cchan@timeslocalmedia.com

Highland dominates state cross country meet

BY LANCE HARTZLER GSN Contributing Writer

As runners began to cross the finish line of the Arizona High School Di vision I Cross Country State meet, spectators began to realize what they were witnessing.

Highland senior Emma Baugh crossed for the individual title in 18:46.8. Then her sister Cloe Baugh followed four sec onds later, followed by Basha’s Taylor Dre wry, then another Highland Hawk Kayla Chase. Desert Vista’s Brooklyn Hanania took fifth, followed by two more Hawks in Lindsay Schlink and Stella Hall in sixth and seventh. Desert Vista runner Bailee Christofis took eighth, only for Highland’s Kinley Jackson to follow in ninth.

Highland dominated, placing all seven runners in the top 15, and an even more impressive six runners in the top 10 en route to a second straight team title. The Hawks scored a historically low team score of 20 points, which, according to the AIA archives, is only recently matched in the big school conferences by Desert Vis ta’s 20 points in 2016.

Fitting for a team that preaches unity so heavily to go 1-2-4-6-7-9-15 in the big gest race of the season.

“Our team is always big on unity,” Emma Baugh said. “And this year, it was ‘We do not want individuals, we want team.’ And you can tell it has really helped. You could see the results. … I think it is so exciting. We wanted it real bad and our goal was to be proud of what we did, whether that means coming in first, second, third or however we wanted to be proud and we definitely did that today.”

That unity, or ‘Hunity’ – aka Hawk Uni ty – as Cloe Baugh said her team calls it, was key especially has some adversity hit when Cloe started to feel sick by the first mile. Her sister had passed her and en couraged her to keep powering through, and she did with her runner-up finish.

Elsewhere in the girls’ race, Desert Vis ta finished second to Highland with 65

points. But that isn’t a deterrent to the program, which showed it can still keep the dominance rolling with a strong sec ond place to a historic performance that Highland pulled off.

“I was so proud of us,” Christofis said. “The way that we all left it out there was amazing. Brooklyn kicked a** today the way she was out in front of all of us. She definitely led the team and everyone else fell into place. … Honestly, I think we can keep this going. There is no secret code to what we gotta do, just keep training hard like we have been doing the past five months.”

Xavier College Prep (146), Perry (164), Hamilton (200), Mesa Mountain View (211), Queen Creek (218), Chandler (242), Marana (257) and Rincon Univer sity (258) rounded out the top 10.

The girls were, in Emma’s words, d”ef initely amped” up heading into their race after seeing the performance from their boy’s squad on the team.

The Highland boys took home their second straight team title, winning with a race low of 43 with four runners in the

top 10 including two in the top four with Timothy Willford (16:08.8) and Lucas Witcher (16:11.9) leading the way.

“We have been working together, and every workout we have our top seven coming together through the line and that helps bring our depth (together) and it helps,” Willford said.

“ … It is a lot of mental preparation. We talked about it the last week, who would be up there and what we could expect from them and what we could do.”

Chandler’s Gibson Kibia won the indi vidual title decisively with a gold-medal winning mark of 15:50.2.

“I executed and it is so unreal because I never knew I was ever going to be a state champion,” he said. “ … When (my coach) gave me the call and said I was clear I felt great.”

Elsewhere in the D-I boys’ race, Des ert Vista (154) took third, Red Mountain (165) took fifth, Hamilton (169) was sixth, Mesa Mountain View (179) was seventh and Chandler (235) was 10th.

“I think we handled the course with poise,” Mesa Mountain View head coach

Ronnie Buchanan said. “We got some seniors, but we also got a freshman and sophomore on the team, and I think we handled it well. … The (young guys) had some good examples from the seniors as well which is good.”

Earlier in the day, to get the state meet started, Valley Christian came out firing in the DIV race with a win on the boys’ side and a runner-up team finish on the girls’ side led by Lauren Ping’s fourth state title, her first at the D-IV level after transfer ring from Desert Vista in the DI.

Ping, whose 17:53.2 was the top time of the day for a girls’ runner, was followed by teammate Ellie Phillips in third in 19:43.1. The Trojans finished fourth as a team be hind winner Phoenix Country Day, Glen dale Prep and Northland Prep.

The Valley Christian boys were paced by freshman Jamison Ping’s second-place finish in 16:31.2.

In the DIII girls’ race, Arizona College Prep (208) snagged sixth as a team, ALA Queen Creek (254) was ninth. On the boys’ side, Eastmark and ALA QC were 16th and 17th.

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Highland’s girls’ cross country team dominated the Division I race on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Cave Creek Golf Course.The Hawks scored just 20 points, placing all runners in the top 15 en route to the title. (Lance Hartzler/GSN Contributor) Similar to the girls, the Highland boys also dominated their respective Division I race to win the title. (Lance Hartzler/GSN Contributor)

Floridino employee the hostess with the mostest

BY KEN SAIN GetOut Staff

When people eat out, they al most always notice when they get poor service. Some, how ever, don’t always recognize great ser vice.

The online directory Yelp is hoping to change that by starting the Servies Awards to recognize great service at restaurants around the nation. Chandler is taking home one of the first Servies being handed out.

Felicia Tobin of Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta won the Best Host category.

“My husband mentioned that you’re being recognized for something that people just go to the restaurant and take for granted,” Tobin said in the video Yelp put together to recognize her award.

Tobin received a trophy, a $3,000 gift card, and a pair of Snibbs shoes, which

are designed for long days on your feet. When Yelp officials presented the award to Tobin, they surprised the staff by giv ing them $3,000 as well.

“I don’t want to discredit her by any means,” said Lindsay Gilliland, who is the front of house manager for Floridi nos. “But I think it was a whole team ef fort. Like she has been an amazing rep resentative for it and I think she 100% deserves it. But she stands out because the trust that her team has in her.”

Yelp recognized eight workers. Tobin was the only Arizona winner. The other categories were Best Server, Best Front of House team, Best Hustle, Best Bar tender, Best Team Player, Best Manager, Best Vibe in addition to Best Host.

Tobin said a lot goes into being a good host.

“Attention to detail,” she said. “I host Monday nights and Monday nights are really intense. So we get crazy busy. And

you have to … pay attention to detail, you got to be present, you got to know what’s going on with other servers, you got to know who you can sit and who you can’t sit, and how they’re doing.”

Gilliland said Tobin could easily have won other categories as well and she wasn’t the only employee who was de serving.

“We looked at all the categories,” Gil liland said. “And we’re like, ‘Well, you know, someone that could win every single one of these categories.’”

Like many restaurants, Floridinos needed to change to survive during the pandemic. The pizzeria shut down for only a week after one employee tested positive for the coronavirus. But other than that, they were able to stay open and keep everyone employed.

Tobin said before COVID-19 they used

Bell Bank Park hosting lights extravanganza

GETOUT STAFF

Bell Bank Park in east Mesa is host ing a winter wonderland courtesy of two Scottsdale brothers who are contestants in a popular network TV reality show.

Christmas Town, presented by Kyle and Sammy Pratt, founders of Pratt Brothers Entermazement, are offering a visually dazzling display with six million lights, pyrotechnics, thousands of bub bles and snowfall and multiple holiday activations.

The brothers also are contestants on ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” which debuts its 10th season Nov. 28. General admission tickets for gener al admission are $14.99 at prattbroth erschristmas.com. Several attractions,

including the Sweet Street Train Ride, Santa Experience, and Mrs. Claus Cookie Decorating cost extra.

“We have grown up loving the magic of Christmas but most importantly we wanted to create a place where people can escape the worries of the world and experience the magic of Christmas to a whole new level,” said Kyle.

He’s not kidding.

Christmas Town at Bell Bank Park spans 180,000 square feet and includes: a three- story gingerbread house; mag ical snowfall and thousands of bubbles; a Christmas Forever 360-degree light show synchronized to popular Christ mas songs with pyrotechnics; and the Ivy & Sage Miracle Market.

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

Felicia Tobin of Floridino’s Pizza and Pasta in Chandler won Best Host in the Unit ed States in the first Servies Awards pre sented by Yelp to celebrate front-of-house restaurant employees. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

The Pratt Brothers’ Christmas Town at Bell Bank Park in East Mesa promises a dazzling display of lights and other attractions.

Guests can walk to the Sweet Street Station, where two trains ride around Christmas Town’s six uniquely themed areas such as Cotton Candy Corner, Sug ar Plum Acres, Bakery Boulevard, Lolli pop Lane, Marshmallow Way and Pep permint Place.

“The experience includes attractions for all ages,” Sammy added.

The Pratt Brothers specialize in events and nighttime spectaculars, saying their mission “is to make a dif ference in the world by providing high quality entertainment through unique and one-of-a- kind experiences.”

The extravaganza runs through Jan. 1.

HOSTESS from page 32 to have a line of people lined up at the register waiting to pick up to-go orders. The pandemic forced them to stream line their curbside service, improving it greatly.

Now, they have 12 parking lot spaces dedicated to to-go orders. She said it’s not unheard of for all 12 to be occupied and others waiting for someone to leave.

“It’s an amazing place,” said Tobin, who has worked at Floridinos for five years. “We have a lot of regulars come in every single day, every week. And then, sometimes we’ll have events going on and those events will bring in new people that have never been here and they’ll like the food … and they continue to come back.”

Tobin and others credited their cus tomers for voting and helping her win Best Host. She was nominated by a co-worker. They sent in photos of her at work and the nomination letter explain ing why she was deserving. Yelp then se lected finalists. The winner was chosen by people voting across the nation.

Floridinos General Manager Jason

Stephens said helping Tobin win was a team effort.

“Everybody here was on board right away,” he said. “They were voting ev ery day, they were telling their tables to vote for her. And then when she won, everybody was excited. ... Yelp decided to match the $3,000 for the whole team. So Felicia got her prize money, but then they gave us prize money to us for the whole team.”

Stephens said he will use that money for the restaurant’s holiday party.

Floridinos has been a Chandler desti nation for 26 years.

“Everybody puts their egos aside and just comes together and gets things done,” Stephens said.

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

Add this dessert to your Thanksgiving menu planning

There’s always room for another dessert with pumpkin spice around this time of the year, right?

If you love pumpkin pie or tiramisu, this is a fun and delicious recipe to try.

My favorite part of the process was making the lady fingers. (They’re also a tasty snack and great for dunking in your pumpkin-spiced latte!)

If you’re looking to change up your tradition Thanksgiving feast or just want to celebrate the season, Pumpkin Tiramisu will be a fun way to spend time filling your kitchen with delicious aro mas and flavors of fall!

Ingredients:

For the ladyfingers (You will need 48 cookies for three layers)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup solid-pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon dark rum

2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the tiramisu

2-1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin (two 15 oz cans)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

12 ounces mascarpone, softened

1/4 cup dark rum

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions

Step #1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step #2. Make the pumpkin lady fingers. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Step #3. Gradually beat in the egg and honey. Add pumpkin and rum, mixing well to combine.

Step #4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cloves and salt. Gradually mix into creamed mixture and beat well.

Step #5. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 3/4-in. hole or tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Working in batches, pipe dough to form 2-inch logs about 1 inch apart.

Step #6. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat process until all of the batter is used up and the yield is 48 cookies.

Step #7. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

Step #8. In a small bowl, beat the heavy cream until it begins to thicken. Add the sugar and beat until soft peaks form.

Step #9. Fold one third of the whipped cream mixture into pumpkin mixture.

Step #10. I n a small bowl, beat the mascarpone until smooth. Add the remaining whipped cream and blend until well combined.

Step #11. Assemble the tiramisu. In a 13x9 inch casserole dish, arrange one third of the cookies in a single layer. Brush lady fingers with one third of the rum. Top with one third of the pumpkin filling. Spread with one third of the mascarpone mixture. Repeat layers two more times, sprinkling with a small amount of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Step #12. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight. Serves 10-12.

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job code: QAMGC.

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