Gilbert Sun News 122522

668 apartments, 135 townhomes proposed near downtown

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Adeveloper is proposing to build 135 townhomes, five-story buildings with a total 668 apartments and ancillary commercial projects on 27.67 acres near the southeast corner of Neely Street and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Gilbert.

Missouri-based Keeley Properties will first need to get the town’s approval for a General

Plan amendment and a rezone of the land use from general industrial. Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Is selling the property and relocating.

“General industrial zoning is your most intensive zoning in the Town of Gilbert,” land-use attorney Adam Baugh said at a neighborhood meeting Dec. 14. About 30 residents, mostly from the Neely Ranch community, attended.

Baugh said a lot of development these days is light industrial and that it’s rare to

see general industrial zoning except in areas located away from residential communities. He told residents that if they saw what was allowed under this zoning category, they would be concerned with what could be there in the future.

According to the town, general industrial uses cover activities such as manufacturing, food and materials processing and packaging, warehousing and storage,

Gilbert mom’s blanket drive helps forgotten kids

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

rittany Montoya was 13 when she landed in the state foster care system.

It was the month of October, she recalled.

“My biological mother, she married a man from another country and he was the one who was abusive and she just let him,” the Gilbert mom of two sons said. “I was taken away from home because of him. Thanks to him I was put into foster care, put into a group home.”

Adding to her trauma, Montoya said, was the fact she was uprooted and moved into a different group home every 30 days.

At her third group home she was taken out just a few days before Christmas by a couple who eventually adopted her and gave her a loving home.

To this day, Montoya hasn’t forgotten what it was like for her.

“I personally know how bad it is,” she said. “A lot of people think when you are in foster care at least

Brittany Montoya of Gilbert remembers her teen years in foster care and to help other foster kids, she has been collecting blankets for them. By mid-week last week, she had 413.(David Minton/GSN Staff )

Fatal Gilbert crash inspires condolences, donations

GSN NEWS STAFF

Condolences and money poured in for Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and his family following the deaths of his son and granddaughter in a two-vehicle accident in Gilbert.

Cooper Lamb, 22, and his 1-year-old daughter, Elaine or Lainey, of San Tan Valley were both pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. The dad’s fiancé Caroline Patten, the driver, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries four days after the Dec. 16 collision, officials said.

According to Gilbert Police, officers responded shortly after 3:45 p.m. Dec. 16 to the accident on Elliot Road and Cole Drive near Morrison Ranch.

A silver pick-up truck heading west “at what appears to be normal speeds” struck a red passenger car traveling east as it attempted to make a left-hand turn to go north on Cole, according to police.

Police said the driver of the pickup was

not injured and identified him as Brian Torres, 21.

After an on-scene DUI investigation was conducted, Torres was arrested, transported to the Gilbert Police Department Main Station, and processed for DUI, police said

“The investigation is still ongoing at this time to determine the most appropriate charges, and a laboratory analysis of Torres’s blood is still pending,” police said.

Once the investigation is complete, charges may be referred to the appropriate prosecutor’s office, according to the department.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said the family was still making funeral arrangements, which were expected to be announced late last week before Gilbert Sun News’ deadline.

Two online fundraisers have been set up for the Lambs, at FundtheFirst.com and at GoFundMe.

FundtheFirst is seeking to raise $100,000 to provide support and relief for the sheriff and his family. As of Thurssday, 223 donors gave a total of $20.538. The organizers for the GoFundMe account are trying to raise $35,000 to help the family cover funeral expenses. By Tuesday, 587 people contributed a total of $61,693.

And over 1,000 people posted words of comfort to the family on the Sheriff’s Department Facebook page announcing the tragedy and 12,000 posted on the sheriff’s Facebook page.

Lamb acknowledged the community’s outpouring of support and thanked the first-responders who rendered aid at the scene saying, “Our hearts are broken but we are comforted in your love and the love of God and Jesus Christ.”

A crash in Gilbert involving Cooper Lamb, his fiancé Caroline Patton and their year-old daughter left the father and baby dead and the mother hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. (Facebook)

2022 brought much change to Gilbert

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

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Gilbert is heading toward the end of 2022 with a list of notable accomplishments such as the opening of the Lindsay interchange and the formation of a police crisis response team. It also has been a year of change with new faces elected to council and the Gilbert Public Schools and Higley Unified governing boards.

Among the highlights of 2022 locally are:

• The town’s 50-acre Public Safety Training Facility, which debut in 2021, graduated the Police Department’s first academy class of 11 officers. The Fire Department’s first set of cadets graduated in 2021 from the $85-million state-of-the-art facility.

• The town partnered with SRP to bring 2.5 megawatts of solar energy to Gilbert, supplying approximately 17% of the municipal energy use. Gilbert is using the power for streetlights, municipal facilities and water/wastewater treatment and delivery.

• Higley Unified failed for the second time in two years to win voter approval of a bond, which at $77.2 million was lower than the $95 million bond it proposed in 2021. HUSD removed one of the controversial proposals that was in the 2021 bond: retiring one of two middle school leases.

• Cactus Yards was named Outstanding Park of the Year by the U.S. Specialty Sports Association for the third

straight year. The sports facility, which includes eight replicas of major league ballparks, received a perfect score across the board on park amenities, cleanliness, field conditions and more.

• Park University’s campus in the Heritage District held its inaugural commencement ceremony for about 70 graduates, who received their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The Missouri-based higher institute of learning debuted in the town University Building in 2018.

• Fire Chief Jim Jobusch announced his retirement after nine years leading the department of nearly 275 personnel and 11 stations across town. Assistant Chief Rob Duggan was named the new chief.

• After nearly two years of construction, the Lindsay Road interchange at the Loop 202 Santan Freeway opened, giving better access to Gilbert’s Central Business District and easing congestion in south Gilbert.

• With the ongoing drought in the Southwest, Gilbert activated the first of its four-stage water management plan, which focuses on education efforts and calls for voluntary conservation while the town increases its efforts to reduce municipal water use.

• Gilbert Police launched a Crisis Response Team, one of the first of its kind in the East Valley. The five-member team is trained in crisis intervention, de-escalation tactics and negotiations.

According to the department, crisis response teams result in lower overdoses, significant drops in the use of the emergency department, a reduction in inappropriate use of community

resources, decreases in arrests, lowered use-of-force incidents and lower suicide rates.

• Gilbert Fire Department became the first fire agency in the state to get a therapy dog – an English Springer Spaniel named Quinn, which helps firefighters deal with job stress. Gilbert police officers have had their own therapy dog, Cora, since 2019.

• Town Council saw four of its seven seats go up for election. In the August Primary, Councilwoman Yung Koprowski, who was appointed in 2020, won her first election. She was joined by Jim Torgeson and Chuck Bongiovanni. Candidate Bobbi Buchli won her face-off in the November election. Council members Aimee Yentes and Laurin Hendrix didn’t seek re-election and Councilman Scott September lost in the Primary.

• Meanwhile, GPS board incumbent Jill Humpherys won and was joined by Chad Thompson and Ronda Page. Board members Dr. Charles Santa Cruz and Bill Parker, an appointee, opted not to run.

HUSD saw newcomers Amanda Wade and Anna Van Hoek win seats on the five-member governing board. Incum-

GSN NEWS STAFF

This year the Gilbert Fire Department got its own therapy dog, an English Springer Spaniel named Quinn. (GSN file photo)

After two years of work, the new Loop 202-Lindsay Road interchange opened in south Gilbert. (GSN file photo)

waste management, motor vehicle and heavy-equipment storage and repair, utilities and freight/truck terminals.

“We propose a different plan,” Baugh said. “We are not industrial developers and we don’t think it’s the right long-term use for the property. We want to build something unique in town.”

Keeley is proposing the 668 apartments on 13.81 acres, 135 single-family attached and detached housing on 12.76 acres and general commercial such as a 7,200-square-foot restaurant on 1.07 acres. Nelsen Partners in Scottsdale is the project architect.

Baugh said the town’s Redevelopment Plan for downtown influenced the developer’s proposal.

Last updated in 2018, the plan sets forth a vision for parcels within and adjacent to the Heritage District guide what Gilbert expected to see come down the pipeline, he said. Under the plan, the preferred land use on most of the property is multifamily.

According to Baugh, the town’s stated need for the area is to create opportunity

for residential development that would help buoy Heritage District businesses.

The plan also identifies a park/retentions land use along the northern edge of the property, where a proposed park and residential would be developed.

The developer is proposing to put 1 acre of commercial development at the north portion of the site near the pedestrian bridge that opened in 2021 to provide for safe passage over the railroad tracks.

Baugh said the challenge to putting in more retail is that the property is “so far away from roads,” making it hard to attract commercial users.

And because any commercial on the site could not rely on drive-by traffic, it would have to be able to provide “an experience” so that it becomes a designation spot, he said, referencing Joe’s Farm Grill at Agritopia.

For the multifamily residences, the developer is proposing an urban environment with angled parking and walk-up units. The 60-foot-tall apartment com-

Tax defeat leaves fire districts in a bind

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER GSN Staff Writer

State firefighter organizations lobbied the Legislature this year to put a question on the Nov. 8 ballot asking voters to approve a 20-year, .1% sales tax that would generate revenue for fire districts across the state.

The Legislature obliged, but in a 5248% vote – 1,230,042 against to 1,144,495 for – Arizona voters shot down Prop 310, sending fire officials back to the drawing board to address a funding problem they

say isn’t going away any time soon.

Firefighters also noted that at the same time as Proposition 310 failed, voters approved another legislative initiative that requires ballot questions posing tax increases to pass with at least a 60% approval.

Approval of Prop 132 by a 50.7% to 49.3% – 1,210,702 votes in favor and 1,176,327 against – means it will be even harder to get a tax passed in the future.

“We were obviously disappointed. Like the air came out of our sails,” Daisy Mountain Fire District Chief Brian Tobin

said. “My firefighters worked very hard on their days off to try and get as much education and information out about 310, but we came up short.”

Tobin and Superstition Fire District Chief John Whitney said Arizona’s urban departments also lost with the defeat of 310.

They said Arizona’s robust “automatic mutual aid” system among first responders stands out among states and helps all of the various police and fire departments to function as one large emergency department for the state.

If a five-alarm fire breaks out on the edge of a city, resources from surrounding departments are deployed in an efficient system.

With a more resilient source of funding, Arizona fire districts would have been able to bring more to the table in the mutual aid system.

Fire districts are special taxing districts governed by an elected board that provide fire service to areas where none exists, such as areas not covered by a mu-

plex also would wrap around a garage to remove some asphalt and reduce the heat-island effect, Baugh said.

Some residents weren’t happy with the project.

“We hear the trains, the ducks and coyotes,” said Lupe Robles, whose home on Aviary Way is across the street from the Neely Ranch Riparian Preserve. “Keep it that way. We don’t want the traffic. We have grandchildren that play in the streets.”

The residents focused on safety with the anticipated increase in traffic on Neely Street, the access for the project, and said they already have problems with drivers cutting through their neighborhood on Aviary Way.

Jamie Blakeman, a transportation engineer hired by the developer, said, “There are solutions we can do.”

She also said that residential developments generate the lowest number of vehicle trips compared with commercial and that since the pandemic. more people are working from home instead of commuting to work.

Residents also objected to the proposed apartments.

“Homes are one thing, apartments are another,” one man commented while another said, “This is high density. Get it to medium and we’ll talk.”

A woman said that her backyard faces Neely and people speed on that road and she wanted speed humps. She also said neighborhood kids play in a nearby

greenbelt, which she doesn’t mind, but that the proposed housing bring more users there, causing wear and tear.

She also said the project will “bring in lower groups of people possibly and the dangers of our neighborhood could increase.”

This was the second neighborhood meeting. At the first meeting earlier this year, neighbors were presented with a rough draft of the project.

Baugh said he expected comments from town planners in the next 30 days on the proposal and anticipated a formal submittal in the spring. He said another neighborhood meeting will be held if there are significant changes to the plan.

Keeley President Jason Braidwood said

the company still has a way to go with the proposal. He said if Keeley buys the property, the lumber yard would lease the site for well over year.

The proposed project at Neely is not the only thing Keeley has going on in Gilbert.

Town Council on Dec. 13 approved a contract to sell the South Anchor site, 2.88 vacant acres at the northwest corner of Gilbert and Elliot roads in the Heritage District to KDG Real Estate, which is now Keeley.

The developer has agreed to build a mixed-use project no less than 320,000 square feet and no higher than 55 feet, the maximum height allowed in the downtown.

Under the agreement, 5,000 gross square feet need to be for commercial uses, 344,000 square feet for residential or 200 units and 2,000 square feet for coworking or community space.

Additionally, a parking structure to support the development needs to be built with the residential building wrapping around it.

The plan also identifies a park/retentions land use along the northern edge of the property, where a proposed park and residential would be developed. (Nelson Partners)

Attorney Adam Baugh, representing developer Keeley Properties, explained the project at a neighborhood meeting earlier this month. (Special to GSN)

nicipal fire department.

Arizona’s 154 fire districts provide emergency fire and medical service over huge swaths of the state, including major transportation corridors like I-10. In terms of the number of firefighters the districts employ, they aren’t as large of municipal departments.

About a third of the state’s professional firefighters – or about 2,500 of 7,500 –work for districts.

But many of those fire districts, especially those serving the urban-wildland interface, provide fire protection to dynamic areas as residents move into rural areas, recreation and traffic swells, and wildfire risk grows.

In all, the districts employ over 4,000 trained personnel to provide fire, rescue, and emergency medical services to roughly 1.5 million Arizona residents every day, protecting over 15,000 square miles from fires and covering 27,000 square miles with emergency medical services.

Outside Mesa, for example, the Super-

stition Fire and Medical District serves communities east of Meridian Road, Apache Junction and the State Route 60 corridor in Pinal County.

The Daisy Mountain Fire District serves the area north of Phoenix along the busy I-17 corridor as far north as Sunset Point.

“Every weekend it’s a s— show” along the I-17 corridor,” Tobin said.

One contemplated project using Prop 310 funds was a fire station at Sunset Point, a major rest area for north-south travelers in the state.

“We’ve just had a need in rural areas that are close to urban areas where people hike, bike and ATV, and we don’t have the technical expertise to respond to those incidents. We rely on our partners to respond to those incidents,” he said.

Tobin said fire districts took a major hit in funding when property values plunged during the Great Recession because property taxes are their main source of revenue. The impact was so

significant that many fire districts are still trying to get back to pre-recession levels of service.

Daisy Mountain, for example, has fewer firefighters per capita than it did before the recession, according to Tobin.

“It’s been a very slow process to build back out of that,” Tobin said. “We were hoping to at least get ourselves back up to where we were before that time” with Prop 310 funding.

Tobin said there was “excitement” in the department about some of the lifesaving equipment it could buy with the funding. An example, he said, is telehealth equipment on ambulances that would allow medics to coordinate with doctors more closely on long rides to hospitals.

Unlike municipal departments, fire districts say they are especially challenged because they are almost totally dependent on property taxes.

They saw Prop 310 as a way to diversify funding streams.

Whitney said that because the state

limits annual increases in property valuations for taxation, his district has only just now crawled back to its funding levels of 10 years ago even though call volume has seen a “dramatic jump” in recent years.

“At the end of the day, we don’t have access to state shared revenue, we don’t have sales taxes, we don’t have all the different mechanisms available to municipal fire departments,” Whitney said.

“So the citizens of the community continue to shoulder the burden for anyone who uses the services of the district,” he said.

Whitney was disappointed by the defeat of Prop. 310, but he said he isn’t angry at voters and knows they still support their firefighters.

“We understand that there’s a lot of fear about recession and inflation, and people are very conscientious right now about what they’re spending in taxes,” Whitney said. “We understood the chal-

Mattress Firm helps needy kids with “’sleep kits’

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GSN Staff Writer

Holidays can be an especially stressful time for children in foster care group home across the Valley.

Because of this, Mattress Firm – a national retail chain of retailers that hosted its annual national conference at The Westin Kierland earlier this month – decided to spread some holiday cheer among those kids by assembling 800 sleep kits.

It partnered with Mesa-based nonprofit Hands On Phoenix, which recommended that the retail giant donate the Sweet Dream Kits to children who benefit from the work of Arizonans for Children, another Mesa nonprofit that aims to alleviate hardships and improve the fragile lives of abused, abandoned and

you have a mom and a dad. In group homes, it’s not a formal family situation. You don’t have a father and mother. You have employees working there and the employees change often.”

So, 10 years ago, Montoya began the annual tradition of asking people to donate blankets that she would then bring to Valley group homes for Christmas.

“When you are taken out of your home, you have nothing,” said Montoya, who by mid-week last week had 413 blankets. “That is why I ask for blankets.

“It’s not like they are put in a home with nothing but there is not a nice, soft, comforting blanket. That is why I ask for soft, something they can hug on and it’s their own they can take with them. Things in a group home are not theirs.”

Unlike last year, this year’s donations were overwhelming with some blankets handmade by people, including a 12-year-old boy and a retired nurse with 14 grandchildren, according to Montoya.

“My living room is full of blankets,” Montoya said a few days before Christmas. “It’s been wonderful. I’ve been crying. I’ve been so moved by how wonderful this has been – so heartwarming, so

many people wanting to do this.”

One donor seeing the wish list for the boys’ group home wanted to do more and purchased each a name-brand sweatshirt, according to Montoya. “I assure you they’ve never had anything name-brand in their life,” she said.

Montoya said the annual blanket drive

also is aimed at bringing public awareness to kids in foster care, who are often forgotten especially around the holidays.

‘Sadly, the foster kids that are in group homes are not in a good spot,” she said. “These kids are the ones that the state didn’t know what to do with due to either issues or their age.

“Most of them will be in group homes until they age out of the system at 18 years old, which is so sad.”

According to Arizona Department of Child Safety, there were 11,309 children, 17 and younger, in foster care as of October, the latest available data. The children were placed either with family members, a licensed family home or a group home.

There were an additional 891 people, 18-20 years old, in extended foster care

neglected children in foster care in the Phoenix Metro region.

“These kids have gone through lots of things,” said Clarissa Rice, Arizonans for Children supervised visitation assistant. “We work with children that are in the system and we work with children that are aware that their parents are in court or going to a Family Court case, and that’s never easy for anyone, especially a child.

“These kits will just bring some light into their day and make them much happier.”

Included in each sleep kit were new pajamas, a stuffed animal, a nightlight, a book, bath time products and dental hygiene products wrapped in canvas bags. They were funded by Mattress Firm’s corporate social responsibility program.

for the same time period.

In 2022, there were 2,936 licensed foster homes and 78 group home providers in the state, reported Who Cares, the nation’s first public resource on foster care capacity. Although the state’s goal is to reunite children with their birth families, sometime that doesn’t happen.

Nearly 800 youth age out of the foster care system in Arizona each year, according to Arizona’s Children Association, which recruits, trains and provides necessary supports for foster families.

Youths who age out of care at 18 tend to face more challenges, including 1 in 5 was homeless, 58% graduated high school by 19, 46% were employed and 1 in 4 was involved in the criminal justice system within two years of leaving, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

For now, Montoya is doing all she can as “kind of like pay it forward.”

“I hope to bring what little holiday cheer I possibly can to the kids there that I am able to,” Montoya said. “There are so many of them it is hard but even if I am able to cheer up one kid’s holiday that makes my holiday better.”

Mattress Firm employees and some Hands On Phoenix representatives got together with various vendor representatives to create up to 800 Sweet Dream Kits at Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

Brittany Montoya was overwhelmed by the generosity of people who donated blankets to her drive. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)

lenges all along.”

Whitney thinks the task of convincing voters was made harder by the complexity of the topic and confusion about the difference between fire districts and other fire departments.

With costs and call volumes still growing for fire districts, what’s next after Prop 310’s failure?

“Plan B is to reconvene the stakeholders, and find our way down to the state leadership and try to figure out a solution, whether that’s through surplus funds, ... alternative funding mechanisms, something to help offset,” Whitney said.

Whitney predicted that in the short-term, many fire district property owners will see increases in their fire service levies. Last year, the Legislature raised the cap on these levies as part of a larger tax reform package.

The tax reform lowered the state’s commercial property tax rate, but approved a phased increased in the maximum levy that local fire district boards can set and to help districts compensate for lost revenue from commercial owners.

The previous cap was 3.25% and will go up to 3.75% by tax year 2024.

Fire Ground Survival is an extensive training through which all the members of the Daisy Mountain Fire District company learn techniques for saving themselves if they become lost or trapped in a lifethreatening situation during a fire. “Crews learn many techniques to give them the best preparation for these high risk/low frequency events,” a district spokesman said. (Facebook).

Whitney said the change will help, but districts don’t like having to hike levies.

“The problem is most of the citizens don’t know about the commercial decrease. All they see is us raising their taxes,” Whitney said. “Great, then we get to

take the beating for that.”

“My district board chose not to increase the level,” Tobin said, because the increased revenue from higher property valuations will be just enough to cover recent cost increases.

DEATHS

from page 3

Lamb was elected sheriff in 2016. He calls himself a constitutional conservative and self-published the book “American Sheriff: Traditional Values in a Modern World.”

He also is a frequent commentator on Fox and Newsmax.

TO HELP

To help Sheriff Mark Lamb and his family: fundthefirst.com/.../support-for-sherifflamb.

gofundme.com/.../cooper-lamb-familyfuneral.

2 groups want

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Two groups involved in politics in Arizona want a court to void a new voter-approved law designed to prohibit “dark money’’ in political races.

The Center for Arizona Policy and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club contend that Proposition 211 runs afoul of a provision in the Arizona Constitution saying every person “may speak freely ... on all subjects.’’ And that, the lawsuit said, includes the right not to be forced to speak.

“The act violates Arizonans’ right to speak freely by chilling donors from supporting causes they believe in and wish to support, lest their charitable giving become public knowledge,’’ wrote attorney Scott Freeman of the Goldwater Institute.

He represents the two organizations which urged voters to reject the measure. That effort was unsuccessful as it was approved by a margin of close to 3-1.

upend voter-OK’d dark money imitative

that the initiative violates another state constitutional provision that says no individual “shall be disturbed in his private affairs ... without authority of law.’’

That, he said, includes financial information, political choices -- and giving to “charities engaging in campaign media spending.’’ And Freeman said that also protect the financial dealings of private organizations.

Only thing is, the “charities’’ the new law affects includes what the Internal Revenue Service classifies as “social welfare organizations.’’ And while they are nonprofit entities, they can use up to half the money they raise for partisan political activities, including spending money for and against candidates and ballot measures.

Freeman also said the law impairs the ability of nonprofit groups to engage in dialog on public issues to avoid having to

disclose the names of their donors.

In the lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Freeman also argues

But Scot Mussi, president of the Free Enterprise Club, said his organization fits the IRS definition because it is “doing work that helps out others,’’ even if it

Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard collected thousands of signatures to get the dark money measure on the 2022 ballot. Now, special-interest conservative gorups want to upend the initiative, which won overwhelming voter approval. (GSN file photo)

Marijuana sales steadily increasing in Arizona

BY RYAN KNAPPENBERGER Cronkite News

Sales of marijuana in Arizona soared to $1.6 billion in 2021, just one year after recreational pot was legalized in the state, making Arizona second only to California for retail sales that year, according to an industry research group.

But while retail sales of cannabis are strong, the crop is far from being added to the traditional “5 C’s” of Arizona’s economy, experts say, as production still trails far behind other states.

They say cannabis could become a strong part of the state’s economy in the next few years, but the industry will first have to overcome barriers to growth nationwide that include limited trade and restrictions on financing for a crop that is still illegal on the federal level.

“We don’t see SWAT teams busting in the doors of dispensaries,” said Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “But we do have problems with not being able to take tax deductions like a normal industry, or being able to have interstate commerce, which really creates a barrier to entry for a lot of folks.”

But for now, at least, the industry appears to be growing in Arizona.

Marijuana sales brought in $221.3 million in taxes in 2021, according to the

Arizona Department of Revenue, and sales in 2022 were on pace to eclipse that number, with $196.4 million in taxes in the first nine months of the year. That’s an average of just under $22 million in excise taxes a month for 2022.

Cultivation and production of cannabis as a crop, however, are not about to rival the 5 C’s: cattle, cotton, copper, citrus and climate.

Alexis Villacis Aveiga, an assistant professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, said that in order for cannabis to rival the rest of the 5 C’s, the state would need to see a much larger expansion of agricultural production.

But Arizona’s climate makes it difficult to grow cannabis, he said, and while greenhouses can help address that issue, Arizona has a lot of catching up to do with other states.

“For example, we have 35,000 square feet of indoors cannabis and hemp,” Aveiga said. “In California there are over 4 million square feet, Colorado has over 2 million and Kentucky has around 200,000.

“So Arizona is pretty small compared to other states,” he said.

Dave DeWalt, the Arizona statistician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in an email that the state had about 129,000 acres of cotton in production

Arizona has seen a decline in the marijuana market share involving flower and an increase in the popularity of vape pens and pre-rolls, according to the latest available market data.. (headset.com)

“We have a broader corporate social responsibility program at Mattress Firm and it is all about the health and well-being of our associates and of the communities that we work and live in across the country,” said Mattress Firm spokeswoman Christina Beckman.

“We work with national nonprofit partners as a part of that work and we have programs that our associates can get involved in and we also have a product donations program where we’re able to give some of our products for good.”

Beckman also said giving back is a company value within Mattress Firm.

“Giving back is certainly one of our core values at Mattress Firm and it’s something that we really wanted to prioritize when we were in town,” Beckman said.

“We care a lot about it and we always have a large give-back event at our larger company gatherings. But more importantly, it is December and often these children probably won’t be celebrating as the rest of us are during the holidays.”

Mattress Firm recruited 450 volunteers to assemble the kits.

The kits were then distributed to children around the Valley at an official ceremony hosted at Arizonans for Children’s facility in Phoenix on Dec. 19, which also

featured an appearance by Santa Claus.

“It lets these sweet kids know that people care about them and that people want to help them just to make their night better,” Rice said.

Beckman agreed.

“We are so proud to bring integrity to sleep to children and adults in folks across the country,” Beckman said.

“We’re also very aware that it is the holidays and we have to think about those who are perhaps not as privileged as the rest of us, so we need to do as much as we can to give people a good night’s rest as what we’re all about here at Mattress Firm.”

Beckman hopes that these kits provide some much-needed cheer and relief to both the children and the nonprofit.

“It has been a tough year for us all, especially for nonprofits,” Beckman said. “Because of that, we hope that these kids sleep well, that they have sweet dreams, and that this will bring at least a little bit of comfort.”

Info: Arizonansforchildren.org and mattressfirm.com

bents Jill Wilson and Amy Kaylor opted not to run.

• After an 18-month closure for extensive renovations, Town Hall reopened for business in December. The nearly $20-million makeover included expanded space and a bunch of upgrades such as to the heating and cooling systems.

• The Ranch, a proposed 300-acre light industrial development proposed adjacent to the Morrison Ranch community drew angry residents who packed town meetings. The issue prompted the mayor at two council meetings to order police to remove residents from the audience. Her actions prompted the three residents who were ejected for quietly holding up signs at the back of the meeting room to file a

claim against her over free speech.

• Facing residents upset with issues in town such as high-density apartments, passenger rail and The Ranch prompted the formation of a council subcommittee to look for ways to promote civil discourse during public discussion of agenda items.

• The town Parks and Recreation Department earned a Certified Autism Center designation from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards for undergoing training and implementing new programs and resources to better serve autistic or sensory-sensitive individuals such as noise-canceling headphones and other sensory tools at each recreation venue.

WARNING!

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

THE 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 December 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.

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.

Aspen Medical 4540 E. Baseline Rd., Suite 119 Mesa, AZ, 85206 *(480) 274-3157*

does try to influence elections.

The initiative was aimed at what former Attorney General Terry Goddard, who helped craft it, considers a loophole in the law. Arizona law for years has required the names of those who give at least $50 to political campaigns or to support or oppose ballot measures to be made public. That includes “in-kind’’ contributions, where some organization, rather than give money to a cause, runs its own commercials.

But the law until now has been that only the name of the organization need be made public, not the individuals or corporations who donated to the group. That, he said, is why the sponsors of so many of the political commercials run during the campaign were identified only by names that gave viewers no clue as to who really was financing them.

The Free Enterprise Club itself reported spending money just this year on several legislative races, both for candidates it supported and against those it opposed. But those reports gave no indication from where the group’s money came.

Goddard said Proposition 211 addresses that by requiring public disclosure of anyone who has given at least $5,000 to one of these groups. Potentially more significant, it requires any group making political expenditures to trace the money back to its original source, no matter how many hands it has passed through.

Mussi said the initiative is built on the premise that money is being deliberately funneled through organizations like his to hide the source. He said it’s not that simple.

“You’re operating under the assumption that giving to the Free Enterprise Club or any other organization that was the impetus for the giving,’’ he said.

Goddard, however, said there’s no reason for state law to allow a special carveout from disclosure requirements.

“Ninety nine percent of all people that participate in political contributions in Arizona disclose fully their name, their home address and their employer,’’ he said. “All we’re asking for is that the same rules apply to everybody.’’

MARIJUANA

from page 12

in 2021, worth about $156 million, and that cattle brought in $754 million that year. There were 10,031 acres of citrus in the state in 2017, the most recent year for which USDA has data available.

Acreage for cannabis production was not readily available, but the Arizona Department of Agriculture measures the production of hemp – a type of cannabis plant that contains 0.3% or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of the plant that gives users a high.

Hemp cannot be used to get high, but can be used to create things like rope, paper, paint, beer, medicine and more.

The department said Arizona had 155. 5 acres of industrial hemp growing in fields at the end of 2021, and 11,558 square feet planted indoors.

Aveiga said current state regulations make hemp less attractive as a crop because farmers can only sell their harvest if it is below the 0.3% limit for THC. Otherwise, it counts as marijuana, which requires a separate license to grow and sell.

Smith, of the NCIA, said it’s not just farmers: Businesses trying to sell medical and recreational marijuana face legal hurdles that other businesses don’t. He said regulations for cannabis make it difficult for small businesses to deduct expenses and find banks to work with. That means some operators cannot take credit cards for purchases and in some cases cannot place cash in checking accounts.

“It just serves nobody’s interest to have the industry operate in cash or you do not have access to these services,” Smith said.

Despite all the current hurdles, Smith said Arizona has been a pioneering purple state in terms of cannabis regulation and has shown just how popular legalization can be.

“Cannabis is used across demographics, boomers and millennials and Gen Z, people over 21 are using responsibly and we’re glad to see that,” Smith said. “Arizona law is by and large working well.”

Cowboy Church resonates in area’s horse culture

BY MARK MORAN GSN Staff Writer

Typically, the only time you might have to clean up livestock manure at church is if there have been live animals in a manger scene. Not so in Queen Creek.

“Cowboy Church is a little different,” said 58-year-old pastor Billy Van Camp. “Wear your hat. Bring your horse, bring your mule, bring your dog, bring your pig, bring your goat. Wear whatever you want to wear. Just show up.

“We’re real Western culture. Real cut to the chase. No B.S. You know what I mean?” said Van Camp, who leads church services once a month in the arena at Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Centre in Queen Creek, where about 500 congregants attend.

“Last year I brought out a wild mustang that had never been ridden, put it in a round pen while I preached about how God can take even the wildest person in the world,” Van Camp said,.

“I got on that Mustang and rode him. And it shows people that no matter how wild you are, if you will, if you get right and get under the right mentor and have somebody help you, you know what? You can be used.”

There is a method to Van Camp’s unorthodox approach.

“I’m trying to reach the people who would never pull into the parking lot of an organized church,” Van Camp said. “I just want to reach the people who aren’t churchy. I hate religion. I love relationship.

“And what’s cool is pretty soon they’ll show up at church. It’s almost like my little farm team for my church.”

That’s a reference to Cry Church, the brick-and-mortar building where Van Camp pastors on 17 acres at the corner of Sossamon Road and Hunt Highway in Queen Creek, and attracts about 1,200

Pastor Bill Van Camp recently baptized Lori Skon of Queen Creek in the baptism trough he carries in the backseat of his pickup. (Special to GSN)

parishioners each week. It’s home to a K-7 school now, too.

Van Camp is not a minister by trade. He is a career business owner and still owns building and concrete companies as well as a cattle herd.

But he decided to completely change the direction of his life 18 years ago.

“I felt the call of God at 40 sitting in church one day,” Van Camp said. “Never in a million years would I have dreamt to be a pastor. I’m reaching people that I grew up with. It’s a lot of fun.”

The Queen Creek native uses Cowboy Church to attract the type of people with similar interests to his, joining the desire he said people have to find purpose, meaning and connection to something greater than themselves ,

“I roped and I rodeo’ed and I rode hard stock and rough stock and I wanted to reach those people. Riding a mule and talking about Jesus and it just kinda took off,” he said.

“We’ll even show them how to rope. It takes practice and consistency – like reading The Word. You can’t just get it one time a month and go out and win money, you got to develop a strategy to rodeo. You gotta develop a strategy to walk a spiritual life,” Van Camp added.

Part of that strategy has been playing up the town’s history.

Van Camp has built on Queen Creek’s western past and focused not only on keeping it alive, but playing to it and meeting people where they are.

“A lot of people in this area and this culture have been hurt by a church,” Van Camp said. “Or let down by a church. Or they just don’t understand what church is.

“You got hard working people who have made a living with their hands. Rodeo people are tough people. Up early and go to bed late people. Cowboy Church helps them to be comfortable at a place called church.”

Van Camp’s approach to building a following seems to have paid off, although there is no formal offering plate passed at cowboy services.

“We don’t push givin,’” he said. “We put a little trough out front but we don’t even ask for money.”

He started Cowboy Church when the pro rodeo riders who came to Queen Creek a decade ago needed a place to worship.

It has been going ever since.

Van Camp held services in the arena every Sunday night after preaching three services on Sunday morning at Cry Church. He now decided to hold Cowboy Church once a month.

“I’m getting older and it’s getting hotter,” he explained. “The park is getting harder to schedule, too.”

People who attend Cowboy Church say Van Camp has been successful precisely

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

Pastor Billy Van Camp leads church services once a month in the arena at Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Centre in Queen Creek, where about 500 congregants gather to hear his messages. (Special to GSN)

Ob uaries

OBITUARIES

D. Thanig Jr.

and hiking the Mogollon Rim.

1995 brought Stu to Gold Canyon at the base of his adored Superstition Mountains thus fulfilling his hiking and horseback riding dreams. He led the weekly MountainBrook Hiking Club for several years where they hiked very scenic trails. Stu’s vast knowledge of the Superstitions came from hiking Siphon Draw Trail on the west end of the Superstitions to the east end’s Rogers Trough Trail plus every other trail in between. He also hiked up and down Humphrey’s Peak in Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and trails in Utah and Colorado.

OBITUARIES

Lillian Marie Miller

Lillian filled a room with grace, style and poise. She spent the majority of her working career managing lady's boutique clothing stores in Colorado. She would end her work career working for Thaku's Big and Tall Menswear in Scottsdale AZ. Many of her customers were professional ball players who relied on her to make them look their best!

Stuart D. Thanig Jr., age 77 of Gold Canyon, Arizona quietly passed away Sunday October 23, 2022 with loved ones by his side.

“Stu” was born February 16,1945, in Mosinee, WI. He was preceded in death by his parents Stuart & Eleanora (Bittner) Thanig, his brother Richard Thanig and his favorite horse Rudy.

After graduating from Mosinee High School in 1963, Stu headed west to Hill Air Force base in Utah where he was trained in cryptology. As often as possible he returned to the Hill Aerospace Museum for a walk down memory lane.

Stu’s aerospace experience brought him to Phoenix where he was employed by Garrett Turbine Engine Company which later became Allied Signal. It was common knowledge that Stu still had his recess money from the 1st grade which allowed him to retire at the young age of 48.

Stu’s entire adult life was shaped by his passion for adventure and the great outdoors. Special lifetime highlights included skiing with Phoenix Ski Club, hiking Piestewa Peak daily and biking trips to Greer, Sedona and the Grand Canyon. He also had many wonderful days and nights at the Limestone Ranch in Coconino County herding cattle, mending fences

Wearing his famous black shorts, olive green shirt, red bandana and his “Hello Kitty” cap or black hat, Stu enjoyed wishing everybody “Good Morning” and walking down to greet and groom his favorite horses. Rudy was his most favorite horse and they had many wonderful trail rides.

Whether you knew Stu for a short time or a long time, you knew he was a man who was the kindest soul to friends and strangers alike.

Survivors include; his wife of 34 years Linda Shank, daughter Kimberly Powell, stepson Ritch Shank, step-daughter Leigh Ann Mauger, grandsons Luke Shank, James Mauger, Jake Shank and Evan Powell and granddaughter Emma Leigh Mauger. Sisters Marguerite Abt and Cecile Thanig plus many many nieces and nephews living in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

A private commemoration of “Stu’s Story” will be held in January.

Stu loved being part of Superstition Fire and Medical District’s extended family. Any donations in Stu’s memory should be mailed to Superstition Fire and Medical District per the address below: Superstition Fire & Medical District 565 N. Idaho Road

Apache Junction AZ 85119

Attn: Roger Wood

Please note on the check “In Memory of Stuart Thanig” or attach a letter of instruction. SFMD doesn’t have a link for donations on their website.

Her love of dance spurred her victory to MANY Gold medals competing in all forms of Ball Room and Swing. She was the perfect dance partner! We have no doubt that she is dancing in heaven at this moment.

She is survived by her loving sister Darlene (Cel) Rohr, Her boyfriend Steve, Her 6 Children: Michael, Edward, Lawrence, Bradford (Leslie), Angel (Craig) and Craig (Kaycee). Along with her adored grandchildren: JD, Noel, Eddie, Karina, Morgan, Harrison, Nicholas, Justin, Ami, Linda, McKenna and Madison.

OBITUARIES

Robert Henry Becker

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

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

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

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

Stuart

from

because of his authenticity both in the traditional church and from the back of his mule in the equestrian arena.

“He’s just so down to earth and real,” said congregant Marie Leigh. “He brings the Bible to life and makes it relevant.”

Borrowing from the more modern, traditional church services, there are a few big screen TVs in place to help the congregation follow the service’s order. But the similarities stop there. Even the music is reminiscent of more historical gospel music.

“It’s outdoors. It’s different. There is no acoustics whatsoever, you know,” chuckled Leigh. “It’s a lot of old-fashioned hymns rather than modern day worship, which is truly that Western culture, traditional music.”

Dan Moskalik oversees the music at Cowboy Church, plays guitar himself and wants to reach the community with a different brand of worship than people might find in a traditional setting.

“You don’t have to be a cowboy to go to Cowboy Church,” Moskalik said. “But we

highly suggest that if you don’t like John Wayne movies or you don’t like Johnny Cash, you probably should go someplace else to church.”

If Cowboy Church has one shortcoming by Van Camp’s own admission, it is the lack of what he calls a discipleship program. He said that while the gatherings in the arena are popular, well-attended and well-intended, he worried aloud about a follow-up effort for the people who attend a service at Horseshoe Park.

He believes discipleship should be the ultimate focus of any church, be it in a traditional building or an equestrian arena.

“I don’t have the next step at Cowboy Church to build your knowledge and wisdom of God,” he said. “That’s why I call it a farm church. I don’t believe a church is really a church unless it’s disciplining people.

“It is a place to gather and it is a place to receive salvation, but I pray that they wind up at a big church somewhere where they get the discipleship. That worries me about Cowboy Church.”

Gilbert businesses cite needs in town survey

BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

Merchants, while happy to be in Gilbert, put affordable space, business grants and tax incentives high on their list of needs that would help support or grow their bottom line, according to a Town survey.

The inaugural survey, conducted from August to September, measured local businesses’ opinions of government performance.

The town hopes that over time it will establish a trend line to help it with budgeting and strategic-planning decisions.

“Gilbert business owners and managers value the community as a place to live and to do business,” said Jade Arocha, survey research director for Polco-National Research Center. “And a majority feels positively about the business climate in the town.

“About nine in 10 business owners and managers or more gave excellent or good reading to the overall quality of life in Gilbert and would recommend Gilbert as a place to live, as a place to do business, and plan to keep their business in Gilbert for the next five years.”

Arocha in her virtual presentation to council Dec. 13 said all the readings for Gilbert exceeded national averages. The benchmark cities were those that also took the National Business Survey.

All businesses, roughly 5,400 in Gilbert, were invited to participate in the survey. The survey also was sent to 4,000 randomly selected businesses. Archoa said 275 responded – an 8% response rate she called “pretty typical.”

Nearly all the survey-takers were owners or managers and half have been doing business in Gilbert for 10 or more years, Arocha said.

Additionally, four in 10 businesses were home-based, half of the responses

came from women-owned businesses and about two in 10 represented a minority-owned business, she said.

She added that nearly seven in 10 were microbusinesses with one to nine employees.

Polco built the survey around six core indicators of the business environment –community amenities, business climate, overall employment opportunities and workforce supports, workforce readiness, business growth and governance. The company has conducted the national community survey for the town for a number of years.

According to the survey, 93% of the respondents rated Gilbert positively as a place to work; 82% were pleased with the quality of employment opportunities; 77% liked the variety of employment opportunity and 65% felt there were available jobs that pay a livable wage.

These ratings also were higher than the national benchmark, Arocha said.

Not so, however, with the ratings for the town as a place to develop job and workforce skills.

“When evaluating the workforce in Gilbert this was one of the areas that might

be identified as a potential area of focus for the town,” Arocha said.

She said the ratings for access to higher-education institutions, overall quality of education or training opportunities in Gilbert and the variety of education and training opportunities to build work skills were similar to the national averages.

But the ratings for access to trade schools and the affordability of education and training opportunities were lower than the national averages at 60% and 50%, respectively.

Arocha said another key finding was that Gilbert businesses tend to be pleased with local government’s performance and with services such as garage pick up and police and fire responses.

“Almost nine in 10 business owners and managers positively rated the overall quality of the services provided by the town, which was higher than the national average,” she said.

The survey showed a higher positive rating than the national average for the value of services provided for the taxes they pay to the town.

The ratings also were similar for other governance questions, including the town’s overall direction, overall confidence in local government and local government’s honesty and actions in the community’s best interests.

Businesses also weighed in on resources they needed to help them survive and grow.

Affordable space was first with 41% of the respondents followed by business grants with 38% of the businesses.

Tax incentives and skilled employees tied in third place with 33%; marketing support, 32% and opportunities to network, 29%.

As for Gilbert’s community livability, the overall economic health, overall feeling of safety and quality of utility infrastructure all rated higher than benchmark cities, the survey said.

Overall quality of parks and recreational opportunities, overall health and wellness opportunities and quality of the transportation system were similar to the national average.

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

Gilbert’s first survey of local businesses showed the vast majority of owners are happy to be here. (Town of Gilbert)

Town Economic Development Director Dan Henderson discussed the survey with Town Council. (YouTube)

Medical offices going up at Cooley Station

GSN NEWS STAFF

Construction is set to begin for the new Verde Medical Center in Gilbert.

The 39,000-square-foot medical office building, located at Williams Field and Recker roads, is part of a larger mixeduse Verde at Cooley Station development, which includes approximately 95,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and fitness operators, a 25,000 square foot of creative office building and three multi-family residential projects with a total of about 750 units.

Verde Medical Center is being developed by Florida-based Sina Companies.

Plaza Companies — whose Chairman & CEO Sharon Harper knew Sina Companies founder Malcolm Sina for years from serving on industry related boards together — is managing the leasing for the property.

“We are excited to enter the East Valley medical office market and to bring this

exceptional project to life,” said Robert Sina, principal with Sina Companies.

“Verde Medical Center will provide an important new hub for healthcare in Gilbert and an important amenity for the region,” Sina said. “This was an ideal opportunity for us to enter this mar-

ket and create a significant new Class A medical property.”

Norman Brody, managing member of the team developing Verde at Cooley Station, said the new medical office building will be a key component in the overall development.

““There’s a significant need for new medical office product in this area, and Verde Medical Center will be a high-quality addition to this growing part of the community,” Brody said.

Sina Companies and Plaza Companies have reached agreement with three tenants of the new medical office building, with more negotiations ongoing:

• Adventure ABA, LLC, a local Arizona company that provides applied behavior analysis therapy for autism spectrum disorders. This will be their fourth Valley location and they have been in the Valley for more than five years.

• Desert Valley Pediatric Therapy, founded by a speech language pathologist and offering speech, occupational, and physical therapy to children with a variety of developmental delays and injuries. It has one other location in Ahwatukee.

Ground was broken for the new Verde Medical Center in Gilbert, which is targeted to open next summer. (Special to GSN)

• Ignite Physical Therapy provides osteopractic physical therapy for adults, along with other services such as integrative dry needling, myofascial cupping, functional strengthening and more. Ignite PT also has a location in Chandler.

“We are very pleased with the leasing activity we’ve seen around Verde Medical Center,” said Margaret Lloyd, senior vice president-brokerage services with Plaza Companies. “This facility has already drawn a significant amount of interest from healthcare practices that

SURVEY from page 18

Gilbert fell lower than the national average in just two area – overall quality of the natural environment and overall opportunities for education, culture and the arts.

The survey also asked businesses if they received government funding due to the pandemic.

Results showed that 81% received funding from the Small Business Admin-

want to expand their footprint in the East Valley, and we are looking forward to welcoming even more practices to this new building.”

The developer in a released noted that Williams Field-Recker area “has seen explosive growth in housing over the past couple of years with just under 5,000 multi-family and single-family housing units within walking distance of Verde Medical Center and more under development.

“This growth is the driving force behind the need for this site and for more

medical office out in the community, not just on hospital campuses,” it said. Plaza Companies currently has approximately 12 million square feet in its overall property portfolio, including numerous high-profile projects including SkySong, The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, Park Central, the Creighton University-Phoenix Health Sciences Campus and the TGen Building, among others.

Since its founding in 1982, this full-service, specialized real estate firm has established a portfolio stretching

across the Valley valued at more than $1 billion.

Sina Companies, and its predecessors and executives, have developed and acquired facilities for their clients that represent over 10 million square feet in 34 states.

Sina also has been involved in in-patient and out-patient healthcare, senior housing, hospitality and general office. With over 40 years of experience, their development and acquisition projects represent over $4.5 billion in value.

istration-backed Payroll Protection Program, 37% received help from the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan and 28% received a grant from the Town.

Eight in 10 were aware of the availability of these resources since March 2020.

The survey also asked businesses if their gross revenue recovered from the impact of COVID-19. Of the respondents, 14% reported a 100% revenue increase;

12% had a massive or 50-100% recovery; 38%, serious recovery of 25-49.9%; 20%, moderate recovery of 10-24.9% and 16% said there was little to no recovery.

“Your business community is very pleased with you and the work that we’re doing here in the town,” said Dan Henderson, Economic Development director.

“Like anything in terms of surveys and feedback there’s always opportunities for

improvement.

“We’ll certainly work with our stakeholders, our different service providers and others to take a look at those in more depth and endeavor down a path to turn those improvements into strengths for us.”

The council did not comment on the presentation.

Senate president proposes curbs on fees, taxes in Arizona

BY SEN. WARREN PETERSON GSN Guest Writer

As the holiday season sets into motion a barrage of spending on gifts, festivities and travel, many hardworking citizens within Arizona are finding themselves struggling to pay for basic necessities in the face of crippling inflation.

Despite hopes from analysts that inflation is cooling, the Consumer Price Index is still up over 7% nationally for the year, and Metro Phoenix is worse at 12%. That means putting food on the table, filling up the gas tank, making rent and paying bills is even more challenging for those living paycheck to paycheck.

At the same time, government has collected a record amount of revenue. When comparing FY2019 to FY2022, General Fund revenue for Arizona has increased by 48% - a whopping $5.64 billion!

While the federal government continues to exacerbate the problem with reckless spending, there are at least four actions we can make at the State Legislature to counter the effects of rising prices and help our citizens who are reeling during this period of runaway inflation.

ª Eliminate the rental tax

Charging rental tax is bad tax policy. Arizona is one of the few states that allows it. The government already collects property tax on the property and should not also charge the tenant a tax for that same property.

This tax can be anywhere from $50 to $200 a month. That’s money a tenant could use for gas or groceries. It’s not fair for tenants to pay the tax. People who own homes don’t pay a tax every time they make their mortgage payment.

This initiative alone can help the average renter stretch their dollars a little bit further. We should join the vast majority of states and ban this unfair tax.

• Eliminate the food tax

Food is not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Shockingly, food prices have skyrocketed over the past year between 15% and 45% for items like eggs, butter, lettuce, coffee, bread, potatoes and poultry.

A tax on food is regressive and hurts everyone. Fortunately, many cities do not charge a food tax. Let’s ban it, statewide.

• Increase the housing supply

About 20 years ago, you could take a property from dirt and build a house within six months. Those days are gone as a litany of hurdles have been placed in obtaining approvals for land develop-

ment and housing. Today, it can take up to four years for the same approvals.

Let’s increase the housing supply by shortening the lengthy and burdensome regulatory window review timeframes. One way to accomplish this goal is through administrative approvals for all projects that meet all existing laws and requirements.

More housing product means lower prices to own or rent a home. Quicker approvals also mean more certainty for business. Recently, a large tech company told me they wanted to expand in Phoenix. Their biggest hesitation was the time it would take to build the project.

• Reduce or eliminate occupational license fees

Whether you’re a barber, realtor, loan officer, contractor, or other licensed professional, you are required to pay fees to the state to hold your license.

For example, a new license application from the Registrar of Contractors ranges between $580 to $1,050. Renewal costs between $480 and $750. Regulatory agencies within Arizona collect a combined total of more than $40 million annually in revenue thanks to these fees.

These government-imposed surcharges are passed directly on to the consumer accessing services or purchasing goods.

Let’s cut those in half or eliminate them altogether to lower the prices of goods and services for everyone.

State and local governments are enjoying record surpluses, but taxpayers are hurting.

These initiatives are simple, broadbased and provide effective relief from inflation now. Local governments will likely use the scare tactic that tax cuts will hurt public safety.

The reality is, municipalities will continue to collect record revenues because the taxpayer will spend what they get back, which in turn will be taxed via income and sales tax. Not to mention that with the record revenues government is receiving, there is undoubtedly enough to fund public safety and provide a little inflationary relief to their citizens.

I look forward to working with my caucus, Senate Finance Committee Chair J.D. Mesnard, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair John Kavanagh and Senate Government Committee Chair Jake Hoffman to counter the effects of rampant inflation.

Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, is the Arizona State Senate President-Elect for the 56th Legislature and represents legislative district 14.

GilbertSunNews.com | @GilbertSunNews /GilbertSunNews

EV athletes honored at Doherty Award luncheon

BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor

The naming of the Ed Doherty Award recipient on a yearly basis is the culmination of every high school football season in Arizona.

Nicknamed “the Heisman” of high school football in the state, it’s awarded every year to the player that stood out among the rest. The event itself is extravagant. Fifty-nine players who have been nominated throughout the season with medallions for excellent play are invited to attend alongside families. Forty were in attendance this year.

They walk a red carpet and eat an extravagant lunch before finding out if they have been deemed the best high school football player in the state for the season. While every athlete aims to come away with the award, simply being one of the nominees is an honor, too. That was the case for Saguaro senior quarterback Devon Dampier. That is, until he was named the 2022 winner of the Ed Doherty Award.

“It’s a lot, it was really shocking at first,” Dampier said. “I’m in a very good place and I’m thankful for that. It’s ridiculous what has happening to me right now.”

Dampier shined in his two seasons at Saguaro, the first of which he had to sit out the first five games after transferring from Pinnacle.

He led the Sabercats to the Open Division state championship as a junior when he officially took over as the starter in the postseason. As a senior, he guided his team through one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. Saguaro entered the Open Division playoffs

Higley sophomore quarterback Jamar Malone was part of the Ed Doherty Award luncheon Saturday, Dec. 17, which honors the top high school football players from across the state for their play this past season. He was one of six finalists for the award. (Dave Minton/GSN Staff)

as the No. 5 seed yet made another run to the title game. The Sabercats fell just short of another title.

Dampier was joined by five other finalists for the award on stage – American Leadership Academy Gilbert quarterback Adam Damante, Higley quarterback Jamar Malone, Liberty quarterback Navi Bruzon and Basha quarterback Demond Williams. Pinnacle tight end Duce Robinson, another finalist, wasn’t present.

Three out of the six players nominated for the award won their respective state title games a week prior. Damante led the Eagles to their first-ever championship at the 4A level, beating Snowflake.

ALA Gilbert senior quarterback Adam Damante was another finalist for the Ed Doherty Award, representing the 4A Conference champion Eagles alongside wideout Brandon Phelps at the luncheon. (Dave Minton/GSN Staff)

want to shout out my team because they helped me get to this point.”

Of the 59 players nominated for the award throughout the course of the season, 40 attended the event last Saturday. It was an opportunity to mingle among other players, and of course be considered one of the best the state has to offer.

That meant a lot to players like Eastmark wideout Austin Johnston and quarterback Mack Molander.

They comprised one of the best tandems in the state while leading the Firebirds to the 3A championship win over Thatcher.

“I feel like our school is finally getting some of the recognition it deserves, especially the football program,” Molander said. “People don’t realize that even at the 3A level there are some real good football players. It means a lot to our school and to 3A as a whole.”

Mountain Pointe quarterback Chris Arviso was the lone representative for Ahwatukee. But he did it with honor and it was earned after a standout season.

Malone led Higley to its first championship by beating Cactus in the 5A game. Williams led Basha to a win over Saguaro in the Open.

“It means a lot,” Williams said. “We’re all very big players who had good seasons. There’s a reason we’re here. It means a lot. This is a big thing for me because I have been here since my freshman year.”

“It still hasn’t settled in all the stuff we did this season,” Malone added. “I just want to thank my linemen, the big boys up front. You can’t do anything without them. My receivers for always catching the ball and my running back for opening up the holes and my defense. I just

He helped rebuild the Pride program the last three seasons, and he was recognized for it as one of the state’s best players.

The Ed Doherty Award, while special for the winner, also recognizes the outstanding play of a select players from most conferences across the state.

While every player aims to join the likes of Hamilton alum Nicco Marchiol, Mesquite alum Ty Thompson, Perry alum Brock Purdy, Salpointe Catholic alum Bijan Robinson and Desert Vista alums Zach Miller and Bobby Wade, simply being nominated and invited to the luncheon is an honor and experience they will never forget.

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Zoppe Family Circus now at Bell Bank Park in Mesa

GET OUT STAFF

The Zoppe Family Circus has left Chandler with its annual holiday show and moved to Bell Bank Park, 1 Legacy Drive, Mesa. The one-ring circus that honors the history of the old-world Italian circus tradition and runs through Jan. 1.

Liberta Zoppe welcomes guests into an intimate, 500-seat tent for a show that will star Nino the Clown and a circus that is propelled by a central story, as opposed to individual acts.

The circus features acrobatic feats, equestrian showmanship, canine capers, clowning and plenty of audience participation.

Tickets are on sale at BellBank-

Park.com, with general admission starting at $25, and VIP tickets at $45.

For more information on the Zoppe Family visit Zoppe.net.

Show dates are: Dec. 26-30; 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 31 and 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, Bell Bank Park also is hosting the Pratt Brothers Christmas Spectacular 6-10 p.m. through Jan. 1.

The display features more than six million lights and unique attractions.

Previous contestants of The Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC Television, brothers Sammy and Kyle Pratt have devoted their life’s work to construct a magical Christmas Town delivering an experience for

all the senses.

The immersive visit delivers attractions for all ages, with twinkling Christmas lights, three-story gingerbread house, a magical snowfall and thousands of bubbles.

Also featured are the ultimate Santa Experience, Mrs. Claus Cookie Decorating, and a dazzling 360-degree light show with show-stopping pyrotechnics.

To complete the experience, a Miracle Market is filled with simply merry gifts to bring home holiday cheer.

Nino the Clown is one of the stars at the Zoppe Family Circus. (Special to GetOut)

E. Valley club boasts creative drinks, fun times

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Editor

When Chuck and Angela Fazio moved from a traditional real estate agency to a cloudbased international company, they were left with a beautiful building in Chandler. So, the couple did what anyone would do. They opened a nightclub and a lounge.

TwentyThree01 Bar & Nightclub and The Forum Lounge are hidden gems in Chandler. The Instagram-worthy club marks a full-circle moment for Chuck, who worked with nightclubs in New York.

“The atmosphere is really great,” he said. “We have two patios, the bar and a dance floor. The front part of the building is The Forum Lounge. It will have live entertainment, great food and amazing

ambience. It has a large event space that will also have entertainment and is available for private events.

“We want this to be a hub where people in the Valley know they can get entertainment — whatever it is.”

The music varies from Top 40 and EDM to Latin at TwentyThree01 Bar & Nightclub.

Ladies Night is every Friday in December and January, while Saturdays see the kitchen open until midnight and hookah available all night. Soon we’ll even have cigars.

On Ladies Night, women can enjoy drinks for $5 until midnight, while everyone can take advantage of happy hour starting at 4 p.m.

The menu is elevated bar food, with Korean fried chicken, popcorn shrimp, tuna tataki, chicken pot stickers, pork and vegetable rolls, barbecue pork sliders and chicken yakatori. TwentyThree01 Bar & Nightclub also boasts spicy French fries, spicy tuna roll, California roll, Philly roll, bang bang shrimp roll and crunchy hidden spicy tuna roll.

The drinks are creative and range from a pecan old fashioned to banana espresso martini to tequila colada.

The Fazios say TwentyThree01 Bar & Nightclub and The Forum Lounge were born out of necessity, not a dream. Chuck moved here in 1998 and met Angela through real estate. He said they were both broke and almost exited the real estate business.

“By the grace of God, we went on to be

Chuck and Angela Fazio have converted a Chandler building into the new East Valley hot spot for East Valley young people. (David Minton/GetOut Staff)

GilbertSunNews.com

Extraterrestrial life explored at AZ Boardwalk

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GetOut Staff Writer

AZ Boardwalk’s newest attraction, “UFO Experience: The Truth is Out There,” is deciphering how many people believe in aliens from space.

The experience took over the existing space for “The Science of Ripley’s Believe it or Not” and guides guests through nine galleries that tests whether or not guests still believe there is extraterrestrial life out there.

“Because the subject of ufology – the study of unidentified flying objects –has a lot of moving parts to it. We wanted this to succeed in detailing out a few of those areas of ufology that help to demonstrate or help to explain what people are thinking when they are seeking to understand its subject matter,” said AZ Boardwalk Managing Partner Ran Knishinsky.

It was important for Knishinsky to understand this field as well because

it is something that he has been infatuated with for years before opening this attraction.

“A couple of years ago, I started reading books on UFOs and unidentified aerial phenomena and as I started to learn

about it, I found it fascinating,” Knishinsky recalls. “The question for me became ‘are we alone?’ and that’s something that I wondered about, which fed my curiosity.”

It wasn’t long after that Knishinsky began to think the question of whether mankind is alone could make for an interactive and educational attraction.

He began researching whether an exhibition of such a nature had been done before and discovered that two similar attractions had been created in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Buena Park, California.

Inspired by the attractions, Knishinsky sought out The Event Agency, which had produced the attractions in Buena Park and Myrtle Beach.

“I liked what they were doing, and I asked them to take it out, refresh it and make it relevant for today,” said Knishinsky, an alumnus of Chaparral High School.

Ran Knishinsky, managing partner for Arizona Boardwalk, hangs out with a friend in the UFO Experience exhibition, which features more than 200 alien artifacts, films, recordings, conceptual models, and interactive experiences. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

So began a lengthy planning process that culminated in an extensive monthlong renovation to convert the space into an experience out of this world.

Because of this, the educational attraction begins by showing guests an eight-minute video detailing the field of ufology, the history of extraterrestrial encounters around the world and explaining the existence of extraterrestrial life in pop culture.

From there, guests are juxtaposed to rooms dedicated to detailing the sightings of UFOs throughout history, the history of weaponry and reverse engineering conducted by the U.S. military, and the history of ancient aliens.

The gallery on the history of aliens poses the question of whether or not they have had any influence over human civilization.

Another is dedicated to space travel, titled the “Propulsion Gallery,” while the Abduction Zone makes guests feel like they are being abducted.

Still another gallery examines the

presence of aliens in pop culture. It includes props created by Hollywood set designers of famous aliens like E.T., Alien! and Watto from the Star Wars

prequels as well as a chart of celebrities who claim to have had an encounter with extraterrestrial life.

“We’re just looking to present infor-

mation and let people make their own decisions,” Knishinsky said. “We wanted to spark people’s curiosity and spark their thinking and what better way to spark thinking than to ask the question, ‘do you believe?’ and allow the person to ask themselves that throughout each gallery and answer that question with a yes, maybe or no?”

This is why guests are given a card and a green token upon their entry.

Although the experience is mostly centered around a Socratic debate of whether or not one believes in aliens, Knishinsky wanted to also create an abundance of fun opportunities throughout the experience.

“We wanted to also do this in a family fun and friendly way, which is why there’s a lot of really cool interactive elements here from a moonwalk bounce house for kids to an alien shooting video game to interactive floor graphics where kids can step on aliens to a lot of

This familiar reproduction of a space traveler is aprt of the Arizona Boardwalk exhibition.

(David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

one of the top agents in the country and the top teams in 2005,” he said.

“The next logical step was opening a brokerage. We slowly built and built and built. Then I had a vision of building the coolest real estate office. So, we started to look for spaces. I had a vision in my head.”

For the real estate office, Chuck obtained a class six liquor license and LGE, a commercial custom builder, put its touch on the building. The bar, café and kitchen were all part of the real estate office. A game room was also featured.

“We built it to be the No. 1 single-office, independent real estate brokerage in the world,” he said proudly.

“Out of this one location, we had 906 agents, and we did about $2 billion in production and sales. We are really well known in the industry, so we were approached by a cloud-based, forward-thinking company that’s international.”

eXp wanted Chuck and Angela to work there, but, at first, neither wanted to give up the office. They prayed, looked at the

options and closed the brokerage.

“The industry laughed at us because they thought we lost our minds,” he said.

“It took me 16 years to go to 906 agents, and it took us three years to go to 8,000 agents worldwide. So, I have agents in India, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain and, obviously, the United States.”

“The reason why we built up such a big brokerage is we believe in the community,” he said.

“We were into entertainment and that’s the reason why everybody loved us. We like to give back, so why not do something like this?”

TwentyThree01 Bar & Nightclub

2301 S. Stearman Drive, Chandler 480-722-9800 • clubtwentythree01.com 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays theforumlounge.com

Opens the last week in January 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays

from

different photo opportunities that exist within the experience.”

At the end of the experience, guests are asked to place their tokens inside a box marked “yes,” “maybe” or “no” so they can weigh in with their personal belief or disbelief in creatures from outer space.

IF YOU GO:

UFO Experience: The Truth is Out There

When: Now- TBA, daily hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: 9500 E. Via de Ventura, Suite E250, Scottsdale

Cost: $19.95 Info:  theufoexperience.com

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JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

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recipe

Greens beans sometimes don’t get the love they deserve. Of course, this time of the year, they are the star side as your holiday green bean casserole. Otherwise, it’s steam the green beans, add a dollop of butter and serve.

But what if you used one skillet to build a whole lot of flavor and then served a platter of fresh charred green beans tossed with a Dijon mustard caper combination?

What if you added cherry tomatoes for color, hard boiled eggs for flavor and crispy prosciutto strips for a salty crunch?

I’d say you have a tasty new way of serving one of this season’s freshest pickin’s! It really does take one skillet (once you blanch the beans and hard boil the eggs) and although some of it is cooked in stages, it all comes together in one delightful garden fresh Gourmet Green Bean Salad!

Give green beans a little love this week, won’t you?

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed

3 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced thin

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slices prosciutto

1 cup cherry tomatoes (I used the multi-colored heirloom variety), sliced in half

2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 level tablespoons capers, drained

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Olive oil for drizzling

Directions:

Hard boil eggs. Peel, cool to refrigerate, then cut into quarters and set aside.

Wash fresh green beans and trim the ends.

Boil 1 inch of water in a large skillet.

(Have a bowl of ice water ready to shock green beans.) When water comes to a boil, add green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally. For thin beans cook for 2 minutes, for larger beans, cook for 3 minutes.

Drain beans in a colander and dunk into ice bath to stop the cooking process. When cool, drain beans and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil and cook shallots until softened and caramelized.

Set aside. In same skillet place 4 pieces of prosciutto and cook on both sides until crispy like bacon. Immediately remove from skillet and slice into strips.

In same skillet, on medium high heat, spread out green beans and let cook for about 3-4 minutes without turning. When browned, toss beans to brown on the other side.

Add Dijon mustard and capers and with tongs, quickly toss beans to coat.

To assemble:

On a large oblong platter or flat serving plate, place green beans in a row. Add slices of hard boiled eggs and cherry tomatoes. Top green beans with sautéed shallot and sprinkle with crisp prosciutto strips.

Drizzle a small amount of extra virgin olive oil over beans and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve warm.

Neuropathy Is Often Misdiagnosed

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

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

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

It’s important to determine if PAD (peripheral artery disease) is causing the pain or making it worse. PAD is plaque in the arteries which causes poor circulation. “Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your feet which they need to stay healthy,” explains Zang, “When your feet aren’t getting an adequate supply, they start sending signals.” Those signals include pain, burning, tingling, numbness, or cramping. The good news is PAD is treatable in

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

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

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

Stiff Joints Interfere with Everyday Living

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

foot pain prevent you from doing your favorite activity?

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

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

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

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

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

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

For