The Mesa Tribune 100222 Zone 2

MPS student count stabilizing after COVID fall

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Mesa Public Schools’ total enroll ment dropped by about 3,500 students, or 5.6%, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after inching further lower last year, the latest figures suggest MPS enrollment has stabilized at this lower figure, rising slightly this school year.

The leveling is good news, since school

funding is tied to enrollment.

Figures presented by district staff at the last Governing Board meeting show that the vast majority, roughly 85%, of the students who left during the pan demic and haven’t returned are white.

"Over the same three years, MPS’ His panic student body grew from 44% prepandemic to 46% this school year, and the share of students identifying as two or more races rose from 3% to 4%.

While white students made up 42% of

MPS students before the pandemic, they were twice as prevalent among those that left and have stayed away.

The greater likelihood for white stu dents to leave the district during the pandemic and not return has shifted the district’s demographics: MPS went from 42% white in the 2019-20 school year to 39% this year – the lowest percent age in the last three years.

County pound poster dog’s death suggests problems

BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer

Rookie was the face of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control’s part in a national campaign early this year as it tried to ease overcrowding at its Phoenix and Mesa shelters.

Described as “a giant pup who loves to run zoomies in the yard and play outside, but what he really loves is getting atten tion,” the 3-year-old Rottweiler-mix was photographed smiling as his head was being scratched.

Four days after the Bissell Pet Founda tion’s national Empty the Shelters cam paign ended on May 15, Rookie was eu thanized.

His mental health had declined after an administrative reorganization that dis banded the county shelter system’s be havioral team.

“Basically, it’s stressful at the shelter,” said Kim Schulze, the shelters’ former county behavior and training team man ager. “Lots of dogs don’t do well and start to deteriorate.”

Whether Rookie’s death could have been prevented had the county not ter minated the team is debatable.

But animal advocates said its disman tling was a bad idea.

That and other alleged conditions have prompted a petition calling for reform at

Rookie, a 3-year-old Rottweiler-mix, was the Maricopa County’s poster dog for a nationwide campaign to ease shelter overcrowding. But four days after the campaign ended, the dog was euthanized. (Special to the Tribune)

Realtor gets 25 years for stalking death of wife in Mesa

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

InApril 2017, Scottsdale Realtor Stephen Mora was on top of the world.

He had married Janell Leach, a then37-year-old divorced mom of two boys, ages 8 and 9. She had earned master’s degrees in education and business and frequently trav eled around the world to recruit students in her capacity as associate director for inter national student professional development for Arizona State University.

They had met 10 months earlier through the dating app Tinder and it didn’t take long for Janell to become enthralled with the then-50-year-old Mora, who had been a ten nis instructor and started a tennis school in his younger days. The stylish, suave Mora changed careers and found success as a Re altor in Scottsdale.

And just before their elegant wedding, Janell gushed on Facebook about how Mora was “the most charming, kind-hearted, lov ing…man I’ve ever known.”

Today, Janell lay in a cemetery in her Ar kansas hometown.

Mora last month began a 25-year prison sentence after beating a life sentence by tak ing a deal to plead guilty to second degree murder for putting her there.

In early September 2020, Janell had taken her boys and moved to East Mesa, hiding in

fear of her husband, who had spiraled into depravity over the course of their threeyear marriage. He had become addicted to cocaine but used other drugs with abandon, patronized prostitutes frequently through escort services and stashed a .38 revolver in his home.

The gun was the last straw for Janell, who

took her boys and moved. She had filed for divorce and had even scheduled a confer ence for the last week in September 2020 with Mora in the hopes of amicably ending what once seemed a fairytale romance.

Mora had a different ending in mind.

He had somehow tracked her down and had been stalking her for several days.

In the early evening of Sept. 26, 2020, Janell was jogging near Power Road and the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway in Mesa.

She saw a skulking Mora in his late-model Mercedes and frantically stopped a passing motorist, pleading, “Help me. He’s got a gun.”

Mora jumped out of his car, stormed af ter her and fired a single bullet that ripped into her left side, shattered several ribs and pierced her lung.

He then hid in the bushes for a while, watching his wife as she gasped her last breaths.

Then he drove to Mesa Police headquar ters, called 911 to say he had just shot his

Janell Mora posted this picture of her with Stephen Mora on their wedding day in April. (Facebook)

Inflation-impacted city hiking utility rates

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

TheCity of Mesa is adjusting its util ity rates in the midst of historic inflation, and officials framed the proposed increases as a fair deal com pared with the 13% rise in the Valley con sumer price index in the past year.

City Council last month initiated the mandatory 60-day notice period required before introducing the ordinance to put the utility rate increases in the books.

Council members advocated for small, incremental increases in utility rates spread over time that would keep custom ers from seeing big jumps in the future.

A little pain now was better than a lot of pain later, they reasoned, and they seemed satisfied with the figures staff landed on.

For water, the city proposes an effective 3.3% hike for residential customers, 4.8% for commercial and 7.3% for commercial landscape customers.

For gas, the city proposes an effective 2.2% increase for residential customers, and a .8% increase for commercial cus tomers.

Fees for the city’s commercial roll off waste bins are set to rise, by $56.50 for the set fee, $3 for the haul fee and a 6.22% increase in the tonnage rate.

Office of Management and Budget As sistant Director Brian Ritschel told Coun cil the city could ultimately settle on low er rate increases without starting over the notification period, but not raise them.

“I’m afraid if we start softening our rates now just with the pressures on capi tal costs and commodity costs … that we will have more abrupt rate increases (in the future) when we just want to keep it more predictable in everybody’s budget,” Vice Mayor Jenn Duff said.“

Council member David Luna agreed.

“I would hate to give future councils the charge of increasing our water rates that would be significant and impact our com munity,” he said.

City staff is not recommending raising rates for the roughly 17,000 electricity customers in the city’s 5.5-square-mile service area centered around downtown, noting that the city’s electric rates are currently higher than Salt River Project rates.

Energy Resources Program Manager Tony Cadorin said the city hopes to lower its electricity costs by investing in elec trical generation it can tap during peak demand periods, including a “microgrid” natural gas turbine, 800 kW of solar in downtown Mesa and 2 MW of utility scale solar generated outside the city.

“Every electron that we generate here in Mesa is something that we don’t have to buy on the market,” Cardorin said.

During the discussion of their recom mended rate adjustments, city staff sum marized some of the cost pressures they are seeing.

Arizona’s reduced allocation of Colora do River water due to extended drought is raising the cost of water for Arizona mu nicipalities, including Mesa.

Because the Central Arizona Project that delivers the water has fixed costs, Mesa Water Director Chris Hassert ex plained, those costs are spread over fewer gallons of water, prompting CAP to raise rates.

Hassert said the city anticipated paying $3.7 million extra for Colorado River wa ter next year, in addition to increases in the cost of energy and chemicals used to treat the water.

“We’re proposing to keep our (water) rates very nominal compared to some cit ies,” Hassert said.

The proposed water rate increase in cludes an 8 cent per kilogallon “Drought Commodity Charge” separate from the service and usage charge, which is de signed to be lifted whenever drought con ditions are lifted and the cost CAP water goes down.

Staff acknowledged that could be a long

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 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.

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:

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

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

The Mesa Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the East Valley.

Times Media Group: 1900 W. Broadway Road Tempe, AZ 85282

CONTACT INFORMATION

Main number: 480-898-6500 | Advertising: 480-898-5624

Circulation service: 480-898-5641

Publisher: Steve T. Strickbine

Vice President: Michael Hiatt

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Senior Account Sales: Ryan Brown | 480-898-6482 | rbrown@TimesLocalMedia.com

Local Advertising Sales: Chris Ross | 480-898-5649 | cross@TimesLocalMedia.com

Classifieds/Inside Sales: Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@TimesLocalMedia.com TJ Higgins 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@TimesLocalMedia.com

Director of National Advertising: Zac Reynolds | 480-898-5603 | zac@TimesLocalMedia.com

NEWS DEPARTMENT

Executive Editor: Paul Maryniak 480-898-5647 pmaryniak@TimesLocalMedia.com

Staff Writers: Josh Ortega | 480-898-5610 jortega@TimesLocalMedia.com

Scott Shumaker | 480-898-5634 sshumaker@TimesLocalMedia.com

Josh Ortega | 480-898-615 | jortega@TimesLocalMedia.com

Sports Editor: Zach Alvira | 480-898-5630 | zalvira@TimesLocalMedia.com

Get Out Editor: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | 480-641-4518 christina@TimesLocalMedia.com

Photographer:

David Minton | dminton@TimesLocalMedia.com

Designer: Nathalie Proulx | nproulx@TimesLocalMedia.com

Production Coordinator: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@TimesLocalMedia.com

CIRCULATION

Circulation Director

Aaron Kolodny | aaron@phoenix.org

Distribution Manager

Brian Juhl | brian@TimesLocalMedia.com

The Mesa Tribune is distributed by AZ Integrated Media a circulation company owned and operated by Times Media Group. The public is limited to one copy per reader. For circulation services, please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@ Phoenix.org.

To Start or Stop delivery of the paper, please visit

https://timespublications.com/phoenix/ or call 480-898-7901

To get your free online edition subscription please visit: https://www.themesatribune.com/e-subscribe/

The content of any advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Tribune assumes no responsibility for the claims of any advertisement.

© 2022 Strickbine Publishing, Inc.

from page

wife, and fired a bullet into his head. He suf fered three heart attacks on his way to the hospital, but survived.

In a pre-sentence report last month, de fense attorney Charlie Naegle told the court that his client “is not a malicious individual but is an extremely mild-mannered and sen sitive person.”

He said Mora was “working to address his mental and emotional deficiencies and to cope with and overcome the debilitation psychological issues he has been faced with over the course of his life.”

Referring to 5,000 pages of Mora’s medi cal records, the lawyer said his client suf fered from a major depressive disorder “re current, severe with psychotic episodes.”

The bullet Mora fired into his head only made things worse, he said.

Naegle told the court that his client re quired reconstructive facial surgery for bullet injuries to his lower face and throat, only recently became capable of eating solid food, “will mumble most likely for the rest of his life” – and can’t remember killing his wife.

More than two dozen friends and relatives pleaded with the judge to “have mercy” on the killer, though his plea involved a charge carry ing a minimum 16 years behind bars.

“I refuse to think the funny, calm and loving friend I know could harm anyone,” one Scottsdale man wrote the judge.

“This is not, and never was, the behavior or ac tions of a man loved by all his friends, peers, family and ex-wife,” the friend wrote. “Although extremely saddened by Janell’s death, my wife and I refuse to accept this deed was inflicted by one of the greatest people we have known.”

An Oklahoma real estate investment com pany owner wrote, “Steve really cared and wanted the best for others” and that “his gentleness and compassion for life and love of others was so great, I can’t fathom these

actions from him.”

Other letters attested to his devotion to family, his cheerful and loving disposition and his skills and honesty as a Realtor.

Not surprisingly, Janell’s family did not share those loving testi monies to the depraved and lethal stalker.

“She tried to help him but while he said he had changed, he had not,” wrote Peggy Leach, who is married to Janell’s brother George Leach.

“After finding a gun in their home, she no longer felt safe,” she re counted of Janell. “She made the decision to remove herself and the boys to a safe place. She was feeling stronger and planning to end the marriage.”

George Leach told the judge that his sis ter’s slaying left their mother with PTSD.

“My mom has become frail, experienc ing lots of muscle loss. She has lost so much sleep, constantly worries and needs anxiety medication to make it through the day.”

He said his other sister “passed out twice” in the days after the killing.

George, a former military bomb tech nician who had been deployed to war zones twice, told the court, “I have had many sleepless nights due to nightmares where I am unable to do anything to save my sister.”

“I needed to visit the doctor and be pre scribed medication for the first time in 37 years of my life to help me cope with her loss,” he continued. “I am currently having to watch my mom slowly kill herself from the devastation this has caused.”

That devastation was so extensive from the purportedly “calm, kind individual” de scribed by one friend as someone who “was affected deeply whenever he lost a pet” that the county probation officer who prepared Mora’s pre-sentence report urged a long sentence beyond 16 years.

He told the judge that “considering the violent and premeditated nature” of the kill ing, “and with consideration for the safety of the community a sentence of imprisonment greater than the presumptive term is rec ommended.”

Stephen Mora suffered extensive injuries after shooting himself in the head hours after he stalked and gunned down his wife of less than four years. (File photo)

Golf courses walk market tightrope to conserve water

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

The severity of the current drought’s threat to the Colorado River reser voir system has heightened atten tion on the practice of overseeding Ber muda grass lawns with winter rye grass when cool temperatures cause Bermuda to go dormant and lose color.

Rye grass seeds require a heavy soak ing in the fall to germinate, and then own ers must apply more water throughout the winter than they would on dormant Bermuda.

As golfers from near and far begin to flock to local links, Mesa’s roughly 20 golf courses are beginning the annual ritual of overseeding.

The process ensures lush carpets of grass greet golfers on the greens, fairways and tee boxes rather than tan expanses of playable but less aesthetically pleasing dormant grass.

even more spotlight on water use at golf courses, which has the misfortune of be ing more conspicuous than other indus tries, including data centers, that use as much or more water.

The City of Mesa is encouraging water customers this fall to forgo planting win ter lawns. Scottsdale, too, is discouraging overseeding and is forbidding homeown er associations from mandating overseed ing by homeowners.

Several Mesa golf courses said that not overseeding is not an option, as the golfers who come here between November and April expect bright green grass.

“Why are they coming here? Because the grass is green and they love the course conditions,” said Don Rea, secretary of the PGA of America and operator of Mesa’s Augusta Ranch Golf Club.

“If we stop overseeding, people will just

While local courses are overseeding this year, managers said they are cutting water

One course manager believes im provements in agronomy could al low Arizona courses to someday forgo winter overseeding without sacrificing course quality.

But that time hasn’t come yet. Winter is the golf industry’s most important time of year, when rates are at their highest, and Mesa’s grass has got to be good.

For Rea, November through April are the only months the course is profitable.

traffic are at their lowest.

He said overseeding takes a lot of water at first, but after germination he can cut back and use substantially less water than in summer. He recalled one January when he didn’t need to irrigate his course at all.

“It’s the summer that you use a lot” of water, Webb said.

Webb also said that “golf is very on top of” water conservation. He said irrigation technology is “way, way better than the old school way,” making it easier for su perintendents to prevent waste.

Rea said many courses are using high tech sensors to measure soil moisture and salts, so superintendents don’t overuse water.

On his own course, he said he is able to control each individual sprinkler head, so he doesn’t need to waste water if he wants to put extra moisture on a particular prob lem area.

That level of control also allows courses to use less water by taking out non-func tional pieces of turf.

Joe Dahlstrom, chief operating officer of Paradigm Golf Group, which manages the Mesa-owned Dobson Ranch Golf Course, said the course has successfully converted many areas from grass to alternate sur faces that don’t need watering.

Brandon Anderson, MD, Breast Surgeon and Victor Chiu, MD, Medical Oncology.

Now seeing patients at our Mesa location. Our comprehensive cancer centers offer a multidisciplinary approach to our patients. Services include Radiation & Medical Oncology, Women's Oncology services, CT & PET diagnostic imaging, state of the art radiation the latest chemo & immunotherapy treatments, along with open enrollment of a wide variety of research studies. Having all these services under one roof allows for daily collaboration among the different specialties and expedited personalized care in

neighborhood.

If Arizona’s courses aren’t on par with other regions in the winter, Rea believes players may take their money to other warm-weather golf destinations.

“We consider ourselves stewards of these (water) resources,” Rea said, “and then at the end of the day, we’re trying to have a nice product out there so people continue coming to Arizona.”

Turf is a valuable crop for the state: a 2016 study by the University of Arizona’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics found that golf contributed $3.9 billion in sales to the state’s economy in 2014 while using only 1.9% of Arizona’s freshwater.

“In the winter, (players) want everything green,” said Johnny Webb, superintendent of Mesa’s Desert Sands Golf Course. “We’re going to use the water in winter.”

Webb thinks most courses will cut their water in the summer, when water de mands are high but course revenue and

After experimenting with several differ ent materials, they’ve had success with us ing volcanic cinders from outside Flagstaff and plans to significantly expand its use in other areas, especially under trees.

Webb estimates he’s been able to trim about 3 acres of grass from his course to conserve water.

“If people just looked at areas that aren’t playable and replaced those with something aesthetically pleasing, that’s a big step” toward saving water, Dahlstrom said.

Dahlstom and Rea also believe the trend toward augmented reality golfing will al low the industry to expand without add ing additional acres of turf.

Dobson Ranch has the TopTracer sys tem installed on its driving range, which allows golfers to virtually play courses all over the world, and Augusta Ranch is

Brandon Anderson, MD

Victor Chiu, MD

Don Rea is proud of the freshly scalped over seeded fairway at Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Mesa. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer

Teachers can bone up on prehistoric times here

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

Makeno bones about it: a pilot pro gram lets teachers take parts of dinosaur skeletons to go.

The Arizona Museum of Natural History and the Mesa Public Library have part nered on a pilot program to bring new Museum To-Go boxes for Valley teachers. The wheeled suitcases contain fossils, mu seum-quality replicas, and lesson plans for all grade levels.

Dani Vernon is the curator of education at the museum and said it brings “hand-on, in teractive learning” to teachers and students.

“It was just a way that they could bring a part of our museum into their classroom,” Vernon said.

Thanks to a grant from the COX and Ari zona Cardinals Charities, the library has purchased six rolling suitcases valued at more than $1,500 each.

Currently, the program has two sepa rate themes for teachers to choose from: Fossil Detectives and Dinos To Go.

The suitcases come complete with les son plans, worksheets, videos, as well as durable, museum-quality fossil replicas including a Velociraptor skull, T. rex toe claw, and a Trilobite.

Additionally, the sets come with Edu cator Background Information to bring teachers up to speed if they don’t have a doctorate in archaeology or paleontology.

If – or when – the program finds suc cess, Vernon said they plan to expand to more subjects and themes.

“We want to expand not only the con tent but the age ranges,” Vernon said. “We’ve already had a whole bunch of in terest from teachers, so I know it’s going to be incredibly successful.”

Currently, the to-go boxes are geared more toward third through fifth grade, but Vernon said the toys inside connect the topic to students as low as first grade.

“Anybody is welcome,” Vernon said. “Moving forward, it’s really the curricu lum that shapes it.”

Nicole Lind, a librarian at the Mesa Pub lic Library, oversees collection and sup port services and said any public-school teacher in Maricopa County can check out

The Arizona Museum of Natural History’s new program for teachers is not the only thing that has the museum buzzing. Dr. Emily Early, the mu seum’s curator of anthropology, is a significant contributor to a new book, “African Paleoecol ogy and Human Evolution” that details how hu mans evolved in the dynamic African landscape. (Courtesy Arizona Museum of Natural History)

the suitcases for one week at a time from the main library located at 64 East First St., Mesa.

Lind said this program naturally ex pands upon the Mesa Public Library’s “Stuffbrary,” a collection of various items including cake pans and croquet sets that allows for hands-on learning.

“This is sort of a natural fit for us,” Lind said. “It’s encouraging imagination, cre ativity and play.”

Lind said any teacher registered with the Mesa Public Library simply needs to verify their school information to check out the to-go boxes.

Like any item at the library, Lind said anyone who checks out the boxes assumes responsibility for any damage or missing pieces.

“We have it itemized and there’s a price to it, so we do charge them when/if some

thing breaks, or if something’s missing,” Lind said. “But overall, I think it’s all pretty durable stuff.”

Space may present as an issue currently, especially at the library’s other three loca tions, Lind said they look forward to ex panding the program to more boxes when the funding becomes available.

“We’d be excited to continue it,” Lind said. “It was a little bit for us to figure out how to catalogue these because we’ve not ever done anything like this.”

Located in downtown Mesa, the Arizona Museum of Natural History is a “must-see” for dinosaur lovers. Its main attraction is Dinosaur Mountain, with animatronic di nosaurs, a 3-story indoor waterfall and a flash flood that happens every 30 minutes. In addition to dinosaurs, visitors can pan for gold, learn about volcanoes, or discov er Arizona’s connections to ancient civili zations, including the Maya.

Information: arizonamuseumofnatural history.org.

Event at The Summit 2415 S. Signal Butte Rd. Mesa AZ 85209

Lori@thesummitaz.com (480) 660-3124or

Contact Lori Marsh (480) 660-3124 Lori@thesummitaz.com

Yourself!!

Mesa officer who shot at fleeing vehicle resigns

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Apoor

decision made in a split sec ond has ended an officer’s career with the Mesa Police Department.

Mesa Police determined that an officer who fired two shots at a car as it sped away from a traffic stop on July 2 broke the department’s firearms use policies, which prohibit shooting at fleeing sus pects except in extreme circumstances.

Professional Standards reviewers rec ommended termination for Officer Kay lon Hall, who resigned before the depart ment carried out the action.

On July 2, the four-year officer con ducted a traffic stop on a silver Hyundai Sonata observed swerving in and out of traffic lanes near Ivyglen Street and Country Club Road.

During the stop, the 18-year-old driver was “acting usual and looking for his ve hicle registration in unusual spots,” ac cording to notes from a Critical Incident Review board meeting in September.

When a back-up officer arrived, Hall opened the driver-side door, asked the driver to remove his seat belt and step out of the car.

The driver then said, “C’mon, man,” before turning the engine on, pulling the door closed with his left hand and driv ing away westbound on Ivyglen Street.

In the back-up officer’s body camera video, Hall watches the vehicle speed away for a brief moment then pulls out his pistol and fires two rounds at the vehicle.

Investigators later determined the bul lets struck the rear bumper.

Review board notes indicate the back up officer ran back to his patrol vehicle to commence a chase before “realizing that pursuit was not warranted.”

He went back to Hall, and both real ized “the situation escalated, and the dis charge of the firearm was out of policy.”

A police helicopter tracked the fleeing car to a residence in the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community.

“Due to jurisdictional challenges, Mesa police officers were unable to enter the Indian community to contact the driver,” the department stated, but detectives eventually reached the driver by phone. The driver said he was not injured and confirmed the vehicle was struck by two bullets.

He “declined to return to Mesa to speak with detectives further,” but sent Mesa PD a photo of the car’s bumper with two bullet holes. The suspect was not charged.

The Critical Incident Review Board de termined that Hall broke several depart ment policies by shooting at the fleeing vehicle.

“The use of force was not objectively reasonable, and the Board concluded his actions were not what is expected of a Mesa Police Officer,” a department memo stated following the meeting.

According to MPD policies, firearms may only be used to prevent the escape of a “dangerous fleeing subject” when a sus pect has killed or seriously injured some one, or a subject’s escape “would pose an imminent danger of death of serious in jury to the officer or another person.”

Also, “shooting at or from a moving vehicle is prohibited,” except when a ve hicle is being used in an act of terrorism or someone inside the vehicle is using or threatening deadly force.

During the CRIB meeting, officers not ed that the officer who fired the shots also violated department policy by not activating his body camera at the start of the traffic stop, and officials reported that it was not the officer’s first violation of body camera policies.

Someone in the CRIB meeting asked whether the officer who resigned could be rehired by another department, and officials responded by saying “when an officer resigns, AZPost (the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board) obtains some info on the officer and other AZ agencies can review this in formation before hiring them.”

STUDENT from page 1

Dr. Robert Carlisle, MPS’ director of research and evaluation, did not comment specifically on the decline in the number of white students, but he did offer some theories about the overall drop.

Carlisle said the district has long predicted a slow decline in enroll ment due to the “maturation of our communities” – the process of young families aging and children growing up and leaving home.

While new families with children move into older neighborhoods, Car lisle said, the mature neighborhoods never reach the same levels of chil dren they had earlier.

Carlisle and other staff also specu lated that charter schools in the MPS service area have taken a bite out of the district’s enrollment – particu larly for the lower grades.

“I would say some of it is the num ber of charter school options in our boundaries is increasing, and so that is also a factor,” Carlisle said.

The enrollment declines are con

centrated in the younger grades, preschool through 8th grade. Every grade from preschool through 8th has seen declines in enrollment from before the pandemic.

The drops are steepest at transi tion grades: there are 669 fewer kin dergartners in MPS this year com pared to 2019, and 773 fewer sixth graders.

District staff speculated that the drops are concentrated in the lower grades because there are more al ternative school options for younger students.

“We did not anticipate the growth of charters in the K-8 grade bracket,” Executive Director of Information and Outreach Helen Hollands said.

But MPS’ enrollment declines over the past three years vaporize at the high school level, with grades 9 through 12 all reporting more students now than before the pan demic.

Among Mesa Public Schools’ high schools in the last three years, enrollment has fallen most significantly at Skyline while Westwood has shown the biggest increase. (MPS)

This chart shows how enrollment impacted each grade across Mesa Public Schools in the last three years, with kindergarten and sixth grade showing the biggest decline. (MPS)

STUDENT from page 10

At the high school level, many families not already enrolled in MPS opt in for the “comprehensive high school experience that we offer,” Hol lands said.

Citing data from a survey the dis trict conducted of parents leaving and coming back to MPS, Hollands said “for parents looking for a high school experience for their students, the things that they pulled out was the relationship with teachers was the No. 1 priority for them.

The performing arts was a high priority for them, some of our accel erated programs that we offer, and then the ability to participate in ath letics.”

District staff and governing board members expressed concern at the drop in the numbers of K-8 students in the district, as well as the numbers of students coming and going.

“We know mobility is a tremen dous deterrent to learning,” Super intendent Dr. Andi Fourlis told the

board.

She said the data underscored the importance of having “consistent instructional materials” between schools in the district, and it would help MPS to “match our square foot age to the number of students.”

Fourlis said the data should also be used to help the district tailor its programs to the needs and interests of residents and hopefully gain back students.

“We also need to think about spe cialized programming in schools. Where do we have an opportunity for expansion? So if we’ve got schools that we know are full, for example, Highland (Arts Elementary), there is a demand,” Fourlis said.

“So what this enrollment data is re ally telling us? What do we need to do in terms of programming in space and being wise with the space that we have?”

East Valley school districts have varied when it comes to enrollment trends.

Queen Creek and Higley Unified

are forecasting significant upticks and project thousands of more new students in the near future. Queen Creek has been building one or two new schools for the last few eyars and anticipates building at least one new school a year for the enxt sev eral years.

On the other hand, after seeing ma jor growth for years, Chandler Uni fied now projects a steady decline in the student population.

Tempe Union and Kyrene have seen a steady decline in student en rollment for a number of years and a demographer for the districts at tributed that trend primarily to the rising cost of housing, which he said prices young families out of the market.

Moreover, he said, older homeown ers are hanging on to their houses, shrinking the number of available homes.

11NEWSTHE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 2, 2022 from page 3

time, but they still wanted to separate out the drought-related cost increases from the other inflationary pressures. For the typical residential customer, the drought surcharge comes out to an extra 24 cents per month.

Council members Kevin Thompson and Mark Freeman hoped the steeper in creases on the commercial landscape wa ter rate would provide extra incentive for those customers to conserve water.

Thompson argued for shifting the cost burden from residential utility customers as much as possible.

“During the inflation, people should not have to choose between, ‘do we put food on the table or pay our utility bill,’” he said.

City Manager Chris Brady said staff felt the increases were reasonable.

“We think from a perspective of what inflation is today, a little more than 3% in crease in water is still a pretty good deal,” Brady said.

EV group discusses homelessness

BY NICOLE MACIAS GARIBAY Tribune Contributor

Solving

homelessness could be as simple as putting keys in the hands of community members, a panel of ex perts said at an East Valley gathering last month.

As part of the “Finding Home: Arizona Storytellers Project,” researchers, social workers and the formerly unhoused gath ered at the Tempe Center for the Arts to discuss the causes of homelessness, and the barriers confronting the unhoused try ing to break into the housing market.

They said stable housing is the first step to financial independence, not a reward for only the most fortunate and hardworking of low-income families.

“When you don’t have a place to stay,

meeting your other needs becomes in credibly difficult,” said James Lawrence, a formerly unhoused father who received assistance from Native American Connec tions when illness and loss in his family cut his income below his cost of living.

While causes of poverty are nebulous and often difficult to address through poli cy, research suggests that housing stability significantly affects whether individuals and families will flourish in their commu nities – specifically in terms of home own ership – the panelists said.

Ashlee Tziganuk, a research analyst at Arizona State University’s Morrison Insti tute for Public Policy, shared various sta tistics about home ownership, income, and race in Maricopa County.

According to her research, the median home price in Phoenix has risen more than

45 percent since 2019 and about 75 per cent of Maricopa County homeowners are white.

“We have a fundamental flaw, a poison pill in the Arizona and in the national hous ing market,” said ASU professor and panel ist Rashad Shabazz. “The housing market (was) built for a specific population that did not face labor force discrimination.”

He said homelessness reflects racial dis parities as well.

Reparations for housing can provide eq uity in the market, he continued, claiming that housing loans began as a kind of wel fare in which 98% of the recipients were white.

“It had nothing to do with their ability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” he said. It was simply the fact that they were white.”

If there were to be reparations in the form of property ownership for histori cally oppressed groups in America, he said, those groups would have the op portunity to generate wealth for their descendants the way white people have been doing for generations.

“Antiracist legislation is a rising tide that lifts all boats,” he said. “Here’s the fact of the matter - it’s coming for you.”

Homelessness also disproportionately affects the LGBTQ+ community, according to Eric Morales, Volunteer and In-Kind Do nation Specialist for One-N-Ten, a commu nity organizing group that serves home less LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

“Sometimes, home isn’t the safest place to be (for LBGTQ+ youth), especially trans gender youth” he said. “Homelessness is a reality for a lot of trans individuals.”

10243 E. Hampton Ave. Mesa, AZ 85209

10:00

3315 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251

a.m.

a.m.

For accommodations of persons with special needs at meetings call 1-888-286-7149, TTY: 711. By registering for a seminar, a sales representative may contact you. Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona is contracted with Medicare to o er HMO and PPO Medicare Advantage plans and PDP plans. Enrollment in Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona plans depends on contract renewal. BCBSAZ o ers BluePathwaySM HMO and BlueJourneySM PPO Medicare Advantage plans. BCBSAZ Advantage, a separate but wholly owned subsidiary of BCBSAZ, o ers Blue Medicare Advantage Standard, Classic, and Plus HMO plans.

from page

the shelter.

Behavior team dismantled

The county hired Schulze in June 2017 after she had been volunteer ing there since 2014. She took a sub stantial pay cut to oversee a team of seven, assessing cats and dogs coming into the two shelters in Phoenix and in Mesa and keeping them mentally and physically healthy during their stay.

“Maricopa County takes in an ex tremely large number of animals and needs behavioral support to make those decisions as to which dogs can be safely placed, which can be safely cared for (and) which dogs can make certain improvements,” Schulze said.

“When the behavioral team started, we started to do enrichment, giving treats in the kennels, starting to do playgroups and working with animals that needed extra help to be adopt able.”

Schulze and her team were reas signed under a new structure institut ed last November by Assistant County Manager Valerie Beckett, then serving as interim animal care director.

“She changed my position to train ing manager,” Schulze said. “So instead of assessing the behavior of animals, I was training staff. She said she want ed everyone to be a shelter expert.”

Forbidden from performing assess ments on some of the more challeng ing animals, Schulze felt her hands were tied and resigned in May. She now works for the Seattle Humane Society.

County officials defended the re structuring.

“It’s important to us to have staff members who understand behavioral issues in our pets,” said Kim Powell, spokeswoman for Animal Care and Control in an email. “In fact, our goal is to have more of them.

“But the behavioral team as a whole did not have a formal training pro tocol and lacked data to identify if it was helpful intervention in its present state, so we re-structured.”

Schulze disputed Powell’s assess

ment of her team.

“The behavior team had protocols for training behavior staff,” she said. “There were three levels within the behavior team …Each level had differ ent duties within their job description that aligned with their level of animal behavior experience, knowledge, and skills.

“On-the-job training consisted of daily interactions with animals with opportunities for feedback and shad owing with more skilled and knowl edgeable handlers.”

Schulze said that learning about an imal behavior is an ongoing process and that the county shelter needs po sitions dedicated to animal behavior.

Shelter associates can’t be expected to become experts in behavior be cause they don’t have time during their work day of watering, feeding and cleaning to dedicate to the learn ing process and they may not have the skills or desire to learn more about animal behavior, Schulze said.

And, she questioned how the county was recruiting staff with behavior ex

perience when “behavior” isn’t in any of the job postings.

Lorena Bader, vice president of the nonprofit Four Paws and Friends, be lieves had Schulze and her team been in place, Rookie would have had a fighting chance.

“If the team was in place, (Rookie) would be getting out every day or ev ery other day,” Bader said. “If he was deteriorating, they would have done more to make sure he stayed healthy until he got out of the shelter.”

Petition seeks changes

Bader is circulating a petition drive on change.org demanding the county Board of Supervisors and administra tion “provide proper medical and be havioral care for the animals in their charge.” As of Sept. 28, it had garnered 22,012 signatures.

Arizona law provides for the cre ation of county shelters and requires that any impounded animal be given “proper and humane care and mainte

The county used this poster during a nationwide campaign to spur adoptions by waiving fees. Rookie, the dog in the poster, was euthanized four days after the campaign ended in May. (Special to the Tribune)

nance.” Other than that, there doesn’t appear to be any oversight of shelter operations.

Bader, a retired Corona del Sol High School chemistry and physics teacher, detailed a number of what she called “shelter failings,” and backed as many as she could with department records she obtained through public records requests.

She said she’s contacted veterinar ians who left the county but they were fearful of possible retribution from their former employer.

Bader’s complaints also included that MCACC harbored a hostile work environment, had low staffing and morale and a high-turnover of staff.

Bader said she volunteered at the shelter from 2016-19 until she was fired for sharing a photo of tempera tures topping 100 degrees in the shelter. She still keeps in contact with some volunteers there.

“The kennels are not always cleaned because there’s not enough staff,” Bader said. “It’s not like they never get cleaned but they’re so short-staffed they’ve started not to do deep clean ing. They just started spot cleaning, which is not OK when you have infec tious disease in the shelter and have distemper.”

She also said that dogs “don’t get out of their kennels for weeks at a time,” which leads to behavioral problems.

“If they’re lucky they get out once every five days for a walk or yard time. If they get sick, they sit in their ken nel for two weeks with kennel cough. Some dogs in the medical wing are in there one month and not getting out.”

Rookie’s sad end

County records show Rookie came into the shelter Jan. 24 as a stray and was considered “friendly but skit tish, allows all handling.” He was vac cinated, neutered and microchipped in anticipation of adoption.

Rookie’s behavioral assessments on Jan. 25 and Jan 29 stated that he was a friendly dog who “thinks he’s a lap dog and wants lots of attention” and that he might be house-broken.

A Feb. 3 assessment, however, be gan noting he was nervous and agi tated and did not want to re-enter his kennel.

A Feb. 26 evaluation reported Rook ie fought with a dog in a neighboring kennel and on March 9, he was “bark ing, growling, snapping teeth, lunging at other dogs.”

On March 12 the records showed that Rookie was “very stressed, pupils dilated and red eyes, panting... Dog is deteriorating in kennel and stressed out,” a memo stated. “Needs outlet.”

In the shelter’s paperwork, it was reported that a plea was sent out on Feb. 26 and again on March 3 asking fosters to help Rookie.

By May 11, Rookie’s behavior was updated to “urgent.”

“Dog is stressed out and overaroused in kennel, barking, jumping, panting, kennel fighting,” the memo said. “Dog is unable to fully settle with handlers in yard. Needs outlet. May be at risk of euthanasia on May 18 or sooner if warranted.”

Rookie’s records showed he wasn’t walked daily. In February, he had four walks but then because he was be ing treated for kennel cough, he was caged for 14 days until the antibiotics were finished, Bader explained.

But the pattern repeated itself with four walks in March, four in April and three in May.

Stimulation keeps dogs healthy

Experts say that shelter dogs need daily physical and emotional stimula tion to deal with the stresses of kennel life and that exercise in general helps dogs avoid boredom, which leads to destructive behavior.

And, according to Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters released by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, “Dogs must be provid ed with daily opportunities for activ ity outside of their runs for aerobic exercise (and) for long-term shelter stays, appropriate levels of additional enrichment must be provided on a daily basis.”

Powell said, “Unfortunately, we sometimes have over 800 dogs in our care at the two MCACC shelters and not every dog can get out for a walk every day, which is why we desper ately need volunteers to help our staff with cleaning kennels, daily enrich ment, and of course, walks.

“Staff cannot get to every dog in ad dition to their other duties,” she said.

Powell added, “Our current director has been one of MCACC’s longest serv ing volunteers and he has seen volun teer engagement wax and wane over the years. We really need more volun teers to sign up for walks to help us get the hundreds of dogs out for walks every day.”

She also denied Bader’s claim that in-kennel enrichment is sporadic.

Bader said while the Arizona Hu mane Society gives five different types of enrichment daily to animals for their senses – eat, smell, feel, hear and see – that’s not the case at the county

Small dogs fill kennel crates at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

shelter.

“At the most at MCACC, they get one of those and it’s often someone walks through the kennels and sprays laven der or goes through and blows bub bles or gives milk bones,” she said.

Powell said Bader’s claim isn’t true.

“Animals receive enrichment ev ery day, including Kongs, food-feeder puzzles, scent enrichment, rawhides, sometimes even music,” Powell said. “There is an enrichment board out side of the first door to the left of the volunteer hallway for specifics.”

Kongs are enrichment toys filled with treats that help relieve a dog’s stress and boredom.

Bader shared a Sept. 12 email from Director Michael Mendel, who stated he was pausing all public group walks and public enrichment stuffing events, effective Sept. 16.

“The two organizations, Four Paws and Friends and Hope Whispers, have been told that we may not fill Kongs, pass out enrichment or to conduct public dog walks,” Bader said.

“Four Paws does the walks at the West shelter weekly and Hope Whis pers does them at the East shelter. We typically get 60-100 dogs out for a 20-30-minute walk. It is often the only time they get out for a week.”

Four Paws also have been buying and stuffing Kongs for the shelter for about a year.

Mendel said while the shelter ap preciated the help from volunteers, there were “several incidents that prevent these activities from continu ing at this time.”

Examples he gave of “safety-relat ed” incidents included participants wearing inappropriate and unsafe clothing such as shorts for dog walk ing and displaying unsafe behaviors such as putting their faces close to the faces of unfamiliar dogs for pictures during the walks.

Mendel added that there also have been some recent social media post ings of “potential vandalism threats towards staff and/or property,” which he acknowledged wasn’t coming from Four Paws and Friends volunteers.

The shelter director also cited an incident when a group of volunteers overstuffed Kongs, which he said “can cause many dogs to lose interest in enrichment activity.”

He added that the shelter had to throw out over 300 Kongs donated by Four Paws because they were “too full, uneaten, and unable to be fully cleaned for reuse.”

“We have recently looked into pur chasing additional Kongs and the pricing went up, so we were waiting,” Mendel said, adding that the group

can help in other ways such as join ing the volunteer program, becoming fosters or buying prepackaged items such as dog biscuits, hot dogs and bully sticks.

Rookie’s death caused such an up roar that Mendel, who was hired in March to oversee Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, responded.

Mendel in his post noted MCACC at the time had approximately 695 ani mals, stressing the county’s capacity for care. He said the shelters were see ing more and more people surrender ing their pets because of homeless ness.

“We are seeing more animals with increasing dangerous behaviors, es pecially in the East Shelter,” Mendel wrote May 23. “While MCACC’s in

tention is to save every animal that comes into our care, I must weigh the safety risk to staff, volunteers, and the public.

“Dogs that receive deadlines are those struggling in the shelter envi ronment and deteriorating.”

He said Rookie received a seven-day deadline and was up for adoption on the shelter’s portal.

“His deadline passed,” Mendel said. “No one came to rescue.”

The last evaluation on May 15 for Rookie said he was walking well on a leash, took his treats gently, jumped up to solicit attention from his han dler and had no issues on returning to his kennel.

He was euthanized four days later at 2:29 p.m.

Volunteer Sarah Loman hands out treats to Hawkeye, an American Bulldog/Great Dane mix at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. County officials say they need more volunteers at that shelter and their other one in Mesa. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Mesa’s Scarizona returns with more frights

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

WhenOctober rolls around, the ghosts and ghouls creep out at Thompson Event Center in Mesa.

Scarizona Scaregrounds, 1901 N. Alma School Road, returns for another season of frights at night on Friday, Oct. 7.

Starting its seventh year, owner and di rector of operations Allen Thompson said despite some troubles over the summer, the crew has revamped the Valley tradi tion.

“At Scarizona, we have been offering Val ley residents a fun, haunting experience for years. It’s practically a local Halloween institution,” Thompson said.

The pandemic didn’t affect much in the way of the business as Thompson said they remained open the past couple seasons.

“We survived staying busy and operat ing through COVID with a lot of restric tions in place,” Thompson said.

Though visitor numbers were reduced through the pandemic, Thompson said with COVID protocols in place, including temperature checks and social distancing, kept their workforce hanging tough.

“So, our attendance was much, much lower,” Thompson said. “But we contin ued to stay open and keep our people em ployed.”

But Thompson said the past couple years has made him rethink a lot of things and along with economic factors such as an increase in minimum wage, materials and insurance, they’ve made a few changes.

Though the monsoons and summer heat only postponed opening day by a week, the show goes on.

With a crew of more than 60 people, Thompson said the 10-acre property will open on Friday with some old classics and new features that he said should be anoth er spooky spectacle.

“We just kind of laid off a little bit, slowed things down and took our time,” Thompson said. “We want to make sure everything’s done right.”

The newest feature “Mayhem in the

Madness” is a collective work of props and animatronics from past years with a rede signed layout that gives actors more room.

“It’s not quite as contained,” Thompson said. “So, it’s a little more chaotic inside.”

With “more animatronics than all the other shows in town put together,” Thomp son said some technological advancements to certain processes have made it easier to change the show on the fly.

For families with younger children under 12 years old, the Scaregrounds has added the new “Fright in the Lights,” a mile-long Halloween-themed drive through a light show geared toward all ages that want to see to see larger-than-life pumpkins, spi ders, ghosts, goblins and more.

“Whether you love all things scary, or you’re looking for an experience that’s tai lored to families,” Thompson said. “Scari zona will be here to help everyone get into the Halloween spirit.”

All of this comes from expectations aris ing over the years that Thompson said has forced him to flex his fright muscles in wanting to bring scarier sights and ghast

lier ghouls.

Thompson said he started in the haunt ing business in 1997 and discovered the enjoyment he took from others delights enjoying the spectacles.

But over the years, Thompson said it’s been more tricks than treats with both competition and standards raising scare standards.

“People’s level of expectations are defi nitely higher than it used to be,” Thompson said.

GOLF from page 6

launching the system on its range Nov. 11.

Dahlstrom thinks a future direction for Arizona golf may be to transition to hybrid strains that don’t require overseeding. He said scientists are developing hybrids that maintain their playability and color while dormant.

Dahlstrom said one of Paradigm’s other courses, Bali Hai in Las Vegas, has success fully transitioned to a hybrid grass and no

If You Go...

What: Scarizona Haunted House

When: Oct. 7-31

Where: 1901 N. Alma School Road, Mesa.

Cost: Starting at $24.95 per person. Info: Scarizona.com

What: Frights in the Lights

When: October 7-31

Where: 1901 N. Alma School Road, Mesa.

Cost: From $24.95 per carload.

Info: www.FrightsInTheLights.com

longer requires overseeding.

Eliminating common Bermuda was “no easy task,” but the change has put Bali Hai in a much better position than its compet itors as Lake Mead, a major water source for Las Vegas, dries up.

Dahlstrom said Las Vegas is a different climate than Phoenix and the same grass wouldn’t work, but he thinks other new hybrids and technologies are coming that could eliminate overseeding for Arizona courses.

The Scarizona team in Mesa is ready for visitors starting Friday. (Facebook)

OPEN

Subject to approval. Certain restrictions apply. $300 cash back paid as 30,000 rewards points when a new Member opens a new Premium Rewards Checking account, deposits $1,000 within 60 days of account opening and completes one debit card transaction within 60 days of account opening. For more information visit VantageWest.org/NewMember. Federally Insured by NCUA.

MCC DJ class spins a new future for students

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

The world’s first college-accredited program for disc jockeys at Mesa Com munity College is putting students on a path to learning the techniques of platterpushing professionals.

In the rarified world where some DJs have reported seven-figure earnings from their work at clubs, festivals and other gigs, MCC students can earn an associates in applied science in “disc jockey techniques.”

As an alumni, James Gaspar said the pro gram changed his life.

“I didn’t think that music was going to be a viable path,” Gaspar said. “But it turned out that this program changed my life for the better.”

Gaspar graduated from Scottsdale Com munity College in May and has already start ed DJing at corporate and private events and said he does more than press play on music.

“You’re a musician and the turntables are your instrument,” Gaspar said. “You’re creating music from other bits and pieces of music.”

That fusion perfectly sums up what in structor Ramsey Higgins said the DJ has done for both hip-hop specifically and music in general.

“Out of all the performance elements in hip hop, the DJ is the foundation of the cul ture,” Higgins said.

Ramsey Higgins – or DJ Ruthless Ramsey as he’s known onstage – has taught in the Maricopa County Community College Dis trict for the last 15 years, primarily at Scotts dale Community College, where the program originated.

Now, Higgins has brought his mixing, scratching and transforming skills to MCC.

He said he started learning how to DJ at age 7 from the “school of hard knocks” that had either no teaching or bad teaching.

Now, with the degree program expanding in the Valley, Higgins said it helps standard

ize the profession and brings a bargaining chip to help young DJs create a baseline for their career.

“The degree shows that they deserve a standardized pay of what a DJ should get,” Higgins said. “There’s a lot more stuff that we do off the clock than we do on but that degree solidifies that we have the balance of both.”

To earn an associates degree, students must complete more than 60 credits in classes such as “Turntablism: The Art of the Scratch DJ” and “Introduction to EmceeRapping Techniques.”

Higgins said while the lessons don’t get easier, students skills become sharper and they add to their repertoire week after week.

“If you think everything’s cool when you get home – just like my teachers taught me – that bar is up the next week,” Higgins said.

Gaspar said Higgins’ passion for the mu sic pushes students in a positive way and he makes you believe in yourself.

“His enthusiasm and his belief in you are so infectious that you end up having a bet ter self-esteem after talking with them, after being around him,” Gaspar said. “Because he says, ‘no, you can do it.’”

In learning the techniques from the in structor, that infectious positivity spreads throughout the class and Gaspar said the classroom becomes a microcosm of col laboration.

“There was always something new to learn. Whether it was from a peer or the professor, you are learning something new,” Gaspar said.

After graduation, that learning eventually translates to a starting pay around $40,000 for mobile DJs playing weddings and corpo rate functions, according to the MCC website.

But like most professions, with hard work, professionals can sell out stadiums and rake in millions of dollars per year.

No matter what path students take, Hig gins said he focuses on also developing the

intangibles such as good character, persis tence, dedication, discipline but also enjoy ing the “very therapeutical” response the music brings students.

“Even if they don’t do anything profession ally, it’s still therapeutic,” Higgins said.

For Higgins, though, it’s not about the money but the lives he’s touched and trans formed in the classroom that sit at the heart of why he teaches.

“Our job is to always be healers and be in the community,” Higgins said. “So that’s the way it started…it should always stay that way.”

Born in Minnesota, Higgins moved to Ari zona in 1985 and has toured across the coun try playing in NBA Arenas and hundreds of clubs from New York City to Los Angeles.

For that reason, founder and former pro gram director Rob Wegner brought Higgins on as an instructor.

“If you’re learning from Ramsey, you are learning from one of the most talented DJs and instructors on the planet,” Wegner said.

Wegner started the program at Scottsdale Community College in 2001 that eventually evolved into world’s first college accredited associates degree for DJs.

To become accredited requires an advi sory committee comprising 30 of the best

DJs in the Valley and approval from the U.S. Department of Education, Wegner said.

“If you understand what a DJ does, and their role in music, it makes sense for there to be a DJ promo in a music department,” Wegner said.

Wegner served as the program director until 2015, when his multiple sclerosis be came too much for him.

Wegner said the only downside to this program is that more colleges haven’t picked up the concept yet.

“It’s great that it’s at Mesa now because Mesa’s got a very reputable music program,” Wegner said.

Cecilia Satori enrolled in MUC136 Turnta blism: The Art of the Scratch DJ this semester as a way to add to her musical repertoire and eventually would like to become one of the trailblazing female DJs in the male-dominat ed profession.

“Seeing that I have an opportunity to pave the way in the DJ experience, makes me hap py,” Satori said.

For now, Satori said she’s enjoyed meet ing pioneers like record-scratching inventor Grand Wizzard Theodore, and collaborating in the classroom with other students.

“It’s like a whole new world unraveling be fore my eyes,” Satori said. “I’m thankful to be able to inspire future DJs.”

Ramsey Higgins teaches Turntablism: The Art of the Scratch DJ at Mesa Community College. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Love for animals gave birth to high-end Mesa thrift store

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

AMesa

boutique has gone to the dogs –and cats – but that’s exactly what it’s there for.

Paige Beville and Donna Geisinger opened Cause4Paws Resale Boutique at 9911 E. Baseline Road in July.

Geisinger said she’s loved animals her en tire life and believes that more rescues could get adopted if they received the necessary medical care.

“This has been something that I life-long wanted to do,” Geisinger said.

Two years ago, Geisinger reached out to the Apache Junction Animal Control Paws & Claws Care Center to find out how she could help and met Beville.

Beville has volunteered at Paws & Claws for several years and started a nonprofit called Saving Paws Rehabilitation Fund to help raise money for urgent medical proce dures at animal shelters, such as amputa tions and eye surgeries.

Beville also has some experience working for a similar thrift store for 13 years in Colo rado that supported an animal shelter.

“We decided opening a store, that we could send the proceeds to local shelter ani mals would be the best way to help them,” Geisinger said.

But Beville said “thrift store” conjures up certain expectations: a mishmash of junk in a dimly lit room. But that’s not what the pair wanted.

Geisinger started the work on Cause4Paws in 2020 and said she and Beville started col lecting donations, which she said “were just awesome.”

They have now filled the 1,100-squarefoot location to the brim with various cloth ing, houseware and other items.

The sweet aroma welcomes customers as they walk in with bright lights overhead and a well-organized layout immediately makes customers realize that Geisinger and Beville put the “upscale” in upscale resale boutique.

The ladies use that term because they remain very selective about what they sell their customers, including fashion items by designers like Fiore and Chicos.

“We are pretty selective about what we’ll take,” Beville said “We get donations and, like every other boutique, will vet them.”

They can’t accept donations of men’s or children’s items, books, furniture or elec tronics due to space but the two women donate what they can’t sell to the Arizona Humane Society, Beville said.

Their selectiveness might mean a slightly higher price at checkout compared with a traditional thrift store.

But every cent that doesn’t go to maintain ing the storefront benefits rescued animals at the Apache Junction Animal Control Paws & Claws Care Center, 725 E. Baseline Road in Apache Junction.

Lori Erlandson, shelter supervisor for Apache Junction Animal Control, said the do

nations from Cause4Paws have helped pro long the lives for many of the animals that come in and need urgent medical care.

“Previously, without having access to these funds, we may have to make euthanasia de cisions and decide that humane euthanasia is really our only option,” Erlandson said.

With a small medical budget, Erlandson said some of the surgeries can quickly be come very costly – starting at $500 for a six-month treatment of valley fever to more than $4,000 to amputate a puppy’s leg due to an accident.

Erlandson said these donations come at a good time for the animal shelter as Cause4Paws has become the angel donor East Valley rescue animals needed.

During the pandemic, Erlandson said adoptions increased as more people began working from home.

Now, Erlandson said the reverse has hap pened, with people downsizing from homes

to apartments due to the economic down turn in recent months.

“Unfortunately, they weren’t able to take their pets with them,” Erlandson said. “So we’ve seen a pretty big increase in animals being surrendered to the shelter.”

Erlandson said the shelter has the capac ity to hold 38 animals, and reached that in May, a first in her seven years at the shelter. Last month, she said the capacity held at 32.

With a steady stream of medical funds coming in, Erlandson said they have contin ued to get animals the care they need and get them adopted out to forever homes.

That’s exactly what the ladies at Cause4Paws want to continue to do if they can get more customers in the store.

“Your angel donor that you know is go ing to always be there to contribute,” Beville said. “And that’s what this store does.”

Information: cause4pawsshop.com, 480306-4588.

Paige Beville, left, and Donna Geisinger own the Cause 4 Paws resale boutique in Mesa, which supports Paws & Claws Care Center in Apache Junction. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@timeslocalmedia.com

TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow

ADOT driving test changes evoke fond memories

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

The summer af ter I turned 17, my father took me to a middle school parking lot and attempted to teach me how to drive a car. This did not go well, mostly because we were operating at cross purposes.

I wanted to drive fast. My dad want ed me not to crash his beloved Toyota Tercel.

Voices were raised. Feelings were bruised. The car may have brushed a traffic barrier. Thus, my driving les sons quickly came to an end – until my mother took over.

Which was how I learned to drive on my mom’s ancient 1972 Ford Pin

to with a 4-speed stick shift, a mushy clutch and 150,000 miles on it.

We practiced two nights a week, working up to the big encore: parallel parking, which my mother simulated for me with some five-gallon paint cans and a couple of stolen traffic pylons.

Chances are good the local school parking lot still has splashes of latex semi-gloss from my many suboptimal tries at parallel parking. There was a rhythm to it that eluded me, a sense of space and objects my eyes and hands couldn’t nail.

Especially with my mom screaming over the screech of grinding gears.

Still, when the big day came and I had the Motor Vehicles examiner in the car, I wedged that Pinto into a parking space well enough to earn my driver’s license.

This immediately surpassed winning the eighth grade spelling bee as my life’s biggest accomplishment to that point.

And it’s why I was a bit nostalgic this week when I saw that the Arizo na Department of Transportation has changed the state’s road test so it no longer requires new drivers to parallel park as a condition of earning a license.

I get it: Parallel parking is one of those skills, like knowing how to drive a stick or how to start a fire, that has been lost to time and modern convenience.

ADOT did add a few wrinkles to the test that I appreciate, like requiring each would-be driver to locate the ve hicle’s registration and insurance card among the old napkins in the glove compartment.

There’s also a brief vehicle inspec

tion to make sure the turn signals work – though I’ve rarely seen an Arizona driver use that particular feature – and a safety test to prove the applicant can find the hazard lights and emergency brake – again, not Arizona specialties.

Only then will the road test begin. “This portion of the test will now take approximately 15-20 minutes to cover the five to eight miles that better re flects a typical commute,” ADOT’s press release explained.

Their prep materials indicate that screwing up following distance during the test is a 10-point violation, while hitting the curb gets you four points. Score 21 points or more and you fail.

The test apparently doesn’t include points for tweezing your eyebrows

Cheney shows true colors with appearance here

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

You, your neigh bors, heck…even

Aunt Mavis and Uncle Travis… know all about the “strange bedfellows” that populate politics.

But it’s not the bedfellows who war rant watching…it’s the bedbugs.

Political bedbugs find their fulfill ment in efforts aimed at “campaign in festation,” hoping to first deprive their targeted candidates of sleep, and even tually, of votes.

A caterpillar becomes a butterfly through metamorphosis; a political bedbug undergoes a process that is completely reversed, metaphorically speaking.

Once a political “high-flyer,” often

due to very generous financial backing or a famous family name (or both), the reclusive creature is soon attracted to the neon sign of Washington’s so-called “smart set.”

Willing to trade principles for promi nence, the previously promising public servant begins to echo the outlook of elites, forgetting the promises made and the priorities expressed by the folks “back home.”

It becomes quite problematic if “back home” isn’t really back home…if the lu minary in question is much more com fortable living amidst the bright lights of the big city and all the attendant hubbub, instead of the quieter, simpler ways of the remote “residence.”

True residents of the aforementioned “residence” eventually respond harshly and justly.

Simply stated, they find their voices

through their votes.

ZAP!

The people speak and the one-time high-flyer is brought low.

The fall is a long one, and the landing rough, though not fatal.

But rather than being humbled and chastened, the soon-to-be former of ficeholder wallows in self-pity, depen dent on the accolades of the elites, who are happy to utter them loudly, if insin cerely.

After all, there’s an ulterior motive afoot…one for which the now-van quished, earthbound, and publicly em barrassed “public servant” is uniquely equipped…if “handled” in a clever, faux compassionate manner.

Revenge.

And that promised vengeance is found through (you guessed it) voting.

Only now, the newly-created political

bedbug advocates voting for candidates anointed by the elites…candidates who will quickly disassociate with the new ly motivated “pest” once the masterful manipulation is complete and any en visioned electoral advantage is realized or rejected.

Though she lost the GOP nomina tion for her seat in Congress, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) is the obvious nominee for “Political Bedbug of the Year.”

Egged on by the elites and her “new best friends” on the Left, Liz has gone… well, “buggy.”

Her displeasure — some might say derangement — concerning Donald Trump remains unabated.

But for some reason, she now wants to insert herself into the race for gover

while driving, using an electric razor while on the freeway, or dislodging a 500-degree venti Starbucks from your lap because you stopped short to avoid running a red light – all things I’ve wit nessed during my 27 years driving in Arizona.

Okay, fine. It was my coffee. And yes, my thighs healed nicely after a month and three tubes of Neosporin. Thanks for asking.

My relationship with my parents healed eventually, too. Parallel parking and driving stick were teenage rites of passage we muddled through together, along with learning to tie a Windsor knot and how to balance a checkbook.

Now it’s 2022. I only wear ties to fu nerals and Quicken handles my check ing account. But I did parallel park downtown last week without clipping a car or ending up four feet from the curb. My mom would have been proud – right after she stopped screaming.

nor here in Arizona.

Featured as the “closing keynote” at the “‘Texas Tribune’ Festival” Sept. 24, Liz lashed out at Kari Lake.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Kari Lake is not elected,” said the soon-to-be ex-Congresswoman.

Liz even said she would come to our state and campaign for the Democrats. If that was supposed to be a threat, it failed miserably.

When informed of Rep. Cheney’s comments, the Arizona GOP nominee was jubilant.

Lake exclaimed, “I think she just gave me the biggest, best gift ever!”

Don’t look for the Dems to invite Liz Cheney here…and don’t expect Aunt Mavis or Uncle Travis to vote for Katie Hobbs, either.

They’re behind Kari Lake, but they don’t think Liz Cheney is a political bedbug.

They call Liz by another name: RINO.

preplanned burial, cremation, or funeral

No one serves Mesa and Chandler with more compassion, experience, and value than Legacy.

or visit us online today.

Red Mtn’s Ja’Kobi Lane leaps from benchwarmer to ‘unguardable’

BY VINCENT DEANGELIS Cronkite News

Type“Ja’Kobi Lane” into an online search engine, and it will spit out dozens of spectacular video high lights featuring the long and lanky wide receiver from Mesa’s Red Mountain High School.

It also will reveal that the 6-foot-5, 180-pound senior is the top-ranked wide receiver in the state of Arizona’s 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports latest rankings, and that the four-star-rated recruit committed to play at USC just over a month ago.

It’s impressive stuff, especially for a guy who was warming the bench at Red Mountain just a couple of years ago.

If limited playing time was humbling for Lane when he was a sophomore, it isn’t any longer. Now, he describes him self as “unguardable” and takes inspira tion from NFL receivers such as Randy Moss and Odell Beckham Jr.

“I try to do things people wouldn’t think I could do,” Lane said. “I try to bend in ways people don’t think I can. So I think when it comes to me as a player, I think I’m kind of unique. And you can’t really compare to a lot of people besides some of the great NFL receivers.”

While Lane might come across as brash and cocky, and he does not lack confidence in his ability, Red Mountain football coach Kyle Enders describes him as “unselfish,” a “great teammate” and a player who “does whatever’s best to help his team win.”

During Lane’s sophomore year at Red Mountain, he didn’t play much for the varsity team, despite some obvi ous physical gifts. He only caught three passes and scored one touchdown that season.

He knew he needed another avenue to showcase his talent, and with the help of Oregon commit Cole Martin, Lane found it in the world of 7-on-7 football.

“Cole has been a friend of mine since grade school,” Lane said. “I wanted to play (7-on-7), and he asked if I wanted to come to a tryout.”

One video of Lane playing in 7-on-7 competition accumulated a whopping 8.1 million views on YouTube as part of a collection of clips from one night on the 7-on-7 circuit.

Lane initially attended a 7-on-7 tryout with another friend, Kyler Casper, who is a freshman wide receiver at Oregon. They both made an immediate impres sion on Toby Bourguet, who coaches the Tucson Turf Elite Football Program.

“I met Ja’kobi at this tryout, and I was immediately in awe of what I was watching on the field,” Bourguet said. “Some receivers were tall, some were fast, some could really catch the ball. But to see somebody that had all of those things in one embodiment, it was amazing.”

Bourguet recalled a moment during a 7-on-7 tournament in New Orleans that captured not only Lane’s physical abili ties, but his high-energy approach to the game and the joy he takes in the success of his teammates.

“There was one play where Kyler (Casper) scored a touchdown, and he and Ja’kobi just looked at one another and did backflips in unison,” Bourguet said. “It’s rare on an All-Star team to get two kids like that, that have that energy, and they really want the other one to succeed.

“It really resonated with me because of his energy and his uplifting spirit.”

Despite his lack of playing time as a sophomore at Red Mountain, Lane re ceived his first scholarship offer from Arizona State in February of 2021, ac cording to 247Sports. More offers would follow from such college football pow ers as Auburn, Texas A&M, Oregon and USC. It helped that Lane was mentored through the process by former ASU de fensive back Chase Lucas.

“He was a big role model for me,” Lane said. “Watch ing him and how he went through the journey and the recruitment process and kind of what it was like for him, I think that was a big thing for me.”

Recruiting experts on 247Sports predicted Lane would commit to Oregon. Lane had publicly expressed his love for the Ducks and he had friends who had committed to Oregon or were already on the Eugene campus.

Instead, he surprised ev erybody by committing to the Trojans in August.

“It was hard not to deny that Oregon was a power house back then, and I think that won me over when I was little,” Lane said. “But I think USC gave me things that I cannot compare to other schools, and I felt like it was going to be the best opportunity for me as a young man and growing in a culture (where) I think I would thrive.”

Lane is now concentrating on Red Mountain’s season. His biggest goal is “to bring home a state champion ship.”

The Mountain Lions are off to a 3-1 start heading into Friday’s game against Marana Mountain View. After catching 76 passes for 990 yards as a junior, Lane has 12 catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns through three games as a senior, according to MaxPreps. He has also thrown a 60-yard touchdown pass.

But putting up big numbers isn’t Lane’s only goal this season. He wants to make sure he appreciates the final season of his high school career.

“I just want to go have fun, and re

ally soak in this last year with my guys,” Lane said. “I’m trying to take every mo ment for what it is, and not trying to be a big superstar and just really realizing that you only get these types of mo ments once. So you really have to take it all in.”

Confidence, talent and play-making ability have made Lane a force on the field that, combined with a cheerful spirit off the field, as Bourguet described it, might soon make searching “Ja’Kobi Lane” on Google totally unnecessary.

“He’s not an 18-year-old kid that’s trying to be 25. He’s actually an 18-yearold kid trying to enjoy everyday life,” Bourguet said. “Like he’s just kind of a happy spirit.”

USC commit Ja’Kobi Lane is making a name for himself as a wide receiver at Red Mountain High School, where he has emerged as the Arizona’s top-ranked player at his position in the class of 2023. (Photo by Marlee Zanna Thompson/Cronkite News)

1

Rome

Ecol. watchdog

Stratagem

Turkey’s most populous city

Actress Falco

Second of two

Church keyboards

With JAN D’ATRI GetOut Contributor

History debates aside, this apple tart wins any argument

So I find myself, once again, in the middle of a “who done it?”

Who really did invent the flakey, delicate butter-ladened layers of dough we’ve come to know and love as puff pastry?

The French will say it was invented in 1645 by a French apprentice bakery cook named Claudius Gele, who brought the recipe to Florence where it became wildly popular.

Ah, but the Italians cry foul and say that puff pastry was already being made in Italy long before that- – as early as 1525 – -and they say there is a document to prove it!

For this beautiful apple tart made with puff pastry and caramel sauce, I’m staying out of the argument and focusing on thawing the dough, slicing the apples and baking!

At least I know where apples come from. Thank you, Johnny Appleseed! Maybe. This apple tart is a simple and elegant sweet that is

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets (1 package) puff pastry dough, thawed

• 4 medium Granny Smith apples

• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4 inch slices. Place in a bowl, squeeze lemon juice and salt over apples and gently toss. Set aside.

Carefully unfold both sheets of thawed puff pastry. Place dough on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut each sheet into 4 equal squares.

Fold dough over about 1/8 of an inch around each square to form a thin border. Place slices of apple (overlapping) diagonally across the pastry. Add 2-3 slices on either side of the diagonal slices. Repeat until dough and apples are used up. Sprinkle each

perfect with coffee in the morning or as a satisfying dessert any time of the day. The only important doahead is to take the puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

I think that once you make an apple tart like this, it will become one of your treasured treats. I say let the French and Italians duke it out over this one and we’ll make apple tart and not war!

square with sugar. Dot each square with 1 tablespoon of chilled butter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and while still warm, brush caramel sauce over apples. Makes 8 squares. (Can be frozen after cooking.)

Caramel sauce

Ingredients:

• 3/4 packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar, cream, butter and salt to boil whisking constantly until sugar dissolves. Boil until caramel begins to coat spoon whisking often, about 7-8 minutes. Brush caramel sauce over Apple Tart while still warm.

Employ m e n t

Employment General

Employment General

Classifieds 480-898-6465

Software Developer. Deliver high quality software applications to client and inhouse specifications for a provider of health and wellness programs. Employer: Tivity Health Services, LLC. Location: Chandler, AZ. May telecommute from any location in the United States. To apply mail resumé (no calls/emails) to ATTN: April Baltzly, 1445 S. Spectrum Blvd., Chandler, AZ 85286..

Employment General

Frontline Management, (Chandler, AZ), Nursing Assistant, Job requirements: Provide a variety of services to maintain and support activities for residents and other staff under the supervision of a nurse. Requires a high school diploma and 6 months caregiving experience. Apply to: https://frontlinemgmt.com/careers/

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC, an Amazon.com company Tempe, AZ:

Front-End Engineer II: Create & modify the front e nd experience & maintainability of team tools or a pps. (AMZ6057219).

M ultiple job openings. Apply online : www.amazon.jobs – search by AMZ6057219. EOE.

PayPal, Inc. has the following positions available in Scottsdale, AZ:

• Software Engineer 3 (Req.#: 21-2604): Design & bld s/w tools, frmwrks & s/w infrastructure to sup p ort automation. Telecommuting permitted: wor k m ay be performed from anywhere in the US.

• HR Business Partner (Req.#: 19-6106): Coac h employees & mgrs through cmplx employee relation situations contributing to individual & team prfrm nce & professionalism.

Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. w/ o s ponsorship. To apply, please send your resum e w/references, by email to: paypaljobs@paypal.com; or by mail: ATTN: HR, Cube 10.3.561, PayPal, Inc H Q, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131 EOE, including disability/vets. Ref. Req.# w/applica tion.

Mesa

Deloitte Consulting LLP seeks a Consulting, Solution Architect in Gilbert, AZ & various unanticipated Deloitte office locations & client sites nationally to manage information technology projects, including advisory and implementation services of large-scale data ecosystems, involving data management, governance and the integration of structured and unstructured data to generate insights to help companies unlock the value of big information tech nology investments. 15% travel required nationally.

Telecommuting permitted. To apply visit apply.deloitte.com. Enter XBAL23FC0922GIL125

field.

Homes For Sale

FSBO: Mtn Canyon Condo, 1 bdr, 1 bath w/ single attached garage, grd floor, end unit surrounded by mtn. preserve. It's all about the views! 3236 E. Chandler, #1049 PHOENIX, AZ 85048 $289,000. For appt. call Kevin 602-821-0284

Apartments

Apache Junction Apartment's for rent. Superstition and Main Dr. Lg 3b/2ba, lg fenced yard newly renovated, garage & AC. No Deposit Dented Credit ok. $1800 water/trash included. Call Dave 602-339-1555

Garage/Doors

GARAGE DOOR SERVICE East Valley/ Ahwatukee

Broken Springs Replaced Nights/Weekends Bonded/Insured 480-251-8610

Not a licensed contractor

Notice of Hearing

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on the 3rd day of May, 2022, an order was granted by the Superior Court of Ari z ona in Maricopa County, bearing case numbe r CV2022091867000, seeking to change the name of minor child from Sutton Marie Kimball to Sutton Marie Trembly The Court has fixed Friday, October 7, 2022 at 2:50 p.m. , via Microsoft Teams meeting (Dial In: +1 917-781-4590, ac cess code: 674991104) as the date for hearing of the Peti tion. All persons interested in the proposed change of name may appear and show cause, if any they have, why the pray er of the Petitioner should not be granted. Published: Eas t Valley Tribune, Sept. 11, 18, 25, Oct 2, 2022 / 49071

Notice of Creditors

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA IN A ND FOR THE COUNTY OF MARICOPA Case No.: PB2022 0 03842 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF INFORMAL APPOINT M ENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND INFORMA L PROBATE OF WILL In the Matter of the Estate of: GARY ALAN MATYAS, An Adult, Deceased.1. Allison Diane Schafer was appoin ted Personal Representative of this Estate on August 8, 2022. 2. All persons having claims against the Estate are required to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of this Notice or the claims will be forever barred. 3. Claims must be presen ted by delivering or mailing a written statement of the claim to the Per sonal Representative, c/o Dawn M. Trott-Keller, Indigo Law PLLC, 23219 151st Pl SE, Monroe, WA 98272. 4. A copy of the Notice o f Appointment is attached to the copies of this document mailed to all k nown creditors. DATED this 13th day of September 2022 _________ Dawn M. Trott-Keller, #037505 Attorney for Petitioner Published: East Valley Tribune/Gilbert Sun News Sept 18, 25, Oct 2, 2022 / 49159

Public Notices

metropolita n a rea, due 10/27/2022. Certifications must be active an d w ithout restrictions with the City of Phoenix o r UTRACS.azdot.gov, for the following services: Uniforms , Tires, Non-Revenue Vehicles, Automotive Parts, Oils an d Lubricants, Cleaning Supplies, Towing Services, Autobody Repair, On-Site Mobile Vehicle Washing, Wireless Security C ameras, Janitorial Services, and Security Services. Fo r more information, bonding, lines of credit, insurance, RFP, scope of work, and to receive a bid form please contact A Barry at MVDBE2@mvtransit.com or (925) 381-5135. Bids are due to MV on October 17, 2022, 5:00 PM PST.

Two Day

Hiring Event

When: Friday, Oct. 14; 9am - 2pm Saturday, Oct. 15; 9am - 1pm

Where: CMC Steel Arizona 11444 E Germann Rd. Mesa, AZ 85212

CMC Steel Arizona has proudly been making the steel that builds America since 2009.

Come tour our facility and learn about our openings and potentially receive an on-thespot offer! At CMC, we offer great benefits and provide all necessary training and certifications.

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant for the following:

GANTZEL ROAD HIGH PRESSURE GAS LINE

PROJECT NO. CP0519GAS

The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant to provide design services for the Gantzel Road High Pressure Gas Line Project. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements de tailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project. The City of Mesa is planning for a future 12” diameter high pres sure (HP) natural gas pipeline within the Magma Gas System located in the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal Coun ty, Arizona to accommodate future re gional development and growth.

An alignment study was completed as part of a design alternative and feasi bility analysis. The selected alignment begins at the intersection of S Meridi an Road and W Pima Road, runs east erly on Pima Road to Ironwood Road and then south on Ironwood/Gantzel Road to the termination at an existing 8” HP natural gas main at the intersec tion of N Gantzel Road and W Combs Road. The approximate length of the project is four miles (22,070 Lf). The agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed alignment are the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County. The alignment study Report may be found at: Alignment Analysis. The City of Mesa seeks a qualified con sulting firm, or team, with extensive experience and knowledge of City of Mesa, Town of Queen Creek, and Pi nal County standards and regulations, to provide complete design-phase ser

Public Notices

vices and possible construction-phase services for the project. The follow ing is a summary of the major tasks. These will be reviewed with the se lected consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

The City of Mesa is planning for a fu ture 12” diameter high pressure (HP) natural gas pipeline within the Magma Gas System located in the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County, Ari zona to accommodate future regional development and growth.

An alignment study was completed as part of a design alternative and feasi bility analysis. The selected alignment begins at the intersection of S Meridi an Road and W Pima Road, runs east erly on Pima Road to Ironwood Road and then south on Ironwood/Gantzel Road to the termination at an existing 8” HP natural gas main at the intersec tion of N Gantzel Road and W Combs Road. The approximate length of the project is four miles (22,070 Lf). The agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed alignment are the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County. The alignment study Report may be found at: Alignment Analysis.

The City of Mesa seeks a qualified con sulting firm, or team, with extensive experience and knowledge of City of Mesa, Town of Queen Creek, and Pi nal County standards and regulations, to provide complete design-phase ser vices and possible construction-phase services for the project. The follow ing is a summary of the major tasks. These will be reviewed with the se lected consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping. The required tasks will be reviewed with the selected De sign Consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on October 13, 2022 at 9:00 am through Microsoft Teams. Parties in terested in attending should request an invitation from Tracy Gumeringer at tracy.gumeringer@mesaaz.gov. At

this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract is sues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-sub mittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All in terested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

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

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz. gov/business/engineering/architectur al-engineering-design-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key person nel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifica tions in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@mesaaz.gov by

October 27, 2022 at 2 pm. The City re serves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. The City is an equal opportunity em ployer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered and activated in the City of Mesa Ven dor Self

Service (VSS) System (http://me saaz.gov/business/purchasing/ven dor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Tracy Gumeringer of the Engineering Department at tracy.gumeringer@me saaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct, 2, 9, 2022 / 49369

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant for the following:

ELLIOT ROAD – EASTERN MARICOPA FLOODWAY TO ELLSWORTH ROAD

PROJECT NO. CP0982 TIP No. MES22-168DZ/MES22-168RB

Federal ID No. MES-0(239)D

TRACS No. T035901D/03D

The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant to provide design services for the Elliot Road – Eastern Maricopa Flood way (EMF) to Ellsworth Road Project. All qualified firms that are interested in pro viding these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements de tailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project. The required tasks will be reviewed with the selected Design Consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

The proposed improvements are as fol lows:

In 2019, the City of Mesa completed the Southeast Mesa Land Use and Transporta tion Plan (SELTP) which identified Elliot Road as an urban minor arterial (federal classification) that is to be improved to become a six-lane arterial. The segment of Elliot Road that lies within the project limits is currently a two-lane roadway (one lane in each direction) between Eastern Maricopa Floodway (EMF) and the State Route (SR) 202 Freeway, and a five-lane roadway (three eastbound lanes, two westbound lanes) from the SR 202 Freeway to Ellsworth Road. This project will include design for the ultimate six-lane roadway configura tion including a median, curb, gutter, side walk, streetlights, and a striped bike lane. The development of this roadway will add roadway capacity and connectivity in the rapidly developing area of southeast Mesa. The project limits are the EMF on the west

Public Notices

and Ellsworth Road on the east.

The City may include other miscellaneous improvements at the Site, as needed.

The City will utilize federal funds for the design of this project.

The SOQs must include the following:

1. Non-Collusion Bidding Certification

2. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goal Assurance with DBE Goal of 5.33% (Form 3212PS)

3. Certification of Good Faith Efforts (Form 3203PS)

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on September 29, 2022, at 9 am through Microsoft Teams. If you wish to attend this meeting, you can request an invitation from Donna Horn (donna.horn@mesaaz. gov). At this meeting, City staff will dis cuss the scope of work and general con tract issues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-sub mittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they at tend the conference. All interested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submit tal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addi tion, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

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

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz.gov/busi

ness/engineering/architectural-engineer ing-design-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall in clude a one-page cover letter, plus a max imum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide six (6) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy (CD or USB drive) of the Statement of Qualifications by no later than 2 pm on October 13, 2022. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Delivered or hand-carried submittals must be delivered to the Engineering De partment reception area on the fifth floor of Mesa City Plaza Building in a sealed package. On the submittal package, please display: Firm name, project number, and/ or project title.

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

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Donna

Horn of the Engineering Department at donna.horn@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk

Public Notices

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants for the following:

CONSULTANT ON-CALL LIST FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SERVICES

The City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants to provide design services and/or construction administration services on an on-call basis in the following area/category: Mechanical Engineering. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the re quirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ). From this solicitation, the Engineering De partment will establish a list of on-call consultants for Mechanical Engineering.

This category is further defined below:

Mechanical Engineering projects might involve studies, new construction, upgrades, rehabil itation, or other modifications. Typical projects include, but are not limited to, HVAC systems, gas piping installations, elevators, plumbing, fire sup pression, and fire alarm systems.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will not be held.

Contact with City Employees. All firms interest ed in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of dis qualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all poten tial firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection

Published: East Valley Tribune, Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 2022 / 49146

Public Notices

process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative iden tified below.

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz.gov/business/engineering/ architectural-engineering-design-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (ex cluding resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maxi mum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10 point. Please submit one (1) electronic copy in an unencrypted PDF format with a maximum file size limit of 20MB to Engineering-RFQ@mesaaz. gov by 2:00 PM, Thursday October 27, 2022. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. In the subject line and on the submittal package, please display: Firm name and On-Call Mechanical Engineering Services.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

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

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consul tant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Tracy Gumeringer of the Engineering Department at tracy.gumeringer@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct, 2, 9, 2022 / 49368

CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA

LEHI LOOP SHARED USE PATHWAY - PHASE 1

PROJECT NO. CP0672

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received until Thursday, Octo ber 27, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. All sealed bids will be received electronically at Engineer ingBids@mesaaz.gov . Bids must be sub mitted as an unencrypted PDF attachment with a maximum size limit of 20MB. Any bid received after the time specified will be returned without any consideration.

This contract shall be for furnishing all la bor, materials, transportation and services for the construction and/or installation oft he following work:

The Lehi Loop Shared Use Pathway –Phase 1 is the first phase of a shared-use pathway around the Lehi Crossing com munity and surrounding vicinity. The pathway extends for 2.2 miles along the SRP South Canal and the ADOT SR202 freeway, from McDowell Road to Val Vista Drive. The typical pathway section consists of an 18-ft wide facility, with 6-ft of decomposed granite (DG) for equestrian users and 12-feet of asphalt for pedestrians and bicyclists. The pathway improvements include fencing, gates, lighting, bollards, drainage improvements, retaining walls, tunnel extensions, horizontal decorative features, and protection of existing land scape and irrigation facilities. Two (2) trailheads will be constructed as part of this project, one near the intersection of McDowell Road and Lehi Road and one near the cul-de-sac at Val Vista Drive, north of the ADOT SR202. The trailhead improvements include landscaping, irriga tion, paved parking, sidewalks, benches, lighting, signage, and shade structures.

The Engineer’s Estimate range is $5,000,000 - $6,000,000.

For all technical, contract, bid-related, or other questions, please contact Stephanie Gishey at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov.

Contact with City Employees. All firms in terested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subcon sultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect

Public Notices

contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that con tract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection pro cess. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized rep resentative identified above.

Contractors desiring to submit proposals may purchase sets of the Bid Documents from ARC Document Solutions, LLC, at https://order.e-arc.com/arcEOC/PWELL_ Main.asp?mem=29. Click on “Go” for the Public Planroom to access plans. NOTE: In order to be placed on the Plan Holders List and to receive notifications and up dates regarding this bid (such as addenda) during the bidding period, an order must be placed. The cost of each Bid Set will be no more than $50.00, which is non-re fundable. Partial bid packages are not sold. You can view documents on-line (at no cost), order Bid Sets, and access the Plan Holders List on the website at the address listed above. Please verify print lead time prior to arriving for pick-up. For a list of locations nearest you, go to www.e-arc. com.

One set of the Contract Documents is also available for viewing at the City of Mesa’s Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ. Please call 480-6442251 prior to arriving to ensure that the documents are available for viewing.

In order for the City to consider alternate products in the bidding process, please follow Arizona Revised Statutes §34.104c.

If a pre-bid review of the site has been scheduled, details can be referenced in Project Specific Provision Section #3, ti tled “Pre-Bid Review of Site.”

Work shall be completed within 315 con secutive calendar days, beginning with the day following the starting date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Bids must be submitted on the Proposal Form provided and be accompanied by the Bid Bond for not less than ten percent (10%) of the total bid, payable to the City of Mesa, Arizona, or a certified or cashier's check. PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL SURETY BONDS ARE NOT ACCEPT ABLE.

The successful bidder will be required to execute the standard form of contract for

construction within ten (10) days after formal award of contract. In addition, the successful bidder must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self-Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz.gov/business/pur chasing/vendor-self-service).

The successful bidder, simultaneously with the execution of the Contract, will be required to furnish a Payment Bond in the amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, a Perfor mance Bond in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and the most recent ACORD® Cer tificate of Liability Insurance form with additional insured endorsements.

The right is hereby reserved to accept or reject any or all bids or parts thereto, to waive any informalities in any propos al and reject the bids of any persons who have been delinquent or unfaithful to any contract with the City of Mesa.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 2, 9, 2022 / 49471

PLAN YOUR DREAM VACATION

BEST OF HAWAII FOUR-ISLAND TOUR

12 days, departs year-round

Oahu • Hawaii Island • Kauai • Maui — Enjoy a fully guided 4-island Hawaiian vacation with centrally located lodging in Waikiki on Oahu, and beachfront lodging on the “Big Island” of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui. Guided throughout by our friendly Tour Directors—your local experts. Includes 3 inter-island flights.

GRAND ALASKAN CRUISE & TOUR

12 days, departs May - Sep 2023

Vancouver • Ketchikan • Juneau • Skagway • Glacier Bay • Anchorage • Denali • Anchorage • and more — Visit Denali National Park and Glacier Bay National Park on the same incredible trip! Cruise through the Gulf of Alaska and the Inside Passage as you discover the best of the Frontier State by land and by sea.

CRIMSON CANYONS & MESAS NATIONAL PARKS TOUR

10 days, departs Apr - Sep 2023

Grand Canyon • Bryce Canyon Zion • Capitol Reef • Arches & Canyonlands • and more — Experience the stunningly red rocks of these 6 iconic southwestern national parks. Travel through deserts, forests, mountains, and to the very edge of the Grand Canyon on this tour.

Arizona’s Resort-Style Home Builder

Award-winning

Blandford Homes specializes in building master planned environments with a variety of amenities, parks, and charm. You’ll find the perfect community to fit your lifestyle.

A STRATFORD NOW SELLING

A Dramatic New Gated Community in Gilbert

Vintage Collection • From the low $600’s • 480-895-2800

Craftsman Collection • From the mid $700’s • 480-988-2400

B PALMA BRISA – In Ahwatukee Foothills NOW SELLING

A Dramatic New Gated Community

Vintage Collection • From the high $600’s • 480-641-1800 Craftsman Collection • From the low $800’s • 480-641-1800

C BELMONT AT SOMERSET – Prime Gilbert Location CLOSEOUT

Luxury estate homes and timeless architecture • From the low $1,000,000’s • 480-895-6300

D MONTELUNA – Brand New Gated Community in the Foothills of Northeast Mesa NOW SELLING McKellips Rd just east of the Red Mountain 202 Fwy • From the low $700’s

E RESERVE AT RED ROCK – New Upscale Resort Community in the Foothills of Northeast Mesa COMING IN 2022 Stunning views of Red Mountain • From the $600’s

F TALINN AT DESERT RIDGE – SALES BEGIN EARLY IN 2022 Spectacular location at Desert Ridge

G ESTATES AT MANDARIN GROVE – In the Citrus Groves of NE Mesa CLOSEOUT

11 luxury single-level estate homes with 3- to 6-car garages plus optional RV garages and carriage houses • From the mid $1,000,000’s • 480-750-3000

H ESTATES AT HERMOSA RANCH – In the Citrus Groves of NE Mesa CLOSEOUT

12 single-level homes on extra large homesites with 5- to 6-car garages plus optional RV garages and carriage houses • From the mid $1,000,000’s • 480-750-3000

Not all photos shown

communities.

and conditions subject to change without notice.