QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE, JANUARY 8, 2023

QC pleas on GoFundMe cover range of asks

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

The holidays are over but the pleas for help and assistance on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe certainly are not, with new posts every day from Queen Creek and beyond seeking help everything from the serious to the trivial.

For platforms like GoFundMe, raising

money for pretty much any cause is a yearround activity.

Since its launch in 2010, the California-based GoFundMe has become the go-to online fundraising tool for charities and just about anybody who wants the public to help bankroll their expenses.

Within minutes someone can set up a money request on the global site, which to date has helped individuals and charities

raise over $25 billion, according to GoFundMe, which did not respond to questions for the story.

The donation requests in 2022 varied widely from classroom supplies and Girl Scout projects to relief efforts for crisis events such as Hurricane Ian in Florida and the war in Ukraine.

Julia Wheatley ready for even bigger public role

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Julia Wheatley was destined to be a local politician, whether she wanted to be or not.

To hear her tell the story, she didn’t have much choice.

“My parents were always involved in all things locally,” she said.

“I grew up with that background. As a child, I would go to meetings. I would go door to door with my parents. It was that upbringing that was very influential. Everything they did was for the betterment of their community with the best intentions, and so I love that and that’s why I love local politics. It’s something that was instilled in me as a child.”

Wheatley’s father served one term as the Queen

Creek mayor-elect Julia Wheatley’s family includes daughter Brinlee, husband Benjamin, and sons, from left, Asher, Aiden and Ethan, (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

QC couple arrested in connection with killing

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Mesa police have arrested a Queen Creek husband and wife in connection with a homicide that occurred a few days after Christmas.

Heath Daniel, 33, was arrested on a first degree murder charge and Vanessa Daniel, 37, on two felonies of hampering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with the Dec. 28 slaying of Jose Olvera Ramirez, 31, near W. 8th Avenue and Country Club Drive.

Police records said officers found the victim around 7 a.m. after responding to reports of a “man down” on the street. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police had no witnesses nor any hard evidence to go on, so they turned to video surveillance from a nearby Circle K store. That footage showed Ramirez interacting with someone in a white car just 10 minutes before the shooting. The man later was identified as the shooter.

“The driver of the car was a man wearing a dark hat with the letters “NY” on it,” the police report said. “The car had identifiable damage to the bumper and was picked up by other surveillance cameras, which ultimately gave officers a license plate, and registered owner, Heath Daniel.”

Police then tracked Daniel’s phone to the location of the crime at the same time the shooting occurred.

The report describes in detail Daniel meeting with the victim in a parking lot

behind the same Circle K just before 7 a.m. After the meeting, the two parties separated and Ramirez began walking eastbound on 8th Ave.

The report does not say what the meeting was about or whether anything was exchanged.

“The defendant drives his vehicle past the victim slowly,” the report said. “After passing the victim, 7 shots are heard on the video before the defendant flees at a high rate of speed. The victim suffered one gunshot wound to his back causing his death.”

Two days later, police served search warrants at several places associated with Daniel. At one of them, they found a dark hat with the same “NY” logo on it and other clothing the man in the video was wearing. They also found an empty box for a .45 caliber pistol.

Daniel’s vehicle was found at a relative’s house, where he and his wife asked the relative to hold onto the gun and a box of .45 caliber cartridges. Fired and unfired .45 caliber casings were found in and on Daniel’s vehicle, the report said.

“Officers also learned at another location that Daniel said he shot a man and even showed a .45 caliber handgun to a witness,” the report said.

While officers were serving the search warrants, they were told Daniel had left the area in a separate vehicle.

State police assisted Mesa Police and located Daniel and his wife traveling on I-10 southbound toward Tucson. Both Heath and Vanessa Daniel were transported back to Mesa, where they were booked into jail, according to the report.

Heath is being held on a $500,000 bond.

Police records show Heath Daniel has prior arrests and convictions related to firearms, aggravated DUI and criminal trespassing. His wife does not have prior arrests or convictions, according to those records.

VANESSA DANIEL HEATH DANIEL

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GOFUNDME

from page 1

The “Stand with Ukraine” fundraiser launched by actors Mila and Ashton Kutcher in partnership with GoFundMe is the platform’s second-largest campaign of all time, raising $37 million from over 75,000 donors.

For 2022, there was a 110% increase in money raised for baby formula, a 60% increase for gasoline and a 10% increase for groceries, GoFundMe reported.

The global crowdfunding market is projected to almost triple by 2025, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding site. Other crowdfunding sites include Donorbox, Kickstarter, Crowdfunder, Indiegogo and a host of others.

Globally, $34 billion has been raised through these platforms, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding platform. With a donation made every second, 28 million people last year sent or received funding on GoFundMe, the public nonprofit said.

Of the nearly 100 active GoFundMe accounts in Queen Creek, donation requests range from the miniscule to the massive.

Many of them are related to medical bills, funeral related expenses, or families needing financial support in one way or another. The success of those requests varies.

In one instance, supporters trying to raise $50,000 for family expenses for a journeyman electrician widely loved by co-workers and died in a work-related accident just before Christmas have raised more than $38,000 so far.

“The fundraiser is so I can travel to California to bring (his) remains home, funeral and celebration of life,” the post said. “I must get his trailer, truck, and personal belongings back to our home here in Arizona from California. The funds will be directly paid to all companies assisting with these costs coming my way.”

A Queen Creek family with 13 biological and adopted children posted a GoFundMe.com request for help to get a wheelchair lift. They asked for $75,000 and have raised nearly $1,000 over that goal. (GoFundMe.com)

special lift for one of their children who is disabled. Through 627 donations, they have raised $75,965.

Another involves the teenage son of Queen Creek residents who died, although the post does not say how, and the family is seeking to recoup medical and funeral expenses.

The fund surpassed its $8,000 goal by $255. The boy “always had a smile for anyone who needed it and a random fact or bad dad joke that had you laughing,”

the post said.

The funds over the goal will be used to start a scholarship fund in the boy’s name, the post said.

One post with a lofty goal of $35,000 has received more than $19,000 so far, more than half the way there, for a wife and mom suffering from breast cancer which the post said has debilitated the family and its local business.

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But at the other end of the spectrum, a woman who said she and her husband have been through severe medical challenges in a post called “A Wish: A celebration of life after cancer,” has a goal of $20,000 and to date has raised $100.

Still, Queen Creek appears to be relatively generous in this area.

In one of the bigger success stories in the medical bills category, a family with 13 kids had a goal of $75,000 to buy a

A Queen Creek woman sought $1,500 and raised $1,675 to send a right-hand pitcher who had two serious arm surgeries to play in the Independent Pecos League in New Mexico. The money was for moving and housing expenses. (GoFundMe.com)

According to GoFundMe, one in three fundraisers is started for someone else and that is more than true in Queen Creek. Nearly all the medical expense campaigns were started by others – and most of those in other categories, too.

There is a $10,000 request for funds to help a young Queen Creek man disabled in an ATV accident. So far, $4,945 has been raised on behalf of the victim and the family.

And there is a family who lost a baby and needs medical support for another one of their children. With 78 contributions, they have raised more than $7,200, over their goal of $5,000.

Support for a family man hospitalized with an unknown illness surpassed a goal of $20,000 with a total of more than $22,000 even though there was no description of what was wrong or what the money was needed for.

And donors surpassed a $10,000 goal for Hollie’s Chronic Lyme Disease Fund with a total of $10,680.

A “dedicated mom on her journey to Law School” is within reach of its goal of $3,000 with more than $2,500.

The “Jillian’s Healthy Future” post describes a wife and mom who “has struggled for so many years to get answers, to have someone, anyone tell her how she can be healthy, without pain, and back to who she honestly used to be.” That post garnered 75 donations for a total of $6,050 – $50 over the goal.

A post by family members on behalf of a young baseball pitcher who has had two reconstructive elbow surgeries and is trying to make his way back to affiliated ball has raised $1,675, over the $1,500 goal.

Of course, there is no way to check

the accuracy of these requests and in large part the posts are counting on, or preying on, the generosity or naiveté, of people scrolling through the GoFundMe accounts.

Other stories haven’t inspired opened wallets.

A girls club softball team has not received a dime in its $2,000 campaign to pay for practice fields and tournament fees, and a non-profit that says it studies dementia and its causes set a goal of $5,000 and likewise has, so far, not received a penny.

The Wranglers Equestrian Drill Team has a goal of $5,000 to help get some of their out-of-town members to Queen Creek for an event, and so far, their effort has netted $0.

There is the request from a Queen Creek couple trying to raise about $1,800 to buy a new air conditioner for their

family, posted with a picture of a cute puppy, that has netted $150.

Then, there are those who appear to just be down on their luck, in life and on GoFundMe.

In a post titled “We are getting evicted and losing everything,” the $6,000 goal has generated $0 so far. The same is true for a post that reads “Help Me Get Back on My Feet,” in which the author says his job was cut to part time and that fact combined with car problems is not allowing him to make ends meet. Goal: $800. Total raised: $0.

There is a $5,000 request created to help Stephanie get a car, which also had failed to catch on. Nada.

And posts that, for whatever reason, just don’t seem to resonate. One group is trying to raise $100,000 to establish a Queen Creek Veteran’s memorial and so far, has raised a grand total of $70.

There is the “student midwife in transition” who has a goal of $15,000 and has garnered a total of $100 from one donation.

Education is another popular ask, and in Queen Creek the results are not great.

The American Leadership Academy is trying to raise $800 for its Ironwood Theatre Company.

The post says, “Our theatre company handles the auditorium management and filming of all events in our space. That includes theatre productions as well as music and dance concerts.” So far, the group has not gotten any takers. It is still sitting on $0.

And there is the recent University of Arizona graduate who is asking people to help him retire $40,000 in student debt and still looking for his first donation.

A sister posting on behalf of helping her brother who wants to become a pilot has a $60,000 donation goal and has done slightly better than nothing, but is still a long way from the goal with just $2,810 from 38 donors.

The post says, “I am normally one to refuse assistance always being able to take care of things, but right now I’m at a major loss and I need help. I am asking for help because I cannot afford to put Dave through college as well as take care of our other 13-year-old brother and handicapped grandmother all by myself.”

And, with perhaps the loftiest goal, there is the group trying to raise $1-million dollars to help “those acclimate to life outside prison,” which has raised a total of … nothing.

“Life is so hard when you get out of prison,” the post, which says it is written

by an ex-con, states. “Now that I have everything, I want to help others to change their life as well when they get out of prison.

“With donations I’ll get registered to start a halfway house that’s actually catered to people who have actually been in prison. The world needs better people and if we can rehabilitate those with good hearts, why not. Nobody is perfect, but everyone has the ability to strive for perfection.”

Tribune Staff Writer Cecilia Chan contributed to this report. 

ADOT maps interstate electric vehicle charging network

BY JENNIFER SAWHNEY Cronkite News

Electric vehicle drivers across Arizona can expect more chargers on interstate highways in the next few years, which means longer road trips.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will oversee the upgrade of existing chargers and installation of new ones along five interstate highways, thanks to $76.5 million in funding via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was signed into law in November 2021.

“The goal is to develop a network of EV fast chargers to facilitate long-distance EV travel and encourage EV adoption by more users,” according to a fact sheet with ADOT’s Electric Vehicle Infrastruc-

More electric-vehicle charging ports will be installed along interstate highways in Arizona as early as 2024. ChargePoint already has some charging stations, similar to this one in downtown Phoenix, along several interstates. Each station will have four or more fast chargers capable of charging most vehicles in about 30 minutes. (Jennifer Sawhney/Cronkite News)

New CUSD board member sacrificed to be with his kids

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

Kurt Rohrs said he had a good life, traveling the world for a semiconductor country doing manufacturing and product management at factories in five countries. He lived in Ocotillo on a golf course in a really nice house, making really good money.

He decided to give it up.

Rohrs, who will be sworn in as a member of the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board on Jan. 11, grew tired of being away from his family, especially his 2-year-old son.

“Being on the road was not a way to raise a family,” Rohrs said. “So I actually left that profession. Don’t regret it a bit.”

He became a certified financial planner and began working in that field from his home office, which enabled him to spend more time with his children.

“I had high-level positions, making a lot of money,” Rohrs said. “But you know, I had a 2-year-old boy. He’s a great kid.”

That kid is now 22 and living in Texas. Rohrs said he put off starting a family as his career was starting. He said he ended up meeting his future wife in an airport. After his son, the couple had two daughters.

He said they had to move to a bigger house in Sun Lakes after the birth of their third child. Now his two girls are attending business schools, one at Arizo -

na State University and the other at the University of Arizona.

“Thanksgiving was the first time I had all them in the same room at the dinner table, in quite some time,” he said. “It is really difficult to get them all together, that’s just part of parenting. I talked to my mother about that, and she said ‘yeah, you just gotta let them go, and let them have their own lives.’ But they’re great kids and are doing great.”

James Caskey says he has known Rohrs for more than 20 years, having met him when both were in the Rotary Club. He said Rohrs has the leadership skills needed for a position on the school board.

He pointed to the time when the group needed a celebrity to be in a helicopter ride: Rohrs stepped forward and got the mayor to agree.

“He’s a great guy, he gives a lot to the community,” Caskey said. “He’s been giving back to the community for years, so this is just him continuing to do that.”

Caskey said Rohrs communicates well with others, that he can hear both sides

of an issue and work with people he disagrees with.

Being a dad who worked mostly from home paid off, Rohrs said.

“A lot of it had to do with me being home all the time,” Rohrs said. “I drove them to school, and I picked them up from school. I made dinner for them and all that so I spent a lot a lot of time with them. I think that is key to raising kids, giving them the attention that they need.”

Recently, Rohrs has been substitute teaching at CUSD schools. He said he wanted to know what’s really going on inside classrooms.

“I think I have a much better understanding about how a school classroom works,” Rohrs said. “I like working with kids, I mean, really enjoy them at every level. … I think we treat a lot of kids, particularly in high school, like they’re adults, and they don’t have the knowledge that we do, they just don’t.

“We also found that kids in particular, just want attention from adults. That’s what they really, really want – the approval. They want the support.” 

Kurt Rohrs is ready to take his seat on the Chandler Unified Governing Board. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

mayor of Gilbert, which is where she grew up, when the town had a population of about 5,000 – a far cry from today’s sprawling suburb of close to 270,000.

Wheatley and her husband Benjamin moved to Queen Creek in 2007 and within a few years, Wheatley followed in her father’s footsteps. She was drawn into local politics when three town council incumbents announced they would not seek reelection in 2010.

“That’s when I made the decision,” she remembers thinking. “It’s a great time to do this. It’s not the ideal time in my life. I had just had my first child and she was about three weeks old, but the timeline worked well.”

In the years since, Wheatley has seen Queen Creek’s population and supporting infrastructure grow by leaps and bounds – and she has had a hand in many of the decisions that have shaped that growth.

As a town council member, she also serves on the town’s budget committee, the Economic Development Commission, and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

“The town of Queen Creek has really been this blank canvas,” she said. “It’s just such a unique opportunity to be part of it.”

Now, Wheatley will have a chance to lead the council as the town continues to grow. After 12 years as a council member, she ran unopposed and was elected mayor in 2022, becoming the second woman to hold the post in the town’s history.

“I have thoroughly loved being involved in Queen Creek and watching the growth. Having a hand in developing

what Queen Creek will look like as we build it out,” she said. “I call myself the number one fan so to me it feels like a natural transition.”

Wheatley will be working with two new councilmembers, political newcomers Travis Padilla and Bryan McClure.

But perhaps as significantly, will also be getting used to new Town Manager Bruce Gardner, who was elevated from assistant town manager following the retirement of 27-year Queen Creek government veteran and current Town Manager John Kross, whose last day is Jan. 20.

Wheatley, Gardner and the council will be starting their new tenure on solid financial footing. Queen Creek’s 2022-23 budget is $730.2-million. Kross said after announcing his retirement that the town is in the “best financial shape it has ever been in.”

Wheatley also will inherit some familiar challenges as she takes the mayor’s gavel

as well. Queen Creek is facing a shortage of affordable housing for the very workforce it is aggressively attracting.

For instance, the town annexed 4,100 acres of state trust land that is being marketed to commercial developers who will bring jobs.

But as Wheatley herself has pointed out, people earning manufacturing wages will have a hard time affording to live in Queen Creek given that the town has largely become a victim of its own success and popularity.

To make matters more complicated, the location of apartment complexes has become a sticky issue, and Council assigned staff to investigate ways to limit their development to certain areas of town, away from traditional neighborhoods.

Aside from commercial and manufacturing development, Wheatley is also focused on promoting and marketing town center, where there are several plots of land currently on the real estate market.

“I’m very passionate about developing our downtown,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential in our downtown. You see surrounding municipalities and how well their downtown is doing and the growth that Queen Creek is seeing.

“It is right around the corner for us. Those are the policy decisions that need to be made at the council level to ensure that we have the downtown that we want to see.”

She said Queen Creek has the advantage of being new enough that there is a “clean palette or canvas” to work with which she said makes creating an attractive downtown a slightly easier task, keeping out drive-thru restaurants and storage facilities.

While she is now an experienced local politician, Wheatley enjoyed being a council member and said she never really had a desire to run for mayor. That changed one day when she got a call from a Queen Creek political icon.

“Mayor Barney was the mayor all 12 years I served,” Wheatley said of Gail Barney, who died in June at age 74.

“And he called me and mentioned he wouldn’t be running for reelection, that this would be his last term and encouraged me (to run).”

It took a few more phone calls, Wheatley said, for Barney to convince her.

Wheatley said she will rely on what Barney taught her as she assumes the responsibility of being mayor and said she wants to guide the town in ways that would make him proud.

“To continue to make decisions and shape the community that would honor him and his family, knowing there are so many Barneys in this area that they’re always glad to call Queen Creek home,” she said.

“Knowing how much of an imprint and a legacy he and his family have left on Queen Creek and to continue to honor that with decisions that I make as mayor.”

Wheatley, McClure and Padilla will be officially sworn into office Jan. 18. 

Travis Padilla and Bryan McClure will also be sworn into office Jan. 18 when Julia Wheatley becomes the second woman mayor of Queen Creek. (Facebook)

East Valley lawmaker seeks transgender pronoun use limits

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

State lawmakers are once again wading into the area of the rights of transgender minors.

A new proposal by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale, would bar school employees from knowingly referring to a student by a pronoun “that differs from the pronoun that aligns with the student’s biological sex’’ regardless of the student’s preferences. Only if the adult first gets parental permission would that be permissible.

And Kavanagh already is planning to expand what has been introduced as SB 1001 to close what he sees as a possible loophole where teachers could avoid pronouns and instead address a student by the first name he or she prefers.

He wants state law to read that only a student’s given name or some variant could be used. So, someone named Edward could be addressed as Eddie or Ed.

But calling that student Emma or Eve-

lyn would be breaking the law.

Kavanagh bills his measure as ensuring that parents know if their children

are identifying themselves by a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. That, he said, ensures the children can get the psychological treatment they may need to deal with depression and possible suicide.

But what it’s not designed to do, he told Capitol Media Services, is make it easier for a parent, informed of a child’s “gender dysphoria,’’ to get him or her the medical treatment needed to match the biological sex and gender identity.

“You’re talking to somebody who was a parent who wouldn’t let their minor child get a tattoo, much less change their gender,’’ Kavanagh said. “Those decisions need to be deferred to

when an individual’s an adult and can make a mature decision.’’

His legislation comes less than a year after state lawmakers approved – and former Gov. Doug Ducey signed -- a measure to prohibit any form of “irreversible gender reassignment surgery’’ on an individual younger than 18, even with the consent of parents.

But to get the votes, proponents had to remove a provision that would have prohibited doctors from providing puberty-blocking hormones or any other hormone therapy to minors.

Ducey also signed another measure passed by the Republican-controlled legislature spelling out that anyone who is born a male cannot participate in intramural or interscholastic sports for females, regardless of whether she has fully transitioned.

Kavanagh, in discussing his new bill, acknowledged he has heard of no issues in Arizona schools with teachers using the “wrong’’ pronouns with students -- yet.

Scottsdale state Sen. John Kavanagh wants to ban schools’ use of pronouns that don’t reflect an individual’s birth gender. (Cronkite News)

avoid range anxiety: the fear of not making it to the next charging station.

The plan covers Interstates 40, 17, 10, 8 and 19. For now, no charging stations are proposed for the Interstate15 corridor in the northwestern corner of the state.

Upgrades to eight existing charging stations will start in 2023, and in 2024, ADOT will begin the process of installing 13 more. They’ll be placed about every 50 miles and within 1 mile of an interstate, ADOT spokesperson Doug Nick said. Each station will have at least four EV fast chargers capable of charging most vehicles in about 30 minutes.

Nick said ADOT had “no trouble finding potential infrastructure to meet the criteria” to implement this plan.

The stations will be independently owned and operated. Station owners will pay 20% of construction costs and federal funding will cover the other 80%. ADOT is coordinating the work.

Arizona currently has 903 public EV

charging stations with more than 2,400 charging ports.

There are nearly 125,000 charging ports nationwide, according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aims to increase the current number of chargers about four times and create a “nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030,” according to a February 2022 memorandum from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

For Jim Stack, the president of the Phoenix Electric Auto Association, this is welcome news.

“I’m real big on the environment, and I just love the fact that we aren’t burning oil. We aren’t importing oil, we aren’t digging it up. We aren’t spilling it all over,” he said.

Stack, who has driven electric cars for about 20 years, said he’s amazed by the technological advances that have led to the growth of EVs and the various solutions available to charge his cars.

He said he started off converting his

they can speak.

own vehicles and installed solar panels on his home to power them.

“I can drive on the solar that comes off my own roof,” Stack said. “That’s like a miracle.”

Other Arizona drivers also are charged up by the plan, said Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, an independent nonprofit that researches and educates on public interest topics.

“The ADOT plan is one that we widely support,” she said, adding that the timing for the project “coincides nicely” with growing interest in EVs in Arizona.

In 2017, about 7,200 electric vehicles were registered in Arizona. In the past five years, the number has increased more than five times: at least 40,740 as of June 2022.

“Consumers that own and drive an electric vehicle stand to save thousands of dollars annually through the reduction of fuel costs and operating and maintenance costs,” Brown said. “Addi-

could get the child necessary treatment.

tionally, gas-powered vehicles contribute to air pollution and adverse public health impacts such as asthma. Therefore, electric vehicles also offer air and public health benefits.”

The plan came together fairly quickly, she said. In August, ADOT sent its draft proposal and received federal approval and immediate access to $11.3 million in funds the following month.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $1.2 trillion to infrastructure development nationwide. About $550 billion is new spending. Although the federal government already spends millions on infrastructure, this new spending is earmarked for roads, bridges, mass transit, water infrastructure broadband and more.

“Congress has spoken,” said ADOT’s Nick. “And so when the money was made available, they were hearing from their constituencies, presumably, to see that this is something that needed to be addressed. So we’re responding to that.”

“It’s something that is spreading,’’ he told Capitol Media Services. “We want to nip it in the bud.’’

But Jeanne Woodbury, the interim executive director of Equality Arizona, said it’s a bad idea.

“Reactionary legislators are now trying to forcibly enlist teachers into their efforts to make schools inhospitable to trans and non-binary students,’’ she said. And Woodbury called it “an embarrassment to good governance’’ for this to be the first measure introduced in the Senate for the 2023 session.

Bridget Sharpe, state director of the Human Rights Campaign, said Kavanagh is trying to make an issue out of something that’s not problem.

“All that happens at the end of the day is that the kids feel ostracized,’’ she said. Sharpe said it also undermines the ability of trans students to believe they have “a trusted person at school’’ with whom

“It’s really an attempt, we’ve seen it nationwide, to just kind of demonize these kids and saying that their pronouns don’t matter,’’ she said.

Kavanagh pointed out that his legislation would not preclude a teacher or other school employee from referring to a student using his or her preferred pronoun or even a name that doesn’t match the person’s “biological sex.’’

“It says they can’t do that unless the parent has given permission,’’ he said.

Kavanagh said there’s also a potential benefit in requiring teachers to check in with parents when a student makes such a request.

That goes to the issue of gender dysphoria, generally described as a sense by individuals that there is a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. More to the point, it refers to the distress that can result which can lead to depression and even suicide.

Kavanagh said alerting the parent

“In fact, if the parents know about it and the child is receiving treatment, then calling a child a name or a pronoun that doesn’t align with their gender may, in fact, be contrary to their treatment,’’ Kavanagh said.

“These children are often depressed and suicidal,’’ he continued. “So the last thing that I want to do is keep parents, who are in a position to help the child, in the dark.’’

But he acknowledged, that “treatment’’ would be for the depression, essentially getting the child to be comfortable with his or her assigned gender, rather than any intervention, medical or otherwise, to help confirm the child’s perceived gender.

The legislation also is raising concerns in the education community.

Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, said it comes even as the the state is losing thousands of teachers each year. And she said mea-

sures like this make it harder to convince more people to enter the profession, citing a conversation she had with some would-be teachers.

“It was their No. 1 priority: How do we stay in a state where we are constantly being politicized?’’ she said, with state government adding to the bureaucracy.

“It’s just frustrating and angering.’’

Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, actually offered a similar idea last session.

But his proposal only would have precluded school officials from requiring teachers and other staff from using a gender pronoun that differs from what is on a student’s birth certificate. It would not, however, have precluded someone from voluntarily honoring a student’s request, something that Kavanagh’s SB 1001 would outlaw.

Fillmore’s measure, however, did not even get a hearing in the House Education Committee to which it was assigned. 

Town breaks ground for new downtown connector roads

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Ground was broken last week for three connector roads in downtown Queen Creek as part of a major effort to make town center more pedestrian friendly and creating what town officials hope will be a more walkable neighborhood.

Aldecoa Drive and Munoz Street will both connect from Ellsworth Road to Ellsworth Loop, and Summers Place will connect from Aldecoa to Munoz.

“This is something I have been so excited about,” said Queen Creek Mayor-elect Julia Wheatley just before she, Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark and other town officials scooped up and tossed ceremonial shovels full of dirt.

“These connectors are an important step in implementing the Town Center

Plan, with a vision to create a vibrant and walkable district in the heart of Town Center that complements the heritage of the community and provides a range of venues,” Wheatley continued.

Queen Creek has looked to neighboring Gilbert, which has created the Heritage District in its downtown, a thriving entertainment scene with bars, restaurants, shops, and a performing arts theater.

Gilbert even lights up its iconic water tower in different colors, giving the district a multi-colored ambience after dark.

Downtown development is a prime area of focus as a new Queen Creek Town Council is about to be sworn in. There are several plots of prime real estate on the market. High density housing will also be part of the mix and Wheatley has put making the area easier and safer to navigate on her priority list.

“I’m very passionate about develop -

ing our downtown,” she told the Tribune. “There’s a lot of potential in our downtown. You see surrounding municipalities and how well their downtown is doing and the growth that Queen Creek is seeing. It is right around the corner for us.”

Wheatley said downtown development will also spur more economic expansion beyond more dining and shopping options.

“More revenues to support programs like public safety, parks and recreation,” Wheatley said.

Economic Development Director Doreen Cott said the town has also created special zoning and design standards for the downtown core to entice entertainment venue development, including modified building height requirements, reduced building setbacks, and different parking opportunities.

She called these connector roads an important piece of infrastructure “because

it’s going to create those urban blocks.”

“What that means is creating those more urban blocks,” she said. “So that when you’re walking it doesn’t seem like such a long stretch. We’re trying to create those urban blocks, so shorter blocks. And so, all of those factor into creating a vibrant downtown,” Cott said.

The new roadways will include one lane in each direction with on-street parking, off-street bicycle paths and walkways, crosswalks, and landscaping. It will also include utility work including water, sewer, storm water and drainage improvements.

The connector roads are anticipated to be complete in early 2024. During construction, Ellsworth Loop and Ellsworth Road will remain open for travel with periodic shifts away from the work zones.

In mid-January, restrictions will begin on Ellsworth Loop and are anticipated to last several weeks. 

Copper State Beer Festival returns to EV

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

It took a couple years to get started but organizers Copper State Beer Festival said they’ve tapped into something in Mesa.

The second annual Copper State Beer Festival returns next Saturday, Jan. 14, to Mesa Riverview Park with more than 80 breweries including Pedal Haus Brewery, Steel Cactus Brewing and Cider Corps, and more than two dozen other companies including local cideries, distilleries and wineries.

Along with the brews, the 21+ event will have more than 20 local food vendors, live DJs and activities such as axe throwing, cornhole, and Giant Jenga.

It’s a full day of fun in the suds.

Event organizer Joseph Lopez said the idea for the event started in the summer of 2020 and with his business partner’s insurance background giving them contacts with local companies in the alcohol industry, Lopez said his background in event planning seemed a logical next step in this venture.

“We thought what better way to give back to our clients than to promote them on another level,” Lopez said.

The alcohol offered at the event runs the gamut, including craft beers, wines, ciders and mead – an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey.

“As much as me and my business partner love beer, we realized that not everyone loves beer and we want to provide options to all attendees,” Lopez said.

Over the last decade, Lopez has traveled around the country for work.

Through his love for craft beer, he visited breweries across the country and he

said the craft brewing industry in Arizona has grown exponentially in that time.

“I think, honestly, the craft brewing industry has exploded, for sure over the last 10 years, in which each new year I feel like it exponentially grows and grows and grows,” Lopez said.

To his knowledge, Lopez said the industry has grown from 3,000 breweries in 2010 to more than 10,000 currently, and he puts it up there with other states.

“I put Arizona up there with pretty

much any other state,” Lopez said. “We have some really good breweries out here that produce really good beer.”

That talent drew more than 3,000 people to attending last year’s event and Lopez said they could easily reach the 5,000-person capacity the City of Mesa has designated to them this year.

Lopez said much of the talent behind these savory suds has come from talking with breweries from around the region and learning the story behind how they all got started.

“If you ask a lot of these owners of these breweries, a lot of them started out at other breweries locally and eventually they reached the point that they had the means or wanted to pursue opening their own brewery,” Lopez said.

If You Go...

Who: Copper State Beer Festival

Where: Riverview Park, 2100 W. Rio Salado Parkway., Mesa.

When: Saturday, Jan. 14 The event ends at 5 p.m. Start times: VIP admission, noon; GA+: 1 p.m.; GA: 2 p.m.

Cost: starts at $20.

Info: copperstatebeerfest.com.

More than 80 breweries will be on tap at the Copper State Beer Festival in Mesa next Saturday. (Special to the Tribune)

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 January 31st, 2023 Call (480) 274-3157 to make an appointment

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

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

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

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

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

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

QueenCreekTribune.com

@QCTribune @QCTribune

QC hospital’s first baby of 2023 couldn’t wait to get here

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

The first baby of 2023 born at Banner Ironwood Medical Center in Queen Creek was delivered just an hour and 20 minutes into the new year – three weeks before she was scheduled to arrive.

And the baby almost didn’t wait even that long.

Lennon Thamert was not supposed to arrive until Jan 21, but her mom Emma Thamer knew the baby had no intention of waiting around. Emma suddenly went into active labor about 11:30 pm at home on New Year’s Eve.

Emma’s husband and Lennon’s dad, Trace, sprung into action and called 911. Emma and the baby were rushed to Banner Ironwood by Queen Creek firefighters and by the time they got the pair to the hospital, Lennon was already

entering the world.

“She couldn’t wait and ended up surprising her family by being born on New Year’s in the hospital hallway,” a hospital statement said.

“It’s always exciting when the new year rolls around to see who is going to be our New Year’s baby,” said Crystal Fairclough, director of nursing, women and infant services and pediatric services at Banner Ironwood.

They certainly didn’t have to wait long. From the time Emma’s active labor started to the announcement of Lennon’s birth was less than two hours.

The baby was born, literally, the hospital said, as Emma was wheeled through the hospital doors by the emergency crew. Lennon came in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and measured at 19 inches.

Lennon may need to show the determination she used to enter the world when she gets back home.

She will be the kid sister to two older brothers, the hospital said, and joins a cousin as another holiday baby.

“My sister’s baby was born on Christmas, so we have lots of holiday babies,” Lennon’s mom said. “We’ll probably do big parties for them.”

As the population has grown in Queen Creek, so has the number of babies delivered.

According to Banner Ironwood’s official numbers, there were almost six more babies born per month, on average, in 2022, totaling 1,258. That compares to 1,187 born in 2021.

“Last year we broke our record of deliveries per month, delivering 122 babies in the month of July,” Fairclough said. “We broke our own record again in December with 123.

“At the heart of our successful and thriving program is a highly skilled team who is honored to serve our patients through their magical journey of child birth.”

Fairclough said the hospital is ready for even more babies this year as Queen Creek and surrounding communities continue to grow, especially with the number of young families moving in.

“I have no doubt that the new year will bring new record-breaking growth,” she said. 

Traditional names in the past for 2022 newborns

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

New Arizona moms and dads aren’t choosing the names for their children this year that their own parent selected for them.

New figures from the state Department of Health Services show the names that were most popular a quarter century have all but disappeared from this year’s Top 20 list.

The lone exception for girls is Emily which was the fifth most popular name for girls in 1997. And it hung on, only barely, at No. 20 for 2022.

And what of the names that were so popular back then? Good luck finding newborns this year with the same names.

Consider Jessica, the most popular name in 1997. There weren’t enough new parents this year for that name to even crack the Top 100. Ditto Alexis, Ashley and Samantha which came in second, third and fourth, respectively that year: all fallen off the list.

So what replaced them?

Olivia remains the top choice for newborn girls

for the third year in a row. That is followed by Emma, Isabella, Sophia and Luna.

A similar situation exists among parents of newborn boys, though the shifts in parental preferences aren’t quite so radical.

Jacob, the most popular name back then, fared no better than 49th this year.

Michael, however, which was right behind at second place in 1997, fared better. It now comes in at No. 18.

And Daniel, third in popularity back in 1997, dropped to sixteenth position.

Instead, Liam remains the top choice this year for parents of newborn boys for the third year in a row.

Also posting repeat performances are Noah, Mateo and Oliver which followed as second, third and fourth this year, matching the data from 2021. Still, there were some major shifts from even a year ago.

Luca, which logged in at No. 48 a year ago, rocketed up in popularity to crack the Top 20.

And Violet, which had been at No. 32 in 2021 moved up to No. 17 for girls. 

Top girl names for 2022 babies

Olivia

Emma

Isabella

Sophia

Mia

Camila

Amelia

Ava

Charlotte

Scarlett

Penelope

Evelyn

Gianna

Sofia

Violet

Aurora

Victoria

Top boys names for 2022 babies

Liam

Noah

Mateo

Oliver

Santiago

Sebastian

Elijah

Ezra

Ezekiel

Julian

Benjamin

Alexander

-- Theodore

Daniel

Angel

Michael

Gabriel

Luca

Little Lennon Thamert was born at Banner Ironwood Medical Center just 80 minutes into 2023. (Courtesy BannerHealth)

For more Business News visit QueenCreekTribune.com

Despite new debt law, consumers should be on their guard

BY TORI GANTZ Cronkite News

Rodd McLeod thinks voter approval of Proposition 209 this fall will go a long way toward keeping people from being “forced out on the street or lose their cars” when they have medical bills they can’t pay.

But he also thinks that consumers still need to be on their guard.

“I think debt collectors are still going to be aggressive and try to get as much money from people as possible,” said McLeod, spokesperson for Arizona Healthcare Rising, one of the main supporters of the proposition.

“That’s just the reality of the way the debt collection industry functions, which is why it’s important to have protections in the law so that ordinary people don’t get hurt,” he said.

Opponents of the law have not given

up the fight. They challenged the measure in court, and a Maricopa County Superior Court judge earlier this month temporarily blocked the law from taking effect on any debt incurred before Dec. 5 – the date the 2022 election results were certified. That injunction was lifted this week, however, and the judge allowed the entire law to proceed for now.

The proposition creating the Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act passed with an overwhelming 72% of more than 2.4 million votes cast. The 1.75 million who voted for the proposition were the most of any of the 10 measures on the ballot. Only Proposition 211, relating to dark money in politics, had a larger margin of victory, with 72.3% in favor.

Greater Phoenix Chamber Vice President of Public Affairs Mike Huckins said he was only “a little bit surprised” at the passage of the measure, which he credited to successful marketing by its supporters.

“The proponents did a great job of naming it,” Huckins said. “When you have a title like Predatory Debt Col-

Valley’s nation-leading inflation may ease this year

BY HALEY SMILOW Cronkite News

After a year in which the Valley saw the nation’s highest inflation rate for metro areas, experts say consumers can expect inflation to ease in 2023 – but warn that it’s not going away entirely.

The consumer price index for PhoenixMesa-Scottsdale in October, the most recent month for which data is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 12.1% higher than it was in October 2021. The next-highest metro areas were Atlanta, which posted a 10.7% increase for the year, followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg at 10.5% and Miami at 10.1%.

Price increases were up across the board, with higher prices for fuel, food, clothing and more. In Arizona, the biggest increases came in the price of gas,

which was up 41% from October 2021 to October 2022 – although that recently reversed course – but experts say the biggest driver of the inflation index was the cost of housing.

Mark Stapp, a professor at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said shelter accounts for onethird of the consumer price index, which is why Arizona is facing such high inflation rates.

“The index is a composite. One of the larger elements of that composite is related to shelter,” said Stapp, who is also the director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the Carey School. “It can make up 30-40%, so a significant part of the estimate of what inflation is in Arizona is that shelter component.”

George Hammond, the director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona’s Eller Col-

lege of Management, agreed that shelter has driven inflation in the Phoenix area.

“The major reason why Phoenix’s inflation rate is running so much faster than the national average, is what’s going on in the housing market,” Hammond said. “Housing is by far the biggest single category in the price index, so it has a huge influence on what happens.”

There are several reasons for the rise, they both say. The steady increase in the number of people moving to Arizona jumped with COVID-19, creating more demand for what was already a short supply of housing for renters and homeowners. It created what Hammond described as a “recipe for really rapidly rising house prices and rents.”

“The shelter component has been very difficult to come back down because of the amount of growth that we’ve had here and the lack of supply in ownership

and rental housing,” Stapp said.

While housing has been the biggest part of Valley inflation, gas prices may have had the biggest emotional punch. A gallon of gas cost as much $5.39 a gallon in June, according to AAA. Prices started falling after the summer peak and were at $3.36 a gallon last week, almost 19 cents lower per gallon than it cost a year ago. But the spikes still had an impact.

Dennis Hoffman, an economics professor at the Carey School, said transportation costs play a large role in inflation for a sprawling area like Phoenix.

“We’re quite a commuter region,” said Hoffman, who is also director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the Carey School. “A lot of people commute, so they pay the costs of used cars,

lection Protection … it’s an easy one, I

Arizona Healthcare Rising celebrated the passage last November of Proposition 209. (Special to AFN)

think, for people to vote for.”

Given that, Huckins said he does not think business groups and other opponents had “the resources … to get the message out to the voters.”

Proposition 209 makes several changes to state law that supporters said will protect consumers from crushing debt that can lead to a downward economic spiral, costing debtors their cars, which can cost them their jobs, which can cost them their homes.

The measure’s backers said it was aimed at medical debt, the No. 1 cause for calls from debt collectors and what McLeod said is a leading cause of personal bankruptcies. But much of the new law actually applies to all debt.

The new law lowers the interest rate that businesses or debt collectors can levy on medical debt from the previous

10% to 3%. It will also increase the value of homes, cars and bank accounts that are protected from debt collectors for all debt, while lowering the amount of disposable income that can be garnished to settle a debt, from the previous 25% to 10%.

“Any time a debt collector tries to take someone to court for unpaid debt, you know, the … judges will be operating under these new guidelines for what is allowed to be claimed by the debt collector,” McLeod said.

Opponents insist that the long-term impact of the law will end up backfiring on the people it is intended to protect.

“I think it’s going to affect all consumers, not just those that have medical debt because … it raises the exemptions from automobiles, your house, your salary,” Huckins said. “There may be a little bit of buyer’s remorse for some folks for voting for this once they see the impact

it’s going to have on interest rates down down the line.”

That was echoed by Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber, who said in a written statement that the new law will be “bad for the Arizona economy, bad for many of our businesses and bad for overall lending in the state.”

Guymon complained about the supporters’ framing of the measure, which he said was “marketed and described on the ballot as a medical debt initiative and it is not.”

“It only references medical debt specifically as it pertains to the interest rate change. The public did not understand that it was going to have an impact on ALL debt and therefore have a detrimental effect on lending, the Arizona rental market, etc.,” Guymon wrote.

for the rest of us and it’s going to reduce the credit market for those folks that … probably are going to need it the most – those folks that don’t have the cash to pay for stuff up front,” Huckins said.

But McLeod said that consumers need protection now – which was evidenced by the roughly 470,000 signatures that were submitted to put the measure on the ballot and by the overwhelming support at the ballot box. He said the chambers of commerce need to recognize that.

“We’re really pleased and thankful that the overwhelming majority of Arizonans agree with us,” McLeod said. “We would like to see the chamber of commerce join us in that belief.

and cars of course need gasoline.”

Hoffman said Arizonans typically pay more for gas because there are no refineries in the state, relying instead on California and Texas for its gas. Arizona was hit hard when some California refineries shut down in September.

Another increase that hit home for consumers was the price of food, which was up by 12.6% over the year, led by a 16.4% increase in dairy products, according to the BLS.

Beth Fiorenza, the executive director at Nourish Phoenix, said that has caused the number of people seeking help from her pantry to roughly double in the last three to four months over normal levels.

“If people were already living paycheck to paycheck, and then inflation and higher expenses hit, now they’re really struggling to get by every month,” Fiorenza said.

The latest surge in inflation capped

three years of steady increases, according to the BLS. It said inflation in Phoenix rose by 0.7% from October 2019 to October 2020 and then rose 7.1% from 2020 to 2021 before spiking over the past year.

But the economists believe that things may be turning around and that the high prices will slowly decrease over the next couple of months. Stapp noted that gas prices have already fallen and he expects the same should happen with housing.

Hammond agreed that housing prices should start to fall in the new year, and he thinks Arizona will likely follow the rest of the U.S. economy, which has been generally cooling in recent months.

Hoffman was more confident, saying he thinks the worst is in the past and that the economy will soon start to stabilize.

“I think we’re going to see inflation rates come down over the next year pretty dramatically,” he said. 

He said businesses will be forced to raise prices for everybody to make up for the debt they will no longer be able to collect, an argument advanced by Huckins as well.

“When you put these sort of protections around folks, where they don’t have to pay back their debts to a certain extent, it’s still going to raise the interest rates

“We just believe so strongly that you know, somebody with a medical bill they can’t pay should not be forced out on the street or lose their cars and couldn’t get to their job anymore,” he said.

But McLeod said the law alone will not protect consumers.

“What consumers can do to protect themselves is have a lawyer who is up on the law,” he said. “The sad reality is that the overwhelming number of consumers who go to court for this sort of thing are not represented by a lawyer.” 

NC State broadcaster faces a woke-up call

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

e’s spent three decades calling the play-by-play for the “Red and White,” and like the legendary Red Barber, he may wind up with a pink slip – for the sin of telling the truth.

Gary Hahn, the “Voice of the Wolfpack,” has used his microphone as a palette, painting colorful word pictures of football and basketball contests for North Carolina State fans. His style of describing the action for radio listeners can best be described in three words: Vivid. Accurate. Honest.

A master of that medium comes to understand that broadcasting an event of several hours’ duration must be punctuated with current events, comic relief and an acknowledgment of the absurd. Hahn included all three in a single

Hutterance, during his play-by-play account of the Dec. 30 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Game in Charlotte. A pause in the action between the Wolfpack and the Maryland Terrapins provided an opportunity for Hahn to update his audience on the only other post-season collegiate contest underway at the time: “Down among all the illegal aliens in El Paso, it’s UCLA,14… Pittsburgh, 6.”

Irreverent, but on target.

And given the absurdity of Uncle Sam’s unwillingness to enforce immigration law, amusing in a “laugh-tokeep-from-crying” fashion.

Ironically, NC State’s last bowl victory came in El Paso, a 52-31 win over Arizona State in the 2017 Sun Bowl. In the years since, El Paso has changed…and not for the better.

In fact, this year’s Sun Bowl “Fan Fiesta” was canceled on Dec. 21 because the city has been using its convention center to house illegal aliens, who have

flooded across the international border there in recent weeks.

American media outlets, from the Associated Press to the alphabet networks, adhere to the P’s-and-Q’s of political correctness, also now known as “wokeism.”

That simply means that these allegedly objective journalists now convey a bias on behalf of open border advocates, employing the terms “migrants,” “newcomers,” or as that noted theologian and soon-to-be former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once proclaimed, “God’s Children.”

And faster than Nancy omits any reference to the unborn as “God’s Children” when she changes the subject to abortion, Hahn’s employers took immediate and public exception to his brief Sun Bowl score update.

Learfield Communications, the current broadcast rights holder for NC State Athletics, “suspended Wolfpack

Sports Network play-by-play announcer Gary Hahn from his agreement indefinitely following comments made during today’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl radio broadcast.”

That statement came from Wolfpack Sports Properties general manager Kyle Winchester; NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan followed his customary practice of not saying “boo.”

There are two reasons for Boo hitting the mute button: His future aspirations as an upwardly mobile athletic administrator; and, directly related to that, his apparent acceptance of a “Great Awokening” throughout higher education.

Corrigan’s current stint in West Raleigh was preceded by eight years as the AD at West Point. While there, he learned that our military leadership today is more in the mold of Mark Milley than Dwight Eisenhower.

Bills player’s collapse raises questions about football

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

It was shortly after supper time on the first Monday night in 2023 when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collided with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins near midfield. Hamlin popped to his feet. He adjusted his face mask. Then the 24-year-old toppled directly backwards, his heart stopped cold.

“That’s, uh, that’s not what any of us wants to see,” said Troy Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned Monday Night Football commentator. “You just hope that he’s going to be okay.”

Most of us agree utterly with the sec-

ond part of Aikman’s analysis: We fervently hope Hamlin, who remains in critical condition as I write this, will not only survive his episode of cardiac arrest, but once again thrive.

That remains to be seen so early one, but some things we already can say for certain:

The impromptu show of support for Hamlin, including the $6 million donated to his GoFundMe toy drive – initial goal $2,500 – is heartening, especially when this country of 350 million people can agree on precious little.

Also, we can submit that Aikman was wrong, or more than a little naive, if he truly believes that football fans don’t tune in to games to see the obliterating hits that Monday Night Football and every other broadcast thrives on.

True, no one wants to see a young man meet death or be maimed on the field. But be real: When hulking brutes of enormous strength square off 11 on 11, some capable of bench pressing 400 pounds while others run 40 yards in a little over 4 seconds, what do you expect to happen?

Every football play at the professional and college level is a traffic accident, minus the vehicles, bumpers and seat belts. The wonder isn’t that Hamlin was felled midgame; it’s that no one has died on a gridiron since football started being played for money more than 100 years ago.

The NFL can talk all it wants about player safety, but the league didn’t command $100 billion in television rights because Joe Sixpack loves to see a well-executed

screen pass for 11 yards and a first down. Football fans watch because we thirst for machismo, combat, violence. Then we cue up the highlights and watch it again. At least until an incident like Damar Hamlin’s collapse reminds us that this isn’t ancient Rome and these aren’t gladiators.

These are human beings risking their lives and who suffer from such high levels of chronic traumatic encephalopathy that the NFL has paid out more than $1 billion in settlement funds since 2015 to more than 1,500 concussed former players and their kin – with thousands of additional claims pending.

Since Hamlin fell, I have heard all manner of analysis about how the league

For Boo, the reasoning was simple… if West Point was going “woke,” how much more prevalent would “wokeism” be on the NC State campus? His hunch: a whole bunch.

So, since his arrival in 2019, Corrigan has joined with other university administrators, lurching further leftward, embracing the toxic doctrine intent on destroying the very diversity it claims to champion.

Where does all this leave Gary Hahn? Not in a good place, it appears. But should NC State issue Hahn his “walking papers,” he can seek solace in the fact that it also happened to one of sportscasting’s greats.

In 1966, Red Barber pointed out that the team for whom he broadcast games—the New York Yankees, ironically owned by CBS at the time—was in last place, losing games in front of crowds as sparse as 413 in 65,000-seat Yankee Stadium.

CBS canned the “Ol’ Redhead” for his candor; NC State would repeat that mistake, should Gary Hahn meet the same

professional fate.

J.D. Hayworth’s column was written before N.C. State announced that Gary Hahn would return to his play-by-play duties, effective Jan. 14. 

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LEIBOWITZ

from page 18

handled postponing the game, how ESPN covered it, and how Hamlin’s heart may respond to treatment.

All this chatter focuses in precisely the wrong direction. It looks outward at the conditions on the field, instead of looking inward, at why we tolerate a game that inevitably cripples a good number of combatants annually.

Since 1931, when the American Football Coaches Association undertook the first “Annual Survey of Football Fatalities,” statistics show that 1,064 football

players have died as a direct result of the game – not counting heat strokes suffered in practice, etc.

That includes last year, when “there were 4 traumatic injury fatalities that occurred among football players during football-related activities.”

All four were high school kids. All four suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Let’s pray Damar Hamlin isn’t fatality number 1,065. Let’s also look in the mirror and ask the face staring back why we never consider turning off the TV and finding something better to occupy our attention? 

How to get a letter published

E-mail: pmaryniak@timeslocalmedia.com

Queen Creek Tribune welcomes letters that express readers’ opinion on current topics. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address (including city) and telephone number. Queen Creek Tribune will print the writer’s name and city of residence only. Letters without the requisite identifying information will not be published. Letters are published in the order received, and they are subject to editing. Queen Creek Tribune will not publish consumer complaints, form letters, clippings from other publications or poetry. Letters’ authors, not Queen Creek Tribune, are responsible for the “facts” presented in letters. 

Concussions remain at the forefront of high school athletics

BY RYAN MCCLURE AFN Contributing Writer

Head injury awareness has increased at an exponential rate in the past decade, leading to monumental strides at the high school athletic level.

The rate of concussions continues to grow across high school sports, amid growing efforts to prevent head trauma and protect the safety of athletes. The medical field’s leaps in awareness on head injuries has led to a categorization on different types of traumatic brain injuries. The most prominent on the high school athletic level are concussions.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a concussion is a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.

“There has been a really strong progression towards really addressing that aspect of head injuries,” Highland High School athletic trainer David Hayward said. “We have focused on head injuries and made sure athletes are safe and not playing with anything that potentially involves a head injury. Concussions are the lowest grade of brain injury, but they can turn into something really big.”

Certain levels and sports see higher rates of concussions than others. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, boys’ football, girls’ soccer and boys’ ice hockey are the three sports with the highest concussion rates.

Concussions are most commonly found in instances of falls or collisions with other athletes. From sport to sport, the mechanism of injury varies, even offthe-field occurrences happen.

Boys’ football, with 10.4 concussions per 10,000 athlete exposures, leads all sports in the rate of concussions. Although the most padded sport, it still

comes in at the top.

“Helmets were originally created to prevent skull fractures,” Campo Verde High School athletic trainer Julia Marino said. “The technology of the cushions in the helmet and shock absorption are

there. But if concussions still occur, it proves itself.”

Arizona high schools are now taking advantage of easier access to modern head injury technology. Valley schools have integrated these technologies to

help prevent and enhance recovery of head injuries and concussions.

ImPACT (immediate post-concussion assessment and cognitive testing) is a computer-based head injury assessment tool used to help the medical field, and specifically athletic trainers. It has been branded as the most effective tool for creating baseline concussion tests, which are used to compare a person’s cognitive abilities after injury to before.

Modern technology like ImPACT has led to a safer and more efficient recovery process for athletes. Identifying when an athlete is back to the testing level, they were at during the baseline test is key to allowing a player to return to play safely, preventing long term injury.

Another advancement in understanding concussions has been the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5, often referred to as the SCAT-5. The SCAT-5 is a standardized tool designed to assist with the clinical and sideline assessment of concussion.

The SCAT-5 is a good predictor of the duration of time away from sports in high school athletes with concussions, which allows athletic trainers to have a better understanding of where each specific athlete is at in their recovery process, or to even identify if a player has a concussion.

“There are always optics out there watching,” Hayward said. “If a player elicits some sort of sign or symptom of a concussion then they will be approached and addressed.”

The state, athletic program, and even specific teams have taken steps since the modern wave of awareness of these injuries.

Coaches have implemented their own methods to potentially prevent head injuries. From neck stretches to limited “hitting” time, or when players can fully use their tackling techniques. Each specific coach has their own implementations in their practice schedule.

Concussions remain at the forefront of discussions regarding the safety of certain sports at all levels, but especially high school. In Arizona, schools, athletic trainers and coaches continue to take necessary steps to better understand and potentially prevent head injuries. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff)

Desert Vista student Gavin Chavez, “right,” gave up football to focus on his long-term health after suffering numerous concussions throughout his playing career dating back to 7th grade. His father, Gary, as assistant at Desert Vista, said he respects his son’s decision. (AFN File Photo)

But it isn’t always fool proof.

Gavin Chavez, a senior at Desert Vista, has been one of the many athletes in the Valley to be impacted by head injury.

Chavez is a member of the varsity football team and varsity lacrosse at Desert Vista. He has played football since the age of 6 and has picked up lacrosse since. His first concussion was minor in 7th grade, followed by a more serious one the following year.

“Gavin plays with a certain energy, he plays with all his heart,” Gavin’s father and Desert Vista assistant coach Gary Chavez said. “He was an impact player.”

Chavez stayed symptom free until his first game his junior year. But in that first game Chavez was hit hard on a kickoff return, leading to another concussion with microfractures detected. Six games later, and almost a month and half of recovery, Chavez was cleared to return to the field.

In his first game back Chavez was injured yet again on a special teams play.

“Special team plays are just so dangerous,” Gary said. “Players are flying around the field, and it results in more injuries

than any other plays. Gavin got unlucky and just got in a couple bad situations.”

Chavez was forced to make a decision after his latest concussion: Try to play or give up the sport to focus on his longterm health.

He showed maturity in his decision.

“He could have made an impact in his last season, but he chose his health,” Gary said. “We were going to support him with any decision he made, whether he wanted to take all the precautions in order to play. One day he decided to call it a career and look towards long term health and stability.”

The state and the Arizona Interscholastic Association have implemented rules over the years to help combat the rate of concussions. From changing kickoff alignment rules, and adding defenseless player and helmet to helmet rules, the AIA has implemented new ideas to prevent higher rates of injury.

All athletes and coaches have to complete “Brain Book,” which is an educational program that the AIA mandates statewide.

The awareness and the level of education on head injuries has raised, which has allowed athletes like Chavez to make decisions to benefit their long-

term health where historically long-term brain health has not been in the forefront.

The new wave of concussion awareness and modern implementations has led to new methods of prevention, diagnosis, and recovery.

“I feel we are really going in the right direction when it comes to concussions,” Hayward said. “There is still just a lot of research out there to do to really figure out about a young developing brain and how it could be impacted.”

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Chandler Film Festival offers a feast for the eyes

BY KEN SAIN GetOut Staff

Chandler filmmaker Mitesh Patel says there has been a noticeable change when he attends film festivals around the world.

“When I go to see some, like AFM American film market, or any other like Berlin, or Cannes, whenever I go somewhere for my movie work, I meet with people and they talk about the festival,” said Patel, who is president and the director of the Chandler International Film Festival. “And what’s surprising to me is they all know, mostly I would say they know about the Chandler Film Festival.”

Patel said he and his team once had to work hard to get the word out about the annual festival. Now, they don’t.

The seventh annual Chandler International Film Festival is scheduled for Jan. 21-29 at the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in downtown. Patel is extending it to

nine days this year so they don’t have as many matinee showings. Films will start at 6 p.m. most days, with some matinees on the weekends.

“You know a lot of people work, so it’s kind of a struggle, but it was good for the people who are coming from out of town so they can just stay for an entire weekend,” Patel said.

He said he wanted more Chandler residents to be able to attend, and that was the reason for pushing back start times and extending the festival.

Patel said the number of films will be the same, about 125 or so. He said they had more than 500 submitted to be considered. That’s still down considerably from pre-pandemic when they would get about 1,000.

‘Disney on Ice’ takes on a road trip expedition

BY SUMMER AGUIRRE GetOut Staff

To ring in the new year strong, “Disney on Ice” is making a pitstop in the Valley to take families on a magical getaway visiting some of their most beloved characters.

Produced by Feld Entertainment, “Disney on Ice presents Road Trip Adventures” embarks on an immersive excursion of exciting twists and turns through some of Disney’s most popular and classic tales. The tour will be in Phoenix for seven shows from Jan.1215 at the Footprint Center.

“This show, in particular, come in with an open mind — it truly is an amazing show. We’ve all worked so hard and we’re so excited to share this show with you and everyone that comes into the magic,” said Kiera Clifford, 22, a first-year skater in the cast. “It’s a big road trip adventure for ev-

erybody.”

During an enchanting and athletic performance, spectators will go on a safari to see Simba, Timon and Pumbaa in the Pride Lands and help Woody

and Bo Peep search for their new friend, Forky, at a wacky carnival. “We’ll start with Mary Poppins going through the town. We’ll see some

Incredibles, we might run into Moana and her tribe or we might even run into Olaf with his little ‘In Summer’ song,” said Clifford.

In comparison to other “Disney on Ice” shows, the skater said that “Road Trip Adventures” is by far the most interactive with audience members.

“There’s not just one thing you’re looking at, there are a bunch of things,” she said. “One of my favorite numbers is Aladdin’s (Prince) Ali Parade. You have a lot of things in the air, you have things on the ground, there’s a lot of props – you won’t be unsatisfied with our show.”

To further immerse the audience in the performance, Clifford hinted at a surprise launch into the crowd during the “Toy Story” segment and noted cast members who escort families onto bus stops to watch the show close

‘Disney On Ice’ offers a colorfully costumed cast whose signing, storytelling and ice skating abilities will delight young and old alike. (Courtesy Disney on Ice)

Former Chandler resident Rob Smat directed “Walkout.” It’s the story of his friend Thomas Marshall (in photo) leading employees to try and force change at Walmart after the tragic mass shooting at its El Paso location. (Courtesy of Chandler International Film Festival);

“I think the pandemic is still going on,” Patel said about the lower number of submissions. He added that they no longer advertise and push hard to get the word out about the festival, relying on the fact that many in the business are already aware.

The films will be shown at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas for the second time. Patel said they were great hosts a year ago, and complimented their food. After-hours parties will be staged around the downtown area.

There will be no online viewing of the films for the first time in two years.

In 2021, the festival was all digital because of the pandemic. Last year people had the option to watch them online if they didn’t want to sit in a crowded theater.

Patel said many directors are concerned about piracy if they put their films online, so they would rather not.

The lineup of films is still being determined in late December with an announcement expected in early January. Patel said he had not decided on which film to open the festival with, but he does have one that he would love to open it with.

The festival is adopting a theme for the first time, and it will be a celebra-

tion of Indian filmmaking. The country is celebrating 110 years of filmmaking in 2023 so Patel thought that was an easy choice.

“Last Film Show” was chosen by India to be its submission for the best international film Oscar at the Academy Awards. It has won top honors at some of the film festivals where it has been shown.

It’s the story of a 9-year-old boy in rural India who loves films so much, he bribes the projectionist of a run-down theater with homemade food so that he can watch and learn about films and filmmaking from the best seat in the house. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of director Pan Nalin.

One of the keys to being the opening night film, Patel said, is that the filmmaker needs to be in attendance. He said Nalin said he’s willing if his film is not nominated for the Academy Award. However, if it is he will be far too busy promoting it and won’t be able to attend.

“I noticed that whoever attends the Chandler Film Festival, they get very excited when someone from the movie, they’re coming and attending,” Patel said. He added a couple of films in this year’s festival will be by directors with Chandler ties. Former resident Rob Smat made a documentary called “Walkout.” It’s about Walmart’s reaction to having 23 people shot and killed in its El Paso store in 2019.

After the tragedy, the company took no action to stop selling firearms at its stores. Its employees decided to do something about that and forced the company to change.

India will not be the only country getting a focus at this year’s festival. Patel said they plan to have special nights throughout the nine days.

“We’re adding a Japanese day, a Spanish day, a Korean day, a Chinese day,” Patel said, pointing out the Chinese New Year will happen during the festival (Jan. 22).

One of the reasons the Chandler International Film Festival has gotten such notice is because of the success it has had in matching filmmakers with

Chandler filmmaker Mitesh Patel founded the Chandler Film Festival, which has been growing in influence and audiences since its launch in 2016. (Special to GetOut)

distributors. Patel said all of their feature-length films last year got distribution deals.

“It’s been a couple of years now,” Patel said of the 100% distribution. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, I know so many companies. And I created this festival to help the filmmaker to showcase their work and put it out.”

Festival Films with Arizona ties Walkout: Directed by former Chandler resident Rob Smat

ID: Directed by Chandler resident Kiran Kondamadugula

The Monster Inside Me: Directed by Phoenix resident Tony C. Silva

Reflect: Parts filmed in Sedona Eyes Upon Waking: Directed by Tucson resident Timothy Zwica 

If You Go...

What: Chandler International Film Festival

Where: LOOK Dine-In Cinema, 1 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler When: Jan. 21-29 Info: chandlerfilmfestival.com

Carlos (Juan Francisco Villa) takes the lead in a wheelchair race at a holding facility a woman goes to after a suicide attempt. “Eyes Upon Waking” was directed by Timothy Zwica, a Tucson resident. (Courtesy of Chandler International Film Festival)

Dana Beth Kippel stars in “Reflect,” a film she directed and wrote about friends participating in a spiritual obstacle course. Parts of the film were shot in Arizona. (Courtesy of Chandler International Film Festival)

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Columnist

Greek stew is goodness in a pot

during Greek festivals. This stew called Manéstra should be enjoyed all year long. It’s that lovely Greek word meaning to celebrate with exuberance, but the ingredients and flavors in Manéstra are pure soul-food/comfort food in any nationality. It starts with braised and slowcooked short ribs that create a fantastic red sauce where you’ll eventually let orzo pasta soak up all the goodness in the pot. It’s absolutely mouthwatering. For this delectable discovery, I thank popular Valley musicians and recording artists Thano and Demitri Sahnas, known in Arizona as The Sahnas

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• 2 packages short ribs, bone-in (approximately 8-10 pieces or 3-3 ½ lbs)

• Salt and Pepper

• 4 heaping tablespoons fresh mint (finely chopped fine, stems removed)

• 1 large sweet yellow onion (chopped fine)

• 48 ounces tomato sauce

Directions:

For Dutch oven:

Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of short ribs. In a hot skillet with olive oil, brown ribs. When browned, add mint and onion cooking until onions are tender. Add tomato sauce, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer until meat is tender, about 3 hours.

When done, remove meat and cut up or shred into bite-sized pieces. Remove and discard cinnamon stick and cloves. Add Orzo to sauce, stirring often to avoid sticking. Cook for about 25 minutes. Add lemon juice. Return meat to pot. In a small saucepan, cook butter until browned. Stir butter into orzo and meat mixture. If sauce is too thick,

Brothers and Turning Point.

Their mom Kathy Sahnas had a hidden treasure that had been passed down from generation to generation that is so simple and welcoming, I couldn’t wait to dish it up and then get it into your hands. Enjoy the great flavor of this Sahnas family favorite.

(6 small 8 ounce cans)

• 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (approximately 1 inch long)

• 4 whole cloves

• 1 package Orzo pasta (approximately 1 lb)

• 1 medium lemon (squeezed)

• 1/2 cube butter (browned)

• 1 quart chicken broth for thinning mixture

add chicken broth for desired texture. Serve immediately. (6-8 servings.)

Crock pot method:

In a skillet brown the seasoned short ribs in olive oil. Add onions and mint, cooking until onions are tender. Transfer ribs and onions to crock-pot. Cover meat with tomato sauce, cloves and cinnamon. Cook on high for about 6 hours or until ribs are tender. Remove meat. Cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Add Orzo to the sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the meat back to the cooked Orzo. Add the melted butter and lemon. Stir and serve.

to the ice.

“I feel like our cast members blend very well, the show pulls together,” she said.

Seeing “Disney on Ice” is a memorable experience that Clifford thinks every kid needs.

“I grew up a Disney kid, and I’m so grateful that my mom brought me to the shows and to Disney World, just because it’s something special that you’ll look back on and remember for a long time,” she said. “And seeing your favorite characters come off the screen onto the ice is something that was super exciting to me, so I’m sure for every child out there, it would be exciting for them, too.”

The children’s enthusiasm is something that the skater believes is exciting for parents to witness. She recalls seeing videos online under the hashtag “#disneyonice,” taken by parents capturing their young ones’ happiness as their dreams come to life.

Likewise, Clifford said interacting with the children and bringing their heroes to life on the ice is the most fulfilling part of her role as a performer.

“I graduated with a teaching degree

in music,” said Clifford, who attended Penn State University. “I’m missing that a little bit right now, so seeing the kids interact and their faces light up is probably the most appealing part of the show for me.”

“Disney on Ice” was launched in 1981. Its traveling team consists of 90 to 100 people, including Clifford and nearly 50 other performers, several coordinators, a sales team and crewmembers.

“As performers, we always go out and try to put on our best show for everybody,” she adds. “Whether it’s waving at kids as a princess, getting picked to go into the magic-mobile with The Incredibles on the ice, or it could be tossing balls into the audience, or even going out into the audience as a cast.” 

If You Go...

What: “Disney on Ice presents Road Trip Adventures”

When: Various times Jan. 12-15. Where: Footprint Center, 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix

Cost: Tickets start at $20 Info: Disneyonice.Com, Ticketmaster.Com

Now Hiring in Mesa!