Queen Creek Tribune 01/22/2023

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

The state agency that oversees funding for land and construction of new school buildings in Arizona has approved over $70 million to Queen Creek Unified School District for land purchases and new school buildings.

The allocation exceeded the district’s requests by 7%.

The School Facilities Oversight Board authorized $59.1-million dollars be allocated for new school buildings, expansions and additions, including the biggest ticket item – $27.8 million to build a new elementary school. Another $11.2 was approved to buy 11.4 acres for it.

“This is allowing our community to serve the growth in much needed classroom space and a new elementary on the north side of our district,” said school board member James Knox.

The 90,000-square-foot school, thought to be the largest elementary in Arizona, will be

Kitchen contestants

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

For the first time in a dozen years, the Queen Creek Town Council has a new mayor and two new members.

Julia Wheatley was sworn in Jan. 18 as mayor and takes the gavel from Vice Mayer Jeff Brown, who had the job temporarily following the death last June of Mayor Gail Barney.

“When I started this 12 years ago, my kids were little,” Wheatley said. “Now my youngest is 6’6,’” she said as she reflected on the growth she has seen during her tenure on see

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Chef Charleen Badman cooks with Queen Creek High School culinary arts students sophomore Isaiah Jensen and sophomore Jacob Curtis, as they prepare to compete with teams from nine other high schools, including Casteel in an unusual public contest.

Young chefs to compete to ‘feed the future’

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

An event that aims to feed the future is being sponsored by a nonprofit with a name that’s hard to forget.

Blue Watermelon Project’s annual Feeding the Future culinary contest challenges students to create healthy, great-tasting meals that meet the requirements of the National School Lunch Program, National School Breakfast Program and Afterschool Snack Program.

The contest gives both students and the surrounding community a better understanding of the challenges that school food professionals face and the ever-changing conditions that impact access to good food in schools.

While the contest teaches students to develop tasty, nutritious, and affordable school meals that can be served to Arizona school children, the public can join in the fun by tasting the creative dishes that the top 10 student teams are

presenting to guest judges at the Farm at South Mountain with live music, yard games and children’s activities.

The event is 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Farm at South Mountain, 6106 S. 32nd St., Phoenix, and proceeds benefit the Blue Watermellon Project.

There’s an extra green in those dishes for the young chefs – or so the teams hope: first place receives $5,000, second place receives $3,000, and third place receives $2,000.

This year, finalists include Concordia Charter School in Mesa, Perry High, Chandler High, Casteel High and Queen Creek High.

Charleen Badman, chef and co-owner of FnB Restaurant in Scottsdale, said the idea began 13 years ago.

“I was asked to come to visit a school that had a really beautiful garden, and still does to this day and make a connection with all the beautiful things that were growing in this garden and be able to have students be able to enjoy it in a culinary way,” Badman recalled.

Since officially starting in 2016, Blue Watermelon Project has grown from its first location at Echo Canyon School in Scottsdale to 24 other schools across the state.

The nonprofit comprises chefs, restauranteurs, farmers and community food advocates who want children to have access to wholesome food in school. It does so by working with K-12 students, parents and the community to integrate taste education and interactive programming into their curriculum and everyday life.

With funding a growing issue for many schools, the program also gives the students an idea of what their school food professionals endure daily.

The guidelines set forth by the NSLP act as the contest rules and require students to get creative in the kitchen and have pride in the dish they whip up.

“It’s a lot of moving stuff around, because, you know, they may be like three cents over, but they have all the nutritional parts, and they bring the cost

down, and then the next thing they know, maybe they don’t have enough calories, because they have to make sure they stay within those guidelines,” Badman said.

Much of Blue Watermelon’s funding comes from the Steele Foundation and Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, but for schools, the answer isn’t so easy.

For approximately a million schools in the country, the federal government provides around $3.23 for each lunch served to a student who qualifies for a free meal. After labor and other costs, schools have about $1 per meal to spend on food.

Iris Tirado, food and nutrition manager at Concordia Charter School, said kids get excited not just to participate in the competition when they get to fifth grade, but get excited for Tirado as well when she was featured on Blue Watermelon’s YouTube channel “Chef in the Garden.”

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

Queen Creek Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Queen Creek

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QC woman takes on cancer in unique way

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Michelle Tucker knows what it is like to fight – not with her hands, but with her spirit, her soul, her heart and her will.

“I am a breast cancer survivor three times, also thyroid and pancreatic,” said the Queen Creek woman, who founded the Chosen Warrior Cancer Support Foundation to help others fighting the disease.

“I decided there are so many different organizations out there for just breast cancer, or just thyroid cancer or just kidney cancer,” she said. “And I wanted to create an organization that’s for all the cancers because I don’t believe there is one out there that can help everybody.”

As a registered nurse for 25 years, Tucker has seen a need in the community for more help, whether that is providing emotional support to cancer patients, delivering meals, or driving patients and their families to appointments or even just to the grocery store.

How to help

Chocolate & Cocktails Brunch

When: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

Where: Bar Vinedo, 7215 S Power Road, Queen Creek.

Tickets: $25

Chosen Warrior Health Walk

When: 9 a.m.-noon March 18

Where: Schnepf Farms, 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek.

Tickets: $25

Info: for both events: cwcsf.org

the home, give them a bag of hope, if you will, things of that nature,” she said. “It would be a great service for people going through their journeys.”

She said cancer patients often do not want to feel like a burden and will not reach out for help.

Tucker believes she can make the most difference one person at a time. “I feel like if we can even just go into

“Everybody says to you ‘let me help you, give me a call’ but most people won’t call,” she said. “You know we don’t call when we need help. We’re just going through it. We’re just doing everything we can do to get through to the next day.”

The stark and unrelenting reality is that no matter how unfair, any significant health problem, chronic or acute, is expensive, and can take a major toll on a family’s emotions, stability andon their finances.

In its most recent report, the National Institutes of Health says nationally, breast cancer patients face out-of-pocket costs in excess of $3.1-billion.

To alleviate the staggering costs associated with cancer treatment, the Chosen Warrior Foundation is kicking off a season of fundraising with brunch at Bar Vinedo on S. Power Road in Queen Creek.

The brunch is the first step in the Chosen Warrior fundraising campaign. It will also be holding a 5k Health Walk at Schnepf Farms on March 18 in which participants will get custom T-shirts acknowledging many forms of cancer people battle every day.

“There is more to cancer than just one color,” Tucker said.

As part the Health Walk, the Chosen Warrior Foundation is “challenging the

As a survivor of several bouts with cancer, Michelle Tucker founded the Chosen Warrior Cancer Support Foundation. (Special to the Tribune)

American Leadership Academy senior a Flinn semifinalist

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

Queen Creek charter school senior is among 82 semifinalists for the prestigious Flinn Scholarship.

Morgan Reyes, a student at American Leadership Academy, has advanced to the next step in the highly competitive selection process and will be interviewed this week as a committee aims to pare down its list to about 40 finalists.

About half of those applicants will be awarded a Flinn Scholarship, which covers four years of tuition and all expenses at any of Arizona’s three state universities, two tours of study abroad, and a network of top professionals in various fields who can mentor them.

Another 12 students in Chandler Unified School District are among the semi-finalists, including Casteel High School senior Lorraine Osterling.

“To come this far in our very competitive process is an honor earned by just 8% of applicants from around the state,”

said Anne Lassen, Flinn Foundation vice president, scholarship and education initiatives. “These students impressed reviewers with their academic achievement, service, and leadership.”

The Flinn Foundation notes on its website, “Flinn Scholar alumni live and work throughout the world, including a sizable number right here in Arizona, making an impact in their communities as executives, artists, entrepreneurs, teachers, physicians, and many other professions.”

Applicants must maintain at least a 3.5 grade-point average, rank in the top 5 percent of their high school’s graduating class and participate and show leadership in extracurricular activities.

Last year’s Flinn scholars averaged a 3.96 GPA and were in the top 2% of their graduating class.

Flinn reported that the semifinalists represent 59 traditional public, charter,

built “somewhere in the Eastmark area, not specifically certain yet,” he said, and will be accommodate 1,000 students.

The school currently is called “Elementary #10” until a formal name is approved by the school board.

Given the competition for land and the pace of development in Queen Creek and surrounding areas, Knox said securing the land is crucial.

“In Eastmark,” he said, “this is the last opportunity to do anything in that area.”

The board also allocated $10.1-million to the district for a combined 33,000 additional square feet at Gateway Polytechnic Academy, a K-6 school, and Schnepf Elementary, which together will accommodate an additional 365 students in all.

More than $21-million is targeted for 65,000 square feet of new space at the Eastmark and Crismon high school buildings. That space will be developed for junior high students who take classes in those buildings. The expansion will accommodate an additional 650 students.

The money will be distributed over two years and will be available to start construction and improvements July 1.

The board’s allocation is especially significant for Queen Creek Unified because voters have rejected bond measures in the last two years to fund additional facilities to accommodate soaring student enrollment. The most bond proposal had sought $198 million.

The process to apply for funds from the Facilities Board is complex. Board representatives had toured the district with school officials – a meeting that wound up helping its request be even stronger than it would have otherwise been.

“They advised how to better report on the application in some areas we

may have overlooked in our application, not recognizing that we qualified due to the complexity of the board’s formula,” Knox said.

“It’s a great partnership between the board and our administration that helped us recognize and qualify for a 7% increase in what we were ultimately awarded,

above what we asked for,” he added.

Racing to keep up with the growth, Queen Creek schools have already approved $5.5-million for portable classrooms while the new schools are built.

State officials say that given Queen Creek’s demonstrated lack of support for tax increases of any kind, the QCUSD Governing Board is facing a challenging task.

“I have experience building schools in a time of hyper-growth prior to the Great Recession. I thought it was difficult then but what Queen Creek is faced with this even more difficult,” said Scott Thompson, a Facilities Oversight Board member and Mesa Public Schools assistant superintendent.

“What they have accomplished with limited dollars has been amazing.”

Thompson added, “Great work has been done by both the SFOB and the Legislature to address existing building needs as well as new construction.

“Unfortunately, with the recent increase in inflation costs and supply chain issues, I fear our efforts are still falling short of providing schools with what they need. Hopefully, this issue will be taken into account in the upcoming legislative session.”

Queen Creek has other requests before the board to added 200,000 square feet of elementary and high school space for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 fiscal years 

COUNCIL from page 1

the council.

“Our little secret of the Town of Queen Creek has definitely gotten out,” she said.

Wheatley and Brown are joined by incumbents Dawn Oliphant, Leah Martineau, Robin Benning and two newly sworn members, Bryan McClure and Travis Padilla.

“I really am humbled by this,” McClure said. “It’s going to be an honor to serve my hometown.”

Padilla shared the sentiment.

“Wow. It’s hard not be emotional when I look out into the crowd and see those who supported me through this campaign,” said Padilla, who asked Congressman Andy Biggs to administer the oath of office to him.

With the new council members will come new priorities. In interviews with The Tribune, McClure and Padilla talked about some of theirs.

How will you work with other Council members who have more experience than you do?

Padilla: “I look forward to listening to and learning from the insights and ideas of the other councilmembers and coming to a consensus on the best direction forward for the town,”

McClure: “Although I’ve been heavily involved in the community for many years, I understand that I still have much to learn. I intend to ask our experienced council members many questions, draw on their wisdom & insight, and provide a fresh perspective as we work hand in hand to solve the challenges of our growing community.”

What are your priorities for your early days on council?

Padilla: “I will quickly begin gearing up to make important decisions by understanding current issues in depth and preparing for the strategic planning session that will take place at the end of February.”

McClure: “As a new council member, I will first listen more than I speak and study all I can so I may effectively acclimate to my new roles and responsibilities. I will also prepare for our strategic planning session to bring value to the council and staff as we strive to make Queen Creek an even better place to live, work, and play.”

Where do you think your background prepares you to make the most impact?

Padilla: “Queen Creek elected me because I’m a political outsider with business experience that I plan to use to increase efficiency at the town level and help solve the challenges it faces.”

McClure: “As a husband and father of five, I know what a family friendly community means and will do my best to preserve that feeling in our hometown.

“I was an airport planner in my former career, which taught me to properly plan for growth and invest in projects that bring the greatest benefit. As a small business owner and investment advisor, I un-

derstand finance and how to implement policies that support economic growth.”

What challenges do you see ahead?

Padilla: “The challenges facing Queen Creek include managing the town’s growth responsibly, keeping up with the demands of road infrastructure due to continued development, and fiscal responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars while maintaining essential town services for public safety.”

McClure: “With the town already building roads as fast as logistically possible, I see keeping up with infrastructure needs being a challenge. We must remain vigilant in our road improvements and continue to support public safety to provide the best quality of life for our residents.”

What opportunities do you see ahead?

Padilla: “In the words of a famous philosopher: “attachment is the enemy of enlightenment.” I believe within every obstacle lies the opportunity to not only fix a problem but to discover solutions that will improve a situation beyond the

status quo.

We CAN work together to create ways to improve processes, procedures, and policies in the town that break the mold of doing things a certain way simply because “it’s the way we’ve always done them.”

But to do so we must take the risk of looking for opportunities to improve and I intend to do so in areas such as lowering property taxes, reducing regulation, lifting burdens on local businesses, and improving our infrastructure to create a booming Queen Creek economy and make our town the best place to live in Arizona.”

McClure: It’s an exciting time to live in Queen Creek. With our healthy local economy and population projected to double in the coming years, I see an opportunity to attract livable wage employment and provide amenities needed in the community.

I look forward to reduced commute times and bringing relief to taxpayers by spreading the cost of running a town to manufacturers who provide high wage employment to our residents.

What are the top three most important things to remember for the town to monitor as Queen Creek grows so quickly?

Padilla: To manage growth responsibly, to support public safety including better roads, and to maintain fiscal responsibility.

McClure: 1. Family-friendly. For families to thrive we must continue to construct more roads and parks.

2. Supporting our brave first responders that keep our community safe is a top priority.

3. Creating a business-friendly environment is important to attracting good paying jobs and small businesses. We must commit to keeping taxes low and ensuring the town government operates within its means. 

community to make a commitment to walk at least 30 minutes every day for the rest of the year and to make healthy choices when eating, which includes a healthy mantra of ‘enjoy with moderation,’” Tucker said.

Tucker has also written a book called

Chosen: What to Expect When You’ve Been Diagnosed with Cancer. She said it is designed to educate people about not only what to anticipate when someone gets a cancer diagnosis, but also how to work effectively within the medical community to get answers to questions – a process, she said, that can be daunting, confusing, even defeating.

“It’s really to help every person going through any kind of illness,” she said of her book. “To kind of give some pushback to the system and know what to ask the doctors so you are not going in blindly.

“Our mission is to make the maximum possible effort for our community by making the maximum possible effort to help,” Tucker said. “And we

want to share or experiences and hope with those of all ages facing life altering circumstances. 

Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5631 or pmaryniak@ timeslocalmedia.com

BRYAN MCCLURE TRAVIS PADILLA

CUSD program to get ahead of teacher shortages

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

Chandler Unified School District has felt little impact from the teacher shortages that have left tens of thousands of positions nationwide unfilled.

Still, district officials are thinking –and about to do something – about it.

“We have been fairly immune to the teacher shortage,” said Abby Druck, the district’s director of human resources, Professional Pathways. “As a lot of people know, it’s a great place to work, it’s a great place to live, so we’ve been fortunate in that way.

“But it is trickling down even to us now, particularly in some of the hard to fill areas, like special education.”

The district hopes to be fully certified soon for the state’s Educator Preparation Program, which they call Chandler RISE. It will allow them to fast-track converting teachers in residence to fully cer-

from page 3

Sandra Brooks, culinary instructor at Queen Creek High School, said this is the first her students will take part in the event .

Brooks, who has been at the school for four years, spent 11 years in the culinary industry, including as a prep cook at the Queen Creek Olive Mill and as executive chef at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center.

She said programs like Blue Watermelon show students how the process from start to finish of creating a recipe, tasting, testing and documenting it while they get mentorship from experts like Chef Badman.

“Not only does it help foster or mentor students that are interested in pursuing a career in the culinary arts, but it also gives our students life skills,” Brooks said. “A lot of students right now don’t have cooking skills, and they come out of our culinary program knowing their way around the kitchen.”

Brooks said two of her students in this event have expressed interest in culinary school. “I hope they keep pushing forward with culinary and taking advantage of these opportunities that are real-

tified teachers.

In 2017, state lawmakers allowed anyone with a college degree to teach if they had at least five years of relative experience in the field they would be instructing. CUSD calls these positions teachers in residence.

The district has already been approved to begin the process for general teachers in grades K-through-8. It expects certification to include special education next month.

Chandler RISE is a two-year program in which the district will provide the training to its uncertified teachers for free with the hopes that they will teach for at least two years in CUSD once they are fully certified.

The district is covering all costs for that training, saving the teacher thousands they would have to pay in tuition to a college or university. That’s not the only benefit.

“They are working in that full teacher of record capacity, which means they’re

on a full teacher salary and benefits,” Druck said.

That doesn’t mean it will be easy. In addition to teaching at a school, the participants will have to take classes and do the work required to get certified.

The district plans to use its own expertise to instruct these candidates.

“If we have, maybe a principal who is super strong with assessment and has taught assessment before, that’s kind of their area of expertise, we can bring that principal in for a two-hour course, and send them right back on their way to the rest of their day at their site,” Drucvk said.

“We’re not asking them to commit for like three months at a time, it’s really these little one-to six-hour chunks at a time.

CUSD is currently holding informational sessions to let staff know about the program. It will begin taking applications this month from internal candidates only.

ly unique and they give them life skills, they give them exposure to our industry in a special way, and I really hope to see them go far in the industry,” Brooks said.

Chad Faria, culinary teacher at Casteel

Officials expect to choose the candidates by summer since classes will begin on July 5. The average salary for a CUSD teacher is $63,447.

The U.S. Department of Education released a report in August that detailed schools have about three unfilled teaching position on average. That’s means 200,000 classrooms nationwide have uncertified teachers. Arizona lawmakers decided to allow students who are currently seeking a bachelor’s degree to get training in the classroom in last year’s session.

Last year, lawmakers changed the law again to try and deal with the shortage. Starting this school year, people no longer must have a college degree to be a teacher.

The new law allows anyone who is enrolled in college, and working to become a teacher, to gain classroom experience by doing some teaching in a

industry before he became a teacher 15 years ago and said the most important aspect of this event remains the financial aspect because cooking shows show you how to bake and baste, but don’t show the bottom line.

“This program teaches kids about money and that’s a whole different component that’s actually necessary,” Faria said. “So, the financial component of it is really key, not only the nutritional side, or the creativity, but the financial component.”

As a teacher, Faria said he enjoys the real-world applications this program helps his students learn “they can do something, and use the skills they learn in a classroom immediately.”

This event also gives his students perspective on the work that goes into the educational ecosystem beyond teachers – especially the food professionals who work hard to feed them every day.

High, has helped his students participate in the program for the past four years, but the pandemic nixed one of those years.

Faria spent 12 years in the restaurant

“So, it really allows them to see how hard they work and it gives them a little more respect of what other people do in the school structure that is outside of the realm of just teachers,” Faria said.

“Even with all these cuts and every-

Queen Creek High School culinary arts student Madison Newman, a junior, listens to instructions as she prepares a dish. (David Minton/Tribune Photographer)

LUNCH

FLINN from page 5

and private high schools, and include one home-schooled student.

Arizona College Prep High School in Chandler, Hamilton High School in Chandler, and University High School in

monitored capacity.

CUSD spokeswoman Stephanie Ingersoll said the district has not hired anyone as a teacher who does not have a college degree. She also said all the participants in the Chandler RISE program will have college degrees.

Druck said the initial RISE class will be limited in size and that eventually up to 25 teachers in residence will be in the program.

For now, officials will only consider applicants who are already working in the district, though Druck said that may

LUNCH from page 10

thing, they’re making do with what they have, and the kids don’t notice it,” Faria said. “I find that really impressive that they’re still making it happen.”

Angela Stutz, who has spent 15 years as the culinary arts instructor at Perry High, said this program helps students understand all that goes into their school lunch and gets them feedback from adults outside of school.

“I think just all around, them being able to not only work with these amazing Blue Watermelon chefs but getting out and showing the community what they created gives them empowerment.”

“Not everyone goes to college,” Stutz said. “And by having Career and Technical Education classes in our schools, it is making a pathway for students to do other things.”

Before she became a teacher, Chef Priscilla Ortiz spent 10 years at the Flying Fish restaurant at Disney’s Board-

Tucson each have four semifinalists. Basha High School in Chandler and BASIS Tucson North were next with three students apiece.

Seven Arizona counties are represented: Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma,” Flinn said. 

be expandedt to include external candidates in the future.

The biggest need for people to fill positions, Druck said, is in special education.

“Some of our paraprofessionals that provide support in the classroom, maybe they have an undergraduate degree in another area, like psychology or something,” she said.

“But now that they’ve been working in the classroom, and they have found this kind of passion for education, they’ve decided they want their teacher certification. … At the end of that two years, they’ll be able to be fully certified in Arizona.” 

walk Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Now, Ortiz teaches at Chandler High School and said in a school cafeteria, flavor can sometimes go on the backburner to the nutritional rules that schools have to follow.

Programs like Blue Watermelon can help reinvigorate a school’s flavor palette, she said, adding:

“Having a chef paired with it, their possibilities can be immense with the same ingredients that they have just used differently.” Besides understanding the different positions in the culinary industry, Ortiz said she wants her students to walk away knowing something as simple as flavor can make a huge difference in their lunch experience and that of others too.

“I feel like that’s going to be even more rewarding to our students to understand how great that is,” Ortiz said. “That not only are they making a meal for someone, they’re making them happy.” 

CUSD from page 10

Reasons for seller optimism in the housing market

BY MELANIE NEMETZ Tribune Columnist

Real estate, at times, can feel like riding a rollercoaster. It runs at all different speeds, there are twists and turns. While we can all picture it, the reality is, that can take a buyer and seller on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

We felt every high and low, twist and turn, in 2022. Now that we have officially entered 2023, I think we can all agree that we are ready for a less eventful ride this year.

November and December brought a sigh of relief to sellers as new inventory decreased and buyer demand increased.

The dip in interest rates helped move buyers off the fence and into homes they wanted to tour and actually buy. Showings picked up and pleased sellers.

Buyers took full advantage of the rate drop and decided they wanted to enter the market. Many buyers have been observing and wondering what will happen. Will the market crash? Will rates go up again? These thoughts can cause fear, which can lead to paralysis. Sellers get frustrated with having showings and no offers.

Seasonally, our inventory typically slows down during the fourth quarter and over the holidays. We haven’t had a normal market for a couple years so we

see NEMETZ page 13

This 4,111-square-foot house on E. Sonoqui Circle in Queen Creek recently sold for $1.4 million. Boasting five bedrooms and three bathrooms, the custom-built home in the Circle G subdivision has a chef’s kitchen with stainless steel appliances and numerous other amenities. (Special to the Tribune)

had to wait and see what would happen.

Between the dip in interest rates and less inventory, our real estate market enjoyed a well-earned breath of fresh air.

We entered the fourth quarter with close to 20,000 active listings for the greater Phoenix area. We are currently just below 17,000. Queen Creek has just over 500. Mid-November Queen Creek had 593 homes active on the market.

Queen Creek has strong activity in the new homes. Builders are eager to move products that are close to completion. A completed home will have the heaviest discount available.

Many buyers looking at resale homes will also look at new homes if the time frames are close enough together. Right now, builders have products that can directly compete with resale homes and the builders definitely have the edge on the market.

Sellers have a tough time competing with new homes. Not only does a brandnew home with a warranty sound better to a buyer, if it’s close to the same price, and offered heavy discounts, the buyers will choose the new homes. Truthfully, it makes sense.

Will this welcomed reprieve last? Time will tell. So far, the listing count has been

holding steady under 17,000. The answer will depend on multiple factors.

One, interest rates. If they go up it will impact affordability for buyers and possibly move them back to the fence. Two, seasonality. Our strong season locally is the spring. This is a time when we see a rise in listing inventory.

The most active months typically are between March and June. Three, employment. Keeping people employed and compensated is a vital part of qualifying for a home. Four, home prices.

If rates go up, prices would likely need to come down in order for buyers to be able to afford to buy a home. According to Tina Tamboer of the Cromford Report, it would take much less time for rates to drop than for prices to correct.

Arizona always offers sunshine. Employment opportunities continue to come to our great state and that brings people moving here.

We enter 2023 optimistic which is a fantastic feeling after just stepping off of a crazy rollercoaster ride.

Melanie Nemetz, the owner and founder of The Melanie Nemetz Team with Keller Williams Integrity First can be reached at (480} 221-3034, melanie@fosteringre.com or fosteringre. com

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

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QC firefighters learn to help the helpless

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Firefighters and first responders are used to being in control

But what happens when even they do not know the best way to handle a crisis, or when the people they are trying to help cannot explain what is wrong?

Queen Creek firefighters recently trained to deal with people just like that – those who suffer from dementia.

“It’s not easy to rattle a firefighter,” said Lin Sue Flood, director of community engagement for Hospice of the Valley, who trained Queen Creek Fire and Medical personnel on the best way to approach and treat people afflicted by the disease.

Firefighters and other first responders gathered for what amounted to eight minutes of chaos, confusion, and, ultimately, education and understanding as they went through an exercise that simulated some of the daily challenges confronting people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related mental decline.

“There was a lot going on and it was hard to focus on the task that was given,” said participating firefighter Peter Minder.

Trainees wore goggles with coated lenses that simulate cataracts and central vision loss, gloves to mimic arthritis, neuropathy or sensory sensitivity, and headphones that blare loud and confusing noises.

They were given vague instructions to button a shirt, sort coins, write their names and put a belt on a pair of trousers, a debilitating combination of physical and mental challenges that is baffling and all too common for people suffering from age-related mental and physical decline.

Captain Jason Mertlich had a hard

time understanding the instructions but focused as best he could, knowing this was just an exercise.

“This was a task I was doing for a short period of time, but if this was something that was going to last, it would be very stressful,” Mertlich said.

For 150,000 Arizona residents who currently live with Alzheimer’s, it will not ever be over, and will continue to progress as brain health deteriorates, making even the simplest tasks unmanageable, frustrating, and ultimately too much to accomplish.

“When dementia is attacking the brain, people start to lose the ability to sequence those tasks,” said Hospice of the Valley dementia educator Helena Morgan. “They start to lose the ability to initiate the tasks, or follow through with a task in its entirety.”

People with dementia also become easily and often irrationally confused, frightened or angry, even physically

aggressive in stressful situations.

All that is critically important for first responders to understand because they need to act differently in these types of situations.

“Short-term memory isn’t there, so people with dementia may forget you are standing behind them,” said Kobie Chapman, Morgan’s colleague and fellow dementia educator with Hospice of the Valley.

“If you startle them by approaching from behind, you could create an unsafe situation with someone who is already combative or agitated. You could get punched,” Chapman said.

For first responders walking into crisis situations where emotions are high, it is critical they recognize when someone has dementia and is acting or communicating differently.

This type of education has historically been lacking in most public safety agencies.

“Sometimes when you go on calls, it’s hard because we’re not understanding what’s going on with people who have dementia,” said Fire Engineer Katie Athey. “So, this helps us get a better understanding.”

“I definitely will relate to dementia patients better after being in their situation, in a sense,” Minder said.

Fellow firefighter Jason Pridie was not sure what to expect when he signed up for the training, but said it will make him more empathetic going forward.

“To have that little bit of understanding of what they might be feeling will help me take it slow, show a little more patience and approach things differently,” he said.

“Dementia is growing very rapidly,” Morgan said, adding Arizona has one of the highest growth rates of the disease in the country due to its large senior population.

“You are going to have an interaction with somebody that is living with dementia at some point in your life,” Morgan said. “Whether it is work related or family related.”

More than seven million people in the United States have some form of dementia. As Queen Creek grows, training like this will continue to be important as age related mental decline continues to emerge as a critical issue.

“With more multi-generational families moving into Queen Creek our firefighters are responding to more calls for help that involve those living with some type of dementia,” said Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department Chief Vance Gray.

“This training really allows them to understand the challenges the patient might be facing, and gives them a better understanding of how to help address some of those challenges so we can get them the best care possible.”

Fire engineer Ky Flagg and firefighter Justin Casillas of Queen Creek Fire and Medical wear goggles to simulate central vision loss and gloves simulating arthritis as they train to deal with elderly people suffering dementia. (Courtesy Queen Creek Fire and Medical)

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Long stretches apart led couple to start their own company

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

Former Chandler residents Devin and Ronda Lish said they never set out to run their own business.

“It was actually just by accident, really,” Devin said.

The Queen Creek couple own D&R Design, a remodeling and design company based in Chandler.

Devin and Ronda, both of whom were working in construction, met in Colorado in 2013. They moved to Chandler in 2015 and Devin was looking for work. Arizona is Ronda’s home state. A former co-worker of Devin’s in Colorado wanted him to sign on with his company, which was based in Birmingham, Alabama.

For two years Devin traveled back and forth to Alabama, and then would be away for months on work assignments.

“It was awful,” Ronda said. “Especially when we made that move to come back to move to Arizona. Instantly he started traveling.”

Devin was helping build new power plants and his final assignment for that company took him to Virginia for six months. After that, they decided he needed to find a new job.

“Family is just more important to me than traveling all the time,” Devin said. “I traveled a lot a lot throughout my career, and I missed a lot. And so there are some regrets there. So, when the time was right it was not a hard decision to make.”

While Devin was looking for work he did a remodeling project inside their Chandler home, putting in some barn

doors. They were a hit with friends and family. Soon, others were asking if he could help them put in barn doors.

“Friends and family didn’t know he had this talent,” Ronda said. “And it just kind of snowballed and continued on to more furniture. And it’s just snowballed to where we are today. We just said never said nope.”

They started D&R Design in 2017 and say business has been great. Demand is so high they have a three-to-six month wait between accepting a new project and the work beginning.

Devin is the construction specialist and Ronda handles the design. She said that mix sets them apart from competitors, because clients can get both the design and remodeling done

by one company instead of having to hire two companies for the same work.

“We kind of have combined all that in one and it’s a one-stop shop for clients,” Ronda said. “Devin and I work so close together and I know his capabilities, I can literally give him a photo [and he can build it].”

Most of their remodeling work is doing kitchens, bathrooms and media walls. The couple said they came through the pandemic really well, but did notice an uptick in requests for home offices during that time.

To deal with the pandemic, they gave their clients the option of backing out of any contracts. No one did. Their workers would arrive and often do their job, and leave without ever

seeing the client. They would remain in the back of the house so everyone kept apart.

They said so far, they have not felt the effects of the recent housing market boom and bust cycle. Inflation and high interest rates have cooled what was once the hottest real estate market in the nation.

“I’m wondering how many people maybe pulled money out of their house before interest rates went up?” Devin said. “And they just decided to hang on to it? We do still have people reaching out for larger-dollar projects.”

Ronda said they can handle any kind of project inside the home. For now, they are maintaining a studio and workshop in Chandler.

They moved to Queen Creek within the past year because of the high cost of housing in Chandler and the ability to get more house for less money farther east. They said if they decided to move their business, it will probably come in the next year or so.

The important thing for these accidental business people is that they are getting to spend more time together.

“Starting up a power plant, it takes a lot of time,” Devin said. “So it was hard for me to get away. But, I had enough.” 

D&R Design 3400 N. Arizona Ave., Suite 109, Chandler dandrdesignaz.com

Queen Creek residents Devin and Ronda Lish run a Chandler-based remodeling and design company called D&R Design. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

20260

ALA Queen Creek’s appeal to 5A denied by AIA

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

The Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board on Tuesday, Jan. 17, voted to deny American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek’s appeal to move its football program down to 5A from the 6A Conference.

The decision by the AIA stems from the Patriots’ move up from the 5A Conference after only a year playing at that level. The move was made as part of a yearly reclassification process for football in an effort to even the playing field.

But ALA, with a 4A enrollment and not classified as a “destination” school compared to others in the area, feels having only a year to establish itself at the 5A level isn’t enough time.

“I think one year in a conference doesn’t really tell you how you’re going to be in that conference over a period of time,” ALA coach Ty Detmer said. “As I told them, it’s kind of the spirit of the law and rule of the law. The spirit of the law was to keep teams from dominating over a period of time.

“We haven’t had that period of time in 5A.”

Detmer spoke to the board Tuesday during the appeal hearing at the AIA offices in Phoenix. Much of his message centered around enrollment and the lack of incoming transfers to the program on a yearly basis.

ALA has quickly risen to become one of the powers of the East Valley. The Patriots won their first championship at the 3A level in 2016, just three seasons into having a varsity football program. They won again in 2019, which prompted their first jump up in conference lev-

els to 4A.

They remained in 4A for two seasons beginning in 2020. The first year, dubbed the “COVID year,” ALA made a run to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Mesquite. In 2021, the Patriots reloaded and broke into the Open Division where they fell to Hamilton in the first round.

The success at the 4A level pushed ALA up yet again, this time to 5A, for the 2022 season. ALA went 9-2 on the year with its only losses against Queen Creek in the regular season and eventual Open Division state champion Basha in the first round of the tournament. Both Basha and Queen Creek are 6A football programs and the only teams at that level the Patriots faced all season.

“I think we showed last year we could play with anyone for one game,” Detmer

said, alluding to the loss in the Open Division to Basha. “Now to have to do that over a 10-game season is a different story when you’re a smaller school and you don’t have the depth of other schools with 3 or 4,000 kids.”

ALA’s presence in the Open Division the last two seasons played a role in the AIA’s decision to initially move the program up and keep it there despite the appeal.

Detmer said he was also questioned about the team’s lower-level programs. Both freshman and the junior varsity teams went undefeated this past season. But Detmer doesn’t believe that should be a deciding factor when taking into account the development of some players.

ALA will graduate most of its starters on offense and defense, including running back and linebacker Mitch Jensen,

wideout and cornerback Ryan Meza and quarterback Drew Cowart, along with several others. Detmer said the team is facing yet another rebuild.

“We had a great two-year run with this group of seniors,” Detmer said. “Now we’ve kinda got to start over again … We’ve got good players in the system but are we going to be deep enough to play 6A? That’s where the difference comes into effect when you move schools up with a lower enrollment.

“I just wish there was more of a human element that looks at the past and what the future will look like.”

Along with ALA, Benjamin Franklin in Queen Creek and Seton Catholic in Chandler also had its appeals heard by the AIA. Benjamin Franklin, which went 1-9 last season and is in search of a new head football coach, was approved by the Executive Board to move down from the 4A to 3A level.

Seton Catholic, which went 2-8 last season and fields a roster with limited numbers, also appealed to move down from 4A to 3A. It was denied.

ALA – Gilbert North (4A to 5A), Dobson (6A to 5A), Eastmark (3A to 4A), Mesquite (5A to 4A) and Gilbert Christian (2A to 3A), who all changed conferences with the latest realignment back in December, did not submit appeals to the AIA.

Detmer said, overall, he wasn’t too surprised by the AIA’s decision to deny his team’s appeal. He figured the board would stick to its algorithm. So, instead of sulking, he said it’s time for his team to begin preparing for the new season and a new challenge.

“It’s time to go to work,” Detmer said. “Now that it’s kinda done and we’re there, we’re excited about it. We’re excited to see where we go from here.” 

American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek football’s appeal to move down from 6A to 5A Tuesday, Jan. 17 was denied by the Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

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Western Week galloping back to Scottsdale

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GetOut Staff Writer

Western Week returns to Scottsdale beginning Saturday, Jan. 28, bringing a broad range of classic events that pay homage to the history of the “West’s Most Western Town.”

This year brings plenty of promise as two keystone events will be celebrating big anniversaries.

The Hash Knife Pony Express will make its 65th annual pilgrimage from Holbrook to Scottsdale to deliver the mail via pony express and the Parada Del Sol will march for the 69th consecutive year.

The parade follows a route from Drinkwater Boulevard along Scottsdale Road, finishing at Brown Avenue and Indian School Road.

Immediately following the parade, Old Town transforms into a massive Western-style block party with a kids’ zone, food trucks, merchandise vendors and multiple stages with live entertainment from today’s popular bands to traditional performers.

This year’s theme – Cowboy Kickoff –recognizes Super Bowl LVII the following weekend. Guests can expect a fun melding for both modern-day cowpokes and football fans.

All the events will be restriction-free for the first time in three years.

“Last year, I was pleasantly surprised with the number of people we attracted for both Hash Knife Pony Express and the Parada Del Sol,” said city Tourism and Events Director Karen Churchard.

“You could tell that even last year, people were excited to be out again. I think this year we’re anticipating record attendance at a lot of our upcoming events.”

Western Week kicks off on Saturday, Jan. 28, with casual events like the OldTown Farmers Market and specialized Puzzle Rides.

However, the events pick up steam as

February unfolds.

One event Churchard expects staggering attendance at is the Arizona Indian Festival Feb. 4-5.

“One of the biggest things that we’re

excited about is having the Arizona Indian Festival back in the Civic Center where it debuted as an annual event seven years ago and will be one of the first free events in the newly opened Civic

Center,” Churchard said.

However, the cornerstones of Western Week are still the arrival of the Hash Knife Pony Express and the Parada Del Sol that follows a day later.

Because of this, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West offers a unique conversation with Hash Knife Pony Express Captain Mark Reynolds –which Scholefield says has been a popular attraction during Western Week.

“Last year, we formally scheduled Mark to formally speak at the museum and despite the suggested guidelines we had in place to keep everyone six feet apart, we had a standing-room-only crowd in our theater,” said museum spokesman David Scholefield. “Although we advised people to be concerned about COVID, they persisted because they thought ‘this is so interesting.’”

This year, Reynolds will speak at the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Theater/Auditorium at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West at 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 3 and Feb 4. The free talks are part of the museum’s free admission days Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.

Reynolds will not be the only voice delivering an informative talk at the Museum of the West. Scottsdale historian Joan Fudala will discuss the past six decades of the Parada Del Sol Feb. 2.

Western Week will also benefit from the coming uptick of tourism brought on by the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium Feb. 12.

Because of this, Churchard teased that there could be some cross-partnership between the Super Bowl and Western Week.

“We’re working with the Arizona Super Bowl host committee about having some components to recognize and celebrate when the Super Bowl comes into town the following weekend,” Churchard said.

One of the top attractions of Western Week remains the Parada Del Sol. (Facebook

Western Week returns beginning Saturday, January 28 bringing western flare back to the west’s most western town. (Facebook)

Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market

Saturday, Jan. 29, & Feb. 4 | 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Brown Avenue & 1st Street

Offers indigenous specialties of the West, flowers, free-range beef, eggs, local cheeses, freshly baked artisan breads, jams and more from local purveyors.

Western Spirit Gold Palette ArtWalk

Feb. 2 | 6:30-9 p.m.

Scottsdale Arts District

Guests can stroll the streets of the Scottsdale Arts District and take in authentic Western entertain ment as well as exclusive West ern-themed exhibitions at partic ipating galleries.

Marching through Six Decades of Parada Del Sol

Feb. 2 | 6-7 p.m.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West 3830 N Marshall Way

Scottsdale’s Community Historian Joan Fudala leads this special photo-rich presentation on the Parada from its origins to date. Held in the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Theater, the event does not require registration but attendance is limited.

65th

Western Week highlights

Museum of the West

Attendees are invited to “saddle up” for this one-of-a-kind experience in celebration of the arrival of the Hashknife Pony Express, the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the world, which delivers more than 20,000 pieces of U.S. Mail to the steps of Scottsdale’s Museum of the West.

The event begins with live music, bands, line dancers, Native American hoop dancers and royalty, kids’ activities and food trucks. Riders arrive at noon. Event is free, as is admission to the museum all day.

History and Stories of the Hashknife Pony Express

Feb. 3 | 9:45 and 10:45 a.m. and Feb. 4 | 9:45 and 10:45 a.m.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West

Annual Hashknife Pony Express Arrival

Feb. 3 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s

In addition to free admission to the museum, Western Spirit hosts multiple History and “Stories of the Hashknife Pony Express” educational seminars in the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Theater/Auditorium.

69th Annual Scottsdale

Parada del Sol Historic Parade and Trail’s End Festival

Feb. 4 | 10 a.m.-noon (parade), noon-4 p.m. (festival)

Old Town Scottsdale – Scottsdale Road

Presented by Oliver Smith Jeweler, the 69th Annual Scottsdale Parada Del Sol Parade and Trail’s End Festival celebrates the city’s Wild West roots beginning with a family-friendly parade featuring more than 125 entries such as vibrant floats, mounted horse-riders, horse-drawn carriages, school marching bands, wagons and stagecoaches representing multiple cultures from Mexican and Native American to Arabian and Western.

Arizona Indian Festival

Feb. 4 | 9 a.m.-4 p.m.| Feb. 5 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Scottsdale Civic Center

The Arizona American Indian Tourism Association (AAITA), in partnership with Arizona’s Native American tribes, hosts this annual event that offers guests the unique opportunity to learn more about

the state’s Native American Indian tribes by exploring examples of traditional Indian villages and dwellings, experiencing traditional arts and crafts demonstrations and enjoying native food vendors and native mainstage entertainment such as dancing and singing.

The Tribal Travel and Tourism offices will showcase native destinations.

The city of Scottsdale’s rich history dates back more than 130 years to the original farming and ranching operations that earned it the title of “The West’s Most Western Town.” Today, Old Town is a bustling and sophisticated area with dozens of local boutiques, art galleries, fine dining establishments, wineries and craft breweries.

However, the city works hard to maintain its “Wild West” charm and keep its heritage alive through events such as Western Week.

More information: scottsdalewesternweek.com. 

For grilled cheese lovers, this sandwich takes your craving to a whole new level. So, say “cheese, please!” the ultimate way.

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Columnist

Ultimate grilled cheese packs a punch of flavor

This grilled cheese sandwich version is loaded with all the things that go best with cheddar – like apples and bacon. A good grilled cheese sandwich never goes out of style. Kids love them, adults love them, and they’ve proven to be one of the most popular food truck favorites across the country.

But we must tackle a controversy while building this big boy. That is, do you spread butter or mayonnaise on the outside of the bread? I say butter on the inside and mayo on the outside.

I’ve actually switched my loyalty from butter to mayo for the outside of the sandwich because mayonnaise produces the most beautiful evenly cooked crust! For this ultimate grilled cheese, I’ve

Ingredients:

• 12 slices thick-cut bacon

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 4 crisp apples, cut in ¼ inch slices (I used Honey Crisp)

• ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the bacon on a baking rack set over a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Cook bacon half way. Then brush maple syrup on both sides of bacon and cook until crispy and caramelized, continuing to brush with maple syrup periodically. Set aside. Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter. Over medium high heat, cook sliced apples until softened and slightly grilled on each side. Set aside.

Lay 12 slices of bread on a board and spread each one with mayonnaise. Flip the slices and

used aged cheddar and gruyere. Use any cheese combination you like.

I’ve also brushed maple syrup over the bacon during the cooking process. The sweet and salty add so much to the cheese sandwich! Finally, grilled apple slices bring all the flavors home. The combination of all of these ingredients really makes this sandwich memorable. So now you have the grown-up version and a real tasty ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.

plus 2 tablespoons

• 1 cup mayonnaise (I used Best Foods)

• 12 slices white bread

• 8 ounces gruyere or cheese of your choice

• 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, shredded

spread each one with butter. Sprinkle equal amounts of shredded cheddar to all 12 slices (buttered side). Add a layer of apple slices, 2 pieces of bacon and Gruyere cheese to 6 of the slices of bread. Close sandwich, making sure mayonnaise is on the outside. Press down gently. Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet (or Panini press).To the skillet add remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Grill sandwiches on both sides until rich golden brown. Allow to cool for about a minute before slicing in half. Serve with chips or tomato soup (and a dill pickle!)

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