QUEEN CREEK TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 20, 2022

QCUSD scrambles for cash after bond sinks

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Queen Creek Unified Superintendent Dr. Perry Berry vowed last week to contin ue serving the needs of students in the booming district despite the resounding 55%45% defeat of a $198-million bond for the sec ond year in a row.

“With or without that bond we are going to continue to offer high quality education for

our students and I just want everybody to know that,” Berry said at the Nov. 16 meeting.

“We have the fastest growing district in the state of Arizona because people know we have high quality things for our students. That is not going to change. I am very proud of that. And I just want everyone to know that is going to continue,” he said.

This year’s bond measure was leaner than the $265 million bond measure voters defeat ed last year in an all-mail election.

It would have funded “construction of new schools, expansions of existing ones, upgrades to facilities, security features, new buses, and other improvements to address the rapid growth of Queen Creek’s population.

Berry said despite the latest defeat, there were some civic engagement positives that surfaced in a town with one of the lowest vot er registration tallies in Arizona.

QC officer aims to engage with the public

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Megan Erwin wanted to be a police officer since she was a teenager in Tempe. “My high school had a career day and one of the Tempe homicide detectives showed up and I went in there and lis tened to him and it just hooked me,” Erwin said. “From that point forward, I knew what I wanted to do. It was very intriguing to me.”

She signed on with Tempe Police and became a sworn officer at age 21.

“I always knew that I wanted to do something in the public service type field, helping people,” she said.

Fast forward a few decades, and now Sgt. Megan Erwin is the new communi ty engagement Officer for Queen Creek

Police, in charge of interacting with the public and de-stigmatizing the presence of police in town, at schools and at local businesses.

Her job, in effect, is to change what she said has become a negative per ception of the police.

“The media has put such a negative spin on policing,” Erwin said. “A lot of times people look at when they see the police somewhere and it’s like ‘oh they are there for a bad thing.’ And that’s re

Queen Creek Police Officer Megan Erwin wants to engage with residents, school students, business owners and just about anyone else in town to erase what she believes is a frequent negative image of law enforcement. (Special to the Tribune)

Inflation an unwanted guest at holiday table

The high cost of Thanksgiving

Item This year Last year

Self-basting 16 lb. turkey $32.02 $19.40

14-ounce stuffing mix $3.93 $2.78

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

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

3 lb. fresh sweet potatoes $5.09 $4.26

Brown & serve rolls (12) $4.28 $3.14

Frozen peas (16 oz.) $2.27 $1.67

1 lb mixed celery & carrots $0.83 $0.70

1 gallon whole milk $3.34 $2.49

Fresh cranberries (12 oz.) $3.01 $2.54

Half pint whipping cream $2.79 $1.87

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4 Liv Generations facilities sold for $255M

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

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

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

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

active 55+ adults,” he said in a prepared statement after this newspaper inquired about the deal.

“As for our LivGenerations portfolio, we are excited about Clearwater Living taking over as stewards for those outstanding communities and residents,” Brooks con tinued. “We believe Clearwater holds the same commitment to creating a vibrant and high-quality place to live and work and will help those communities flourish for years to come.”

The four properties have been rebrand ed as Clearwater facilities.

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

its senior communities – which offer a range of living options from indepen dent to assisted living to memory care – would be better served if they were un der the umbrella of a larger provider that had more negotiating power for supplies and services.

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

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

Clearwater Senior Living offers the same senior living options, including short-term stays, and has six complexes in California and one in Nevada in addition to its newly acquired Valley sites, according to the com pany’s website. It also is in the process of building a seventh facility in California.

Distribution Manager: Brian Juhl | brian@timeslocalmedia.com The content of any advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Queen Creek Tribune assumes no responsibility for the claims of any advertisement. © 2022 Strickbine Publishing, Inc.

Scott Brooks, CEO of Liv Communities, said his company “continues to advance its mission of helping people live fuller lives by providing hospitality-focused res idential communities for people of vary ing ages and stages of life.

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

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“As we exit the traditional senior living space, in addition to continuing to grow our conventional Liv multifamily portfolio of communities, we are enthusiastic about exploring a new offering, Liv+, focused on

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

• A single building with 110 units built four years ago on four acres at Scotts dale and Pinnacle Peak roads.

A source said Liv Communities felt that

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

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

Know anything interesting going on in Queen Creek?

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

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Ferguson opens giant automated warehouse for the East Valley

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

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

The facility is one of the ways the compa ny with 37,000 suppliers hopes to improve supply-chain slowdowns that have plagued companies since the pandemic began.

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

The Chandler center adds 75 new jobs to the area and employs approximately 200 associates. The 365,000-square-foot facility distributes residential plumbing, lighting and appliances, commercial and industrial products to all of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

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

Chandler was the choice for the Phoe

nix market.

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

A market distribution center includes both a retail store for consumers and a giant warehouse for contractors. The goal is to have whatever part anyone is looking for available for quick delivery.

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

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

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

Student Choice. Student Voice.

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

QC names Doug Gardner new town manager

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Queen Creek has named a new town manager to replace John Kross, who will depart the position after nearly 28 years with town government on Jan. 20.

Town Council unanimously approved the appointment of Assistant Town Man ager Doug Gardner, who has worked in Queen Creek government since 2007.

He held roles as human resources direc tor and workforce and information tech nology director. The town will conduct a nationwide search to find Gardner’s re placement as assistant town manager ear ly next year.

“I am honored to be appointed by the Town Council as the next Town Manager for Queen Creek,” Gardner said in a press release.

“I am humbled and look forward to serv ing the Town Council, community partners

SCHOOLS from page 1

“We saw higher voter participation, more informed voters in this election. A lot of positives came from this,” Berry said.

According to the Maricopa County Re corder, 32,691 voters cast ballots and turnout was 69.8%.

Amber Stouard, chief operating officer for Queen Creek schools, echoed Berry in thanking supporters of the bond measure. But she will now be faced with leading the effort to find alternative methods to pay for the district’s double-digit stu dent growth.

And, she said, the funding need is pressing.

“Previous voter approved bonds have been expended to build new schools, com plete renovation, and provide technology to students,” Stouard said.

“Projections show that we will be a dis trict with 18,000 to 20,000 students with in the next several years, which requires us to find ways to accommodate student growth that is already here, along with future families that choose Queen Creek Unified.”

One of those funding sources could be the state, although local voters defeating a bond measure does not bode well for state support, according to Brague.

Queen Creek has built a new school in each of last five years and there are

and the employees in order to continue the incredible momentum of making Queen Creek the best place to live, work, and play for our residents and businesses.”

Gardner has been employed in the pub lic sector for 28 years.

Prior to coming to work in Queen Creek, Gardner worked for the City of Tempe as

more planned on the horizon. The board has asked to the State Facilities Over sight Board, which makes decisions on school funding, to help it pay for upcom ing projects.

It wants state help to help build two new K-6 schools, ready for students in 2027 and 2028.

Queen Creek is asking for nearly $40-million, which it would have com bined with local money had the bond passed. Now, Stouard is appealing for pa tience as the district looks for additional sources of the funding.

“We ask that families stick with us as we navigate other alternatives to providing student space as we continue to be the fastest growing district in the state of Ari zona,” Stouard said.

Board member-elect James Knox, who opposed the bond, said he will bring some fresh ideas to the table rather than just continuing to ask voters to approve a bond every time the district needs money.

“We have not shown QCUSD has been good stewards of the public funds. Bonds are used as an easy solution instead of do ing the hard work, prioritizing funds, and planning for the future,” Knox said prior to his election that unseated longtime board member Ken Brague.

Post-election, Knox doubled down on his anti-bond stance, and said that he

the human resources administrator.

He points to watching Kross do his job for 15 years as perfect on-the-job training to take on the position.

“Luckily I have had the opportunity the last 15 years to work for an excellent men tor in current Town Manager John Kross, whose leadership I have not only greatly admired, but hope to also replicate for a seamless transition for the organization,” Gardner said.

His work did not go unnoticed by Kross.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Bruce for over 15 years, with the last seven as my assistant town manager,” Kross said.

“Bruce has an excellent rapport with our employees, the community foundations, and understands the dynamics of the po sition including the traditions of our orga nizational culture.

I look forward to watching him work with the council and our executive team to take the town to its next steps of growth

would “roll up his sleeves,” and look for alternative solutions to funding

“Hey, I’d love to build a new school in the sense of brick and mortar but we’ve gone to the taxpayers multiple times and asked for money and they keep saying ‘no,’ Knox told the Tribune shortly after the election.

“So do we keep doing the same thing expecting a different outcome, kinda the definition of insanity?” Or do we sit here and say ‘let’s work to make this work with what we have’ and that means taking a dif ferent approach,” he said.

The board budgeted $5.5 million to pay for portable student classrooms in the event that the bond failed, and did not waste much time to get the ball rolling on getting those structures in place.

Last week it awarded the construction contract for the portable classrooms to Chasse Building Team, with the first of those modular structures to be onsite be fore the 2023-24 school year.

“The scope of the project includes por table classrooms at Silver Valley, Faith Ma ther Sossaman and Schnepf Elementary schools with additional portables held for consideration for Eastmark High school pending enrolment,” said district Chief Fi nancial Officer Jennifer Johnston.

The board had hoped not to resort to modular classrooms and pointed out that had the bond passed, they would not be in

and development.”

As assistant town manager, Gardner has provided leadership for a variety of departments, long-term planning for the organization, policy development and re gional coordination.

“Bruce has been instrumental in many of the strategic initiatives the Town has been working towards,” Vice Mayor Jeff Brown said. “He has demonstrated strong leadership, a commitment to the commu nity and a wealth of knowledge.

“Additionally, Bruce will provide conti nuity and consistency, which are both key as the town continues making progress to ward key efforts like water diversification, enhanced public safety, more roadway connectivity and expansion of the Town’s employment base,” Brown said.

In early 2023, Council will contract with a temporary assistant town manager to assist with the transition while it searches for a permanent one. 

the picture.

Knox is perfectly comfortable with the idea.

“I think we need to put our egos aside,” Knox said. “I say that because I hear a lot of people bashing the fact that ‘modulars are tacky. We’re above that.’

“Those are words that I have heard some people on the board use. And we need to put our egos aside and get the space re quired and needed by our students first.”

At last week’s meeting, the board also approved a $2.6-million capital expendi ture for 14 new school buses, which will start arriving next school year.

“Without these buses, we are going to really struggle to transport students to and from school,” Johnston said.

“Are we building a two-lane road when we need a four-lane road?” asked Brague, wondering whether that would be enough buses to handle the growth. “Or is this go ing to get us what we need?”

“Based on the projection in ridership, this is going to get us through next year,” Johnston replied.

Struggling to find enough drivers for the buses, the board recently approved an incentive plan to hire and retain drivers, offering signing bonuses, referral fees and educational expenses for new drivers and offering to pay for Commercial Driver’s Li cense training. 

DOUG GARDNER

approved and built.

To improve efficiency, Ferguson is re lying on robots to hunt down whatever customers need. The company dedicates a three-story area of the warehouse to a team of robots that scuttle about a honey comb like structure.

Whenever a box is opened for a part, the unsold products are put into a crate. The computer knows and tracks the exact location of that crate. When another cus tomer wants the same part, the robot goes over to where it’s located and gets it.

What if the crate they need is at the very bottom of that three-story structure?

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

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

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

In addition to the automation technolo gy, the facilities were built with efficiency at the forefront. Ferguson uses a special

machine to make custom boxes based on the dimensions of each product to mini mize packaging waste.

Each building features LED motion detector lighting systems to conserve electricity.

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

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

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

You don’t have to be a contractor or company to shop in the Ferguson retail store. It’s set up just like a home supply business. You will pay retail prices, but if you’re looking for a specific, hard-to-find part, it may be your best bet.

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

But Allison Finerfrock, Ferguson gener al manager of southwest district, noted:

“Supplementing our workforce with the new technology allows distribution cen ters like ours to process more orders in a shorter amount of time. We are excited to better serve the contractor community with the products they need, when they need them.”

Ferguson

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

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

ENGAGEMENT from page 1

ally not the case. We want it to be normal to see the police.

“So, if you see a cop car at the school you don’t look at it as a bad thing. It could be that officer just going to do their visit at their school and engage with people. We want to be embedded in the community. That’s the way it should be. We want that positive relationship,” she said.

All officers are, in effect, part of the de partment’s community engagement ef fort, she said, because they represent the town, and want to be seen that way.

But most officers are limited by time, often busy responding from one call to an other and constantly on the move.

“Our patrol officers answer to the radio,” she said. “So they are really bound by calls for service where as we here in the unit have a little more freedom. We’re talking time that the patrol officers don’t really have, so we can take that on here.”

Time.

That will be Erwin’s biggest luxury.

Time to dig deeper into an ongoing problem and perhaps to find the underly ing issue.

Time to investigate something in town

that needs a more thorough look, maybe in the schools.

Time to address potential problem ar eas, such as a home or business that gets repeat calls that take officers away from

what could be more pressing matters, per haps even extending their response time to emergencies.

“If we see ongoing issues that are going on, we can step in. It really runs the gam ut on what that can look like. It could be a home that has a lot of foot traffic,” Erwin said. “We can look and see are there issues going on at that home. What does that look like?

“It could be a trend. Maybe we have a lot of vehicle break-ins going on in a specific community. Just things like that that we can come up with an action plan and ad dress it.”

Community engagement is a normal part of any department and Queen Creek Police, being less than a year old, is just getting its program off the ground.

Erwin said the department will be add ing two additional engagement officers “in the near future” and plans to be vis ible and active in the community even when there is not an emergency or an investigation.

They will be devoted to community en gagement, but as police officers, would multitask as needed.

“Patrol is the backbone of every depart ment so we need to make sure our staff ing and patrol is where it needs to be,” she said. “They will be in community outreach and will help support patrol, as well.”

Erwin said she will be proactive in the areas of education and community in volvement.

She has immediate plans for a citizen academy in which pretty much anyone can sign up to learn in-depth about the ins and outs of police work.

“They commit time and they come and we show them what policing looks like,” Erwin said. “We’ll have detectives there from investigations come and talk about what they do. Our K-9’s, what they do.

“So, the community really gets a great view of what we do and what our jobs entail. It’s all about building those rela tionships.”

She will initiate a cadet program for young people who, like Erwin was as a teen, are interested in exploring police work as a career opportunity.

“They get to see what we do. We work with them and train them. We show them a lot of the same training that we go through,” Erwin said. “They will actu ally do competitions. They will travel and compete against other cadet programs.”

Typically, the cadet program partici pants are between 15 and 21 years of age. Erwin said many use it as a stepping stone into the police academy if they decide that police work is for them and have role models who can show them the ropes.

“It is kind of a mentoring program, as well,” Erwin said.

Having been mentored herself by the Tempe Police Department from a young age and then becoming a veteran of that force, Erwin saw the move to Queen Creek as an opportunity to step into that role for others while, at the same time, expanding her career.

“It was time for a change. Tempe was all I knew. I grew up there so it was time for me to spread my wings and fly,” she laughed.

“How many times do you get the op portunity to build a brand-new police department? Why wouldn’t you want to come here?” 

Officer Megan Erwin also hopes to interest young people in a police career while giving them a clearer idea of what officers do. (Special to the Tribune)

Hotel plan for Power Road angers residents

BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer

Aproposed 122-room, extend ed-stay hotel on 2.5 vacant acres at the southwest corner of Pow er and Germann roads is raising nearby homeowners’ hackles.

The Gilbert Planning Commission this month reviewed and approved the design for the four-story Woodspring Suites Ho tel, with nearly 300 locations around the country. The commission also acts as a De sign Review Board.

“This hotel becomes a destination for the neighborhood where people would come and stay if they were doing business in the neighborhood or they had friends living there and they didn’t have room for them,” explained Eric Gerster of Sustain ability Engineering Group.

The residents, most of them from the Power Ranch community south of the pro posed site, didn’t buy the pitch.

“It’s just in an area that seems really out of place for a hotel,” said resident Matthew Webster. “Kind of seems sneaky in the sense

why here and to say that ‘oh, it’s for visiting families?’ Really? Like that’s your only grab?

It just seems like it’s going to be in the pro

cess of having long term, maybe illegals.”

He said the developer can easily find a better place to put the project rather

than in a residential area where the tall est buildings are two-story apartments southwest of the site.

Brian Litherland, who lives in Power Ranch, said he recently retired after 29 years with Phoenix Police and the hotel is an extended-stay establishment that would “attract drug dealing, prostitution, human trafficking.”

He said that throughout his career he worked closely with a number of extended stay establishments and as an undercov er cop “observed first-hand the amount of drug activity, prostitution and other crimes these establishments bring.

“They always had the most complaints and calls for services,” he said. “Over the years we were able to close some of these extended stays by showing they were criminal nuisances through prostitution stings, undercover drug deals and confi dential informants and eventually numer ous warrants.”

He said such establishments don’t be long in an area that is primarily residential

The hotel would be located on the southwest corner of Power and Germann roads in Gilbert. (Town of Gilbert)

Labor-starved building industry seeks young people to fill jobs

DAVID M. BROWN Tribune Contributor

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

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

The three were among a record 4,428 Ar izona students participating in the 21st-an nual event, organized by the Phoenix-based Association for Construction Career Devel opment and hosted by the Arizona Nation al Guard in Papago Park in Phoenix.

Accompanied by 410 teachers, the students traveled from 80 schools in 11 counties for AZCCD, which promotes career opportunities in – and dismisses stereotypes – about the high-paying con struction industry.

With the country investing heavily in infrastructure during the next few years, expect more emphasis on vocational training, said Stephen Cole, workforce development trainer for California-based Rosendin Electric, which has a regional Tempe office.

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

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

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

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

For years, negative attitudes about skilled labor work have predominated as high schools and parents pushed young people into college as the only sure path to success.

At the event, however, students and professionals talked about career options without a high-cost – and often high-debt

–college degree.

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

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

On site were gen eral contractors, such as McCarthy Building Compa nies of Phoenix and Chandler; specialty contractors, labor unions, regulatory and compliance firms such as the Interna tional Code Council and the Arizona Build ing Officials Association.

Also attending were representatives of the National Electrical Contractors Asso ciation, Associated General Contractors, Arizona chapter, and the National Associa tion of Women in Construction.

“This event is a massive collaboration of prominent industry leaders, educators,

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

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

Stephen Cole, workforce devel opment trainer for Rosendin, ex plained,” young people often aren’t aware of the oppor tunities, and this event is a phenom enal opportunity to meet and talk with people in the industry who have made successful lives in the trades.”

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

The employee-owned company is one of the country’s largest electrical contrac tors, employing 7,500-plus people, with

annual revenues averaging $2 billion.

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

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

They also noted that Rosendin has partnered with Grand Canyon University in Glendale on a Pre-Apprenticeship for Electricians program

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

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

McCarthy has been participating all 21 years.

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

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

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

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

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

At Rosendin, Charity Mell leads the Out reach Team, visiting schools, where she talks about the industry and leads career fairs and talks about opportunities, in

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

Young people often aren’t aware of the opportunities, and this event is a phenomenal opportunity to meet and talk with people in the industry who have made successful lives in the trades.

cluding for women who are significantly underrepresented in construction.

“A big focus for us is fighting the myth that you have to be the guy on the side of the road with the hard hat,” she said, noting that the company sponsors the AGC’s Culture of Care and is dedicated to developing opportunities for women and minorities.

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

Gilbert High’s Reading and Beals are optimistic about their opportunities, the first in welding and the latter in en gineering after continuing his education at ASU. “These jobs aren’t going to go away,” Reading said. “They are going to be around for a while.”

Nationwide workforce shortages have become the most prominent industry con cern. In October, construction added just 1,000 employees despite a high demand

for labor, according to an analysis by the AGC, based in Arlington, Va.

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

vate sector figure.

“The construction sector would likely have added more jobs in October if only firms could find people to bring on board,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s

chief executive officer in a prepared state ment with the analysis. “Labor market conditions are so tight, however, that the sector barely increased in size even as de mand remains strong for many types of construction projects.”

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

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

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

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

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

student Nicole Leach learned

career

of Rosendin Electric)

and added that he drove to Woodspring’s other locations in the Valley and “they are mostly in corporate areas.”

“Would you want this in your backyard?” he asked the commissioners. “We don’t.”

Assistant Town Attorney Alena Jorquez then reminded the speakers that the com mission was deciding a design review case and instructed them to keep their com ments to that issue.

Six more speakers spoke out against the hotel, claiming it would bring in more traf fic and that residents would lose the pri vacy of their backyards with a four-story hotel. Additionally, 88 people submitted comment cards opposing it.

Joni Jorner, a 16-year resident and mom to three young children, said this was the first time she’s heard of the project.

“This community is a small communi ty,” she said. “It should continue to stay a small community.”

She cited an April 2021 story in the Washington Examiner, where U.S. Immi gration and Customs Enforcement con verted hotels to shelters for migrants crossing the border.

“One of those (hotels) did include a Woodsprings Extended Stay in Texas that housed 338 people,” she noted.

The site totals 4.86 acres and has two developed buildings, a Chase Bank and an Auto Zone. The land is surrounded by the San Clemente Apartments immediately to the south, the Cortina single-family home subdivision in Queen Creek to the east and vacant land to the north.

Two vacant pads on site are open for development in the future, according to planner Kristen Devine.

Devine said the hotel is a permitted use by right under the general commercial zoning, established in 1977 and amend ed in 2003. She said the proposal met the town’s requirements and that staff recom mended approval.

Commissioner Charles Johnson also questioned if the site was the right place for the hotel.

“If I put on my site-locator hat there are four properties for this type located around the Valley mostly next to freeways, fairly close to freeways,” Johnson said.

“It seems to me that you’re putting in a hotel that is blocked off from the road, especially if the other two pads are de veloped. I’m a little mystified as to why you would drop this into this area where

you’re covered basically from visibility from the street and you’re not in a loca tion that is really accessible or amenable to that kind of use or hotel users.”

Attorney Paul Gilbert, who represents the property owner and the developer, which is in process of purchasing the land said:

“The Woodsprings Suites is a classy, well-known hotel. It has no record and there has been no evidence produced that extended-stay uses somehow contrib ute to drug abuse, prostitution and other things we have been accused of.

“There is no evidence of that. We are a fine, upstanding company and we deserve to be treated as such in this forum.”

He then ticked off a list of who stays in Woodsprings hotels – “traveling medical professionals, governmental employees, contractors, extended business travel, construction workers, professional de velopment, continued education, tran sitioning students, snowbirds, long-stay guest for holidays and major events and conferences, family emergencies (and) medical care.”

Commissioner Anthony Bianchi told residents the uses are in the zoning that has been in place for 20 years.

Vice Chairman Noah Mundtsaid the commissioners are listening to the res idents’ concerns but that their hands were tied.

He said the commission can request the developer put in a different roof or make other designs requests but “we don’t have the authority to say you can not put a hotel here.” 

WARNING!

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Mesa AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin. The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

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

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

Aspen Medical in Mesa

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

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

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

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

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until October 31st, 2022. Call (480) 274 3157 to make an appointment

Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this offer to the first 10 c allers 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

Broken bones no deterrent for bull riders

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

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

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

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

“It’s like the Super Bowl of profession al rodeo,” he said. “They take the top 15 guys in the world and you ride 10 days in a row in Las Vegas. Ever since I was born, this is somethin’ that I really wanted to do. I looked up to cowboys and wanted to be a cowboy my whole life.”

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

This weekend, Mortensen will be among 80 of the top bull riders in the world com peting for a spot in Las Vegas in addition to riding for $30,000 in local prize mon ey in the X-TREME Bulls event, held at the Queen Creek Horseshoe Park & Equestri an Centre, Nov. 23, 25 and 26.

“Man, it’s big money. I had a taste of big money at a young age,” Mortensen said. “I’ve been able to get almost everything I’ve wanted. It’s given me a great job to be able to provide for myself and even more.”

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

But his sport means more to him money

and fame.

“It’s an adrenaline rush and being able to conquer that,” he said. “It’s a pretty dang

good feeling once you get off and you rode one for eight seconds. It’s been a dream of mine to ride buckin’ bulls since I was little

and now to actually do it, it’s crazy.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You want to get in rhythm with the an imal and become one with him and you can’t even explain that feeling, to be an an imal that is bucking hard and spinning fast and then you jump off and land on your

Bull riding offers more than its share of broken bones and wounded pride, but it also can deliver big rewards to some. (Courtesy of Visit Mesa)

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

BULLS

from page 15

feet and the crowd goes wild. And nowa days the payout is pretty dang good for a bull rider who can ride good,” he added.

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

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

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

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

The bull riding begins on Friday, and so do a host of community focused events, in cluding mechanical bull riding, stick horse

races, western-themed events for kids, an Old West 6-shooter gunfight reenactment, roping machines and mutton busting, in which children ride or race sheep.

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

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

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

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

Information: visitmesa.com/sports -planner/queen-creek-xtremebulls 

GOT NEWS?

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ timeslocalmedia.com

Tutor Doctor here helps students of all ages

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Tribune Contributor

Need or want help with a difficult subject, whether in elementary school, middle school, high school, university and college courses, or even as an adult?

Tutor Doctor is ready to help.

Former Ahwatukee resident Kimberly Selchan is the owner/education consul tant of two Tutor Doctor franchises in Chandler-Gilbert and Phoenix-Scottsdale.

Ahwatukee resident Charmé Smith, who retired after more than three decades teaching elementary through college level, is the other Tutor Doctor education con sultant locally.

Selchan, who moved to Gilbert in 2019 when she opened the Chandler-Gilbert franchise, is passionate about the possibil ities Tutor Doctor offers local families and adults utilizing uniquely-vetted tutors for each individual student.

She explained that Tutor Doctor offers a unique focus on each prospective student, not merely on the subject in which they need tutoring.

“Where some tutoring providers tend to focus on a single subject, at Tutor Doc tor we believe in a multi-tiered approach toward a student’s educational journey,” explained Selchan, who comes from a cor porate leadership and staff development background.

“We believe executive functioning skills such as time management and organization are just as important as core academics.”

Remarks from parents, posted on social media, agree.

Commenters praise how Tutor Doctor helped improve their child’s study habits, test-taking skills and confidence as well as making strides in the subject at hand.

“It is our mission to help kids transition

to become successful adults,” emphasized Selchan, the mother of a son and daughter, 13 and 12, respectively.

“Over the past five years I’ve heard the guilt and concern in many parents’ voices when we speak about their kids’ reduced confidence and academic chal lenges,” she said.

“I think it’s really valuable to under stand that even the brightest and most caring parent isn’t always available or equipped to help their children with ac ademics, and many kids simply respond better to a neutral party.”

“Our tutor only has the student’s best in terest at heart - no grades, no grounding;

and we see even high-anxiety and unmoti vated kids drop their insecurities because they know they’re safe to try without judgment.

“When new tutors join our team, I tell them directly that they are mentors and advocates for their students, not just a subject tutor,” said Selchan, who graduat ed from Ohio State University with a BS degree in microbiology before entering the corporate world.

Tudor Doctor, with more than 700 fran chises in 16 countries, emphasizes the personalized approach to learning.

Selchan’s two franchises focus on ensur ing the student and tutor match not only in the subject they’ve selected, but taking into consideration a plethora of other in terests and attributes they may share.

As an educational consultant, Smith believes the time invested to get to know the student in advance of select ing a tutor presages greater success for them both.

“In addition to the academic needs, we really try to match the students with tu tors that will be a good fit in other areas, too. Just as there are different types of stu dents, there are different types of tutors,” Smith said.

“From those students that would ben efit from a very nurturing tutor due to their personality or life circumstances, to those needing a more hands-on approach to learning, to students needing lots of structure and help with organization or other executive functioning skills, our tu tors provide what they need,” explained Smith, who holds a masters in education from Ohio’s Xavier University.

“We make sure our tutors have the skill set, of course, but also the ability to relate well to the student population they’d be

Tutor Doctor Kianna Vasavilbaso gives Ahwatukee fifth grader Axel Lodge a little help with his studies and the youngster’s mother is ecstatic about her skills. Tutors with Tutor Doctor meet students in their home, at a public space like Ironwood Library or even online.

(Amy Sexton/AFN Contributor)

working with,” she said.

“Connecting with the student is key for a positive experience and sets the stage for maximizing learning, and fortunately, we have over 70 tutors in the valley for all grades and most every subject, including SAT/ACT/GED Test prep.”

Ahwatukee resident Kaleigh Lodge has found Tutor Doctor helpful for her 10-year-old son Axel Lodge, a fifth-grade student at St. John Bosco Catholic School who has an autism diagnosis.

“His teachers have done a great job adapting his education, but suggested we get him a tutor to give him a little extra help outside of school,” she said.

I’m a big researcher and Tutor Doctor seemed like a good fit for him. I reached out to them and Kimberly made the whole process so easy. Within a week or so, she went through our son’s needs and matched us with Kianna,” she said speak ing of Kianna Vasavilbaso.

“Kianna has been an amazing tutor. When she helps him with homework, she comes up with multiple strategies in order to help him process what is being asked and expected of him. Our main goal is

reading comprehension, and she doesn’t just have him read the words, she breaks down each word he’s reading and their meaning.”

Lodge said Axel was more confident asking for help since he started the tutor ing; a twice-a-week, one hour to 90 min ute session.

“We like the flexibility of having longer sessions if he’s feeling more engaged, or ending at one hour if he is feeling burnt out from all the other activities he has go ing on that day,” she said.

“Axel also plays hockey at the Ice Den Chandler(cq) and takes piano lessons at Music Makers. Tutor Doctor has been great in working with our busy schedule,”

Lodge continued, adding:

“I can’t recommend Tutor Doctor enough, especially to those parents who have children with special needs because I know how hard it is to find someone with the skills set to help your child. They do a great job at helping children learn with their unique needs.”

DanYelle Sedlak of Ahwatukee said her high school-aged daughter has improved in math with her Tutor Doctor.

“We first contacted Tutor Doctor ap proximately a year ago when we noticed

she was struggling in high school math,” she said.

“To be honest, I was a little skeptical to hire an in-home tutor at first,” Sedlak con tinued. “However, I was pleasantly sur prised to realize that Tutor Doctor goes to great lengths to align you with the best help possible for your child.

“Kimberly Selchan spent so much time on the phone with me in order to understand my child’s personality and her weaknesses. It seemed important to her to match my daughter with the per fect tutor.

“When one tutor didn’t work out, they tried very hard to look for the right one. That’s when we found Alexis Alonso. She has been so helpful, patient, and encour aging with my daughter. My daughter no longer complains when it’s time to do her homework. This has been a great invest ment for many reasons.”

Selchan said time spent helping parents and their children is a calling she feels deeply, and is empathetic to their needs.

“When our children struggle in school, it can be heartbreaking to watch,” she said. “Academic struggles can cause a down ward spiral to a lack of confidence, then loss of motivation and apathy.”

She said over a quarter of Tutor Doctor’s students have a 504 plan (formal plans schools develop to give kids with disabil ities the support they need) or Individual Education Plan (iep).

Those students “struggle to learn at the pace and in the methodologies of the classroom,” Selchan said.

Whenever possible, Tutor Doctor works with the child’s school.

“We always attempt to collaborate with the teacher or leverage online school tech nology to align our instruction with the standards and curriculum of the school,” said Selchan. “Rather than guessing how a child learns, they offer a cognitive assess ment to create customized learning plans for our students.”

Selchan has partnered with Arizona Friends of Foster and other foster agen cies to fulfill the mission of transitioning youth to adulthood. Approximately one third of Tutor Doctor regions’ students are in foster care.

Homeschool tutoring, ASVAB and GED preparation are also available, as is Sum mer Learning.

For more information see TutorDoc tor.comChandler/Gilbert. 

Questions surround Lake’s election loss

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

Here in Arizona, conservatives find themselves at wit’s end.

As Republicans watched the 2022 Election degenerate into “2020, 2.0,” they developed enough doubt, dis belief and outright cynicism to fill a meta phorical Grand Canyon.

Joel Barry, managing editor of “The Bab ylon Bee,” may call Ohio home, but in tem porarily abandoning satire to get serious, he earned the status of “Honorary Arizo nan” by succinctly describing the current state of affairs in the 48th State.

“It’s not Republican messaging. It’s not low-quality candidates. It’s not Trump. It’s not abortion. It’s mass mail-in/drop box voting. It’s as simple as that.”

Previous editions of this column have warned of the ways in which early mailin voting could easily be changed from an instrument of convenience into a tool of connivance.

In fact, a similar warning was issued a decade ago from a collaboration of inter esting sources. “News 21” was a program funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Knight Foundation.

The program was headquartered at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journal ism and Mass Communication, and it also included collaboration with NBC News, through the network’s investigative blog, “Open Channel.”

The headline from a Sept. 25, 2012 ar ticle tells you all you need to know: “The real vote-fraud opportunity has arrived: casting your ballot by mail.” nbcnews. com/news/investigations/real-votefraud-opportunity-has-arrived-casting-

your-ballot-mail-flna1b6088606

It has not disappeared down a “memory hole” yet…though that could change.

What did change was the way in which the media reacted to vote-by-mail con cerns about fraud when they were voiced again in the wake of COVID.

Simply stated, the press was not im pressed.

The 2022 campaign brought forth a former Journalist, troubled by the dis missive coverage of concerns raised during the 2020 vote count in Arizona and the Orwellian newspeak that en shrined Democrat talking points as es tablished facts.

Kari Lake spent more than two decades at the anchor desk on Channel 10, then walked away into the Republican race for governor.

Not only did she win the GOP Primary in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, she

also challenged her former colleagues in journalism to embrace objectivity in cam paign coverage.

When they continued to dance to the Democrat tune, Lake held press con ferences during which she would offer on-the-spot refresher courses, and im mediate critiques to a largely hostile and partisan press corps.

Those performances established Lake as a “rising star” in the Republican Party, and that star continued to rise, as did her pre-election poll numbers, when Demo crat nominee Katie Hobbs refused to de bate her.

Lake had called for Hobbs to recuse her self from any involvement in overseeing the election, citing legitimate conflict of interest concerns that should supersede Katie’s role as Secretary of State. Hobbs

Arizona knew Lake’s BS when they heard it

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

You work close up to elections for 30 years, you have the chance to learn some things about candidates and campaigns. The most important one is this: Many people vote with their gut, not their head.

In the end, that’s what did in one of the most arrogant candidates ever to grace an Arizona ballot, Republican governor hopeful Kari Lake.

Before her midlife conversion to poli tics, Lake spent two decades as a news an chor, a job whose main qualification is the ability to read aloud text prepared at a low high school level. This translated into high name identification, which Lake translat ed as ardor for her as a human being. On the campaign trail, she spoke about

“being in your living room” for decades, about how we knew her so well, about how much she loved Arizona and how much Arizona loved her back.

All I can say is, it looks like she got that half right.

In the end, it was Lake’s seething hatred that sunk her campaign – moments like the Thursday before the election when, standing before a roomful of Republicans, she again attacked the late Sen. John Mc Cain, a politician whose skill as an Arizona campaigner she could never touch.

“We don’t have any McCain Republicans in here, do we?” Lake demanded. “All right, get the hell out,” she ordered. Then she added: “Boy, Arizona has delivered some losers, haven’t they?”

I guess we have, Kari. Except John Mc Cain never lost an election in this state, and you’re zero for a lifetime.

In the days before the election, a con servative consultant told me Lake could

be the perfect vice president for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential run – Robin to Trump’s red, white and blue Batman.

In retrospect, I get the enthusiasm: Lake is smooth with a microphone in her hand, polished delivering Trump’s talking points.

Put her in a crowd of 100 people and 35 will gobble up her act. Meanwhile, anoth er 35 will revile her.

The last 30 – the ones caught in between – will end up trusting our guts. And most of them will end up saying, “Boy, that Lake is really nasty.”

If the candidate herself read this col umn, she’d surely insult me right back, the way she told reporters, “I’m going to be your worst fricking nightmare for eight years,” or her closing night spiel to vot ers, where she crowed at the media, “the bastards back there don’t want us talking about stolen elections. Well it doesn’t mat ter what they attempt tomorrow because we’re going to show up like our lives de

pend on it.”

Republicans did show up by the hundreds of thousands statewide in this election.

The GOP took six of nine Congressional races, and the party built majorities in both houses of the state Legislature.

But atop the ticket, the Trump-endorsed statewide candidates mostly got beaten – Lake, Blake Masters, and total wingnut Mark Finchem.

As I write this, the attorney general race remains too close to call with only about 700 votes separating Abe Hamadeh and the Dem, Kris Mayes.

The shining star for the GOP this cycle in Arizona? It was incumbent Treasurer Kimberly Yee, who easily won a second term by notching the most votes of any Arizona candidate in a competitive race.

Notably, Yee was not endorsed by Trump. She campaigned without an in

also said no to that request.

So, “with the fox guarding the henhouse,” most Republicans eschewed mail-in vot ing, opting instead to cast their votes in the traditional way on Election Day. They reasoned that their personal presence at the polls might help prevent a repeat of the curious 2020 results.

Then a not-so-funny-thing happened. Thirty percent of the tabulation machines malfunctioned in the county with 60% of the total Arizona electorate.

Whether through incompetence or in tentional neglect, the Maricopa County mess resulted in voter suppression of Re

publicans.

The refusal of a state judge to grant an emergency GOP request to extend voting hours to 10 p.m. helped seal the deal.

Next came six days of laborious vote counting “Kabuki Theatre,” culminat ing with the announcement of a narrow Hobbs victory.

Lake’s reaction was succinct: “Arizonans know BS when they see it.”

Look for a legal challenge ahead.

Meantime, “The Babylon Bee” has re turned to satire. One of its recent head lines reads, “Katie Hobbs projected to win Arizona governor’s race with 108% of precincts reporting.”

There is truth in humor. 

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.

cessant focus on the 2020 election and Trump’s grievances. And Yee accepted her victory with grace, thanking Democrat Martín Quezada “for running a profes sional campaign.”

Lake, locked in her “war room,” where the toadies were reportedly beginning to flee, responded by tweet to news reports of her loss. “Arizonans,” she wrote, “know BS when they see it.”

Yes, we did, Kari. Yes, we certainly did. 

Share Your Thoughts:

pmaryniak@ timespublications.com

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Coyote fans must now await Tempe voters’ decision

BY DANNY KARMIN Cronkite News

Adevelopment that has lacked clari ty over the past six months gained a bit of traction last week.

The Tempe City Council voted unani mously to reserve May 16 as the referen dum date for a proposed $2.1 billion de velopment project that includes a hockey arena, hotels, apartments, retail stores, restaurants and a sportsbook.

For the Arizona Coyotes and the city, this is only step one of a prolonged process since negotiations moved forward with the City Council in June – but any sign of progress is a breath of fresh air for an or ganization in dire need of future stability.

“We have always remained incredibly confident that this is the right project, the right deal, and we are the right team to get this done,” Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said. “We’d like to stay in Tempe.

“As you all know, we are here in Mullet Arena. As someone that recently told me, it is the most fun you will ever have at an NHL game, it’s been electric – and it’s just a preview. We always saw (Mullett Arena) as a temporary solution. We have put forth what we believe is the most transforma tive and iconic project for this community.”

The Tempe City Council will host two public hearings in the upcoming weeks about the new proposal. On Nov. 22, the Coyotes and Gutierrez will present their project proposal, one week before the City Council votes to send it to a public referen dum on the already reserved May 16 date.

For the Tempe City Council, it valued the public’s feedback and wants the city’s fu ture to be in the community’s hands.

“I’ve been on council now for 10 and

a half years, and I’ve never had a project that’s actually had this much public inter est with this much public attention,” Tem pe Mayor Corey Woods said.

“We have a 46-acre contiguous piece of land, and it’s the last probably huge par cel in Tempe that project could happen on. And as I talked about, before, every other sports arena project in some way, shape or form has gone before the voters or in some element of it has.

“So our perspective was better to have an opportunity to have this on the ballot in March or May, which is where we have our council elections. Reserving this date for the May 16 election is very consistent with what we do for all of our city elections, and gives our residents a real chance to have a say.”

There is also the potential problem of litigation from Sky Harbor International Airport, the City of Phoenix, the Goldwater Institute or local citizen groups.

According to a PHNX Sports report, the airport has threatened litigation over the construction of multi-residence units that it says violate a 1994 intergovernmental agreement between the cities, but that agreement appears to make an exception for soundproofed apartments such as the ones that the Coyotes plan to build; a point which Coyotes attorney Nick Wood drove home at the council meeting in June.

“We have had many conversations with the airport as you all know, we presented several times with the Phoenix Airport Advisory Board,” Gutierrez said. “We again had been fully transparent about what our project looked like.

“And the fact that we from day one want ed to put a proposal together that would not only satisfy the intergovernmental agreement, but also the Federal Aviation Association, who truly is focused on the safety and soundness of the airport. What we have proposed, what we will be put

ting forth, very publicly now, we believe will not only satisfy everything that the FAA wants, but what truly is allowed un der the IGA.”

With the vote in the hands of the peo ple, it’s hard to predict the outcome if the project goes to a referendum. If the proj ect is denied, the Coyotes will undoubt edly be in a predicament regarding their future home.

One recent sports complex development in Berlin, Maryland, was recently under a referendum to be built but the majority of voters did not give their support. Even with the rejection, the project in Maryland is still seeking an alternative for funding.

In the general election, 52.37% of vot ers were against Question A, which was meant to determine whether the Worces ter County Commissioners could bond the costs associated with a sports complex. There were 9,424 (52.37%) votes against the question and 8,572 (47.63%) in favor to the question.

“The referendum wasn’t on a sports com plex,” Joe Mitrecic, the commissioner and President of the Board of County Commis sioners in Worcester County, told the MD CoastDispatch. “The referendum was on the bond issue. As far as I’m concerned, the sports complex project continues on. We just have to find a different way to fund it.”

The Coyotes referendum is on the sports complex, but Maryland’s close vote is an encouraging to the organization.

“We’ve seen a glimpse of (hockey in Tempe),” Gutierrez said. “Now imagine if you have an opportunity to create this transformative sports and entertainment district over 46 acres. That to us would be the crowning jewel of what Tempe has en visioned itself to be right here in the heart of the Valley.”

With a significant part of its fan base in the East Valley, the Coyotes want to build an enter tainment district on 46 acres on the northeast corner of Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe. (Lumen Strategies Arizona)

For more Get Out News visit QueenCreekTribune.com

Floridino employee the hostess with the mostest

BY KEN SAIN GetOut Staff

When people eat out, they almost always notice when they get poor service. Some, however, don’t always recognize great service.

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

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

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

Tobin received a trophy, a $3,000 gift card, and a pair of Snibbs shoes, which are designed for long days on your feet. When Yelp officials presented the award to Tobin, they surprised the staff by giving

Felicia Tobin of Floridino’s Pizza and Pasta in Chan dler won Best Host in the United States in the first Servies Awards present ed by Yelp to celebrate front-of-house restaurant employees. (David Min ton/Staff Photographer)

them $3,000 as well.

“I don’t want to discredit her by any means,” said Lindsay Gilliland, who is the front of house manager for Florid ino’s. “But I think it was a whole team effort. Like she has been an amazing rep resentative for it and I think she 100%

Bell Bank Park hosts holiday display

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

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

The brothers also are contestants on ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” which debuts its 10th season Nov. 28.

General admission tickets for general admission are $14.99 at prattbrother schristmas.com. Several attractions, in cluding the Sweet Street Train Ride, Santa Experience, and Mrs. Claus Cookie Deco rating cost extra.

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

He’s not kidding.

Christmas Town at Bell Bank Park spans 180,000 square feet and includes: a three- story gingerbread house; magi cal snowfall and thousands of bubbles;

deserves it. But she stands out because the trust that her team has in her.”

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

Tobin said a lot goes into being a good host.

“Attention to detail,” she said. “I host Monday nights and Monday nights are re ally intense. So we get crazy busy. And you have to … pay attention to detail, you got to be present, you got to know what’s go ing on with other servers, you got to know

who you can sit and who you can’t sit, and how they’re doing.”

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

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

Like many restaurants, Floridino’s need ed to change to survive during the pan demic. The pizzeria shut down for only a week after one employee tested positive for the coronavirus. But other than that, they were able to stay open and keep ev eryone employed.

Tobin said before COVID-19 they used to have a line of people lined up at the reg ister waiting to pick up to-go orders. The pandemic forced them to streamline their curbside service, improving it greatly.

Now, they have 12 parking lot spaces dedicated to to-go orders. She said it’s not

GETOUT STAFF

a Christmas Forever 360-degree light show synchronized to popular Christmas

The Pratt Brothers’ Christmas Town at Bell Bank Park in East Mesa promises a dazzling display of lights and other attractions. (Special to Get Out)

unheard of for all 12 to be occupied and others waiting for someone to leave.

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

Tobin and others credited their custom ers for voting and helping her win Best Host. She was nominated by a co-worker. They sent in photos of her at work and the nomination letter explaining why she was deserving. Yelp then selected finalists. The winner was chosen by people voting

across the nation.

Floridino’s General Manager Jason Ste phens said helping Tobin win was a team effort.

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

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

Floridino’s has been a Chandler destina tion for 26 years.

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

mint Place.

songs with pyrotechnics; and the Ivy & Sage Miracle Market.

Guests can walk to the Sweet Street Station, where two trains ride around Christmas Town’s six uniquely themed areas such as Cotton Candy Corner, Sugar Plum Acres, Bakery Boulevard, Lollipop Lane, Marshmallow Way and Pepper

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

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

The extravaganza runs through Jan. 1. 

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Columnist

Cheesy Beefy Taco Dip a tasty holiday addition

It’s everything you would want in a party dip. The combination of a sharp cheddar and jalapeno pep per jack, a kick from the poblano pepper, sautéed onion and ground beef, diced tomatoes with chiles all stewing in your favorite taco sauce makes this Cheesy, Beefy Taco Dip a real contender for your holiday buffet table.

Add a platter of homemade flour and corn tortilla chips and let’s get this party started! I know that we’re always looking for great party foods this time of the year, especially for game days and holidays. This one will not disappoint. You can certainly choose to buy store bought chips, but there’s some thing really delicious about frying up some fresh tor tillas that are crispy, warm and salted. These chips and dip are a match made in south of the border heaven..

Ingredients for Dip:

• 1 pint button mushrooms, rough chopped

• 4 TBSP butter, divided

• 1 large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

• 1 large poblano pepper, finely chopped

• 1 ½ lb. ground beef

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 lb. Sharp cheddar, cubed or shredded

• ½ lb. pepper jack cheese, cubed or shredded

• 1 jar (16 ounces) taco sauce

• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over high heat, add 2 table spoons of the butter and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are a deep golden brown. Set aside.

2. In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 Table spoons of butter and onion. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until onions begin to car amelize. Add poblano chili and cook until chili has softened, about 5 minutes.

3. In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the beef until browned, about 5 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepot, add the cheeses, taco sauce, diced tomatoes or Rotel, olives, the cooked mushrooms, sautéed onion/poblano chile mixture and beef. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese

chiles or Rotel, drained

• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) pitted black olives, drained and chopped fine

Ingredients for Chips:

• 1 package (8 count) corn tortillas, sliced in quarters

• 1 package (8count) flour tortillas

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• Salt for sprinkling on the chips

is melted. Turn heat to low or warm, and make the tortilla chips.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

5. Stack the corn tortillas and cut into quarters or eights. Repeat with flour tortillas.

6. In a skillet, add one cup of vegetable oil and heat on high. When oil has reached 350 degrees, dip one slice of the corn or flour tortilla into the hot oil. If it sizzles, add remaining tortilla segments, trying not to overlap. (Work in batches if necessary, first the corn and then the flour tortillas.)

When golden brown, about 1 minute on each side, remove with spider or slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Immedi ately sprinkle with salt. Serves 8-10..