BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
Queen Creek Unified School District bucked a trend in Arizona by having already spent nearly three-quarters of its total $19.2 million in COVID relief money, according to a report from the state Auditor General’s office.
Most school districts haven’t spent even half their total allotments, the report said,
There is not much about Queen Creek that looks like it did a few decades ago. While there is a concerted effort by some groups to preserve the Town’s Old West heritage, Queen Creek is not so slowly giving way to suburbia.
But there is one holdover from the vintage Old West days that is not leaving.
“We had 12,800 horses through here last year,” said David Solum, general manager of Horseshoe Park Equestrian Centre in Queen Creek, a facility on 38 acres and operated by the town.
and that includes the state Department of Education.
“Districts and charters reported spending just over $2.2 billion, or 48 percent, of their nearly $4.6 billion allocated relief monies through June 30, 2022,” the report states, adding the Education Department “had yet to spend/distribute almost $322 million, or 79 percent, of its discretionary relief monies as of June 30, 2022.”
Districts have until Sept. 30, 2024 to spend
their third round of the largest pandemic funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and 20% of that must address learning loss stemming from the school closures and remote learning that occurred during the pandemic.
The report shows that Queen Creek received a total $19.2 million and spent just under $13.3 million, leaving a balance of
Jack Barnes Elementary School in Queen Creek has been given an A+ School of Excellence Award by the Arizona Education Foundation, one of only 36 schools in the state to receive the designation and the only one in Queen Creek.
This is the foundation’s highest state-level award.
“This award recognizes the outstanding instruction and culture we have at JBE,” said Principal Dawn Kennaugh, stating that it also is “letting our community and parents know that we not only have high expectations for ourselves and our students, but we meet and exceed those high expectations.”
Kennaugh added she is proud to see the school staff’s hard work pay off and be honored with the award.
“It comes after an extensive applica-
tion process that involves submitting a written application which is then reviewed by a panel of A+ principals, teachers, and district leaders. If accepted, judges then conduct a multiday site visit,” she said in a release.
QCUSD Superintendent Dr. Perry Berry added that the award “demonstrates the hard work and commitment of our administrators, teachers and staff members” to identify, celebrate, and recognize educational excellence.”
The award program began 40 years ago as a way to showcase exceptional public schools, and provide educational teams with a comprehensive framework that serves as a basis for school self-assessment and planning.
“The A+ School of Excellence Award is significant as it sends a message throughout communities that the local neighborhood public school down the street is an exceptional choice, brimming with opportunities for students to
learn and grow, and for faculty and staff to thrive,” said foundation Executive Kim Graham, adding:
“AEF was established to shine a spotlight on the great work of public schools and the hardworking educators and employees who devote themselves to serving students and families. The A+ School of Excellence Award is our way of honoring that incredible dedication.”
The Foundation said the award can help parents decide where to send their kids to school and act as an energizer for increasing public confidence in recognized schools, often resulting in greater parent-school interaction.
The awards have even driven economic growth in some communities..
The awards are based on how well the schools met the following criteria:
• Model quality and equity
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to academic excellence
• Respond successfully to the
changing environment of education
• Cultivate learning-centered, safe school environments
• Encourage innovative instruction by supporting teachers
• Actively address students’ social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs
• Demonstrate superior ability to go above and beyond the norm in providing services to children, families, and the local community
The Arizona Education Foundation was founded in 1983 by then State Superintendent of Public Education Carolyn Warner who felt a nonprofit needed to be established to champion public education and recognize the accomplishments of public school educators.
AEF annually reaches over 500,000 students, teachers, and administrators throughout Arizona, according to the foundation’s website.
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almost $6 million that it told the Auditor General will be used for maintaining operations.
That category also is where the district spent $11.12 million of its total expenditure so far, according to the report, with just over $4.4 million of that going to classroom-related salaries and benefits, $4.2 million for other classroom spending and almost $2.4 million for non-classroom spending.
The report defines classroom spending as “instruction costs of activities that deal directly with the interaction between teachers and students, student support costs for activities that assess and improve the students’ well-being, and instruction support costs of activities that assist instructional staff with the content and process of providing learning experiences for students.”
Expenditures to maintain operations are defined as “including payments to continue employing existing classroom and non-classroom staff and payments for other planned operating costs.”
Jennifer Johnston, Chief Financial Officer for the district, said “The majority of the expenditures were in the salaries and benefits category as additional staff (certified and support) were hired to maintain lower class sizes in a growing district, to support expanded scheduling of common times, and to support learning loss through expanded summer school offerings as well as program-
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Horseshoe Park hosts high profile equestrian events that draw contestants from all over the United States and Canada, and those events are growing in number and duration.
“We have world class events that draw people from all over. We are nationally recognized,” Solum said.
He ticked off some of those events: the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association just held its winter championship; the PRCA Roots N Boots Rodeo in March he estimates will draw 25,000 people; Art of the Cowgirl will probably lure 30,000; Vintage and Vino attractions in May and October could draw another 8,000.
Then there are the world-class bull riding championships, which are growing in popularity and size – just like Queen
ming in the regular school year, salaries and benefits for teachers.”
“These funds were also utilized for transportation services to support additional bus routes,” Johnston added. “QCUSD will expend remaining COVID relief funds in the same categories in FY23.”
Queen Creek share of the billions that the federal government sent to Arizona was relatively small compared to neighboring school districts such as Mesa Public Schools ($291.6-million), Gilbert Public Schools ($56.7-million), and Chandler Unified ($85.8-million).
But Johnson also noted, “In a district that was one of the first to open for students (following COVID-related campus closures), those funds were critical and utilized immediately to support mitigation efforts.”
“The district expended all of the ESSER I allocation in FY21, all of ESSER II, and much of the ESSER III allocation by the end of FY22,” she added.
In all, charters and school districts in Legislative District 15 received $620.8 million and have spent just over half –$314.3 million – and have $306.6 million left to spend.
Among popular charters in Queen Creek, Ben Franklin, with four campuses in town, received $7.8 million and spent $6.4 million through last June. Of that total, $5,9 million went for salaries and benefits, the report said.
Ben Franklin will use 70% of its remaining money in a similar fashion, keeping up with salaries inside and outside the
Creek itself.
“We’re drawing more,” he added. “Our average event used to be a half day, and now it’s gone to two and a half and sometimes three days.”
Horseshoe Park is also home to a unique type of Sunday morning worship service called Cowboy Church, where parishioners and pastor Billy Van Camp are all on horseback in an arena for the hour-long service.
Now, Solum is looking outside of equestrian events, which have obviously been Horseshoe Park’s bread and butter, and toward other types attractions such as the monster truck rally in April.
“It’s a new event,” he said. “The Town would like us to have more non-equestrian events to expose other people to the park.”
Solum added that guests are also tak-
classroom, but will use the remaining 30% on new programs and curriculum, the report said.
Legacy Traditional School - Queen Creek, which has one campus in town, received $2-million and through the end of the last fiscal year, spent just over $770,000.
Eduprize, a charter with campuses in Queen and Gilbert, was awarded $7.7-million, but the report does not break out how much went to each location. It still has $2.2-million remaining.
American Leadership Academy received $19-million to distribute across its 11 campuses in Maricopa County, including Queen Creek. ALA has spent $7.9-million through the end of the last fiscal year and has $11.1-million remaining, the report said.
The report made three significant findings regarding districts’ plans to spend what they have left, and how they reported what they have spent to date.
While two of those findings related to bookkeeping and financial reporting, the other warned districts to prepared for the post-COVID world when the relief money is gone.
“Our first finding found that Statewide, districts and charters reported that they plan to spend $1.1 billion of remaining relief monies, which expire in 2024, for ongoing expenses to maintain operations. Therefore, we recommended that they develop plans for their operational needs supported by these monies,” the report said.
ing advantage of additional RV spaces at the park and booking their vehicles for longer periods now, sometimes staying up to four days, depending on the length of the event.
He said the construction of the new Hampton Inn in town has helped alleviate a lodging logjam that used to plague Horseshoe Park and its events.
There simply were not enough places for people to stay, although he said a hotel shortage is still the number one complaint he hears from contestants and spectators from out of town.
The problem is not as bad as it used to be.
“People had to drive 9 miles to a hotel,” he said. “So, we are very fortunate that the Hampton Inn is open now. We get
a lot of compliments on the number of restaurants, though.”
The Centre also has a large economic impact.
Solum said roughly 125,000 visitors generated $17-million for the Queen Creek economy last year, which he said is a low estimate based on how it was figured.
“Had we used the method that Westworld in Scottsdale uses, it would have been closer to $22-million,” he said.
That number includes everything from feed and wood shavings that people buy from local suppliers for boarding their horses at the Centre, to lodging, food, shopping and other retail activity.
That economic impact is likely to continue to grow as the activity at the Centre is not slowing down.
“We are seeing tremendous growth,” Solum said. “We have seen a 43% increase in activity and doubled our business in the last three years.”
That coincidentally is exactly how long Solum has been the general manager.
In addition to the highly popular and tightly scheduled arenas that are in high
Cutting horse competition riders round up a herd of steers during a run in the Chapman Automotive Group Arena at Horseshoe Park and Equestrian Centre on Feb. 22. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
demand for events, Solum said Horseshoe Park keeps one of its uncovered arenas purposely unscheduled.
The 150’ by 300’ community arena, on the park’s southwest corner, is free and open to the public.
That arena – open daily from 7 a.m.
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to the public, Solum said, as are many of the other things at Horseshoe Park.
“80% of our events are free to the public,” he said.
Queen Creek’s equestrian heritage is alive and well. In fact, it seems to be gaining horsepower.
to 10 p.m. and complete with restroom facilities and a gathering area – allows equestrian riders to drop in and practice their skills, access the Sonoqui wash trail system, and use a cross country course on the property.
The nearby RV park is also free and open
offer a large group of beautiful customizable office models. These models have a wide range of colors and style options.
The department in charge of recycling in Queen Creek is going paperless.
“We used to leave education material on the carts,” said Ramona Simpson, Public Works operations manager who oversees recycling, told Town Council recently, adding that material “may have sometimes or not have been put back in the recycling cart or in the trash.”
Simpson said Public Works is shifting communication about its recycling program to an electronic notification system – meaning crews collecting curbside recycling will no longer leave paper messages taped to the bin, which often blow into the street or a neighbor’s yard.
“What we’re going to be doing is send-
The Arizona House is advancing a bill that mandates school districts and charter schools to teach firearms safety in grades 6-12.
Rep. Selina Bliss, R-Prescott, who sponsored HB 2332, said she wants children to learn proper gun safety in order to stop accidental deaths, and denied that the bill was about training youths to use firearms. But opponents, including two high school students who testified against the bill this month, worry the training would take away from already limited
ing an email and as soon as he hits send, that email and that education will go right to that customer. It will also go real time to customer service,” she said. That will allow the town to address any customer concerns more directly.
The department will also be using scanners to track and take inventory of the recycling bins and monitor whether they need repair or replacement. It also can generate other data.
“I am very big on leveraging technology to increase efficiency and lower costs,” said Councilman Bryan McClure. “So, I’m excited to see future ROI (return on investment) projections on integrating that technology.”
The town has also launched a pilot program to replace old and outdated recycling collection barrels with new, high-tech models that will automatically
compact material when the barrel reaches a certain threshold, then notify crews electronically when it is full.
The town’s recycling center got a facelift too.
It was decidedly low tech, but the town is getting a good bang for its buck, based on the low dollar amount of work they did.
Queen Creek Public Works wrapped its 24 bins at the recycling center with environmentally friendly messaging about four years ago, Simpson said.
That created the perception that the recycling center had somehow been “cleaned up,” Simpson said a resident told her on site one day even though the town had made no major improvements.
“The only thing we did is wrap it,” Simpson said.
But that move reduced the quantity of
dirty, or “contaminated” recycled items, dramatically, to about 1% “from the high twenties,” Simpson said.
“And that became a destination, not a dump,” she added.
Cardboard accounts for 49% of the material brought to the recycling center, which is emptied every weekday and twice on Fridays, according to Simpson, mostly because the bins are full of cardboard.
Recycled glass accounts for 9% of what comes to the town recycling center, and even that amount presents problems.
It often shatters, contaminating other items like cardboard and paper, rendering them contaminated and then not able to be recycled and used for other things.
“If the shards of glass get inside that
school resources and push gun culture on campuses.
“I take classes ranging from math and science to history and the arts, classes that will prepare me for a productive and active lifestyle,” said Gilbert High School freshman Bridgette Hanson.
“Neither I nor my fellow students have the time to take on this anxiety-inducing gun training.
“And more importantly this gun training would take away resources from our school’s top priority and only responsibility to educate students in areas that will prepare us to become productive, valuable members of society.”
For example, she added, in seventh-grade she took a newspaper class where she learned skills such as in communication and research.
“I was on track to be an editor in my second year of the program but unfortunately the program was cut,” said Bridgette, an honors student with a full course load. “There was no money left at our school for it.
“This bill would take money from useful programs like newspaper and other skill-based classes and put that money into lethal weapons training. Lastly this training would not only give students a false sense of security but it would also
shift the responsibility for gun safety off of gun owners … and shift the responsibility onto students who do not have fully developed brains,” she continued.
Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, had the opposite view, saying, “I agree with the intent of the bill to move it forward.”
But the former Gilbert councilman raised a concern with the task force that would develop the curriculum.
The task force members include educators, school administrators, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials, clinical psychologists and it see GUNS page 8
Amember of the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board is facing criticism for attending a Turning Point USA event at Perry High School on Feb. 21.
Five speakers called out Kurt Rohrs for attending a presentation by three speakers at the Gilbert school. Turning Point is a student group that supports conservative political candidates.
The lead speaker, Stephen Davis, a podcaster known as the “MAGA Hulk” (Make America Great Again), was canceled out of an appearance at the University of California Davis in late October after about 100 people engaged in a brawl.
According to media reports, the clash was between members of the Proud Boys and left-wing protesters. The extreme-right Proud Boys were involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I’m disturbed and outraged by the actions of one of our Governing Board members and the message it sends to our community,” said Katie Nash, a CUSD parent, former teacher in the district and past president of the Chandler Education Association.
“As we look to our portrait of a learner, the creation of which included many stakeholders including staff, parents, students, and community members, it has attributes like empathy, critical thinking, collaboration and global citizen,” Nash said. “I fail to see where violence, hate, exclusivity, and uniformity fit in.”
CUSD parent Brandy Reese said she does not believe a divisive political group should be a club on a high school campus.
“Turning Point USA keeps watch lists of school boards and professors that it considers radical,” Reese said. “This includes this school board, it posts the members, board members photos, names and contact information.”
Rohrs said the speakers were misinformed. First, they quoted him from a satirical website that he does not
run. Second, he is required to wear his board member ID whenever he is on a CUSD campus.
He said he went to the event because he had heard some information about the speakers and wanted to find out for himself what they were about.
“Don’t believe everything everybody tells you, go find out for yourself, go do your own due diligence, learn about it instead of relying on it, because you never know, when people are telling you things, just to manipulate you or get you to do something,” Rohrs said.
“And I think in some respects, that’s kind of what happened here. Because there’s a lot of disinformation that came out.”
The district said Turning Point is a recognized student club at Perry High, having followed all the rules necessary to become one. They limited attendance to just club members, and only 14 students attended the presentation.
“Permission slips were required,” the district said in a statement. “Students needed parental consent to attend the club meeting to hear the speaker. Students need parental consent to join school clubs in general. All clubs must have a sponsor who is a certified staff member. Additionally, all clubs must follow district approved bylaws and have officers before it is approved by the district.
“Safety is a top priority, and we take it very seriously. At no time was the school or students in danger. The speaker’s engagement was not open to the public nor was it for the general student population. This information was shared with all Governing Board members. Board members represent themselves and do not necessarily represent the opinions of other Board members or the District.”
A group of counter-protestors did try to attend the speech at Perry, but said they were turned away.
The other speakers with Davis were Morgonn McMichael, a social media influencer, and Anthony Watson, a 2018 Winter Olympian from Jamaica. All three are contributors to Turning Point USA. Davis and Watson are both Black.
AQueen Creek legislator heading a special panel that reviews gubernatorial nominees is using the forced resignation of Matthew Stewart as the newly appointed director of the Department of Child Safety to justify the intense questioning and investigations he is conducting into all of the picks by Katie Hobbs.
“Sadly, it seems clear that Hobbs is not conducting her own vetting process,’’ Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman said in a prepared statement. “So my colleagues and I will continue to serve as the necessary and constitutional check and balance on the executive branch that the citizens of our great state need and deserve.’’
Hoffman, who chairs the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, said there were “troubling events’’ since Hobbs named Stewart in December, before she took office.
He said that included “questionable moves on consulting contracts’’ and the
firing of non-appointed, openly gay employees at the agency who he said have filed complaints against him “which prompted the forced resignation.’’
The governor would not comment Thursday other than to stick to a prepared statement of her own that it was “a decision that was made for the best interests of all parties involved.’’ And she brushed aside questions of whether her staff had not properly vetted Stewart before nominating him.
“This just wasn’t the right fit,’’ Hobbs said.
But she lashed out at the Republican majority on the committee which already has rejected outright her nomination of Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen to head the Department of Health Services, refused to hold a vote on Elizabeth Ann Thorson for the Department of Administration and tabled Hobbs’ choice of Karen Peters for the Department of Environmental Quality.
“The committee has made it very clear that they’re not interested in seriously vetting my nominations,’’ Hobbs said.
“They’re interested in carrying out their personal vendetta against me and using my nominees as proxy to do that.’’
And the governor had particularly harsh words for Hoffman who chairs the panel.
“I don’t think fake elector Jake Hoffman is interested in good government at all,’’ she said.
That refers to the fact that Hoffman was one of the 11 names sent by the Arizona Republican Party to Congress as electors pledged to vote for Donald Trump after the 2020 election despite the fact that Joe Biden had won the popular vote and was entitled to the state’s 11 electors.
“He’s interested in creating a stage for his political theater,’’ Hobbs said.
“What these folks are doing in the Senate is serving to potentially grind government to a halt,’’ she said.
launch the agency’s African-American Disparity Committee, formed to reduce the disproportionately large share of Black and minority families before leaving the agency.
The dust-up over Stewart and Hoffman’s comments about the governor and her picks in particular underscore what has become an increasingly contentious confirmation process.
Stewart could not be reached for comment.
There also was no response to public records requests seeking information about Stewart from either DCS or the Department of Administration, which handles personnel matters for the state. The requests covered not just any actions taken by Stewart since he was named director as well as to what Hoffman said was his resignation from the agency in 2020 as its training operations supervisor after he received a letter of reprimand for “insubordination and unauthorized absence.’’
In tapping Stewart, the governor cited his experience as a former child safety specialist with the agency. She said he became the training manager and helped
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continues on with a few others, he said.
“I’m not comfortable with that being the task force that is going to create the curriculum,” Hendrix said. “I’m hopeful we’ll see a change before it gets to the floor. If that’s the development team that is going to put this curriculum together I’ll be a hard ‘no’ on the floor.”
Bliss extolled the bill’s virtues.
“The purpose of this bill is for children to learn about firearm safety from qualified individuals with the focus on safety rather than from popular culture and
Prior to this year, gubernatorial nominees were screened by existing Senate committees with expertise in that area. That even was the process by the Republican-controlled Senate when the state last had a Democratic governor before 2009. All that changed this year following a contentious election that some GOP lawmakers continue to insist that Hobbs did not win despite the formal election results showing her outpolling Republican Kari Lake by 17,117 votes. With Hobbs now governor, Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, tapped Hoffman to head the panel of three Republicans and two Democrats.
More recently Hoffman refused to allow a vote on the nomination of Thorson to head the Department of Administration, even though she had been the agency’s deputy director under Republican governor Ducey. But that lack of action does not remove her from office, with Thorson able to serve up to a year without being confirmed.
And Hoffman has tabled the governor’s nomination of Peters, now a deputy Phoenix city manager, to head DEQ, saying there was “some concerning information that we’ve become aware of’’ without providing specifics.
various forms of media,” said Bliss, a lifelong Constitutional conservative.
“As a nurse for 36 years, half of which was in the emergency department, I’ve seen my fair share of fatal and near-fatal gunshot wounds.
“As an educator I realized the value of knowledge to empower others to do what is correct and as a mom I want my children to be safe.”
Bliss said she was aware of the value of education when it comes to firearm safety through her personal experience as a
State lawmakers voted Feb. 21 to require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day, courting a likely lawsuit.
Existing law spells out that schools have to set aside time each day”for students who wish to recite the pledge.’’ But HB 2523, given approval by the House on a 31-29 party-line voice vote, adds language that says each student “shall recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag during this time.’’
The only exception would be for students who have a request from a parent to opt out. And students who are at least 18 could refuse.
Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa, told colleagues she sees no problem with this.
“We stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day on this floor,’’ she said. “What’s good for us is good for the children.’’
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material, it devalues,” Simpson said. “You don’t want shards of glass in your toilet paper.”
She added recycled glass is often used as landfill cover or dust suppressant because it is “very dirty, and an end user that wants to reuse it as glass won’t take it,” she said. It is also extremely heavy which presents its own set of problems.
Simpson said some communities have removed glass from their recycling programs, and Queen Creek’s recycled cardboard would be more valuable without it.
Simpson said that cardboard is currently worth about $70 per ton with glass, and would fetch upwards of $90 without it.
TURNING from page 7
“It actually was very positive talk,” Rohrs said. “Their history is that they came out of tough circumstances, and then got past it, and you want to kind of share that. They did talk a lot about their being canceled for trying to speak out against the narrative that’s out there.
What it also is, according to Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, D-Chandler, is illegal.
There had been a 1940 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which said that Jehovah’s Witnesses could be required to salute the flag and recite the pledge despite religious objections.
But Pawlik noted the court reversed its stance three years later after the West Virginia Board of Education adopted a resolution ordering that the salute to the flag become a regular part of activities in public schools, requiring students to participate and saying that refusal would be “regarded as an act of insubordination, and shall be dealt with accordingly.’’
“If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein,’’ wrote Justice Robert Jackson. “If there are any
“For me it’s a big question,” said Vice Mayor Jeff Brown. “I’d love to see the math that staff is doing that results in you not necessarily recommending we take it out of the curbside carts now.
“It is not always clean. It contaminates the cardboard and it costs a ton, literally, to transport it because it is so heavy compared to the same volume of cardboard.”
Brown asked Simpson the approximate value of glass per ton.
“For us, right now in our system, it is zero,” Simpson responded.
Simpson said the town does not have immediate plans to remove glass from its program and has launched a glass only recycling pilot program as well as a bottle recycling test project at the Founder’s Park splash pad.
“The other thing is that they said when they were growing up, they were very afraid of white people, because that’s what they were taught. So they were reaching out to kids and saying, ‘Hey, look, just don’t judge each other by what you look like go find out about people, get to know them. Then make a decision whether you like them or not.’ So I thought it was pretty good.”
circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.’’
And Pawlik said that was buttressed by a 1969 Supreme Court ruling which upheld the First Amendment right of students to wear black armbands at school as a silent protest against the war in Vietnam.
“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’’ wrote Justice Abe Fortas.
Parker, however, said there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution requiring separation of church and state. The only restriction, said Parker, is that the government cannot form or enforce a state religion.
She also pointed out when the Supreme Court ruled in 1943 the words “under God’’ were not in the pledge.
“And nobody’s ever opposed that,’’ Parker said.
Finally, she said, nothing changes
for students who don’t want to say the pledge -- at least for those whose parents excuse them from that obligation.
“The current law is that parents have a right to direct the education of their child,’’ Parker said. “And this is a parents’ rights state.’’
A final roll-call vote would send the measure to the Senate.
In a separate measure, a vote is pending in the Senate on a related bill to financially penalize schools that do not obey existing laws requiring that there be a U.S. flag in each classroom.
“This is to make sure that students growing up understand the country in which they live and embrace the citizenship and the founding principles that we hold so dear,’’ said Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.
Rogers acknowledged she had no figures on how many schools were not following the law. But she said she had heard from constituents that there are instances of noncompliance.
If you’ve been stuck for minutes or hours waiting to get across railroad tracks, Arizona lawmakers are moving to provide relief.
Legislation approved last Friday by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure would limit the length of trains going through the state to 8,500 feet.
And while 1.6 miles may seem like a lot, Scott Jones, a licensed locomotive engineer in Arizona, told lawmakers that the two main railroads operating in the state have been running trains a lot longer than that.
What’s wrong with that, he said, is when they have to stop to do switching operations. And he said that can leave trains on the main track extending out of the yard and blocking traffic on both sides. Scott cited photos of a 16,800-foot train, half of it carrying new cars and trucks to the vehicle distribution facility in El Mirage.
“And they’re blocking crossings all the way down Grand Avenue,’’ he said, stretching as far as Bell Road to 99th Avenue in Sun City. And in the meantime, Scott said, access across the tracks at Thompson Ranch Road, including to a school and fire station, remained blocked for an hour and 20 minutes.
There are other situations in downtown Phoenix in the rail yard near Chase Field, Scott said, where people trying to get to the ballpark from the south on streets that have grade crossings are blocked.
But Rep. Consuelo Hernandez, D-Tucson, whose district extends into rural Santa Cruz County, said this isn’t strictly an urban problem. She said roads in her area of the state have been blocked for more than an hour.
“When you can’t get across because a train is crossing, that means you can’t go to work, you can’t go to school,’’ Hernandez said. “It also means that if there’s an accident, God forbid, the first responders cannot get to that location on time.’’ Dunn acknowledged that longer trains
may be more economical for companies to operate.
The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, which bills itself as an independent, nonprofit think tank, produced a report saying that a train of 10,000 to 12,000 feet moving freight between Illinois and New Jersey would cost around $60,000.
Splitting the same freight between two 5,000-foot trains, it said, would cost $74,000.
Hernandez also cited the train derailment earlier this month in East Palestine, Ohio, where freight cars filled with a variety of toxic chemicals spilled, creating a hazardous situation.
Some of the chemicals, including five rail cars with cancer-causing vinyl chloride, were intentionally burned off to avoid an explosion. And while there was a temporary evacuation, some residents continue to complain of rashes and respiratory problems.
Federal investigators have said it appears the incident was caused with a mechanical issue with a rail car axle.
But CBS news said employees working the train told them they believe the
concealed weapons-carry instructor, as a member of The Armed Woman of America - Gunsite and Chino Valley chapters and as the Safety and EMS director of The Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association.
“Statistics in 2021 showed that 259 accidental firearm injuries in this nation resulted in 104 deaths of our children,” Bliss said. “Many of these are when our children visit other homes or come across an unsecured firearm.”
train’s excessive length and weight – 151 cars, 9,300 feet and 18,000 tons – was a factor in an earlier breakdown and the ultimate derailment.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are no federal laws or regulations on blocked crossings. Nor are there state laws.
What does exist, Scott told lawmakers, are regulations of the Arizona Corporation Commission which prohibit railroads from blocking public grade crossings to be blocked for more than 10 continuous minutes unless it is moving continuously in one direction. But he told lawmakers that isn’t providing any relief.
“They essentially log in the complaints,’’ Scott said.
No one from any of the railroad companies that operate in Arizona came to the meeting to testify on HB 2531 even though it was filed and available online nearly a month ago and has been on the committee agenda for days.
The 10-0 vote, with only Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley abstaining, sends the measure to the full House.
materials can be shared with parents. They can take them home and discuss safe handling and the safe storage of firearms in the home.
“For this bill, this is one-time education and this bill takes into consideration the academic freedom in that it allows a variety of firearm accident prevention programs and curriculum that may be used. And this bill also allows a variety of teachers qualified to teach the content.
The problem this bill is trying to solve is firearm accident prevention through education so that our kids are safe from firearm injuries and deaths.”
Bliss stressed that under her measure the training “does not cover topics such as firearm operation or hunting but rather the safe and unsafe handling of firearms.”
“This is a non-controversial safety subject that teaches children safety topics such as when they see an unattended firearm – depending on the age – to stop, don’t touch, go find an adult if you see a firearm,” Bliss said.
“The beauty of this is handouts and
“I want to emphasize again, this bill is not about live firearms training rather it’s about the training of the concept of firearm safety.”
Arizona Education Association, with over 20,000 members, opposed the bill, saying that educators were not consulted during the crafting.
“We have too many unfunded mandates that are having a negative impact on our public schools,” said Isela Blanc, legislative liaison for the association at a Feb. 6 House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee hearing.
Blanc instead favored another gun-safe-
Though the East Valley sits about 175 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the city took a step closer to becoming a port-of-entry for goods to and from Mexico as the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Board approved a three-year deal to lease a hangar to Danish shipping giant DSV Air & Sea.
The airport is governed by a board that also includes Gilbert and Queen Creek because of its regional importance.
Officials said the hangar is a foothold for a larger partnership that could see DSV eventually lease as much as 1 million square feet of space at the airport and set up an import and export hub with TSA screening facilities.
DSV specializes in international shipping and says it is one of world’s largest shippers of goods between Asia and Mexico.
Its expansion here is a sign that the international business world believes there’s substance behind the hype about Arizona becoming a new semiconductor and high tech manufacturing hub.
DSV Director Tina Larsen told the board it expects local shipping demand from semiconductor factories, electric car manufacturers, mining operations and the alternative energy industry.
“Not to mention perishables,” she added. “You may have avocados and things like that.”
PMGA officials and board members were all smiles as Larsen described the company’s vision for a hub at Mesa comparable to existing cargo operations in Huntsville, Alabama and Rockford, Illinois.
If a March 9 test flight goes well, the company plans to start with two to four cargo flights per week at the airport with the 747, the largest widely used cargo aircraft.
“We think this is an incredible opportunity to show DSV that this is where they belong,” PMGA President J. Brian O’Neil told the board.
The March test flight will determine how well the 747 can navigate the ramp from the runway to DSVs new space.
“This is an extremely large aircraft,” O’Neil told the board. “There’s going to
be wing walkers, there’s going to be towing of this aircraft. We are working very closely with DSV.”
“Wing walkers” are workers who will walk beneath the tips of the plane’s wings to ensure they don’t clip anything on the journey to the hangar.
According to the International Air Transport Association, goods are generally shipped by air if they are either high value or needed in a timely manner.
Last year, airport officials reported an uptick in cargo flights landing at the airport to deliver materials to the Lucid EV car factory in Casa Grande. Previously these flights went through Tucson, but the car maker has been shifting to
That may be a small taste of the future for Mesa’s airport if DSV sticks around.
Larsen said the March test flight will be carrying material for “one of the semicons in the area,” referring to a semiconductor manufacturer.
Mesa caught the company’s attention in part because of the joint U.S.-Mexican customs inspection facilities under development in the southwest corner of the airport at SkyBridge Arizona, a 360acre campus under development that will cater to international air cargo with customs, warehouses and other facilities.
“We have a lot of hope for this area, and we believe it is a significant part of
our growth objectives for years to come,” Larsen told the board.
Larsen said DSV’s Los Angeles hub currently handles much of its Asia-to-Mexico business, but the company wants to shift part of that to Mesa.
PGMA’s air cargo operations are ramping up at a good time for the airport’s goal of becoming an international portof-entry via air.
The New York Times reported this month that manufacturers are investing billions in Mexico as they shift production away from China to be closer to U.S. markets.
In another development that could bring Mesa closer to Mexico, PMGA is beginning to plan for the possibility that its largest carrier, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Airlines, could start offering flights to Mexico from the airport.
The company announced a partnership with Mexican leisure travel carrier Viva Aerobus last year, and the carrier is currently awaiting a decision from the U.S. Department of Transportation on whether the agency will allow the collaboration.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this month that Allegiant pilots oppose the merger because there are currently no assurances that Mexican pilots will not do all of the flying.
Allegiant is evidently eyeing Mesa as a site for Mexico-bound flights as it has asked airport officials if they can set up a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility at the passenger terminal.
PMGA envisions setting up a customs facility by repurposing a 6,500-squarefoot tension fabric structure it purchased last year to serve as a temporary terminal during construction on its expanded five-gate terminal.
“Once the terminal addition is completed, we’re going to take this building down … and we’re going to try and convince U.S. Customs and Border Protection to allow us to use this as a Federal Inspection Services facility,” O’Neil said.
Immediately after the airport board meeting, SkyBridge held a groundbreaking ceremony for its next building, a 250,000-square-foot industrial space targeting air cargo, e-commerce, manufacturing and defense specialists.
Former Mesa council member David
10
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
As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves
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.
Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:
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
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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 February 28th, 2023 Call (480) 274-3157 to make an appointment.
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ty measure – HB 2192 authored by Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix, who sits on the committee. Longdon, a gun-control advocate, is a wheelchair user after she was shot in a random drive-by.
Longdon’s bill would require people owning guns and ammunition to properly store them away from children, which is what responsible gun ownership is, Blanc said.
“Stop putting pressure on educators and on our public school systems,” she said. “The onus is on folks that own guns.”
Moms Demand Action, a nonprofit group advocating for stronger gun laws, also opposed the bill. The group has its own firearms safety program called Be SMART– an acronym for secure, model, ask, recognize and tell.
The program is aimed at parents and firearms owners to take the responsibility, not children, said Kelley Ireland, co-leader of Be SMART in Tucson. Ireland added that firearms safety training sessions in schools “could traumatize children.”
This is not the first time such a bill has been considered. In 2022, Bliss’ District 1 colleague, Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, introduced HB 2448, which was nearly identical to HB 2332, with many sections of Nguyen’s bill taken verbatim by Bliss.
Longdon introduced an amendment to the bill that would give schools the option to teach the course instead of mandating they offer the training. But it was shot down on a party-line vote with eight Republicans against and seven Democrats in favor.
That committee eventually passed Bliss’ bill by an 8-7 vote
Longdon said that her amendment also would have allowed for exemptions such as for religious beliefs and students with Individualized Educational Plan as the experience of taking the course “might not be beneficial to their learning experience.”
“We are not exempting them either,” she said. “So we’re not giving parents the choice that they need to be able to make
CARGO from page 11
in the best interest of their personal family by not passing the amendment and so for that I’m a hard’ no.’”
According to the proposed bill, parents would be allowed to opt their student out of the training.
The House Rules Committee advanced the bill on Feb. 13 by a 5-3 vote.
(GSN Managing Editor Cecilia Chan contributed to this report.)
Luna touted the groundbreaking as a step forward in increasing international trade in the region.
Luna said he was involved in the City
of Mesa’s efforts to bring a joint U.S. and Mexico customs facility to the airport so it could function as a port of entry.
“This is a perfect example of how the two countries can collaborate in terms of economic development,” Luna said.
It did not get much more Old West than it did last weekend at Horseshoe Park Equestrian Centre in Queen Creek
“Every kid wants to grow up to be a cowboy, right?” asked Zane Chunn who won his fourth Western Championships in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, a competition that involves guns, horses, timing and aim.
“I turned 5 years old and decided I wanted to be a cowboy,” Chunn said. “I was one of those that had that bug. I loved John Wayne movies. I loved Matt Dillon.
“But we lived in a country club community on a golf course and my parents were kind of taken aback by that but, you know, they were very supportive of it and got me riding lessons when I was five.”
He credits his mom with getting him horseback riding lessons at an early age. A few years later he discovered a sport that combined shooting guns with being on horseback. “When we found the sport, it was certainly a perfect fit,” he said.
Chunn was hooked. He became a professional cowboy mounted shooter at age 15 and has never looked back.
“From then on, I wanted to be the best,” Chunn said. “I lived and breathed it 24/7 as a kid and was fortunate enough to have some early success.”
This is Chunn’s 19th overall CMSA title and he has set a goal to win 30 titles by age 30. The Fort Smith, Arkansas, resident, who lives on a ranch, is now 25.
He has already won more shooting championships than anyone else, he said, and was inducted into the Cowboy
Chunn estimates he has taken home between $12,000 and $14,000 over his last three contests, which will come in handy since mounted shooting, like many specialty sports, can be expensive. The horse alone can run you upwards of $30,000. Then there’s the cost of desensitizing the horse to the sound of gunshots next to its ears. Add another $4,000 for a pair of .45 single action revolvers, more money for fancy tack, holsters, trailers, and gear and it all adds up to real money.
David Royal, marketing, and partnerships director for the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, himself a participant and avid shooter, says it is well worth the investment.
“When you bond with a horse and you have that connection to be able to compete, to ride,” Royal said, “when you get into the arena and you bond with horse and you are running anywhere between 15 to 25 mile per hour through a course and you’re shooting at the targets, it becomes exhilarating.”
Mounted Shooting Association Hall of Fame last year.
Rooted in old Westerns movies, bullets, and beer cans out in the Sonoran Desert, the competitive event was tamed and wrangled into a safer spectator sport 30 years ago, and with it, out went the beer cans and bullets, and in came some decorum.
Riders are timed as they race through one of 80 predetermined courses, firing blanks loaded with black powder and aiming to shoot 10 balloons attached to sticks.
A shooter has two holstered .45 single-shot revolvers, meaning they must pull the trigger back and cock the gun every time they want to shoot it, which is
at least every couple of seconds.
“There is really nothing else like it,” Chunn said. “It’s strictly based on time and accuracy, not judged at all.”
The quickest and most accurate shooter through the course in the fastest time is the winner.
“This is the first major championship win that I’ve actually had with a penalty,” he said. “I missed a balloon. But I was able to be really aggressive on the last run and I had to make up about one second in the final stage to win.”
Chunn came back from 39th place for the win by a razor-thin 1.2 seconds in a field of 267 competitors.
“It came down to the wire on the last run,” he said. “I just squeaked it out.”
There are 19,000 members of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association in the United States and Canada, Royal said, and the sport keeps getting increasingly popular as people are discovering different competition levels at hundreds of events across the country.
It will be back in Queen Creek when it holds another event during the Roots N Boots Rodeo at Horseshoe Park Equestrian Centre March 19.
“It is absolutely thrilling,” Chunn said. “To be able to ride a horse and shoot a gun … the two things that I love the most and to combine them into one sport is just unbelievable. It’s such an American sport, really. It really is the epitome of Old West America.”
Childhood memories of eating churros and watching them made in Santiago, Chile, motivated Jared Naumann to bring the dessert concept to Arizona that he says may soon find its way to Queen Creek.
Naumann opened his first churro store in Gilbert on March 30, 2018 and his second in Chandler two years ago.
“When we opened, we had a line out the door, around the building from 11 a.m.-midnight every day, non-stop,” Naumann. “We served over 12,000 orders in the first 1 1/2 months. We hired 13 employees in the first month.”
Eventually, the business got into catering and serves hundreds of guests each weekend at wedding receptions.
The Mesa resident would like to start franchising but is also looking to open another store in the West Valley and possibly in San Tan Valley and Queen Creek. In 2016, Jared and his wife Annie visited Spain and tried the churros.
“When we tried them over there, one of the things I really liked was not only the churro itself but the hot chocolate,” said Naumann, owner of Dulce Churro Cafe in Gilbert and Chandler.
“I’m not a big fan of hot chocolate but when I tried the hot chocolate in Spain, I was surprised and shocked at how good it was. It’s a dark chocolate you dip churros in,” adding that in Spain, people eat churros for breakfast.
There is one big misconception surrounding the tasty treat, he said.
“While a lot of people think churros come from Mexico, they don’t,” Naumann said. “They come from Spain. That’s where they originated. They came to Mexico in 1930. Spaniards went to Mexico and started to make churros there.”
He said each country throughout South America has its own small variation on how to make churros but they’re
typically eaten plain or filled with dulce de leche. Mexico introduced the concept of cinnamon sugar.
In Spain, the shape of churros also is different.
“It’s a little loop,” explained Naumann. “A small loop. Second, the dough is simply made with flour, salt and water. You can add a little bit of sugar if you want to. It’s a very simple mix.
“Over there they fry churros in sunflower seed oil or olive oil that gives it a little bit different taste. After I tried it, I wanted to look into it more.”
The Naumanns learned about a churro school in Spain and six months after his first visit, Jared went back and took
Jared and Annie Naumann bring the taste of Spain to their Dulce Churro Café.
(Special to the Tribune)
“One of the main things I wanted to do is let people have the experience. You can watch them fry the churros if you go to Mexico or Spain.”
Naumann designed his shops where churros are made to order but also where customers can watch how they’re made.
“The equipment is fun to watch,” said Naumann. “We created a corner with glass…where people can come up, order their churro and then walk over and see the churro being made from scratch.”
He said the whole restaurant is designed around the fryer because it’s different than what you see in other kitchens.
Customers have a choice of glazes, toppings, fillings and ice cream.
“We fill them right in front of you,” said Naumann. Fillings include dulce de leche, Nutella, Bavarian cream, peanut butter, strawberry and lemon.
All churros come with cinnamon sugar but Naumann said many people order them plain.
“From that point, you can create your own and add icing, glazes, drizzles like chocolate, caramel, strawberry and white chocolate,” explained Naumann. “You can also choose toppings such as Fruity Pebbles, Oreos, marshmallows, almonds and sprinkles. Sprinkles are the favorite among kids.”
the class – learning about the history, preparation and business of churros.
He then bought churro equipment.
“By far, Spaniards make the best quality, longer-lasting equipment for churros,” Naumann said. “I decided to buy all the equipment. I brought it all back.”
Next, it was time to design the restaurant around this concept — not only the way churros are made in Spain but also in Chile and Mexico because Naumann wants customers to have a choice.
His shops make one dough but offer several shapes that include el grande, loop, Spaniard, bites and donut shapes.
“People can have the churro from all different parts of the world,” he said.
Filled churros are the most popular with dulce de leche being the favorite filling followed by Nutella or Bavarian cream.
As far as the shapes go, the grande filled is the #1 choice among customers followed by bites. The Spaniard shape seems to be the more popular one for dipping into Spanish hot chocolate.
Dulce Churro Cafe 1674 N.Higley Road, Gilbert 480-981-3628
1050 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler 480-900-7038 dulcechurrocafe.com
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BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
For the better part of four generations, Americans have grown into adulthood seemingly afloat upon an ocean of acronyms.
That’s especially true when it comes to our federal government.
News from Washington is filled with letters denoting governmental entities—DOJ, FBI, CIA…CDC, OMB— and the one agency that expects to hear directly from you every April 15—the IRS. What most of us find especially taxing is the explosion of acronyms that corresponds with the exponential growth of government.
Bill Clinton may have said “The Era of Big Government is over” in early 1995 but 9-11, the Age of Obama, and the “Pandemic Panic” ensured that poll-tested phrase
would end up in history’s wastebasket.
More resilient and reliable is the humor of the late Ronald Reagan. Our 40th President, speaking at a 1986 press conference, famously quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”
Sure enough, there’s one federal agency that is supposed to answer urgent calls for assistance requiring the resources of the Feds.
It answers to the acronym FEMA—the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As the name implies it is supposed to assist states, cities, towns— and wherever afflicted Americans can be found in times of peril.
But like the Reagan observation of almost 40 years ago, a recent national emergency did not result in an urgent response from Uncle Sam—and unlike the Gipper’s anecdote—there’s nothing funny about it.
On the first Friday night in February, a Norfolk Southern train pulling close to 150 freight cars derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
Twenty of those cars were carrying hazardous materials, and five of them were filled with vinyl chloride. That’s the chemical compound associated with increased risk for liver cancer, and other forms of that disease, according to another federally funded entity, the National Cancer Institute—also known by its acronym, NCI.
Given the dangers, you would think that an SOS would emanate from that eastern Ohio town – and also from affected Pennsylvanians, who live just across the nearby state line.
In fact, that distress call did go out— but for some reason, the bureaucrats on the banks of the Potomac weren’t especially keen on offering a quick response. Instead, those “acronym bearing swamp dwellers” embraced an anachro -
nism—the old advertising slogan of a bygone era: “Long Distance is the next best thing to being there.”
So with Official Washington content to “phone it in,” state and local officials— along with railroad representatives— worked over that first February weekend to contain a catastrophe that soon grew even more catastrophic.
Officials on the ground observed a “drastic temperature change” in one of the rail cars carrying vinyl chloride, and that prompted a drastic decision.
Fearing a massive explosion that could scatter shrapnel over a mile-wide area, authorities opted to evacuate East Palestine on Sunday evening, then initiate a “controlled release” of the toxic chemical the following day.
When that “vent and burn” began in the late afternoon of Monday, Feb.6, a mushroom cloud soon took shape,
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
The first time I visited Nogales to see the Mexican border with my own eyes was more than 20 years ago.
George W. Bush was President and the border was a sieve. A rancher named Roger Barnett gave me a tour of his land near Douglas, where he detained border crossers by the score. Later, I headed to Nogales and spoke to the Border Patrol officers.
One statistic lodged in my mind.
That year, the Border Patrol reported 1.6 million “encounters” with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Fast forward 20 years. Little has changed except for the name of our
president. In 2021, the last year for which we have complete numbers, the Border Patrol again reported 1.6 million encounters with migrants.
I mention it because the story of George Alan Kelly and Gabriel Cuen-Butimea should come as absolutely no surprise.
Kelly, a 75-year-old rancher, has been charged with first-degree homicide for allegedly shooting down Cuen-Butimea in cold blood on Jan. 30 near Kino Springs in Santa Cruz County. Kelly also faces two counts of assault for allegedly shooting two of Cuen-Butimea’s compatriots.
“Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life,” said Kimberly Hunley, the chief deputy Santa Cruz County Attorney, in a Feb. 22 court hearing. “There was no warning and the victim was more than 100 yards from the defendant’s res-
idence when he was shot and killed.”
Kelly and his court-appointed lawyer call this version of the story absolutely false.
As Kelly tells the tale through court documents, he and his wife Wanda were about to eat lunch when he heard a gunshot. He looked outside and saw a “group of men” brandishing AK-47s “moving through the trees around his home.”
Kelly says he grabbed a rifle. “As he shot, Mr. Kelly took care to aim well over the heads of the armed group of men,” a defense motion says. “The group then began running into the desert surrounding his home.”
The Kellys called the Border Patrol, which came to investigate. The feds found nothing and left. Come sundown, Kelly went to check on his horse. That’s when he says he found a body.
“The cause of death appeared to be a single gunshot wound, and it appeared that the body was fresh,” according to the defense. “The person had a radio with him, and he was wearing tactical boots, indicating that he was possibly involved in illegal activity.”
No bullet has been found to determine which gun fired the deadly shot. Thus far, it appears the prosecutor’s case is based mostly on the testimony of Kelly’s two other alleged victims.
Unimpressed, the defense says, “It is entirely possible that the person found on Mr. Kelly’s property was a victim of other drug traffickers.”
Predictably, Kelly’s case has spawned massive international media coverage. He remains in jail on $1 million bond,
see LEIBOWITZ page 18
BY KERRY SCHULMAN Tribune Guest Writer
The history and mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona are powerful: to be a welcoming “homeaway-from-home” for families with children facing medical challenges, providing an atmosphere of comfort, hope, and courage.
Imagine receiving the news that your child is extremely sick, and the medical care needed is across the state.
On top of the anxiety and concern about your child’s well-being is the stress of leaving your support system behind, figuring out where you will stay, and how you will pay for it all.
Unexpected medical bills, the cost of transportation, and a hotel stay quickly add up.
That is why RMHCCNAZ exists. We provide hundreds of families each year with a comfortable and safe place to stay close to their hospitalized children.
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prompting one official to comment that the small town had been “nuked.”
Certainly it made the situation even more politically “radioactive” for elected officials, but it was much worse for residents who were eventually allowed—and encouraged—to return to their homes.
They found pets and livestock sick and dying…and the water in nearby creeks shimmering with an ominous
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the subject of death threats and on 23hour lockdown.
Multiple GoFundMes have been started to pay for his defense – and been
Our goal is to take care of families’ basic needs so they can focus 100% of their energy on advocating for their children and helping them heal.
In response to the growing need for our services, we now have three locations that boast a total of 72 rooms to accommodate families.
Our Dobson House was established on the campus of Banner Children’s at Desert in 2014.
At all three of our locations, we truly provide families with all the comforts of home, including access to free WiFi, a community pantry, laundry facilities, a community kitchen and dining room, playroom, library, family room, and shaded playgrounds.
Providing access to quality pediatric healthcare is at the heart of our Keeping Families Together Program.
Because families are not asked to pay anything during their stay, RMHCCNAZ levels the playing field for all families experiencing a pediatric health crisis.
It does, however, cost RMHCCNAZ $107 to house and support one family for one night.
rainbow hue.
Even the air that they breathed concerned the townspeople, as officials explained that the evacuation was required since more than vinyl chloride was released.
Phosgene and hydrogen chloride fumes also escaped.
Phosgene was used as a chemical weapon in World War I—a highly toxic gas that causes vomiting and breathing difficulties…and some area residents began suffering from those symptoms long
shut down because the case is so controversial.
On the political right, Kelly has become a hero, his case a cautionary tale of the evil left. As one conservative blogger spins it: “How is it that Mr. Kelly
We ensure all families can access the medical specialists their children need, not just those families with the resources to cover costly hotel stays and transportation expenses.
A total of 3,009 children and adults were served at RMHCCNAZ last year and benefitted from 15,539 nights of rest.
More than half the families we serve
after authorities had given the “all clear.”
Still unclear is Washington’s lack of motivation to provide a “muscular response.”
Is it because East Palestine, Ohio is not “diverse” enough?
Recall that Vice President Harris initially suggested that post-Hurricane Ian aid to Florida be based on “equity, and understanding that not everyone starts out at the same place…sometimes we have to take into account those disparities.”
Or could it be the disparity between
finds himself in this position? It is because of the lawlessness of the progressive socialist left, the Biden administration, to enact an unconstitutional open borders policy.”
I believe two things about this case
are considered low-income and eligible for Medicaid, and 53% of the young patients we served in 2022 were between birth and five years old.
The top pediatric diagnoses our families faced in 2022 were birth defects and complications from premature birth, heart conditions, neurological disorders, and pediatric cancer.
RMHCCNAZ is unique and promotes long-term health outcomes for families. No other organization in central and northern Arizona provides free, temporary lodging, nourishing meals, and necessities to families experiencing a pediatric health crisis far from home and their support systems.
We are so grateful for the support from across our community that allows us to continue to support families in need.
The generosity of businesses, community groups, and generous individuals ensures that families are welcome to stay at our Houses for as long as they need, free of charge.
Kerry Schulman is CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona.
the 2020 vote totals in East Palestine? The Trump/Pence ticket received 906 more votes than Biden/Harris… a margin far greater than the 641 ballots cast in favor of Joe and Kamala.
What casts a political shadow on all of this is the fact that FEMA finally decided to show up in East Palestine…as soon as Donald Trump announced that he would personally visit on Feb. 22.
Which proves that the acronym giving Joe Biden a “sinking feeling” is spelled “GOP.”
with all my heart.
One, Kelly is innocent until proven guilty. And two, nothing at the border has changed in 20 years, no matter the president, no matter the political promises, no matter the lengthy list of the dead.
Have an interesting sports story?
Contact Zach Alvira at zalvira@timespublications.com and follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.
Chants of “Two! Two! Two!” and cheers from family and friends rained down on all the state’s top wrestlers from every school and division as they battled in the 2023 AIA state championship at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 18.
Sunnyside of Tucson proved to be the top dog again in Division I, coming in first with a dominant 307.5 points and placing 13 kids throughout the 14 weight classes.
“It almost seemed like it was Sunnyside versus all the matches out there,” Hamilton coach Travis Miller said half jokingly. However, the East Valley made sure it was well represented with 41 kids placed from Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tempe.
In Division I, Mountain View came in third with 135 points with seven kids
placing. Desert Vista came in a close fourth place with 122 points, placing five. Logan Smith, who placed third at 132 pounds for Desert Vista, said he was disappointed in his performance, as well as the Thunder’s.
“I could’ve done better,” he said. “Not what we (as a team) expected. We could’ve done better definitely.”
Despite his disappointment, Smith will leave Desert Vista with numerous accolades under his belt.
The third-place win secures his spot as the only Thunder wrestler currently on the team to place at state in the top-three in all four years of high school. He’s also the program’s only current four-time sectionals champion all in different weight classes.
Smith signed with Central College earlier this month, a Division III school in Iowa. He is currently weighing his options, however, as he may decide to pursue a different route in college.
One of Smith’s teammates, Carter Holt, placed third at 138 pounds for Desert Vista. He echoed Smith’s testament that the Thunder underperformed and were disappointed with their results.
“We did better earlier in the week,” he said. “We didn’t expect Damen (Miller) to lose. We couldn’t get it done tonight.” Miller, who wrestles at 144 pounds, was
WRESTLING
Delin Peterson’s pace proved too much for Gilbert Christian as the Benjamin Franklin Chargers took girls’ soccer 3A crown.
The sophomore contributed two goals and one assist as her Chargers side came back from behind to win their first state title 3-1.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Benjamin Franklin coach John Greksa said. “It’s the first one in our school’s history, so I’m so proud of these girls. Just so proud.”
After a cagey opening half-hour, Gilbert Christian broke the deadlock in the 39th minute. Benjamin Franklin had the best of the opportunities prior to that point, but Caprice Chiuchiolo’s strike from distance put the Knights ahead.
Any hope of riding that high into the
half-time break was quickly dashed. Moments later, with just 15 second remaining in the half, Peterson made up for some of her earlier misses by burying an equalizer.
“Once we gave up that goal in the first half, it just basically gave them all the momentum going into the second half,” Knights coach Hector Orellana said. “I felt like they were caught off-guard by our goal, but that pretty much changed the game.”
Benjamin Franklin did bring some of that momentum in the second half, but Gilbert Christian held them off valiantly, creating a handful of chances of their own. However, it fell to a spell of three minutes, just over halfway into the second period, to prove the difference for the Chargers.
With 63 minutes on the clock, Peterson cut inside from the byline, before playing
the only Desert Vista wrestler competing in a state title match. He fell Sunnyside’s Christian Rivera.
Casteel fell in fifth place with 91 points while Desert Ridge placed sixth with 79 points.
Hamilton nearly cracked the top-10 at 11 with 50.5 points.
“Being at the DI level, you never know what’s going to happen,” Hamilton coach Travis Miller said. “There’s a lot of good competition, but I’m really proud of our kids and how well they did and the placers we had making the podium. Putting Hamilton near the top-10 for us is big. I’m proud.”
Miller added that his second-place finisher at 165 pounds, Grant Murray, gave Mike Avelar of Sunnyside — who is committed at the collegiate Division I level — a run for his money.
“He (wrestling in his first state finals) really brought it to him,” Miller said. “He made a seasoned champion look a little bit nervous before championships do what champions do.”
Chandler, Corona del Sol and Queen Creek closed out the East Valley in Division I.
Queen Creek coach Joel Anderson acknowledged the dominance by Sunnyside but credited his boys for the grueling season and effort in the championship rounds.
“I’m incredibly proud of my boys,” Anderson said. “You know, the season is long, not everyone sees the mat during
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a ball across the face of goal for Izzy Lewis to tap home. Shortly after, Peterson’s pace took her past several defenders, and Selah Hommell in the Knights’ net proved no match for her shot.
“We saw that was their gameplan, just to find Delin on the side,” Orellana said. “It’s one of those things where you have to show up and win those one-on-one matchups. We did what we could, but she’s a talented player.”
It was the third time – second resulting in a goal – that a quick Peterson attack after a kick-off created a goalscoring opportunity.
“We’ve got speed on the top, on the front line there,” Greksa said. “We wanted to utilize that. We knew we could get those balls
the season, it’s tough. But the determination and grit make it here and to have my boys on that podium, it feels great.”
The Bulldogs placed two wrestlers, Riggs Anderson with fourth place at heavyweight (285 lbs) and Beau Shepherd with third place at 135 lbs.
The East Valley had little action in Division II, with Marlin Whyte of Mountain Pointe being the only contender, placing first at 165 lbs. The Pride finished 17th in Division II.
While Mesquite and Marcos de Niza were the two East Valley programs featured in Division III, the Wildcats had four make the podium. Angelo Martinez placed fifth at 106, Trevor Ouellette placed third at 120, Eli Conde placed second at 138 and Michael Story placed fifth at heavy weight.
Lius Pichardo was the lone Padre in Division III to place for Marcos de Niza, he finished third at 165.
The East Valley was well represented on the girls’ side early Saturday morning. Casteel’s girls finished in third place. The Colts were led by Isabella Munoz, who captured her third state championship in 145, as well as Anneliese Kisting (126) who was in the finals for the second time in her career.
Freshman Mia Johnson took fifth in her first state meet for Casteel.
Mountain View’s Taina Uasike placed second in the 185-pound class. Her finish is the highest in the history of the Toro girls’ wrestling program. Basha’s Trinity Bouchal captured her second state title wrestling in 165.
up to our forwards up there and use that speed.”
From there, there was no looking back.
Benjamin Franklin worked diligently to close down Chiuchiolo and others such as Daniella Orellana, unwilling to give them enough time on the ball to find a way back into the match.
“We just had to work on keeping ourselves together and composed,” Peterson said. “We had to be careful that we didn’t just go crazy and let anything happen.”
As the final buzzer sounded, jubilation broke out among the Charger players and their traveling support. As the celebrations continued at midfield, Knights coach Orellana consoled his young squad.
“Listen to them celebrate,” he told his players. “Listen to all this. We’ll be back.”
Six men dreamed of bringing a p iece of Italy to the desert, so the country would be represented in the best light.
Thus, the Scottsdale-based nonprofit Italian Association of Arizona was born.
“The founders wanted to find a way to bring Italians and those of Italian heritage together in one place to share pieces of their culture that fade away with every generation,” said Francesco Guzzo, executive director and Gilbert resident.
“The founders wanted to find a way to share that culture with those who appreciate what Italians and Italy has to offer. As much as we all love and enjoy true Italian cooking, Italy represents so much more than the food.”
The art, music, culture and traditions will be honored during the eighth annual Italian Festival at Heritage Square in
Phoenix on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5. The following weekend, Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March
12, Sun City will host the first Italian Festival at the Sundial Recreation Center.
“We started with a small event along
the Southbridge in Old Town Scottsdale in 2014 with a few vendors and lot of enthusiasm,” Guzzo said.
“Eight festivals later, we are hitting attendance capacity and keeping Italian traditions alive.”
The Italian Festival has a variety of live entertainment during the weekend including opera singers, The Sicilian Band, accordion player Cory Pesaturo, and traditional flag wavers from the Piemonte region.
“The flag wavers are finally able to come back after being gone since 2019,” Guzzo said.
“Fifteen or 16 flag wavers are flying in to perform throughout the festival. That’s a big deal for us. Everybody loves the flag wavers. Since COVID, they’ve been locked down and Italy was never back to normal the way it was here.”
The event will provide authentic
GETOUT STAFF
For 57 years, thousands of Arizonan Scotsmen and women have gathered in the metro area to celebrate their culture and heritage.
They’ll be doing it again next week when the Phoenix Scottish Games are presented by Caledonian Society of Arizona at Gilbert Regional Park, 3005 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert.
The games, which were moved to Gilbert Regional Park from Phoenix’s Steele Indian School Park, begin at 5 p.m. Friday, March 3, and run through Sunday, March 5.
You don’t have to be Scottish to join the fun – and if you’re not sure of your roots, there are genealogists on site who can help trace them.
The weekend opens Friday evening
with a colorful and stirring presentation called the Phoenix International Tattoo, a dazzling display of music and marches that echo the pageantry of the Scotland’s famed pipe band competitions.
This year, 28 members of the Isle of Skye Pipe Band from the city of Portree are flying into perform – some leaving their homes to travel abroad for the first time in their lives.
They will join an international cast of over 100 performers who include MarineSandpiper, Southern California’s only rock and roll bagpiper, and Craic in the Stone, who update traditional Scottish music with the sounds of the Pogues, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and other contemporary groups.
That performance will be followed Some of the 28 members of the Isle of Skye Pipe Band from the city of Portree in Scotland are leaving home for the first time to perform in the Friday opening of the Phoenix Scottish Games at Gilbert Regional Park. (Special to GetOut)
cuisine such as fresh biscottis, gelato, espresso, pasta and pizza. A few local vendors include L’Impasto, Little Italy of Scottsdale, Pasta Rea, My Daddy’s Italian Bakery and Pomo Pizzeria.
Non-food vendors will sell jewelry, handmade Italian leather purses and other items. Plus, children can enjoy face painting and balloon makers in the Kids Fun Zone.
The Italian Festival in Phoenix is sponsored by Peroni, DTPHX, Galbani, Queen Creek Olive Mill, Anderson Windows, PepsiCo and Desert Rose Transportation. The VIP Experience is thanks to Campari & Aperol.
Guzzo called La Cucina Galbani Cooking Stage a highlight.
“No one would have thought there would be such a solid Italian community in the desert and yet, here we are,” he said.
“It’s a little dispersed, but our voice
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by the ore traditional military tattoo, featuring performers from the United States, Canada and Scotland.
Also participating in both Friday even shows are the Alma College Kiltie Dancers, Arizona Academy of Highland Dance, Jason Cartmell’s Rockstrocity and the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band.
One of the most notable guests at the tattoo will be Alex Aghajanian, president of the Tournament of Roses Parade. His visit kicks off the Pipes on Parade project that will perform in the 2024 parade featuring many pipers and drummers from Arizona.
“This will be the largest pipe band in the history of the parade and already represents 12 countries,” said spokesman Darryl Toupkin.
Another guest is the Earl of Caithness, Malcolm Ian Sinclair, who is visiting from Scotland to preside over the Clan Sinclair family gathering at the games.
Performances run Friday from 7-8:45 p.m. but gates will open at 5 p.m. so
can be heard and now we can finally be seen. Historically speaking, the first known Italian to come through Arizona was Father Kino back in the late 1600s and built missions that still stand today.”
In 1691, Father Eusebio Kino made the first of about 40 expeditions into Arizona.
Now there’s a new generation of Italians making their mark in Arizona, he said. They range from Jerry Colangelo, businessman and sports executive, to chef Joey Maggiore who owns several local and national Italian and concept restaurants and is keeping his father’s (Tomaso Maggiore) legacy alive.
A repeat visitor to the festival is Margherita Fray of Scottsdale. The 96-yearold is the last living known partisan and an artist.
“There’s something unique and special about that lady,” Guzzo said. “I love that lady to death. We’re happy to support her and give her an opportunity to showcase her artwork. It’s just beautiful.”
Entrenched in the arts, she also
guests can enjoy other entertainment and food.
Once the games themselves kick into high gear Saturday, there will be plenty of eye-popping action for young and old alike.
Men and women will be testing their strength in games like the Caber Toss, Sheaf Toss, Scottish Hammer Throw and Stone Put as well as wrestling.
Don’t like athletic competitions? No worries.
Also on the card all weekend is music, dancing and storytelling as 35 clans gather in small camps throughout the park to celebrate family reunions.
Entertainment includes the International Bagpipe Competition with at least six pipe bands, the Highland Dancing Competition and music by groups that include the Noble McCoy Band, Stoneybank, the Alma College Kiltie Highland Dancers and Jason Cartmell’s Rockstrocity.
Mary, Queen of Scots will be attending with her court and Toupkin said attendees can expect to see spontaneous parades thoughout the weekend.
penned a book called “Marisa’s Courage.”
She was raised in an anti-fascist family in Italy, where they were witness to bombings and executions by home-grown and foreign aggressors.
She became a member of the Resistenza as a partisan, belonging to a group called the Garibaldi Brigade around her home city of Turin and participated in dangerous missions to support the fighters in the underground for several years.
Fray is still emotionally distraught over memories of this time. In 1947 she came to America as a war bride, marrying a man she had briefly met a year earlier. She endured the marriage to a “deeply flawed” man and moved to Scottsdale in 2000.
“There are still wars today and lives are still being lost,” she said through her daughter, Angela Fray. “The war in Ukraine has really affected me and brought back many memories. Countries don’t fight wars. The leaders of countries fight wars.”
Food will include meat pies and what Toupkin promises to be “the best fish n’ chips in the Valley.”
Thirsty attendees can check out the Locheil and Guinness beer gardens and whiskey and wine tasting booths. There will even be a cigar lounge on the premises.
Christopher Yate, an acrobat and stilt walker, will be entertaining and a British vintage car show will be offered.
Kilts and other Scottish apparel will be offered by some of the scores of vendors on the premises and there also will be plenty of kid-friendly activities such as a “fishing pond,” archery lessons, costumes, arts and crafts and others.
The event also is pet friendly and people are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the entertainment.
Proceeds from the games support scholarships for Highland athletes and entertainers and other activities of the Caledonian Society of Arizona, the largest Celtic organization in the state.
For information and tickets: phoenixscottishgames.com.
Fray said she enjoys meeting people at the festival and sharing her story in person.
“I am amazed that there is still so much interest in World War II,” she added. At the festival, she enjoys “the food and meeting vendors and seeing people enjoy themselves. The Italian Association does a great job.
“Italy has ancient history and art. I am really proud of being Italian. I am from a beautiful city and the former capital of Italy.”
What: Italian Festival
Where: Heritage Square, 115 N. Sixth Street, Phoenix
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 4, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, March 5
Cost: $10 in advance, and $20 day of. VIP experiences available Info: italianassociation.org
are right in the middle of Greek carnival season known as apokries. Greek street foods are, of course, a big part of the celebrations.
So this week I wanted to feature one of my favorite Greek appetizers, Kolokithokeftedes. Ok, that may seem Greek to you, but really, they are just delicious deep-fried zucchini balls paired here with a fantastic dipping sauce, and pronouncing the word correctly is not part of the recipe, so don’t worry about a thing!
(For the record, it’s pronounced Kolo-Keetho- Kef-ted-es.)
You’ll love the crunch and the fabulous flavor combination of zucchini, cheese, onion, garlic and a hint of white truffle oil, made even more delicious by dipping them in a zesty red sauce. There’s only one more thing to say about this delightful Mediterranean treat, “Nostimótatos!” ( Delicious!)
Ingredients:
Dipping sauce
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 fresh tomatoes, diced
• 2 TBSP fresh basil finely chopped
• 3 TBSP honey
• 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 TBSP parsley, chopped fine
Zucchini balls
• 3 TBSP butter
Directions:
1. In a bowl, place the toasted bread and cover with milk to soak. When bread is soft, squeeze the liquid out completely and discard remaining milk. Transfer bread to a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, add butter, onions and garlic. Sauté until soft and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Make the dipping sauce. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in tomatoes and simmer uncovered, until tomatoes have mostly broken down, about 25 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning.
5. Stir in basil, honey, salt, pepper, and parsley. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes.
6. Puree it in a food processor/blender. Place in a serving bowl and set aside.
7. Make the zucchini balls. In a small pan over medium
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp white truffle oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
• 3 large zucchini, grated and wrung out to drain liquid
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mozzarella, shredded
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 TBSP lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
high heat, sauté butter, olive oil, white truffle oil, onion and garlic, sautéing until soft and translucent and onions begin to caramelize. Remove from heat to cool down.
8. Grate zucchini. Place in a cheese cloth and wring out as much water as possible.
9. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, 1 TBSP of lemon zest, salt, black pepper and cooled sautéed onion mixture. Mix well to fully incorporate.
9. In a medium saucepot, add 2 cups of vegetable oil. Heat oil to 365 degrees.
10. Form the zucchini mixture into 1 inch balls, by rolling the zucchini mixture in the palm of your hands.
11. Add several balls into the hot oil and fry for about one minute on each side, cooking until deep golden brown.
12. Drain zucchini balls on a paper towel lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt Makes 16 zucchini balls.
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