New Band Teacher

See page A-4

BTA Butterfly Walk

Tough Choice

See page A-5 See page A-8

The Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News • 1075 S. Idaho Rd. Suite 102 • Apache Junction, AZ 85119 • 480-982-6397 Office • 480-982-3707 Fax • ajnews.com

A1 Volume XXI Issue 34 August 21 - August 27, 2017 The Only Hometown Paper

The Apache Junction & Gold Canyon

news

This week’s Weather

“Artoonist”

JosephSandoval

Age 5

Desert Vista Elementary

The News Kidcast

Tar & Feathers Cover Confederate Marker in Gold CanyonJefferson Davis Memorial Highway monument defacedBy Bill Van NimwegenThe News

Tar and feathers were found covering the plaque and stone pedestal on the Jefferson Davis Memo-rial Highway marker in Gold Canyon on Thursday morning, August 17. Located south of the intersection of US-60 and Peralta Rd., the marker has been there since 1962 and joins a growing list of markers and monu-ments to the Confederacy that have been recently removed or defaced amid the controversy following the August 12-13 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. “I was there this morn-ing to photograph it for a proposal to replace it with a monument to Rose Mofford, Arizona’s first

woman governor,” said Gold Canyon resident Ro-berto Reveles. “When I got there at 5:30, the feathers were still flying.” By the end of the day on Thursday, concerned citizens had managed

to remove most of the damage and restore the monument. Other monuments in the state have been vandal-ized, including the monu-ment in Wesley Bolin Plaza in Phoenix.

Concerned citizens worked to remove the damage and restore the monument. Photo courtesy of Rep. Kelly Townsend

Tar and feathers were found covering the plaque and stone pedestal on the Jefferson Davis Memorial High-way marker in Gold Canyon. The News photo

State Representative Reginald Bolding issued a statement on Thursday: “Vandalizing these monu-ments is not productive. This will not lead to the civil discourse and debate that we have been call-ing for. It is a short-term action that does not help the long-term goal of hav-ing these offensive monu-ments removed from state property.” The Gold Canyon mon-ument is on Arizona De-partment of Transporta-tion property and Arizona Department of Safety is in-vestigating the incident. The highway marker in Gold Canyon was origi-nally erected by the United Daughters of the Confed-eracy in 1943 near Duncan, Arizona, a community close to the state’s border

with New Mexico. According to the Sons of the Confederacy (SCV) Chapter 1708 website: “[The monument] is a part of a chain of monuments stretching across the South

along the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway. It was moved to its present loca-tion in 1962. It is celebrated each year by the United Daughters of the Confeder-acy (UDC) and the SCV.”

On Thursday, August 10, 292 sixth graders gathered at Centerstage Church (the old SMES building) to work through a series of seven classes designed to teach them leadership skills. The students attend Four Peaks, Desert Vista and Peralta Trail Elemen-tary Schools, all of which are part of the Apache Junction Unified School District. “CREW Training,” as it was called, originally started at Four Peaks El-ementary, spearheaded by Principal Brenda Farris. After more than 30 years in the district, Farris retired this year, but Peralta Trail Principal Natalie Clement saw the value in the pro-gram and determined to move forward with plans to give all 6th graders in the district the opportu-nity to participate. CREW stands for Car-ing, Responsible, Effortful and Wise… this year. Each year, students have de-termined what they want the acronym to mean. The guided activity of defin-ing the name and what they hope to achieve at CREW is a kick-off to a day that studies seven traits of leadership: Show Integrity, Achieve Goals, Set Priorities, Choose Your Attitude, Give Respect, Create Team and Build Habits. Principal Clement charged the young attend-

ees to, “Remember this in all you do. When you return to your campuses, embrace opportunities to demonstrate your new skills and inspire others.” As students rotated through the classrooms, they were greeted by community leaders, who shared some of the ways in which the leadership trait they were discuss-ing is expressed in their daily lives and accom-plishments. AJHS Student Council members then led the students in activities that illustrated the trait in a manner accessible to the age group. Council Member Jeff Struble, who helped to organize the event, com-mented afterward, “I know, based on the com-ments from the kids, they learned a lot, and it was a great way to start the year.” Apache Junction Police Department Captain Ar-nold Freeman said of the experience, “I think this is a tremendous program and something I think must continue. It was a pleasure working with the entire staff and a nostalgic trip into my past by having the event at SMES.” The local Kiwanis Club sponsored the program as a part of their education outreach goals, and com-munity leaders from many local arenas participated: from the City Council, Jeff

City Council Member and AJ/GC News Owner Robin Barker explains, “The first thing people see about you is your attitude. Attitude is contagious; you can control a situation with your attitude.”

Students perform an activity illustrating the impor-tance of priorities. “The rocks represent the big things in your life; what you will value at the end of your life. The pebbles are the other things that matter like hobbies and sports. The sand is everything else; the small stuff that fills our time, like watching tv and playing video games”

By Dana TrumbullThe News

By Al BravoSpecial to the News

Community Invests in Future LeadersAJ Kiwanis Club sponsors AJUSD 6th grade leadership training

see Leaders page A-7

see P&Z CUPs page A-7

see Water page A-7

‘Water for Living’ Tops 10,000 BottlesApache Junction water drive helps support the city’s less fortunate

The fourth annual Water for Living drive has collect-ed more than 10,000 bottles of water to help those in need in our community. The drive, spearheaded this year by the United Way of Pinal County, is held each summer at several locations throughout the city with donations being distributed

to area agencies. The drive has drawn more than 330 cases of donations, allowing us to serve over 5,000 individu-als. The Friends of Apache Junction con-tributed $250 toward water purchases and secured electrolyte product contribu-tions from GU En-ergy Labs. Republic Services generously

donated 60 cases to help keep residents hydrated as well.

The water drive also partnered with the Pinal County Sheriff’s office, and provided them with 20 cases of water to ensure their squad cars are fully stocked. The drive continues through the month of August.

Locations for donations:• AJI Sporting Goods, 10444 E. Apache Trail• Apache Junction Cham-ber of Commerce, 567 Apache Trail• Apache Junction Public Library, 1177 N. Idaho Rd.• Aurora Place, 675 W. Broadway• Central Arizona Com-munity College, 805 S.

Explosives Storage, New Med. Marijuana Dispensary in AJAJ Planning & Zoning to consider proposed CUPsBy Bill Van NimwegenThe News

Conditional Use Permit (CUP) applications for a second medical mari-juana dispensary in the city as well as proposed explosives storage at an Apache Junction business were discussed at the Au-gust 8, 2017, Apache Junc-tion Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. No action was taken on the two CUP applica-tions; they appeared on the agenda for discussion only. Public hearings and votes on the CUPs will be held at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at 7 p.m. on August 22. Dispensary At the meeting, there will be another presenta-tion, discussion, public hearing and consideration of a request by Palo Verde Plaza, LLC (owner) and Svaccha, LLC (applicant) for approval of a CUP to operate a non-profit medi-cal marijuana dispensary in Palo Verde Plaza, 1985 W. Apache Trail, Suite #4. The dispensary, if ap-proved will be the second one in Apache Junction and

is located about a mile from Nature’s Wonder on N. Apache Trail. The city also has a medical marijuana cultivation site and kitchen located about three mile east of the pro-posed dispensary. The commission voiced concerns about adequate parking in the plaza, which also includes a restaurant/bar, pawn shop and video game store. Also of con-cern were the dispensary’s proposed hours of opera-tion, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Com-mission Chair Tess Nessor said that Nature’s Wonder was limited to 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. and would like to be consistent with the new dispensary.Explosives Storage Desert Mesa Holdings, LLC, made a request for approval of a CUP to store explosive material

Palo Verde Plaza

20% 20% 20%20% 20%

Mon 21100°80°

Tues 22100°82°

Wed 23100°81°

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Your Hometown Paper August 21 - August 27, 2017 A7

The Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News • 1075 S. Idaho Rd. Suite 102 • Apache Junction, AZ 85119 • 480-982-6397 Office • 480-982-3707 Fax • ajnews.com

2001 S. Starr Road, AJ

RANDY HALE - PASTOR480.982.9120

Web: crossroadsbaptistaz.com

“A Community of Faith”

Service TimesSunday

Fellowship Time 9:00 a.m.Bible Study all ages 9:30 a.m.Morning Worship & Children’s Church 10:45 a.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m.

WednesdayBible Study & Prayer 7:00 p.m.

9/4

Children & Youth Ministry Nursery available all services

Come as you are • Family Friendly Sunday Services 10:00 a.m.

5810 S. Alameda Rd. Gold Canyon(On the corner of Alameda & Kings Ranch Rd.)

(480) 288-5600www.goldcanyon.org

“Where people are treasured more than gold”

10/16

St. George Catholic Church

300 E. 16th Avenue, Apache Junction, Arizona 85119

Phone: 480-982-2929 www.stgeorgeaj.com

Summer Liturgy Schedule May—August:

Saturday Mass 4:00 p.m. Confessions 3:00 p.m.

Sunday Mass 7:00, 8:30, 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

30 April 2012 Hi Ivory: Below is the info that we would like to place in your paper. We would like it the normal size ($195.00/13 weeks) in the Worship Services section. Fr. Pinti does not think the logo is necessary. I have set it to the side on the copy below. If you would like to include it as an option that we could look at that would be great. If you too feel that it is too much, just omit it. Thanks for all of your help. Let me know if you have any questions. Peace - Christine Ollive

or visit www.stgeorgeaj.com 300 E. 16th Ave., Apache Junction, Az. 85119

St. George Roman Catholic Parish

480-982-2929

Call for Mass times

8/28

8/21 Gold Canyon

5821 S. Camino Fuego • www.GCCofC.org(602) 292-1915

Sunday: 9am Bible Class

10am & 6pm Worship

Wednesday: 6pm Worship

PotluckEvery 2nd/5th Sunday

Church of Christ

Superstition Foothills Baptist ChurchBelieving in Jesus - Belonging to Jesus - Becoming like Jesus

6338 S Kings Ranch Road, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 • 480-983-9025 www.sfbaptist.net • email@sfbaptist.net

Sunday MorningCoffee/Donuts 9:15 amBible Study 9:30 amWorship Service 10:45 am

Children’s Sunday School - 9:30 am

Monday - 9 amMen’s Group Bible Study

Tuesday - 10 amWomen’s Bible Study

Wednesday - 6 pm Prayer Service

9/25

105 S. Delaware Dr #11 • Apache Junction • www.delawaredrivechurchofchrist.com

Delaware Dr. ChurCh of Christ

Bob Orear –Evangelist

8/21

bgo2@juno.com 480-659-3353

Sunday ServiceS:

10:30am and 2:00pm

“LEt thE BiBLE sPEAK”The Churches of Christ introduce

A Gospel outreach for the Central Arizona RegionA new television program hosted by Evangelist Brett Hickey

For more information visit: www.LetTheBibleSpeak.com

Majors Kris & Terry Suarez

Come worship with us at the Salvation Army Apache Junction Corps

480-982-4110 605 E. Broadway, Apache Junction, AZ. 85119

Sunday School 9:30amSunday Worship 10:45am

9/18 11/27

812 N. Meridian RdApache Junction, AZ 85120

(480) 986-0466website - kingofkingsaj.com

koklcajaz@gmail.com

A member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

10/2

Sunday Service 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Bible Class & Sunday School 9:15 a.m.

Desert Chapel United Methodist Church

462 N. Palo Verde Dr., A.J. • 480-982-2259(2 blocks west of Ironwood between Superstition & Apache Tr) • www.desertchapelumc.org

Please call the office if you need transportation

Sunday School 11 a.m.Sunday Jr. Youth Group 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Sr. Youth Group 5-7 p.m.

Sunday: 8:45 a.m. Hymn Sing • Worship 9 a.m.Nursery Available during & between services

7/2

local worship directoryAdvertise your place of worship with The News. Call 480-982-6397.

AdverTise your plACe of

worship here! Call

480-982-6397

www.mountainviewlutheran.org • email: mvlutheran@qwestoffice.netPastor Mark Friedrich - Sr. Pastor • Dave Minster - Dir. of Christian Education

WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Through September 24, 2017

Traditional Worship: Saturdays 5pmAlternating Traditional & Praise Service (Sanctuary):

Sundays 9:30amFamily Worship Service (YC): Sundays 10:30am

BIBLE STUDIES: Adult Bible Study (FLC): Sundays 8am & Tuesdays 9am

Sunday School will take a summer hiatus

8/14

480.982-82662122 S. Goldfield Rd

Apache Junction

**Non-perishable food items to benefit AJ Food Bank may be brought to any worship service.

Struble and Robin Barker (who is also the owner/publisher of The Apache Junction & Gold Canyon News); business owners Brian Kabat (Frontier Ace Hardware) and Aaron McDermid (State Farm Insurance agent/owner); AJUSD Governing Board member Cami Garcia and Vice-President Dena Kimble; and Superstition Medical and Fire District and Apache Junction Po-lice were represented by Chief Mike Farber and Captain Arnold Freeman, respectively. “This was kind of a trial run, but it went well, and we seem to have the sup-port for it to become an annual event,” Clement mused. “My hope is that our community will see this as a way to invest in the future of our kids, and our kids will grow from the confidence of know-ing that our community is invested in them. Their education matters to us – not just ‘us’ as educators, but ‘us’ as members of the community. We are working to build a strong foundation for our future leaders.”

from P&Z CUPs page A-1

from Water page A-1 from Leaders page A-1Idaho Rd.• Lost Dutchman Realty/True Guns, 1075 S. Idaho Rd #104, Apache Junction• Salvation Army, 605 E. Broadway Ave.• Western Lifestyle Re-alty, 940 Apache Trail Locations to pick up water:• Apache Junction Po-lice Department, 1001 N. Idaho Rd• Apache Junction Food Bank, 575 N. Idaho Rd., #701• First Assembly of God, 651 N. Ocotillo Dr.

in an ATF approved maga-zine storage container. The container will be located on the property of Western Industrial, 3640 S. Cactus Rd., and plans indicate that a 12-inch thick wall will surround the maga-zine. The explosives are in-tended for fracturing earth prior to digging and will be limited to 125 lbs. of mate-rial in storage at one time. According to the pre-sentation by Stephanie Guggenheim from the city’s planning depart-ment, the explosives are inert until triggered by an igniter, or blasting cap, which will be stored in a separate magazine. Residents to the east of Western Industrial were no-tified of the public hearing. P&Z Chair Tess Nessor asked the planning depart-ment to provide more in-formation on a blast radius in case of catastrophic fail-ure, if the outer contain-ment walls were adequate

Dr. Krista Anderson, superintendent for the Apache Junction Unified School District, is looking for volunteers to serve on the Calendar Advisory Committee. The purpose of this committee is to re-view and analyze AJUSD’s School Calendar to deter-mine the impact of a four-day and five-day school week and its impact on student learning. The findings, research and recommendations of this committee will be submitted to the School Governing Board on Dec. 12, 2017. Online appli-cations are available at www.ajusd.org. Addi-tional information about the scope of the committee, and mandatory meeting times and dates are also listed on the website. The application deadline is Sept. 7.

Membership Characteris-tics and Expectations Participation is strictly voluntary and members/stakeholders are asked to engage in the full process with an open mind. Com-mittee members will be asked to review quantita-tive and qualitative data to shape their recommenda-tion, assist in clarifying misconceptions and key data points to constituents, stand by the committee’s recommendation to the Governing Board and be present at all meetings.

About AJUSD The Apache Junction Uni-fied School District serves approximately 4,000 stu-dents in a 217-square mile area that includes Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Per-alta Trail, Queen Valley and the unincorporated areas of the Superstition Mountain foothills. Formed in 1952, the K-12 district provides a quality education to its students and is proud of the variety of educational programs offered. AJUSD has a reputation for in-novative approaches to education and features a ‘1-to-1’ technology oppor-tunity for Grades 7-12. The guiding philosophy of the school district is to put all students in the best position to succeed academically, emotionally and physically. The focus of AJUSD is ‘Col-lege and Career Readiness for All.’ For more informa-tion, call 480-982-1110, visit www.ajusd.org, or www.facebook.com/ajusd43.

By Sally MarksSpecial to the News

Online applications available for Calendar Advisory Committee

School Superintendent Seeks Committee Members

Children First/Support Our Schools to Meet Aug. 24July 27 meeting highlights shared The Children First/Sup-port Our Schools political action committee will meet this Thursday, August 24, from 6:30-7:30 pm at Mountain View Lutheran Church, 2122 S. Goldfield Rd., Apache Junction.July 27 Report Thirteen members and guests attended the July 27, 2017 meeting. AJUSD Superintendent Dr. Anderson stated that district administrators are focused on pulling input from staff, parents and community members to determine what the com-munity wants in AJUSD. The information gathered will be used to help re-vamp the district’s mis-sion, vision, goals and strategic plan. Changes that are cur-rently underway include: new district website, logo and motto. CF/SOS will be working

to help recruit volunteers for the schools and encour-age parent and community involvement. Specialized volunteer training or work-shops could be a possibility in order to prepare volun-teers to assist students who need more one on one or small group attention. Vol-unteer forms will be avail-able at the CF/SOS meeting on August 24, or can be accessed online at www.ajusd.org. Teacher Sheryl Ander-son discussed the need for the school libraries (CCJH and AJHS) to be available everyday to students and

Dr. Krista Anderson

suggested that perhaps the district could utilize trained volunteers there twice a week. There are no funds for Accelerated Reader anymore - a popu-lar program that helped motivate students to read.Even without AR, how-ever, kids who want to get a book have to wait until the school library is open or head to the public library. The committee also discussed the possibility of changing the district name, suggesting that the current name leaves Gold Canyon residents feeling that they are not a part of the district’s scope. Dr. An-derson confirmed that she has requested the Board look into the logistics of such a move. Future meetings of CF/SOS will be held monthly, on the fourth Thursday, at 6:30 pm.

and if the police were sat-isfied with the security on the property. Vice-Chair Peter Heck asked about other flammable materials stored on the property. According to the agenda for the August 22 meeting, the applicant is requesting a continuance in order to obtain further ATF approv-al for the container barri-cade. Other questions are

expected to be answered at the upcoming discussion. Planning and Zoning Commission meetings are open to the public and held in chambers at 300 E. Super-stition Blvd. in Apache Junc-tion. The meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. Complete agendas and supporting materi-als are available at https://apachejunction.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss ap-proval of a CUP to store explosive material in an ATF approved magazine storage container (above). The ex-plosives are inert until triggered by an igniter, or blasting cap, which will be stored in a separate magazine.

• Gold Canyon United Methodist Church, 6640 S. Kings Ranch Rd.• Hope Women’s Center, 252 N. Ironwood Dr.• Veterans Center at Des-ert Chapel United Meth-odist, 462 N. Palo Verde Dr.• St. George Catholic Church, 300 E. 16th Ave.• Salvation Army, 605 E. Broadway Ave.• Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, 879 N. Plaza Dr., #101D• Genesis Project, 564 N. Idaho Rd.