Feb. 16 – March 1, 2013 41www.SanTanSun.com OpinionCommunity Commentary

Oops - In the Feb. 2 issue of the SanTan Sun News, in a story about Famous Dave’s offering a special to first responders, we mistakenly included veterans. The event on Feb. 24 is offered to Arizona law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service personnel with photo ID and proof of service. We apologize for the error.

Laurie Fagen invited Managing Editor Susan Henderson to write this note:

Looking toward springBy SuSan HenderSOn

Punxsutawney Phil brought hope to the winter weary on Groundhog’s Day, his missing shadow signaling an early spring. An epic blizzard struck much of the country less than a week later, but here in the SanTan Sun area, spring is indeed just around the corner.

Writer Alison Stanton kicks off the season with a list of intersession camps for the tens of thousands of Chandler students to be unleashed for a two-week spring break next month. Read it in the Neighbors Section.

Mayor Jay Tibshraeny took the time to meet with writer Tracy House days before reaching out to residents during his annual State of the City address. Check out her story on Page 1 to find out what’s on the Mayor’s mind as he and the rest of the Chandler City Council get ready to dig deep on their 2013 agenda.

Veteran features reporter Kelli Lang gathered a group of Hamilton High School teachers and students fresh off a trip to Washington D.C., where they witnessed President Obama’s inauguration. The group made the most of their trip, hitting up some of the more famous landmarks to further their living history education, and as they report to Kelli, with a good measure of fun thrown in as well.

Kelli tantalizes the palate with her coverage of Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta, a nearly two-decade old restaurant that continues to serve yummy food and fair prices.

We congratulate Kelli on 10 years with the SanTan Sun News. She’s an outstanding journalist with a knack for telling a great story, a novelist, a mom, and in her spare time runs a print shop with her husband, Ron. To us, she’s family, and we thank her for her decade of service.

The SanTan Sun News welcomes Selena Larson to our pages. She is a recent ASU grad and public relations manager for the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership. An avid traveler and passionate hard news reporter with strong ties to Chandler, we’re excited to have her on board.

This issue, Selena checks in on school safety a few months after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. In our last report, published weeks after the incident, we found schools making contact via email and letters home, doing their best to reassure parents and students, as well as a community determined to help those who were far away but close at heart.

Now, the Chandler Police Department and school officials tell us it will take a vigilant partnership and possibly more resource officers to better secure our schools, and seek ways to fund added security measures. Several community groups successfully raised funds for those in Newtown, Conn, as Selena reports.

Here at the SanTan Sun News, we welcome spring with open arms, with its promise of sunshine, blooming color and fresh starts. Thanks for reading.

Publisher’s Note

Susan Henderson

publisher

Laurie Fagenadvertising/production

Geoff Hancockadministrative assistant

Darlene Keberleaccount executives

Jane MeyerDebbie Jenningswebsite maintained by

Susan Kovacs, n-ergizingad design

Christine Bryner, Studio 509layout design

Tad Smith, The Design Idea

DeadlineedITOrIaL and adVerTISInG:

NOON WED., FEBRUARY 20, 2013

FOR THEMARCH 2, 2013 ISSUE

35,000 Total Circulation

27,250+ driveways

Fifty square mile coverage areafrom Price/101 to Greenfield

and from Frye to Hunt Highway.

mailing address:PO Box 23Chandler, AZ 85244-0023telephone:480-732-0250fax:480-883-8714©2013 SanTan Sun News

For News Tips, EditorialArticles, Opinion orClassifieds, email is preferred.news email address:News@SanTanSun.comads email address:Ads@SanTanSun.comwebsite address:www.SanTanSun.com

news assistant

Barbara Lawcontributors

Lora RobinsonWendi OlsonStephanie VatistasSuzanne IncorvaiaKristen BoydTraci LepacikRenee ClancyKathie ButtersMelissa HartleyXimena Rodriguez

managing editorSusan HendersoneditorLynda ExleyproofreaderKristen ShermanwritersTracy HouseK.M. LangSelena LarsonAlison Stantonsection editorsTeri CarnicelliSharon McCarsonKristen ShermanSteven Solomon

Listening Tour continuesBy MayOr Jay TIBSHraeney

For the past two years our Listening Tour stops have been a great way to dialogue with residents about issues and concerns they have with their neighborhoods and the community in general. We compiled more than 150 suggestions and complaints and made some real differences in the neighborhoods we visited.

This year, I expanded the scope of my Listening Tour with two special stops with a specific focus for the entire community. The first was Feb. 12.

The theme was Homeowner Association (HOA) law with a “mini” HOA Academy, to give people a taste of what our

semi-annual, six-week academy entails. Next up is the spring HOA Academy, scheduled for March 27.Our traditional Listening Tour meetings are April 9 at San Marcos Elementary School

and Sept. 10 at the CTA Humphrey Campus. More information on those events will be available online in the coming months.

We will wrap up the year with a night geared toward the do-it-yourselfer as we discuss home improvement, building code compliance and other ways to add value to your residence and neighborhood. Speakers will touch on things like the types of permits needed for projects and rebates available through the City of Chandler. That meeting will take place Nov.12 at the West Chandler Police Substation.

Log on at chandleraz.gov and take a short survey on the 2013-14 City budget to make a difference. And plan to come out to City Hall Feb. 21 for my annual State of the City address and reception. The event begins at 5 p.m. in the Vision Gallery.

Finally, while we continue to focus on our work with neighborhoods and community leaders, we cannot forget those who keep the economy running strong. That is why I am launching a new business initiative this year called Caffeine and Commerce, where I will sit down with members of the local business community to talk about their ideas and issues. These morning coffee events will be hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and will allow a casual yet frank opportunity to discuss our City’s challenges – and successes. I look forward to kicking off Caffeine and Commerce in March.

Open communication has always been a critical component of my vision for a successful community. These forums help to keep the dialogue open and allow for a free exchange of ideas. I hope you will join me.

Mayor Jay Tibshraeny

Don’t drive drowsyBy TIM HOVIk

It’s that time of year when people from the Valley hit the roads and head up north to enjoy winter activities. Your friends at San Tan Ford want to remind you

to drive safely and stay alert on the roads this winter.

A recent Ford survey shows while 96% of drivers agree it is unacceptable to drive while they are so tired they can hardly keep their eyes open, nearly half admit they have fallen asleep at the wheel or know someone who has. Here are a few tips to stay awake and alert on the road:

Get those zzzsObvious but most important, getting the

right amount of shut-eye can help prevent accidents behind the wheel. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

Caffeine callsProper hydration is critical for keeping

energy up. If you aren’t able to drink enough water or just can’t fight that lethargic feeling, caffeine is an effective alternative for an extra boost.

CatnapA 10- to 20-minute nap can go a long

way to help restore alertness and improve concentration. If possible, have someone else take the wheel for a while or pull over to a safe place and take a nap.

Tim Hovik is general Manager for San Tan Ford.

Tim Hovik

WHAT DO YOU THINK?What do you think of Mayor Tibshraeny’s 2013 agenda? Are Chandler officials

focused on the right things: If not, what would you like to see addressed this year?Send your responses to Letters@SanTanSun.com and include your community

name for possible inclusion in a future issue of the SanTan Sun News.

42 Feb. 16 – March 1, 2013 www.SanTanSun.comOpinionLetters to the editor

In 2003, just a few months after moving to Southern Chandler, I approached Laurie Fagen after hearing that the SanTan Sun – then the Ocotillo News – was looking for a writer. Laurie, who owns the paper with her husband, Geoff Hancock, asked me to fax over samples of my fiction, then called and told me that I’d need to open an email account, but if I could overcome that technological barrier, she’d try me for one article, then we’d see.

This month marks my first 10 years with the newspaper, and what a decade it’s been. My husband, Ron, and I have seen our three children graduate from Hamilton and Basha High and head out into the world. We started a printing business and have watched it flourish, get slammed by the recession, then come back again.

In the meantime, the Ocotillo News became the SanTan Sun News, growing as fast as Southern Chandler’s population. My excellent publisher and editors, as well as the paper’s layout designers, support staff, ad executives and my fellow writers, have worked days, nights and weekends to produce a quality

product, while the newspaper’s cover stories changed from the area’s accelerated growth, to recession, to recovery.

Writing for the SanTan Sun is a sweet gig – I could almost be jealous of myself. I’ve interviewed artists, politicians, volunteers, police officers, firefighters, soldiers, educators, Holocaust survivors, celebrities, hardy entrepreneurs and local residents dedicated to making a difference. Most of these people are my neighbors, and all of them have been generous enough to share their lives with me. I am honored to have had the opportunity to impart their stories to others, and I hope I’ve done them justice.

Laurie and Geoff, thank you so much for this past decade. Susan Henderson, you are the best editor a writer could have – happy 10-year anniversary to you, as well. Lynda Exley, I so appreciate your expertise.

SanTan Sun readers, I have loved being a thread in the fabric of your lives, and I know that our next decade together will be as fascinating as the first.

Kelli (K.M.) Lang, Sun Groves

There’s something really serious about a healthcare system that’s effectively bankrupt right now, but keeps promising it will be able to cover 64 million baby-boomers who are left to qualify for its program.

Congress recently announced the 27%

Medicare cuts to physicians would be delayed for another year. We’ve had this same endless discussion year after year as Congress and doctors do their yearly song and dance.

The problem is, estimates show our real deficit sits around $211 trillion dollars, not $16 trillion, when unfunded benefits like Medicare and Social Security are added. This means the 76 million baby-boomers, who are qualifying at 4 million boomers per year for the program, are going to have a serious day of reckoning. Many primary care associations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians are showing physicians how to opt out of the

Medicare program as their reimbursements for healthcare services get cut by Congress not keeping up with inflationary cost.

The more serious problem is more than 85% of our medical care gets delivered outside of hospitals. If primary care physicians opt out of Medicare, boomers will be forced to go to the ER for their regular care, and will be poorly managed.

On the flip side, Medicare is also drastically reducing payments to hospitals for things like readmissions if the patient comes back for the same medical condition.

Those same people, who could have received preventive care in a primary care office, but went to the hospital because their doctors no longer accept Medicare, will be afraid to go back to the hospital for care because of cost. This means they have nowhere to go for help.

We have very scary future based on what our illustrious government has in store for us.

Dr. Natasha Deonarain, Mesquite Grove Estates, is a medical doctor with an MBA, is the author of “The 7 Principles of Health” and founder of The Health Conscious Movement.

10 years with STSN Aging Boomers, Medicare on collision course

Dr. Natasha Deonarain

We know you have an opinion! Share it with the SanTan Sun News. Unless you’re the Mayor, however, please keep your Letters to the editor around 200-300 words, or they may be edited for length. Include your first and last name, community or development name in Southern Chandler (Cooper Commons, Ocotillo, Sun Groves, etc.) or ZIP code and daytime phone number for verification. Anonymous letters are not typically accepted. Email is the preferred submission method, to Letters@SanTanSun.com.

All submitted Letters to the Editor and Community Commentaries become the property of the SanTan Sun News and may be reprinted in part, quoting the letters’ authors, or in their entirety. Your submission to the SanTan Sun News is considered your permission to print your written opinion. Opinions expressed in Community Commentaries, Letters to the Editor or cartoons are those of the author, and not that of the SanTan Sun News.