Over the quarantine time period I’ve been able to do things I was too busy to do before, such as making new recipes that previously took too much time to complete, learning fun new hairstyles, and picking up an old ukulele I hadn’t touched in years. I was also able to progress in several piano songs I had been working on for a while, and I’ve already started to finish up some cute DIY presents for my family’s birthdays!
In April, I attended a surprise birthday car parade for a Girl Scout named Emaline. The parade started at La Madera Park and ended at her house. Among those participating in the parade were other Girl Scouts in her troop and friends. The surprise parade was for Emaline’s 8th birthday. Emaline attends Sam Hughes Elementary.
Have you ever experienced the excitement of seeing professional baseball players practicing during spring training? If you have, you’re really lucky! The purpose of spring training is to let the teams practice in real game-like conditions. You can either watch them practicing or playing a game of scrimmage.
In Arizona, spring training started in the middle of February and ends just before the start of the regular season. Traditionally, opening day for the regular season is the first week of April.
It Was a Very Good Year for 192 New Eagle Scouts Here — You Could Be One, Too!
Some great people become Eagle Scouts, the highest rank of Scouts BSA— and you can, too!
I recently toured the Valley Metro Mobility Center. Parked inside the building is a real bus along with a bus stop. The bus was driven in when the office was being built, and the center was built around it! The Valley Metro Mobility Center is dedicated to helping the elderly and those with impairments regain their independence—it helps them to ride Valley Metro transportation, such as buses and light rail. Between 430 and 530 people come to the Mobility Center each month, which means that many people are gaining the ability to use public transportation.
We attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Alice Chaiten Baker Center for Art Education at the Tucson Museum of Art (TMA) on Jan. 12. The TMA education center was recently renovated because of a $1.5 million donation by Alice and Paul Baker.
Mrs. Baker has been on the museum board of trustees for 32 years and participated in classes at TMA when she was in high school. She spoke about her passion for art and the reason that she and her husband support the Tucson Museum of Art.
The Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism is given to a recipient each year. According to Mark Lodato, Associate Dean at the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, “It is a very special honor to receive this award.”
Lodato started at the Cronkite School in 2006 and is part of the leadership team on the campus. According to Lodato, the Cronkite award helps bring national recognition to the school and an opportunity for the school to make money for the 2,000 students attending the school.
A Gilbert Police Officer took part in Over the Edge, a fundraiser for Special Olympics on Dec. 7, 2019. This event took place at Cityscape, the fourth tallest building in Phoenix.
By rappelling down a 500-foot-tall building, Dani Covey helped raise a total of $7,000 for Special Olympics Arizona. Covey is a public affairs officer with the Gilbert Police Department.
This fundraiser helps sponsor athletes of Special Olympics. Participants take part in this Special Olympics fundraiser every year.
Thanksgiving can be a great time to be thankful and appreciate who and what we have. It is also a time for families and friends to get together and enjoy other’s company.
We did a poll of the students and teachers to learn what they are thankful for. We asked, “What are you thankful for and why?” The second question we asked is, “Who are you thankful for and why?” We found out the following:
• Ky’mhere is thankful for his family and parents because, “they are the only ones I have.”
The 9th annual Salt River Fields Spooktacular Hot Air Balloon Festival is an event all families will remember. The festival has hot air balloons, food, inflatable slides, trick-or-treating and more! My family and I won tickets from Bear Essential News. We had a very good time!