2024 November InMaricopa Magazine -

2024 November InMaricopa Magazine - View more at InMaricopa.com InMaricopa is Maricopa's premier local news source InMaricopa is your go-to source for hyper-local news and information about Maricopa, Arizona. Stay informed with the latest community updates, events, and stories that matter to our city. InMaricopa is the only dedicated news outlet focusing exclusively on the city of Maricopa, ensuring residents are always in the know.

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November 2024 Farmers without borders Inside the lives of Maricopa’s migrant workers

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Maricopa

NOVEMBER 23RD 2024

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CONTENTS

LEADING OFF Editor’s letter 8 Contributors 8 HISTORY Maricopa’s first street performer was born over two centuries ago 10 This month in history 10 For the city’s first graduating class, a 20-year reunion 12 GOVERNMENT Maricopa is the only U.S. city bordering two Indian reservations. What that means for you 16 Meet Maricopa’s migrant farmworkers 18 Permits 23 COMMUNITY Distracted drivers almost took everything from her. Now, she’s on the frontlines 24 Hidden Valley’s ‘Jolly Roger’ is a boat for goats 28 City’s high schools crown homecoming royalty 30 EDUCATION City’s high schools crown homecoming royalty 30 Community college takes on local, global causes 32 HEALTH GUIDE With health comes confidence at Maricopa Wellness Center HG 2 Breast cancer diagnosis? Ask these 5 questions HG 6

best cleaning service Maricopa Az Boal< a Clean Online= Anywhere, Anytime - From Maria, "They are very consistent and do an amazing job. The team is super friendly, and my house always looks spotless after they leave!" -Sarah shared, "The team is professional, thorough and always on time. I appreciate their attention to detail and the care they take with my home!" ***** Thank you Maria & Sarah!

SPORTS Homecoming win bittersweet for MHS football family 56 Golfers help MPD save for second K-9 cop 58 HOME Maricopans most often first-time buyers in No. 1 homeownership state 60 Financing your next house? You’ve got options 63 Extreme home sales 64 How to keep your rental occupied over the holidays 65 SENIORS Top-ranked tennis players of Province head across the pond where sport started 66 Local seniors tell us what they’re thankful for 69 EVENTS Calendar 70 TRENDING A look at what’s hot on InMaricopa.com 79 PARTING SHOT Maricopa, through nature’s rose-tinted glasses 80

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BUSINESS Briefs 46 Restaurant inspections 49 PHX Surf still coming, but it’s not really a waterpark anymore 50 Local coalition uplifts women in business 54 Hiring an attorney? You don’t get what you pay for 55

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ON THE COVER At dawn on Oct. 3, Bryan Mordt captures Guatemalan migrant farmworker Amilcar Cortez Rivas skillfully slicing a honeydew melon in the fields of Hidden Valley. In the background, a retired yellow school bus is repurposed as a migrant worker transport shuttle, picking up Cortez Rivas and his crew near Raceway Bar & Grill on Papago Road early every morning.

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

Find out what your home is worth. Every month. FREE.

FROM THE EDITOR

Y YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO PAY FOR INFORMATION you deserve. If taking an alternate route home is the difference between making or missing your daughter’s dance recital, you shouldn’t pay to know that. Where to vote, whether your elected officials are making good on their promises, if your government is corrupt — these are facts best not sequestered behind a paywall. In journalism school, I was taught to generally write at a ninth-grade level. Because some people have learning disabilities, some are English language learners and some really are in ninth grade, I was told. These people, disenfranchised news consumers, deserve access to information, no holds barred. This is what I was taught. After college, the first newspaper I worked at charged $39 per month to access the website. Without those subscriptions, I would have been out of a job, I’m sure. It costs money to investigate things that matter, and it costs money to broadcast information to the public. But in today’s economy, money is harder than ever to come by for us typical Americans. That’s why, this Thanksgiving, I am grateful to all the advertisers who have, for many years, empowered the InMaricopa team to continue providing quality journalism to the public for free— whether you read the magazine you find in your mailbox every month or check InMaricopa.com for the top headlines every day — or both. It all ‘ads’ up

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

When we’re standing in a honeydew field on the edge of town at 5 a.m., interviewing Guatemalan farmworkers through a Spanish translator, we have only our clients to thank. When we’re sitting on a living room sofa in The

Managing Editor ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Director VINCENT MANFREDI

Lakes, documenting the story of a 6-year-old girl who was irrevocably injured not once but twice by distracted drivers, we have only our clients to thank. When we’re combing through 1,000 pages of government documents to find out more about the waterpark that could break ground this month and transform our city into a bona fide destination, we have only our clients to thank.

Advertising TAWNI PROCTOR MICHELLE SORENSEN Writers CARLOS ARCE-LARA JEFF CHEW KRISTINA DONNAY CHRISTIAN GLOVER

JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAYV MORGAN BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. TOM SCHUMAN MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES KYLIE WERNER

These stories and more are what you’ll find in this November edition of InMaricopa magazine. And as I write this letter, as I do every month, I have the same thought — although I haven’t shared it in previous letters — that I’m thankful for our advertisers for giving our team a reason to keep writing, and to keep digging. If there’s one thing I hear constantly from our read- ers — besides lamenting the traffic on State Route 347 — it’s the desire to see more new businesses open here in the city. If that’s you, I ask that you join me this No- vember in giving a little thanks to those that came first. Because of them, the flow of information in Maricopa remains free. I’m thankful for that!

Photographers BRYAN MORDT VICTOR MORENO

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

ELIAS WEISS MANAGING EDITOR

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

CONTRIBUTORS

VALUES

• Integrity • Accountability

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

Volume 19, Issue 11 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

(480) 251-4231 DayvMorgan@gmail.com MaricopaHomeSmart.com

JUSTIN GRIFFIN Veteran journalist Justin catches up with the “miracle child” family after a second tragic car crash.

CHRISTIAN GLOVER Legal professional Christian tells us why you don’t always get what you pay for when hiring an attorney.

CARLOS ARCE-LARA Dr. Carlos shares five questions you need to ask your oncologist after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2024.

Dayv Morgan ABR, CDPE, CSSPE OWNER, REALTOR ®

Maricopa’s #1 Realtor Maricopa Resident Since 2006

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

KEY IMPROVEMENTS COMING YOUR WAY! EXPLORE MARICOPA’S

HISTORY

Crack shot Mr. Wasnauk, whose first name was lost to history, walked into the city from the Ak-Chin reservation every afternoon to meet the passenger trains Nos. 7 and 8. He offered to demonstrate his skill with a bow and arrow by shooting the hat off the head of any passenger willing to take the chance. This 1912 photograph depicts the man, then age 92, with his bow ready to show off his skills for the cost of a quarter. This photo was taken four months after Arizona became a state. Mr. Wasnauk was born in 1820. Maricopa historian Susie Smith remembers some passengers took the chance, and Mr. Wasnauk never once missed his target.

Maricopa is growing fast and there’s a new, convenient way you can stay up to date on the major projects the city is investing in. It’s called ClearGov, an online software that breaks down every dollar allocated for capital improvement projects over the next ten years. These projects are the key to a successful future, and include the development of roads, parks, public safety services, and other vital pieces of infrastructure. A $694 Million Investment in Our Future From 2025 to 2034, the City has over 130 projects planned, with a total investment of nearly $694 million. These projects include building new re stations, transforming existing facilities for new uses, and improving our roadways throughout the community. It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s all part of making sure Maricopa is a place where families can grow, and businesses can thrive. Unlike routine maintenance or small updates, these initiatives are major, often multi-million-dollar projects that require careful planning, funding, and execution. By creating a clear roadmap through the plan, Maricopa ensures it is not only prepared for current growth but also is ready to meet future demands.

Interactive online Plan!

Why a 10-Year Plan? Previously, as in many communities, Maricopa had a ve-year timeline for planning projects. Establishing a ten-year plan allows the City to widen its vision, and strategically plan large-scale infrastructure projects while giving additional time for adjustments and re nements as the community and market conditions evolve. This forward-thinking approach gives more exibility to address the needs of our residents while keeping a clear vision of the future. Explore the Plan Like Never Before Ready to explore these projects in a new way? Scan the QR code to visit the City of Maricopa’s ClearGov platform and view projects by year, area of focus, and more. It’s all about transparency, allowing you to see details of the projects, information on how each project is funded, what’s coming next, and how the City is investing in our shared future. Visit www.Maricopa-AZ.gov/Budget and click on “FY25-34 Capital Improvement Plan” to learn more!

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.

5 years ago

10 years ago

15 years ago

20 years ago

InMaricopa broke the news the city would have its own Central Arizona College campus. Residents gave public input on the $400 million, four-phase, 20-year bond that went on to fund the campus. It opened three years later.

The Maricopa Planning & Zoning Commission tabled the first apartment complex ever proposed in the city, Oasis at the Wells, citing a lack of parking that needed to be addressed before approval. Developers proposed overflow parking on an access road two months later and the complex opened in 2021.

The Fast & Friendly Car Wash on John Wayne Parkway near Hathaway Avenue opened and washed more than 1,100 cars on its first day. Co- owner Jeff Dadam said one of his equipment suppliers, who worked car-wash openings around the world, was impressed: “He said the largest opening day he’s ever seen was about 800 cars, and that was on a Saturday. He said for us to do 1,115 on a Monday and not even open until 8:30 a.m. is just unheard of.”

A Hidden Valley mobile home fire killed Michelle Mariano, 22, and sent her 1-year-old daughter and 28-year-old aunt, Marion Mariano, to a Valley burn center for life- threatening burns. Firefighters said a 3-year-old cousin pulled the baby to safety. “He is a hero,” Maricopa Fire Department Chief Brad Pitassi said of the 3-year-old. The community held a five-hour carwash at AutoZone and raised $2,000 for the family.

www.Maricopa-AZ.gov/budget

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

HISTORY

Culinary Arts

NOW

THEN

Melanie Antone Lives in: Ak-Chin Village

Vanessa Diaz Lives in: Alterra Fun fact: For Vanessa, this month marks 15 years of employment with the Ak-Chin Indian Community. “My favorite MHS memory was adventure education with Torri Anderson. It helped me get over my fear of heights. Another one is our or pep rally.”

Thor Mallet Lives in:

Adreanna (Thacker) Slade Lives in: Thunderbird Farms Fun fact: Adreanna is a full-time mom. “The biggest changes at Maricopa High School since I graduated are that the elementary school is gone, and so are the brick buildings with mud stains from the 1980s flood.”

Heather (Parr) Burger Lives in: Safford Fun fact: Heather is an accountant for the Arizona Department of Corrections. “The school is the biggest change for me in Maricopa. I never imagined the school getting so big. The football field and the hallways ... we never had hallways.”

Hidden Valley Fun fact: Thor, along with Vanessa Diaz, was voted most likely to take over the universe in high school.

Fun fact: Melanie still can’t get over the fact that MHS is made of buildings, not trailers. “Who knew that one day we would have girls’ flag football? When I was in high school, girls only had track, cheer, volleyball, softball and basketball. My senior year, we added golf. My favorite memories are basketball and volleyball seasons. The passion, the energy and loyalty to each other and the sisterhood we built on the court on the bus or on the way to games will never be matched.”

Back row from left: Eliazar Martinez, David Lewis, Joseph Moreno, Kelly Antone, Shane Martin, Justin Francis, Carolyn Paez. | Front row: Orenda Ortiz, Mayra Flores, Regina Arias, Vanessa Diaz, Prscilla Rodriguez, Lorenza Manuel

Catching up with the class of ‘04 BY BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. F Varsity Basketball

ACEBOOK LAUNCHED. BUSH BEAT KERRY. THE LAST episode of Friends aired. Remember when? Seven graduates from Maricopa High School’s class of 2004 gathered at their old stomping grounds Sept. 27 for a homecoming game and an unofficial 20-year high school reunion. These folks were a part of the first graduating class after the city was incorporated in October 2003, during their senior year. It was a class of 52 kids. While the group let slip the occasional hoot and holler en route to the Rams’ 27-10 home-turf win over Gilbert’s Mesquite High School, they spent most of the evening just catching up. Two longtime Maricopa Unified School District educators who taught at MHS in 2004, current MHS marketing teacher Bernadette Russoniello and Maricopa Wells Principal Thad Miller, joined their former students.

Bernadette Russoniello

Spirit line

Back row from left: Coach Miller, Teela Ladd, Nicloe Copeland, Lindsie Clark, Kayla Valisto, Daniel Calderone, Coach Smith Front row: Andrea Peters, Melanie Antone, Kasey Hampton, Rachelle Peters

Thad Miller

Back row from left: Julie Turley, Ashlea Manuel, Andreanna Thacker. Middle row: Danielle Adams, Cesselsa Cortez. | Front row: Brittnee Robles, Christina Arroyo. Coach: Amber Fowler Captains: Ashlea Manuel, Andreanna Thacker.

From left: Teacher Bernadette Russoniello, Vanessa Diaz, Melanie Antone, Thor Mallet, Adreanna Slade, Heather Burger, Kelly Tisdale, Michele Derwin and teacher Thad Miller.

Varsity Volleyball

Back row from left: Coach Jenny Miller, Danielle Calderone, Nicole Copeland, Kelsey Early, Sarah Gray, Captain Kjersti Snow, Coach Wendy Heun. | Second row: Jessica Mead, Melanie Antone, Teela Ladd- Captain, lone Ladd. Front row: Ashley Doty,

Michele Derwin Lives in: Alterra Fun fact: Michele was the class of 2004’s student body vice president and

was voted most likely to run for U.S. president.

Kelly (Morris) Tisdale Lives in: Rancho El Dorado

Jaquee Adams, Lindsey Clark.

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

The other border In Maricopa, does watching a movie mean giving up your rights? BY JEFF CHEW

her injuries. Ron Tankamnerd, the father of the girl who was hospitalized July 20, still doesn’t know if anyone was arrested. Again, Ak-Chin PD did not reassure the community in any way, outright refusing to answer questions or even acknowledge the attack happened. Longtime Arizona State University Professor Robert J. Miller, an expert in Indian law, cites the 1981 case Montana v. U.S. in which the Crow Tribe of Montana sought to prohibit hunting and fishing on its reservation, citing its inherent power as a sovereign nation. The tribe claimed authority to prohibit hunting and fishing by non-tribal members, even on lands within the reservation owned by non-Indians. The Crow Tribe won that case. You’re probably in the 99.9% It’s an uneven fight for jurisdiction. Miller said high courts have long allowed a legal exception that a tribal nation has jurisdiction or control over a non-Indian, even for their conduct on non-Indian-owned lands within a reservation. It is an instance in which the non-Indian has entered some kind of contractual agreement with the tribe or one of its citizens — even something so simple as the verbal contract that comes with agreeing to the rules at a card game table or bowling alley. The second exception from the Montana case comes when the non-Indian’s activity at issue directly affects “the tribe’s political integrity, economic security, health or welfare.” “Non-Indians now voluntarily agree to rules and regulations once they step on native Indian-owned land within a reservation,” said Miller. “Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of people have no knowledge of how tribal laws work when they go shopping or gambling.” With Maricopa being the only city in the U.S. bordering two Indian reservations, the question of who has what rights is complex. The Ak-Chin Community Council generally agrees with Miller. The council in a statement from spokesman Matthew Benson to InMaricopa said Ak-Chin is “a federally recognized Indian tribe and, as such, is a separate sovereign possessing the jurisdiction and authority to regulate most of the activities of those individuals and entities located within the community’s boundaries.” In a joint statement, the Ak-Chin council said: “This is no difference than when someone travels to another state or another country. Thus, anyone within the community, whether

For most felony cases, the FBI steps in. “Native American reservations have their own tribal police, but they have limited resources,” John “FBI John” Iannarelli, a retired FBI agent who lives in Scottsdale, told InMaricopa . “As reservations are government land, the FBI has concurrent jurisdiction and will work significant investigative matters involving murder, rape, sexual abuse of children, et cetera. Other crimes are generally handled by the tribal police.” Miller said one example of a tribe’s legal authority over felony cases, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, allows tribes the legal right to criminally prosecute non-Indians who commit domestic violence against tribal members on Indian land. Tribes can prosecute such cases in their own courtrooms, he said. Other than that provision, tribal governments do not have criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Likewise, they have no obligation to charge their own members for crimes committed against non-Indians, nor are they compelled to release documents like police and crash reports, even in superior court. Tribes also have the power of taxation on their own lands. Both the Ak-Chin and Gila River Indian Communities impose a 7% sales tax. Ak-Chin also levies a 1% lease tax. Miller said another legal authority Indian communities have as part of their inherent sovereignty is civil action. “Tribal cops have civil power over a non- Indian,” Miller said. Miller said of 574 recognized tribes in the U.S., only one-fifth have their own jails. Ak- Chin and Gila River both do. When 99.9% of people don’t know the law, that’s dangerous. As reservations are government land, the FBI has concurrent jurisdiction and will work sig- nificant investigative matters involving murder, rape, sexual abuse of children, et cetera.” JOHN IANNARELLI, RETIRED FBI AGENT

An informational highway sign on John Wayne Parkway near White and Parker Road in Ak-Chin Village tells drivers the tribal government center is 4 miles to the west. Some in Maricopa wait for this government to release crucially important records, a date that may never come.

Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of people have no knowledge of how tribal laws work when they go shopping or gambling.” BOB MILLER, INDIAN LAW EXPERT

Ak-Chin Circle Entertainment Center Theater

Hidden in plain sight Progressive, the insurance company famous for its mascot Flo, petitioned the Gila River Indian Community in Pinal County Superior Court Sept. 19 for an unredacted copy of a Gila River Police Department report of a car crash near Sacaton Road and Canal Street, about 12 miles east Maricopa. Five days later, Judge Joseph R. Georgini threw out the civil case because Phoenix law firm Schneider & Onofry, representing Progressive, was unable to serve the lawsuit to GRPD. Off the reservation, this would have resulted in a default judgment against the defendant — but on the reservation, the defendants were untouchable. Non-Indians are not allowed on GRIC land unless they are passing through on a main road, visiting a public business or have prior approval.

But even honest trips to tribal lands, like gamblers, diners and bowlers from Maricopa take every day when they drive south on John Wayne Parkway, can bring crime or accidents with few avenues by which to sue or even find answers in the aftermath. Ak-Chin Police Department refused to release any information or answer any questions about a massive brawl during a May 10 movie screening at the Ak-Chin cinema, even after a video surfaced showing one person curled up in the fetal position as he was mercilessly struck in the head. The video, first released by InMaricopa , was watched more than 25,000 times. Two months later, in July, two teenage girls from Tortosa were ambushed and beaten in front of the movie theater. One was beaten badly and transported to a local hospital for

MARICOPA MOVIEGOER WALKS into the Ak-Chin Indian Community cinema. This isn’t the setup for a bad

a member or non-member, does not ‘lose’ rights but, rather, must abide by the laws and regulations applicable to them while they are within the community’s jurisdiction. Further, these laws and regulations are not only those of the community but also include applicable federal and state laws and regulations.” Gila River Indian Community spokes- person Teaya Enos refused to answer questions for this story. Gila River police have a mutual aid agreement allowing Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputies to pursue suspects in chase situations that end up on the reservation. Deputies may detain captured tribal suspects, but must then turn them over to GRPD officers, the mutual aid agreement states.

joke, but rather an important question: What authority does the Ak-Chin Indian Community and its police department have over that moviegoer’s rights? The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded, generally, tribes do not have authority over non-Indians for their activities on non-Indian- owned lands on a reservation. But if a tribe owns all the land in a reservation, as is the case with both Ak- Chin and the Gila River Indian Community, which bound Maricopa, then a non-Indian is subject to much more tribal control — and less American transparency — once a person enters a reservation.

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

GOVERNMENT

MEET MARICOPA’S MIGRANT FARMERS Guatemalans come by bus to work for a better life BY JEFF CHEW

On the mobile packing platform, workers are tasked with picking or packing — tractor driver is the most desirable job, the migrant farmers say.

IN A MELON FIELD NEAR PAPAGO ROAD, MIGRANT FARMWORKERS are picking and boxing ripe Golden Honeydew on a mobile packing platform. It’s the dawn of another October harvest day in Hidden Valley. The vermillion sunrise backlights workers’ laboring profiles gently stepping through the melon veins. They race against record-breaking temperatures as the mercury flirts with triple-digit temperatures by the end of a field shift at 2 p.m. The crew of about 20 farmworkers are hustling the back-breaking harvest after riding in on a yellow school bus down a farm road of thick dust. The bus remains parked near the field to transport the crew to the next ripened field. Ever Manfredo Samayoa Orozco, 37, is one among the Guatemalan melon-picking team working for Scottsdale-based Martori Farms, which specializes in growing cantaloupe, watermelon, traditional honeydew, Golden Honeydew and the Kandy Lemon Drop Melon in Arizona and California. “I have been working as an agricultural worker with H-2A [work visa] status for 13 years,” Orozco said in Spanish through an interpreter, all but two of those seasons in Hidden Valley. He said he started in Trenton, N.J., then moved to work in the fields near Maricopa. Asked about the migrant lifestyle of a farmworker, Orozco said: “It is very difficult to leave our loved ones, but we have to do it to give them a better life. Here, life is totally different from our country, both in terms

Amilcar Cortez Rivas uses the money he makes in Maricopa to support his family in Guatemala.

November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

VOTE TEEPLE & VITIELLO

GOVERNMENT

Clockwise: Rene Castillo Gomes severs the root of a honeydew melon. | Guatemalan migrants in the melon fields of Hidden Valley load fruit onto a mobile packing platform as the sun rises. | Water customers fill up jugs at Rob’s Convenience Store in Hidden Valley. Owner Rob Del Cotto’s reverse osmosis system purifies water to hydrate farmworkers in the field.

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hour, the federal minimum wage but only half of Arizona’s minimum wage, or about $58 a day. That compares to only $24 a day in Guatemala, or $3 an hour. Orozco has perhaps the most appealing job on the line, driving the tractor that pulls the mobile packing platform. He has performed every job in the melon field over the years because it is typical for farmworkers to rotate positions on the cutter and packer lines. While Orozco slowly steers the tractor at a crawl, there are teams of pickers, packers and box stackers who move in tandem. The first farmworkers are on the ground. Using curved box-cutter-style blades, they gently cut the melon stems from the fruit with deliberate and precise actions. They flip the melons to packers on a rolling platform who box up the melons on a tabletop. A third team stacks the boxes on the rolling platform pulled by Orozco’s tractor. Across Papago Road at Rob’s Convenience Store, harvest crew supervisors park their pickup trucks and take 5-gallon jugs inside the store to fill them up with water purified using reverse osmosis.

of language and how difficult it is to adapt, however, we do our work with pride.” Orozco’s wife, Emma Nelly Gonzalez Cardona, and his 10-year-old son, Dilan Manfredo Samayoa Cardona, live in the Jutiapa-El Progreso region of southern Guatemala. “In Guatemala, I am a farmer of basic grains: corn, beans and vegetables,” said Orozco, who returns home during Arizona’s offseason. “Thanks to your country I have been able to build a house for my family and give my son an education.” H-2A visas are acquired through the farm company. The company is required to reimburse farmworkers for any visa expenses. The employer is also required to provide lodging and travel expenses. Orozco said he was happy with his company’s living conditions nearby. The migrant is required to provide receipts to employers. The employer pays for 75% of the worker’s contract and housing costs while in the U.S. as well as 100% of transportation and food. The government covers the rest. The average earnings for a farmworker is $7.25 per

Thanks to your country I have been able to build a house for my family and give my son an education.” MANFREDO OROZCO

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InMaricopa.com | November 2024

GOVERNMENT

Alonzo Chavez, a longtime Martori supervisor, was filling up water containers and loading them in the back of his truck to refresh farmworkers, who are given plenty of breaks in the intense heat to hydrate in the fields. “All of the people here in the field are Guatemalans,” said Chavez, himself a Mexican farmworker from San Luis Potosí. He said he’s worked in the fields in and around Maricopa for 25 years. There are an estimated 2.4 million hired farmworkers in the U.S., including migrant, seasonal, year-round and guest program workers. Thousands of them work in fields around Maricopa. The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, which advocates for migrant farmworkers, describes each Maricopa migrant laborer as “the farmworker who much of society never sees or considers.” “The farmworker who, in bitter cold and extreme heat, plants, tends and harvests the food we eat every day,” AFOP’s statement to InMaricopa continued. “The farmworker who often makes too little in pay to afford the very foodstuffs he or she picks. The farmworker who, despite these challenges, makes the necessary sacrifices to ensure his or her children get a good education. AFOP salutes these unsung heroes.”

Tap water in this part of Hidden Valley is not drinkable and is often considered unhealthy. It is tainted with nitrates and arsenic, toxic byproducts of agricultural chemicals of the past, said the store’s owner Rob Del Cotto. The water problem gave Del Cotto an idea 16 years ago when he opened the store in the strip mall owned by his brother, Rand. Rob bought a reverse osmosis water treatment system and sells water to hydrate the agricultural workforce in the surrounding fields. “I live right down the street,” Rob Del Cotto said. “You can’t drink the water. It’s horrible.” Rob’s newly upgraded system today produces about 5½ gallons per minute. Residents living near the store also come in to fill up on water for cooking and drinking. You could call Rob Del Cotto’s water system “trickle out” economics, a retail ripple effect of the farm-to-store economy. He fondly calls the retired school buses painted white that move the migrants around “the magic buses,” after the 1960s song by The Who. They come and go at all times of night to capitalize on cooler temperatures and during store hours bring in that magic dollar to the Del Cotto family. Rand’s daughter, Randi, also works at the store. Martori has an ice and water contract with Rob’s Convenience Store.

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The farmworker who much of society never sees or considers. The farmworker who, in bitter cold and extreme heat, plants, tends and harvests the food we eat

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November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

COMMUNITY

Opposite: After a life-changing crash involving a distracted driver, the Sandell family’s black Honda Civic sits totaled in a scrapyard. Below left: Kyle Johnson and Addi Sandell have bonded over a shared trauma. Left: Addi is supported by sister Dayna, 16, and brother Daniel, 8. Below: Kyle recovers in the hospital.

Now she can’t do that. She has to have a straw, otherwise, she’ll choke.” Sandell was forced to resume Addi’s physical therapy sessions over the summer. Despite the setback, she said the child’s doctors are optimistic. When Sandell’s mind wasn’t on Addi’s recovery, she said she dwelled on how her daughter could have been seriously injured not once, but twice, by distracted drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reported 3,308 people were killed in distracted driving accidents in the U.S. in January 2023 — nine people per day. NHTSA reports texting and driving is six times more dangerous than drunk driving. In the 2022 accident, Addi was a pedestrian when she was hit by a woman distracted by her phone. That’s no surprise in Arizona, which has the second highest rate of pedestrian fatalities — 4.17 per 100,000 — in the country, according to a study released by the Governors’ Highway Safety Association last year. New Mexico topped the same study. “The statistics are stupidly high,” Sandell said. “Then, of course, we get in this accident in May, so I started looking at the statistics for distracted driving and it’s not just an Arizona issue, it’s a national issue.” Efforts to educate drivers don’t seem to be working, however. The AAA Foundation reports two-thirds of drivers continue to use their cell phones while they drive even after learning the statistics of distracted driving. If that’s not enough, 7 in 10 teens of driving age who have watched a distracted driving presentation and learned the statistics said their parents “continue to

This is the second installment in a two-part series. You can read the first part here:

A drive to survive The war against distracted driving is declared in Maricopa

hour behind a semi and saw two cars, driving erratically, racing each other aggressively, weaving in and out of traffic,” Johnson recalled. “One of them got behind me and tapped my back bumper. When you’re going 60, it’s hard to maintain control when you get hit like that.” Johnson’s car rolled five times during the crash, ejecting him through the sunroof. A good Samaritan, Michelle Garcia, stopped to check on Johnson and call for help, he said. “It must have been the adrenaline, but I remember laying on the ground, trying to get up,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t the pain that stopped me, it was the fact that my body was like rubber at that point.” Johnson sustained a fractured spine, six broken ribs and a broken clavicle. Doctors also had to remove his spleen, which ruptured during the crash. Johnson spent eight months on disability and returned to his job with UPS in August. Even though he’s made remarkable progress over the last few months, the pain is still a factor he has to deal with every day in a job requiring physical labor, he said. “I worked really hard to get to the point where I’m at in my career now,” Johnson said.

text or talk on the phone while driving with them in the car.” Sandell said she feels there’s just not enough education. Or, at least, not the right type. “I think most people attend DMV-type classes and see presentations that point out the statistics and the dangers, but it’s still too dry,” she said. “It doesn’t hit home with them. We need to show the hard pictures no one wants to see.” With such a lackadaisical approach to distracted driving, Sandell said she fears it’s not a matter of if more devastating accidents like her daughter’s happen, but when. For Kyle Johnson, a 33-year-old UPS delivery driver from The Villages, that day came Dec. 29, 2023, a little over a year after Addi’s first accident. Heading home around 10:30 p.m., Johnson found himself in the midst of two drivers who were apparently street racing. The NHTSA categorizes distracted driving as any form of activity that prevents the safe operation of a vehicle. It could include applying makeup, texting, eating or in this case, racing. “I was in the right lane, near the Casa Blanca intersection doing about 60 miles per

BY JUSTIN GRIFFIN

An impossible sign to ignore Sandell knew the direction she wanted to go with her new foundation, or at least she thought. Everything changed in May when Addi was re-injured during a trip back from Phoenix on State Route 347. A distracted driver rear-ended the Sandells. After the crash, something seemed off about Addi. She started slurring her words and shuffling her feet, struggling to walk. For people who have sustained a serious TBI, like Addi, re-injuries are common. The whiplash caused by the May crash left Addi with a Secondary Impact Syndrome diagnosis. Sandell said there’s no telling how the injury will affect Addi long-term. But for now, she’s lost some ground. “She’s regressed as far as the progress she’s made in speech,” she said. “She started having problems with word pronunciation, her speech became ‘slushy,’ as her therapist called it. She was able to drink out of a cup without a straw.

developed, Addi would have died. The story of the little girl’s ongoing recovery has proven to be a source of inspiration. Having become a sort of local celebrity, Addi’s story drew the attention of Trinity Broadcasting, a Tustin, Calif.-based religious television network, which recently offered her a contract. Sandell, who lives in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado, wanted to use the newfound attention her daughter garnered to start a foundation to help TBI victims and their families. She launched a Facebook page documenting her daughter’s recovery, called Addi’s Miracle. “I was going to take Addi’s Miracle and turn it into a nonprofit to help support families who are new to the TBI world,” Sandell said. “It’s a very lonely journey. You have no idea where to go for help. You’re left wondering, ‘What’s next?’” What was next, it turned out, was more traumatic injuries for her young daughter at the hands of a distracted driver.

HESE DAYS, KATIE SANDELL thinks a lot about the dangers of distracted driving. It’s hard for her not to obsess

over the topic. Her daughter, 6-year-old Addi, was nearly killed in a distracted driving incident in December 2022 — and re-injured again in May by yet another distracted driver. Addi’s story and others’ have inspired Sandell to start a nonprofit aimed at educating people about the dangers of distracted driving and helping those suffering traumatic brain injuries and their families. For Addi, the trauma began in 2022 when she was run over by a car while looking at Christmas lights. The driver was distracted by a smartphone. Addi flew 100 feet from the point of impact. Her injuries were numerous. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and what’s referred to as an internal decapitation. Had she been a few years older and her spine a little more

InMaricopa.com | November 2024

November 2024 | InMaricopa.com

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