Citizen Staff Writer
IN BRIEF

About 28,000 people are expected to show up for the annual Jehovah’s Witnesses convention this month.

This year’s theme, “Guided by God’s Spirit,” focuses on ways people can benefit from God’s holy spirit, said Gerry Wilhelm, news service coordinator for the event. The focus will be using the Bible and applying to it to everyday life.

There will be four sessions: Friday to Sunday; June 13 to 15; June 20 to 22; and June 27 to 29. All sessions start at 9:20 a.m. All sessions will be at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

A Spanish language version of the convention will be in July and August, he said.

Admission to the event is free and nonmembers are welcome to attend.

For more information, call 390-1027.

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Six Catalina Magnet High School students are heading for Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about immigrants and refugee issues.

When the students get there on Sunday, they plan to showcase their exhibit, “Teen Refugees and Immigrants Explore Their Tucson.”

The exhibit documents the past, present and future lives of the teens through photography and essay writing, said Julie Kasper, a Catalina Magnet teacher.

The exhibit will be displayed in the U.S. Senate Russell Building from Monday to June 6.

Besides exhibiting their projects, the students will participate in a congressional briefing and speak to staff members about immigration issues.

The students come from Liberia, Somalia, Mexico, Sudan, Afghanistan and Kenya, Kasper said.

The exhibit is one aspect of the “Finding Voice Project,” in which English as a second language students pick a topic each semester, said Josh Schachter, Tucson Unified School District project specialist. This past semester’s topic focused on war and immigration.

“The idea was that through the process they would develop their ability to verbally articulate themselves through their own photos and others,” said Schachter, who taught the students basic photography skills. “This can be more fun for some instead of diving off into writing, which can be a little intimidating when you are learning English.

“The underlying theme really focuses on how they feel quite isolated and alone in Tucson. Each student has different reasons,” Schachter said. “Some because of trying to get accustomed to a totally different world. For others, it’s the language barrier.”

Plans to go to Washington, D.C., surfaced about a year and a half ago when Vice Mayor Nina Trasoff was invited to speak to the English as a second language class about its members’ experiences in Tucson.

Trasoff was so impressed with the presentations that she invited the students to present their exhibit in the Ward 6 office.

“Some of the images that you see don’t leave you. It’s that powerful,” Trasoff said. “For the kids to lobby on Capital Hill, what a wonderful way to know that their voice will be heard and have an impact.”

Hawa Bealue, 18, a Catalina Magnet junior from Liberia, is excited about sharing her experiences: “I wanted to get important issues out about immigrant life. I had trouble fitting in because you have to try to speak the language to fit in with your friends.”

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

More college-bound Sunnyside Unified School District students will receive assistance because of a recent $100,000 USA Funds grant.

USA Funds, an organization that promotes access to higher education, will donate $75,000 directly to the district’s Dollars for Scholars chapter and $25,000 more once the chapter matches the amount with donations by Dec. 31, said Monique Soria, Sunnyside public relations director.

Soria said she has no doubt the organization will meet the goal and receive the matching funds.

This year, the chapter has raised $68,000, compared with $57,000 last year.

“We have had some local businesses get involved, but we want to get more. The philosophy for Dollars for Scholars is very grass-roots oriented,” Soria said. “It lets students know that many people put forth effort for them to receive these scholarships.”

Soria said Sunnyside participates in USA Funds’ learning community coalition, which targets high-minority/low-income areas where students do not have good opportunities for higher education.

The initiative began in 2005 and has additional sites in states such as Florida, Mississippi and Wyoming, Soria said.

“This year, we gave awards to 73 (students). The year before, that was 60,” Soria said. “We won’t give out the total $100,000 next year because we still have funds coming in from other sources.”

Soria said Sunnyside students have much to offer the academic world but sometimes need an extra push or financial help.

Gilbert Bujanda, who graduated from Desert View High School in the district this month, exemplifies what a young leader should be, Soria said.

Bujanda was presented with the Learning Community Leader Award and a $1,000 scholarship. He was student body president and helped establish Make A Difference Day and the World Carnival at the school.

“I felt really honored,” Bujanda said. “For too long, you see reports of crime and drugs. I wanted to show people that there are students over here doing good things for the community.”

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

From building blocks to designing a low-energy wind turbine for houses, Parker Owan always knew he wanted to be an engineer.

So it’s not surprising the 18-year-old home-schooler attended the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta with two students from Catalina Foothills High School earlier this month. He took second place in the electrical and mechanical category and was awarded $8,000 in scholarships for his invention: a vertical axis wind turbine.

Catalina Foothills’ Eva Megan Nichols, 18, and Mary Xue Wang, 17, were presented with $2,000 worth of shares from United Technologies Corp., a global technology firm based in Hartford, Conn.

The invention was constructed with intentions of finding a way to conserve energy for the household, Owan said. The project took about a year to complete.

Taking into account that few wind machines constructed in the city are adaptable to changing wind speeds, Owan designed his turbine to accommodate fluctuations.

“My build takes advantage of the power available in the wind at all speeds and it can fit on top of the house,” he said. “It basically changes the orientation of the blades to maximize the efficiency.

“I have always had a love for designing and building things. I love the whole concept of it,” Owan said. “The design, construction and testing – and going back to make it better.”

Already obtaining the patent for his design and supporting computer program that adjusts the direction of the turbine blades, Owan plans to take his idea all the way and make it into an energy-saving product.

Even early in life, Parker amazed teachers with his curiosity, along with his ability to assemble things quickly and creatively, Andrea Owan said of her son.

When the Owan family lived in California, Parker attended an accelerated school for the second grade. Even there he was unchallenged.

When Parker started coming home in tears, she pulled him out of his second-grade class and into home-school, said Andrea, who, with husband Chris Owan, moved the family to Arizona in 1997.

“Parker has always been a precocious child. I would ask him what was wrong and he would say he was bored,” she said. “He gets done with his work early and then he would run around talking to other students disrupting the class.”

Parker said home-school education for the past 11 years has allowed him to focus on his two strengths – math and science – and spend time with his father.

“My dad is a mechanical engineer, so I watched him work on engineering a lot,” Parker said. “He also taught a few of my math courses as well.”

Besides developing a product with hopes of being distributed nationally, Parker will be faced with another big transition in his life: entering the electrical engineering program at the University of Arizona this fall.

Still, Parker said he isn’t nervous about attending the large university.

“I took a computer programming class at Pima before and I know a few kids who are going to as well,” he said. “I consider myself to be a sociable person so it’s not hard for me.”

Outside of academia, Parker likes to write and play music.

“I like writing a song, playing the song, and then perfecting it,” said Parker, who plays the trumpet and bass guitar.

“It’s been a flow of what I liked to do when I was younger and what I like to do now.”

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association is planning to begin construction on a long awaited observatory site this summer or fall.

The site is in Sunizona, a small town south of Willcox on Interstate 10 and an hour-and-a-half drive from Tucson, said Bill Lofquist, former association president.

A 16-foot dome and 18-inch telescope have been donated by Kitt Peak National Observatory and a former, now deceased, member of the association, respectively, for the observatory site, Lofquist said.

Creating a permanent site has been a goal of the association since it formed in 1954, member Tim Hunter said.

“Over the years, we have been looking for the right location and the right price,” Hunter said. “Now that we have both, we are pushing forward with plans.”

Member John Kalas said he and three other members – Robert Crawford, Erich Karkoschka and Sam Rua – are buying the Cochise County property and donating 16 acres to the association.

“Each of us is donating four acres to the club. This will be the central portion,” Kalas said. “Each of the partners will be left with a parcel of six acres that will surround the site because of concerns about light and dust.

“When I first heard about it, I was so impressed with the idea because it allows the club to acquire the land with little cost. The fear was that we would expend all of our club funds on the purchase of land and not have money to develop on it.”

Hunter said a land fund was created in 1986 to raise money for the observatory site, but now the funds will be used to help pay for infrastructure such as revamping roads and building a fence around the site.

The project is divided into three phases.

Kalas said the first phase will include installing a well, septic and electric systems and concrete observing pads for association members, and paving roads and laying down gravel.

“We are looking at a basic startup cost of $100,000 for phase one, which will probably consume most of what the club has at present, but we have yet to tally a total estimate for the entire project,” Kalas said.

The second phase will bring additional concrete observing pads and observatories, Lofquist said. The third phase will include the possible construction of a clubhouse, ramada, food preparation and sleeping areas.

The association obtained a special use permit from the Cochise County planning and zoning department, said Michael Turisk, Cochise County senior planner.

Turisk said environmental precautions taken by the association prompted the committee to vote unanimously in favor of the plan in February.

“It’s a low-impact activity with little noise because they are prohibiting gas-powered generators on the site,” Turisk said. “They are laying down gravel and going to erect speed limit signs within the astronomy park to remind people to keep it slow.”

Lofquist said more fundraising will need to be done within the 320-member organization and outside of it.

“But it will be worth it,” Lofquist said. “This is an wonderful opportunity for all to enjoy.”

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Gov. Janet Napolitano made an impromptu visit to Tucson on Friday to call attention to the success of World Care, a local nonprofit organization.

Napolitano commended World Care for being “remarkably productive” and “cost efficient” in its efforts to make thousands of pounds of goods available where they are most needed.

Because World Care has never received government funding, it has heavily relied on local support and grants to maintain the organization, said Lisa Hopper, World Care CEO and founder. It has worked to World Care’s advantage, she said, because it is not feeling the financial crunch state-funded organizations are.

“Due to difficult economic times, World Care has been experiencing an increase in their requests from poor individuals from the gas and the food situation,” Hopper said. “It’s getting to be unbearable for some. We are trying to accommodate as many people as possible.”

Reusing valuable resources and recycling has been the focus of the organization, which provides school supplies and computers to students and also functions as a relief organization in national and international disasters, Hopper said.

“I built this organization for it to survive in tough times,” Hopper said. “We have to rethink this community and how we function if we want to make it past this.”

With Arizona facing a budget deficit, World Care is a good model to expand to other areas in the state, such as Phoenix, Napolitano said.

“There will be no funds available,” Napolitano said. “That’s why it’s so useful because it doesn’t assume much help” from the government.

World Care’s use of volunteers, few paid staff and support network make it a good model to replicate to reach communities in economic hard times, Napolitano added.

World Care is in the former Julia Keen Elementary School, 3538 E. Ellington Place.

Barry Gillaspie, World Care board member, said Napolitano’s visit will help bring attention to World Care and its success in providing relief for those in need.

“It can be replicated in other areas because we have focused on using recycled material and finding ways to use items people would normally disregard,” Gillaspie said.

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

About 150 people gathered for the 25th annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial last night.

The event at Himmel Park, 1000 N. Tucson Blvd., was one of hundreds held at nightfall in more than 100 countries.

The events are held to raise awareness of the disease and remember those who lost their lives.

The Tucson memorial began with a drum call to gather performed by Native Images Woman Drum.

Seh Welch, the night’s master of ceremonies, told the crowd it had “come here to live, not die.”

Tucson City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff told the crowd, “I wish we were here to only remember,” and not because AIDS will claim more lives. “There is a lot to look forward to here in this community; we all get it and care passionately.”

Pima County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Elías said the stigma that persists in many communities prevents people from sharing their situation with others. But when brave people step forward, their actions help everyone, he said.

He said the stories people tell at the vigil are about the “people who live in our hearts.”

“The strength of these stories will lead us to fight back against the stigma that exists today,” he said.

During the “calling of the names” portion of the ceremony, audience members said the name of someone they know who lives with HIV/AIDS or died of the disease, Welch said.

The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation displayed a 100-foot-long timeline composed of local, national and global statistics.

“It’s really a collage of information,” said Michele Bart, the foundation’s director of development. “It first started in 2006 in our youth program, but now it’s a visual representation for how far we have come and how far we have to go to fight AIDS.”

This year’s memorial is particularly difficult for the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network, which lost three key staff members this year – Jim Valiton, Bill McManus and Lee Willetts – said Scott Blades, the network’s executive director.

Denise McDonald, 54, who volunteers at the network, knew Valiton well and took his death hard.

“When he first met my husband, he told me he thought he was cute. When we went to functions, my husband would run up to him and pick him up,” McDonald said. “Jim would get all flustered and red in the face.”

Blades said Valiton was an “amazing person” and a “role model.”

Willetts, a longtime kitchen staff member of the network, made sure all the food had flavor and was a joy to be around, McDonald said.

“Lee and me were like two peas in a pod. We met when he threw a phone at me at SAAF,” McDonald said. “All my guys are leaving me behind.”

The weekend event was Tucson’s 10th annual celebration of the AIDS memorial. Last year, 1,500 international AIDS memorials were held in 119 countries, Welch said.

Pima County has 17 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases in Arizona, according to a 2006 Arizona Department of Health Services report.

Blades said knowing the memorial is celebrated worldwide on the same day helped ease his pain. “It’s not just me in my grief. There are hundreds of thousands of people praying in remembrance of those we have lost and will lose if we don’t educate ourselves,” he said. “The silence has grown louder because people don’t see it in the news and they don’t hear about it as often.”

Citizen Staff Writer
IN BRIEF

The 25th annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will be held Sunday at Himmel Park, 100 N. Tucson Blvd.

The memorial service starts at 6 p.m. and the candle lighting ceremony will start at 7:30 p.m.

The memorial is held around the world to remember those who have died from AIDS.

The event is free and attendees can bring chairs and blankets.

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Citizen Staff Writer

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

It’s you, your significant other and the stars. No, it’s not your backyard, but Mount Lemmon.

Telescope viewing will be open to the public on top of the mountain after years of anticipation.

The plan was put in motion after Steward Observatory received several requests from the public to use the telescopes, said Bob Patterson, operations manager for the observatory.

“I’m glad we decided to do something about it,” Patterson said. “We are excited and look forward to the reactions of the public.”

Participants will be able to sign up for the evening observatory program or an overnight program, said Valerie Grindle, Mount Lemmon Sky Center executive director.

The evening program will cost $48 per person but groups with more than 10 members will each pay $40, Grindle said. Overnight program participants pay $500 for one or two people.

Participants will be provided with a light meal, binoculars, a flashlight and a star chart for the evening program, said Adam Block, Mount Lemmon Sky Center coordinator.

“During sunset, we will go to one of the edges of the mountains to watch the sunset,” said Block, one of the astronomers giving the tours. “People usually don’t take the time to do it. It’s a beautiful thing.”

About 16 dorm rooms have been renovated for the overnight guests, Grindle said. Guests will have access to a dining room, kitchenette and a meeting place.

Only 20 participants will be allowed for each evening program session, Grindle said.

“We are limiting the number of people we accept for each session because we want people to have hands-on experience,” Grindle said. “The overnight program is like a one-on-one experience with the guide. The evening program is built for a more group setting.”

“The phones have already started ringing,” Grindle said. “This morning, we were already filling up for Memorial Day. We are taking reservations through 4th of July.”

For the next few weeks, a 24-inch RC Optical Systems telescope, valued at $200,000 to $300,000, will be used while a 32-inch version is being built by the manufacturer, Block said.

One of seven telescope domes at the observatory has been remodeled, the walls painted purple to create a welcoming atmosphere.

“It doesn’t look like a normal observatory. It has a bathroom and a warm room because it gets cold up here,” Block said. “We want it to look like a public space.”

Constellations and galaxies that can be seen vary with the seasons, Block said.

New asteroids are regularly discovered on the mountain, and the public can get the chance to name an asteroid if it isn’t found in the national database, Block said.

Depending on demand, the programs will be available for up to five days a week, Grindle said.

The Sky Center will be made available to the public Friday and reservations will need to be made ahead of time. The number is 626-8122.

Grindle hopes to go from 200 to 2,000 visitors a year.

“We hope to give people a new reason to come up to Mount Lemmon,” he said.

Citizen Staff Writer

Fayana Richards

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

A University of Arizona professor of medicine was awarded the $1 million John Norton Endowed Chair for Prostate Cancer Research at the Arizona Cancer Center.

The gift was made to the UA Foundation.

The chair will go to oncologist Dr. Frederick “Rick” Ahmann, professor of medicine and surgery.

“Virtually no other oncologist in the U.S. has devoted his or her career to preventing and treating prostate cancer more than Dr. Rick Ahmann,” said Dr. David S. Alberts, director for Arizona Cancer Center, in a press release.

Alberts, who appointed Ahmann to the chair position, said that “there is no more deserving physician scientist to receive a named prostate cancer chair.”

The new chair position hits close to home for John Norton and his family.

Norton, a 17-year prostate cancer survivor, said he was referred to Ahmann by his Phoenix physician.

“We are on the threshold of new and better ways to treat prostate cancer,” said Norton in a news release. “We must financially support people with the qualities and abilities of Dr. Ahmann.”

Donors John and Doris Norton have participated in various philanthropic efforts including the donation of $4 million to UA’s College of Agriculture.

Citizen Staff Writer

Fayana Richards

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Southern Arizona mail handlers are carrying out their annual food drive Saturday to help the Community Food Bank.

Residents can help by setting out nonperishable foods near their mailboxes Saturday for pickup by members of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Tucson letter carriers are participating in a nationwide competition in which the two carrier groups that collect the most food receive 1,000 canned foods for their sponsored organization, said Keith Gaub, coordinator for the local food drive.

“We have volunteers going and picking up food in areas the routes don’t go to,” Gaub said. “The Phoenix branch is much bigger than ours, but every year we collect more food than they do.”

Last year, the 15th year of the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, local letter carriers collected around 270,000 pounds of food in Tucson, and more than 71 million pounds were collected nationwide, said Bill Carnegie, chief executive officer of the Community Food Bank.

“We are hoping for about 500,000 this year in pounds because our demand is up so high,” he said. “This might be hard to do with the difficult economic situation we are in today.”

The Community Food Bank has experienced a 27 percent increase in demand this year, mostly likely because of rising food prices, Carnegie said, and contributions are not keeping up.

“We are a little stretched right now, so we could use all of the help we can get.”

Citizen Staff Writer

Fayana Richards

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Two miles of the road into Sabino Canyon will be open to pedestrians and a shuttle service on weekends beginning Sunday.

The road closed April 1 at the second shuttle stop – about 1.4 miles into the canyon – to allow road work and repairs to damage caused by heavy rains and flooding in July 2006. It had previously been open to Stop 4, two miles into the canyon.

The reopening to Stop 4 will help the shuttle business a little, said Abbey Harmon, general manager for Sabino Canyon Tours. But it won’t make up for the 75 percent decrease in riders since construction began, she said.

“Normally in April and early May, we have 300 or 400 people a day,” Harmon said. “We have been lucky if we have 100 a day so far this month.”

The shuttle cut its adult fare from $5 to $3 when its route was cut from Stop 4 to Stop 2. It had previously charged adults $7.50 when the road was open 3.9 miles to Stop 9 before the 2006 storm.

“It’s pretty dead during July and August, which is (why it is) important that we make money during our busy seasons,” Harmon said. “We don’t expect to start recuperating until we get (access) all the way in.”

When construction resumes, access will again be limited to shuttle Stop 2, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release. Construction is expected to be completed in July, at which time the road will open to Stop 9, the release said.

For more information, call the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center at 520-749-8700 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekends and holidays.

On the Web

Sabino Canyon Tours

www.sabinocanyon.com/

Citizen Staff Writer

Fayana Richards

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Local efforts to send aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar are being held up by that country’s military government.

So far, the Myanmar government has prevented U.S. aid workers from entering the country, said Lisa Hopper, founder of World Care, a nonprofit organization at 3538 E. Ellington Place.

However, World Care is working with a group of physicians in Indonesia, who would most likely have an easier time getting medical supplies inside the country, she said.

“They are working to acquire a 30-day emergency work visa,” Hopper said. “We are expecting to ship the supplies out this week, but we are waiting for our final funding and locations to ship the supplies, but time is running out.”

Without medical aid and food, the potential for disease will compound the disaster, she said.

World Care has committed $150,000 in supplies ready to ship to Burma/Myanmar once it receives clearance, Hopper said. Depending on who receives clearance among World Care’s sister organizations, the supplies will be shipped along with the others’.

“Usually the diseases that come after disaster, you can literally lose just as many people as you did during the disaster,” Hopper said. “That’s why it’s important to make sure you get people in as soon as possible.”

The American Red Cross encourages people concerned about family members in Myanmar to contact the U.S. Department of State, said Dan Hoffman, spokesman for the Red Cross’ Southern Arizona chapter.

“We have received one call, but a lot of people are getting directions from the national Web site,” he said. “Our national headquarters have committed aid. But with the resistance of the government, I’m not sure if it’s making it inside of the country.”

HOW TO HELP

The American Red Cross’ Southern Arizona chapter is accepting monetary donations at www.redcrossarizona.org or www.redcross.org.

World Care is accepting medical and hygiene-related supplies in person or monetary contributions at www.worldcare.org.