Inside Mesa

Mesa lost another great individual in Dr. John Kerr.I knew Dr. Kerr from the Hohokams. We parked the same parking lot during spring training cubs games at Hohokam park. Dr. Kerr was very active in the community and was a member of numerous boards and committees including a founder of Sunshine Acres, member of the United Way, and of course the Mesa Hohokams. He gave much of his time donating his medical services to both the young and old.I noticed that this past spring training season that he had a much more difficult time working the parking lot, but inspite of repeated questions on how he was doing, he would just reply "I’m doing fine".We’ll all miss this great individual. He’s an example of how we whould all live our lives.

Justin Cude is well today because of a bone marrow transplant - a one in six million match found 5,784 miles away.The donor - Ina Sondershaus, 32, who has lived her whole life in Augsburg, Germany.I first learned of Justin, now 17, several years ago when hearing through his mother Barbara that he had an aggressive cancer - acute myelogenous leukemia. Justin was dying. The one constant voice I heard from this mother was hope - always having faith, always believing there would be a way to save her son’s life. Ina first registered to be a bone marrow transplant at 19 in Germany during a drive for someone in her neighborhood - it was not a match. Her father died of cancer when she was a child and hoped to help someone else live - and did with Justin!What a wonderful surprise this morning when Gary D. Kinnaman, Senior Minister, Word of Grace Church in Mesa, mentioned Justin and his family, members of Word of Grace, acknowledging them and Ina Sondershaus who was sitting next to them! Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center brought Ina and her mother out to Arizona to meet Justin and his family as part of a celebration of the hospital’s bone-marrow transplant program. What a wonderful gift for everyone as they met for the first time. Barbara Cude’s hope and faith were realized through Ina Sondershaus - seeing her son alive and well, as was Ina’s - to give another life.

Andrew P. Thomas, Maricopa County Attorney gives us practical tips on the www.endIDtheft.com website and brings a FREE Shred-a-Thon partnering with:Weyerhaeuser Document Destruction & Recycling Center, www.endIDtheft.com, and 12 News. If you’re like me - I have several boxes I’ve been saving up and need to toss out old documents and clean out files.Monday, May 7 - from 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM - Weyerhaeuser will be open and ready to receive up to five boxes (banker’s box size) for FREE. Additional boxes are only $3.00 per box. Sounds like a great deal to me!Location - 301 South 30th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034. If you have any questions or need information call 602-225-0560. I have a friend, Dorothy, that works there and know how efficient she and the service is.

MCCCD is right on schedule with their time-line to seat the next President for Mesa Community College. The final candidates for the presidential public forums are: Wednesday, May 9, at Mesa Community College - Paul A. Elsner Library, room LB145.5:30

I was reading in this news site where the body of a home owner was found by propective buyers touring the house.This article reminds me of some times when I’ve shown property and come accross the owners sleeping or in the bathrooms. In my defense, the listing information sheet directed me to call first then show inwhich I complied, but sometimes, as this article illustrates, some unexpected situations do arise.Hopefully, I’ll never come accross a dead body!

The numbers represent crime prevention - something we all can benefit from if we want to be smart about safety, wise to the enemy, and knowledgeable about predators.Jerry Quarles, Crime Prevention Officer, Mesa PD - reported April 26 results of HEAT - Help Eliminate Auto Theft; saving these vehicles from theft or making recovery easier. - This was the most successful of all the events throughout the year - even in the heat.Participants were very thankful and happy to receive donated steering wheel locks for their vehicle as well. I learned we are now #4 highest in auto thefts, a drop from what I believe about a year ago was #3.There were 88 VIN (vehicle identification number) etchings (all windows including sun roof. Also, 55 Watch Your Car registrations - a program that once enrolled, provides a sticker to attach to your car that gives your authorization to law enforcement to stop your vehicle if seen between 1:00 AM & 4:00 AM. Worthwhile, if you’re typically not driving during those hours.Officer Lindy, Crime Prevention, MPD, provided personal safety information Monday evening. The education provided was priceless - touching on many areas in our lives where we can be vulnerable. We were made aware of how those wishing to do harm can gain access to: us personally, our home, our family. She provided insight and methods toward preventing theft, harm, even death.Officer Lindy also gave us literature: Personal Safety Information, How to be ‘Streetwise’ and Safe, Vehicle Security, Club Drugs & Predatory Drugs…Know the Facts. When it comes to our children we need to always be vigilant - I’ve learned of tragic situations where children are thought to be safe–detecting no apparent signs, even in clergy and law enforcement families.The Mesa Police Department also has Youth Safety Programs - another specific way to educate those that are often most vulnerable.