Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 14

B4 MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2004 The Arizona republic PHOENIX Stacy Sullivan, city editor (602) 444-NEWS (6397) stacy.sullivanarizonarepublic.com SCOTTSDALE John D'Anna, city editor (602) 444-NEWS (6397) john.dannascottsdalerepublic.com Downtown East Phoenix North-Central South Phoenix Laveen Maryvale Sunnystope Moon Valley Deer Valley New River To give is to receive, Carefree Cave Creek Fountain Hills Paradise Valley Arcadia Salt River Community Man-made snow lets kids romp, cool off ospice volunteer says VV J. j'i ji -A fi 1 -4-' ft. VJ Jr; 4 Photos by Pat ShannahanThe Arizona Republic Michael GingThe Arizona Republic Yvonne Gaiffe (left), a longtime Hospice of the Valley volunteer and now a patient at a hospice group home, visits with volunteer Ellie Goodrich on Wednesday. Mackenzi Ives, 9 (left), of plays in man-made snow Saturday at the Sum- mer Snowball event at Scotts-1 dale's Market Street Park (above). By Diana Balazs The Arizona Republic SCOTTSDALE Like decorating saguaros for Christmas, playing in snow in August is strictly an Arizona thing.

Such was the case Saturday in the northeast Valley as hundreds of children slid, sloshed and squished their way through 50 tons of man-made snow as part of the DC Ranch development's second-annual Summer SnowbalLIn true Arizona fashion, many of the kids donned swimsuits and sunglasses along with mittens and boots. They played in three piles of snow at the Market Street Park near Thompson Peak Parkway and Pima Road in north Scottsdale.Connor Padwe, 7, of Scottsdale, was drenched from head to toe after playing in the snow. "My hands are freezing," he declared. What he said he loved most was "soaking this kid on the head with a snowball." The event featured 10 more tons of snow than last year. Tempe-based Arizona Iceman made the snow from blocks of ice.

Proceeds from the $5 admission benefit Homeward Bound, a program that provides transitional housing for the homeless and families affected by domestic violence. Scottsdale resident Kathy Harris, 40, a real estate agent with Russ Lyon Realty, brought her 4-year-old daughter, Gracie. "This is a great cause, and it's nice to see everybody kind of cool off," Harris said. And it was Gracie's first encounter with snow. "She sees snow on Frosty the Snowman, on all the Christmas shows and stuff, but she hasn't been in snow," Harris said.

Soon Gracie and her friend, Lucas Najera, 4, were slipping By Linda IIcLser The Arizona Republic PHOENIX Yvonne Gaif fe had a sizable debt to settle with Hospice of the Valley by the time her mother died in 1989. It wasn't that she owed them money. "It was because of all the wonderful things they did for her," Gaiffe said of Hospice, a non-profit organization that provides volunteers to support terminally ill patients and their families. Paying back in kind was the only way the GJendale woman could think of to even the score. "I wanted to become a volunteer for Hospice to, repay them, absolutely," said Gaiffe, who on a weekly basis since 1992 has played cards, run errands or just held hands with end-of-life patients in Hos-pic of the Valley care.

Organizations like Hospice of the Valley rely on volunteers like Gaiffe to survive during tough economic times. But what Gaiffe hadn't counted on was just how much she would gain from her vol-unteerism. "Just so much love, so much appreciation comes from them into you, and you can only imagine just how much it means to them," she said of her former patients. And now, Gaiffe, who at 74 has been diagnosed with cancer, is on the receiving end of that care. Weekly visits from her Hospice of the Valley volunteer, Ellie Goodrich, have meant the world to her, Gaiffe said.

She knows firsthand, again, the value of the work. "Ellie does whatever I need her to do, but sometimes we just sit and hold hands and meditate," Gaiffe said. "And I need that. I need to be calm and accept where I am." To say that Gaiffe would en- A few ways to volunteer Check out the Volunteer Center of Maricopa County's database of available volunteer positions at www. volunteer phoenix.org.

It includes opportunities with more than 200 non-profit groups and is searchable by ZIP code. Or call them at (602) 263-9736. Hospice of the Valley will begin training new volunteers. Classes begin Sept. 1 and run through Sept.

29. Information: (602) 636-6336 or www.hospiceofthevalley.org. Desert Botanical Garden is planning two one-hour orientation programs for would-be volunteers on Sept. 15 and 18. Information: (480) 481-8197 or www.dbg.org.

ability, aptitude or availability, according to Alexis Walker, CEO of the Volunteer Center of Maricopa County. "There are opportunities for all ages, generally from age 12 up, either sex, all races, income levels and even abilities," she said. "We actually have a department that helps place those who have disabilities but want to volunteer." Time commitments can also be met, whether a would-be volunteer can afford to give as few as several hours a month or as many as 40 hours a week. courage others to volunteer their time, talent and heart to those who need them is an enormous understatement. "I'd like to tell those who are thinking about volunteering that it's great to go into it with the idea that you're going to be helping someone else, but you're going to be immensely surprised when you find out who really is going to be helped," she said.

"It's you." Metro Phoenix and Maricopa County have a variety of community volunteer opportunities to suit almost any age, mom Katie Padwe, 33, who kept a careful eye on the size of the cold projectiles. "Nice to visit. Not to live with," grandmother Carol Padwe, of Scottsdale, said of the white stuff. Reach the reporter at diana or (602) 444-6877. and sliding.

Lucas, of Scottsdale, had only seen snow once before. "Up in Flagstaff last year," said his mother, Deb Najera, 42. Meanwhile, Connor Padwe had gathered enough snow to lob snowballs at his dad, Marc, 35, and his brothers, Kyle, 5, and Luke, just a nice way to cool off," said BRIEFS Seminar on dealing with bullies will be free SCOTTSDALE Anti-bul-lying author Jodee Blanco will give a seminar titled "It's Not Just Joking Around" at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Saguaro High School, 6250 N. 82nd St.

The seminar will focus on how she was bullied as a child and offer practical solutions for dealing with the issue. The seminar is free and open to the public. Addressing disabilities with exercise, no meds SCOTTSDALE Dore Achievement Center will hold an open house from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the center, 6900 E.

Camel-back Road, Suite 300. The center will offer information on a medication-free, exercise-based approach to helping those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia and ADHD. Details: 1-866-784-4377 or www.dorecenters.com. Couple's talk to teach frugal, debt-free living SCOTTSDALE Annette and Steve Economides, publishers and national distributors of The Home Econo-miser, a frugal-shopper newsletter, will give a seminar at 10 a.m. Aug.

28 at Scottsdale Bible Church Chapel, 7601 E. Shea Blvd. The couple promotes a frugal lifestyle and shares tips on how to attain debt-free living. Send a check for $5 per person to Home Economiser BRIEFS Phoenix helps students register for high school PHOENIX The city is holding a one-stop high school registration event Tuesday. Staff from more than 40 high schools will register students for the school of their choice, including those offering resources to bilingual students.

City staff will be available to answer questions and provide additional resources to the Latino community. Valley Metro staff will help students find the best route to school. The event is sponsored by know99 Television, the city of Phoenix youth and education cable channel. The event is scheduled from noon to 8 p.m. at the Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N.

Central Ave. Details: (602) 534-5669. Police detain driver after 1 killed in crash NORTH PHOENIX A 17-year-old suspected of drunken driving was detained early Sunday in connection with a crash on Interstate 17 that killed a woman, authorities said. The incident occurred about 1:25 a.m. in the highway's southbound lanes near Happy Valley Road, said Officer Steve Volden, a state Department of Public Safety spokesman.

The victim, whose name was unavailable, was sitting on a guardrail after she was involved in a minor crash on the interstate. When the teen swerved to avoid the woman's car, which remained on the highway, she Seminar, P.O. Box 12603, Scottsdale, AZ 85267, or register online with PayPal at www.homeeconomiser.com. Registration should be postmarked by Aug. 23.

Otherwise, admission will cost $10 at the door. Learn to make smart and healthy smoothies NORTHEAST VALLEY There's more to making smoothies than low-fat yogurt and a fast blender, according to a local health center. Kronos Optimal Health Centre is giving a free presentation on making smart smoothies, the kind that add up to preventing diseases, maintaining healthy weight and eating only stuff that's good for you. Kronos nutritionist Sue Ayerson will share recipes for such delicacies as the blue mango smoothie and explain how to keep it healthy. The session is slated for 6 to 7 p.m.

Tuesday at Kronos Optimal Health, 15211 N. Kierland Suite 200, at Kierland Commons in Phoenix. To register, call (480) 483-4300. Habitat for Humanity condo plat on agenda CAVE CREEK The Cave Creek Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Town Hall, 7622 N.

Cave Creek Road. Several projects will be under review including final plat approval for a Habitat for Humanity four-unit condominium to be built at 38410 N. Basin Road. struck and killed the woman, Volden said. The teen's name also was unavailable, and it remained unclear late Sunday whether she was arrested.

Group teaches women all about bankruptcy PHOENIX The Fresh Start Women's Foundation is holding an event Sept. 7 to teach women the nuts and bolts of bankruptcy. The event is designed to teach women the terms used in a bankruptcy proceeding, including the differences between a Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Admission is $5. Those interested can register by calling (602) 261-7143 or by visiting www.fswf.org.

The event is slated from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1130 E. McDowell Road. Learn how to expand business with Internet PHOENIX The Service Corps of Retired Executives will hold a seminar Aug. 28 on how to start and grow businesses using the Internet.

Experts will detail the technology of the Internet, online tools and techniques for growing a business, how to conduct business online, how to effectively promote your business online, and how to use e-mail marketing and automated sales. The event is slated from 9 a.m. to noon at the Arizona Small Business Administration office, 4130 E. Van Buren Suite 150. The seminar costs $25 per person.

Details: (602) 745-7250. Pueblo Grande starting tcurs next month By Judy Nichols The Arizona Republic Docent training, cooking with prickly pear cactus, native foods of the Southwest and Spanish tours are all scheduled in September at Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, 4619 E. Washington St. Docent training begins Sept 8 and will meet for eight weekly sessions. Docents will learn about the Hohokam people and their archaeology and go on field trips to other museums.

The sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays at the museum. The fee for the course is $25. A workshop on cooking with prickly pear is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Sept.

18. It will be led by Carolyn Niethammer, author of The Prickly Pear Cookbook and American Indian Cooking: Recipes from the Southwest. Admission is $25 for non-members and $20 for members. Space is limited. A presentation titled "Hot, Sweet and Sticky: Native Foods of the Southwest" is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m.

Sept. 19. It will be led by Kevin Dahl, executive director of Native SeedsSEARCH, a Tucson non-profit group that preserves seeds of crops grown by Native Americans in the Southwest. The museum will begin offering Spanish-language tours from 2 to 3 p.m. Sept.

12. Spanish tours will be offered every second Sunday of the month. They are free and open to the public. In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month in September and Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16, the museum will have free craft activities Sept.

12. For more information, call (602) 495-0901. New Salt River high school opens today By Jordana Mishory The Arizona Republic SALT RIVER Nearly 300 students in the Salt River community start their school year today in a new building large enough to accommodate more than twice as many students as its predecessor. Salt River High School is the first high school built by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The school has a cafeteria and a gymnasium, as well as an auditorium and a library, for a student body accustomed to eating lunch outside and hav-ing physical education class in a field.

Desert Eagle Secondary School, the predecessor to Salt River High School, was made mostly of trailers. Community leaders hope the brand-new $22 million charter school, funded larger ly by the reservation's gaming revenues, will attract teenagers back to the reser vation for their secondary education. Many on the reservation attend seventh through 12th grade in the Mesa Public Schools district: Salt River High School promotes Native American culture through both its architecture and curriculum. Shaped in a half-moon, the building is clay red with sand-yellow stripes to signify the desert and Red Mountain near the reservation. The school features a variety of Native American studies, from history to crafts such as beading.

The native" language, O'odham, is mandatory. Principal Martina Ashley said the building of this school demonstrates the importance of education for the community. "It is symbolic of what we have to look forward to in the future," Ashley said. Wednesday in Scottsdale Tuesday in Phoenix What's happening What tt't about Whenwhere Scrapbooking. Learn to create an inspired page for your scrapbook.

Materials will be provided. Cost: Free. To register, call: (480) 312-6100. 6:30 to 8 p.m., Palomino Library, on the campus of Desert Mountain High School, 12575 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale.

What' happening What Iff about Whenwhera Geology of the Valley of the Sun. Professional geologist and gemologist Richard Allen leads a hands-on workshop. Registration required. $20; $16 for garden members. 7-9 p.m., Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N.

Galvin Parkway. (480) 941-1225..