Pacific Pride station to open in San Luis/B2 B

Comings and GoingsJoyce Lobeck

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011

Chick-fil-A again making plans for Yuma restaurant

Apparently Yuma is getting the long-awaited Chick-fil-A. Plans are mov-

ing through the process, Alan Kircher, city of Yuma deputy building official, confirmed Thursday to Comings and Goings.

He said the plan is to locate the restaurant on a free-standing pad with a drive-through near the strip center at the south-west corner of Pacific Avenue and 16th Street.

For the uninitiated, Chick-fil-A is noted for its chicken sandwiches and the spelling-challenged cow with the slogan “Eat Mor Chikin” in its marketing.

The company origi-nally had planned to open a restaurant in Yuma in 2006, but those plans never materialized.

***Kircher also reported

that building permits have

been issued for an expan-sion and remodeling of Nunes Vegetables plant at 4471 E. Gila Ridge Road. The expansion calls for a 4,000-square-foot addition.

***For the second year in

a row, Olsen’s Market-Place IGA in Ajo has been awarded the coveted 5 Star certification for excel-lence by IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance). The store was one of three in Arizona to win the award based on in-store apprais-als, training and customer feedback.

Employees and store policies offer the same

excellent service at Olsen’s MarketPlace IGA at Well-ton that the grocer opened in October.

Olsen has been in the grocery business in Pima and Yuma counties for 35 years.

***Comprehensive renova-

tions and upgrades to 350 W. 16th St. are to begin in the next few weeks, according to the property manager, Tom Pancrazi, president of A.T. Pancrazi Real Estate Services Inc.

The project is part of a longer-term process to reposition the 1960s four-story, 24,000 square-foot building located at the intersection of 4th Avenue and 16th Street as a key component of a planned financial and professional center.

Phase 1 of the project — which is scheduled for completion by late spring

— will include an upgrade of the electrical system and a new, state-of-the-art mechanical HVAC system. Access to the building will be maintained for tenants and their customers, and utilities and elevators will remain functional during the renovation.

Financing for the project is being provided by The Foothills Bank.

Many members of the design-build team for the project are local. The team consists of Wayne A. Pea Architect — project archi-tect; Campbell Structural — structural engineer; PH Mechanical Engineer-ing — mechanical engi-neer; Enco Engineering Inc. — electrical engineer; DeNise Builders — general contractor; B&H Refrig-eration — mechanical contractor; Klein’s Kustom Electric Inc. — electrical contractor; DMS Roofing

Inc. — roofing contractor; and Brehe Consulting — owner’s representative and project management.

***Serenity Yoga has a new

owner. Michael Little has taken over from Stephanie Martin, who has owned and operated Serenity for several years. She contin-ues to own the property where the studio is located at 720 E. 22nd St.

Little has taught yoga for several years and is a registered yoga therapist.

In addition to the teach-ing of yoga, Serenity offers reiki, piloga and tai chai classes and reflexol-ogy treatments. For more information, call 344-0078 or visit www.serenityyoga-yuma.com.

The facility is shared with reiki master Kasan-dra Lor and Dr. Carl Myers, who offers meditation one evening a week.

***NOVA Home Loans has

moved to new offices at 454 W. Catalina Drive (next door to Staples). The office phone number remains 726-7266.

Todd Craig, vice presi-dent and branch manager for the Yuma office, said the company’s expansion to the new, much larger and nicer office will help the branch grow NOVA’s market share in Yuma County.

NOVA Home Loans was founded in 1980 in Arizona. It currently has five loca-tions in southern Arizona, including the Yuma office. The company also provides loan services in several other states.

***Brown Bag Burger at

5800 E. 32nd St. will be re-opening in early February. The restaurant, popular

Cutting-edge contractor has deep roots in YumaBY JOYCE LOBECKSUN STAFF WRITER

There’s a company in town whose roots extend back three gen-erations and a vision that reaches to the future.

Operating out of a building where his grandfather previously had an electrical business, Clint Harrington and his wife, Ari, are the owners of the up-and-coming MAC Electric they started in 2005.

For such a young business, the company can claim a part in some very big and cutting-edge projects around the community. It’s also getting recognition.

Last year, the business was nominated for the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award. This year, they’re a nomi-nee for the Small Business of the Year Award given by the Small Business Administration.

Three months after being in-corporated in October 2005, MAC Electric was awarded the contract for the electrical work on the Ari-zona Western College Ag/Science building.

“It was a leap of faith on their part,” said Ari.

Clint believes it also was a mea-sure of the reputation his father and before him his grandfather had built in the community.

But the Harringtons had paid their dues, too. Both are graduates of the University of Arizona with biosystem engineering degrees and had working experience be-fore going into business: Ari with Jim Davies’ civil engineering firm and Clint with his father’s electri-cal business. Clint also has com-pleted the electrical apprentice training program, and Ari is in her fourth year.

Since their big start, they’ve been the electrical subcontractor on such projects as: the Kofa High School campus rebuild; construc-tion of the Yuma County Court an-nex and work at Yuma Commerce Center; detention facilities; food processors; and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

In the process, the business has grown from three people and two trucks to 50 employees and a fleet of 35 trucks.

PHOTO BY DAVE PASCHALLONE OF THE CUTTING-EDGE renewable energy projects MAC Electric worked on is the power dish solar project at G&H Dairy.

PHOT BY JOYCE LOBECK/YUMA SUNARI AND CLINT HARRINGTON pose by the solar display they take to trade shows to promote the technology.

plugged intothe community

They’re also gaining an exper-tise in cutting-edge renewable en-ergy technology.

It was something that kind of dropped in their laps, Clint said.

“It just makes sense,” Ari added. “It’s exciting to consider the possi-bilities of new technology.”

Their first foray into solar power was the AWC project that included a solar energy system.

Since then MAC Electric has done the electrical work for such high-profile solar projects around

the community including the just completed project at the Yuma In-ternational Airport and systems at G&H dairy and the University of Arizona Agricultural Center.

Each of these projects involved different technologies. The airport project consisted of installing so-lar photovoltaic panels on shade parking. The UA project system is a concentrating system made by Soliant. It uses lenses to concen-trate the sunlight 500 times and di-rect it to solar cells for electricity

generation.The system at the G&H Dairy

processing plant at the corner of 24th Street and Avenue 3E consists of 33 power dishes, each capable of producing 3,000 watts of electric-ity.

MAC Electric’s roots go back to Cal and Joanne Harrington, who operated C&H Electric at 2499 S. Virginia Drive. After closing the business, the building housed a dance studio for several years.

Today it is home to MAC Elec-tric.

“There were clouds on the ceil-ing and mirrors on the walls,” Ari recalled. Today it’s a modern of-fice, warehouse and shop for the business.

Clint’s father, David, also has an electrical business, D&H. At times he and his son are competitors, other times a team, with D&H help-ing out with resources and advice.

The “M” in MAC stands for the Harrington’s oldest child, son Mad-dox, who was born the same year as the company; “A” is for Ari; and the “C” for Clint. Since then, the couple has had two more children.

When established, Ari was made the majority owner and the busi-ness recently became certified as a minority woman-owned business. That has helped the business as it competes for government jobs, in particular the development now underway at MCAS Yuma as the air station prepares for the arrival next year of the F-35 joint strike fighter.

Ari serves as the quality control manager while Clint is a project manager and does a lot of the es-timations. But they’re quick to credit their employees for the suc-cess of the business, with the dedi-cation, experience and diversity they bring.

Asked whether working together sometimes gets to be too much to-getherness, Ari replied that there are days they don’t see each other. She may be out at MCAS Yuma while Clint is in Nogales, where they had a big contract.

What it does, she said, is give them a common goal. “It makes it easy to understand when the other has to work at night or be away.”

SEE COMINGS/B4

B4  YUMA SUN, SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011

815 E. Juan Sanchez Blvd.San Luis Clinic(928) 627-3822

801 N. 2nd Ave.San Luis Dental Clinic

(928) 627-8584

10425 Williams St.Wellton Medical & Dental(928) 785-3256 Medical(928) 785-8008 Dental

(928) 726-5950 Gynecology/Obstetrics

115 N. Somerton Ave.Somerton Medical & Dental

(928) 627-2051 Medical(928) 627-8806 Dental

2060 W. 24th St.Yuma Medical Clinic

(928) 344-4216 Internal Medical(928) 344-5112 Pediatrics

(928) 726-5950 Gynecology/Obstetrics

S unset Community Health Center’s family care clinics offer a full range of primary care services. Sunset provides high quality primary medical and preventive care in a culturally sensitive, compassionate and professional manner to all ages and stages of life. Sliding fee scale available for patients without

insurance and who do not qualify for AHCCCS. Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurances accepted.

• Internal Medicine• Pediatrics• Gynecology/Obstetrics• Family Dental Services• Pharmacy Services

SERVICES

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

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Los Servicios se Ofrecen en Español

The Clinic You Can Trust

Don’t Have Medical Insurance and Don’t Qualify for AHCCCS Come and See Us.We Can Help You and Family Obtain the Medical Services Needed.

• Diagnostic Laboratory Services (in house and referral)• Ultrasound• Educational Services on: Diabetes, Nutrition, Cardiovascular, Exercise and Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Department of Public WorksSolid Waste Division

115 West 14th Street (928) 373-4500

Starting Monday, January 31, 2011 and continue through April 7, 2011. The program is a ten week process for ten outlined areas within the City limits. All items must be placed at the curb for collection. House hazardous waste will not be collected in this program. For more information please call 373-4500.

— AREA 1 —January 31 to February 3

Colorado Street to 1st Streetand

Avenue A to west City limits

2011NEighboRhood

ClEANup

Save Money on Attorney Fees during These Tough Times!

Limited SeatingPlease call (928)329-6101 to register

Seminars Also Last Friday of Each Monthin San Luis, 708 N. Archibald

Local Attorney Vida Florez will be discussing Bankruptcy, Family Law with Free forms, removal of Criminal Records

see web site for more info.

FREE Legal Seminar!

The Law Offices of

VIDA Z. FLOREZ150 W. Court Street • Yuma, AZ

lawofficevzf.com

Friday, February 11th • 6-8pmLocation: Yuma Community Food Bank

2404 E. 24th Street

Agriculture GlanceFarm Smart Program

The University of Cali-fornia Desert Research and Extension Center’s Farm Smart Program contin-ues through February to acquaint participants with agriculture in the area.

The program includes a farm tour, lunch, musical entertainment, activities, handouts and fresh pro-duce.

The tours are being held several weekdays through Feb. 25 at the center, 1004 E. Holton Road about 55 miles west of Yuma (take Exit 120 off Interstate 8, turn north and go 2 miles to Evan Hewes Highway, turn east and go 1.5 miles to Meloland Road, make an immediate right turn onto Holton Road; parking is on the left).

Cost is $15 per person. Space is limited and res-ervations are required by calling 1-760-791-0261.

Training for new soil fumigant rules

The U.S. Environmen-

tal Protection Agency is implementing the next phase of new soil fumigant mitigation measures that bring stronger restrictions.

The soil fumigants that fall under these new EPA regulations include chloropicrin, dazomet, 1,3-dichloropropene, iodo-methane, metam sodium/potassium, methyl bromide and methyl isothiocyanate (MITC).

Changes include: all soil fumigants will be classified as restricted-use pesticides; applicators in Arizona will need to become certified; additional worker protec-tion measures; written fumigant management plans; registrants’ stew-ardship and training programs; mandatory good agricultural practices; buffer zones and buffer posting; and emergency preparedness and response measures.

A training workshop will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Feb. 22 in Yuma. Applications have been made for 4.5 credits. Other workshops

will be held in Buckeye, Maricopa and Willcox.

For more information about the Yuma workshop, call Kurt Nolte at 726-3904.

CBP stops entry of new bugA U.S. Customs and Bor-

der Protection agriculture specialist from the Port of San Diego stopped a highly destructive beetle, never before seen in the U.S., from entering the country this month.

On Jan. 3, a maritime shipping container filled with fresh bananas from Peru arrived at the Port of San Diego. During inspec-tion, a CBP agriculture specialist spotted a live beetle on the floor of the container.

The Plant Protection and Quarantine division of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service identified the beetle as Gymnetis pantherina and confirmed that it was the first recorded interception of this bug anywhere in the United States. Accord-ing to the USDA, the adult beetles of this family are known to attack the foliage of more than 300 different species of ornamental and agricultural crops.

When a container of pro-duce is found with a pest that requires the shipper to take action, they are given the option to return the shipment to the country of origin, treat the produce to ensure that there are no pests or destroy the ship-ment.

YPG Ammunition Preparation Branch celebrates injury-free 2010

U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY MARK SCHAUERDespite the inherent dangers of assembling and handling live ammunition for military tests each day, there were no work-related injuries or illnesses in Yuma Proving Ground’s Ammunition Preparation Branch in 2010. YPG Commander Col. Thomas Payne (front from left), Trax Test Services project manager Thomas Foltz and Yuma Test Center Commander Lt. Col. Stephen Milton honor branch workers on Jan. 26 for their sterling safety record. Honorees include Thomas Becker (back row, from left), Joe Munoz, Jose Bonilla, Adrian Fernandez, Frank Garcia, Ignacio Hernandez, Mark Ishmael, Gary Mack, John J. Smith, Terrison Stewart, Robert Trujillo, Buddy Berry, Antonio Cabrales, Terry Fisher, Ivan Mendivil, Dean Morgan, Rodney Munger, Jose Ortiz and Vicente Zendejas.

for its hamburgers, has been closed since being damaged by a fire in June 2010. In the meantime, owner Kayla Mattern has opened a second Brown Bag Burger at Yuma Palms Regional Center.

***The board of directors

of The Foothills Bank has

FROM PAGE B1COMINGS announced the 2010 annual

dividend of 40 cents per common share, an increase of 5 cents per share, pay-able Jan. 15 to sharehold-ers of record as of Dec. 31, 2010.

The bank ended 2010 with $205,000,000 in total assets, $165,000,000 in loans and $171,000,000 in depos-its.

Founded in 1997, the Foothills Bank is a state-chartered commercial bank with four branches in

the greater Yuma area.***

Angela Bran has joined the staff of Jeanne A. Weatherly’s Allstate agency, 11611 S. Foothills Blvd., Suite A. Bran is the business development and customer service represen-tative for the agency and can be reached at 305-1650.

Bran has eight years of experience in the insur-ance industry in Yuma and is studying to receive her licenses in property and casualty insurance.

***Curves-Yuma Foothills is

for sale due to the reloca-tion of owner Jenny Sul-pizio’s family to another state.

Located at 11274 S. Fortuna Road, Suite B5-6, in the Pioneer Shopping Center, the sale would be completely turn-key for the studio in a beautiful new location, trained staff and established business.

Interested buyers can contact her at jennysul-pizio01@msn.com or call the club at 345-1726.

***One member of the team

at Scilla’s Hair Studio is leaving, but a new face will be joining, announced owner Priscilla Torres.

Hairstylist Michelle Fletcher is retiring after some 20 years of making people look beautiful.

Taking her place is Eddie Schnedler, who has 25 years of experience and had clientele in both Phoenix and Los Angeles. Most recently he worked in an upscale hair salon in Scottsdale.

For an appointment, stop by Scilla’s at 335 S. 2nd Ave. or call 329-9364.

***Got a yen for fresh oys-

ters? Art and Billie Walton are selling them, flown in twice a week from the state of Washington, shucked and in jars ready to be enjoyed.

“You can’t get any fresher,” Walton observed.

The couple sell the oysters from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays from a stand at 11337 S. Foothills Blvd. in the Foothills.

Report Comings and Goings to jlobeck@yumasun.com or call Joyce Lobeck at 539-6853.

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