Page 14 December 2011 For 28 years, Christmas lights up The Christmas Spirit comes to light every year at Lee and Patricia Sepanek’s house. Some in the neighborhood have visited for 28 years. By Christina Sampson For 28 years, Lee and Patricia Sepanek have transformed their home into a Christmas wonderland with miles of lights and animatronic displays. The Arcadia home at 4415 E. Calle Tuberia St., was awarded the Phoenix New Times Best in Phoenix Award for Best Christmas Spirit and is a featured stop on the annual Cycle Tour de Lights. This may be the last season, though, that the Sepanek home twinkles and shines. “I am considering making this the last year,” said Lee Sepanek, who works as a general contractor. “Health and economics play a role.” The intricate display generally costs up to $10,000 a year and although the Sepaneks receive donations, they are never enough to offset the cost. “It’s starting to get harder and harder to justify putting up the money,” Sepanek said. For Sepanek, the display isn’t about being the biggest, brightest or best. “It’s a social event,” he said. “I have people that have been coming here every year for 28 years, and this is when we catch up with each other.” Even some celebrities have stopped by, including Muhammad Ali and Alice Cooper. “People are very respectful of them,” he said. Sepanek said he always enjoyed decorating for the holidays, even decorating his parents’ home as a kid back in Massachusetts. “(It was) nothing like now, but for back then, it was pretty elaborate,” he said. It wasn’t until he had children of his own that he began decorating his desert home, though. He and his two children, now grown, would travel the neighborhood following a map of lights from the newspaper. Soon, the kids were asking to decorate their own home. “It started out pretty small,” Sepanek said. “Of course, now I tell people it’s gotten out of control.” The Sepanek display is more than the multitude of lights that adorn the property and the house, even all the way to the top of the 85-foot eucalyptus tree in the front yard. Continued on page 37 Holidays can be safe with a little care By Valeri Spiwak As the weather grows colder and holiday spirits run high, fi re safety experts caution to be extra careful. “More often than not, fi res start as a result of a person’s actions of improperly using a device,” said Jim Ford, Scottsdale deputy fi re chief and fi re marshal. The Scottsdale Fire Department responds to calls for many house and apartment fi res throughout the holiday season. It is extremely important to take precautions before using fi re places, stoves, heating and lighting, he said. “It is important that people get their chimneys serviced, make sure their ovens are clean and that they have a working sprinkler system,” Ford said. Capt. Jorge Enriquez with the Phoenix Fire Department said his department often receives calls about fi res started from improvised heating. “It’s that time of year when it’s starting to get cool and people start turning on their furnaces and heating their homes,” Enriquez said. “Sometimes people fall asleep with their portable heaters on without even realizing it and it starts a fi re.” Enriquez said that although many people turn on their furnaces and stoves to heat up their houses, they have to beware of possible carbon-monoxide poisoning. “Carbon monoxide is really the silent killer,” he said. “People will turn up their stoves to heat their home, the stove’s pilot light will go out and carbon monoxide will then fi ll up the entire house, poisoning anyone inside.” Enriquez suggested that everyone have a carbon monoxide detector. People also need to be careful where they put a space heater. “People will place a space heater too close to a Christmas tree and it can light up quick,” Enriquez said. Trees can be a danger in and of themselves. “Christmas trees can create a fi re if they are decorated with old or cheap Christmas lights,” Scottsdale’s Ford said. “People tend to forget about their trees and they can fall into bad shape really quickly.” Becky Derendal, president of the Arizona Chimney Sweep company, said that many Christmas tree fi res are a result of people placing their trees dangerously close to a fi replace. “Heat alone could light a Christmas tree, especially as it dries out,” Derendal said. She said it is important to maintain a clean fi replace and chimney, as well as make sure there are not any obstructions or trash in the chimney that could catch fi re. Same goes for a house or apartment’s central heating system, Ford said. “People turn on their heaters during the holidays because of the colder weather,” he said. “Dust and other materials in the vents can catch fi re.” Lori Schmidt, Scottsdale Fire Department public education of fi cer, said that cooking fi res are among the most common house and apartment fi res during the holidays. “Cooking is a major event during the holiday season,” Schmidt said. “More people are in the kitchen, and they may not be aware of their loose sleeves near a heated stove.” Especially be aware of children, Ford said. “With a lot of people around and no one tending to the cooking sites, it’s very easy for children to get hurt around the hot pots and pans,” he said. Thrift shop displays are ‘magic’ fl air By Domenico Nicosia On the right is a kitchen scene straight from the 1950s. To the left is another set scene – a just-so coordinated reading chair and end table fi t with lamps and accessories. This is not a movie set. This is the Boys & Girls Club Thrift Shop in Scottsdale. Every Monday morning, Arcadia resident Alexis Williams walks into the store, is told “work your magic,” and sets off creating displays. She joins other volunteers in giving the store fl air. The thrift shop is run by volunteers and all the proceeds are donated to help the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale teen programs. Before she became the shop’s designer, Williams had her own space at the nearby Antique Trove. For more than 15 years, she frequented the store as a shopper before she began volunteering in 2007. Once a week Williams comes in to decorate, clean, price and polish the store. Continued on page 22

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