THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
Golfer Jeremiah Austin
Buckeye Days PAGE
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westvalleyview.com
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This Week
NEWS .............. 6 Tolleson man’s house painted for free
NEWS ............ 10 Buckeye Valley Museum to reopen this summer
BUSINESS...... 20 Buckeye development sells for $14.5M
OPINION ...............14 BUSINESS.............. 20 SPORTS ..................22 FEATURES ..............24 YOUTH ..................27 OBITUARIES ...........29 CLASSIFIEDS ..........32 EAST
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January 26, 2022
The Voice of the West Valley for 36 years
Fire departments work to prevent cancer BY LAUREN SERRATO
West Valley View Staff Writer
T
his month, fire departments throughout the country are recognizing Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month. Avondale Fire & Medical’s Aaron Glass said it’s not a matter of if a firefighter is diagnosed with cancer, it’s when. “These men and women are dying of cancer,” said Glass, deputy chief and health and safety officer with Avondale Fire & Medical. “These are line-of-duty deaths, and I think it’s on the forefront of everybody’s mind every day, not just this month. This is such a serious thing that’s affecting us every day. It’s affecting people who we know, people in other departments.” Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general population.
Here, in the West Valley, fire departments are committed to implementing protocols and procedures to keep their first responders safe from occupational cancer. Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens on the job from the heavy amount of smoke inhalation and the soot residue stuck to their gear. “Traditionally, people always associated the dangers that we face with getting burned in a fire or a building collapsing,” Glass said. “Now we’re finding that we’re getting exposed to carcinogens slowly but surely over the course of a career through the smoke and the gasses that are coming off the products that are manufactured today.” While firefighters are equipped with protective gear, Glass said the chemicals still break through. Aaron Glass serves as Avondale Fire & Medical’s dep-
Cancer...continued on page 4
uty chief and health and safety officer. (Photo courtesy
of Goodyear Fire Department)
Tolleson launches Initiative of the Arts BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI West Valley View Executive Editor
W
ith assistance from West Valley Arts Council, Tolleson is launching the Tolleson Initiative of the Arts, the first step in a public art planning process to outline a vision and goals for public art in the city. “The goal of the program is to identify key opportunities for projects and initiatives, in-
cluding the new city of Tolleson Civic Center,” Tolleson Mayor Juan F. Rodriguez said. “We’re asking the public to help us shape the future of public art in Tolleson, because we want our city to reflect their values, preferences, and sense of community pride.” The initiative will begin by gathering input through a brief, online Tolleson Arts Survey. Information about the survey and its goals can be found on Tolleson’s website, tolleson.
az.gov/tia, and will be available through fliers and direct communication channels and platforms. The Tolleson Arts Survey will be active through Feb. 10. “Hearing from the community is critical on the board to ensure that we capture their visions for the arts,” Councilmember Jimmy
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