THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
Nature Festival turns 15
WV teacher looking for a little help PAGE
22
westvalleyview.com
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS .............. 6 Tolleson grad honored for TV news reporting
SPORTS ........ 14
Three-time WNBA All-Star coming to Millennium
9 DAYS ......... 15 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ..........................9 BUSINESS..................... 11 SPORTS ..........................13 FEATURES .....................17 NEIGHBORHOOD......20 YOUTH ...........................22 OBITUARIES .................25 CLASSIFIEDS................26 NORTH
PAGE
The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years
17
February 28, 2018
Attorney: Montenegro exploited GOP staffer By West Valley View staff Former State Sen. Steve Montenegro’s flirtatious text messages groomed a young GOP digital media coordinator for a potential sexual relationship, according to the woman’s lawyer, Tom Ryan, in a press conference. “I’m here to talk on behalf of a woman who was taken advantage of by one of the most powerful men sitting in the state senate: Steve Montenegro,” said Ryan of his client, Stephanie Holford. In a statement read by Ryan, Holford said the messages began strictly professional but became increasingly flirtatious. Holford also revealed she sent multiple photos “in various states of undress,” and Montenegro, of Litchfield Park, had turned conversations to Snapchat. “We engaged in sexual conversation about these pictures. These conversations were detailed and intimate,” Holford said through her statement. The conversations and images, however, are now gone, as Snapchat stores the images only temporarily. According to Ryan, the relationship never became physical, and it eventually “fizzled out.” Montenegro is a Republican candidate
GOP...continued on page 8
Former Arizona Sen. Steve Montenegro, a Republican candidate for the Congressional District 8 special election, was recently swept up in an inappropriate texting scandal. Montenegro is pictured above speaking at the 2016 Legislative Forecast Luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Creative Commons)
BLM temporarily closes popular recreational area By Connor Dziawura A controversial patch of desert near Buckeye used for recreational activities is now off limits, per a recent order from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Following months of recurring damage to an above-ground fiber-optic line, the January 14 death of pregnant 24-year-old woman Kami Gilstrap by stray bullet and outrage from Buckeye residents over its close proximity to Westpark, the BLM Phoenix District temporarily closed 1,034 acres of land along the Tonopah Salome Highway last week. The closure will “ensure public safety”
and “address damage to critical West Valley telecommunications infrastructure,” according to Mariela Castaneda, spokeswoman for the BLM Phoenix District. The region north of I-10 and west of Miller Road was popular with target shooters and off-road vehicle drivers, the former of which drew concerns surrounding its lack of safety regulation and enforcement. Signage informing recreational target shooters to follow proper safety protocols was often ignored. The carelessness led to Gilstrap’s death on municipal land, and more than 40 instances of Cox Communications’ fiber-
optic line failures in the last year. “We continue to work closely with the Buckeye Police Department as they investigate the fatality at the site,” said a BLM statement. “Our top priority is always the safety of sportsmen and families who use public lands. The BLM received an application from a local telecommunications utility (Cox) to address issues with infrastructure at the site prior to the fatality in January. When deciding to temporarily close the site, the BLM considered all of these factors.”
BLM...continued on page 2