Free of charge
Celebrating 38 years of service
Vol. 40, No. 18
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 Today: High 87, Low 57, Partly Cloudy Tomorrow: High 88, Low 58, Cloudy
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COVER STORY
INSIDE:
CALLOUT
SPRING TRAINING
Ahwatukee Little League needs help to preserve volunteer umpire corp
Spring Traning guide inside ; p19
COMMUNITY:
Grammy Awards Two Ahwatukee singers part of Grammy-winning choral performance ; p8
By James Gingerich AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS
with a helicopter landing. Local resident Curtis Gruninger has been attending the event since he was first invited by a resident who volunteered for it in 2009. Gruninger’s jeep, affectionately named Lolly, might have been one of the odder additions to the show, with more than 1,000 random items and tchotchkes glued onto the vehicle, from bumper to bumper.
The Ahwatukee Little League (ALL) is among the largest volunteer organizations in town with more than 250 volunteers spanning the program and helping in everything from coaching to concessions, with even the board of directors volunteering. However, there is one vital area that is simply not getting as many volunteers as it needs, and it is one without which the league could not function — the umpires. ALL is one of an increasingly small number of leagues that has an all-volunteer umpire corps., but it has not always been that way. “Our program is not necessarily unique, particularly in days gone by, but our all-volunteer program is becoming an increasingly rare breed because many leagues cannot find enough umpires to be at their games,” said Rob Flansberg,
>> See Transportation on page27
>> See Little League on page 12
Kids inspect Curtis Gruninger’s vintage Jeep decorated with ornaments he accumulated throughout his travels on Transportation Day hosted by God’s Garden Child Development Center in Ahwatukee on Feb. 27. [Photo by Ethan Fichtner/Special to AFN]
GETOUT:
Local Artist
Valley artist spotlight-Jeff West ; p26
SPORTS:
By James Gingerich
NCAA
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS
ASU’s Mathers, Brady take long road to NCAA ; p29 Neighborhood p5 Calendar p6 Community p8 Money p14
16th Annual Transportation Day goes off without a hitch
Opinion p17 GetOut p26 Sports/Rec p29 Classified p31
The Ahwatukee community once again had the chance to convene at the 16th Annual Transportation Day on Feb. 27. This God’s Garden Preschool event has acted as a primary fundraiser for the school since it was organized in 2000, and the event and school have grown in kind. “It started as a simple fundraiser
for the preschool to help with functioning costs,” event organizer Kim Graber said. “The first year the school made $1,500 and last year we grossed over $20,000.” Transportation Day brings together a plethora of unique and interesting vehicles, including military trucks, a fire truck, an earth mover and over 40 additional vehicles designed for land, sea and air — in fact, the entire event kicks off