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This Week
The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years
Two Avondale schools close during teacher sick-out
March 28, 2018
Woman shoots alleged kidnapper; could face charges By Jim Walsh
NEWS .............. 6 Avondale holds State of the City event
Teachers protested low wages in front of the Arizona Capitol. (West Valley View photo by Kimberly Carrillo)
By Connor Dziawura
SPORTS ........ 16 Estrella Foothills baseball cruises to 12-1 start
9 DAYS ......... 18 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ........................10 BUSINESS..................... 13 SPORTS ..........................16 FEATURES .....................19 NEIGHBORHOOD......26 YOUTH ...........................28 OBITUARIES .................29 CLASSIFIEDS................32 NORTH
Two Avondale campuses in the Pendergast Elementary School District – Canyon Breeze and Garden Lakes – were forced to close Wednesday, March 21, because too many teachers had called in sick. Twenty-eight of those absences were at Canyon Breeze, while 40 were at Garden Lakes, district spokeswoman Nedda Shafir said. The Pendergast teachers rallied in front of the State Capitol to call for an increase in education funding and teacher pay, said Matt Aaron, a fifth-grade teacher at Canyon Breeze. Shaun Bennison, a fifth-grade teacher at Garden Lakes, also demanded legislators take action.“We know everybody wants education to improve, but action steps need to take place if we really want to see the change. So, we’re just doing what we can,” he said. “Teachers are still going to teach and we’re still going to give our best regardless of what we’re paid, regardless of what politicians do. It would be nice to see politicians make us on the forefront of
their minds. We just want them to know that we are valued.” Protesters wore red shirts in support of the Arizona Educators United #RedforEd movement, raised signs and chanted loudly to deliver their message. One person displayed a sign bearing, “My second job paid for this sign!” Other protesters shouted, “What’s the plan, Ducey? What’s the plan?” and “Overworked! Underpaid!” Protesters said they were inspired in part by the #RedforEd movement and recent teacher protests in West Virginia. Plans for the sick-out, which teachers said came together quickly the day before, went smoothly for the school, Shafir said. Though teachers were not given permission to protest, they were not penalized and used their own sick time. Students were not counted as absent, either. “The district has been very supportive of our teachers in general, always has been and always will be,” she said. “We have been told
Sick-Out...continued on page 2
After a night of terror, an Avondale domestic violence victim retaliated by grabbing the suspect’s gun and shooting him in the leg as he attempted to flee, according to court records. The shooting of Jose Adrian Quintana, 25, on March 7 at a mobile home park ended a two-day ordeal, during which the victim – identified as his girlfriend, but not named in the police report – described how she had been smacked with an open hand and choked, losing consciousness three times, the document said. The incidents began after an argument in which Quintana, a drywall hanger at a construction company, accused the girlfriend of infidelity. Quintana was indicted on March 20 by a Maricopa County grand jury on 18 charges including felony domestic violence assault, kidnapping, armed robbery and misconduct involving weapons. The domestic violence victim, who had been Quintana’s girlfriend for two months, was not arrested after police arrived at a mobile home park to investigate the shooting. She put the .45 caliber handgun down in the road and cooperated with police, according to court documents. A kidnapping charge also alleges that Quintana held the victim’s 9-year-old son at gunpoint, making it a dangerous crime against children, a class of crimes that carries a long prison sentence. Sgt. Thomas Alt, an Avondale police spokesman, said detectives also sent a report to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, asking them to determine whether the domestic violence victim should be charged with aggravated assault stemming from the shooting. “I think there were some circumstances that led to them forwarding the charge” for review, he said.
Charges...continued on page 8