THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
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Railroad Club seeks members PAGE
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westvalleyview.com
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ........... 10
Tolleson Boys & Girls Club closes after three decades
SPORTS ........ 18 Millennium shotputter wins state championship
9 DAYS ......... 20 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ........................12 BUSINESS..................... 15 SPORTS ..........................18 FEATURES .....................22 NEIGHBORHOOD......26 YOUTH ...........................29 OBITUARIES .................33 CLASSIFIEDS................34 SOUTH
The Voice of the West Valley for 33 years
29 May 16, 2018
Verrado honors late teammate during playoff By Griffin Fabits It was just like Bryan McKinsey would have wanted. Verrado High School junior lefty Rocky King delivered the first pitch of the Vipers’ 5A state semifinal game versus Notre Dame Prep on May 10 with a side-arm fastball. Senior outfielder Hayden Brown followed suit, digging into the batter’s box in the home half of the first inning by tracing a No. 6 with his finger into the dirt behind him. Brown ripped a lead-off triple just a few pitches later, racing into third as he locked eyes with his teammates. With teary eyes and heavy hearts, they looked back, cheering while simultaneously holding up three fingers on both hands to form a No. 6. These were some of the many tributes for their teammate McKinsey, who unexpectedly died the morning of May 9, before Verrado’s semifinal game. The 17-year-old’s signature sidearm delivery and his No. 6 jersey were remembered May 10, just a little more than 24 hours after his death. And now the Verrado Vipers will forge on to unchartered territory – the first baseball team to make the title game in
Verrado High School junior Bryan McKinsey pitches during his last game. (Photo courtesy Trisha Madrid)
school history – without their friend, teammate and star pitcher. But in this time of grieving, the Vipers yearn to play baseball. Anxious for a two-and-a-half-hour therapeutic escape from reality, the Vipers will play for their friend for the final time together in 2018. “There’s a certain sadness that we all have going in. But on Tuesday (May 15),
we’re all really excited to get out there and get our minds away from the whole thing and do our best to honor our buddy,” senior Kyle Wellman said. Wellman was scheduled to start in the championship game versus the Liberty Lions on May 15. His first pitch was set to be thrown side-arm, like King did in
PITCHER...continued on page 2
WV progress discussed at economic development summit By Connor Dziawura A hint about a major development in Avondale was one of the many highlights of WESTMARC’s 2018 Economic Development Summit on May 8 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel and Spa. “I was hoping to announce the largest master-planned community to be announced since the opening of Eastmark in Mesa 10 years ago,” said Karrin Taylor Robson, Arizona Strategies founder and president.
“But the Avondale City Council hearing was continued last night, so more to come on that. The city of Avondale will hopefully have a major announcement to make in the next three weeks.” Elected officials from Avondale, Buckeye and Goodyear were among the many West Valley guests at the event, which featured speakers with ties to the West Valley. Panelists discussed their respective organizations’ impacts on the region’s well-being as well.
The approaching Avondale news was just one takeaway from Robson’s speech, which focused on what she described as some key ingredients to building strong communities: infrastructure, education, health care, quality of life and civic engagement. Robson also detailed how transportation improvements have led to a handful of other widely reported West Valley
WESTMARC...continued on page 8