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This Week
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June 24, 2020
The Voice of the West Valley for 35 years
County, cities require masks BY TOM SCANLON
West Valley View Managing Editor
NEWS .............. 6 Dr. Carson makes house call for seniors
NEWS .............. 7 Agua Fria plans July 1 graduation ceremonies
NEWS ........... 12 Goodyear budget towers over Buckeye, Avondale
OPINION ...............14 BUSINESS.............. 18 FEATURES ..............22 YOUTH ..................25 OBITUARIES ...........27 CLASSIFIEDS ..........29 WEST
On June 17, Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ sat down at a long table to begin a news conference. Both were wearing masks. It was a hint that things were going to change—quickly. The wheels of local government started spinning and, in days, county and city proclamations were issued requiring masks, with an emphasis on education rather than fines for noncompliance. “COVID-19 is widespread in the state of Arizona, and Arizonans must act responsibly to protect one another,” Ducey said. Indeed, in the week before Ducey’s news conference, COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County jumped from 15,000 to more than 22,000. Since June 17, the total positive cases in the county topped 31,000—double the number of less than two weeks ago. And the number hospitalized in Maricopa County rose from 1,809 June 10 to 2,202
Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord signs a mask ordinance June 20. (Photo courtesy city of Goodyear)
June 22, a 20% increase. Ducey said he strongly urges “all Arizonans wear face masks when you can’t social distance ... to help protect vulnerable communities and reduce infection rates.” Yet he did not make a statewide
Masks...continued on page 3
Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise and his daughter Lauren don masks before a shopping trip. (Photo courtesy Weise)
Father’s Day present: post-virus health BY TOM SCANLON
West Valley View Managing Editor
He remembers checking into Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center and leaving the Glendale hospital. The middle part? Don’t ask Garette Craig about two weeks he spent on a ventilator. As he said, “I don’t remember anything.”
Well, nothing in reality, at least. “During the time I was on a ventilator, I had severe nightmares. I thought I was kidnapped and taken overseas somewhere,” said Craig, 50 and a Litchfield Park resident. As he said this, Garette Craig Jr. shook his head grimly. It never got that bad for the son, who is 30, but he also spent a week
in the hospital. COVID-19 almost took both their lives. Yet for those who think the coronavirus disease is greatly exaggerated, they can relate. “We both were those people,” Craig Sr. said as his son nodded in agreement. “We
Health...continued on page 2
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