West Valley View: West August 16, 2017

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THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON

Goodyear trampoline park opens PAGE

Youngker golfer making his mark

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westvalleyview.com

INSIDE

This Week

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The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years

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August 16, 2017

Goodyear’s Raines ‘born’ to be around baseball

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

NEWS .............6 Joanne Osborne runs for legislative seat.

SPORTS ....... 12 Estrella Foothills Wolves set to howl with new coach

9 DAYS ........ 14 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar

LETTERS ..........................8 BUSINESS..................... 10 SPORTS ..........................12 FEATURES .....................17 OBITUARIES .................26 CLASSIFIEDS................27 WEST

Former baseball player and 11-year Goodyear resident Tim Raines stands on the steps of the Diamondbacks’ dugout prior to their August 9 game. He is greeted by D-backs coaches Mike Fetters and Mike Butler, both of whom are excited about meeting the new Cooperstown inductee. Raines, whose career spanned 1979 to 2002, is still getting used to the title “Hall of Famer.” “There are so many words that I could use for that,” says Raines, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the D-backs/ Dodgers matchup. “It was humbling. It was awesome. Any of the good words that you can say about Cooperstown, it was that – and more.” The Florida-born Raines was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1977, and during his first season in 1981, he batted .304 with

71 stolen bases. He was the Rookie of the Year runner-up, falling to Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. His accolades were plenty, though, having finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times. In 1986, he won a Silver Slugger and a batting title. He led the league in stolen bases from 1981 to 1984 and in runs scored in 1983 and 1987. Raines went on to play for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees before signing a free-agent contract with the Oakland A’s. Six months after inking that deal, he was diagnosed with lupus and took a hiatus from baseball. He returned to the sport in 2001 and subsequently played for the likes of the Orioles and Marlins. Raines finished his big-league career with the highest

Baseball...continued on page 3

Hall of Famer Tim Raines, who has lived in Goodyear for 11 years, throws the ceremonial first pitch at the D-backs/Dodgers game on August 9. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Diamondbacks/ Sarah Sachs)

Freeway court fight could threaten W.V. I-10 relief By Paul Maryniak

As construction continues on the West Valley end of the South Mountain Freeway, a legal battle is grinding on in San Francisco that could stop or dramatically delay the most expensive highway project in state history. That battle, unfolding in thousands of pages of legal arguments and reports, will be decided at some undetermined point by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At issue is U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa’s July 2016 ruling that allowed the Federal Highway Administration and Arizona Department of Transportation to begin construction of a 22-mile bypass for I-10 traffic around the heavily congested Broadway Curve and downtown Phoenix to the Chandler interchange.

The Gila River Indian Community and Protect Arizona’s Resources and Children hope to stop it dead in its tracks. Joined by other environmental organizations and a consortium of 21 Southwest Native American tribes, the Gila Community and PARC have asked the appellate court to overturn Humetewa’s decision and force highway planners back to the drawing board. Though the appellate court rejected a request early this year to halt construction until the appeal is resolved, PARC on August 2 again asked that it stop ADOT from blasting large rock formations near homes in a part of the Ahwatukee district of Phoenix and pouring concrete for two bridge spans. It is not known when, or even

if, the court will rule on that request. Connect 202 Partners, a consortium of five contractors that is designing and building the $1.7 billion freeway, says it must conduct the blasting several times a week for as long as a year. That will be a prelude to even more significant blasting that likely will occur next summer as crews cut a 200-foot-wide swatch across three South Mountain peaks. The clash between opponents and proponents of the freeway, which has been discussed and planned for more than three decades, pits traffic engineers’ efforts to bring some relief to West Valley residents

I-10..continued on page 2


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