THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
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OPINION .......................13 BUSINESS..................... 18 SPORTS ..........................19 FEATURES .....................24 YOUTH ...........................30 OBITUARIES .................35 CLASSIFIEDS................36 SOUTH
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The Voice of the West Valley for 34 years
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November 28, 2019
Avondale’s new ‘Field of Dreams’ BY TOM SCANLON
West Valley View Associate Editor
If Tom Hanks decides to make a sequel to his blockbuster “Big,” maybe the kid who suddenly becomes as big as an adult will be the mayor of Avondale And maybe he will look at the city’s robust bank account and say, “Let’s spend like $20 million for a huge thing that has a splash park, a skate park and all kinds of fun things so kids don’t get bored.” For the actual mayor of Avondale, this isn’t a fantasy — it’s really happening. Avondale spent $19 million to renovate the 30-acre Festival Fields Park, which will now have a fishing lake, splash park, skate park, pump track, play courts, multiuse fields and more. Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise will be there, likely every bit as gleeful as Hanks’ Josh Baskin character. As the park has two new baseball fields, Weise thinks of another movie: “Field of Dreams.” Weise gushed about the “community effort” that went into the park. “This is one of the largest projects we’ve done since
Mayor Kenn Weise spends hours digging into data and pondering projects like the $19 milllion Festival Fields Park, top right, which has a grand reopening Saturday. (West Valley View photo by Tom Scanlon)
I’ve been on the council and now mayor,” said Weise, elected to council in 2007 and the mayor since 2014. His piercing eyes lit up when he talked about the new baseball fields and places
where skateboard and BMX riders can race around the park. Coming near the end of 2019, the re-
Park...continued on page 2
‘Officer of the Year’ makes an impact BY OCTAVIO SERRANO
West Valley View Staff Writer
Jonathan Kacer remembers when, as a police officer in El Mirage, he detained a few teenagers for shoplifting at Walmart. “The only things they took were food items and a pair of cleats and it was because one of the kids wanted to play football, he couldn’t afford them and they didn’t have food in their house,” Kacer said. Kacer and other officers paid Walmart for the groceries. “That incident kind of got me to look at other situations where I could
help and think outside the box,” he said. Now a member of the Buckeye Police Department, he is receiving quite an honor: The 100 Club of Arizona is presenting Kacer its Officer of the Year award. “When I learned Jon Kacer was going to be Officer of the Year, I really wasn’t surprised,” said Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall. “Jon encapsulates every quality a police chief and a community member looks for in a police officer.”
Officer...continued on page 3
Buckeye Police Department Officer Jonathan Kacer is being recognized as Officer of the Year. (Photo courtesy Buckeye Police Department)
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