THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
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This Week
NEWS .............. 8 Robson announces new senior community in Goodyear
SPORTS ........ 15 Verrado boys swim team places high at state meet
9 DAYS ......... 18 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ........................10 BUSINESS..................... 12 SPORTS ..........................15 FEATURES .....................20 NEIGHBORHOOD......24 SCHOOLS .....................25 OBITUARIES .................27 CLASSIFIEDS................28 SOUTH
The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years
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November 29, 2017
MADD names Avondale officer a top cop By Connor Dziawura Avondale police officer Justin Iwen was recently named the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) 2017 Officer of the Year in his department for his efforts with DUI enforcement. Iwen was presented the award at an annual awards dinner at the Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel Tempe. MADD honored 35 officers across the state in five categories: Officer of the Year, First Responder of the Year, Prosecutor of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Community Champion. Officers received the honors for their respective departments. “It was a surprise,” Iwen said. “I was unaware that I would be nominated and/ or receiving an award until I was notified.” This is Iwen’s second time receiving the award. Iwen, who was previously named Officer of the Year in 2013, was honored. “I’m very honored and very humbled by the award,” Iwen said. “We work closely with MADD. It’s very inspiring to hear the stories from parents and everybody who’s been affected by impaired drivers. It just makes you, as an officer, want to do your job that much more and then also help remove these impaired drivers off the roadway.” Department officials nominated Iwen,
citing his heavy involvement in the community, said Beverly MasonBiggers, senior programs manager for MADD Arizona. He works to educate students and other residents about traffic laws and related information. Prosecutors and defense attorneys acknowledged his work, she added. “We want to know, what did he do to help forward MADD’s mission,” Mason-Biggers said of the criteria. “So, we ask, first off, do they take impaired drivers off the road? The second is, do they participate in the community as far as education and talking to kids about underage drinking? And then the third part is, do they help with sobriety checkpoints?” Mason-Biggers added, “not only are they helping strictly DUI Avondale Police Officer Justin Iwen stands with his enforcement, but the other areas motorcycle outside the Avondale substation. (West Valley View photo by Jordan Christopher) that will also help educate and get to explain the traffic laws,” said Avondale the impaired driver off the road.” Police Chief Dale Nannenga. “He always Educate, Iwen does. “Any time we have a traffic-related safety attends different school functions and video that we’re going to put on our web MADD...continued on page 3 page, he always makes himself available
State Route 30: A contentious proposal By Israel Gonzalez
The Arizona Department of Transportation will continue to study the environmenal impact of State Route 30, despite complaints from residents who may lose their homes. State Route 30 is an east-west freeway that would run south of and parallel to Interstate 10 in the West Valley. The environmental assessment will look at several factors, including the impact of noise and air pollution. The assessment will compare the recommended build with a nobuild alternative. If the freeway is built, as many as 130 residential homes will have to be acquired, according to an ADOT presentation.
The proposed alignment will go from Sarival Avenue eastward toward 59th Avenue. It will cross much of Southern Avenue and then move north to underneath Broadway Road. The freeway will span 14.8 miles. More than 100 residents showed up at a November 16 public information meeting showcasing the State Route 30 project. Many, like Avondale resident Jerry Willingham, were visibly upset throughout the meeting. Willingham, 74, has lived on a 2.5-acre property near El Mirage Road and Southern Avenue for nearly 47 years. But that could change in the next several years. “I planned on living here the rest of my life and handing this down to my sons,”
Willingham said. While homeowners will receive appraised property values and benefits from relocation, Willingham said it’s about more than money. He will no longer reside in the tight-knit community he has been a part of for decades, he said. “We’re going to be spread apart. We’re not going to have this anymore,” Willingham said. “It’s not only losing your home. When I go somewhere else, I’m not going to have this closeness anymore. We’ve lost it.”
SR30 study The State Route 30 study began in 2005,
SR30...continued on page 2