THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
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westvalleyview.com
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This Week
The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years
An Arizona dairy woman grows appreciation for female farmers By Shayla Hyde
NEWS .............. 2 Long-time W.V. educator Dr. Harold Porter dies
Sine Kerr cultivated her love for farming as a girl in rural Buckeye, participating in her local 4-H group and playing at friends’ houses whose families had farms and ranches. “At the age of 18 I became a farmer,” Kerr said, marrying Buckeye dairyman Bill Kerr. About 45 percent of the farmers in Arizona are women, making it the state with the highest proportion of women farmers in a declining industry, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Kerr, now 56, chairs the women’s leadership committee of the Arizona Farm Bureau, promoting agriculture and her experience as a female farmer. “Ag needs a voice,” Kerr said.
Rise and fall of farming in United States
SPORTS ........ 16 Westview boys basketball off to rollercoaster start
9 DAYS ......... 18 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ........................10 BUSINESS..................... 13 SPORTS ..........................16 FEATURES .....................20 SCHOOLS .....................24 OBITUARIES .................27 CLASSIFIEDS................28
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Farming is on the decline across the country, dropping about 4 percent from 2007 to 2012. Women farmers decreased Sine Kerr, owner of Kerr Family Farms, said “We started 15 cows.” Now, the dairy has 1,100 cows that produce two percent in that same period, with 70 pounds of milk per cow a day. (Photo by Tynin Fries/ according to the 2012 Census of Cronkite News) Agriculture. and smaller crops such as micro greens in Women farmers are typically part of a family operation, even working the West and rise in the demand for locally part-time while holding down other jobs, grown food products may account for according to Sherry Saylor, who chairs the high numbers of women farmers in the American Farm Bureau Women’s Colorado, Arizona and Texas, which has the highest number of women farmers. Leadership program. Saylor, also a member of the Arizona And the rise in Arizona farmers’ markets Farm Bureau, said corporations are allows for smaller crops and specialty buying smaller farms whose owners could items to be grown and sold in a local not afford to stay in business, shrinking setting, she said. According to Kerr, there is also a large the number of farms across the country. percentage of women farmers on the According to the Arizona Farm Bureau, Navajo Nation reservation. farmers and ranchers make up 2 percent of Saylor said the Arizona Farm Bureau the nation’s population. Saylor said the opening of niche markets Farmers...continued on page 3
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December 27, 2017
W.V. lacks resources to fully crack down on ‘drugged driving’ By Jim Walsh West Valley police say alcohol remains the primary culprit they face in cracking down on impaired drivers, but they realize that drugs are a bigger factor than ever before. Because the drug cases are more complicated, and West Valley departments do not have their own forensic crime labs, police tend to focus on alcohol impairment and submit blood samples to the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s central regional lab only when necessary to obtain a conviction. Although this approach makes sense as a matter of convenience, national authorities say it is one of many factors that make it difficult to quantify the extent of the DUI drugs problem. A national researcher reported a telltale sign of the evolution of DUI from mostly alcohol decades ago to a combination of alcohol and drugs, or a combination of drugs without alcohol. For the first time, in 2015, more drivers involved in fatalities tested positive for drugs than alcohol. Neither Goodyear nor Avondale has a forensic lab of its own, although Avondale traffic officers are trained phlebotomists, making it easy for them to obtain a blood test. “I would say maybe 15 percent of our cases are solely drug cases. A lot of them are alcohol and drugs,” Goodyear Sgt. Jason Seabright said. “It’s the same punishment,’’ whether the driver is impaired by alcohol, drugs or both. He said Goodyear’s policy is to rely on the breathalyzer test unless the defendant challenges the reading in court, or if the charge is based solely on drug-induced impairment. At that point, police will submit the blood sample to DPS and the case is generally delayed three to four months. Seabright said he agrees with police throughout the Valley and the nation that more drivers are impaired on drugs than ever before, but because of the lack
Drugged...continued on page 6