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This Week
The Voice of the West Valley for 32 years
23 August 9, 2017
School board member removed from Westar campus By Connor Dziawura
NEWS..............7 Litchfield Park celebrates Coast Guard anniversary
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Liberty Elementary School District board member Kathy McNamara has been banned from Westar Elementary School’s campus for one year after what police call “a disturbance” on the facility’s campus on August 2. The Goodyear Police Department served her with the letter of trespass on August 3 at the request of Superintendent Dr. Andy Rogers, according to police. Although the trespass letter would typically prevent McNamara from being on the Westar campus, the Goodyear Police Department makes exceptions in the case of schools in which the individual has an attending child, said Lisa Kutis, GPD public information officer. McNamara will still be allowed in the school parking lot and front office to pick up or drop off her daughter, Kutis said. She
can also attend school functions in which her daughter is a participant. Any other campus visitation would violate Arizona Revised Statute 13-1502, constituting a criminal trespass in the third degree. McNamara said she believes the ban stems from her concern about changes Rogers made to her daughter’s gifted services program at Westar, as well as the removal of her daughter’s teacher. “I really believe I was removed because I’m asking ‘hard questions’ and not getting answers,” McNamara said. Rogers said that is not the case. “The reason for this is two separate incidents of verbal abuse and disruptive conduct,” he said. “Additionally, she refused to follow the directions of a staff
Westar...continued on page 5
Liberty Elementary School District board member Kathy McNamara was issued a trespass notice by the Goodyear Police Department on behalf of Superintendent Dr. Andy Rogers. (West Valley View photo by Ray Thomas)
Arts nonprofits granted $3K prizes By West Valley View staff
Who says the arts are dying? For two West Valley organizations, they’re not. Avondale’s Catitude Gallery and Studio, and the Litchfield Park-based West Valley Youth Orchestra were each awarded $3,000 grants thanks to the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Nearly $2.4 million in grants were awarded statewide. This is familiar territory for both organizations, which are repeat winners. “We’re very excited about that,” said Bonnie Lewis, executive director of Catitude Gallery and Studio. “For the second year we’ve received that grant.” Catitude Gallery and Studio, which is closed until late September, displays a variety of artistic mediums, including paintings,
pastels, woodcarvings and photography. The gallery also hosts workshops, for which a schedule will be announced soon. The West Valley Youth Orchestra is an outlet for aspiring young musicians to improve their musical talents through practices and performances. Both organizations have big plans for the money, which they hope to funnel back into their popular programming. “We generally use it for our summer music camp that we have and to give scholarships and extra things for the kids,” said Mary Wilkening, board chairwoman for the West Valley Youth Orchestra. “They have to pay for the camp, but it helps us with our budgeting for the camp. So this will be
for our next year’s camp, which will be next June.” Catitude Gallery and Studio will use the grant to support its Follow Your Art Jr. program, a partnership between the gallery and the city of Goodyear that provides summer workshops on drawing, painting and 2-dimensional design portfolios. “Our mission, as an agency of the state of Arizona, is to imagine an Arizona where everyone can participate in and experience the arts,” said Steve Wilcox, communications director for the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The state and the National Endow-
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