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westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, February 15, 2017 (623) 535-8439
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Buckeye water official resigns by Glenn Gullickson staff writer
FINER THINGS Wigwam hosting annual Festival of Fine Arts — Page 2.
View photo by Jordan Christopher
DAVID SCHWAKE, left, Food Services director for the Litchfield Elementary School District, checks on cabbage growth Feb. 7 with the help of kindergarteners Kaylee Arthur and Colton Carter at Litchfield Elementary in Litchfield Park. Schwake has been with the district for 19 years and was recently recognized as a School Nutrition Hero.
‘What I was meant to do’ Litchfield Food Service director named Nutrition Hero by Kourtney Balsan special to the View
2ND IN STATE Tolleson, Trivium soccer fall short of championship — Page 11.
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When you imagine a hero, most likely capes and laser vision come to mind, but you probably don’t picture someone who feeds pupils in public schools. David Schwake, Litchfield Elementary School District’s Food Service director since 1994, was named a 2017 School Nutrition Hero by the national nonprofit School Nutrition Foundation. “I didn’t cry. I didn’t get real emotional, but my wife did,” Schwake said. “I was pleasantly shocked. I don’t think what I do is anything special; I just think I do what every food service director should do.” Schwake was nominated by the school district and chosen by SNF for providing healthy menus and environments for pupils, volunteering at local organizations and food banks, creating effective school initiatives that teach children nutrition and helping the community at large. “David’s passion, caring and dedication makes him an ideal School Nutrition Hero,” said Patricia Montague, School Nutrition Association CEO. “His leadership and creativity, both in his district and in community food programs, is admirable.” Schwake has served as a board member of the Association of Arizona Food Banks for nine years and is on his third year as board president for the Agua Fria Food and Clothing Bank, where he has been recognized for improving pupil access to healthy foods and finding opportunities to educate communities, schools and parents about available resources, such as the Community Eligibility Provision and after-school programs. “I’m on several board of directors,” Schwake
said. “I get a real good feeling when I volunteer. I think my problem is, is that I don’t know how to say no.” Hard work, long hours, his family and his 11,722 pupils are what he dedicates his award to and believes are the reasons he is now called a hero, he said, adding that his days are between 10 and 12 hours long. “I don’t always get home at 5 o’clock, usually at 7 o’clock, but it’s a good feeling [to be awarded],” Schwake said. “People always say I’m working too long or doing too much, but this [award] is a way to be formally recognized that I do a lot during the day and when I go home. I don’t stop.” Growing up, his family owned a bakery where he would help decorate cakes and create a variety of food, so becoming a food service director was his calling, Schwake said. “This is what I was meant to do,” he said. “I feel I was put here. I think God had me come here and he kept me here.” Because of Schwake, many schools in the Litchfield Elementary District have gardens with food that is grown, tended to and eaten by pupils and community members, which is thanks to many organizations and groups that donated time and resources, he said. “It’s really a community garden,” Schwake said. “We got the mulch from Duncan Family Farms and we got the fertilizer from Hickman’s.” Cabbage, broccoli, oranges, dill and flowers are just some of the treats that can be found in the gardens, with vegetables and fruits changing each season, Schwake said.
As Buckeye’s longtime water director resigns his job, a group that has been disputing high water bills is renewing its effort to remove the city’s mayor. Dave Nigh, who was at the center of the controversy over disputed water bills, resigned as the city’s water director effective Feb. 25 after about 10 years with the city, according to Annie DeChance, a spokeswoman for Buckeye. She said the resignation was agreed to by Nigh and the city at the end of January, but no reason was given. Nigh was placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 8 after the city was buffeted with complaints by scores of residents who claimed they received excessive bills for water they said they didn’t use. Nigh’s removal was a goal of an organization formed by residents, and now they face a March 22 deadline to gather 1,718 signatures, which would trigger a recall election of Mayor Jackie Meck, who was re-elected in August. Jeff Hancock, organizer of Buckeye Residents Against High Water Bills, said a September 2005 West Valley View article about disputed water bills proves the city has had a longstanding problem. In the decade-old story, Meck, who was then a councilman, said the city needed to correct bills that were as large as $86,000. “Jackie Meck is now our mayor,” Hancock told a group of residents at a meeting on Feb. 11. “This just goes to show you this had been going on a long time. This is not a brand new problem.” In an interview with the View, Meck said the 2005 water billing problems occurred when Buckeye was experiencing large population increases and the city was installing 6,000 meters a month. He said similarities between the 2005 issue and the current problem are they both occurred when the city was growing and after a water rate increase. “We know for a fact we’ve had bad readings,” Meck said, noting that nine meters had failed. “We have some issues with meters that were put in quite some time ago.” Hancock said he doesn’t know how many signatures have been gathered since the recall petition effort started late last year, but he expressed frustration with the campaign’s progress. While Hancock has been the driving force behind the group, he revealed that he can’t circulate or even sign the petition since he hasn’t registered to vote in Buckeye after moving to the city in August. Hancock said he was discouraged with the turnout of about 50 people at the most recent meeting, about half the number of people who came out in October for the first meeting about high water bills. Since then, the city established a hotline for complaints about bills in a community of about 60,000 people with about 20,000 water accounts.
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