DUST STORM RESULTS IN LITCHFIELD WOMAN’S DEATH, PAGE 2
westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, August 24, 2016 (623) 535-8439
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LOOK OUT, MICHAEL PHELPS
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Narrowing the field Arizona primary election set for Aug. 30 by Glenn Gullickson staff writer
Arizona voters head to the polls next week to select candidates to run for federal, state and county offices and pick local officials in some cities. The Arizona Primary Election is Aug. 30. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Here’s what you need to know.
Polling places With more than 600 polling places open in Maricopa County this time around, election officials are hoping there won’t be a repeat of the chaos of the Arizona Presidential Preference Election in March, when some voters waited in line for hours to cast ballots. Depending on their registration, primary voters will be given ballots for Democratic or Republican races. Voters who are registered independents can vote in this election, unlike the Presidential Preference Election, and they have the option of selecting either party’s ballot. Also unlike the Presidential Preference Election, which allowed voters to cast ballots at any voting center, in this election, voters must go to the polling places serving their precincts. Voters are required to present identification to receive ballots at the polls.
THE EYES HAVE IT Experts remind Valley residents to protect their peepers — Page 24.
Early voting
ON THE BLOCK Football’s in full swing. Local high school sports coverage begins on Page 12.
DAILY UPDATES! News Updates and fresh Classified ads posted Monday - Friday at 4:30 p.m. online at www.westvalleyview.com Volume 31, No. 20 32 Pages 1 Section Circulation: 73,775
View photo by Ray Thomas
MASON BREYFOGLE, 3, of Waddell clasps the medal he won in the cannon ball contest while he dives into the Litchfield Park Recreation Center pool Aug. 20 during the center’s final Stay Cool Family Night Olympic-themed event. To see all photos from this shoot, go to www.westvalleyview.com/pictures.
Voters to decide Home Rule Option in Avondale, Tolleson
Recycle this paper
(See Primary on Page 5)
Police reports detail past calls related to missing Buckeye boy by Emily Toepfer assistant editor
by Glenn Gullickson staff writer
INDEX Classifieds .................... 27 Editorials & Letters .......... 6 Obituaries ...................... 25 Sports ........................... 12 Briefcase ......................... 9 9 Days a Week............... 23
Early voting by mail started Aug. 3 for those on the Permanent Early Voters List and others who requested early ballots. To ensure that ballots get to where they need to be by Election Day, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office suggested returning early ballots today, but said they can be mailed as late as Friday. Voters who miss the mailing deadline can drop off ballots at any polling place on Election Day without waiting in line. Early voting can also be done at city clerk’s offices in Avondale and Buckeye through Thursday or at the Litchfield Park city clerk’s office through Friday. Early voting can also be done through Friday
In a question on the August ballot, voters in Avondale and Tolleson will decide whether to allow their cities to continue to spend the revenues that are collected. The authority commonly known as Home Rule — or officially called the alternative local expenditure limitation — requires voter approval every four years. Early voting has started and polling places will be open on Aug. 30 for an election that also will decide city races and primary contests for county, state and federal offices. But Avondale and Tolleson officials say voters shouldn’t overlook the ballot’s Home Rule question.
They say approval of the measure is essential to fund existing city services and avoid cuts in programs, services and improvement projects. Without Home Rule, the Arizona Constitution limits what cities and towns can spend to an amount based on 1978-79 expenditures, with an adjustment based on inflation and population. According to figures released by Avondale, the state-imposed budget limitation for the city’s 2015-16 fiscal year was $49.7 million, plus an estimated $45 million of other income, including federal grants and aid. But that’s tens of millions of dollars short of the $172.8 million budgeted that year for city
As police continue to search for Jesse Wilson, 10, of Buckeye, information is surfacing about previous times police were called to the family home. In April, a neighbor called police to report that Jesse was outside at about 4:30 a.m. and had asked for food. Jesse can be seen on a police body camera video quietly telling officers his name, but he didn’t respond when asked for his parents’ or siblings’ names. An officer asked the boy if he lived in the neighborhood, and according to the officer’s
(See Home Rule on Page 5)
(See Missing on Page 2)