GOODYEAR MAN GETS 25 YEARS FOR KILLING WIFE, SON, PAGE 4
westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, December 14, 2016 (623) 535-8439
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FRESH COAT OF PAINT Local artist restoring mural she painted 21 years ago in Tolleson — Page 10.
Buckeye places water director on leave
SHOP TILL THEY DROP
Residents angry about water bills start collecting signatures to recall mayor by Glenn Gullickson staff writer
CHRISTMAS BOAT FLOAT Garden Lakes residents plan annual lake parade — Page 9.
DAILY UPDATES! News Updates and fresh Classified ads posted Monday - Friday at 4:30 p.m. online at www.westvalleyview.com Volume 31, No. 36 28 Pages 1 Section Circulation: 77,869 INDEX Classifieds .................... 23 Editorials & Letters .......... 6 Obituaries ...................... 21 Sports ........................... 11 Briefcase ......................... 8 9 Days a Week............... 19 Recycle this paper
Controversy surrounding disputed water bills in Buckeye may have claimed its first City Hall casualty last week as the city placed its water director on administrative leave. Meanwhile, leaders of an effort to remove Mayor Jackie Meck from office are appealing to the community for help. Dave Nigh, who has been at the center of the storm over the city’s disputed water bills as the face of the water department, was placed on paid administrative leave Dave Nigh on Dec. 8, according to a statement released Sunday by the city. “This is a personnel matter and the city will not have any additional comment,” the statement said. Mark Seamans, water resources manager, will be handling responsibilities of water director while Nigh is on leave, according to the city. Nigh’s removal has been a goal of the leaders of scores of residents who organized in October after they said they received bills for hundreds of dollars for thousands of gallons of water they claim they didn’t use — charges the city said resulted from water leaks or theft. Heather Wilson and Jeff Hancock, who are leading the efforts, said they were pleased that Nigh was placed on leave, but said it doesn’t change their group’s efforts. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Wilson said. “I’m sure [the problem] goes beyond him.” Wilson said she had been unsatisfied with Nigh during meetings about the water bills. “He didn’t seem like he wanted to fix the problem,” she said. During a Dec. 10 meeting to organize a campaign to recall Meck, several residents expressed displeasure with media reports that (See Leave on Page 2)
View photo by Ray Thomas
NYEZJHAE JONES, 4, of Avondale and her brother, Synsier Wood, 7, shop with Avondale Police Sgt. Brandon Busse during the police department’s annual Shop With a Cop program Dec. 10 at an Avondale retailer. The event pairs children who have been impacted by crime with police officers who help them choose Christmas presents for themselves and others courtesy of donated gift cards.
W. Valley VA Clinic to open in January by Kourtney Balsan special to the View
A new veterans clinic is opening in January, but is already taking appointments at 9250 W. Thomas Road, Suite 400, Phoenix, near Banner Estrella Medical Center. The Veterans Administration Southwest Community Based Outpatient Clinic will offer primary care, mental health services, social work, nutrition, clinical pharmacy and phlebotomy for veterans in the West Valley, said Paul Coupaud, a spokesman for the Phoenix VA Health Care System. “The main benefits this clinic brings to veterans in the West Valley are convenience and improved access,” Coupaud said. The facility will serve as a replacement for a smaller clinic that closed in June 2013 in Buckeye, said Craig Heustis, a Buckeye city councilman. “There are a lot of people out here who
either can’t drive to downtown or can’t drive to Surprise,” Heustis said. “I’m a veteran myself, so I get a little offended by some of the things that happen.” The Buckeye location stopped being a VA clinic when a third-party middleman refused to renew a contract with the VA without informing doctors at the small office, Heustis said. “It’s been a long, drawn-out issue,” he said. “The woman in charge of the VA at the time came out here and made a presentation basically telling us, ‘Well, tough.’” Heustis and Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck have been in constant contact with the VA system and local officials to try to bring something closer for West Valley veterans besides the facilities in Phoenix and Surprise, Heustis said. “We’ve been fighting,” he said. “For the last three or four years [Mayor Meck] and I have (See VA Clinic on Page 2)