 AVONDALE REBRANDS OLD TOWN, PAGE 2


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50¢ Friday, March 2, 2012 Baseball is back! Hikers


LUCKY TO BE ALIVE


Firefighter owes his life to new resucita- tion technique — Page 4


rescued after


falling boulder injures 4


Agua Fria H.S. students


on excursion in White Tanks


by Brent Whiting staff writer


PREPARED


way, Goodyear gets more than


$1 million to repair future damage to roads — Page 9.


DAILY UPDATES! News Updates and fresh Classified ads posted Monday - Friday at 4:30 p.m. online at


www.westvalleyview.com View file photo by Michael Clawson


Volume 26, No. 93 28 Pages 1 Section


Circulation: 79,401 INDEX


Classifieds .................... 23 Editorials & Letters .......... 6 Obituaries ...................... 12 Sports ........................... 13 9 Days a Week............... 20 Recycle this paper


BASEBALL FANS AS WELL AS PLAYERS are ready for the Cactus League spring training season to begin on Saturday. Two local stadiums — Goodyear Ballpark (pictured) and Camelback Ranch — are geared for action.


Games start Saturday at Goodyear, Camelback Ranch


by Sara Clawson staff writer


Ready for some baseball? Glendale and Goodyear are ready for you. The Cactus League spring training season officially begins Saturday. Fans of the Cincinnati Reds and


Cleveland Indians can visit the Goodyear Ballpark for the teams’ season opener. First pitch flies across the plate at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Don’t follow the two Ohio teams? Then head over to Camelback Ranch, where the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers will open their season Monday, also at 1:05 p.m.


The Goodyear Ballpark is at 1933 S. Ballpark Way, which is off of Estrella Parkway south of Interstate 10. The city owns and operates the facility.


Camelback Ranch is at 10710 W. Camelback Road in Phoenix. It is on the northwest corner of Camelback Road and 107th Avenue. The land is owned and operated by the city of Glendale but is located on Phoenix land.


The Millennium High School marching band will perform before the game starts, as well as playing the national anthem, said Mike Svetz, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.


Cracker Jacks, popcorn and peanuts will return to Goodyear Ballpark but opening day will also feature some special performances.


The mayor and City Council will be introduced to the crowd and give opening remarks before the Arizona Skyhawks parachute jumpers will land on field to present the ball for the game’s first pitch, he said.


Camelback Ranch is hosting a free four-hour Fan Fest on Saturday to


(See Baseball on Page 2)


As Loop 303 project gets under


Five students from an Avondale high school were rescued Wednesday after a boulder struck four of them during a hike in the White Tank Mountains. One of the Agua Fria High School students, a 17-year-old girl, suffered a broken leg and had to be removed by helicopter in a long-line rescue off the side of a mountain. The girl was transported to a Phoenix hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life- threatening, said Sgt. Brandon Jones, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The others, two males and


two females, ages 17 to 19, were removed by helicopter and transported to a parking lot where they were assisted by medical workers, Jones said. There was a late start at the


school Wednesday because of AIMS testing, so the five probably were taking advantage of the free time by taking a hike, said Dennis Runyan, superintendent of the Agua Fria Union High School District. “This is a difficult situation,”


Runyan told the View. “It is a relief that the injuries being described by the rescuers are not described as life-threatening.”


The incident occurred about 9:15 a.m. while the five were hiking on the Waterfall Trail at White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Jones said. They apparently were off the established trail when a large boulder dislodged and rolled on four of the students, Jones said. A fifth student, who was not injured, used a cell phone to place a 911 emergency call and seek help, he said.


Helicopters from both the


Sheriff’s Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were used to carry out the rescue operation, authorities said.


Brent Whiting can be reached by email at


bwhiting@westvalleyview.com.


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