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Inside This Week
Goodyear councilmember to serve in national role BY JOE MCHUGH
West Valley View Staff Writer
F NEWS .............. 8 Goodyear Fire adds ambulance service
FEATURES .... 19 Litchfield Park Historical Society Home Tour back
March 22, 2023
The Voice of the West Valley for 37 years
or a 12th year, Councilmember Wally Campbell has been selected to represent Goodyear in the National League of Cities for 2023. With the immense growth the city has seen over the last few years, Campbell will be able to show off what Goodyear has been doing, as well as bring policies and ideas back to help keep the city on the upward trend. “I’m really honored that I would be selected to participate at the national level, and it brings Goodyear to the forefront of being one of the partners of the many cities that belong to the National League of Cities,” Campbell said. “It’s just a wonderful learning experience. (I) learn something new every time you go to a meeting.” The National League of Cities is an organization that invites municipalities from across the nation to lobby policies among each other to help create better cities. It is a national effort to create a
collaborative format for cities to pick and choose what policies will best suit their respective municipalities, while crafting a united front for positive change. Campbell has served as the chair of many communities in her 12 years at the Nationally League of Cities, including this year as the chair of the Military Communities Council and as the president of the Women in Municipal Government Group. “You just learn from one another,” Campbell said. “No one has the best way to do everything, so you need to be open, and this is a wonderful avenue to do that with.” Goodyear has plenty to offer to the rest of the nation, as the city has been one of the hottest in the country over the past few years. Campbell has been a catalyst in that growth, as she has been able to bring back policies that have been able to help the city become better each year. Campbell is still as excited to be a part of the National League of Cities as she was when she joined her first year, as
Wally Campbell will look to learn more in her national role with the National League of Cities to help Goodyear’s growth keep going. (City of Goodyear/Submitted)
she is able to represent the city in a good light and learn more every time she goes.
National...continued on page 3
Avondale Fire and Medical names Rooney as new chief YOUTH ......... 23 Liberty Elementary hosts Agriculture Showcase
OPINION ...............10 BUSINESS.............. 15 CALENDAR ............16 FEATURES ..............17 OBITUARIES ...........22 YOUTH ..................23 CLASSIFIEDS ..........27 EAST
BY JOE MCHUGH
West Valley View Staff Writer
A
vondale Fire and Medical has named Larry Rooney its newest fire chief. Formerly the assistant chief of emergency management and the interim fire chief, Rooney will look to utilize his over 40 years of experience to keep the budding city of Avondale trending in the right direction with the utmost safety. “I’m very excited for this opportunity; Avondale is just such a great place to work,” Rooney said. “The firefighters
are very dedicated to providing the service to our community. We have a lot of things that we were going to be working on. I’m just really excited. There are so many things that are happening here.” Bringing in a plethora of experience from across the western part of the United States, Rooney will look to leverage that in his new position. Starting his career out in Huntington Beach, California, Rooney worked up the ranks in the fire department. Eventually landing him in higher ranks like the deputy chief of fire in Peoria, as
well as the fire chief in Lodi, California, Rooney came to Avondale in 2017, adding in another layer of expertise and quality to the Avondale Fire family. “I think everything that I’ve done in my career has prepared me for this position right here, right now,” Rooney said. “Most people are thinking about retiring, but I made a lot of changes when I was a fire chief in California. “It’s just nice to be able to put everything that I’ve learned and with my ex-
Rooney...continued on page 3