Kyrene SRO program ripped / p. 3
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Inside This Week
Veteran golfer, wife buy Ahwatukee Country Club BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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COMMUNITY .......28 Ahwatukee-based Armer Foundation comes to girl's rescue.
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Wednesday, August 16, 2023
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fter months of unfounded rumors, it’s finally come to pass: Wilson Gee and his partners last week sold the Ahwatukee Golf Club to a Litchfield Park couple who also own a course in Avondale. Charles and Lisa Gibson, operating as Free Drop LLC, paid $3.2 million for the course, according to real estate tracker vizzda.com. Built in 1976 and owned by Bixby Village Golf Course Inc. since 2006, the 141-acre site
includes an 11,868-square-foot clubhouse and an 18-hole par 72 championship golf course that was designed by the late professional golfer and pilot John Guthrie Bulla. Charles Gibson hit the ground running as soon as the deal was sealed. He deferred an interview with the Ahwatukee Foothills News for a few weeks, saying he was too busy refurbishing the grounds. This week, for example, he was resurfacing the parking lot and having a crew renovate the tired clubhouse interior.
“I’m super busy, as you might understand,” said Gibson, a professional golfer who played on the Arizona State University golf team in the early 1970s. The Gibsons also own the Coldwater Golf Course near the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale. That 18-hole course, which includes a clubhouse capable of hosting gatherings of up to 200 people, has drawn largely favorable re-
see GOLFER page 11
Major leadership change shakes up Tempe Union BUSINESS ........ 34 What electric vehicle owners think about their wheels.
GET OUT .............40 Ahwatukee artist part of exhibit pairing research and art. COMMUNITY ............................ 28 BUSINESS ................................34 SPORTS ................................... 38 GETOUT ...................................40 CLASSIFIEDS ...........................46
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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or only the second time in six years, a Tempe Union governing board will be looking for a new chief executive following the superintendent's surprise “retirement." Following a 50-minute closed-door meeting on Aug. 9 that had been scheduled on short notice after another executive session on Aug. 7, the Governing Board accepted Dr. Kevin Mendivil’s resignation and appointed Dr. Stacia Wilson as interim superintendent. Wilson, who as associate superintendent was the district’s second in command, is a product of the Tempe Union High School and Tempe Elementary school districts who has spent virtually her entire 26-year educa-
see LEADERSHIP page 16
Interim Superintendent Dr. Stacia Wilson has spent her entire 26-year career in education in Tempe Union, which she also graduated from. (Youtube)
Dr. Kevin Mendivil, seen here at a tense Aug. 2 board meeting, had a year to go on his contract with the district. (Youtube)
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