Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 27

The Arizona Republic FRIDAY, MARC1 1 14, 2003 B5 Glendale Peoria Sun Cities Surprise Avondale Goodyear Buckeye Laveen Litchfield Park Meson Wickenburg Youngtown El Mirage Deer Valley proceeds in drug case at school j0Tf Venita James, West Valley editor 602.444.NEWS (6397) venita.iamesarizonarepublic.com For additional news from this region, see today community section or go to azcentral.com iK Help for parents What parents should know about suspension or expulsion. During a 10-day suspension that precedes a hearing, parents are allowed to pick up homework for their child. A parent can appeal the hearing officer's ruling to the School Board. As an alternative to suspension or expulsion, the school district may reassign a student to an alternative education program, depending on the violation and space available. A school district may refuse to admit any student who has been expelled from another educational institution or who is in the process of being expelled from another educational institution.

A school district may annually, or upon the request of any pupil, parent or guardian, review the reasons for expulsion and consider readmission. 1 A the Fire Administration Office, 12425 W. Bell Road, Suite C-306, or online at www.surpri-seaz.com. Village Meadows school getting a new principal DEER VALLEY Cherryl Paul has been named principal of Village Meadows Elementary School, 2020 W. Morningside Drive.

She had been assistant principal at Hillcrest Middle School. Paul succeeds Rhea Acosta. The moves become effective July 1. 'Wizard of Oz' show continues at high school GLENDALE The Mountain Ridge Trap Door Society will continue its performance of The Wizard of Oz at 7 p.m. today at Mountain Ridge High School, 22800 N.

67th Ave. Tickets cost $7 and can be purchased from the box office at 6 p.m. the day of the show, at the school's bookstore or by calling (623) 825-7868. Information: (623) 825-7868. High school celebration canceled due to liability GLENDALE Glendale High School's 90th anniversary celebration has been canceled, due to the high cost of liability insurance.

The April 5-6 events at the Peoria Sports Complex were being organized by a private party and were not sponsored by the Glendale Union High School District. Alumni are encouraged to call the district office at (623) 435-6000. Leave a name, address, phone number and graduating class year if you'd like information about future events. Residents face deadline on fire department plan SURPRISE Residents have until Thursday to comment on a draft of the Surprise Fire Department's five-year plan, which addresses 40 issues related to the city's rapid growth. The plan calls for construction of three fire stations, a training center and the purchase of a ladder truck.

The 25-page document is available at Student's mother awaits news of long-term penalty By Monica Mcndoza The Arizona Republic DEER VALLEY Pat Claycomb expects to find out today whether her 13-year daughter will be kicked out of school for drug possession. The girl and five other students from Gavilan Peak K-8 School were suspended two weeks ago for possession or distribution of crystal meth-amphetamine on school grounds. Each faces long-term suspension or expulsion. Claycomb's daughter told school officials she did not take the drugs, but she held them. A plastic bag with the white substance was tossed to her in a school restroom, and she immediately flushed the contents, she said.

Claycomb said her daughter was saying "no" to drugs and got rid of them. "To me, they are missing what happened here," Claycomb said. But school officials may interpret the teen's actions as destroying the evidence. An independent hearing officer will decide. Lloyd Gillum, former school psychologist, heard both sides of the story Thursday during a due-process hearing for the girl.

Claycomb asked that the hearing be open. Mai-Lon Wong, Gavilan Peak principal, "highly recommends long-term suspension," for the girl, Wong said during the hearing. The teen's actions disrupted the campus and threatened the safety of other students, she said. "This had tremendous residual affect on the community," Wong said. On Friday, Feb.

28, nine students were taken from the Anthem school to John C. Lincoln Hospital-Deer Valley after reports of drug use on campus. Daisy Mountain Fire Department paramedics made the decision to take the children to the hospital based on reports that some children were vomiting and others were exhibiting signs of being under the influence, said Tim Tait, district spokesman. Three of the nine students were later found not to be involved, Tait Heather WaltonThe Arizona Republic Angel Hains of the Wildlife World Zoo shows off Spinderella, a Malayan water monitor. West Valley Day lets booming area show off its goods By Elvia Diaz The Arizona Republic PHOENIX For 2 years, simulated space flight missions have been launched daily from Peoria.

But like many other West Valley accomplishments, hardly anyone outside the city knows they can take a virtual trip through the firmament. So, West Valley civic and business leaders set out Thursday to show state lawmakers the major undertakings of their booming cities and towns. "We're the best kept secret in town," said Kris Carpenter, the flight director of the Challenger Space Center in Peoria as she handed out brochures during West Valley Day at the state Legislature. It was a day to showcase the space center in Peoria, the Banner Estrella Medical Center to open next year in west Phoenix, the Algoddn business park that will replace cotton fields near 99th Avenue and Thomas Road. "The West Valley is experiencing tremendous growth," said Rep.

John Loredo, a Phoenix Democrat, while walking past dozens of exhibits that ranged from homeowners associations to public schools. "It's good to remind legislators like me how unique the West Valley is," Loredo added. Reach the reporter elvia.diazarizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8948. said. The incident at the far-north Deer Valley school prompted a parents meeting about drug awareness that 250 people attended.

Students also attended two anti-drug sessions Thursday as a reminder of the possible punishment for drug use, Wong said. Claycomb, who spoke on her daughter's behalf, said that the incident raised questions about school policy and a parent's access to school records. She said she was given conflicting or no information about records or the incident from Gavilan Peak school officials. "I felt quite helpless," Claycomb said. It wasn't until she contacted the district's legal office that she was given the records she requested, she said.

After the hearing, Susan Segal, Deer Valley school district attorney, told Claycomb she could file a grievance and promised to review district policy. "I guarantee we will follow up," Segal said. The hearing officer has 48 hours to recommend whether the students will be punished. The School Board makes the final decision. No matter what the outcome for Claycomb's daughter, the New River mom faces $2,700 in ambulance and emergency room bills.

TODAY IN SURPRISE WHO'S MEETING Chuck Blanchard, interim director of Homeland Security for Arizona; Eleanor Eisenberg, executive director of the Arizona Civil Liberties Union; and Steve Elliott, bureau chief for the Associated Press of Arizona. KEY ISSUE Panelists will discuss balancing civil liberties and national security. WHY IT'S Admission is free. Call (623) 815-1019 IMPORTANT or (623) 214-1025. WHENWHERE 9:30 to 11 a.m.

at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 17540 Avenue of the Arts. Downtown East Phoenix North-Central South Phoenix New River Maryvale Suimyslope Moon Valley Deer Valley Squaw Peak art pots being removed HP Stacy Sullivan, Phoenix editor 602.444.NEWS (6397) stacy.sullivanarizonarepublic.com For additional news from this region, see today's community section or go to azcentral.com They'll be put in storage during work on freeway By Judy Nichols The Arizona Republic The pots are coming down. Those controversial sculptures on the walls along the Squaw Peak Parkway the coffeepot, the octopus, the stacked bowls are being removed and stored because of upcoming freeway construction. Whether they will be reinstalled is still under consideration, said Phil Jones, executive director of the Phoenix Arts Commission. "We have to consider the maintenance, the scale and the cost to reinstall them," Jones said.

The pots are being removed this week in anticipation of construction starting by the end of the month or early April. "They are anchored into the wall with steel rods," Jones said. "So we have to get a concrete saw and cut the concrete wall out underneath them." The pots will then be lifted down with a crane or other heavy equipment, Jones said. The 12 pots being removed are only a small part of the full project, called Wall Cycle to Ocotillo, Jones said. The project, which cost $474,000 when installed in 1992, was one of the first freeway beautification projects in Phoenix.

It was designed by Mags Harries, an artist from Cambridge, and included whimsical teapots and cups. On the residential side of the wall, gazebos, water clocks, a hummingbird garden and huge vases were installed along bike paths from McDowell Road to Glendale '0'-'- Pat ShannahanThe Arizona Republic Birds make a home in one of the pots lining the sound wall along the Squaw Peak Freeway. The pots are coming down due to upcoming freeway construction. The shelter, 30 N. 40th Place, is open from 11 a.m.

to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. The shelter, the state's oldest and largest no-kill shelter, has about 170 animals up for adoption.

Coalition will host forum on helping mentally ill EAST PHOENIX The Mental Health Advocates Coalition of Arizona will host a forum with police and others that will focus on how best to serve people with mental illnesses in times of crisis. Speakers will be Maj. Sam Cochran of the Memphis Police Department, who will talk about the department's crisis intervention team, and Dr. Randolph Dupont, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Tennessee, who will share research and data on Memphis' program. The forum is from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Wednesday at the Shrine Auditorium, Fiesta Room, 552 N. 40th Street. To register, call (602) 225-2440 or e-mail MHACAearthlink.net. Phoenix looking to fill jobs with young people PHOENIX Phoenix is looking for 940 young people, ages 14 to 18, for its summer Youth Work Experience Program. Participants will earn $5.25 an hour for about 200 hours of work, beginning June 2.

Once the program has reached its enrollment limit, youths will be referred to other employment programs. Details and applications are available Monday to April 11 at some schools and on the Internet at www.phoe-nix.govY OUTHsumwork Or call (602) 262-6776. Grant to animal shelter will help with adoptions SOUTH PHOENIX The Arizona Animal Welfare League shelter will be staying open longer for adoptions thanks to a Maddie's Fund grant aimed at increasing adoptions and the number of animals spayed and neutered across the Valley. Maddie's Fund is a $240 million family foundation established in 1999 to help companion animals. The construction project, which includes installing two high-occupancy-vehicle lanes in the center median between McDowell Road and Shea Boulevard, is expected to take nearly a year, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ADOT also will install new concrete median barriers and rubberized asphalt. The increased traffic noise will require higher sound walls, and some will have to be moved. Jones said the commission would decide at the end of the project what to do with the pots. Avenue. The project immediately drew public ridicule.

People complained about the cost, the offbeat designs and the fact that out-of-state artists were hired. Someone painted a toilet gold and set it atop the wall in protest. The pots have since been honored nationally, but the controversy caused changes in city policy on civic art projects. Community and council members now have more say over selection, and local artists are emphasized. Weekend DASH will end service in April TODAY IN PHOENIX WHO'S MEETING Planning Commission Big Box and Commercial Zoning District subcommittees.

KEY ISSUE The thick book of ordinances that guide development of big-box stores in Phoenix. WHY IT'S Gives residents a chance to voice opinions IMPORTANT on the' way Phoenix is developed. WHENWHERE 10 a.m., assembly room first floor, Phoenix City Hall, 200 West Washington St. Details: (602) 262-6011 or on the Internet at www.phoenix.govPUBMEETCindxhtml tional $99,000 in 2003-2004, according to Phoenix Public Transit spokeswoman Marie Chappie Camacho. "The idea is we'll restore the service when there is a stronger need," Chappie said.

"That will probably be when there are more residents downtown. "During the week, it is used by downtown workers. But on the weekend, it's so easy to park close to places you want to go that few people ride it. When parking is more precious, it will be more needed." The total DASH budget is $650,000, with $50,000 underwritten by the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Chappie said. Information on DASH, including route maps, is available at www.phoenix.gov, under the Public Transit Department, or at (602) 253-5000.

Those with hearing impairment can call TTY (602) 261-8208. Reach the reporter at judy.nichols3arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-8577. primarily using Sixth Avenue and Adams Street, Fifth and Washington streets. More than 38,000 people rode the weekday shuttle in January, which includes an expanded route to 19th Avenue. That service will continue unchanged.

The shuttles run every six minutes during morning and evening rush hours and lunch-time, and every 12 to 18 minutes during less busy times. The move will save the city $23,000 for the remainder of fiscal year 2003, and an addi Phoenix will save $23,000 this year By Judy Nichols The Arizona Republic Weekend DASH service will be eliminated beginning in April, a move to save money as the city's budget is tightened. In January, the Downtown Area Shuttle carried 1,287 passengers on weekends, when it runs a circular route.