After reviewing 27 entries for the Mayor Select Art Spring Contest, Mayor Georgia Lord has announced the top three winners and honorable mentions.

The work of Kathryn Robinson, a junior at Verrado High School, won first place, garnering her $750 in scholarship money. Paola Vega-Soto’s piece placed second for an award of $500, and Estrella Foothills High School junior Duval Goley took third place for $250.

“Art in our schools is important,” Mayor Lord said. “We are striving to create public dialogue, advance education and inspire civic pride through the arts. It helps bring the community together. From all of these wonderful entries, it will be interesting to see who the next famous artist is. We’re impressed with the entries, and we look for this show to grow next year.”

The Goodyear Mayor Select Art Spring Contest was done in partnership with Mayor Lord and the Goodyear Arts and Culture Commission. The entries were judged by a panel of arts professionals, city staff, and members of the academic community. Judging criteria included originality, artistic quality, and composition.

Entrants receiving honorable mention in the show were: Humberto Ramos (Desert Edge High School) for Goodyear Storm; Kendall Bigman (Desert Edge High School) for Desert Sun; Kali Canedo (Estrella Foothills High School) for How it Feels; Adriana Ramos (Desert Edge High School) for Red Rose, Layla Sadek (Estrella Foothills High School) for Into the Wild, and Ashley Smith (Estrella Foothills High School) for Puzzled.

All of the art show’s placers will be recognized at the City Council meeting on May 12. The next contest is set to take place this fall, and “a call to artists” is expected to go out in late August. Art submitted for upcoming contests likely will be categorized such as in drawings and paintings, photography and 3-Dimensional.

Avondale Police Department’s Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) volunteer Sue Hills has been appointed as a Tester/Observer for Therapy Dogs Inc.  Sue is now an official representative and role model for the nationally recognized organization, and will be assisting therapy dogs and their owners in successfully completing the requirements to become registered Therapy Dog teams.

In addition to Sue’s expertise in animal welfare and pet ownership, she must be knowledgeable of the policies and procedures of TDInc, and possess impressive ability to deal with the public as well as reporting and disciplining teams.  One of the key requirements of the position is familiarity with current animal behavior trends and training techniques. As a T/O, she will not only determine appropriate testing process circumstances, but will be in constant interaction with a variety of dog breeds and sizes.

Sue and her therapy dog Warren have been active members of the Avondale Police Department’s VIPS Pets in Police Service (PIPS) program.  After adoption from an animal rescue shelter, became a therapy dog and will always have a place to call “home.”

The Avondale Police Department volunteer program provides a unique opportunity for citizens to enhance their knowledge, experience and skills in law enforcement in a variety of ways including the Pets in Police Service program.

Doug Ryan from Grand Canyon Pump and Supply with Cottonwood Wastewater Manager Deborah Breitkreutz

The city of Cottonwood has recently announced the grand opening of its joint venture project with Yavapai College, and it remains a huge success. The project, which was to provide reclaimed water to irrigate the vineyards at the Verde Valley Campus, was designed and managed closely by the city while funded by Yavapai College. Cottonwood even designed and installed a reclaimed water booster station, which will ensure consistent and sufficient volume to meet the irrigation needs of the vineyard.

Doug Ryan, Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens and Yavapai College Dean Perry

This joint venture was several years in the making and will establish a highly sustainable, low cost water supply for the vineyard along with a new source of revenue for the city. The use of reclaimed water for irrigating the vineyards negates the need to pump precious groundwater for this purpose and furthers the city’s efforts in the expanded use of reclaimed water.

The grand opening took place on Monday April 7, at the new reclaimed booster facility.

Arizona’s very own City of Avondale was among just 14 cities selected to take part in a series of “Community Conversations” around the country. Partnering with both the National League of Cities (NLC) and the US Dept. of Education, the strategy sessions will bring together local leaders, educators, families, and community leaders to explore learning advancement; enhance student engagement; and offer overall school improvement, including after-school learning experiences and the achievement of post-secondary attainment.

“We are proud to partner with the Department of Education in this extremely important effort to provide better educational opportunities to children nationwide,” said NLC President Chris Coleman, Mayor of Saint Paul, Minn. “This ‘memo of understanding’ expands a local-federal partnership that is focused on supporting local efforts to improve schools and close the achievement gap. Through our ‘community conversations’ with local leaders, families and community organizations, we can formulate actionable strategies that improve educational opportunities for all.”

Avondale was selected because of the city’s diligent efforts to rally the community to develop and create additional opportunities for more meaningful engagement on education. Last May, Avondale held an Education Summit that brought individuals from various entities together to identify tangible goals and strategies that would result in improving the education of Avondale’s youth. To that end, various sectors of the community have come together to develop strategies to improve education in Avondale. Engagement has turned into action through various city departments, local school leadership, non-profit and business sectors and the faith-based community.

Avondale’s Community Conversation is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at Avondale City Hall, and is expected to bring more than 100 people together to participate in a unique “un-conference” for the second year in a row. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sierra Vista’s “home grown” Randy Redmond has been named Fire Chief of the Year by the Arizona Fire Chief’s Association.

Redmond earned the esteemed recognition through dogged pursuit of long term goals and ongoing efforts to increase funding for firefighter training. Other highlights of Redmond’s career include coordinating a statewide mutual aid agreement to allow fire agencies across the state to work closely together, as well as spearheading a consolidation effort with Fry Fire District to better serve the greater Sierra Vista community.

“The community can be very proud to have someone of Randy’s caliber serving as our fire chief, says Chuck Potucek, Sierra Vista city manager. “The fact that Randy is ‘home grown’ shows the professionalism that is embodied within our fire service right here in Sierra Vista.”

Redmond, a resident of Sierra Vista for over 40 years, started his career in the fire service as a reserve firefighter with the City of Sierra Vista in 1982. He later spent 12 years with Fry Fire District before rejoining the Sierra Vista Fire Department as fire captain in 1997, advancing through the ranks to Fire Chief in 2008.

“When you are Chief of an organization there is so much that needs to be done, but when you give of your time to help many others from all over the state, that says so much more about the character behind the badge,” said Mary Cameli, president of the Arizona Fire Chief’s Association, “and Randy has displayed this dedication year in and year out.”

“We are so thankful for all that he does for some many firefighters across the state of Arizona,” she adds.

“It’s an honor to be awarded this recognition,” Redmond says. “I’m privileged to work with many professionals in the fire services and it’s really about supporting each other and supporting our communities.”

AFCA’s mission is to serve chief fire officers by providing leadership through involvement; professional development through networking, education and information distribution; and a forum to improve fire services of Arizona. Visit www.azfirechiefs.com for more information on AFCA.

“NerdWallet,” a website that helps consumers make better financial decisions, has determined which Arizona cities and towns are among the best places to live in. The site conducted a study that would give potential home-buyers a closer look at the current housing market, basing its rankings on key factors like population growth, monthly costs, homeownership rates, and monthly income. The City of Maricopa topped the list, seeing a population increase of nearly 20 percent in two years and an impressive home ownership rate exceeding 80 percent. The town of Queen Creek rounded out the top five, boasting a median home value of nearly $250,000 and an exciting near-future development of a 14-screen movie theater.

It should come as no surprise that Arizona cities and towns continue to show such positive growth. After all, the state itself continues to be one of the fastest growing in the nation, with the US Census Bureau reporting a nearly 220,000 person -jump from 2010 to 2013 alone. The state has already experienced notable points of economic turnaround, but can look especially forward to the increase in job openings and revenue a new Apple plant will bring.

For more information about NerdWallet, visit www.nerdwallet.com.