Southwest area gained ground in 2012 with parks, nonprofits, businesses
View Neighborhood Newspapers takes a look at highlights of southwest-area happenings in 2012:
FAMILIES REUNITED
It's All About Kidz is a nonprofit organization that helps mothers struggling with addiction to stay connected with their children during rehabilitation. The program was started by former drug counselor Marina Rit and allows mothers to live together in a southwest-area home with their children. View profiled several mothers in the program in January and February. At the time, the program was in danger of closing because of funding.
Rit said because of donations and support from the community, the program is doing "fantastic."
A second home opened in North Las Vegas, and Rit is raising money to open a third. There are 15 mothers and 20 children in the program, with a waiting list of 20 mothers, Rit said.
So far, three mothers have successfully completed the program and their Child Protective Services requirements.
"The best part is we're closing the CPS cases," Rit said. "It means the mothers have full custody of their children, and CPS is no longer in their lives."
For more information or to donate, call 702-445-0203 or visit aakidz.org.
MOTHERS STILL
In May, View featured southwest-area resident and mother Stacy Marino, a hospice patient who was preparing for her final Mother's Day.
Marino had cancer in nearly every organ in her body, including her brain. Marino underwent chemotherapy, radiation and stem cell treatments in 2002. The treatments eliminated the cancer but caused extensive heart, lung and brain damage.
About four years ago, Marino was given less than a year to live. As of Dec. 21, she was still alive. Marino and her mom, Judy Wangler, joked about death last May around the kitchen table during their interview, and the two are still finding humor in their situation.
"I told her she's not very good at this dying stuff," Wangler said. "I'm getting impatient with her."
Wangler said Marino is still "nothing but a skeleton" at 84 pounds and that Stacy endured a "rough" summer. Marino is staying with her mother and receives in-home hospice care.
"Anything could happen at any moment," Wangler said. "I still go in there every morning to see that she's still breathing."
WET 'N' WILD RETURNS
Construction started in October on a southwest-area water park, Wet 'n' Wild Las Vegas, 7055 S. Fort Apache Road. The $50 million, 41-acre park, formerly named Splash Canyon, is expected to open in May and will feature more than 25 rides and attractions.
Construction on the park created an estimated 200 to 300 jobs, and the park will employ between 300 and 500 when it opens. The park expects about 650,000 customers annually. This will be the valley's first water park since a 27-acre Wet 'n' Wild, located on the Strip, closed in 2004.
For more information or to buy season passes, visit wetnwildlasvegas.com.
PLACES TO PLAY
The southwest valley added two parks in 2012, including Charlie Frias Park, 4801 S. Decatur Blvd., which opened Oct. 8 on the northwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard.
The park is nearly 80 acres, including about 40 acres of amenities. A 12-acre neighborhood park is nestled on a bluff overlooking 14 acres of sports fields. A separate plaza, playground and maintenance facility on the south side of the park occupy 13 acres. Other acreage consists of a Regional Flood Control detention basin and 14 acres of natural conservation areas.
Amenities include four soccer and multiuse sports fields, three playgrounds, a splash pad, two tennis courts, basketball courts, a dog park, picnic pavilions, restrooms, walking paths, open turf areas, an exercise equipment area, and a horseshoe pit. The park also includes a butterfly garden and several scenic overlooks that preserve the natural contours of terrain shaped by the Flamingo Wash. A conservation area to preserve native Las Vegas buckwheat plants was set aside in the park.
Officials broke ground on the $23 million project in October 2010. Funding sources included $15 million from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act and $7 million from the Regional Flood Control District for the detention basin. The Frias family donated $1 million to the park to honor businessman and philanthropist Charlie Frias, who died in 2006.
The 20-acre Nathaniel Jones Park, 8800 Sparkling Chandon Drive, opened in June in the Mountain's Edge community. The park features a lighted basketball court, playground, shade structures, a splash pad and walking trails.
Nathaniel Jones was the second of six planned parks to open at Mountain's Edge. Future planned parks include John C. Fremont Park, Helen Stewart Park, Paiute Park and Mountain's Edge Regional Park.
A SCHOOL'S MILESTONE
Las Vegas Day School, 3275 Red Rock St., celebrated its 50th academic year. The state's oldest private school has been family-run since Jack Daseler founded it in 1961. His son, Neil Daseler, took over as director 36 years ago.
The school started with an enrollment of 27 students in 1961 and had 920 in 2012.
The school spent about $25 million over the past decade building new classrooms, a library, computer labs and a weight training room. Future plans include a new athletic facility with basketball and volleyball courts and artificial turf football and soccer fields.
SOUTHWEST SHOPPING
Walmart announced in October that it plans to build a 170,000-square-foot supercenter at Blue Diamond Road and Rainbow Boulevard.
A construction date has not been set, and it will take nearly a year to build once it begins, Walmart officials have said. The store is expected to create about 300 full- and part-time jobs.
Walmart Real Estate bought 18.3 acres for $5.3 million, or about $289,000 an acre, in August from Nevada State Bank. Walmart has 10 supercenters and 10 Neighborhood Markets in Southern Nevada.
Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 702-224-5524. Other View staff writers contributed to this report.
