After more than 15 years of being closed, a new and improved Tempe community center and pool reopened to the public on Saturday. In the heart of the Clark Park neighborhood, just south of downtown ...

had been the city's first Parks and Recreation Department director. Spracale met his wife, Sandy Palmer, when he was a lifeguard and pool manager at Tempe Beach Pool in 1949. The two were married ...

"He was extraordinary," said Mario Mendia, a former colleague. Spracale also had a long history in Arizona education.