PICTURE ROCKS DIGEST Vol. 13, No. 1 ***For more information, visit our website at www.CitizensForPictureRocks.org*** January 2015 Welcome to the Picture Rocks Digest, a free newsletter about issues and events in the community. The print version of this all-volunteer publication is distributed at area businesses and community sites. The electronic version is available online at www.CitizensForPictureRocks.org and via email. If you have events or news items, or if you would like to be added to our email list, please contact us at PictureRocksDigest@comcast.net. The Picture Rocks Digest is a publication of Citizens for Picture Rocks, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(4) civic organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the community. C4PR meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at the Picture Rocks Community Center, 5615 N. Sanders Road, with Iced Tea Social Time beginning at 6:00 p.m. Meetings are always free and open to the public. Membership is not required, but highly recommended. Annual membership dues are $12/person. TEN NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR PICTURE ROCKS (and why we should keep them) 1. Observe speed limits on Picture Rocks Road – or else! The rumble strips and signage installed last year dramatically reduced the number of accidents to zero for a good while, but fenderbenders are on the increase. No new fatalities… yet. Yes, Picture Rocks Road is a major thoroughfare for many of us and Twin Peaks Road is miles out of our way. But if we don’t teach ourselves to take it easy, to allow a few more minutes to get to work or get home, the Park’s plan will slow us down even more. Their Trail Plan, adopted several years ago, calls for slowing traffic through the park. The signs and rumble strips are the first step. If they don’t do the job, then speed bumps and traffic circles are next on the list. And if that doesn’t slow us down, the park can install “entry gates” with booths to force full stops and delays. 2. Support local businesses. We lost the feed store and, despite all our complaints when we didn’t have a restaurant, the Horseshoe is just hanging on. If we want it, we have to support it and put our money where our mouth is. Have you checked out the amazing inventory at the hardware store…? 3. The Picture Rocks Fire District needs to improve relations with the community that supports them. Promises have been made to reschedule Governing Board meeting times to avoid conflicts with regular long-established community meetings so that the public can attend. Pima County has told PRFD to honor its agreement to allow community access to the electronic sign. We who depend on them should be ready to work with PRFD to help our closest elected representatives build and maintain community support. 4. Parents of school-age children need to join and support their PTO, the Parent-Teacher Organization that puts on many fun and educational events. We are lucky to have two innovative, caring schools in Desert Winds Elementary and Picture Rocks Intermediate, and they need our support. 5. Organization and community group leaders need to get involved in the Picture Rocks Community Conversation. This quarterly gathering brings together churches, schools, businesses, advocacy groups, youth activity organizations – everyone that is more-or-less organized in our community – to share information and find areas of mutual concern and support. Their major continuing effort is to bring public transportation “over the hill.” See article on page 5. 6. Picture Rocks Community Center Inc. PRCCI plays a vital role in our community with its free food distribution and low-cost thrift store. In years past, PRCCI has nearly foundered on ego and control issues. There are disturbing indications that this may be happening again. Our community should stand ready to support PRCCI so that it can continue to meet the needs of those who depend on its services. 7. Get involved in Picture Rocks Community Center programs. Dominoes, fitness, line dancing, music-making, a free lending library, art classes, kids’ programs, and more are offered at PRCC at no or low cost. We don’t need to travel over the hill to have fun! The community center IS the center of our community! 8. Control your dogs! One neighbor said he didn’t think noise from the proposed I-11 highway would bother him as much as the dogs barking on his road. That’s noise we don’t need, disturbing our otherwise quiet neighborhoods. Keep dogs con(Continued on page 2) DEALING WITH DIRT ROADS IN A FLOODPLAIN The January 20 Citizens for Picture Rocks meeting will hear from two Pima County Flood Control experts, Eric Shepp and Andy Seiger, on how to deal with private roads in a sheet flow floodplain. Picture Rocks Community Center, 6:30 pm, with Iced Tea Social Time at 6:00 p.m. 615 N. Sanders Road. Free, and all welcome. 2 tained – on many roads it’s impossible to go for a walk without dogs rushing out of their yards to chase you off. And, please, if you have to vacate your home, don’t leave your animals behind. Neither they nor your neighbors deserve such cruel – and illegal – treatment. 9. Dispose of trash properly. Volunteers clean up sections of Picture Rocks roads twice yearly. Don’t add to their burden by illegally dumping trash on roads or in your yards. And don’t burn trash! It’s illegal and hazardous to the health of neighbors, releasing toxins into our good air and threatening those with lung issues. (photos by Robin Nicholson) AERIAL SPRAYING OF BUFFELGRASS — BUT IT’S A SAFE POISON…? Eighty-year-old Oscar L. Garcia’s family has ranched in the Avra Valley for nearly 200 years, since long before Arizona was a state. His great-great-grandfather started the cattle ranch, and Oscar still runs about 30 head, selling off the calves. His land was cut up when the CAP canal was built, but he still covers over 1,000 acres by truck or on one of his eight horses. Riding and roping are part of the family tradition. His son Steve put himself through college with roping scholarships, and still ropes. His 17-year-old grandson Bryce is in his high school rodeo. They practice at the ranch regularly. Oscar L. Garcia knows the land like few others do. Oscar Garcia and his wife of 62 years, Lupe, with some of the prize saddles won in roping competitions 10. Join Citizens for Picture Rocks. We meet monthly at the community center and dues are just $12 a year per person. A buck a month gets you a voice and a vote on issues affecting our community, as well as guest speakers on all sorts of topics impacting our lives. Get involved and help make a difference. SANTA STOPS IN PICTURE ROCKS Dozens of children showed up at Picture Rocks Community Center on December 20 to give Santa their Christmas wish lists. PRCC staff provided cocoa, cookies and crafts. No reindeer were sighted, but there were definitely a few elves around, from staff and volunteers. In 2006 the City of Tucson, which had planted buffelgrass extensively in the Avra Valley to control erosion in the 1970s, used crop-dusting aircraft to spray Roundup® in the Reservation Road-ManvilleMile Wide area, land set aside for Tucson Water. Oscar L. Garcia’s land is east of Tucson’s land, not west as previously reported. A shared wash carried the herbicide onto his ranch and killed the Bermuda grass used as cattle forage, as well as shriveling some mesquite trees. Tucson Water, as with other aerial spraying defenders, denies any responsibility. But the grass is still dead and not much has grown there since except thistle. Cookies! A stretch of barren former grassland adjacent to Tucson Water property off Reservation Road that was sprayed for buffelgrass over eight years ago. Crafts! Santa Claus! (aka Brendan Vaughn from Picture Rocks) With federal and Texas state agencies still working to “improve” buffelgrass, and with the Sonoran government still subsidizing its planting just south of the border, the spread of the “noxious weed” into Arizona continues. The unintended consequences of spraying herbicides by air may well outpace any short-term benefits of poisoning the land. 3 STATE TRANSPORTATION BOARD ADVANCES I-11 Meeting in Tucson December 12, Arizona’s State Transportation Board (STB) approved $15 million to initiate the environmental impact studies (EIS) needed to build the Canamex Highway from Wickenberg to Nogales. The unanimous action followed a two-year study by the Arizona and Nevada Departments of Transportation urging construction of the new highway. Funding came from putting a number of just-approved construction and repair projects on indefinite hold. While the study will run from Wickenburg to Nogales, a number of residents of the Avra Valley showed up to voice their concerns. Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has proposed that the Canamex Highway run through the Avra Valley following a route similar to the I-10 Bypass approved by the STB six years ago. That action, in a Tucson meeting, was taken without hearing from any of the dozens who had signed up to speak, and provoked a near-riot. Outgoing Chair Steve Christie made it clear that this time all who had something to say would be heard. Endorsements of the I-11 Canamex Highway came from a parade of public officials. Pima County Director of Strategic Planning John Moffatt, who said he also spoke for Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bronson, urged approval of the three-year study. The Southern Arizona Leadership Council, TucsonMetro Chamber of Commerce, Town of Oro Valley, and Pima County Transportation Director Priscilla Cornelio also endorsed the EIS, along with Christian Price, Mayor of Maricopa, and Anthony Smith, Chair of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild took a different approach, stressing the importance to Tucson of trade with Mexico, but calling for expansion of State Route 189 at the Port of Mariposa along with I-19 improvements and I-10 expansion. Residents Speak Out double-deck a few miles of I-10. Avra Valley Coalition organizer Albert Lannon used the I-11 study’s own words – “nearshoring” and “integrative manufacturing” – to show the intent of the planners to export American jobs. He noted that the U.S. Public Interest Research Group called I-11 a “boondoggle” and the Goldwater Institute’s Dr. Byron Schlomach termed it “nonsense.” Double-decking a few miles of I-10, he said, citing the STB’s own numbers, “...would cost one-third the price of a 56mile Avra Valley highway and save taxpayers nearly $2 billion.” After listening politely, STB members asked a few questions and then voted unanimously to approve the $15 million for the Tier One Environmental Impact Study. That study will narrow down route alignments to rights-of-way between 500 and 2000 feet wide, and will be done in segments rather than taking on the whole route at the same time. No federal funding has been identified for the study, although planners were hopeful of getting that support. ADOT: “All Options Being Considered” Observers noted that at Sandario and Mile Wide Roads there is less than 200 feet right-of-way, with the Wildlife Mitigation Corridor, established when the CAP canal was built, on one side, and the Tohono O’odham Nation on the other. Huckelberry has proposed overcoming this by using Sandario as a base for an elevated highway. According to a December 16 report on National Public Radio, ADOT Public Relations spokesperson Laura Douglas said that while several options are still on the table for I-11, there is a leading contender for the portion that would travel through southern Arizona. “What we’re looking at is an area that would likely, and I stress the word likely, follow perhaps I-10 through I-19 to Nogales,” Douglas reportedly said. A number of Picture Rocks and Avra Valley residents were present, and several voiced their concerns. Paul Flemm, Treasurer of Citizens for Picture Rocks but speaking for himself, spoke of the “unique boundaries” created to preserve the valley, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Wildlife Mitigation Corridor, Saguaro National Park, ArizonaSonora Desert Museum, Ironwood Forest National Monument and the Tohono O’odham Nation. These boundaries, he said, “were meant to keep and preserve the Avra Valley’s unique character… for future generations. There is no way,” he declared, “to mitigate the noise and other pollution. The Avra Valley cannot accommodate an interstate!” While not entirely ruled out, Douglas said the option to build a new stretch of interstate through the Avra Valley area is “not a strong contender.” Requests for clarification were answered after several attempts, with Ms. Douglas backtracking: “…all options for a future Interstate 11 and Intermountain West Corridor are still being considered, including Pima County’s suggested corridor. My original statement that said the Pima County option was not likely to move forward was incorrect [Ms. Douglas’s emphasis]. As part of the EIS, ADOT will consider all options within the corridor, including a no-build option.” Forty-year Picture Rocks resident Chris Banks said he came to the valley for “peace and quiet to raise a family… Don’t take it away!” He noted that, according to the STB’s own numbers, it was cheaper to For information about participating in the environmental impact study (EIS) process, download “A Citizen’s Guide to NEPA” at http://energy.gov/sites/ prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/GCEQ-CitizensGuide.pdf. 4 NEWS & NOTES Low-Cost Shot Clinic Continues. With the closing of Marana Feed on Orange Grove Road, Dr. Cynthia Hudman has moved her First Friday low-cost veterinary shot clinic to the open-air market area at Picture Rocks and Sandario Roads, on the first Friday of each month, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Praise Center To Honor Young Women. The Assembly of God Praise Center, at 12331 W. Picture Rocks Road, will hold a Father/Daughter Banquet on February 6 to honor young women. For more information, call Pastor Josh Mangels at 682-8240. Picture Rocks Hikers Rained Out. Rain washed out the planned December 18 Cactus Wren Trail hike to the “flower power” rock art site at Signal Hill. That hike is rescheduled for Thursday, January 22, meeting at 8:30 a.m. at Picture Rocks Community Center. Call for reservations: 682-7166. Southern Arizona. The general public and especially veterans are invited to attend the presentation at Picture Rocks Community Center, 5615 N. Sanders Road. Perfect Attendance Wins Rewards. Bruce Stubbs of Horace Mann Insurance donated kick scooters on December 18 to students at Picture Rocks Intermediate and Desert Winds Elementary School who had perfect school attendance from August through December 2014. (Photos Courtesy MUSD) Bruce Stubbs with Picture Rocks Intermediate students, Alondra Solislopez, 6th grade, and Johnathan Bard, 4th grade Garden Goodies. Albie Johnson showed off December’s Swiss chard and sweet potatoes grown at the Dueling Gardens at Picture Rocks and Sandario Roads. For information on leasing garden plots, call Greg (730-8581), Tom (682-7974), or Chris (6827229). Democratic Club Starting In Picture Rocks (Submitted by Catalina Hall). A new club for Democrats, skeptics, free thinkers, progressives and likeminded people is looking to start in the Picture Rocks area. There is an email address for inquiries, dems4prandav@gmail.com. Meeting time and dates will be announced later. “The majority of voters in this area are Republican or Independent. A Democratic club may be hard to convene, but there is some interest and these people really want to offer a choice in the next election. The purpose of all Democratic Clubs is to support Democratic candidates and enjoy the friendship and fun of activities. I am a firm believer in having fun, and if a club is not any fun, it will die.” Veterans’ Resources. On January 7 Lyle Ford from Rally Point Tucson will present to the Senior Group at 1:30 p.m. Rally Point Tucson is the starting point for veterans, service members and their families to connect with resources in Pima County regardless of discharge status, entitlements or health benefits. At Rally Point Tucson, veterans help other veterans and their families in Pima County find and access the resources they need such as housing, employment, health care, counseling, education and transportation. This is a program of Partnership at Kyler Spicer, 2nd grade Desert Winds Elementary student Estrella Bowman, 1st grade Desert Winds Elementary student From Desert Winds Principal Tawnya Caldwell. “My staff and I drove a bus around the community and handed out some holiday share packages to four of our families. It was an awesome experience to see our families and the community we serve. WE have to do professional development for 2-3 hours each time we have a grading day with no kids. So this is what we did this time.” 5 Community Conversation Carries On and Changes. The purpose of the Picture Rocks Community Conversation is to connect organizations in our area with residents, share information and reach common goals. To accomplish this, the members have made changes to the meeting dates. Meetings will be held once a quarter, on Tuesdays at 10:00 am, January 27, April 28, July 28 and October 27. The group meets at the Picture Rocks Community Center. All residents of Picture Rocks and Avra Valley are welcome to attend. New members could help with the projects that are done each year and also develop new projects, or just get to know neighbors and leaders. There is always something new to talk about and new opinions are respectfully heard. For more information, call Catalina Hall, 520-572-1881 and leave your name, number and reason for your call. MUSIC! MUSIC! MUSIC! Picture Rocks Intermediate School welcomed the holiday season with a pair of concerts. Fifth and sixth grade orchestra musicians played a variety of classical, traditional and Christmas music on December 11, under the direction of Sara Newton. Fifth-graders (left) took a welldeserved bow. Sixth-graders (below) played Beethoven. Despite heavy rain, on December 17 PRI students played a band concert to a standing room only audience. Thomas Carmichael conducted two sets, one by fifth-graders and the other by sixth-graders. Fifth-grade band members played a Mozart melody. VOLUNTEER AT ICS FOR PICTURE ROCKS Submitted by Dot Esler Picture Rocks was one of the three pilot neighborhoods chosen by the ELDER Alliance to find out what older adults need to be able to age in place. It is not a surprise that in Picture Rocks, people identified transportation, information about and access to reliable services, and a resource of trusted volunteers to provide help in the home as essential needed services. Interfaith Community Services (ICS), a member of the ELDER Alliance, heard about these concerns and offers some help. For 30 years, ICS has shown what a caring community can do. This volunteer-based organization, serving all of Pima County, provides a wide umbrella of programs to help vulnerable individuals and families meet their essential needs, from emergency aid for rent and utilities to job search help to transportation and home visits to aging and disabled adults. Last year, ICS assisted 36,500 people to achieve stable, healthy and independent lives. ICS offers meaningful opportunities for volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and skills to get involved and provide a helping hand to neighbors in need. Volunteers provide more than 300 rides each month to elderly and disabled adults 18 years of age and older for doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, pharmacy and other necessary errands. Volunteers do friendly phoning and visiting, assist with mail and business help, and deliver Mobile Meals to ensure that those who can no longer cook for themselves can meet their nutritional needs. Volunteers help out in the ICS offices, assist with special events, work in the ICS Food Bank and more. Most importantly, ICS volunteers provide a friendly face, a caring smile and important social contact that helps recipients avoid isolation and stay independent. Volunteers often tell ICS that they get more than they give by helping others. Recipients, in turn, often comment that ICS volunteers are the bright spot in their day. ICS offers flexible volunteer schedules and training is provided. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Tori Carlson, Volunteer Resources Manager, at 520-297-6049 x217 or visit the website at www.icstucson.org to see a list of volunteer opportunities and current events. A few Picture Rocks community members have already been trained, which makes it possible for ICS to better serve our area. Any-one interested in strength-ening this volunteer base is encouraged to give ICS a call. Individuals who need these types of service should call ICS to schedule an intake. Did you know? According to U.S. News & World Report, volunteering can improve your health, happiness and longevity, and make your community a more stable and better place to live! Sixth graders in the holiday spirit played Jolly Old St. Nicolas. 6 DWE DOUBLE DRIBBLE DIBELS — WHAT?!? ABOUT CITIZENS FOR PICTURE ROCKS So what are DIBELS? The acronym stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy, a state test for K-6 students required three times a year. DIBELS measures vocabulary, comprehension, phonics and fluency and gives the school information as to a student being on-track for grade-appropriate reading levels. Citizens for Picture Rocks, Inc., is a non-profit organization whose charter states that it exists for the “purpose of promoting the common good and general welfare of the community” of Picture Rocks. Desert Winds Elementary School made a fun event out of sharing information with parents on December 5 with their Double Dribble DIBELS Night. First grade teacher Chloe Patmore reported that firstgraders advance from reading 23 up to 47 words in one minute. With the help of Marana High School Honors Students, DDD Night provided parents with written assessments of their children’s progress, along with fun and games to encourage reading. A two-for-one book fair packed the school library. There were nutritious snacks and free hamburgers, and even a little Christmas store. Parents interested in helping their children read at home should contact the school for some handy tip sheets. It is an organization of the people and for the people of the community. Membership in Citizens for Picture Rocks (C4PR) is open to all community residents, but membership is not required to attend any monthly meetings of C4PR. Citizens for Picture Rocks serves as the focal point to amplify and advocate for policy and practical changes in matters that affect the daily lives of community residents. The group has advocated for and accomplished the following: 1. Pima County Sheriff substation 2. BMX/Skateboard Park and subsequent lighting 3. Ortiz Community Medical Clinic 4. Revised and updated Flood Plain designations 5. State and local political Candidate Forums to meet and listen to the candidates 6. Computer Lab at the Community Center 7. Shade for the Playground 8. Community Resource Fairs 9. Swimming Pool 10. Safe Routes to Schools sidewalks and bike lanes 11. Picture Rocks Fire District electronic sign. In addition, member dues (now $12 per year) and citizen contributions help fund semi-annual roadway clean-ups, New Year’s Eve potluck, Trunk O’ Treats donations for a safe Halloween, website maintenance, and publishing the monthly Picture Rocks Digest. All area residents are invited to attend C4PR’s free monthly meetings, held on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Picture Rocks Community Center, 5615 N. Sanders Road. Iced tea social time begins at 6:00 p.m. Free and open to all. The next meeting will be held on January 20 and will address the topic of flood control on private roads. TODDLER TIPS – BUILDING CLASSIFICATION SKILLS Submitted by Mrs. Caldwell, DWE Principal Desert Winds Elementary School is a wonderful place to be and we welcome you to come by and meet us at any time! Children need to be five years old by September 1 according to Arizona state law to begin kindergarten. But before that, children are in your home all day, every day, for their first five years of life. We would love to help you get them ready for their school career by trying one idea per month. Please use the idea below to help your child’s brain develop and be ready for school! Play a sorting game with your child’s toys. Start with familiar categories — dogs, cats, farm animals and those exciting jungle animals (wow, an elephant!). Have them set all their trucks, dolls and animals in a corner of the room or on a low table or shelf, then arrange the toys themselves. Suggest arranging toys into groups by color, size or type (animals, blocks, balls). Help your toddler observe toys with similarities and differences. Play a game of "Largest-to-Smallest" or "What Doesn't Belong?" This helps your toddler practice classification skills. PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF’S NON-EMERGENCY TIP LINE: 520-351-3868 Non-emergency information only. To report a crime in progress, call 911. Picture Rocks author, Cheryl Jeffries, Hope Specialist, Pendulist, Practitioner, Hypnotherapist, Spiritual Director How to Change Your Life, Get in the Flow, and Live on Purpose Buy the book on Amazon and e-mail me the receipt for 2 Bonus Gifts. Send e-mail to: zenofhope@powerc.net, Subject: Book. Quantum Inner Healing, the best of ancient wisdoms and science Experience High Hopes Fall in Love with Yourself Fall in Love with Your Life Manifest the Life You Desire The Healing Clinic 309309-8726 Where You Heal It The Picture Rocks Digest is written by Albert Lannon, except where noted, and submissions of local news are encouraged. Karen Zopf does the design and formatting. Jamie Kisthardt handles the ads. To submit news, email: albertlannon@powerc.net. SEPTIC TANK PUMPING Cleaning All Drain Lines Bathrooms & Kitchens Same Day Service & All Plumbing Repairs Free Estimates! Owner & Operator, 35 Years Experience 520-682-8082 www.BoydSewerAndDrain.com Serving All of Tucson & Surrounding Areas WANTED: Progressives, free thinkers, skeptics and Democrats of Picture Rocks and Avra Valley. BE A FOUNDING MEMBER: Of the Democratic Club of Picture Rocks. CALL: Catalina Hall 520-572-1881 or write Dems4PRandAV@gmail.com and leave a detailed message. Picture Rocks Hair Care Barber & Beauty Men, Women & Children 11850 W. Picture Rocks Road (behind Wagon Wheel Post store) 682-8021 Perm— Color—Frost—Cuts Hours: Products: Wed, Thurs, Fri: 9-5 Nexxus—Abba—Paul Mitchell Sat: 8-4 Mobile Services for (closed Sun, Mon, Tues) Handicapped For information on advertising in the Picture Rocks Digest, call 682-0287.
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