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Patagonia Regional Times
A Trip to the Silver Leaf Mine
The time is 8:50am on a cooling fall day when I decide to explore an old digging in the Santa Rita Mountains. I have seen it from several hundred feet away but there is a steep gradient and I have waited for moderate temperatures. 9:28: Phone calls and other housekeeping...
The Magic of the Geminid Meteor Shower
Why do I write about the stars, something that is—let’s be honest—pretty insignificant and trivial, when the entire planet seems to be convulsed in war, denialism and mistrust? I guess the answer is why not. In my mind, right now, we need a little magic, a little something that reminds us that we’re capable of more than our worst traits.
150 Served at Community Thanksgiving Dinner
About 20 volunteers from the Corner Scoop, the Wellness Center and the Vine Church put a free dinner together at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds on Thanksgiving Day. Between 12 and 4pm over 150 people were served, including families, single people, the Border Patrol swing shift and some of the military personnel who work at the Sonoita BP station. Dinners were also delivered to the Elgin Sonoita Fire Department, the Dollar General Store and the corner Shell Station.
Levowitz’s Criticism of Israel Unfair, Indefensible
Credible arguments can be made that Israel has missed opportunities to address the stalemate in the Middle East. However, in his Opinion piece in the November issue of the PRT (“Victim Versus Victim”), Mr. Levowitz makes none of them. Instead, he challenges the very legitimacy of the State...
Help the PRT Help Our Community
We at the PRT are really excited to share our December issue with you. This issue is loaded with important and entertaining news stories. Be sure to read Dottie Farrar’s article on our new teachers, Kat Crockett’s article about the Auditor General’s report to the County and Dave Lumia’s story about a contested development in Patagonia, to name but a few of the stories here.
What Is That?? Curios From the Patagonia Museum – Dec. 2023
The art of blacksmithing goes back to 1500 BC. These blacksmith tongs could have been used locally as early as 1857 when Fort Buchanan was established along the headwaters of Sonoita Creek to as late as 1980 when the Museum of the Horse was still in Patagonia.
Town Council Notes – Dec. 2023
Mayor Wood reported that she and Manager Robinson had attended a lunch recently with a visiting group from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce Bracker, and representatives from South32, whose Hermosa Project the TNC group had toured. The intention of the lunch meeting was to open pathways of communication among those involved.
Letters to the Editor – Dec. 2023
The Patagonia Regional Times encourages everyone to comment publicly on the events and times in which we live. Letters must be signed by the author and include town of residence. Letters are limited to 200 words. PRT reserves the right to edit all letters for language, length, and content. Please send your letter, in MS Word, to editor@prtnews.org.
Help Support the Patagonia Community Garden
The Patagonia Community Garden is partnering with the SeedMoney Challenge grant project to raise money for the garden. We raise money and they give us some matching funds. This is a 30-day fundraising challenge running from November 15 to December 15, and we could really use your support. In addition...
Our Town, Patagonia: Let’s Speak Up for Our Future!
The signs of are all around us. Patagonia is in a new era where ‘change’ is increasing, along with the challenges that come with it. These forces of change can seem big, daunting, and even threatening to our cherished way of life. But we have a superpower! Patagonia’s long legacy of community involvement and careful work to preserve its character will help us meet this moment.
Panel Hears From South32 on Manganese
South32 Hermosa President Pat Risner and three newly hired consultants spoke with the Santa Cruz County Advisory Panel on the Hermosa Project at a Nov. 15 meeting at the Tin Shed Theater in Patagonia. Risner, South32 staff, and other members of the panel, including Carolyn Shafer of the Patagonia Area...
New Short Film Explores 2022 Resistance to Container Wall
Three journalists from Mexico, Armenia and India have produced a nine-minute documentary video exploring the local resistance to Arizona’s shipping container wall along the border with Mexico in late 2022. A Wall Runs Through It features new interviews with Kate Scott of the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center, Russ McSpadden...
Santa Cruz County Justice of the Peace, Emilio G. Velasquez, Notifies the SCC Board of Supervisors of his Retirement – Board Looks to Fill Position
The Santa Cruz County Justice of the Peace has notified the Board of Supervisors that he will retire effective December 1, 2023. Justice of the Peace Velasquez has served in said capacity since January 2015. The Board of Supervisors accepted the Justice of the Peace’s letter of retirement at their regular meeting on November 21, 2023.
ADEQ Discusses Hermosa Permits at Patagonia Town Council Meeting
Representatives from AZ Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) spoke at Patagonia’s Town Council’s sparsely attended meeting on Nov. 6. ADEQ Water Division Director Trevor Baggiore and Facilities Emissions Control Program Manager Balaji Vaidyanathan made presentations on the status of ADEQ’s water and air quality permitting process for South32’s Hermosa mine project, before taking questions and comments from members of the council and public.
County Resolicits Public Comment on Three Plans
Contributed Content Santa Cruz County, Arizona is resoliciting public comment through Friday, December 8 on three draft plans: the Rio Rico Vitality District Master Plan, a countywide housing strategy, and a Santa Cruz County Five-Year Tourism Sector Prosperity Plan. Santa Cruz County initiated these plans beginning in 2021. The county...
Letter to the Editor – Nov. 2023
Your hard work has greatly improved our Town. Patagonia is very nice and you ALL have made it better. The Patagonia Regional Times encourages everyone to comment publicly on the events and times in which we live. Letters must be signed by the author and include town of residence. Letters are limited to 200 words. PRT reserves the right to edit all letters for language, length, and content. Please send your letter, in MS Word, to editor@prtnews.org.
Town Council Notes – Nov. 2023
Councilor Steve Finch reported about SAACA’s request to the Town’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for help in traffic safety for the upcoming Nogales Classic Bike Race. Councilor Stabile mentioned no longer seeing “trucking manifests,” the listing of oversize or overweight trucks passing through town. Manager Robinson replied that since there no longer was an overweight permit system, South32 had stopped providing that information. In response to Stabile’s suggestion that the Town request them anyway, Manager Robinson said he’d contact them.
Ask an Engineer: What Is Rebar?
Dear PRT reader, Thank you for your question, “What is Rebar?”. In these times of war and natural disasters this is a very timely question which displays itself in everyday television news coverage. Rebar, the universal short term for “concrete reinforcing bar,” is a high tensile strength steel bar placed within cast concrete structures to add strength in tension. Rebar is round with protruding angular oriented external surface protrusions all along its length which allow the bar to be securely embedded in a concrete castings.
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Patagonia Regional Times is a free monthly publication serving the Mountain Empire communities of Canelo, Elgin, Patagonia and Sonoita in Santa Cruz County, Arizona.
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