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Patagonia Regional Times
Protesters Slow Container Wall Construction
As of Dec. 7, 466 shipping containers, ordered by AZ Gov. Doug Ducey, have been stacked on the border in Cochise County to fill in gaps along the border that were left when Biden halted Trump’s Border Wall. This wall is heading west across the San Raphael Valley towards Santa Cruz County. If the construction crosses the County line, SCC Sheriff David Hathaway vowed last week to arrest the crew working on it for “illegal dumping.” In contrast to Hathaway, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels supports construction of the container wall. “It will deter crime and stop criminal behavior,” he said recently.
Sheriff David Hathaway “Will Not Allow Container Wall to Be Built in SCC”
“If the containers reach Santa Cruz County, we are drawing a line in the sand”, Sheriff Hathaway said in a phone call with the PRT on Dec. 2, 2022. Hathaway stated that “We will be arresting and charging anyone involved in placing these containers with ‘illegal dumping on public land.'”
SCC County Recorder Set to Retire Mid-Term
Suzanne “Suzie” Sainz, Santa Cruz County Recorder, has submitted her letter of retirement to the county supervisors. Her resignation takes effect Dec. 31, 2022. Sainz has two years remaining in her current elected term and has been in her position for over 28 years. According to the agenda...
Local News Matters
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 Lynn Davison’s article on the container wall at the border, Kat Crockett’s article about the County’s efforts to control the fentanyl epidemic, and the frustrations of Verizon users in Patagonia, to name but a few of the stories here. Once again, I am in awe of our citizen journalists who volunteer their time and expertise to keep our community informed. Truly, local news matters.
Letters to the Editor – Dec. 2022
I came to this area in 1947. Grew up here, went through the old schools, worked on four ranches as a teenager. Worked in Nogales seven years and spent time in Mexico. Patagonia was unincorporated for some time. I believe God would shed tears if he saw the Santa Ritas. Very very sad!
Glimpses Into Our Past: Victor and Maggie Igo
Charles Poston, one of Tucson’s leading citizens toasted the arrival of the Southern Pacific railroad in Tucson in 1880: “We welcome the Railroad as the Messiah of civilization, and we welcome the road builders as the benefactors of mankind.” [C.L. Sonnichsen. Tucson, the life and times of an American city, 1982:104]
Let’s Go Get Stones: Animus Valley
I was listening to Linda Ronstadt just loud enough to hear her outside on the porch as the sun set on a recent October afternoon. I was thinking about the vastness of the western sky when a falling star briefly illuminated a narrow path over the Mustangs to the east. Like the Magi, my wife and I decided to follow that star into western New Mexico. We headed off towards the Animus Valley and I wondered how that sunlit and beautiful place came to acquire such a mean and onerous name.
Starstruck: Connected to Capella
There’s a star in the constellation Auriga named for my parents. We honored them nearly 40 years ago through the International Star Registry. We didn’t choose the location, but it couldn’t have worked out much better. Auriga, the Charioteer, is easily spotted and its main star, Capella, is one of the brightest in the sky. For all of December it’ll be overhead and a bit to the East around 9:00 p.m. I’d be hard pressed to confirm that I’ve ever actually seen my parents’ star, but gazing at Capella captures the emotional connection.
Garden Guides: Caring for Holiday Plants
Have you purchased those beautiful poinsettias, amaryllis or other tantalizing holiday plants but aren’t sure how best to care for them? Follow these steps for longer lasting common holiday plants. Poinsettias: Native to Mexico. The showy part of a poinsettia is actually not a flower but colorful bracts (modified...
Group Working to Build Patagonia-Sonoita Trail
What if you could hike — or ride a bike or a horse — the 12 miles from Patagonia to Sonoita and back again, without worrying about the semis and speedy traffic along Rte 82? That is the vision of the Mountain Empire Trails Association (META), and recent events have brought that dream closer to reality. Now it will take community passion and effort to bring it across the finish line.
PUHS Honors Society Students Honor Veterans
On Nov. 9, Patagonia High School Honors Society students volunteered to help with the annual “Honor the Vets” day at the Patagonia Cemetery. This is a project of The Patagonia Museum. Nine high school students and their advisor participated in this important task. The event started with a...
New Teacher Profile: Dr. Catherine Whitehill
Dr. Caroline Whitehill, the new science and public broadcasting teacher at Patagonia Union High School, has taught for over 20 years at a multitude of colleges and universities including Vanderbilt, Stanford, and currently Pima Community College. This is her first year teaching at the high school level. “I really enjoy...
New Teacher Profile: Patricia Regan
Mrs. Patricia Regan is the new 2nd-grade teacher at the Patagonia Elementary School. It’s a different experience from her time teaching in the Tucson Unified School District. “Patagonia offers teachers and students the unique opportunity to get to know each other,” she explained recently. “It allows teachers the opportunity...
Patagonia Art Walk 2022
The 20th Annual Patagonia Art Walk, held Nov. 25 and 26, featured the work of 34 artists at a range of sites around Patagonia. Twenty-eight artists and organizations set up booths throughout the town park. Pine needle baskets, felted dolls, photography, jewelry, and a variety of handcrafted objects were all offered for sale. Voices from the Border displayed work created by migrants, as well as two quilts that were raffled off.
Borderlands Groups Celebrate Conservation Successes
Verbal high fives and high praise punctuated the festive mood in the Sonoita Fairgrounds’ Pioneer Hall on Saturday evening, Nov. 12, as benefactors, funders, founders, staff and volunteers of Borderlands Restoration Network and Wildlife Corridors, LLC gathered to celebrate their remarkable successes in preserving threatened wildlife habitat and restoring degraded landscapes in the borderlands of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico.
Major Solar Storms Ramping Up
The current solar cycle – Solar Cycle 25 – began its 11-year cycle in Dec. 2019. Forecasters thought it would be a mild cycle, but it’s turning out to be far stronger. From the beginning of this cycle, the sun’s activity quickly ramped up and outpaced predictions by more than double. The sun’s activity will continue to increase as we near solar maximum in 2025, which could mean trouble for Earth.
Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center Continues to Flourish
Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center has been able to accomplish so many things this year!. A new Food Forest on the side yard is in place and several berry bushes have been planted and are growing. The youth look forward to picking the “fruits of their labor” next year. The vegetable garden is being watered 100% by the water harvesting system that was put in place by Borderlands Earth Care Youth program. Two large cisterns, gutters, and irrigation systems make it possible for the garden to flourish. Many of the Youth Center teens are interns with BECY and have been excited to be a part of the installation process. The youth were able to harvest some of the vegetables/herbs from the garden and use the bounty in the evening meals they prepared on site.
Empire Ranch Festival Draws 2,000 Visitors
On the weekend of November 5-6, the 21st annual Empire Ranch Cowboy Festival enjoyed some great Las Cienegas weather and a good turnout. Exhibits and demonstrations peppered the grounds, and buildings were mostly open for exploration, so visitors happily wandered in all directions. Centers of activity included the music stage with bale seating, a tent for “Cowboy Conversations,” and another for a silent auction to benefit the event’s host, the Empire Ranch Foundation.
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