Brooke hauling water to Mesa del Caballo

By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Blog Editor

Perhaps for the first time ever, Brooke Utilities/Payson Water Company is hauling water to Mesa del Caballo during the winter. A not uncommon occurrence in the summer, hauling water in the winter is unheard of.

According to a spokesperson for the Mesa del Caballo Water Committee, a group of residents appointed to work with Brooke Utilities on a solution to the longstanding water woes that have plagued the community, the need to haul was caused by broken pipes due to the cold weather, many in the unoccupied homes of seasonal residents or residents who were out of town for the holidays. Water pressure all day Monday was extremely low or non-existent.

The hauling, which apparently took place Monday evening, was confirmed by a Mesa del resident who lives next to the storage tank where the water was deposited. She said she saw four tanker trucks being unloaded.

Presumably the water was purchased from the Town of Payson and pumped into the tankers from a hydrant at The Home Depot. Payson has agreed to sell water to Mesa del Caballo at the same rate Payson residents pay pending the arrival of water from Blue Ridge (aka C.C. Cragin) Reservoir.

Water pressure was still low this morning (Tuesday), but appears as of this posting (2:15 p.m.) to be near normal.

Mesa del water woes continue despite wet 2010

By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Blog Editor

Mesa del Caballo, Jan. 3 - As Mesa del Caballo faucets produce trickles or no water at all, this time apparently due to water line breaks, precipitation totals released today indicate the community had the wettest year since 2007.

A total of 31.43 inches fell on the community during 2010. This compares to just 14.3 inches in 2009 when monsoon rains were practically non-existent. The only higher total since 2004 was 32.37 inches in 2007.

The wettest month of 2010 was January, with a total of 9.7 inches. Wettest day of the year was Jan. 23 when 7.0 inches of precipitation was recorded. The 2010 monsoon season produced 13.85 inches compared to 3.75 inches last monsoon season.

Three months - March, April and May - tied for driest month of 2010. Just .2 inches was recorded in each of those three months leading up to the monsoon season.

Over the past seven years, Mesa del has averaged 22.21 inches per year - just about normal for the Rim Country. Yet the community has experienced water restrictions on numerous occasions as wells simply aren't replenishing.

The latest problem, which began this morning, is apparently the result of broken pipes throughout the community due to freezing temperatures, many in unoccupied homes of seasonal residents or people away from home for the holidays.

The Mesa del Caballo Water Committee, which is working with Brooke Utilities/Payson Water Company to improve the overall water situation in the community, issued the following statement to Mesa del residents this afternoon:

"As most of you may know there is little/no water pressure due to broken water lines at many homes in the community. We know of 2 just this morning on our street (Vista del Norte) where no one is there and the water lines have broken. Brooke has already turned their water off. Once we do get some water pressure back, please conserve (hold off doing laundry, dishes, etc. as much as possible) until the tanks can fill up."

As of this posting at 3:50 p.m. on Monday, water pressure was still minimal.

Mesa del Caballo is a community of some 400 homes on Houston Mesa Road northeast of Payson.

Winter wonderland from a canine perspective

Photo by Jim Keyworth
Our new guy Radar, a shelter rescue of course, loves his new-found freedom, and he especially loves exercising that freedom in the snow.  He runs around with his nose a couple inches into the snow and then plops down in it for a refreshing rest.  We can hardly get him to come in at night.  To meet Radar, stop by the Humane Society of Central Arizona Thrift Store on a Tuesday morning.  That's when he serves as store greeter.

Great viewpoint to start the first week of 2011

Photo by Bill Huddleston
In case you live in a part of the Rim Country where you can't see this view out a window, here's what we're looking at in Mesa del Caballo.  Good friend and great photographer Bill Huddleston took this photo from his deck.

PERSPECTIVE on 'American exceptionalism'

PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE

Here's a thought I've been saving until all the holiday hoopla is behind us. Didn't want to interrupt all the frivolity and mirth with something that is bound to raise your blood pressure no matter which side of the political spectrum you're on.

The subject is "American exceptionalism" - the notion pushed by Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and various and sundry other right wingers that we, as a nation, are somehow superior to all the other peoples and nations and are therefore uniquely qualified to lead the world.

What hubris. What arrogance. What stupidity.

On behalf of my country, I apologize to the world.

Editor

AZ 260 in good shape if you want to play in snow

Photo by Jim Keyworth

Haven't checked out AZ 87 yet, but coming down from the top of the Rim late last night can report that AZ 260 is in fairly good condition until you approach Heber.  There are some icy patches but they are few, so if you're looking for a place to go and enjoy the snow, the forest along 260 is a safe bet -- and it's spectacularly beautiful.
Editor

Former AZ Artist of the Year will speak to PAL

Ted Blaylock, an artist of vast reputation, will speak at the January open meeting of the Payson Art League.

Blaylock was born in the foothills of the Ozarks, and grew up in the St. Louis, Mo. area. During his early adult life, Blaylock held a variety of tough jobs, all far removed from the art world. However, throughout this period one common thread remained: the love of art.

Regardless of the job, his leisure time was spent developing his talent to draw and paint. Basically self-taught, Blaylock set out for a full time career in 1965 and opened his own art studio and gallery in Collinsville, Illinois in 1969.

In 1972, the Blaylocks headed west to Arizona to exhibit and further his art career. For the past 30 years, Blaylock's art has enhanced collectors' walls in many different states and abroad. His national reputation in the art world is greatly respected.

His art has been published worldwide and he supports such worthy conservation organizations as Ducks Unlimited, National Wildlife Federation, Pheasants Forever and many others. Blaylock Art was selected for the 1990-91 Arizona Duck Stamp and Arizona Lifetime Trout Stamp in 1994. His print of a South Bald Eagle family in the Salt River Canyon has helped raise funds for the Arizona Nest Watch Program. He was selected to show with the top one hundred Arts for the National Parks and Birds in Art, at Leight Yawkey Woodson Museum. He also has a painting on permanent display in the Leanin Tree Museum of Western Art.

These are a few of the many milestones of his career. His prints are found worldwide with many sold out editions to his credit, and with originals in many of the finest collections in the country.

Blaylock was selected as Arizona Artist of the year 1999, and inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame August of 2000.

“I paint and sculpt subjects that I really enjoy,” Blaylock explains “I try to study my subject and setting so as to relay that personal moment of creating to the viewer. I thank the Lord for the talent he has given me, and have yet to wake up thinking of my art as a job.”

The Payson Art League meeting is Jan. 18 at Rim Country Health & Retirement Community, 807 W. Longhorn Road. Social time and show and share session is at 6:30 p.m. Blaylock's Presentation begins at 7 p.m. The public is welcome.