Tons of trash removed from wildlife habitat

Contributed photo

Nearly 100 volunteers consisting of hunters, guides, sportsmen’s groups and other organizations joined Game and Fish Region V (southeastern Arizona) staff in cleaning up and removing an estimated 10 tons of trash left by illegal border crossers. The December event was organized by Hunters Who Care, a group engaged in desert cleanup and restoration in support of landowners near the border impacted by illegal immigration issues. The participants filled approximately 200 large garbage bags with trash, personal possessions and other debris left behind by unauthorized entrants into the United States while they were en route through local ranches and hunting and fishing areas. The U.S. Border Patrol estimates that there are between 400 and 500 illegal border crossings daily in its Tucson sector, ranging from the New Mexico state line to the Yuma County line.

SAM SCHWALM on Dec. 17 PSWID meeting

The Pine Strawberry Water Improvement District (PSWID) Board set a record by having the meeting last until 11:15 PM.

I attended the Fire Board meeting on Dec. 14 and have a few observations on that at the end of this commentary.

December 17, 2009 PSWID Meeting

Next regular PSWID Meeting: Thursday, Jan. 21, 7 p.m. at the Pine Cultural Center.

Tetra Tech Contract
The board approved the contract with Tetra Tech. The contract is a $1000 per month retainer which covers a little over 8 hours of work a month. Additional work above that, up to a maximum of $5000 per task can be approved by the General Manager. Tasks with costs greater than that must be approved by the board.

Highland Water Resources Contract
The board approved a contract with Highland Water Resources. That contract is for the services of local hydrologist, Mr. Mike Ploughe. Mr. Ploughe will be performing water related tasks as they are identified.

The same per task cost approval as the Tetra Tech contract applies.

Decision to Issue “Seasonal” Water Meters Starting Now
Board approved the issuance of “seasonal” meters to all single-family requestors starting immediately. Water would be provided from October 1st thru April 30th and would be turned off the remaining time.

There would be no connect/disconnect fee for the turn-off/turn-on. There would be no monthly fee for the period that it is turned off.

When water capacity is judged to be adequate, the meters would be converted to full time at the district’s discretion.

If the board’s plan to have additional water sources by spring pans out, then the meters should be declared full time before the May 1st turn-off.

Board Initiates Search for CPA
Board approved the effort to hire a CPA. The CPA would do the annual audits needed to get ready to go for bonds. The board would also look to the CPA to help establish financial controls and expenditure tracking.

Comment: When asked whether this CPA would go back and fix the errors in the 2008/2009 audit, the board denied that there were problems with it. It is obvious that the numbers in the audit don’t match the numbers in the Treasurer Reports that the board produced and approved. PSWID will be taking a total of over a million dollars of property tax money over the last two and the next two years. It is not too much to ask that they care enough to get the numbers right that they make public.

Water Proposals
PSWID received four proposals:

i. Mr. Brent Weeks offered to sell two wells that are currently covered by water sharing agreements
ii. Solitude Trails offered to sell their entire system for $500,000
iii. Milk Ranch Well
iv. Strawberry Hollow Well

Board will be looking at starting negotiations for both the Milk Ranch and Strawberry Hollow wells.

Purchase of Backhoe
Discussion on the need to purchase a backhoe. New runs $98,000. Discussed various used options ranging from $48,000 to $80,000. Board instructed the General Manager to publish an RFP in the paper so that they can pursue a used backhoe.

Comment: A couple of observations from the Fire Board meeting:

In general, because government agencies are monopoly providers of service it is important to question spending decisions because that is the only pressure there is to keep spending efficient. If the various viewpoints are aired and considered and a reasonable justification for the spending is provided, then it should be acceptable.

I haven’t followed this closely, but my impression is that the reason this particular issue is getting so much attention is being driven by the rift between the Fire Board and the Fuels Reduction Board.

At the meeting itself, the proposal to create three Battalion Commander positions was withdrawn. The promotions that would have resulted would have cost $22,000 and was less than the savings to the budget from not refilling the business manager position. According to the discussions, these positions were planned for next year in the Fire Board’s five year plan. The need for the positions was presented as a safety issue as it would allow for better leadership coverage during multiple call situations and coordination with other supporting fire districts.

Ms. Terry Schleizer is a member of both the water and fire boards. She gave a long speech about her feelings on the issue. It was very ironic to hear her address the accusations that the Fire Board had made these decisions in secret with the defense that the decisions were made in a public meeting, but the public didn’t attend. The prior PSWID board was accused of negotiating a secret deal with Brooke for the K2 project by Ms. Schleizer and the rest of Rim Country Water, to which that board responded that it was all done in public meetings that the public didn’t attend. It was interesting seeing her make the argument that she didn’t accept from the prior board.

The irony continued when Mr. Tom Weeks and Mr. Ron Calderon, both PSWID board members, made the argument that the $22,000 expense should not be made so that property taxes could be kept down. Both have presided over the spending of over $700,000 in tax payer money over the last two years and approved a plan to use an additional $300,000 of taxpayer money over the next two years to subsidize water rates. They also requested that the business manager position be refilled, which seemed at odds with the desire to keep expenses down.

This article is from the group Water For Pine Strawberry.  Water For Pine Strawberry is a group of residents who are concerned about the communities water issues and how they can best be resolved. Visit our web site, www.WaterForPineStrawberry.com, for more information. The website for PSWID is www.pswid.org .

Random shots at the crossroads of '09 and '10

The following is an actual e-mail exchange recently between me and two of my favorite people:

A shot of vodka has 62 calories. Being that I put 5 shots in my nightly martini, the sad news is it amounts to 310 and when the olive is added (15 cal) the count goes 325. And listen to this! The freakin’ pimento in the olive adds another five! If the total of 330 calories for just a moment of peace isn't enough to make a man give up, what is?

It's obvious - you've got to break the pimento habit.

There are two universally accepted methods of controlling caloric intake. One requires reducing the intake and the other requires burning off the calories. A third method is to simply ignore the issue. This method, however, has been found to greatly diminish in effect proportional to one's age.

I recently watched an Explorer Channel special about a climb to the top of Mount Everest by an 80-year-old man. The last leg of the climb is less than 1,000 yards but requires the body to burn approximately 5,000 calories during the effort. I'm just sayin'

Good luck on your trip

I considered it, but I couldn’t figure a way to carry that many pimentos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wish Cowboy, my faithful Chihuahua companion, had a “snooze” button. When he awakens with a strong urge to be taken outside, it is not realistic to attempt to persuade him to resist the urge. Occasionally, these little excursions take place at four in the morning. My efforts toward teaching him to tell time have all been in vain, or else he simply refuses to acknowledge that he understands. Sly one that he is, I’ll bet he could wear a watch.

This morning, as I was slipping on my shoes to go, I swear I noticed a look on his face suggesting, “Shoes. What a waste of time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two strong trends continue to gain momentum in America: the “Dumbing Down” of entertainment media, and a lack of civility shown to anyone outside one’s circle of comrades.

“Saturday Night Live,” for example, was once a classic icon of satire. Today, it doesn’t even qualify as decent farce.

Also, it is becoming all but impossible to hold public meetings on any subject, or to attempt rational debate in any public forum. Just listen to call-in radio programs to see what I mean. Some people actually applauded the churlish outburst by a congressman during the President’s State of the Union speech.

Extrapolated, these trends could result in the greatest country in the world in which no one wants to live.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star Valley (The little town that a “Water War” built) once denied a precious drop of its water to the Grinch up the hill in Paysonville. They even went so far as to deny a private well owner the right to sell his product. Now, it seems, SV officials are demanding a piece of the Payson Blue Ridge Reservoir pipeline. Guess all the speed zone revenue money has them thinking big. Question - should SV have to pay extra for the auto emissions created within their town industry? Just a thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I did not know Marcy Rogers. I regret that. She was Payson’s Mother Teresa, devoting her efforts toward disadvantaged children not necessarily from ghetto conditions. She provided shelter, comfort and a secure environment for many children found hopelessly wandering the mean streets of Payson. They were provided with food, love and responsibility - a great combination. She will be enormously missed. Surely someone or some entity will make sure that her good work goes on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so this is 2010. I remember being cautious, because George Orwell had predicted that 1980 was to be a monumental year. Y2K (2000 - remember?) was supposed to create great turmoil. Along with most others, I realized that 09/11/2001 probably changed things fundamentally for the U.S., but I also had the same feeling on 11/23/63. I admit to having grand thoughts on Jan. 20, 2009 which have simmered down a bit, but remain on hold.

In the past year, we have elected a black man to be President. We have seen a health care bill pass through congress for the first time since Harry Truman. We have (hopefully) watched the winding down of a disastrous mistake in Iraq. The jury may take some time deciding whether these are good things or not, but to the present they appear to be holding up.

The blender is still whirring, so who really knows what we will be discussing in 2011?

Some folks wish to bring about disaster just to prove they are right. How satisfying that might be, I leave to you. I personally do not subscribe to “Doomsday” theories, nor to “ Conspiracy” theories. I have lived through Hal Lindsay’s “The Late Great Planet Earth,” and the John Birch Society’s prediction of a Communist takeover of the U.S. I believe in the Judeo/Christian Bible, where it says, “NO MAN knows the time or place” of the end of times.

If you believe in soothsayers, they predict out to the year 5000 and beyond.

Nostradamus wrote Quatrains about the years 3000 and 4000. Maybe it won’t be pretty, or maybe we will have a thousand years of peace. The reality is that No Man knows for sure.

I have often stated that I believe in paddling the boat rather than cursing the conditions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I miss the old Gazette, and the fun we had doing battle with another paper.

I’m proud of this new blog, however, and the opportunity it offers. I pray that we will always represent Rim Country in the highest and best light it deserves. I’m grateful for being allowed a small part.

Surveying underway for Mesa del hydrology study

Surveying for the hydrology study to find a potential new well site in Mesa del Caballo began in late December.

Randy Norman of the Mesa del Caballo Water Committee accompanied a team of engineers from Northstar Surveying, Inc. and a representative of Brooke Utilities on several excursions through hilly, rough terrain in the Tonto National Forest adjoining the community located off Houston Mesa Road.

Their efforts were somewhat hampered when light snow and canyons caused loss of radio signals. This first step in the hydrological survey by Zonge Engineering entails surveying the two lines in the forest where the equipment will be set up.

The Mesa del Caballo Water Committee, which is working with Brooke Utilities to develop a new model incorporating conservation stages and rate tiers to mitigate summer water shortages in the unincorporated horse community 1.8 miles northeast of Payson, has committed to helping the survey by clearing brush.

Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program wins award

Directing people away from sensitive
nesting areas results in 600 percent
population growth over last 30 years

PHOENIX – The Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program operated by the Arizona Game and Fish Department has received a Showcase in Excellence award from the Arizona Quality Alliance (AQA).

“We are thrilled to have received another Showcase in Excellence Award for one of our most innovative processes,” said Assistant Director Mike Senn, head of the department’s Wildlife Management Division.

Senn said the quality award shows the department is not only doing the right thing for our national symbol, the bald eagle, but also doing it in the right way with an eye toward continuous improvement.

“We strive to have some of the most innovative and progressive wildlife programs around, so it is nice to receive this recognition affirming our commitment to quality,” Senn said.

This is not the department’s first award on its quality journey.

In 2008, the Game and Fish Department received a Showcase In Excellence Award for its Hunt Recommendation process. In 2007, the department received two Showcase In Excellence Awards – one for its Endangered Species Recovery process and another for its Urban Lake Stocking process. The Arizona Quality Alliance also awarded the Department the Pioneer Award for Quality in 2005.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program (ABENWP) is a unique, cost-effective process that involves cooperation from federal, state, local, and tribal agencies as well as nongovernmental organizations and private landowners.

The Nestwatch Program helps conserve Arizona’s small bald eagle population in areas with high recreation pressures. “Nestwatchers” contracted annually by the department monitor bald eagle nests from February to June. They act as a safeguard to the bald eagle’s breeding activities by directing people away from the sensitive areas where they nest, and notifying department biologists when bald eagles are in life-threatening situations.

Due in part to the long-term success of the Nestwatch Program, the bald eagle numbers over the past 30 years have grown nearly 600 percent in the state.

The Showcase in Excellence Award is a specific award within the AQA’s Arizona Performance Excellence Award Program. It recognizes organizations for excellence in specific processes. Organizations may apply on behalf of any organizational process they believe is exceptional.

The department will be presented this prestigious award at a banquet to be held on Feb. 2, 2010 at the Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N. Scottsdale Road.

FROM THE BLOG OF THE PEOPLE...

THANKS FOR READING US, AND STAY TUNED FOR MORE TRUTH IN 2010

Record number of rabid animals in 2009

Arizona marked a historic milestone with the number of rabid animals in 2009, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS).  One case in particular, of a rabid bobcat walking into a bar, sounded more like the beginning of a joke, but highlighted the importance of rabies awareness.

So far 261 animals tested positive for rabies, 85 more than 2008. During the record breaking year, two counties established quarantines, another first for the state.

“There is no sign of rabies letting up in many parts of the state,” said Craig Levy, Vector-Borne Disease Program Manager. “As we head into 2010, we need to be prepared for more rabid animals and the exposures to people and pets that they bring.”

ADHS works closely with Arizona Department of Game and Fish to educate the public about wild animals and rabies, as well as county health departments and local animal control programs.

With the long holiday weekend, more people may be spending time outside or hunting. It is important to remember two key points:

Avoid wild animals, especially ones that appear to be sick, dead or behaving in a strange manner. It’s particularly important to teach this to children, because of their curiosity of wild animals.

Vaccinate your pets – pets more commonly come into contact with wild animals than people. If your pet is current on rabies vaccinations, it is extremely unlikely to catch rabies from another animal and bring it home.
In December, Santa Cruz County instituted a 60-day quarantine for the entire county, similar to Coconino County’s quarantine earlier in the year. Both counties ordered people to keep their dogs in their yards or on a short leash, bring dishes of pet food indoors at night and vaccinate all pets.

Rabies is transmitted through bites or saliva contact with a rabid animal. It is almost always fatal once symptoms appear; for this reason people must be treated promptly to prevent infection. In 2009, 47 people in Arizona were exposed to confirmed rabid animals. They received the correct treatment quickly and the infection was stopped.