
The newly dedicated Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park includes new park amenities, including a watchable wildlife platform, outdoor classroom, and pond, created in partnership with Willow Bend Environmental Education Center.
After several weeks of pipeline breaks and water restrictions, water in storage tanks on both North and South rims of Grand Canyon National Park have reached sustainable levels.
Visitors, residents, and businesses should continue to use basic water conservation practices and mindful water use at all times. Water conservation tips for visitors and residents include turning off the water while brushing teeth or shaving, washing only full loads of dishes or laundry, and reporting leaks and wasteful water use to appropriate staff. Residents are also reminded to use reclaimed water for plants, lawns, and washing vehicles and to not fill large-capacity water tanks in the park.
Is Valley Fever the next epidemic? In Arizona, where the fungal disease thrives, it’s a major health concern—one that’s increasing as climate change leads to hotter, drier regions nationwide. It’s critical enough that congressional leaders gave the National Institutes of Health a mandate to develop a Valley Fever vaccine in the next decade. Paul Keim, executive director of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, is leading a $7.5 million collaborative effort with the University of Washington School of Medicine to develop that vaccine, with PMI professors Bridget Barker and Erik Settles playing key roles in the research.
A full closure of Buffalo Park will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and Wednesday, Sept. 28 to allow for construction activities related to the Arizona State Parks Grant for the Buffalo Park Trail Accessibility project. The full closure will include the closure of the parking lot, ramada, restrooms and all other areas within Buffalo Park.
In celebration of this year’s festival, enjoy the Festival Insights Blog on our website! The blog features posts from a variety of event hosts from this year’s festival discussing their work and their programs! The blogs include articles from disease ecologist Jeff Foster, artist Erika Tsouras and many more!
Learn about the amazing science and innovation taking place in Flagstaff and get ready for some incredible events that will be held this upcoming week!
Hello! We wanted to spread the word about an amazing event happening here in Flagstaff on Saturday September 24th between 8am-12pm. It is the Well Woman Healthcheck Screening Event Hosted by North Country HealthCare.
Various services will be offered at the event such as preventative screenings, health insurance navigation, health education resources, and connection to providers as well as follow-up care. We want to highlight in particular the breast and cervical screenings that will be offered at no-cost.
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Hola! Quisieríamos anunciarles un evento increíble que tendrá lugar aquí en Flagstaff el sábado 24 de septiembre entre las 8 de la mañana hasta las 12 de la tarde. Este evento es el Well Woman Healthcheck organizado por North Country HealthCare.
Se ofrecerán varios servicios en el evento, como exámenes preventivos, navegación de seguros médicos, recursos de educación para la salud y conexión con proveedores. Quisieramos enfatizar en particular los exámenes de senos y los exámenes cervicales que se ofrecerán sin costo alguono.
National Public Lands Day this Saturday, September 24
This Saturday, September 24th marks Public Lands Day and a Fee Free Day on all NPS lands.
The public is invited to celebrate National Public Lands Day at 1 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) September 24 by observing the release of captive-bred California condors into the wild at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.
The event also will be live streamed via The Peregrine Fund’s YouTube channel beginning at 12:30 p.m. (MDT). Viewers can set a reminder to join the release, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. (MDT) noon local time in northern Arizona (Mountain Standard Time) but ultimately depends on when the birds choose to leave their release pen. There will be a picture-in-picture set up with a camera trained on the release pen; videos and interviews with condor biologists and conservationists who work with these massive birds will be included. Viewers also will be able to have their questions answered live by the team.
The historical California Condor population declined to just 22 individuals in the 1980s when the greater California Condor Recovery Program was initiated to save the species from extinction. As of May 2022, there were 113 condors in the rugged, canyon country of northern Arizona and southern Utah. The total world population of endangered California condors numbers more than 550 individuals, with more than half of them winging across the skies of Arizona, Utah, California and Mexico.
Step Up for Our Community and be part of the movement that is continuing to make positive, lasting changes in Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties by donating today to the United Way of Northern Arizona.
Together we can:
Improve early childhood development through education initiatives like KinderCamp™ and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Encourage positive youth development to ensure strong and resilient teens.
Help our neighbors in times of emergency by providing basic needs for safety and security.
When Michelle Gardner arrived at NAU as a freshman, she didn’t know a single person. She wanted to make friends but had no idea how to meet people. Then, she attended the Welcome Week Club Fair and learned about New Student Government. She didn’t have a particular interest in government, but the people at the booth were nice, so she decided to get involved. The rest is history. She went on to join the Honors program, work for The Lumberjack newspaper, serve as an orientation leader, teach HON/NAU 100 and even host a radio show on KJACK—making countless friends and even more memories that shaped her entire college experience. Nearly two decades later, she now serves as the director of the Office of Leadership & Engagement and helps ensure all Lumberjacks have access to finding their own “home” or community. She has simple advice for students: GET INVOLVED—it will change your life.
The Coconino Community College District Governing Board is pleased to announce that they have selected three finalists for the presidency of the College. Public forums with each of the finalists are scheduled for the week of Oct., 3, 2022.
“We would like to thank all of the communities served by the College for your continued interest and support in the process to identify our next President,” said Dr. Nathaniel White, Board Chair. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Board Presidential Search Committee for their exceptional work and effort.”
The NAU Cardiovascular Regulation Lab would like to invite you to participate in a research study about e-cigarettes. We are seeking both student e-cigarette users and student non e-cigarette users. The purpose of this study is to compare the air quality, blood vessel function, and inflammatory markers between e-cigarette users and non-e-cigarette users.
Purchase tickets by Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 to gain extra benefits including extra drink ticket.
Purchasing a table by Sept. 30 will also allow you to nominate someone to be recognized in our program. This is a great way to showcase your organization both as a table holder but also a team member and their work!
Super Bonus: Organization members are able to honor a person (they will honor two people with their table purchase). It is not too late to become a member organization but it must be done by Sept. 30 for this particular benefit.
So whether individual tickets or tables, membership or not, make sure to join us and take advantage of extra goodies when done before Sept. 30.
Please help us celebrate the stars in our community who helped make this last 50 years such a success – and come help us get the next 50 years off to a great start!
We are encouraging cocktail fancy attire, or culturally traditional dress, or your celebratory take on the evening. However, this is not required. Your attendance is more important than a dress code!
Thank you!
Thanks to all the workers, volunteers, superintendents, sponsors, partners, vendors, entertainers, exhibitors, contractors, and attendees of the 2022 Coconino County Fair.
More than 42,000 people visited over Labor Day weekend.
If you were inspired by this year’s event, please start thinking about a project you might want to enter next year. From gardening to collecting, there are many opportunities to be part of the Fair. See you at the County Fair next year!
Landscape photographer David Muench spent more than six decades using his camera lens to bring the wonders of the American Southwest to the world. Muench spent much of those years in northern Arizona, photographing the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the red rocks of Sedona and the San Francisco Peaks, capturing fleeting moments that became eternal through his photography. He recently donated his entire collection to Cline Library’s Special Collections and Archives, where it joins the collection of his father, Josef Muench, a longtime Arizona Highways photographer.
Coconino County Superintendent Cheryl Mango-Paget is pleased to announce that the Coconino County Accommodation district’s Tse’Yaato’ High School in Page, Arizona, has received Cognia’s highest honor as a 2022 School of Distinction. Considered the Gold standard in academic accreditation, this award recognizes Tse’Yaato’ High School as a “top-flight system”, an honor extended to the top 5% of schools worldwide each evaluation cycle.
“We are honored, humbled, and proud to receive this remarkable recognition,” said the school’s principal Traci Parker, “Over the past 10 years, we have focused on the development and refinement of curriculum with systems of reflection of data and teaching strategies, the incorporation of learner profile data and technology in differentiated instruction with both academic and social-emotional supports, the expansion of career and technical education options, as well as the transition to cooperative learning and trauma informed practices.”
Water delivery to Grand Canyon National Park’s South and North rims has been restored and the park is beginning a phased approach to easing water restrictions. The amount of water in reservoir tanks is increasing daily and once sustainable levels are reached the park will continue to ease water restrictions.
The following operational changes will be in effect beginning on Tuesday, September 20:
At the September 13, 2022, meeting of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, the board took unanimous action to approve funding for an intergovernmental agreement to train and certify recruits as peace officers through the Arizona Peace Officers Standards Training (POST) at the newly-created High Country Training Academy in Flagstaff.
Historically Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Flagstaff Police Department, and other regional jurisdictions have had to send peace officer recruits to training academies in Yuma, Tucson, and others across the state. Along with limited availability for new recruits and associated travel costs, training schedules at statewide academies do not always conform to the hiring needs of our local agencies.
“It’s a very important endeavor for us to have a police academy in the Flagstaff area,” commented Chief Deputy Bret Axlund, “The Sheriff’s Office and CCC have partnered to operate a Detention Officer’s training academy at the school since 2005 which has accommodated hundreds of recruits, so this new training opportunity will build on an already proven partnership.”
On September 11, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 58 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, who transported the animals to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Since reduction efforts began in 2018, park staff have removed 203 bison from the North Rim with 182 transferred to eight different American Indian tribes through an agreement with the InterTribal Buffalo Council.
United Way of Northern Arizona is in the process of developing a plan to bolster our work in northeastern Arizona and support our nonprofit partners in Navajo and Apache counties.
The strategic plan being developed is similar to a process we went through several years ago in the greater Flagstaff region, which allowed us to refocus our efforts on the most critical needs in Coconino County.
A special Task Force has been assembled for this project and is being led by Eric Scott, Human Resource and Risk Manager for Navajo County and a member of the UWNA Board.
¡Tiempo para celebrar!: Time to celebrate!
National Hispanic, Latiné Heritage Month is celebrated every year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and honors the culture, history and contributions of these communities. NAU hosts a variety of events, including a book drive, cooking demo, Spanish conversation tables, movie viewings, guest lectures, a Latin dance night and more. Join fellow Lumberjacks and celebrate the diversity that makes this university (and our world) so great.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins Thursday, September 15
September 15 marks the month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month when we recognize and celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Hispanic Americans in the United States.
Hispanic, Latino, Latina, and Latinx Americans have helped to shape the National Park Service since its beginning in 1916. The tradition continues today with Hispanic and Latino Americans working as employees, volunteers, interns, and partners in many career fields of the National Park Service, including natural and cultural resource management, law enforcement, interpretation, administration, and much more.
Please join me in recognizing and celebrating the rich cultural heritage and ongoing contributions of Hispanic Americans here at the Grand Canyon National Park and throughout the country.
Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.
That’s why ECoNA and the municipalities of Flagstaff, Winslow, Sedona and Camp Verde have collaborated to provide Buxton analytics to help local businesses and organizations with information that can guide their decisions.
For almost 30 years, the Fort Worth-based company has offered insights that have helped dozens of businesses and communities understand their customers more precisely. Buxton’s software-as-a-service platform is focused on multiple sectors, including retail, restaurants, automotive, healthcare, hospitality, tourism, and general economic development.
Coconino County Public Works Fleet Services Division’s fall online surplus property auction is underway. The auction is open to the public and features such items as used trucks, heavy equipment, and other surplus County property that has met replacement guidelines.
This is Public Works’ first surplus property auction in over two years. The auction will continue into October to help manage the large amount of surplus inventory that has accumulated during this period.
Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Cheryl Mango-Paget is seeking applicants for appointment for Page Unified School District #8.
Applicants must be Arizona registered voters and residents of the school district for at least one year prior to the date of appointment. Applicants or their spouses cannot be an employee of the district.
Applications can be downloaded at this address: http://www.coconino.az.gov/schoolboardapplication
A digital application can be filled out and printed at this address: https://coconino.az.gov/2855/Governing-Board
A variety of opportunities are available Sept. 14, 22 and Oct. 1 for voters to learn about the issues and make their voices heard during upcoming elections.
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The Northern Arizona Interfaith Council will present the 2022 Candidates Accountability Session at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14 at Flagstaff Federated Community Church, 400 W. Aspen Ave., Flagstaff.
Launch the Get Out the Vote effort and hear positions from key candidates on Lack of Housing Options, Education, Immigration and more.
Learn candidate positions for:
City of Flagstaff Mayor and City Council
Flagstaff Unified School District Governing Board
Contact nail.iaf@gmail.com or visit naicl.org/contact-us for more information.
People of all ages, adorned in cowboy boots, belt buckles and jeans filled the high-commotion area of the barns at this year’s Coconino County fair. The sounds of hair buzzers and vacuums fill the hot, dusty summer air as young people parade their animals in a counter clockwise direction at the best in show event.
Coconino Community College student Andrea Yazzie is at the county fair in hopes of selling Jeff, her prized sheep. Jeff is well proportioned, buzzed down to the skin with the exception of natural wool leg warmers, which were extra fluffed and ready for show.
“Over the summer, I sold two steers and one goat to help pay for my tuition,” Andrea said, adding that she hoped Jeff could sell for about $10 a pound at the fair auction which would go towards additional living expenses while she attends classes at CCC at the Page Center.
In-Person Workshops at the Sedona Arts Center offer an intensive experience that will provide inspiration and information to distill and practice for months and even years afterwards. A wide variety of disciplines and mediums are offered with a special focus on studio and plein air landscape painting, mixed media and abstraction. Workshops are appropriate for all levels of students and are presented through demonstrations, individual instruction and group presentation. Instructors are experts in their field – experienced teachers with national recognition.
The minimum wage in the City of Flagstaff willincrease to $16.80 beginning on January 1, 2023.
On November 8, 2016 the voters of Flagstaff wrote and passed The MinimumWage Act (“the Act”) as a citizen’s initiative (Proposition 414). The Act,which is codified in Title 15 of the Flagstaff City Code, prescribes thatbeginning in 2023, the Flagstaff minimum wage shall be increased annually bythe increase in the cost of living. Pursuant to the Act, “[t]he increase in thecost of living shall be measured by the percentage increase as of August ofthe immediately preceding year over the level as of August of the previousyear of the consumer price index (all urban consumers, U.S. city average forall items)” (15-01-001-0003(B)). The increase shall be rounded to the nearest $0.05.
Assistant chemistry professor Naomi Lee had a number of mentors through her undergraduate and graduate work, each encouraging her to try something new, take a risk, set high goals and keep working toward them. When she was looking for jobs after completing postdoctoral fellowships, she was drawn to NAU not only for the scientific opportunities but for the chance to be that mentor to other Native students in the sciences and to help her own community.
“I want to be the first Native researcher who designs a vaccine specifically for Native communities,” Lee said. “While my work may be beneficial to the general population, I strive to look at research questions through an Indigenous lens. I want to use my skills to make healthier, happier communities.”
Effective immediately, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will begin phasing into greater water restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline. The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will remain in current water conservation status. Until park staff repair the break and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, the park will remain in conservation mode.
Under the additional water restrictions, the following operational changes will be in effect:
Camper Services operated by Delaware North will be closed.
Water spigots in Mather Campground and at Desert View Campground will be turned off.
Visitors and residents may experience additional water conservation measures while visiting the park.
Can a widow find love again—at the same graveyard where her husband rests? In this warm and poignant romantic comedy, three lifelong friends meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husbands’ graves. When they meet a man while he’s visiting his late wife’s grave, their little club may be changed forever. An exploration of enduring friendships and the power of love.
The Literacy Center has recently received a generous grant to start offering childcare to our learners. We hope that it will allow more learners (especially adult learners with kids) to come to our classes.
Currently, we are creating an enriching and fun space for kids at the center, and we are looking for donations to supplement the grant. We are looking for lightly used children’s books, toys, and other childcare supplies. In addition, we hope to install carpet, and we are looking for material and labor donations for that. We are also accepting donations through our Amazon Wish List that you can find here:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1AV3YV9LGK09T?ref_=wl_share
We hope that our wonderful Flagstaff community will help us make the childcare room as inviting and safe as possible for our learners and their children.
Thank you for considering our request!
In This Issue
Hello from Supervisor Horstman
Flooding and County/City Flood Response
Governor IIJA Task Force
Cragin Watershed Celebration of Forest Restoration
NACo(National Association of Counties)
Jim Babbitt Proclamation
Elizabeth Archuleta Park Dedication
Killip School Grand Opening
Lowell Observatory Astronomy Discovery Center
Fort Tuthill Water and Sewer Project
Pam Foti Trail Dedication
Summertime in Flagstaff
Health Services Updates and Resources
Upcoming Events
District 1 Celebrating National Dog Day
Contact Us
he Superintendent of Schools is requesting nominations for the 10th Annual Teacher of the Year, Fifth Annual Rookie Teacher of the Year, and Second Annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The deadline to nominate a worthy teacher is September 15, 2022.
Coconino County Superintendent of Schools, Cheryl Mango-Paget, is proud to announce a request for nominations for the 10th Annual Teacher of the Year, Fifth Annual Rookie Teacher of the Year, and Second Annual Lifetime Achievement Award.
The awards are a distinguished countywide event created to celebrate, honor, and recognize full-time teachers from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Nominating a teacher recognizes them for their hard-work and efforts throughout the academic year.
Follow the park’s social media from September 8-12 to see the collaborative effort between parks and programs across the service. This year’s campaign continues to celebrate the individuality of Grand Canyon by showcasing park style, chic rangers, and stunning spreads. After all, who fashions fashion better than us? (NPS File/L. Cisneros)
For World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10, Flagstaff community member Megan McCarthy shares the story of her son, Lane, who lost his life to suicide at the age of 23. McCarthy has a message for everyone dealing with depression, pain, sadness, anxiety or mental illness: You are not alone. Join the conversation and help break the stigma surrounding mental health. “We can be the voice that changes the future,” she said.
By the Flagstaff Festival of Science
FLAGSTAFF — The Flagstaff Festival of Science Board of Directors just launched a new app designed to give festival-goers a fun and convenient way to discover all the wonders of science that are in store for them at this year’s Festival, Sept. 23-Oct. 2, 2022.
Brandon Lurie, who leads the Festival’s Program Committee, spearheaded creation of the app, working with developers Grandstand in Lincoln, Neb. “The Festival offers more than 100 events this year,
including early childhood activities, webinars, lectures, panels, guided hikes, networking events, workshops
and more. This can be very exciting but also daunting to a Festival attendee,” he said. “The app enables participants to tailor their Festival experiences to their interests. It’s easy for them to add events to their personal calendars and access all the great online content we’ve generated since 2015.”
Art Workshops at Sedona Arts Center
In-Person Workshops at the Sedona Arts Center offer an intensive experience that will provide inspiration and information to distill and practice for months and even years afterwards. A wide variety of disciplines and mediums are offered with a special focus on studio and plein air landscape painting, mixed media and abstraction. Workshops are appropriate for all levels of students and are presented through demonstrations, individual instruction and group presentation. Instructors are experts in their field – experienced teachers with national recognition.
The Flagstaff City – Coconino County Public Library and the Flagstaff Sustainability Office invite community members to join us for the new Climate Resilience Project. The project will offer intergenerational knowledge building, discussions, and hands-on learning opportunities to promote individual and community resilience in Flagstaff. The City is excited to explore our community’s ability to prepare for, recover from, and flourish after climate events with residents and learn what resilience means to them.
Monthly events will rotate between:
Climate Conversations – Community discussions where residents can collaboratively learn and discuss a unique topic, facilitated by an expert for guidance, information, and insights.
Resilience Work Sessions – Opportunities to put learning into action by supporting ongoing resilience efforts in Flagstaff. These sessions might include work at wildfire or flooding sites, citizen science projects, or neighborhood and household emergency planning.
The $1.5 million project includes replacement of approximately 1.2 miles of deteriorated pavement on Parks Road, Old Route 66, and Government Prairie Road. These improvements will extend roadway life, improve rideability, and reduce maintenance costs.
Coconino County is scheduled to break ground next week on the first phase of the Parks Roads Reconstruction Project. The $1.5 million project includes the replacement of approximately 1.2 miles of deteriorated pavement on Parks Road, Old Route 66, and Government Prairie Road. These improvements will extend roadway life, improve rideability, and reduce road maintenance costs. Funded entirely by Prop. 403, which county voters approved in 2014, the project also includes shoulder rehabilitation along these roads.
How do you find a needle in a haystack? You write an algorithm that can scan the haystack and identify the tiny needle amid all the hay. That’s what seven undergraduate students did during an inaugural astroinformatics bootcamp, only the haystack is the entire universe, and the needle is some outlier event that may not even be identified yet. The bootcamp, a collaboration between the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, was geared toward students from underrepresented groups and aimed to give them experience that will jumpstart their career or journey to grad school.
Ana Roman met and became best friends with Montserrat “Montse” Rodriguez when they worked together at a Flagstaff restaurant. Rodriguez needed help studying for her United States citizenship exam that she was preparing for, and Roman was happy to help.
After Rodriguez passed her citizenship test with flying colors, the two young women continued taking English Language Acquisition for Adults courses in the Adult Education program at Coconino Community College. Successful in their studies, they were awarded a grant that allowed them to take a course at the college free of charge.
They chose ENG 101A, and they both passed their first official college course, and now the two are considering continuing down the college path.
“I was so scared,” Rodriguez said. “We were with students so young, so bright, who spoke English their whole lives. This class has taken me out of my comfort zone. This is a first step.”
Roman said, “I pushed myself to that goal. I never thought I’d be able to get to this point.”
This year’s Coconino County Fair is Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-5 at Fort Tuthill County Park Fairgrounds in Flagstaff, AZ.
Thank you to our sponsors Swire Coca-Cola, Findlay Toyota Flagstaff, Friends of Coconino County Parks, Great Circle Media, Ferrell Gas, New Life Forest Products, KAFF, and KNAU!
Visit all the exhibit buildings to see 4-H projects and entries from community members!
Enjoy entertainment all four days! In addition to the four headliner acts listed here, we have many other musicians and entertainers performing at the Fair!
Community level LOW–masking requirement indoors OPTIONAL
On Thursday, September 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated the Coconino County Community Level to LOW. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
Grand Canyon management has received updated information from the DOI and NPS on COVID guidance. We are reviewing this information and hoping to apply changes soon.
Additionally, the NPS Washington office has submitted new COVID guidance for concessionaires that removes mitigations that have been in place for building capacity, social distancing, and masking. We are working with the park’s concessionaires on these changes and expect most facilities to increase capacity indoors. More information will be provided as it becomes available.