
Connect with your community

The job of United Way of Northern Arizona is to bring together our community resources so we can do big and bold things that move the needle and improve life for our friends and neighbors in Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties.
It takes the support of a whole community to make it happen. Every donation, every volunteer hour, and every bit of advocacy is important.
Our Summit Society members have an outsized impact, however, because of their unique generosity with annual gifts of $500 or more to UWNA.
Here are some of the ways that the Summit Society contributions are making a difference:

Hull Fire grows to 1,102 acres between Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon
Crews continue to work on the lightning-caused Hull Fire on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest as well as within Grand Canyon.
The Hull Fire, located near Lower Hull Tank along the Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park boundary just northeast of the Grand View Lookout and east of Grandview Point, is currently at 1,102 acres burning in ponderosa pine forest, it is spreading north, and is being co-managed with Grand Canyon National Park (approximately 300 acres are burning within the park).

TUBA CITY — Nearly 200 family members and individuals representing a number of community non-profit organizations took part in the return of the AZ Health Zone’s Family Fun Day held Thursday, June 15 at Louise Yellowman County Park, Tuba City.
The program, which was last held in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, included food demonstrations, a variety off interactive education booths, games, a bouncy house and free summer lunches for children.
Some of the groups providing information at the event included Coconino County Health & Human Services’ AZ Health Zone, the Navajo Nation Indian Community Health Representative, various representatives from the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corp. and Coconino County’s Rec on Wheels program.

Summer’s here and it’s the perfect time to make a difference in the lives of your friends and neighbors by becoming a volunteer.
Donating your time and work to our local nonprofits helps these organizations fulfill their shared mission of improving our communities.
If you’d like to volunteer but don’t know where to start, we have something that might help. It’s a 2023 Guide to Volunteering in Northern Arizona, featuring dozens of opportunities currently available with our nonprofit partners in Coconino, Yavapai and Apache counties.

COCONINO COUNTY — At their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 13, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors (Board) voted unanimously to officially recognize and celebrate Juneteenth in Coconino County.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery. On this date in 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the upwards of 250,000 Black Americans still enslaved in the state were free by executive decree. Since then, Juneteenth has marked the celebration of Black American freedom and the subsequent achievements within the culture while encouraging continuous opportunities and access to equitable advancement, education, and progress for all.

As temperatures heat up, it’s important for businesses to explore ways to save on their energy bills. Fortunately, APS offers a whole suite of services and programs to help businesses manage energy usage.
“Small business owners are still trying to catch up from the pandemic and now they’re dealing with inflation,” said Trevor Swanson, Energy Innovation Advisor for APS. “Whether it’s an energy assessment, rebate or special program, there are countless ways for small businesses to save on their monthly energy bills.”

2023 Star Party
The annual Grand Canyon Star Party will conclude this Saturday, June 17. On the South Rim, events include a nightly presentation from a special guest speaker at 8 p.m. in the plaza of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, followed by telescope viewing behind the building. Green-laser constellation tours will be offered nightly at 9, 9:30 and 10 p.m..
The list of speakers can be found on our Grand Canyon Star Party webpage, in the attached flyer, and also in the NPS Mobile App.
During Star Party week, the Education Staff is conducting family hikes during twilight (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, June 14 through 16) to celebrate Grand Canyon’s dark skies!
Kids of all ages and their families are invited to join a ranger to experience and explore nightfall during a 45-minute walk. Meet outside Shrine of the Ages Auditorium (Parking Lot A) a 7:30 p.m. More information, including a flyer can be found here.

FLAGSTAFF — Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) celebrated the completion of Mental Health Month with the annual “Walk for Wellness!” held Saturday, June 10 at Buffalo Park.
Some of the groups presenting information at the event included the AZ Health Zone, the Arizona Dept. of Economic Security — Arizona Early Intervention Program, CCHHS’ Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention Program, First Things First, the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth, Girl Scouts arizona cactus-pine and Native Americans for Community Action (NACA).

Celebrating Juneteenth
Last year, 158 years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all enslaved people, President Joe Biden deemed that day a national holiday, allowing the freedom of all U.S. citizens to officially be celebrated. This weekend, join in on a variety of events that honor the past, present and the hope for a more inclusive future.

Updates from the North Rim
Friday, June 2 kicked off the opening of the 2023 season on the North Rim with water conservation measures in place. With emergency funding assistance, water hauling operations began on June 4 and the North Rim water tanks are slowly refilling to meet visitor and residential demand. Construction contractors arrived on the North Rim this week and have begun the preliminary stages of rebuilding the broken section of pipeline, with work slated to continue through the coming weeks.
Fee staff are anticipating a full campground for the campground’s opening weekend beginning Friday, June 9. Trail crew staff continue to repair sections of the North Kaibab Trail and have cleared areas of major rockfall in the vicinity of Supai Tunnel. Project work continues with the North Kaibab Trail opening for hiker traffic beginning on Friday, June 16. Following this date, trail crew will continue working on the trail and hikers may encounter intermittent trail closures of up to 30 minutes.
Thank you to all staff, contractors, and concessions employees who have and continue to work tirelessly to reopen the North Rim to the public and provide quality visitor services during these extenuating circumstances.

The Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) on June 7 awarded nearly $20 million in grants to local governments from the newly-created Homeless Shelter and Services (HSS) Fund to provide shelter and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The new budget signed by Governor Hobbs included $60 million for the new fund with $20 million to be allocated immediately before June 30th.
“I’m proud of the immediate relief our bipartisan budget is delivering to the people of Arizona,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “With the Homeless Shelter and Services Fund and the historic $150 million deposit into Arizona’s Housing Trust Fund, we are making real progress toward ensuring affordable housing for every Arizonan.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statement for National Pride Month 2023, celebrated annually in June.
The League of United Latin American Citizens is observing Pride Month by challenging all state legislative bodies in the United States and U.S. territories to protect and defend the rights of LGBTQIA+ citizens. In our 94-year history, LULAC has always championed advancing rights for every American. We have been a party to many historic judicial cases that have expanded the rights of the minority and locked arms with other communities for the greater good.

NOTE NEW DATES for 2023: We are counting down the days to one of the biggest events of the year – the Heritage Festival of Art and Culture. This year the festival will be on June 24 and 25. We moved the date in response to artists and attendees who overwhelmingly agreed that moving away from the busy 4th of July weekend would be better for everyone.
I am so excited that this festival brings together Indigenous artists from across the Colorado Plateau, the only such festival that I know of. These artists will all share and celebrate their cultures from under the shade of tents among the tall pines surrounding the museum. What a beautiful setting! In addition to over 100 artists from 10 different tribes, highlights include flute workshops with Aaron White, a presentation by fashion designer Patricia Michaels, as well as performances by the Zuni Water Striders, Dilzehe’e, Apache Singers, and Yoyhoyam Hopi Youth Dancers. I am looking forward to an exciting an inspiring weekend! I hope to see you at the Heritage Festival, and at the museum.

Members of the Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth’s Trauma-Informed System Change grant program met recently to discuss the next steps in developing a mental model change ensuring trauma-informed and resilience information is understood at the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County levels and enacted as policy change.
The goal of the program is to improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, health outcomes and provider and staff wellness.
CCC&Y will be working with city and county officials to develop, implement and institutionalize the System Change over the next three years as part of its $175,000 Vitalyst Health Foundation’s System Change Grant. The Coalition was one of four one of four organizations in Arizona to be selected for the grant this year.
A workgroup has begun planning on the rollout of the three-year program including raising awareness of trauma and resilience-informed practices at the city and county level through the use of surveys, meeting with leaders and staff training during year one; fine-tuning that awareness outreach and training program during year two; and ensuring those practices are institutionalized into city and county policies and sharing the successes of the System and Policy Change effort with partners statewide.

Grand Canyon National Park fire managers will resume prescribed burning on the South Rim this week.
On Wednesday, June 7, fire personnel will continue working on the Grapevine unit, approximately 0.5 miles south of the “Duck on a Rock” overlook along Highway 64 (Desert View Drive).
The Grapevine unit is a total of 865 acres located between the Kaibab National Forest to the south and E4/Long Jim Canyon Road to the north. Last month, crews completed about 200 acres of “blacklining” (creating a boundary of burned fuel) on three sides of the unit.

Summer Art Classes at Sedona Arts Center
Sedona is surrounded by a magical landscape of red rock formations and high desert hills with beautiful Oak Creek meandering through it all. Come experience the Shangri-La of the Southwest, a beautiful learning environment with Art Colony roots going back nearly 100 years. Click here to see all of our classes and workshops

What’s that clicking noise?
Pretty much everyone on the South Rim during the last two weeks has noticed the ‘click click click click click’ sounds coming from pretty much everywhere.
On the South Rim, we’re hearing Putnam’s Cicada, (Platypedia Putnami) — large, dark-colored insects with bulging eyes and membranous wings that are folded tent-like over their bodies. Putnam’s Cicadas are only found in the western states, and have a three to five year life cycle, unlike some varieties of cicadas found in the eastern U.S. that have 13 to 17 year cycles. Like other cicadas, they don’t bite or sting, just go around feeding by using their straw-like mouth to drink watery nutrients from plants and trees.

Theatrikos brings the crazy comedy 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche to the Flagstaff stage. Hold on to your quiches! It’s 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. A tasty recipe of hysterical laughs, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions and delicious discoveries.

COCONINO COUNTY — CCC&Y shares this free online opportunity to ease some of the daily stress during this busy time of year.
Motivated by a long wait list for behavioral health services, and aware of challenging adult and child emotions causing behavior difficulties, Bethany Camp put this two part training together for CCC&Y to help meeting a wide-spread community need.
First we learn to understand our emotions and then we can understand and respond to the big emotional responses of children.
Watch Webinar – Managing Adult Emotional Responses, Part One
Watch Webinar – Helping Children Manage Their Emotions, Part Two

Promises made, promises kept by your community college.
One year after the passage of a primary property tax reset for Coconino Community College, CCC has made significant progress in following through on commitments made to the voters of Coconino County. Of the several programs and initiatives promised by the increase in the primary property tax rate to Coconino Community College, many of them have already been implemented or are in process.
“To date, we’ve fulfilled nearly 75 percent of the items we noted on the ballot initiative,” said CCC President Eric Heiser, Ph.D. “And guess what? We’re not done yet. We have many new and exciting career and technical education programs and courses in the pipelines.”

Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland, visits Grand Canyon
Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, and her team were in the park this past weekend to meet with the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition and community leaders about the efforts to create the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.
This effort, spearheaded by the tribal coalition and supported by Representative Raul Grijalva and Senator Krysten Sinema, is a continuation of efforts to provide permanent protection from new uranium mining on over 1 million acres of land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park.
In addition to the meetings with the coalition and local stakeholders, the Secretary held separate informal meet and greets with staff from the Horace Albright Training Center and Grand Canyon National Park. Members of the park leadership team also had the opportunity to talk to her about our big infrastructure projects (trans-canyon waterline) and provide an aerial tour for she and Rep Grijalva of the area and proposed boundaries of the new national monument. Thanks to all the staff who helped support the Secretary’s visit and who came out to meet her on Saturday afternoon!

The following is a listing compiled by CCC&Y of upcoming summer camps in Coconino County. Contact individual programs for more information on their 2023 summer camps. (Updated May 23, 2023).
Please check with individual organizations to confirm times, dates, other information.
If your organization would like to be added to this listing, please send an email to frank@coconinokids.org

Coconino County continues to lead the effort in connecting students with SpaceX’s Starlink high-speed internet across Northern Arizona, including multiple tribal communities within the region, and now on school buses.
With continued focus on education, Coconino County collaborated with Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) and Page Unified School District (PUSD) to identify and select routes with an emphasis on connecting students who must ride the bus more than one hour to and from school. SpaceX provided Coconino County with two of their Flat High Performance Starlink kits that are installed on the buses, enabling students to stay connected and complete homework during their transit.

Summer Art Classes & Workshops at Sedona Arts Center
Sedona is surrounded by a magical landscape of red rock formations and high desert hills with beautiful Oak Creek meandering through it all. Come experience the Shangri-La of the Southwest, a beautiful learning environment with Art Colony roots going back nearly 100 years. Click here to see all of our classes and workshops

Hello from Supervisor Horstman
Schultz Creek/Pipeline West – Flagstaff May 8th
Community Meeting
Mt. Elden Estates Community Meeting
Ft. Valley Rd/Baderville Community Meeting
County and Flagstaff Host a Thank You for DFFM,
DEMA, and FEMA for State Funding to Assist in
Flood Mitigation
Flagstaff Ranger District Cancels its Proposals for
Commercial Outfitter and Guide Services
Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of
State Adrian Fontes Visit Coconino County
2023 Coconino County Teacher of the Year
Mountain Line: It’s Electrifying
Every Day is Earth Day
Opioid Crisis Settlement
Know Your Evacuation Zone
Tuba City Election Office Renamed the Alta
Edison Native American Outreach Center
County Declares May 11, 2023, as” Carol Dykes
Day”
Miss Cleo’s Tea Party. A Southside Community
Tradition
Community Events and Resources

Effective Thursday, May 18, the recycling drop-off bins at the City of Flagstaff Recycling Transfer Facility (located at 1800 E Butler Ave) have been reopened. Drop off bins are available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and will be closed on Saturday and Sunday until further staffing and operational plans can be developed and implemented. The bins will also be unavailable on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.

Discover Flagstaff publishes Flagstaff 365 Happenings on a weekly basis to highlight local events happening in and around Flagstaff. “Flag Happs” is distributed throughout Downtown Flagstaff, displayed in kiosks and storefronts, and also available at the Flagstaff Visitor Center. Below are some highlights of the week.

Malik Bossett discovered his love of science and astronomy all on his own and at an early age. As one of only a few people of color in his high school astronomy club, he realized his passion for science reached far beyond the stars, and he wanted to be the astronomy figure he never had—a Black one. He hopes to introduce kids of color to STEM fields at an early age and continue to diversify a notoriously white field of study.

As Summer approaches, the Coconino Coaltion for Children & Youth wants to remind everyone that we have a variety of free webinar training programs on our website to help parents and families during the upcoming summer vacation season.
Our growing library of on-demand webinars is designed to help the public gain the tools they need to provide trauma-informed care, tips to help strengthen family protective factors, examine the effects of historical trauma and adverse childhood experiences, address issues such as bullying and the support to adults and youth through the use of mindfulness practices.

The concerns that F3 continues to raise with regards to the NAH proposal to relocate the hospital relate directly to providing quality health care that benefits Flagstaff residents as well as the Region.
NAH continues to state that a new greenfield hospital is what’s best for Flagstaff and that a new hospital is needed in order to recruit and retain good doctors. These are questionable statements. While every doctor would like to work in a shiny new building, there are many hundreds of thousands who do not. In fact, many of these doctors work at the highest-rated hospitals in the US that are located in dense cities, such as Johns Hopkins and Mass General. Older hospitals in dense cities cannot always be moved miles away and rebuilt. Instead they are renovated or rebuilt in the same place.

Theatrikos brings Clare Barron’s Pulitzer Prize finalist Dance Nation to the Flagstaff stage. An army of competitive dancers navigates ambition, friendship and desire as they plot to take over the world. Our pre-teen heroines, played by a multi-generational cast of women, know that every plié is a step toward finding themselves and unleashing their power.
The actors themselves, not only take the audience on a soul searching journey, but are on this journey themselves. “This play has already been life changing for me,” said actor Linda Sutera. “The audience is going to experience an entertaining, powerful, and beautiful show.”

This week Museum members came to see the new Designed to Move exhibition, and I had the joy of watching their delight. In stunning photographs by Taylor James, seeds are enlarged and lustrous. Poppy seeds resemble bumpy planets. The fluff on willow and clematis seeds glows. One young boy shook a seedpod and exclaimed “Dad, it’s nature’s music!”
Indeed, this exhibition reveals the music, art, and engineering within these essential but often overlooked parts of our world. It’s a revelation, and a reminder of how easy it is to take for granted things that enrich our lives.

Flagstaff High School celebrated its 2023 Hispanic Convocation with the largest group of students in recent memory on Wednesday, May 10. Nearly 90 students took the stage to receive their colorful sarape sashes from new United Way of Northern Arizona President and CEO Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Archuleta, FHS Principal Libby Miller; Assistant Principal Trish Eberlein, Assistant Principal Matthew Barquin and Athletic Director Jeannine Brandel.
Archuleta, who provided the keynote address, urged the students to consider themselves as leaders, envision their successful futures and remember they belong in the room and the conversation as they move ahead in their careers.

This week, prescribed fire treatments began on the Grapevine segment, approximately 0.5 miles south of the Duck on a Rock Overlook along Highway 64 (Desert View Drive). The Grapevine project area totals 865 acres and is bound by the Kaibab National Forest’s boundary to the south and the E4/Long Jim Canyon Road to the north. Following completion of the Grapevine project, crews will initiate ignitions on the Lonetree project area, totaling approximately 926 acres. Ignitions may be complete as early as Friday, May 12, but may be extended through the weekend based on favorable weather conditions. A map of the project areas can be found here.

Plans are underway now for this year’s KinderCamp™ in northern Arizona, which will give preschoolers the foundational, social and academic skills needed to successfully transition into kindergarten.
However, as you’ll learn below from KinderCamp Coordinator Sara Owen, this effort to Step Up for Our Youth is as much for the parents and families as it is for the kids who will attend this summer.
KinderCamp has been close to my heart since it began in 2005, and I am proud of being one of its earliest supporters. Many thanks to our partners who are making this year’s program possible.

NAU will celebrate more than 5,200 graduates in four ceremonies May 12-13. The honorary doctorate recipients and commencement speakers are Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Arturo A. Massol-Deyá, executive director of Casa Pueblo; Ty White, the 2023 Arizona Education Foundation Teacher of the Year; and David P. Franke, a principal at Franke & Company. Check out the NAU Commencement website for information about traffic and parking, the clear bag policy and the new bot who can answer your questions this weekend.

COCONINO COUNTY — The Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth continues to connect families and community members with a number of options, including free educational resources, city resource guides, calendars of upcoming family events and a variety of programs offered by our more than 100 individual and nonprofit members.

Jessica Muniz was inspired by her upbringing to pursue a career allowing her to help others. From immigrating to the U.S. at the age of five to organizing awareness fairs for the LGBTQ+ community, Muniz learned that having access to all types of resources can make a significant impact on someone’s life. Now, Muniz is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social work and pursue a master’s at Arizona State University.

The Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park in Flagstaff has won both the Crescordia Award for Environmental Education and Communication and the Award of Distinction for Art in Public Places at the Arizona Forward Gala on April 29th.
The Elizabeth “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park provides gardens, watchable wildlife, education, and multicultural art to the Sawmill neighborhood community and beyond. Elizabeth Archuleta was instrumental in creating the park to honor the community and the sawmill worker heritage in the area. Ms. Archuleta was the first Latina elected to the Board of Supervisors and served as District 2 Supervisor for 25 years. The site was officially dedicated as a Coconino County Park on June 20, 2003, originally as Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature County Park. Coconino County Parks and Recreation honored Archuleta’s commitment to our community by renaming the former Sawmill County Park in her honor in August of 2022.

Many thanks to everyone who has been so warm and supportive during my first month as the new CEO and President of United Way of Northern Arizona. I’ve always been proud of this organization and the work it does.
”Improving lives by mobilizing communities to create lasting changes in community conditions” has always resonated with me. I have been involved with UWNA for over 25 years serving on the Board of Directors, the Community Investment Committee and chairing multiple UWNA campaigns.
My life’s work has been dedicated to building community, promoting equity, and improving lives locally, statewide and nationally. I will continue to bring those values and passion for community to my work at UWNA. As a native of Flagstaff with five generations of my family living in Flagstaff, it is an honor to serve my community through UWNA.
During this time of transition, I want to recognize what has come before me.