Grand Canyon National Park, located in northern Arizona, encompasses 277 miles (446 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. One of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world, Grand Canyon is unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors on the rim. Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage Site. The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
In December, Coconino County Supervisor for District 2, Jeronimo Vasquez, shared his story with us about how connections to the outdoors can empower our communities and instill a legacy of stewardship. He writes: “The time I spent outdoors left a profound impact on me, instilling a legacy of stewardship that I hope to pass on to my children, and to my community.”
To read this blog post, click here.
Alfonso Ortiz Tirado was an opera singer and medical doctor born in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico in 1893. His obvious musical talent surfaced early in his life but nevertheless he decided to study medicine. It is in this capacity as a doctor that he is remembered by his many charitable contributions to the Mexican people, especially children. He also had a successful international career as an opera singer, earning the designation of “Tenor of the Americas”.
After a one-year hiatus required by Covid 19, the 37th Annual Music Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado happened this year in his birthplace of Alamos to pay homage to its illustrious son. The festival sponsored renowned local, national, and international musicians in numerous styles such as opera, classical music, popular music, and rhythm and blues, and also presented an important way for emerging performers to develop networks and foster their reputation.
Joe Shannon, PhD, a long-time member of F3 and the Flagstaff community, passed away peacefully at home on January 18 after a long illness. He was 64. Joe was a river ecologist, and an accomplished outdoorsman and athlete. For many years he was the Chair of the local Chapter of the Sierra Club. He was a strong supporter of F3 and frequently spoke before the Flagstaff City Council in favor of policies that would make Flagstaff a more environmentally sustainable community.
LO Portland hiked the Tamanawas Falls on January 2, 2022 to ring in the new year. While hiking the falls, located within Mount Hood National Forest, the group stopped and snapped this picture.
LO Leader Kassy Delgado reflected on the hike afterwards “Enjoying conchas, tamales, and dulces while admiring a wintery waterfall, what a wonderful way of welcoming 2022!”
Conchas y Cascadas for the new year? Que maravillosa!
I trust you and yours are doing well! …as well as can be, given the circumstances.
This is our first update of the year. We, as I’m sure many of you, are working on our plans to deliver services and products that benefit our communities, in my particular case, Hispanic/Latinos.
In 2022 we will continue with our radio/FB live shows on Salud, Dinero y Amistad, a show where we address Social Security, Medicare, healthcare in general, finances, fraud and scams, retirement preparation and other current issues. We have done 4 shows so far (all with Finances as the underlying concept); as you know, the videos can be accessed on our FB page at www.facebook.com/aarparizonahispanicconnection.
The Arizona State Parks Board has selected Coconino Parks and Recreation as a recipient of a 2022 American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Grant, in the amount of $923,306 for the Fort Tuthill Improvement Project.
The Fort Tuthill Improvement Project will provide greater outdoor recreation opportunities to park visitors by improving two parking lot surfaces at Fort Tuthill County Park. The park has seen an increase in winter recreation use, which requires parking lots to be plowed continuously during the winter to ensure visitor access and safety, which deteriorates the life of the parking lot surface. Prior to resurfacing the south parking lot, a new sewer line will be installed, to aid in future campground improvements. More than 15,000 campers each year are served by a septic system and leach field. Moving the campground sewer connection is the preferred option in the future. A walkway to the popular outdoor amphitheater will also be improved.
New changes are coming Jan. 28 to the Flagstaff Mall COVID-19 vaccination site.
Adults 18+ and Children 5-17: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. -5 p.m.
Please note a change in ages beginning on Friday’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Flagstaff Mall. Both adults and children may be vaccinated beginning at 11 am. If you have a vaccine card please bring it with you.
No appointment is needed. A guardian must accompany a child receiving the vaccine. Masks are required at the vaccine site. Pfizer Booster doses are available for all eligible individuals 12 years and older. Moderna and J&J Booster doses are available for 18+.
We’ve gotten new guidance this week from the Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce pertaining to vaccinations for federal employees. This information is the result of legal challenges related to COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
The new guidance instructs us to take no action to enforce or implement the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. All the other guidance on protocols related to masking, distancing, travel, testing, and quarantine—remains in effect.
Did you ever wonder who makes up the Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce? This group is led by the White House COVID-19 Response Team, the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Task Force members include: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Protective Service (FPS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the United States Secret Service (USSS). For more information, visit: https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/.
The people of Greater Flagstaff are ready to find solutions to our biggest problems. That’s why MetroPlan is bringing communities together to build our region’s long-term transportation plan, Stride Forward. This plan will direct regional transportation investments for the next 20 years.
MetroPlan is the Flagstaff region’s transportation planning agency. It is made up of public agency partners from across the Flagstaff region and working alongside residents to create the finest transportation system in the country.
Transportation is central to the daily lives of Flagstaff area residents and visitors. Planning (and lots of it) keeps the bus system moving, builds the roads, and clears the trails. The region is growing fast, and planning will help get it right. Stride Forward is a journey into transportation planning, and every resident is called to be a part of it.
Is kindergarten too young for students to get excited about STEM? No way, says assistant professor Morgan Vigil-Hayes, who is partnering with FUSD to develop a curriculum to get K-5 Native American students doing fun learning activities that focus on math and computational thinking.
During the Jan 25 Flagstaff City Council meeting, the Council heard an update on the Lone Tree Overpass project and future intersection improvements for Butler Avenue and Lone Tree Road. The Council gave direction to investigate refinement of an intersection design that has five lanes on each leg and protective elements for bicycle and pedestrian travel, in accordance with the City’s draft Active Transportation Master Plan. The Council also directed staff to analyze the feasibility of a north/ south oriented bridge over Butler Avenue for bicyclists and pedestrians. This intersection size and design highlights the effort to balance pedestrian and bicycle safety and the City’s climate action goals with the goal to efficiently move vehicular travel.
Need help in the new year?
CCC&Y has created “Mindful Moments” for staff, schools and community.
Schedule a facilitated mindful moment before staff meetings, class time, family events or any gathering.
Despite a global pandemic, he and his staff were instrumental in getting Coconino Community College’s Automotive Technician program running.
That’s why Robby Findlay, director of operations for the Findlay Automotive Group, has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Service Award at CCC.
“What an unbelievable honor,” he said. “I know how much the college has done for the community, and it’s such an honor CCC is commending me and our auto group.”
During the Jan 25 Flagstaff City Council meeting, the Council decided that council meetings will remain fully virtual for the time being due to high numbers of COVID-19 cases in the community. The City Council will continue to reevaluate the format of council meetings during regularly scheduled COVID-19 updates at future council meetings.
Members of the public can stream Council meetings at https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/1461/Streaming-City-Council-Meetings.
Vision & Sound creates an educational experience and environment that broadens the understanding and appreciation of African American art, music, film, and literary works for multigenerational and multicultural audiences. We strive to build supportive relationships to encourage cultural equity throughout Arizona and beyond – recognizing that professional American artists of African descent are too often overlooked.
She’s focused on work, school, and family.
Coconino Community College student Nizhoni Nez lives in Page with her family while she works at CCC and takes courses to accomplish her plan of getting her Political Science degree.
“My plans with that degree are to get into the NAU pre-law program and hopefully work towards a degree in law,” Nez said during the interview at the CCC Page Center. “It’s something I’ve always talked about with my father.”
She was worried about coming back to school after a leap year, she said, but due to hard work and the great communication she has with her teachers, she is doing great in her classes.
NAU is offering a new study abroad program starting this summer—one that will take students out of the classroom and challenge them to interact with the world in new ways. South America NAU will allow students of all majors to do community outreach, interact with different cultures and do hands-on work in climate change, sustainable tourism, anthropology and other big questions of our day.
Students—interested in studying abroad? Find the program that meets your personal, educational and financial needs at Education Abroad.
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This Tuesday (Jan. 24), City Council will be selecting a design alternative for the intersection of Butler Ave. and Lone Tree in association with the planned Lone Tree Overpass road extension.
We need you to comment at the virtual City Council meeting on Jan. 25th.
The design alternatives for the intersection of Butler and Lone Tree prioritize vehicles over other modes of transportation such as walking and biking. The intersection designs are overbuilt, provide inadequate protection for bicyclists and pedestrians, and are in conflict with the City’s Carbon Neutrality Plan.
The 2022 Coconino County Spelling Bee, hosted by the Coconino County Superintendent of Schools and Education Service Agency, will take place on Saturday, February 5, at 10:00 a.m. in the Mini Auditorium at Coconino High School, 2801 N. Izabel St, Flagstaff, Arizona 86004.
To promote safety, the following practices will be observed throughout the duration of the Spelling Bee:
-Only two (2) guests per participant will be admitted.
-All participants and guests will need to maintain a social distance of six (6) feet. Seating will be spaced accordingly.
Assistant professor Cristina Thomas of Northern Arizona University has been named an Emerging Scholar by the leading education magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in its Jan. 20 issue. The publication annually recognizes an interdisciplinary group of early-career minority scholars who represent the best of U.S. academia.
“An accomplished planetary astronomer, Latina scientist and mentor, Dr. Thomas serves as a shining role model for our community. She is blazing the trail for our diverse student population to embrace research and explore the boundless universe,” said NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera.
President Cruz Rivera gives a video update on the United Way of Northern Arizona campaign and discusses his week, which included meetings with students and council members, MLK Day celebrations and reflections and his work with the Arizona Senate.
An emerging star in the field of planetary science, Lucas McClure is a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University, with a Bachelor of Science in Physics with an astronomy concentration from the University of Tennessee.
When we look at the outcomes, the past year was a powerful reminder of all that we can do when we work together.
Because you Stepped Up for Our Community either as a donor, an advocate or a volunteer, we collectively did more than ever before to advance:
Early childhood education
Positive youth development
Basic services that strengthened our social safety net.
But that leaves us with a very important question:
How can we make 2022 even better?
NPS Mask Policy reminders
The current National Park Service mask policy, which follows the CDC recommendation is that everyone wear a mask that is over the age of two, regardless of vaccination status in the following settings:
In all NPS buildings and in congregate office settings; the only exception is when you are alone in a private, walled and closed door space;
Crowded outdoor spaces identified in the Grand Canyon Superintendent’s Compendium (pages 5-6), and
In all forms of enclosed public transportation, which includes Grand Canyon shuttle buses, and all government vehicles and aircraft.
What qualifies as a mask according to the NPS and CDC are masks that have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric, completely cover your nose and mouth, fit snugly against the sides of your face and don’t have gaps, and have a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask. For the latest information on types of masks and respirators, please visit the CDC’s website here.
