Elfrida––Although the bell has rung and school has started at Valley Union High School, they have no counselor’s or superintendent’s office or even a principal’s office, for that matter.

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16-year-old Elfrida boy pleads not guilty to burning, vandalizing school
Sixteen-year-old Manuel Corona pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon to arson and vandalism of the Valley Union High School in Elfrida, 26 miles north of Douglas.

High-tech passport cards are arriving and are ready for use
BISBEE — Applicants have recently begun receiving the new passport cards, and although some workers at ports of entry have not yet seen the documents in use, officials say they are prepared for them.

Two more ballot initiatives certified, one may be short of signaturesv
 PHOENIX — Two more measures were certified Friday as being qualified for the ballot, even though a random sample suggest one does not have enough signatures.

Two bodies found over the weekend
Two bodies were found in two separate incidents between Bisbee and Douglas during the weekend, sheriff’s authorities said.

Arizonans pay less to support local, state governments
 PHOENIX — It may provide small comfort. But a new study shows that Arizonans pay proportionately less of their incomes t support state and local governments than residents of most other states.

Masons bringing “CHIP” ID for children to Douglas
The Douglas Masonic Lodge, and a members of the Freemasons of Arizona have been involved in helping the Douglas community in supporting victims of Domestic Violence, and ensuring they’re safety. 

City council approves temporary sites for call center
While the call center facility on 10th Street is being renovated, the Douglas City Council approved a temporary lease agreement for call center workers and staff to use portions of the Recreation Center and the Visitor’s Center.

Board OKs development near Douglas
BISBEE — After adding one condition, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a rezoning request to accommodate a new 368-acre multi-use development near Douglas with more than 1,300 units.

Two file for Board seats
Susan Kramer and Mario Ramos were the only candidates to file petitions seeking seats on the Douglas Unified School District Governing Board in the November election.

Attendees
Mitch Nelson along with students Johanna Urquijo and Alyssa Manarrez recently attended the HOSA conference in Dallas for students involved in the field of health occupations. They attended the national conference, as did Bryana Salazar, not pictured.

Remains of third person found
SIERRA VISTA — For the third time in four days, the corpse of a suspected illegal immigrant has been found in Cochise County.

Polices Reports
August 7, 2008

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announces new assistant director
TUCSON, Ariz – Tom Yearout, who has a federal career spanning more than 30 years, has been selected as a new Assistant Director, Field Operations, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection here in Arizona.

Backers of transit proposal file suit to get it on ballot
PHOENIX — Backers of what could be the largest tax hike in state history filed suit Wednesday to put their proposal back on the November ballot.

Bewilderment, compassion for boy who kills own mother
All Sara Madrid wanted to do that Friday was spend the entire day with Alfonso Muñoz, her live-in partner of 10 years. She had taken the day off just so that she could sit and relax next to him while he drove around and attended to a series of welding jobs he wanted to finish before the end of the day.

Elfrida teen arraigned Monday for arson, vandalism
A 16-year-old Elfrida boy will be arraigned Monday in the Superior Court of Cochise County for the alleged arson and vandalism of the Valley Union High School in Elfrida, a small farming community north of Douglas.

Why does San Diego have so many border agents?
SAN ANTONIO — Despite efforts to add Border Patrol agents to areas where immigrant traffic is high and drug violence is flaring, officers assigned to the 2,000-mile boundary with Mexico are bunched up near the California coast. And some critics see politics at play.

Douglas Police Report
July 30, 2008

Road Construction
The City of Douglas will be working on various projects over the coming week.  The work is being completed by the City of Douglas Public Works Department and is part of the Mayor and Council’s ongoing infrastructure improvement program.

Authorities in Mexico probe recent deaths
CANANEA, Sonora — Mexican authorities are investigating the deaths of nine individuals whose bodies were discovered here during the past month.

American Community Survey looks at Cochise County
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released results from its 2006 American Community Survey. This was the second year Cochise County was included in the survey, which provides annual updates to the census data collected every 10 years. Prior to 2005, only communities with a population of 250,000 or more were included. In 2005, this was changed to include populations of 65,000 or more.

Union boss looms large as Cananea strike drags on
CANANEA, Sonora — A little over a year ago, on July 30, 2007, more than 1,000 unionized miners walked off the job here over health and safety concerns at the nation’s largest copper mine.

Cochise County Farm Bureau meets Sat.
 The Cochise County Farm Bureau will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Elks Lodge, 247 E. Stewart Street in Willcox.

Schools’ Business Office honored
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the Douglas Unified School District for its comprehensive annual financial report. The certificate of achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

Cochise County’s retail market in recession
 May, Cochise County’s retail sales declined by 1.2 percent after adjusting for inflation. This was the third consecutive month of declining retail sales in the county. Countywide, retail sales have declined in 6 of the past 7 months. The last month that saw positive growth was February of this year, when sales were up 2.4 percent after inflation. Prior to that, the last month to see positive growth was October last year, which saw real growth of 6 percent.

Falling crude shaves a quarter off fuel prices
Across the state and country, motorists heading into the weekend are continuing to experience relief at the pump as fuel prices retreat for the fifth consecutive week. Statewide, drivers are currently paying an average of $3.826 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, a drop of 8.5 cents from last week. Tucson drivers continue to hold the state’s lowest fuel price at $3.668 per gallon, while Flagstaff drivers continue to pay the most to fill their tanks at $4.069 per gallon. Nationwide, the current average is $3.836 per gallon, a drop of over seven cents from last week.

Eighth annual Garden Tour of Bisbee Bloomers on September 6
The Bisbee Bloomers will hold their eighth annual Garden Tour on Saturday, September 6, 2008 from 10am to 4pm.  The tour this year will be held at some of the highest elevation gardens in Old Bisbee.  "Bisbee's Highest Gardens " tour will be a walking tour along West Boulevard, Wood Canyon and downtown Bisbee.  Admission is $10.  Tickets may be purchased at the Bisbee Visitor's Center in the Convention Center in Old Bisbee or in front of the Mining and Historical Museum in Copper Queen Plaza Park .  Bisbee  Bloomers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and augmenting the natural beauty of the City of Bisbee .  This garden tour is their primary fund raiser and takes place annually at the end of monsoon season to highlight the lovely, hidden gardens located in the Bisbee area.  After viewing the gardens it is easy to see Bisbee isn’t just an old mining town.

Stuff to Do
Bird Walk

St. David artist gave life's work to promote learning
Hundreds of art pieces to be displayed at the Cochise College Benson Center this fall will be sold to raise funds for college scholarships.

Chamber players perform Oct. 26
Full of old-world grace, charm and, occasionally, fury, the Daystar Chamber Players present a face-to-face, quadraphonic experience of two violins, a viola and a cello at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26 at the Sierra Vista Community United Church of Christ. The concert is brought to Sierra Vista by Cochise College Cultural Events.

Call to Artists . . .
Interested artists are invited to submit original artwork, completed within the last two years, for the 2008 La Frontera Tucson International Mariachi Conference poster. The conference is scheduled for April 21-26, 2008.

Cochise College Events
Saturday, October 20

Mesquite milling, pancake breakfast Sat.
Bisbee Farmers Market

Summertime and the sipping is easy
Summer is the time for cold drinks on a hot day, cocktails on the deck and iced tea on the porch. It’s the time for having friends over in a bare-feet-and-cutoffs, backyard-barbecue, kids-under-the-sprinkler kind of atmosphere. And the perfect way to combine cold drinks with friends is to mix up a batch of sangria. That’s the chilled fruit-and-wine punch from Spain and Portugal.

Cooking with the Seasons in the Farmers Market
A while ago I received an e-mail about a “Simply in Season” cookbook and was sent a copy when I asked if I could review it.  It turns out that it is a lot more than a cookbook.  Commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee to promote the understanding of how the food choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those who produce the food, it was put together by two women who are both Mennonite Church members. Mary Beth Lind is a registered dietitian, nutritional consultant and market grower in West Virginia and Cathleen Hockman-Wert is a journalist and church magazine editor from Oregon.

Nothing fishy here-Embrace your inner fish
Like "tree-huggers," we fish-huggers are concerned about the environment, specifically the impact of factory trawlers, bottom draggers, the problem of bycatch (e.g., dolphins caught in tuna nets) and industrialized aquaculture. We worry about the byproducts of bad fisheries management or farming, including mercury, antibiotics and colorants in fish. We want to save the fish so we can ... eat them. A little self-interest can, environmentally speaking, be a good thing.

Take rain checks when the shelves run dry
I recently shopped at my drugstore and was disappointed that the best bargains were out of stock. I had waited until the last day of the sale week, and other clever shoppers had cleared out the bargains.

Lines between faith, ethnicity blurred in the Balkans
For a dozen years, they hunted Europe’s most notorious war criminal.

Preacher stole, then killed to cover his tracks
HICKMAN, Calif. (AP) - Friends of an elderly millionaire who was killed by a local pastor sensed something was wrong long before his death.

Priest sentenced to prison for abusing Tucson teens
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A pedophile priest has been sentenced to prison for abusing three Tucson teenagers.

Religion News In Brief
Catholic bishops endorse Calif. gay marriage ban

Entertainment versus religious messages
The idea for the movie began with a vision of three fake pirates falling from the sky into the ocean, transported in a magical rowboat back to the 17th century.

Religion In The News
Students now required to observe moment of silence in Illinois

$5M could be shifted to vouchers
PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers voted Tuesday to make an end-run around the budget and shift around some money to fund public and private school vouchers for some students.

Two vaccines added to Arizona school immunization requirements
The Arizona Department of Health Services amended a vaccine rule to add Tetanus, Diphtheria Pertussis (Tdap) and Meningococcal (MV) vaccines to school immunization requirements for all sixth and seventh graders attending Arizona schools.

Bookmobile Schedule
Did you know that August is American Artist Appreciation Month as well as National Inventor’s Month?  Browse the shelves for books on American artists or surf the on-board computers for information on patenting your inventions or ideas.  Let your talents and ideas grow and get information on how to expand them and share them with the world.  We help you get it all.   For more information call the Cochise County Library District, at 800-231-1574 or 520-432-8930.

Registration for former classmates in process
More than  200 former DouglasHigh School Bulldogs have committed to be in Douglas for the All Classes Reunion on October 10-13.

More great classes at Cochise College
The Cochise College Center for Lifelong Learning is offering a new series of short-term, non-credit classes to connect the Cochise County community with valuable lifelong learning. Take an educational trip, earn a Red Cross certification, or learn about a new hobby.

College board hires association to help presidential search
SIERRA VISTA — The Cochise College Governing Board selected ACCT during its Tuesday night board meeting to help in its search for a new college president.

Cochise College Events
Friday, August 15

$1,000 grant
Elfrida Elementary School received a $1,000 grant from the Arizona Physical Therapy Association as part of their goal to make all children physically active. These grants are provided throughout the state to purchase equipment, particularly balls for the kids to use during playground activities. The grant was written by two seventh grade girls, Shaynne Maki and Shaelyn Jiron, who receive the grant check from Jim Sieveke of the association

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