City of Cottonwood Police and Fire Departments present a check for $10,030.00 to the 100 Club of Arizona

City of Cottonwood Police and Fire Departments present a check to the 100 Club, from left, Officer Cory Shilling and Jax, Commander Jody Makuch, volunteer James Iacovacci, Mayor Diane Joens, 100 Club Rep Amy Armenta, Firefighters Brandon Wacker and Steve Trautman, Fire Chief Mike Kuykendall.

City of Cottonwood Police and Fire Departments present

a check for $10,030.00 to the 100 Club of Arizona  

The City of Cottonwood Police and Fire Departments personnel comprising the “Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee” presented a check for $10,030.00 to the 100 Club of Arizona on May 13, 2015. The 100 Club of Arizona is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to the families of police officers and firefighters who are killed or injured in the line of duty, provides financial assistance to public safety agencies who need help purchasing safety equipment, provides the children and spouses of public safety personnel with scholarships for college and provides other financial help to public safety agencies.

The Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee raised these funds through the 3^rd Annual Fallen Heroes Golf Tournament at Verde Santa Fe Golf Course held on Saturday, April 25, 2015. This year’s event was a huge success and participants not only played a round of golf, they also participated in a gun raffle, a general raffle with great prizes and a live auction with autographed items from all Arizona professional sports teams.

The tournament and auctions raised $9,454.00. After the event, Cottonwood City Manager, Doug Bartosh, donated $546.00 to make it an even $10,000.00, which the highest amount raised in the history of this event.

The Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee would like to recognize all the businesses and organizations who donated products and/or money to help make this event such a great success.

-        Tournament Sponsors – City of Cottonwood, Canyon Distributing (Coors Light), Pawn Palace, Law Enforcement Creations, Larry Green Chevrolet and Laserlyte.

-        Verde Santa Fe Golf Course – Provided the golf course, raffle items, lunch and a great service.

-        Donation of the gun for the gun raffle – Pawn Palace and Law Enforcement Creations

-        Hole Sponsors – Signs 928 (also donated all needed signs), Cage Free Grooming, Old Town Frame Company, Trophies Unlimited, Laserlyte, Law Enforcement Creations, Pawn Palace, Joe Mulcaire Construction, Bedrock Landscape and Materials, Canyon Distributing, The Embroidery Shop, Yellow Pages.

-        Donation items – Laserlyte, Law Enforcement Creations, Red Rock Dental, Funhavers, Canyon Distributing, Arizona Diamondbacks, Out of Africa Wildlife Park, Black Cow Café, Vinnies Pizza, Scottsdale Gun Club, Tan-Tastics Tanning Salon, Old Town Frame Company, Canine Country Club, Doug Bartosh, Sedona-Verde Valley Firefighter Charities, Money in the Mail.

-        Live Auction Items – Phoenix Coyotes, Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals and Kurt Warner’s First Things First Foundation.

The members and organizers of the Verde Valley Fallen Heroes Committee include:

Kevin Murie, Cottonwood Police Department

Josh Fradette, Cottonwood Police Department

Gareth Braxton, Cottonwood Police Department

Jim Iacovacci, Cottonwood Police Department (Volunteer)

Brandon Wacker, Cottonwood Fire Department

Steve Trautman, Cottonwood Fire Department
Melissa Stearley, Accounting

For further information please contact the Cottonwood Fire Department at 928-634-2741

                                               

                                                                       

Mingus Union High School Again Recognized Among America’s Best Schools

Mingus Again Recognized Among America’s Best Schools

US News & World Report recently released its annual ranking of “America’s Best High Schools” and Mingus Union High School was included for the second year in a row, having again earned a Bronze award, putting Mingus among the top 27% of all high schools in the nation.  Awards are based on student performance on state assessments and how well schools prepare students for college-level work. US News utilized the American Institute for Research to implement its comprehensive ranking methodology, which is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators. This analysis of nearly 30,000 public high schools across the country found that Mingus students performed better than statistically expected, including the performance of its economically disadvantaged and minority students, and that Mingus’ students performed well on Advanced Placement indicators. Mingus Superintendent Dr. Paul Tighe commented, “We are very honored to receive this prestigious recognition for a second straight year. It reflects the excellent work of our teachers and staff as well as the great achievement of our students. This clearly demonstrates how a small community in rural Arizona can provide a high quality education despite having less funding and resources than in any other state in the nation.”

 

Dr. Paul Tighe

Superintendent

Mingus Union High School District #4
1801 East Fir Street

Cottonwood, AZ  86326
928-634-8640
www.mingusunion.com

William Eaton Recognized by Cottonwood City Council for Winning 2015 Governor's Arts Awards for Artist of the Year

Photo from left, Doug Bartosh, Diane Joens, Terence Pratt, William Eaton, Jesse Dowling,

Tim Elinski, Karen Pfeifer, Randy Garrison, Lana Tolleson, Kyla Allen.

December 19, 2014

2015 Governor’s Arts Awards

420 West Roosevelt Avenue, Suite 208

Phoenix, AZ 85003

To the Governor’s Arts Award Committee:

Here in rural Arizona we are proud of our success in promoting arts and cultures in Cottonwood and the Verde Valley. For that reason, it is a great honor to nominate William Eaton for the Governor’s Arts Award in the artist category.

Every day William builds a better Arizona through his music, guitar building, partnerships and willingness to get along with everyone. He is amazing that way. He also has worked for many years supporting and partnering with the Native American community.

William has shared more than just his amazing talents with the Arizona community. He has shared his passion and his vision. Through programs sponsored by the Arizona

Commission on the Arts, William Eaton and his wife and work partner, dancer Christine Lamb, have brought the spark of music to school children throughout the state in extended residency programs which usually conclude with a music and dance concert put on by the children, using instruments they have designed and built. Providing this valuable education and exposure to our youth is a priceless experience. William has a great talent as a luthier and has expanded this talent to a school for teaching luthiery skills to others. Through the theater he has provided his keen insight to other artists through his uncanny ability to understand what each artist needs at whatever junction they are in their life along with some incredible encouragement. Whether it be constructive criticism, treasured pointers or a listening ear William’s encouragement of others in the art field is without guile or ego. Finally, through the development of the OTCA, he has brought diverse cultures to the Verde Valley. Like bringing water to someone who didn't even know they were thirsty, he has given people in rural Arizona a taste of something remarkable and it inspires us to want more.

William has made such a difference in our community through his promotion of arts and culture. Since 2008, William has featured more than 300 events, including concerts by recognized names such as John McEuen, Gary Morris, Melanie; and performances by well-known individuals such as the official Arizona State Balladeer Dolan Elli and Historian Marshall Trimble. In five short years some 23,000 visitors have attended dance festivals, theater performances, comedy shows and music concerts. With his work with youth through the Arts Commission, William also provides regional community events such as "The Art of Movement" where all dance classes are free to the public and attendees can join one or all of them for exposure to the world of dance. He recently brought "Cottonwood Idol" to the Verde Valley, as a benefit to a local non-profit, with individuals ranging in ages from 6 to 78 performing. No one was excluded and the judging process was one of encouragement with helpful tips and uplifting praise. In regional partnership with the Verde Valley Winery Consortium, the OTCA has been the home of the "Water to Wine" festival which promoted awareness of the Verde River and its integral part in the Verde Valley and the wine industry. Finally, the OTCA originated the annual "Spring Planting Festival" which is on its fourth year. This week-long event is specifically geared around citizens making community connections, and promoting awareness of healthy communities while partnering with musical concerts. It embodies the phrase, "connecting people to place, taste and story." It is the very definition of community engagement.

William engages not only citizens in the metropolitan areas of Arizona, but the Verde Valley as well. The Verde Valley is a microcosm of communities ranging from the unique artistry of Jerome, the red rock beauty in Sedona, the solidly grounded farm and ranching worlds in rural areas such as Camp Verde and Lake Montezuma, finally to the economic hub and heart of the Verde Valley in Cottonwood. Through William and the OTCA these distinct communities have converged through his genius in providing an experience in the arts. He impacts the lives of children throughout the state by introducing them, thereby investing them in the world of music. He has brought a skill to those willing to learn the artistry of luthiery. He has developed a diversity of engagements in his theater allowing all of us to experience arts from the far off lands. He has broadened our knowledge of this ever shrinking planet by bringing beauty to our community with an impact none could have guessed. What was once a quiet Old Town district is now vibrant with music and artistry. Finally, his personal investment in this community by being readily available to support and engage in regional events such as "Brand New Fashion Girl Show," "Cottonwood Idol," "Gardens for Humanity," and "Celebrating the Art of Movement," has touched those who would not otherwise have had exposure to the arts. His influence is far reaching, his impact is profound and the effect on the lives he touches is transformative.

The committee’s support of arts and culture in rural Arizona is greatly appreciated, and it is my sincere hope that William Eaton will be recognized for the amazing and accomplished artist—and person—that he is.

Sincerely,

Diane Joens, Mayor, City of Cottonwood
with assistance from Kyla Allen