Family, friends and the community gathered for the dedication of the Fred Sang Memorial Rotary Park on Sept 29. The Mountain Empire Rotary Club has established the new park at the Sonoita Fairgrounds after working for eight years to raise funds and construct infrastructure and landscaping.
Roadmap to Water Quality
Friends of Sonoita Creek sponsored a presentation to the community on August 14 to share the results of research conducted by NextGen Engineering, a Tucson based firm, on Patagonia’s water quality. The report showed that there are significant gaps in data and need for more stakeholder engagement.
NextGen has produced maps, databases, baseline data on water quality, background data on water quality as a frame of reference.
The report, commissioned by the Town Flood and Flow Committee, will be available online upon approval from Town of Patagonia.
Stories We Are Following
Recycling in Santa Cruz
As of August 2019 Santa Cruz County has stopped its recycling program. The county is seeking bids for the recycling materials collected as part of the County’s recycling efforts. The deadline for bids is Oct 15, 2019.
Brent Bowden Family Sues
In July 2019, one year after Brent Bowdon’s death, his family has sued the city of Lake Havasu and the three police officers who killed Bowdon. The suit alleges a civil rights violation under the fourth amendment against the three police officers, and of wrongful death by the use of unnecessary force. The family is seeking a jury trial.
Museum Hosts Mata Ortiz Tour
Press Release
The Patagonia Museum will host its second guided bus tour to Mata Ortiz Nov. 9-11, 2019. Departure is from Patagonia on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8a.m. on a coach tour bus from South of the Border Tours. We will visit the archaeological site of Paquime, the Museo de las Culturas del Norte, the village of Mata Ortiz and the potters who create the well-known pottery, and the Pink Store in Puerto Palomas during the three days of our tour. We will lodge and dine at the Hotel Hacienda in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico for two nights. We plan to return to Patagonia by 6p.m. Nov. 11.
Rebecca Orozco, a history and anthropology instructor from Cochise College and the University of Arizona, will provide educational commentary throughout our travels. Peter Dalton Ronstadt and Company will travel with us and provide musical entertainment for our group.
The Patagonia Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and collection of the history and culture of eastern Santa Cruz County. The Patagonia Museum is an all-volunteer run organization that maintains two historic schoolhouses, the Lochiel Schoolhouse and the 1914 Patagonia Grammar School that houses the museum facility. The Patagonia Museum is supported by over 100 members, dozens of donors and fundraising events like this bus tour that fund our work.
The cost of the tour begins at $550 for Museum members (with double occupancy) and includes transportation, lodging, meals, guide service, admission prices and entertainment. For further information contact German Quiroga at 520-343-5641 or visit www.thepatagoniamuseum.org
South32 Awards Grants to Local Nonprofits
South32 awarded $60,000 in grants to nonprofits in Santa Cruz County during the first selection cycle of the Hermosa Community Fund.
Over 40 applications were received, from which the following grantees were selected: Family Health Care Amigos, KPUP-LP Radio, Nogales Community Development Corporation, Rebuilding Together Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz Council on Aging, Senior Citizens of Patagonia, Inc. and the Patagonia Museum.
The fund is held by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) and was established by South32 in May of this year. It supports nonprofit groups working to improve education, environment, health and welfare, recreation, civic enhancement, and arts, culture and history in the county, in accordance with the community’s needs and priorities.
Two more grant cycles are scheduled to occur prior to June 2020. To learn more about the South32 Hermosa Community Fund, including dates of grant cycles, visit the CFSA website or bit.ly/South32Fund.
safely at the Sonoita Labor Day Rodeo. Photo by Sally Reichardt