The shipment of copper and silver ore in the early twentieth century required a railroad, and in the mountains, a railroad runs through the valleys. Thus Patagonia—which sprang up around the railroad—is situated in a low-lying plain between mountains, making it a flood plain. Here that means, statistically, that each year there is a 1% […]
Local News
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EPA Rejects Rosemont’s Plan
Map showing location and directional flow of waterways that would be affected by Rosemont’s proposed mine. Rosemont Copper’s plans to establish an open pit mine in the Santa Rita Mountains have hit a stumbling block. In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) dated November 7, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified “significant […]
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County Tackles Recycling With New Strategies
Santa Cruz County Solid Waste Division is working on improving the cost effectiveness of their recycling program. There is still a wide disparity between the cost of these programs and the money that they can bring in, mostly because of transportation costs, but also because the market for glass and plastic has shrunk. Then, too, […]
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Town Council Notes
At the Town Council meetings in October, the following was discussed and/or decided: Availability Fees: Amendment to Patagonia’s “availability fees” [fees for water, sewer and garbage services] is being considered by the council. Although these fees are important sources of income for the town, a number of town residents have questioned their justification. If you […]
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RV Park Awaits ADOT Permit
Heavy equipment stands idle at Adroit’s construction site off Highway 82. In August 2010, Adroit, LCC, a company owned by Brent Bowden, was granted a Use Permit for a Recreational Vehicle Park (RV Park) on Route 82 in Patagonia. There were several conditions attached to the permit, including a stipulation that the site’s primary access […]
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Plaza Gets New Lease on Life
Photo by Walter Andrew For the past few years, the only occupant in the plaza at 277 McKeown Avenue has been Patagonia’s community radio station, KPUP. But Patagonia resident Bob Ollerton hopes to change that situation. Ollerton recently purchased the property and has begun renovating the structure, which was originally built by Dean and Kathy […]
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Town to Vote on SSVEC Renewal
The Town of Patagonia will hold an election on Tuesday, November 5, to approve or reject the granting of a franchise to Sulpher Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC), to maintain and operate an electric energy transmission and distribution system within the corporate limits of the town of Patagonia. SSVEC is currently providing Patagonia’s electric power, […]
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County Fair Counts Its Successes
Ember Hubbell According to Marion Vendituoli, co-chair of this year’s Santa Cruz Fair, 4,100 people came through the gate the weekend of September 20-22. Many of those people were students from the county who were given the day off from school and bussed to the fair on Friday morning. There they found a special program […]
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A Long Trail of Deception
As earlier reported in the media, Jeffrey Cooper of Patagonia admitted that he was guilty of felony theft in connection with funds belonging to the Mountain Empire Trails Association (META). On September 23, he was sentenced to two years of probation and four weekends in the Adult Correctional Facility. Nearly everyone who knows Jeffrey Cooper […]
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Kevin McDonough Sentenced to Four Years Parole
On June 18 a sentencing hearing for defendant Kevin O’Donough took place at Nogales Superior Court. McDonough was originally charged with first degree murder in the fatal shooting of Jacob Dodson in 2012. Last April, after the District Attorney received the results of evidence testing, McDonough was offered and accepted a plea bargain for negligent […]