CEDARHILL

Quiet on the Western Front

It's been so long since I posted that i have almost forgotten how to use typepad! I've been really busy in June - on stuff that could not easily be blogged about. You just about have to see it - and now you can.

It's a web portal for the region. Sounds simple enough but it has been a huge undertaking which just happened to coincide with the production of another GMT paper.  There were days in the last 30 of them - that I didn't know whether I was coming or going. But I feel justified in the work put in so far... it seems it will pay off for me...and others who are signing on board. That was the purpose. 

My friend ellen wrote about doorways - and cleaning the wordwork which accumulates old residue.

She sent this wonderful missive about cleaning off the old and making way for new ideas, fresh presence. About how doorways signal we are stepping into new territory. She did this abou the same time I was in the middle of building the web portal. Which, by the way is another word for doorway. I took it as a sign that I was on the right path. It has required investment in money and time which are both in short supply these days, but I believe in it....totally.

So please take a look and keep coming back. This site has so much potential for our area to connect, inform..I think it will not only be a great asset, but a good business model to move me forward.

Funny how you can find opportunity in little Globe, Az. But it happens...

See: GMTeConnect.com   Oh, by the way. The latest edition of the Globe Miami Times can be read on-line now at eConnect by going to "About Us".

The rocky road of bad behavior...

.........Dr. Timothy Trent; Globe Schools Superintendent

This may come as some surprise to those who keep up with my blog because I haven't posted about this subject before, but I've been involved in what i call "community work" ever since the evidence and the requests from others became such that I felt compelled to starting writing about the things taking place in our local school district and the strong arm tactics of the school superintendent. While I was supposed to write several articles for the local newspaper, they backed down at the first article and never published it. I have been building up quite a file on GUSD and the current administration, but struggled with exactly what manner of "publication" should be attempted. I felt my paper, GlobeMiamiTimes, was not really the venue.

In the course of my investigations on the Superintendent  I ran across an earlier court case involving our Superintendent when he was a principal at Kyrene School District and got the name of the attorney who had handled that case. It was settled out of court. I have since begun to work that that attorney who is assisting me in getting access to District records and we've actually filed a suit along those lines.

All of this appeared to be somewhat of a lone effort to get at the truth when the Board called a special session last night to discuss ONE thing: "The discussion and possible reassignment of the Superintendent and the supervisor of facilities."  Turns out the Board President has been presented with some "very disturbing news" including, but not limited to a discrepancy of $100K plus missing from the budget, $900K of grant funds not drawn down, the State Auditor reports not being turned into the state and the State making noises about taking over the School District. ...Plus improprieties in personnel and budget issues...

Seems they were doing their own investigation as well. 

 

Ha! 

The meeting was packed last night with over 125 people and the board went into executive session twice to make calls to their legal counsel for advice, but in the end the Board President held firm and the vote was 4 to 1 to "reassign" the Superintendent and Supervisor to "HOME", while 2 independent auditors are brought in to look into finance and HR practices, and a new CEO/mgr will come in on July 7th and remain until...further notice. The Board called this meeting and took this action 2 days after Trent and his wife - the County Attorney- took off for a 3 week European vacation. She took the opportunity to email her staff from Portugal and request that theygo 'stand up for Trent."  (Isn't this a mis-use of her position as County Attny? I think so!)  Several of her staff members were there to read letters and protest the Board action.

But the Board Pres. held firm and said any delay at this point in addressing the seriousness of the situation at the District is harmful.  Good for her! 

I stood up and spoke and had the opportunity to have written into the record that 246 kids have left the District (many transferring to Miami) since Trent took over Globe Schools and an astounding 70 teachers and educators have left in 5 years. 

Should the audits turn up squeaky clean, the Superintendent and Supervisor will be invited to return to campus. If not.... well, who knows!  Currently they are not to be seen anywhere on district property unless it is at a public function when the general public is invited.

All of this comes on the heels of putting out the Summer Edition of the paper and launching a new web portal for the region. The Portal is perhaps my best idea of my very eclectic career and will require a separate post. 

Last night was a win for all things just. I'm savoring the moment for now. There is still much work ahead on this issue. Not the least is saving the District from Receivership and bad management. 

Meeting up with the Acers

It was a busy weekend with working on the paper, the web portal....and driving down to Tucson to hook up with the Acers who were on hand for the wedding of a 'favorite son'.

Seems they long ago incorporated 3 boys into their family of 4 girls: Matt (Left) Brandon (back) and Joe. Joe was the one getting married to Becky at the Wild Horse Ranch in Tucson and there were lots of Kingman and Tucson folks on hand to celebrate.
The ceremony was perfectly short and sweet and the reception/dancing went well past midnight. 

Jim, Brandon and Sarah all had to leave the next morning at 5:30 after four hours of sleep and the rest of us got to sleep in. Thank goodness!
This kind of night is why so many people move to Tucson. A June evening which was dry, cool and starlit.
Nothing like sharing a bathroom with 5 women...especially when they are getting ready for an "event!". Jim is used to it...he just stays out of the way!

Getting to and from Tucson these days though is a challenge. They have torn up both major arteries leading into Globe-Miami to widen the highways. So the highway looks like this for a 2 mile stretch heading to Tucson. On the weekends there may be a 15 minute delay, but on weekdays the road is completely shut down Mon- Friday.

Going the other way, the road can be shut down for 15 minutes to an hour while they clear the blasting debris. Not sure it was such a good idea to widen BOTH roads at the same time. Ah well.
Some things are worth running the gamut....and this weekend was one of them!  Cheers,L

Exploring on my Birthday

My friend Ev sent me two books for my birthday and it reminded me of a decade-plus earlier when Mother gave me a harmonica for my 40th Birthday. She said at the time, and I absorbed the sentiment, that you are never too old to learn a new THING. a new TALENT. a new way of looking and dealing with the world.

After I got that Harmonica, I used to take it on road trips with me and practice. I have a terrible singing voice, so played Harmonica. Even on an elementary level it sounded better than my singing voice and gave me  great pleasure in exploring this new territory, this new vibration in expressing myself. It came with some degree of success ( I could actually play a song I recognized) and I was comforted by the knowledge that my mother( who I found very wise)  thought I still had it in me to learn new things. Forever re-inventing myself. THAT is the juice of life I think. Or atleast has been the juice of my life.

The book which Ev gave me is by a 87 year old woman who writes wonderfully and honestly about life and living. She begins with two stories about a fern which she will not live to see in it's glory, and a pug puppy which she will never have because...well, she might be around for the end.And yet, she has a rich and satisfying life, enjoying what is before her. Que Sera, Sera.

Two good lessons on the eve of a birthday: To always engage in something new. something that sparks the imagination and challenges us in new ways. And, to find ways to enjoy the age we are. Even with all the drawbacks..there are still a lot of things to celebrate...and appreciate. That's life.  And it all about how we approach it. I've had some really great role models in that regard. And good friends along the way.
Couldn't ask for more!

thank you Ev...and mother...for giving me such great presents of heart and inspiration!

Giving Leeway

A quote came across my desk today which went roughly like this: "I was given a cactus for a gift and in less than a week it had died. I thought damn it... I'm even less nurturing than a desert. " 

It made me think of the phone calls, the cards , the acts of kindness I could bestow upon my family and friends which seem to get lost in the mix. I regret that. Really I do. I have decided though that I'm not the only one who is overwhelmed at times and outpaced by the sheer number of things that need to be addressed on any particular day. I hope...and expect...my friends and family to know that I love and care about them, and will surface as time and inspiration affords my ability to share. My only assurance in this process is that I feel close to everyone even if I don't write and they don't write. They are still my "tribe".
You know who you are. I love you.
~L

New Blog etc...

You might be wondering why I haven't blogged on cedarhill lately and part of the reason is that I've been busy keeping up with two other blogs: Local School District  and The Theater.

The "Register" blog was launched in an effort to write about issues affecting our local School District which is not getting coverage in the two weekly papers. And the theater blog is simply to help Hollis Cinemas get some exposure and answer questions about the construction phase before the theater opens in November.

 

Bollywood 2009

THIS was a weekend of theatrics!  It was the closing weekend of Moon Over Buffalo in which Kip played the leading man, and Molly was the ingenue, and ended with Bollywood@Cedarhill where the Indian film industry is known for their over-the top theatrics when it comes to love and angst! 

The crowd for Bollywood was smaller since both rain and Play dates pushed the nite of Bollywood into May and landed it on Mothers Day. Still, those who came brought with them great food and spirit for the occasion Plus we had the pleasure of new faces who discovered our little "theater under the stars" and promise to come back for more.

As for dressing the part...My friend Jennifer had her ex husband pick up saris for Molly and I in India when he was there on business. And if I were handing out prizes, I would definitely give it to Nancy for her "Salwar Kameez" and scarf. Stunning! But every one did alittle something to mark the occassion. I do have to say that Ralph and Darin came in garb that I can only describe as somewhere between New Deli with and the 70's - with personality to match - and they were gracious enough to go for my "bended knee shot!.(I missed being able to co-host the event with Guy, since he ended up having to work!)

    

This year we watch Jab We Met, which is basically girl is in love with wrong boy while she spends the entire movie with the "right boy" helping her out of one crisis after another. Although all  us (in the audience) could see that she should be with this saint of a friend - who is fabulously cute and unpretentious- it took our heroine three hours and much singing, dancing and crying to come to the same conclusion. Very fun!

 

      

Shooting on Sunday

One of Bill's favorite things to do is to shoot models in old abandoned places. We were lucky to find a few on Sunday, but couldn't resist the old Depot either which has been restored. I agree with Bill. It is much more fun to shoot locations if you have a model and Kara offered to hang with us for the day for just that purpose.She was a great model! The trick with modeling I think is to make slight adjustments - not big ones...and Kara got that! Moving a shoulder or shifting your eyes or the angle of your nose is enough to make the dif. between a great shot and a good one.

   

The last run

 
Bill and I were out yesterday to photograph the Heisler and picked this great section of track which has a nice bend it as our spot. We waited patiently until we heard the Heisler come into view and started snapping! Right after this picture there was a Big Pfffftttt! And the train stopped. The little engine had thrown another rod!  This late in the season means it won't be back in service this year. And plans are, to replace this engine with a 1774, which is bigger for next year.

Overlooking Miami

 
Bill Woody flew in for the weekend and we always have to shoot when he's here.
Yesterday we were up early and found the road in Miami which winds you out of town and up into the hills overlooking the mine.It was the same road they ran the day before for the Copper Crawl which is both a 5K and 13K run..mostly uphill!
    

3rd in Hand Mucking

 

This weekend was Boom town Spree in Miami where they celebrate the towns mining history. Part of that process is to hold contests of "mining activities", like drilling holes in rocks and spikes into the ground....and mucking; shoveling gravel. My friend Deb, has won the women's hand mucking almost every year and is the State Champion Hand Mucker. Something you wouldn't expect when you first meet her. She and her sister Cheryl are both athletic....and this year they came in just a few tenths of a second apart. 37 seconds plus. Cheryl won 1st place and Deb took second. And surprisingly, I took 3rd at 40seconds. I feel great even being within shoutin distance of the Yerkovichs!
 

Bill Woody and I were there to shoot the event but it seems they needed more women in the contest.
And, by the time they got done recruiting they had 8 women...including me. So Woody took the pictures and I shoveled! Contestants included a mother of 3, a doctor, a grandmother, a college student, a massage therapist, a forest service ranger and me.You get timed on filling the cart with 500lbs of gravel, and after watching Deb and Cheryl go first, it seems the key is full shovels, little movement and don't look up. Hey, and i got $75 for third place!  SEE Boomtown Spree- Photo Album to the left.

 

Easter Parade

Even though the rains came, Kip and Molly pulled off the First Annual Easter Parade this morning with over 40 entries from most fanciful  hat to group awards. The morning came complete with an Easter Bunny (see the shot below. Bunny is entering from the right), and the song Easter Parade blaring from the Grand Stand of the Arts Center.  If you want to see ALL the pics from this morning..

 

Go to:  www.pictage.com   EVENT # 640733

Working girl

OK, so the Spring Edition of the paper went to press on the 1st and got distributed last week. My wonderful creative director, Jennifer, managed to accomplish this....AND prep for her big move to Houston Texas, and still maintain her sanity. Don't know how she does it. There was much to talk about this time from the new Heisler steam engine to rafting on the Salt. Since every paper from here to Phoenix has done a story on the steam engine, I decided to focus on the people who RUN the steam engine. Interesting characters - every one! However, the most daunting task was doing a feature on Kip who is our Main Street Director and one of those individuals who is such a rich vein of material - both for who he is...and what he has done...that it is hard to know just what avenue to take in doing a feature.

Also had the fine opportunity to send nephew Eric and friend Mike down the Salt with the Salt River Rafting Company the Salt,as my reporters for the Spring edition. They had fun and I got some much needed xtra time to finalize the paper and still get a good story on rafting.

And just a week before the paper went to press I discovered a new bakery/bistro in Superior- TOAST- run by two people who migrated here from Sonoma, California. Mary Karlin is an award winning cook and author of "Wood Fired Cooking" Mary K  Bert bakes breads every Tues and Thursday and pizzas on Wed and Fridays. Not to mention the cookies! The food is worth driving 100 miles for....let alone just up over the hill to Superior. Mary was one of the original founders of ramekins which was awarded the 2005 Award of Excellence "best Cooking School of the Year"...and does classes in your home. So of course I'm going to have her come to cedarhill and teach a class. But first...I need to build a wood-fired oven!

THEN- immediately following 3 weeks of intense activity to get out the paper (because I always wait a tad too long to start writing all the features AND following up with my advertisers), I started a week long process of "training" to work for the US Census. This was the first time in years and years that anyone has ever told me I HAD to be somewhere from 8 to 5. It was painful. And much daily stuff did not get done. Like banking, grocery shopping etc. Don't know how people live this life!

Now that I'm trained though I can somewhat set my own hours. Although I need to put in 40 hours during a 7 day week. Piece of cake!  (Hence the reason I'm not blogging as much as before.)

Cheers,

L  

A hummer

Grabbing the right opportunity requires that one is prepared at all times. Like having your camera..and the right lens...when a hummer comes into view. This little guy spent minutes at this section of flowers and it took me that long to decide to run upstairs and grab a camera. I just barely got this shot before he was on to another section of yard. 

Mother's Bearded Iris

Spring has arrived and the iris are blooming. This bearded iris is one of my mothers which she transplanted several times, over several moves, so that it could arrive in Arizona. It's funny, the things we leave behind us which bring joy to others. Every time I look at these iris I'm reminded of mothers ability to set anything in the ground - willy nilly- and look forward to seeing what sprouted. She cared none for grand design, grabbing opportunity where it presented itself. She was willing to buy iris - sight unseen- and wait for what popped up. Sometimes...it was a bearded iris.

 The key to her success I think was that she kept planting.  

  

The Hiesler....AGAIN!

I was standing in my kitchen tonight when I heard the distinctive hoot of the steam engine and hopped in my car to find it. They were pulling out of the station on another "practice" run....this time with several cars attached, in preparation for this weekends' unveiling of the Engine. Nearly 30 other people had heard the hoot as well and cars and cameras converged! This will be such a draw for our little town...and it is enough to make a train person out of just about anybody.  Deb had just completed a photo shoot and was ALSO taking pics. This is a shot of me talking to Steve (who actually owns the Engine)...standing with Earl and Sue, who are both engineers and qualified to run a steam engine.  They have invited me aboard tomorrow morning to ride with them for awhile so i can get a story for this next edition!  Wow...what a town i live in!

The Hiesler Arrives!

Next weekend our excursion train will be pulled by a REAL 1914 Hiesler Engine. It was brought out of the museum and on to the tracks through much hard work - and the will power of its owner who wanted to see it in use, instead of behind glass. Tonite was its maiden voyage along the tracks that run from Bixby road to Globe and it performed very well considering its age. All systems go.  It had to go through extensive testing including hundreds on the boiler alone to ensure that the original thickness still met all standards (it did), and the entire engine was taken apart, tested, re-built and tested again. The last step was the Federal Inspector who came this week and gave the engine his blessing.  How exciting to see it actually steaming along the tracks!There were several of us in cars lining the tracks waiting for the 1st glimpse. it came as the sun had almost set...but the distinctive sound of a steam engine is still worth the wait -even if there is little light for pics.
MORE to follow on thursday which is when it will finally be put into service!..

Intrepid Rafting Reporters

 
Nephew Eric and his good friend Mike are in Globe (from Ohio) for a few days of adventure in Globe over Spring Break. Next they head to Las Vegas, but I get them for 2 days!...

I had forgotten that it was Mike and his dad that I had rafted with on the Ohio Pile several years ago and so i asked them if they wanted to raft the SALT RIVER.   But Of Course!. I actually was able to get them set up on a full day trip for today as reporters for the Globe Miami Times. Complete with a set of questions to ask, my small camera and a tape recorder, they are to "get the story" for my next edition of the paper ....coming out in just 8  days.

Eric has a 2nd degree burn on his hand, so we wrapped it and put a rubbermaid glove on and he was good to go!

Conversation of a higher power...

This morning in my kitchen I was reminded once again why I love having CEDARHILL and a mother who raised me to not only be comfortable in sharing a home....but to embrace the new, and interesting people who COME TO YOUR DOORSTEP . Carol (dark hair) was taking her Sr. daughter on a trip through the Southwest for Spring Break and i was on the stop over before they continued on to Tucson. I love people who love my town and they found Globe curious and interesting and charming....and appreciate big Ooold houses. Perfect company for CedarHill.

Then I got a call, kinda last minute, from Ilana who asked if I might have a room available which I didn't....really. Except Kara's room was empty and she's always said I could use it if need be...so I offered and they accepted and boy was that a pleasant meeting of like minds and spirits.

Tsvi is a newly minted Rabbi (after 30+ years in applied mathematics) and Illiana is a harpsicordist **who teaches at Stanford.  We covered the ground from the origin of my family history as Gross and Marowitz who were most likely Jewish, although I didn't grow up with any inkling of that heritage. Now I want to check into it.  I also tend to agree with the Jewish belief that Jesus was just a really connected guy...Maybe I AM Jewish. We talked religion, death, aging, college admissions, music, ...and the joys of road trips.

It was great. Tsvi and I even talked about the possibility of doing an inter-faith retreat HERE next Spring...complete with hiking, rafting and subjects of a higher power. I find myself energized by these  occassions of shared connections with strangers-turned-friends who find their way to my doorstep.

Thank you mother for establishing this "house by the side of the road" .Its a good legacy you've left in my hands.

**Elaine Thornburg is her performing name and you can catch her music on Amazon.com by plugging in her name. WORTH the listen! She "has received critical acclaim for her performances throughout the United States as a soloist and chamber musician..."  And she was right here in my kitchen!

Oh- and they graciously invited me to their house in San Fran which I warned them I would certainly do. I think they are sincere and serious about the invitation. And so....it goes..the ability to live a rich life on pennies a day and friends in hi/low and far away places.

A busy Spring

I realize I haven't blogged in ages and you may be wondering if interesting things have stopped happening at CedarHill. No - quite the contrary...it has been a busy month and I feel pulled in many directions. I'm maintaining a blog for the new Globe Theater which is going up in leaps and bounds right across the street from me.
It is impressive to watch block walls- laid in by hand- instead of the tilt-up method I'd seen in Tucson where huge concrete walls were poured in place and then raised all at once. Wallah!..a wall. Here you watch the daily progress in number of feet...and the walls rise and a building takes place. It is good to see construction activity taking place. Jobs happening right next door. Even if noise is an occassional problem.

In addition I took on a project to do a feature piece on the problems with Student/Staff retention at Globe Unified School District and that is a challenge on several levels, not the least is the defensiveness of the District to release any information. After nearly 40 hours on the project so far, progress is being made and I hope to publish a story by April.

The Copper Spike Train continues to be a blessing to this community and recently I met Eric Laubach who had come here with his wife and friends to ride the train. Turns out his "hobby" is musician who plays not only piano (and writes his own songs), but also  6 and 12 string guitar. We are trying to brainstorm on some sort of Train/musical evening at the Depot.... You can check out his stuff at
Eric Laubauch   And that same weekend, Jennifer - my ace graphics designer/Creative Director for GMT....brought her mom and sister up for a day of "GLOBE."   She is moving soon to be with her sweetie in Texas, but the great things about modern publications is you can do work anywhere in the country. So she and I will continue to produce GMT's even if she lives 1200 miles away. Cool...love it..