Commentary

No matter what life throws at us, we will persevere. Adversity in every shape and form will knock at our door forever.

To the citizens of Camp Verde: First I want to say thank you for the way in which you have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic that has literally turned our nation, state and county upside down.

As we work our way through these historic events we would like to remind everyone that this will pass, and as a community many lessons will be learned, and together we will be stronger for them.

Let me say this clearly: we are NOT actively promoting travel to Sedona and we have not done so since February. Period.

Just two weeks ago life was very different in the Verde Valley. With the sudden progression of COVID-19 across the nation and into our state and now county, the reality of this infection’s impact has become soberingly clear.

The Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District provides fire suppression, emergency medical service, rescue, hazardous materials response, and fire prevention services to the communities of Camp Verde, McGuireville, Rimrock, and Lake Montezuma.

The spotlight has been shining bright on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Hope saw her mother buried at 6. At 7, she met her father for the first time in the visiting room of the prison in Florence.

The Camp Verde Town Council should waste no time in dismissing the fraudulent complaint against Town Manager Russ Martin for violating the Arizona Open Meeting Law.

Walking in our schools I am encouraged each day by what I see in our kids and community. I see kindness, joy, and hard work. Recognizing hard truths should not mean a loss of hope — it should invigorate us to rise to the challenge.

My friend and neighbor Don likes to plant trees. He has a little over an acre with plenty of fruit and nut trees that he has planted since the early 1980s, even though he claims not to eat the fruit (his appetite for pie belies this claim).

I encourage any of you who have gotten this far, and are so inclined, to give a call to one of our schools in the Cottonwood Oak Creek School District.

“One of the most hotly debated clauses in the Constitution deals with the removal of federal government officials,” writes Scott Bomboy, the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.

With a Senate impeachment trial likely just days away, President Trump and Democrats are locked in a cycle of mutual trolling over whether the trial should include testimony from witnesses.

This was an ugly night for the Camp Verde Town Council. This situation could have been handled 100 different ways and all of them would have been better than the ambush approach used by Butner.

In 2016, Bernie Sanders waited until July -- long after the Democratic nomination had been decided -- to endorse Hillary Clinton. Radio host Howard Stern asked Clinton if Sanders could have backed her earlier.

Finally, the presidential campaign has entered the presidential election year.

Camp Verde High School automotive teacher Tracy Tudor and I accompanied four of our students, Merrick Leinhart (auto), Michael Martin (auto), Alexis Garcia (graphic design), and John Trey Graves (graphic design) to the SkillsUSA Leadership Training Camp in Williams at the Young Life Lost Canyon Camp, Nov. 20-22.

Every fundraising is dependent upon the community of givers to be successful with achieving funding goals.

The current lie du jour is bribery, quid pro quo, and now abuse of power, and the politicians and press are going over board on repeating it.

Today is a somber day in American history. When I was elected to represent Arizona’s First Congressional District in the House of Representatives, I did not expect to be voting on impeachment.

Whenever we hear something terrible happening to a person or group in December, our first thoughts are often that it’s A shame something negative would happen during the holidays.

Thanks to some hard work from various poeple, four areas in the Verde Valley are recognized as International Dark Sky Communities, and Cottonwood has a committee and leadership’s backing in pursuing a fifth such honor.

Even with stormy weather forecast for the first part of this weekend, this could be a time to make a difference in your local economy.

It’s the time of year when gift-giving is driven more by motivation than obligation.