Commentary

It happened again. I was stuck in the misery on I-17 over Memorial Day weekend. What should have been an easy drive became the nightmare called “going nowhere fast” for more hours than I care to consider.

In a few weeks, we’ll be saying goodbye to Gayle as Clarkdale’s town manager. There will be no shortage of accolades to describe her two decades plus of service to the town and the Verde Valley.

In the days before the Nunes memo was declassified, many of the nation’s top current and former intelligence officials, members of Congress, and analysts in the press warned that declassification would do grave damage to American national security. It didn’t happen.

There was a death in the family. Those cruel words have been spoken and experienced by all of us. A parent, spouse, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent departs from our life and we are catapulted into a different space. The grieving zone. That place that no one cares to be and yet somehow none can completely escape.

For Camp Verde businesses and the Camp Verde Business Alliance to consider, let us say that Middle Verde Road is even mildly successful – meaning traffic will make traffic easier from Camp Verde to Cottonwood easier.

The Citizens Water Advocacy Group believes that citizens in the Quad-City area must tell their elected officials they want them to begin now to create a water management plan that will produce long-term water security.

Contrary to the “Open Letter from Northern Arizona Teachers,” your LD-6 state legislators have not ignored our teachers, our students, or our schools.

There has been a pattern of consistency that inspired confidence during Genie Gee’s run as acting superintendent at Mingus Union High School.

Don’t get me wrong. Elected officials should have vision. However, our leaders should also be pragmatic.

I am cautiously optimistic that negotiations for the Camp Verde Water Company purchase has again returned for consideration. Acquiring the Water Company was one of my priorities for the following reasons:

The most heart-wrenching thing you’ll ever see is a kid getting called for a false start at a state track and field championship.

Arizona has a new telemedicine law that should not only give rural Arizonans more ready access to specialized health care but help assure their insurance will cover those remote treatments.

After years of practice, last Sunday I became one with my paintbrush. I finally found my calling.

Recently, a small group of anti-noise activists have been actively attacking the Cottonwood Municipal Airport.

With this week’s announcement that Texan Tracie Hlavinka will succeed Gayle Mabery as Clarkdale’s town manager, there comes a real seniority shift of institutional knowledge about the intergovernmental workings of the various communities in the Verde Valley.

I moved to the Verde Valley from Las Vegas, Nevada, almost two years ago because I wanted the opposite of Vegas.

Look around. Spring has arrived. Some poets call it the most romantic time of year, when tree blossoms, mild breezes and songbirds stir up positive emotions. We might want to take time out of our hectic schedules to appreciate the essence of these beautiful Spring days.

WASHINGTON -- A caravan of Democratic presidential wannabes is lining up this spring in the belief that they can beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election for the White House.

What has been lost? And can it ever be replaced? The heart and soul of Paris, Notre-Dame Cathedral, reminds us that our greatest treasures are not permanent.

When I decided to move to Clarkdale 13 years ago, I was hoping to find meaningful work but wasn’t sure what it would be.

You have probably seen a barrage of “letters to the editor” regarding the Cottonwood Airport. Here’s a few clarifying facts.

First-term Cottonwood City Councilman Michael Mathews is finally seeing the light when it comes to his use of private email to conduct public business.

If Michael Mathews correctly has his finger on the pulse of the Cottonwood City Council, the folks complaining about noise at the Municipal Airport have no business trying to fight City Hall.

My wife Shannon and myself are the proud owners of Plowing Ahead Ranch, a small cattle business located at the end of Mahoney Road in the Middle Verde neighborhood.

City council chambers and the best bar in town used to be the primary arenas for public discourse on community issues.