Editorials

As stated in this very space five weeks ago, the indictment of a former business manager for the Valley Academy of Career and Technology Education most likely represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of skeletons in the VACTE closet.

It’s a safe bet that most of the folks reading this came here from somewhere else.

Grades are the measuring stick between excellence and failure with the varying degrees of average falling in-between.

It was on the stroke of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 that the world celebrated the end of World War I.

Fixing the education system in Arizona still is top-of-mind for state officials; however, the actual solution remains elusive.

When asked why his executive assistant would send out an email that is blatantly false, County Supervisor TomThurman’s response was, “No clue. She always tries to protect me. My mom I guess.”

The relationship, or at least the perception of, between community and cops is sadly lacking in many parts of America. We should count ourselves lucky here in the Verde Valley.

The question of what the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors should do with its disgraced elected assessor has spun its way to the hallowed halls of the Arizona Legislature.

We’re sorry, but the backlash directed at the Clarkdale Police Department for its handling of the Cody Delafuente case comes across as cops protecting cops.

The issue of student-athlete drug testing at Mingus is one that needs to be debated and decided on the basis of fact and not emotion.

Despite all the bellyaching we’ve seen with this project, Yavapai County officials have yet to take a backward step in their planning for this new connector route.

When Arizona House Rep. Thomas “T.J.” Shope, Jr. wrote to the state’s attorney general that age restrictions on tobacco poducts are pre-empted by state law, he takes a step back in time.

When discussing the Valley Academy of Career and Technology Education, there is always an important separation of eras to make: “Before Bob Weir” and “After Bob Weir.”

Goodyear, along with Cottonwood, raised the vaping age to 21; Goodyear also added a host of other restrictions.

Last week, it was motorcycles and rock ‘n’ roll. This week, the Verde Valley’s second major fall community festival shifts its focus to the quiet solitude of the Verde River.

If there is some confusion over what should and should not be allowed at Clarkdale’s Mountain Gate subdivision, it shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Never let it be said the Jerome Town Council did not give the issue of paid parking exemptions for residents a fair hearing.

Looking back over the years, there probably wasn’t a single hat that Lew Currier, Al Palmieri or Jane Moore has not worn in their service to the town. We’ve lost count of the times we saw former Mayor Jay Kinsella swinging a pick ax while working on town crews repairing leaking water lines.

Summer doldrums are quickly forgotten in the Verde Valley when you turn the calendar page to September.

What’s scary about this massive drug busts is not what was prevented from entering the Verde Valley, but what actually gets through at other times.

The ideal outcome with any gun-on-school-campus situation is 100% student safety.

When the governor and Arizona Legislature go back to the drawing board on short-term rental properties, let’s hope their guiding principle is neighborhood preservation.

More importantly, it was a clear indictment against the dirty politics that were front and center during the 2018 Sedona municipal election.

Social media pundits are ablaze this week with comments about the resulting smoke that has inundated the Verde Valley from the Saber Fire north of Sedona and Sheridan Fire in the Chino Valley area.

The Beaver Creek communities of Lake Montezuma, Rimrock and McGuireville have become the epicenter for the Verde Valley’s latest growth and development challenges.