Editorials

When it comes to school district consolidation, we prefer clarity to confusion.

As the Camp Verde Business Alliance explores the prospect of re-establishing a chamber of commerce, there needs to be a realistic understanding of what makes small-town chambers tick.

We’ll soon be getting down to the nitty gritty on the Verde Connect project, a new local thoroughfare expected to link Beaverhead Flat Road with Arizona 260.

Common sense is about to become the law in Arizona.

School district consolidation has never been a simple issue for folks in the Upper Verde.

As we commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the crisis in America gives us a prime opportunity to move from symbolism to substance to “form a more perfect union, establish justice, and ensure domestic tranquility.”

Until the City Council learns that “community” and “city” are not synonymous when it comes to the way these federal grant funds are spent, a lot of folks will reach the conclusion that CDBG stands for Cottonwood Deserves Better Governance.

There is no such thing as instant gratification for those whose job it is to stimulate and invigorate their community’s economy. There are more false starts in this race than finish lines.

We’ve barely turned the page on the calendar to 2019 and already the renewed battle for Upper Verde school district consolidation is taking shape.

As for the ACLU-Arizona, it’s curious how the organization took up the cause of one student on this issue as a privacy rights intrusion, and then went out of its way to make sure every media outlet in Arizona knew the student’s name.

While the national focus is on who will blink first regarding funding for a border wall, there are some government money managers here in the Verde Valley counting the days for the federal government shutdown to come to an end.

Some clarity is in order to shine the clearest light possible on the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona challenge to Mingus Union High School’s badge identification policy.

As is the case with any conflict, there is probably a middle ground that eases the concerns about Mingus Union High School’s student identification badges short of doing away with the badges altogether.

It’s hard to imagine an elected body coming into office with more problems to solve than those confronting the Mingus Union School Board.

Here in the Verde Valley, an abundance of Forest Service land and somewhat lax regulation created an opportunistic solution to folks challenged by the supply-and-demand realities of the local housing market.

When the Feb. 20, 1993, Verde River flood left Cottonwood’s lone bridge crossing terribly compromised, it became obvious we needed a second bridge crossing over the river.

Change is good and it’s been years since we’ve seen the kind of sweeping change now taking place in the Verde Valley.

During this season of giving, we need to remember those who take care of our daily/weekly needs and are often taken for granted.

Across the mountain in Prescott, city officials are in a quandary over the efficiency with which they deliver municipal services.

A favorite whipping boy for many Verde Valley residents is Yavapai College.

If there is anything to be learned about the consolidation of various fire departments in the Verde Valley as it applies to school district consolidation, it’s obviously a lot easier to accomplish when you have willing partners.

We don’t get to vote on school district consolidation Tuesday, but that has not diminished the debate about the merits of merging the Cottonwood-Oak Creek and Mingus Union districts into one.

For the city, Cottonwood is at a philosophical crossroads as it moves forward in the search for a city manager to succeed Doug Bartosh.

The league champion Mingus Marauders open their state title quest on the road against a team they’ve previously defeated and that finished third place in their league.

“Appeal” is the rallying cry among Verde Valley educators in the aftermath of the letter grades assigned their schools by the Arizona Department of Education. Throughout the Verde Valley, local schools on average received “C” grades from the Department of Education this year.