September: fall, football and Sept. 11 observances

Hello September! This is a month that’s historically associated with the beginning of fall and classroom adventures, the resumption of football on Thursday and Friday evenings, anticipation of the leaves changing color, the end of the monsoon season, out-of-state license plates and the resumption of more temperate weather.

However, for the last seven years, September is best known for the heinous acts that took place on September 11, 2001 – a sorrowful day that has indelibly marked our society, culture and how we do what we do almost every day.

A number of folks and organizations around the country, the state and the county are taking steps to see that the memory of that day’s terrorist attacks be remembered and the dead honored. For example, many veterans groups are urging all citizens to fly an American flag on the 11th as part of the FLY THE FLAG campaign: the size of the flag doesn’t matter, it’s the flying of the red, white and blue that does. Please join me in doing so on Thursday, September 11th.

Then if you’ve got some extra time that day, you’re invited to go to old Cougar Stadium, located at the south end of Carr-McNatt Park in Casa Grande, where you’ll find folks walking the track with a goal of 11 laps (more or less, depending on physical condition) in order to commemorate the date. The day’s list of 9-11 related events concludes with the Casa Grande Youth Commission’s memorial program and candlelight vigil at Peart Park (in downtown Casa Grande) – the event starts at 6:30 p.m. and should conclude approximately an hour later.

On a related note, the Arizona Air National Guard 161st Medical Group will be deploying to Landstuhl General Hospital in Germany in order to support our wounded soldiers returning from the Afghanistan and Iraqi theaters. The cargo planes supporting their mission will have excess capacity and Arizona’s Ladies Auxiliary to Veterans of Foreign Wars are soliciting donations of various items that will aid and comfort our wounded warriors as they recuperate. A complete list of desirable donations can be obtained by contacting Kim Sloan at [email protected]; however, some of the items that they’d like are: shower shoes, disposable razors, shaving cream, sewing kits, tooth brushes, board games, etc. Donations can be dropped off at the Phoenix Air National Guard (3200 E. Old Tower Road, Building 10, Room 221, Phoenix), in care of Glenn Klassen, the Director of Wing Family Programs. The deadline for contributions is Monday, September 22.

A little closer to home, former Pinal County employee Steve Joyce is helping stage the Pinal County Fire Chiefs Association’s 6th Annual Golf Tournament on September 14 at the Queen Valley Golf Club. Proceeds go toward fire safety training programs for Pinal children: for more information, contact Steve Joyce at [email protected] or (520) 463-2624.

And speaking of annual events, the 13th Annual Pinal County Domestic Violence Conference takes place at the Holiday Inn in Casa Grande on September 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It’s sponsored by the Pinal County Domestic Violence Coalition and hosted by Against Abuse, Inc. For more information or to register, contact Against Abuse, Inc. at (520) 836-1239.

One of the pleasant parts of my job as County Supervisor is the discovery of new stories from residents and exciting visions for what we can be and do to make our county a better place. During my recent office hours in Maricopa, I spent some time talking about energy issues and renewable energy sources with a young woman who’s adopted as hers a mission to work on getting the energy providers serving Pinal County to use 100 percent renewable energy for our houses, electronics, businesses and industries. She’s at the start of her mission with a long way to go: but she’s got the passion and determination to see that her new home community of Maricopa and Pinal County become sustainable so she’s starting to do the research, assemble a team of like-minded visionaries and get underway.

Later that day, I was one of a number of people listening to Anthony Blakes share his vision of a series of basketball camps for kids that builds skills on and off the court. Anthony – who grew up in Phoenix, attended Arizona Western College in Yuma, and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2000 – lives in Maricopa while he plays for the Harlem Globetrotters. He’s concerned that Pinal children (boys and girls) have to travel to Phoenix if they want to participate in the basketball camps sponsored by various Suns players: he says emphatically that that’s not right. So he’s organized the Scholastics & Baskets Camp for boys and girls ages 10-17. The camp sessions will take place on September 13 and 14 in the Ak-Chin Gymnasium, and each camper will receive an age appropriate book, a shirt, bag, and basketball reliever plus access to a number of Globetrotter players/coaches and playing time – all for the cost of $45. Anthony’s mission is to make sure that the untapped talent and potential of all children has a chance to blossom here in western Pinal County. It’s another affirmative action by one of our residents who fervently believes that we must work together to build a sustainable and competitive Pinal community. For more information on Scholastics & Baskets, go to www.scholasticsandbaskets.com.

Finally, congratulations and kudos to all the candidates who put themselves forward in the recently concluded Primary Election on September 2. The gratitude of the electorate should go to the unsung volunteers who worked a very long day in order to keep the polling places open so that our democratic process could function. If you didn’t participate in the voting, I urge you to contact the Pinal County Recorder’s Office nearest you (go to http://pinacountyaz.gov for more information) and register today. There’s another chance on November 4th! I hope to see you at the polls.

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