by Stacy Winstryg We all know by now that Arizona needs to invest more money into our public schools, but how that will be done is in question. The Classrooms First Initiative Council, which was formed by the governor in May of 2015, has been looking at this very issue. Governor Ducey formed the council in hopes that they would make a...
by Stacy Winstryg of the Vail Parent Network Have you ever played Dodgeball? Thinking about it now brings back images of my 12-year-old self, fleeing rubber balls like they were hand grenades. You are supposed to grab a ball and throw it back but I was totally focused on survival. There I am, knot in my stomach, anxiety ridden, doing my...
by Tom Howard Road Construction Update Houghton at Union Pacific Railroad, This project was advertised by the City of Tucson back in October. Due to numerous changes and additions to the contract it has been extended to November 30, 2016. Plans are to build a new overpass over the railroad tracks and widen Houghton Road to six lanes to match the...
by Liane Ehrich, Guest Contributor from VAILAZ.COM I started down the chicken path the same way that many do; a few birds for a few eggs. I wasn’t insane to start with. The few birds were four Anconas and three Easter Eggers. Anconas are related to Leghorns, the chickens who lay the large white eggs everyone buys by the carton. They are sleek...
by Gaga Barnes Take a few deep breaths and allow your body to take in all the air that it needs. Imagine your entire body softening. Begin by being thankful for all the gifts in your life. Appreciating where we have been is a magical key to moving forward. Every situation and relationship has taught us something useful. It has made us who we are...
Well before Girl Scout Cookies were produced by licensed bakers to sell nationally, Girl Scouts baked and sold cookies on their own. In 1917, the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria as a service project. From these humble and homemade beginnings, Girl Scout cookies have become an...
While pausing to observe a colony of industrious leafcutter ants beneath a creosote bush my attention was drawn to what first appeared to be two hairy creosote bush seed pods, one closely following the other. The pair of grayish white to tan hairy pods moved rapidly in a searching pattern that quickly led me to recognize that it was...
This coming May, local Vail resident, Chris Cobb, will be attempting to climb to the top of North America’s highest mountain peak. Denali is located in Alaska, has a summit elevation of 20,300 ft., and is the third highest peak in the world behind Aconcagua and Mt. Everest. We caught up with Chris to ask a few questions about...
A Canal, A Telescope, and A Star What does a canal have to do with the night sky? For me, plenty. I remember visiting the Lachine Canal many times as a child growing up in Montreal. I even have a dim memory of watching the water raise our boat once. But actually standing aboard the Norwegian Dream, a gigantic cruise ship to...
