By Ventura Tounsel
It is January and, on this month, we will take out a day to celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King left an indelible mark on the U.S. military by putting his life on the line to ensure the real promise of democracy for all Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. It is a date honored nationwide on the third Monday in January. He was one of the most important figures in American civil rights history. The celebration of Dr. King’s birthday has been sadly marked by some of the discrimination he fought so hard against. King’s birthday was not officially honored in all 50 states until the year 2000. Prior to that, some states combined his birthday in ways that would be quite controversial and unacceptable today.
You can see Dr. King’s fingerprint on today’s military. I can recall conversations that I have had with Veterans where they shared how they experienced more racism while home on leave than when they were on base because military leaders always took swift action whenever it raised its ugly head through the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
King’s perseverance in the face of discrimination, racism and hatred ensured the real promise of democracy for all Americans. This month let us take time to reflect on King’s achievements and to educate the next generation. I must give credit to the Air Force, and my family for pushing me into service and for my own ability to persevere.
The accomplishments of Dr. King gave me the same opportunities as every American to serve in the military alongside other Americans from all parts of the country and world and a large part of my life success is because of the United States Air Force. I was a kid who thought I knew everything in the world and my mother was right, I did not. The Air Force made me grow up and be a man and taught me teamwork. Service, Excellence, and Integrity were the words I grew up on. Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, a true American hero.
Corona de Tucson’s Old Cactus Cowboy
By Corona De Tucson Community Alliance
In 2018 Deb Perry wrote for The Vail Voice: If you have ever been to the Roadrunner Market in Corona de Tucson on a Friday or Saturday evening, surely you have seen the Roadrunner Music Man, Rusty Sivley, also known as the “Ol’ Cactus Cowboy.” He made music and sang to the public for the last 70 years, to be more specific, since 1948.

In 1948, Hank Williams performed and released the single Lovesick Blues, his most popular song ever, and his first number one hit. A little trivia that Rusty shared with me was that Hank Williams did not write Lovesick Blues. Rather it was a collaboration between Cliff Friend and Irving Mills written in 1922 about the men shipping off to World War I (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ lovesick_blues).
In any case, the song inspired Rusty to learn to play music and sing. He never looked back. He sang country and western, gospel, and cowboy music. Rusty was a United States Air Force veteran. He enlisted on his 17th birthday and served for ten years during the Korean War. He did not actually go to Korea, instead he was sent to North Africa. Following his enlistment, he became a police officer and later worked for a private detective agency. After traveling around the south, he finally came to Pima County with his family and became an air conditioning repairman. He sang all around the county including Tucson Meet Yourself, the Veterans Administration, Sahuarita Walmart, CdT Roadrunner, nursing homes, hotels, private events, and for hospice patients, to name a few. He used to sell CDs. But times changed, and everything is on the internet now.
The Corona de Tucson community lost a treasure in November. Mr. Rusty played and sang spiritual and uplifting music at the storefront of our Roadrunner market almost every weekend. So many throughout our community enjoyed his warm demeanor and joyous spirit.
It is with the greatest amount of dignity, respect, and admiration that the CdTCA worked with local businesses to arrange for a memorial for Mr. Rusty. The most-impressive commemorative plaque donated by L4 Wood & Metal will be affixed to a beautiful potted plant donated by Four Arrows Garden and located at the Roadrunner Market to forever enshrine and honor our singing cowboy.
Rusty was such a special part of our community. He always smiled, extended a loving greeting, waved, and made everyone feel welcome. Anyone who had the opportunity to watch him play a song or two was immediately mesmerized by the joy he experienced and chatting with him while he shared a life experience and smile.

Rusty meant so much to so many. We thank him for sharing his talents, his caring, and his love to our community. We wish him God’s speed on his next journey and pay our respects to his family and all who cared about him during this time of loss. his next journey and pay our respects to his family and all who cared about him during this time of loss.
December 2021
By Charlotte Herdliska
How about some happy news? – here we go….
Corona Fire crews were dispatched to the area of E. Camino Aurelia for a dog stuck in a pipe. After an hour and half of digging and cutting, crews were able to free the dog and reunite Jazzy with its owner.

What a hoot! It’s not every day you see an owl stuck in a chimney. The owl was not injured and flew away once released outside of residence.
Corona de Tucson Fire Department has responded to numerous fires in 2021, now is the time to look around your property and make it Firewise. There are lots of things a property owner can do to create a safe and defensible property. Your local fire department has lots of information and knowledge to pass on to anyone wanting to make their property as safe from fire as possible. Please contact us!
Stay safe
Corona de Tucson Fire:
cherdliska@coronafire.org 762-9370
Rincon Valley Fire: 762-0742