From the Editor: Mike Lavelle
In this issue, we have many stories that address change. We have stories of Bees becoming more active, our Pima County Supervisor retiring, various projects and buildings being developed, and author J. J. Lamb, of the Vail Preservation Society, writes about Vail being established 136 years ago this month. The Vail Preservation Society does a great job helping us to look back and see the changes time has brought while we face the change that the future brings.
For me, April has always felt like a month of transition and change. Even though Spring began in March, and we have had some very warm days in February, April just seems like change is in the air and can be seen in flowering and blooming plants and often increased outside activity. Additionally, many of our winter or “snowbird” part time residents depart in April or May to return again around October. However, the reality is that continual change is happening daily.
Of course, the paper continues to change as well. We have added a section called “News from your Neighborhood” to the paper. We welcome neighborhood associations to send in whatever news they would like to share. For submissions, the length should be about 300 words. We also solicit submissions for our Volunteers from Vail section. If you would like to recognize somebody, send us a photo of the person along with a small paragraph where they volunteer and what they do. You will also notice many “letters to the editor” in this issue. As a community paper, we welcome and encourage people to send us their thoughts and responses to the material found in the paper, we do want to be a place where people can express their thoughts and opinions. Along these lines, of both change and expressing thoughts, we are going to have an upcoming issue, where those running for various local elections will be able to submit an article “in their words” of whatever they want to communicate to the community.
This month we also welcome a new contributor from Vail, Mike Widmer, who is a retired Tucson Police Sergeant and a published author. His article about being careful and vigilant in these times of rampant identity theft crimes is both timely and relevant.
You will also notice a 24 page insert in this month’s edition dedicated to local businesses. It’s our Vail Voice Community Directory for 2016-2017. It contains listings of all Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce members as well as almost all other businesses, schools, and churches in our coverage area. We encourage everyone to support our local businesses.
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus (540 to 475 BC) was said to have noted “You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters forever flow in upon you.” His observation underscores the reality of daily change and that the only permanent thing in life is change. Nothing stays the same for very long.
Everything is changing. Let’s welcome the change of season! Besides, as Sheryl Crow once sang, “A change, a change will do you good.”