Proudly serving Superior for more than 80 years
The Superior Sun The ONLY news source dedicated to Superior
Vol. 87 No. 12 Periodicals Postage Paid at Superior, Arizona 85173
50¢
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
See More Photos on Page 4
Local Census numbers released By Lana Jones Populations declined over the first decade of the millennium in many southeastern Pinal towns, according to the new 2010 Census release. Overall though, the population in the area grew by about 24 percent. The majority (99 percent) of that growth came from SaddleBrooke. The other 1 percent came from Oracle. The places with the largest 10-year population declines in terms of number of people were San Manual (-824) and Superior (-417). The places with the largest population declines in percentage terms were Hayden, Dudleyville, and Topof-the-World. In Hayden and Dudleyville, over a quarter of the towns’ residents left in the last ten years. In Top-of-theWorld, almost a third left. Mammoth and Winkelman populations declined by 19 percent and 20
percent. Superior and Kearny had about the same percent decline: both towns’ populations decreased near 13 percent. Of southeastern Pinal/Gila towns with declining populations, the smallest decline was in Globe-Miami. Population there declined less than a percent. The newest Census numbers include statistics on the populations of various races and ethnicities. These numbers show how diversity has changed over the last 10 years in our communities. In southeastern Pinal, there was a 92 percent increase in the Asian population (116 more people) and a 79 percent increase in the American Indian population (440 more people). The percents are high because so few people of these races were living here in 2000. In terms of number of people though, the largest increase was in
the white population. The white population increased by almost 8,000. It was already the largest population though, so that is only a 37 percent increase. The entire increase in the white population came from the growth of SaddleBrooke. In all the other communities in southeastern Pinal, the white population decreased. The Hispanic/Latino population also decreased across most communities. It increased only in Oracle and GlobeMiami. County-wide population Population for Pinal County as a whole is booming. The County’s population more than doubled from about 180,000 to over 375,000. Most of that growth came from the west side of the county. Casa Grande’s population nearly doubled. Maricopa’s population went from about 1,000 to over 43,000—a 4,000% increase.
THE MINING BRIEF Focus on Oracle Ridge Mine By Lana Jones Traffic counts in and around Oracle will be taken on March 24 and 25 in support of the Oracle Ridge Copper Project. Tetra Tech will do the counts. The counts will take place along three roads. The first set is along State Route (SR) 77 at its intersections with SR 79, American Avenue, and Redington Road. The second set is along Mount Lemmon Road at its intersections with American Avenue and Webb Road. The third set is along Redington Road at its intersections with Webb Road, McNab Parkway, and Black
Hills Mine Road. According to the news release, “The traveling public will not be affected by this work.” Project background Gold Hawk Resources acquired the mine last fall. The underground mine sits beneath Marble Peak on private land in the Santa Catalinas. It is operated by Oracle Ridge Mining, LLC. The property was first mined in the 1800’s. The mine operated on and off until 1996. The mine is seven miles from Summerhaven on Old Mount Lemmon Road in Pima County. Oracle Ridge Mining (ORM) plans to access the
site from San Manuel using Black Hills Mine Road. The old tailing pile sits on private land about two miles east of the mine. ORM plans to use staged reclamation of the tailings during mine operation to minimize the pile’s visual impact. While it is only in the conceptual planning stage, the mine plans to employ up to 180 people. Environmental studies and permitting began last year and are expected to be completed by late 2012. Studies include natural resource and See MINING on P. 3
LET’S TALK TRASH!
Mark calendar: Event a chance to show pride in community, have There is GRASS on the Little League fun and a great lunch Field; volunteers made it happen
Opening day … Mark your calendar for April 18, Opening Day for Superior Little League now with a GRASS field! Volunteers lay 27,000 square feet of sod on Friday, March 18. Cindy Tracy photos
By Cindy Tracy Superior is on its way to losing one million pounds of unwanted extra weight! That weight is in the form of trash, old tires, metal and lots of other things no longer need that are in our way and weighing us down. These sometimes difficult to discard objects have been the target of five years of successful clean-ups and once a year Community Pride Days. It’s that time of year once again, and April 2nd is Superior’s 5th annual Community Pride Day. “A townwide clean-up will take place from 7 a.m. to noon, followed by a potluck lunch,” said Sue Anderson of the Let’s Talk Trash Committee. “Loads of door prizes are up for grabs and Rolling Rock Gallery is providing a special volunteer bonus.” She said that two fifty-dollar bills have been donated and every volunteer will receive a chance to win one.
“All Superior residents can bring their trash to the roll-offs on Mary Drive next to Albo’s between 7 a.m. and noon.” she said. “If you don’t have a way to haul it, please put it out by 7 a.m. and volunteers will pick it up. This is a great way to put in community service hours.” See Sue at the sign-up when you arrive. “We can pick up metal (please put it in a separate pile), up to five tires (please put in separate pile), tree and brush cuttings in MANAGEABLE (4 feet) lengths or in bags and normal household trash,” she said. “Furniture, mattresses, small pieces of carpets and old toilets will also be accepted. We cannot take construction material like roofing, drywall, flooring and large amounts of wood. No hazardous materials will be accepted, like paint, oil, batteries and gas tanks.” As an added bonus this year, Anderson said, Southwest Towing will
pick up any car, with or without the title, for FREE! Call 520-689-5357 for details. Volunteers should meet at the caboose in the U.S. 60 Park at 7 a.m., Anderson said. “Bring a truck or trailer if you have one, along with a pair of gloves,” she said. “At noon we’ll meet at the swimming pool for a great lunch.” She notes that this is a change from prior years as to the location of the lunch. Hot dogs and drinks will be provided. Bring a side dish or dessert if you can. “Plan on having fun and helping Superior stay squeaky clean,” Anderson said. “If you have questions, please call Sue at 689-0218 or Pam at 689-5201.” The clean-up effort is made possible by Allied Waste, BHP, Orion Recycling, Resolution Copper, the Town of Superior, the Let’s Talk Trash Committee and the volunteers of Superior.
By Cindy Tracy An amazing sight greeted anyone who happened to be driving down Sunset on the morning of March 18. A contingent of focused community members had converged on the Superior Little League Field. They had come in various types of vehicles. They carried coolers full of water. There probably was Gatorade on hand as well. One person had a yellow John Deere forklift. Folks wore gloves and sturdy shoes. These people had come to WORK! The object of their labors that morning was an artistic looking living green and earth colored collection consisting of long strips of sod grass. The strips were rolled like elegant pinwheel sandwiches and piled into huge decorative squares as if a giant was coming
to eat them for luncheon. The individual rolls were removed from the piles and neatly placed around the field. The pinwheels were then unrolled and pieced into a seamless patchwork quilt of glowing emerald grass. As the day wore on, the familiar dirt field was transformed into, well, something else. It was a fresh, fragrant field of grass. Someone said it was the only Little League field in the area with a grass field. Vanessa Navarrette of the Superior Little League said that more than 60 volunteers had come out that day to lay more than 27,000 square feet of sod at the field. They came from Superior, Globe and CRC. “Thank you to the volunteers, Copper Resources, Superior Environmental and Resolution
Copper for a job well done,” she said. “Superior Little League would like to extend an invitation to all residents to come out and support our local athletes and see our newly renovated field on Opening Day April 18.”
Weather
Date
Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar. Mar.
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
High
84 82 87 89 87 79 79
Low Pcp
47 48 50 52 50 44 43
Weather readings courtesy Boyce Thompson Arboretum.