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The Superior Sun The ONLY news source dedicated to Superior
Vol. 87 No. 16 Periodicals Postage Paid at Superior, Arizona 85173
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
50¢
Bunnies, food, friends, fun and a Copper Gecko meet-up at holiday happening at Main Street establishment ByC indy Tracy The women of Superior showed up in full force and effect for a fun Easter themed event at the Copper Gecko shop on Main Street last Friday evening. Copper Gecko proprietor Leslie Martin had said humorously in an internet invite to everyone the late afternoon/early evening event was
Meeting the Bunny … Ruby Cervantes (left) was among the many guests at the Copper Gecko Ladies Night event who took time to pose for a picture with entertainer Bunny Gaga (Keri Richards) at the Easter themed get-together in the shop April 15. Cindy Tracy photo
a “time for the Superior women to cackle!” There were door prizes, a variety of wines to enjoy (including chocolate wine), delectable eats and lots of leisurely time to catch up with friends, make new ones or just relax and sit around with pleasant folks. No one did, actually, cackle, although there was a lot of laughing
Sweet lady … Nancy Vogler, who sells her original Hawaiian print shirts and clothing items as well as bags of very special saltwater taffy, in the Copper Gecko shop on Main strolled into the shop April 15 balancing trays of sweet spring cupcakes for the Copper Gecko Ladies Night event held there that Friday. Cindy Tracy photo
and talking among the large crowd that turned out. The reference to cackling was likely linked to the exciting and lucrative Ladies Only Easter Egg Hunt that was a feature of the festivities. Guests each chose a colorful plastic egg from a basket proffered by Martin or one of the other Gecko vendors or organizers of the event. The eggs had prizes in them, including real greenas-springtime, honest-to-goodness cash in varying amounts. The already elegant Copper Gecko establishment on that day was even more special graced by a friendly crowd. The Gecko was filled to the brim as usual with eclectic shopping opportunities provided by a variety of vendors who have booth space in the shop. The offerings for sale, as usual, ranged that night from antiques to art to original art clothing, distinctive salt water taffy, upscale as well as random knick knacks, books, household items, giftables of all kinds and more good stuff. Complete with a huge and scrumptious spring bouquet spread out in the middle of the pretty store and decorated with Easter Bunny sculptures, tulips and other celebratory décor, the Copper Gecko Ladies’ Night was a relaxing get-together of all women in the community.
The Gecko was set up for a genteel party when the first arrivals turned up at approximately 5 p.m. The food was spread out and a diverse collection of comfortable chairs had been placed in the shop and on the sidewalk by the front door. This area had been set up to give the feel of a friendly front porch somewhere where it was nice just to sit, eat and sip and chat in a lazy sort of way as the late afternoon sun slowly sank somewhere in the direction of the west. Out there on this porch like area also, guests and passersby were treated to the amusing repartee provided by Bunny Gaga, aka well-known Superior entertainer Keri Richards. The popular personality known as Lady Gaga is a character sometimes donned by Richards and for Copper Gecko Ladies Night, she wore pink bunny ears, colorful balloons and the Gaga costume and quipped to people that she was Bunny Gaga. Bunny Gaga handed out chocolates to everyone she met, waved at passersby to get their attention and invite them to the gathering, and good-naturedly posed for pictures with guests. Richards, a professional entertainer, is often seen volunteering her services at community events in her familiar See COPPER on P. 5
Spring cleaning: Resolution Copper to reclaim tailings on town’s border; will take precautions to reduce noise and dust levels Resolution Copper Mining’s facelift of the historic Magma mine property enters a new phase this spring with reclamation of 39 acres of old tailings impoundments located immediately north of town. The company will recontour, cap and seed the old tailings to make them look like and blend into the natural surroundings in a $3 million project that’s expected to take about six months. With the planned reclamation virtually in Superior’s backyard and
in close proximity to a number of residential homes, the company said it is taking extra precautions to manage noise, dust and worker activity on the site as best it can. RCM Vice President Jon Cherry said work hours will be restricted to weekdays from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., and, a number of water trucks will circulate to suppress dust. Still, he said, residents can expect to hear back-up alarms, heavy equipment, general construction sounds and possibly experience some odor tem-
porarily from freshly exposed tailings. Earthmovers, bulldozers, backhoes, trucks and other heavy equipment will be deployed when work commences in the last week of April. Some blasting will be required to quarry material from an area north of the company’s water treatment plant, which will be used to cover the old tailings. Blasting will be restricted between the hours of 9 a.m. – 3p.m. “We recognize the inconvenience this may cause for some local
residents, but we are confident the result will be well worth the trouble,” Cherry said, adding that the work will greatly improve the area’s appearance and drainage. Tailing slopes will be reduced to control erosion and then capped with three feet of material that is conducive to plant growth and more consistent with the natural environment than the current cover. Residents who have concerns, questions or complaints about the
reclamation work can call the Resolution Copper community line at (520) 689-3409 during business hours. “Let us know how we can improve,” Cherry said RCM began voluntary reclamation work on the property soon after becoming managing partner in 2004 and has already reclaimed more than 100 acres of the property. The company also built a water treatment facility and has removed and treated to date more than 1.5 billion gallons of water
from historic underground mine workings. RCM has spent already nearly two-thirds of a $50 million reclamation budget. Known internally as the No. 3 and 4 tailings impoundment, the tailings are the outgrowth of legacy mining operations by former operators that began in the early 1900s and ended in 1983. Tailings are the end result of ore that has been crushed to the consistency of beach sand and processed to extract the copper.-
EGG-tremely fun event complete with music by DJ Roy Chavez, EGG hunt, jumping castle, hat contest and more this Saturday By Cindy Tracy There is going to be an EGG-cellent day-before-Easter event this coming Saturday morning in downtown Superior! If you’re a bunny or if you’re a human, don’t forget to mark your calendar for April 23 to hippity hop on over to the Besich Park area for the Annual Town of Superior Parks & Recreation festival, “Easter in the Park.” Things get underway for this entertaining afternoon occasion at noon, says Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Arriola. The “Easter in the Park” event is scheduled to run until 4 p.m. The kick-off activity is the annual Easter Egg Hunt for children. This will take place EGG-zactly at HIGH NOON. There will be two divisions in the egg hunt this year, one for older youngsters at the food court down the block from Besich and one for smaller children at the Besich Park Gazebo.
Shannon Ortiz of the Pinal County Attorney’s Office reads to children from Superior Head Start. (Submitted photo)
Superior Head Start celebrates ‘Week of the Young Child’ Most child development experts, pediatricians and educators can tell you that the best time to instill a love of reading and learning in children is when they are very young. In fact, it’s been proven that the best time to learn a second language is before the age of six or seven. Every year, Superior Head Start celebrates the “Week of the Young Child” and this year was no different.
Weather
Date
Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
High
82 81 81 77 89 93 94
Low Pcp
37 48 45 44 46 50 55
Weather readings courtesy Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
This year’s theme was “Early Years are Learning Years.” As part of the celebration, the Superior school invited local and county officials to come read to students. “The development of early reading skills is vital to the children’s success in school,” said Superior Head Start teacher Teresita Martinez-Olmos. This year, to add a little fun to the occasion, students (and teachers) were invited to dress as their favorite storybook characters. One child wore a family heirloom gown altered by her grandmother. Students listened to stories being read and told by teaching staff and community volunteers throughout the class day and enjoyed refreshments of orange juice and animal crackers. Storytime began with the teacher reading Garden of Whales. The story taught the children to have empathy for whales who get tangled in nets. “I would help the whales get free,” said one child, while another exclaimed, “We can help them get See HEAD on P. 5
The Mining Brief By Lana Jones July copper was trading at $4.26 per pound Tuesday morning. That’s 10 cents lower than its price at the beginning of the month but still well above the $3.50 range it was trading at this time last year. Freeport McMoRan Corporate Responsibility magazine named Freeport McMoRan in their 2011 “100 Best Corporate Citizens List.” Freeport came in number 24 ahead of companies like Pepsico, Starbucks, and Disney. Companies were rated in seven categories including environment, human rights, and employee relations. Freeport received its highest ranking in the human rights category. The
company tied for fifth in the category with Alcoa. A recent Arizona Daily Star story said that Freeport is still trying to fill 500 vacancies at its four sites in Arizona: Miami, Morenci, Safford, and Sierrita. Freeport shares were trading at $50.90 Tuesday morning. Gold Hawk The Oracle Ridge Copper Mine is on schedule to return to production, Gold Hawk Chairman and CEO Kevin Drover, said in a press release earlier this month. Work is moving on many fronts. The initial designs for a 10-millionton dry stack tailings pile and plant area are complete. “Test work is also scheduled to
Save Money Market donated all the eggs for the hunt. The children of Superior Head Start colored all the eggs. There will be prizes for the Easter Egg Hunt. In fact, there will be prizes being given out all afternoon for the various activities and games. Everything at “Easter in the Park” is free except for sodas and hamburgers. Members of the Superior Police/ Fire Explorers will be grilling the burgers. Fun games and activities will go on all afternoon to the musical accompaniment of Roy Chavez, who will DJ throughout the entire event. Featured also will be an Easter Hat Contest with 1st-, 2nd- and 3rdplace prizes. The Town of Superior will furnish a jumping castle for the youngsters to enjoy, an Easter piñata bust and many more activities and surprises are planned. For more information about the event or to make a donation or volunteer to help, call Barabara Arriola at 520-827-0052.
begin an evaluation for a paste back-fill system. It is the Company’s desire to return as much as possible of new tailings generated by the planned operation back underground as feasible, thereby minimizing the mine’s environmental footprint,” the release said. Gold Hawk also said that environmental studies are underway. The release stated, “Water quality sampling has begun … [and] two air quality and weather monitoring stations have been constructed.” Other mining news Renewed exploration is proposed or underway at two more spots in southeastern Arizona. Millrock Resources, one of the companies exploring in the Copper
Creek area, announced it entered into an exploration agreement on the Rainville project. The project is located south of the Morenci mine. The agreement comes with an option to purchase. In Pinal County, Nevada-based Gryphon Resources Inc. is exploring the Cruce Property it purchased early this year. Gryphon is searching for copper and gold documented by previous owners. “We’re pleased and cautiously optimistic about our progress with the Cruce Property,” President and CEO Alan Muller said in a press release. “In sum, our efforts to date continue to support our expectation that the Cruce Property has significant gold and copper-porphyry potential.”