LLC SINCE 2006
GILA COUNTY BREAKS GROUND ON NEW ANIMAL SHELTER
Story and photos by Linda Gross
On September 2, Gila County held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $2.8 million animal shelter to be built at the Gila County Fairgrounds. The project was worked on by two previous county managers and brought home by the current Assistant County Manager Hector Vela, Manager James Menlove, and Supervisors Tim Humphrey, Woody Cline and Tommie Martin. Construction, Continued on page 7
12 Westerns in 12 Months with Travis Mills
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Keeping Museums from Becoming COVID Casualties
Copper Mining in the Corridor
By Thea Wilshire
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School buses sit idle. Photo by Patti Daley
Crossword Puzzle
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Pandemic Education – Teachers on the Frontline By Patti Daley
Miami Unified School District
There is nothing like an emergency to get hard work done fast. Nowhere is this more applicable now than in public education. “We need to have a community mentality toward education if we want these kids to be successful,” says Rhianna Oldfield, senior high school teacher and mother of a grade-school child. In the spring, schools across America closed abruptly and went online, in a collective effort to keep communities safe. The scramble of families and educators to do what they could exposed the debilitating inequity in access to technology, disparity in teacher training, the essential care schools provide children, and the critical role of parents and grandparents in the learning process.
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Education, Continued on page 20
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ow do museums maintain relevance and cover operating expenses when patrons are not allowed inside their buildings? When the coronavirus hit, businesses around the world were forced to close to prevent the spread of the disease. Public spaces like museums were included in the closures and about 85,000 institutions (90% of museums worldwide) shuttered their establishments. Many of these museums operated on revenue from admissions, gift store purchases, and fundraising events. With these revenue streams blocked, museums have been exhausting their savings to cover expenses. Because of this challenge, UNESCO and the International Council of Museums think 1 in 8 museums worldwide may not reopen when shelter-in-place orders lift. In America, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) did a survey of 760 museums in August, 2020 and approximately 33% of American institutions don’t think they’ll be able to reopen. Museum, Continued on page 15
Tom Foster, Director of Bullion Plaza Museum, believes technology is the key to remaining relevant in the new reality. One way he is doing this is through a partnership grant with the Miami Public Library focused on history and education. Photo by LCGross
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September 2020
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September 2020
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September 2020
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs
This last month folks in Globe were fortunate to witness the story of Pearl Hart being told through the lens and imagination of independent film producer Travis Mills. Even while other studios across the country began shutting down production months earlier due to the coronavirus, Mills, who had begun his quest to film 12 Westerns in 12 months in January of this year, kept to his schedule, adjusting as needed. This August, he was well on his way to completing his goal, as he filmed his 8th movie here in Globe. While the tale of Pearl, the famous female stagecoach robber is well known to most, Mills tells a deeper story of how she evolved from a young woman in boarding school to a renegade of her time. Drawing heavily on local talent and casting first-time actress Lorraine Etchell as his lead, Mills found ample locations here to film his 1900’s tale including the old train depot and freight office and Chrysocolla Inn and Magma Hotel. (pp.1) Others who are finding their voice as storytellers in the age of Covid are our local museums who are turning to technology to get their message across since their doors have had to remain shut to the public. (pp.1) Both Bullion Plaza Museum and the Gila Historical Museum continue to do research and develop displays behind the scenes while the doors are closed, but to reach the public, they are both venturing into video production. Their work in keeping our history alive and accessible is something we’ve come to expect, but we can’t take anything for granted in these times. Our support is vital to their ongoing efforts. (pp.1) Our other top story this month is on education and the evolving landscape forced upon schools, teachers and parents who are doing their best to meet the needs of students - safely. It’s a moving target and there are no good answers that satisfy everyone. This month we focus on what that landscape looked like in August as everyone was getting “Back to School.” Next month, we will take a look at funding for education in Arizona, and locally, as #InvestinEd heads to the ballot box. We’ll look at how the demands of online and hybrid structures affect funding and what it means for our rural school system. And finally, a note on our September issue, which normally features a slate of family-favorite events including the Gila County Fair and Old Dominion Days. Both have had to suspend their events this year because of Covid-19. However, the Fair is conducting the Junior Livestock Auction online for the first time in its 50-year history (back page) on September 26th and Old Dominion Days will offer virtual lectures and sales of cheese boats beginning this week on their FB page. As the weather cools, may you find a way to chill and support those around you who are working to make lemonade out of lemons. The stories we tell about this time will resonate for years to come. Cheers,
Publisher Linda Gross Creative Designer Jenifer Lee Editor Patricia Sanders Contributing Writers Patti Daley Tom Foster Linda Gross Patricia Sanders Thea Wilshire Contributing Photography Linda Gross Thea Wilshire
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ON THE COVER Gila County Breaks Ground on New Animal Shelter Pandemic Education – Teachers on the Frontline Keeping Museums from Becoming COVID Casualties 5 The World is Waiting 6 Your History is Safe With Us – The Pleasant Valley War 7 Feral Cat Colonies Continue Being Helped 8 Filming A Pearl – 12 Westerns in 12 Months 11 Copper Mining in the Corridor 12 A Look at COVID-19 in August 14 Indie Week Takes over the Month of September 16 Crossword Puzzle 17 Miami High School 18 Virtual Auction Front Cover: Lorraine Etchell as Pearl Hart and Travis Mills as Joe Booth at the 1916 Territorial Jail in Globe, Az. 19 Service Directory Photo by Todd South
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OPINION
September 2020
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The World is Waiting
BY PATRICIA SANDERS
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote, the line between good and evil runs through every human heart. There can be a natural tendency to want to say a person is good or bad, because that would make life so much easier. We could label a person and be done with it (but then become very confused when sometimes they act differently). In reality, no one is purely good and no one is purely bad. A murderer can pick up litter, and even the finest people have their failings. We have to see and accept the patchwork of positives and negatives in ourselves and in others. By accept, I mean understand it’s there and not pretend otherwise. Accepting the truth is always the first step to making things better. And that, I feel, is where you can draw a line between categories of people. There are people who, regardless of their current state, are sincerely trying to be better – and people who aren’t. For those who are, it’s an uphill battle and lots of two-steps-forward-one-step-back. It takes patience and resolve, and time, and often prayer, to make visible progress. But the sincere desire is there, and that makes all the difference: the desire to be a better person, and thereby contribute to a better world. For those who don’t have that desire? In my experience, their lives just keep spiraling downward. Maybe not in outward ways, because these people can often prosper
materially and socially, if their tactics are good enough. But in all the ways that matter, their lives get worse and worse – and so do the lives of people who choose to be around them. These people bring down the whole world in their vicinity. The fact is – and I believe this – most people are, in their heart, better than they outwardly seem. That’s because most people have positive impulses, or at least a distant yearning for goodness – but when it comes to taking action, they modify their behavior to match what they see around them. Which means, usually, for the worse. A teacher once told me that if only people would act on those inner positive impulses instead of reducing their behavior to match what they see around them, the world would be such a better place. In other words, we have to stop waiting for the world to get better. The world is waiting for us. Patricia Sanders lived in Globe from 2004 to 2008 and at Reevis Mountain School, in the Tonto National Forest, from 2008 to 2014. She has been a writer and editor for GMT since 2015. She is currently traveling long-term and researching a book on dance. You can follow her writing on the website medium.com, under the pen name SK Camille.
PATRICIA SANDERS
Last week my 12-year-old niece, Phoebe, happened to come in the room while the adults were watching Lovecraft Country. After watching one of the scenes of violent racism, she said, “People are so mean.” The way she said it, you could tell she was talking not just about the people on screen but people in general. While the show went on, I said, “Some of them are.” I hated to think Phoebe was beginning to become cynical – to believe the whole world was mean. Because I used to feel that way, myself. There wasn’t a lot of genuine love and kindness in my environment when I was growing up. There was lots of “humanitarian” activity on the part of grownups, that was supposed to make them look good. But even then, I could see that their altruism came from an arrogant desire for prestige, a facade, not a sincere impulse toward benevolence. So I grew up not expecting much good from people – and even being skeptical and distrustful of what good I did experience. I think American culture encourages this cynicism. We’re a deeply capitalistic culture, despite our Christian influence. After all, Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the American continent while he was exploring trade routes. And the first English settlers came to America looking for gold and silver and other trade products. The Pilgrims came later. Capitalism has made Americans self-reliant and trade-oriented. It’s made us see one another, and ourselves, as consumers and workers, competitors and investors – forgetting that we’re sisters and brothers first. I would say capitalism has made us unkind and even, often, inhumane. I saw the difference when I went to Southeast Asia and witnessed the everyday generosity and kind concern among people there. One time, I was standing next to an intersection with the sun in my eyes and a Thai woman sitting in the back of a truck insisted on giving me the hat off her head. Another time, I needed to get to an ATM half a mile away, on foot, and the Thai man I’d asked for directions, a complete stranger, offered to let me borrow his scooter. Another time, I was asking for directions (again) in Vietnam, and the people I asked not only told me where it was but drew a map. Then, when I started off, the woman took me by the elbow and walked me to the sidewalk to make sure I got started in the right direction. These are anecdotal evidence, but they do illustrate the unselfishness I came to expect from Southeast Asians. When I returned to the United States and needed directions, people I started to approach on the street would turn away or point at their earbuds and shake their head. I had to re-adjust my expectations. It was sad. Of course, individuals are individual. I’ve met unkind people in Asia and wonderful people in the United States. I’m talking about cultures. What’s sad is that generosity and compassion, in the United States, seem to be countercultural acts. I kept thinking about what Phoebe had said, still concerned for what she might be beginning to believe about the world, and people. Finally, at the supper table a day or two later, I said what I could, which is all I know: Yes, people can be mean. They can also be amazingly kind and wonderful. But you can’t categorize people as either good or bad. We’re all part both. As the Soviet dissident
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September 2020
By Tom Foster
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
YOUR HISTORY IS SAFE WITH US
Last month, as the 133rd anniversary of the Pleasant Valley War approached, I decided to travel out to the place where it happened and commemorate the anniversary with an on-site visit. You may have heard stories of the Pleasant Valley War and how two families, once friends, engaged in the bloodiest feud ever to find its way into Arizona. It’s one of the darkest stories from the history of the Southwest. That history spans vast amounts of time, from the earliest inhabitants, to the Spanish incursions into Mexico and north in search of the Cities of Gold, and to more recent history. Some of its stories are pictures painted in words between the covers of a book; others are painted in blood and surrounded in mystery. The Pleasant Valley War is one of those: a tale of violence and tragedy that has echoed down the years. The Graham Tewksbury Feud took in many square miles in the far northern stretches of Gila County – from Globe to Young, and on to Holbrook, Payson, Prescott, and all the area in between. The beginnings of the feud were found in the elements of sheep, cattle, betrayal of friendships, power, control, and land. All these elements mixed with day-to-day life in the harsh environment of the Arizona Territory. Murder and death finally brought things to an end.
The Pleasant Valley War
Sitting on top of the plaque memorializing the death of Hampton Blevins and John Payne is an 1886 Winchester rifle in 45/70 caliber and .45 caliber Colt single action in a holster and belt. Both models represent firearms used on Aug. 9, 1887.
As a catalyst, add a bad group of Texas cowboys into the mix. When they arrived, all hell broke loose. Countless men died, or simply disappeared, never to be seen again. The estimated numbers vary from 20 to 50 lost, shot, or lynched. In the end, Edwin Tewksbury took the fight all the way to Tempe and pulled the trigger on the last Graham in Arizona. When the smoke cleared, Tom Graham was dead, and there
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were no more Grahams to carry on the fight. It is said that Col. Jesse Ellison cleaned up on any further violence … and it was quiet once again in Pleasant Valley. The opening shots of this war came on August 9, 1887. These gunshots, and the smoke and death they brought, would echo through the valley for decades. The incident took place at the Middleton cabin (then owned by George Newton), located about three miles south of the Q Ranch (home of Arizona’s first First Lady, Duette Ellison Hunt). As the story goes, one hot summer day, before the afternoon rains, six or seven riders approached the cabin. These men were Hashknife cowboys headed up by Hampton Blevins and John Payne, down from Holbrook. They were on a rescue mission for their father, but also in search of “a little war of their own.” They found their war at the cabin that day, and more. It was about 11:00 a.m. when they rode up to the cabin, which should have been deserted. The mounted group was aligned with the Grahams, and the heavily armed group holed up in the cabin were Tewksbury men. Words were exchanged, and as the cowboys turned to ride away, a shot was fired. No one knows who pulled the trigger
first, but the men in the cabin opened up on the riders from a point of cover against men 40 yards to point blank range, with no cover. Winchester rifles began to speak from the cabin, possibly an 1886 Winchester in 45/70 or 45/90. Hampton Blevins fell first, shot through the head. His horse fell with him. Second, John Payne’s horse was shot. It fell with the rider, who was killed shortly after Hamp. Two other men, badly wounded, would escape and survive. A minute later, as the smoke cleared, the carnage became evident in the extreme. An Apache war party come on the scene at that point. After a narrow escape from further violence, the men in the cabin rode off. The next day, the cabin was burned, and the two dead were buried in shallow graves. The war lasted from about 1884 through 1887, and hostilities continued into 1892. The war remained a significant blemish on Arizona and slowed our prospects of statehood for nearly two decades. In 1921, Arizona author Zane Grey wrote the story “To the Last Man” based on the feud. There were also two movies made, which incorporated elements of the story into celluloid for the silver screen: a 1923 silent Western, and in 1933, a version with Randolph Scott. The latter version is available for purchase on Amazon. The remnants of the Middleton cabin, and the memorial to the Pleasant Valley War, are located on private property in a very remote area, and not easily found. Not much remains except a stone fireplace, some foundation stones, and bits and pieces of fence. A plaque has been placed near the cabin commemorating the deaths of Blevins and Payne: “Killed by Gunshot.” It’s a quiet place now … just the wind, some cows, a few birds, and rattlesnakes. It’s hard to believe such a violent event took place here 133 years ago. Take a look at the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum Facebook post for further history, filmed on location on the 9th of August, 2020. There are many books written on this feud, and if you like the history that made Gila County, you may want to read a couple of them. Some of these are on sale at the Gila County Museum in Globe and Bullion Plaza Museum in Miami. u
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This is an exhibit in progress in the Ranch Room at Bullion Plaza museum, portraying photographs from the Middleton cabin. The top middle photograph is courtesy Kathy Gines Hunt of Young, Ariz. (author of a new book, “Photographs of the Jesse Washington Ellison Family”).
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Where the past hosts the future
September 2020
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FERAL CAT COLONIES CONTINUE BEING HELPED BY SPAY-NEUTER PROGRAM By Cheryl Hentz tarting its Trap-Neuter-Release program for feral cats last November, the High Desert Humane Society has made tremendous strides in reducing the cat overpopulation. Serving the Globe Miami area, along with some other outlying communities, HDHS has already spayed and neutered approximately 300 cats under the TNR program. When the program began, shelter officials promised Globe’s city council that they would get the problem under control within a year. That meant setting a goal of altering about 10 feral cats each week. They are usually meeting or exceeding that goal, says TNR program director Pam Austin. “We were down for about a month or a little longer because of COVID. Altered Tails, the place that does our neuters and spays was closed twice,” she says. “But COVID hasn’t slowed us down tremendously. We’re going every single Friday and we usually take 10, and sometimes 14 cats.” The problem of cat overpopulation began with people not spaying or neutering their household cats that they would also let run loose. Those cats would then either get pregnant by a feral cat or they would impregnate a feral cat. Sadly, dozens of unwanted litters were born, something that could be prevented if all people were responsible pet owners by spaying or neutering their cats and not letting their unaltered cats run loose. Under the program, once altered, each cat will have its left ear notched, so that it cannot be mistaken for an unaltered cat. The cats are then returned to the area where they were caught. “A lot of the people really enjoy having the cats around. They want to protect them; they want to make sure they have a place to eat. The colony organizes itself and it’s easier for them to go back to a place they know than to take them to a strange place,” explains Austin. If people don’t want the cats back in their neighborhood, HDHS tries to find ranches or farms that
Cheryl Mariscal, Director for the Human Society, shows traps for the feral cats. They will soon be picked up and taken to the Valley to be neutered and tagged. Photo by LCGross.
want feral cats to control their mice or rat problems. Where the cat colonies are and where the cats end up is tracked by the Animal Defense League of Arizona (ADLA), which is paying for about 50 percent of this program. The City of Globe temporarily repealed its ordinance that prohibits the feeding of stray cats. People feeding the cats can put the food down for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. They then must take it up so it’s not attracting other animals. By putting the food down at regular times, the cats learn when to show up, making them easier to trap.
It takes many volunteers to successfully run this program. Currently, besides Austin, there are only about three or four other people helping. Anyone 16 years or older may volunteer. Anyone who wants to volunteer, anyone with a cat colony in their yard that needs to be taken care of, and any farms or ranches that need cats should call the shelter at 928-200-1367 or Pam directly at 928-200-4044. u
Construction, Continued from page 1
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480-983-4000 According to the county, the local design team reviewed nearly a dozen animal shelters from comparable communities across America, ranging from a 16,000 square foot facility in California to a 54,000 square foot shelter in Spokane, Washington. They also checked the specifications of nearly a dozen in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and Michigan. Construction costs at those facilities ranged from $343 to $840 per square foot. The final design for the Gila County Animal Control facility came from Richard Fe Tom of The Architecture Company in Tucson, known for their work on these types of facilities. The new building will include 27 separate kennels for dogs and 10 cages for cats, plus a grooming room and separate areas for both dogs and cats where people can get acquainted with animals before deciding to adopt. JC Castenada, who has been the director of Animal Control for over 25 years, thanked the many who worked to see this happen, including Vela, Cline, Martin and Humphrey, as well as Gila County Health and Emergency Management head Michael O’Driscoll, Public Works Director Steve Sanders, and others. Construction is expected to be completed by September 2021.
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September 2020
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FILMING A PEARL 12 Westerns in 12 Months with Travis Mills Film locations in Globe included the Chrysocolla Inn, where this scene of Pearl’s earlier days of courting her first husband were shot. Other locations included the train depot and freight station and the 1916 territorial jail. Courtesy Photo
Kevin Goss and Lorraine Etchell run through their lines for the soundman. Photo by LCGross
Actress Babe McGuire (on the dais) was hired to play the part of abolitionist and suffragist Julia Ward. Assistant Director John Marrs seen here prepping the scene. Photo by LCGross.
By Linda Gross
Some say the Western genre is dead. But don’t tell that to Travis Mills, an independent filmmaker who is on a mission this year to complete 12 Westerns in 12 months in one of his most ambitious projects to date. His previous project was 52 films in 52 weeks. He spent July in Tonto Basin filming #7 in his series and all of August in Globe, where he not only shot his 8th film - about Pearl Hart - but played the supporting role of Joe Booth, her partner in crime in the infamous stagecoach robbery. In September, he will move north again to Young to shoot a film about the Pleasant Valley War. Mills, who graduated from the ASU Film School in Tempe in 2010, says he feels the education he got in film school fell short in providing enough hands-on, practical training. He has a theory that to get good at directing, you have to shoot a lot of films - giving as much attention to quality as your time, budget and ingenuity afford. So, shortly after graduating, he partnered with his professor to create Running Wild Films and dedicated himself to being a full-time director. Since then he has completed more than 100 short films and 10 feature films. It was just after completing a project as part of the 52 short films that he settled on his next big challenge: why not do 12 full-length feature films in 12 months? He settled on the Western genre after the success of one of his earlier movies, “Blood Country,” which garnered more than 500,000 downloads on Amazon Prime. While the Western may no longer hold the sway the genre once had with moviegoers, having been replaced by today’s superhero tales, Westerns still have a strong following. This factor is worth considering when determining if the market for a film is sufficient to make a profit. And turning a profit on his films is important to Mills and his investors and is what keeps him in the field making more movies. While the idea of producing a full-length feature film every month sounds crazy, to Mills it has become his MO as a director. “In film school we made three films in two years,” he says. “We just didn’t make enough films. We wrote 30 essays and did three films. That’s not the way I think it should be,” he says. Film school, he says, didn’t teach him much about casting parts, directing actors, financing a film, or marketing the final product. He learned all those things by just doing them. It’s the “experience-through-doing” that gave him the resilience and skill set to plan the production of 12 separate feature films in 12 months. While shooting for his most recent movie - the one about Pearl Hart, shot in Globe this August - Mills was simultaneously lining up the location and casting calls for his next movie - the one to be filmed in Young - as well as wrapping up post production on the first movie, which he shot in January, and getting it ready for release. Filming A Pearl, Continued on page 9
Shooting inside Globe’s 1916 territorial jail, Mills confers with cinematographer Sushila Kandola. “I had seen some short films where she (Sushila) acted and knew she wanted to move up and get behind the camera. I wanted someone not ingrained in the film industry and who had the kind of experimental energy it takes to film a full length feature film on an iPhone,” says Mills. Photo by Todd South.
In Mills’ version of the story, Joe Booth pleads with Pearl to yell and scream at him so others will blame him for the robbery and go easy on Pearl. Photo by Todd South.
September 2020
“When I chose to do a series of Westerns, I wasn’t interested in telling 12 versions of the same story. The genre is pretty flexible,” Mills says. “I definitely didn’t want to make 12 of the same movie. I wanted to explore different sides of the genre.” Mills shown here filming a scene at the restored Magma Hotel in Superior. On the set of “The Woman Who Robbed the Stagecoach.” Courtesy Photo.
Mills says of Pearl, “She began as a vulnerable woman being used by men and got to a point where she was very strong and independent. Most people don’t start out that way. It takes heartache, setbacks and adversity shape that. That’s the story I wanted to tell.” Photo by Todd South
Filming A Pearl, Continued from page 8
His leading lady in Pearl Hart, Lorraine Etchell, says that Mills and John Marrs, the assistant director, had the most grit of anyone she’s ever met. “He (Mills) is always working,” she says. “When we are resting, he’s organizing.” While Mills’ movie sets for this project have ranged from big production sets (by his standards), with SAG actors and lighting crews on set, to lean productions that use a majority of non-actors, few crew members, and natural lighting conditions, Mills is comfortable with both. Although he says it’s easier with fewer crew and cast members. It was the latter that defined his work on the Pearl Hart movie. He cast Etchell, a firsttime actor, in the lead and shot the movie entirely on an iPhone. Mills says he chose to shoot this movie on an iPhone because he “wanted to do something that made the viewer feel like they were there. With professional equipment, things can feel so polished,” he says. He initially thought the lead for the movie would have to be a professional actress, until he saw Etchell read for the part. “She was surprisingly natural and has good instincts,” Mills says. Despite a few misgivings from his crew, he moved forward in casting Etchell for the part. After the first day of shooting, his crew was equally convinced Etchell was the Pearl they had been looking for. Etchell, 29, attended an art academy in San Francisco before being drawn to Arizona and the Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture in Scottsdale. With background as an artist and architecture student, she understands the use of space and how the mood can change with small adjustments to that space. It’s similar to blocking a shot for a movie and being an actor in that space. In addition, Etchell was a dancer and had ridden hunter/jumpers as a child, so working with the demands of the set design and script came naturally. Understanding who Pearl Hart really was and how to become her took more work. Filming A Pearl, Continued on page 10
A key to Mills’ success is how he uses his social media feeds to communicate with his audience which includes current and potential investors, a broad spectrum of actors and extras, and the general public. Find him on Facebook.
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Filming the robbery in Box Canyon with Travis Mills. Photo by Todd South.
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September 2020
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com Filming A Pearl, Continued from page 9
After reading the script she talked with Mills about her perspective on the character. “I didn’t feel she had as much dignity [in the script] as I wanted her to have. She seemed more desperate than I felt she was,” says Etchell. “I wanted to change one of the scenes because she was not a woman who went from bad to worse to worst. I didn’t realize how one way or the other I was going to become her.” In a rare heated conversation, Mills told her, “You can’t put yourself in any other shoes but your own!” It wasn’t the first time she’d heard that. She turned to a friend, Thea Wilshire, for advice. “Use Pearl’s situation to fill this out,” she remembers Thea advising. “You have a lot more liberty as a woman in the 20th century to speak your mind. Think about what Pearl would have had to do in her time. You have to do it in between the lines.” She did. In a scene where her husband left her, the script called for her to be distressed and totally lost. “She wouldn’t have been upset if she left him - or that he was leaving her. That’s not how a woman would think,” says Etchell. Instead she laughed at him. Etchell says Mills put a lot of trust in her as an amateur actress. “I was concerned at first because I wasn’t getting any notes from him and wondered if what I was feeling was coming across on screen,” she recalls. Mills assured her he was satisfied with what he was seeing. “You’re doing great,” he told her. Through the process of working on set with Mills, Etchell grew into the character and began to trust the process. “As an artist, I actually don’t trust a lot of people, because they aren’t coming from where I’m coming from. But being in some else’s show, where they move at a different pace, I was completely out of my element.” Mills likes to give latitude to his actors and not get too involved with their performance the first time. “I don’t tell them what to do initially, because I want to see what they do. If I give them too many notes, I might miss seeing what they can instinctively do.” “What if they do something that’s better than what I’d envisioned?” he asks. Instead, he will suggest adjustments in their performance, but he rarely goes beyond three or four takes. With Pearl Hart it’s been bare bones and raw, he says. “There has been little setup and little lighting that we have to worry about. Although we have more time to do more takes, most of the time we don’t want to.” He points to Clint Eastwood, who is notorious for only doing one or two takes. “He hires the right people. Gives them direction on what he wants, and is done.” says Mills. “A lot of times when you’re pushing it and pushing it, you’re really insecure about what you’re getting. I look at my cinematographer Shushila (Kandola) and John (Mills’ assistant director), and if they say yes, then I know we got it.” The shooting for Pearl Hart wrapped on August 30 in Florence, where Mills filmed the courtroom scenes in the iconic 1891 Pinal County Courthouse where Pearl Hart was tried and sentenced in 1899 for the crime of robbing a stagecoach. Dozens of extras in period costume helped to pack the room just as it had been during the trial. The movie is due out next August. It will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime. u
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September 2020
*Note: Our new series on mining will feature second-generation miners and a column which will address frequently asked questions about mining in general and specifically about the operations in our region. If you have a question you’d like to ask please send it to editor@globemiamitimes.com.
“I want to learn everything I possibly can.” FAQ ON MINING OPERATIONS IN GLOBE-MIAMI
Mineral Display features the regions array of precious gems & minerals
WILBUR BENALLY III
By GMT Staff
Freeport-McMoRan Miami Operations Operator Trainee Interview by Patti Daley “We do the same thing every day,” says Wilbur Benally III. “You can’t forget what you are doing.” It’s one of the things he likes about his work as an Operator Trainee at the anode plant in Miami, AZ. There, copper is poured into concrete molds to create slabs 4 ½ ft. in length, weighing 850 lbs. He’s been on the job about 18 months. Wilbur had basic skills and some previous experience in mining, but credits work ethic for landing him the job at Freeport-McMoRan. “When you work for the mines, if you have a good work ethic, in the long run you will be successful.” Wilbur never thought he would go into mining. His parents both work in offices and that’s what he thought he’d do too, but when he got an office job doing secretarial duties, he found the work didn’t suit him. “I like working with my hands,” says Wilbur. “I’m a hands-on person.”
The Family Connection
Wilbur’s grandfather, Wilbur Benally Sr., also worked for Freeport-McMoRan. After serving in the U.S. Army, Wilbur Benally Sr. spent his entire career in mining. At Miami operations, he worked in the tankhouse where copper is recovered from a solution as part of the solvent extraction and electrowinning process. Although Wilbur vaguely recalls a time when miners came home from work dirty, he remembers clearly that his grandfather went to work in collared shirts and nice shoes. He was a supervisor. Now retired, Wilbur Benally Sr. has said little to his grandson about his life in mining. “He is a stoic man,” says Wilbur, “a one-word man.”
Forging His Own Path
Wilbur, 22, was born in Mesa and moved to San Carlos in 2006 with his family when his father got a job with the tribe. As a child, he played a lot of sports and dreamed of being in the NFL. After high school, he continued his education with a focus on sports medicine. He got a football scholarship at Bacone College in Oklahoma after playing as a walk-on at Eastern Arizona College (EAC). “Life turns” directed Wilbur away from college and back to work. Mining provided the opportunity he needed. “I’m slowly working to where I need to be,” he says. “There’s still a lot to learn. I want to learn everything I possibly can.” Wilbur has a wife and young son and works overtime when possible.. He hopes to continue his education one day and is looking into many fields, including business. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family. “If I put my mind to something and really want it, I’ll pursue it,” Wilbur says, “but for now, I’m content.”
The Next Generation
When asked if he’d encourage his son to pursue a career in mining, Wilbur is thoughtful. “No,” he says, “there’s a lot of education I’d want him to pursue.” When asked if he would push him toward football, he also said no. “As a father you want your son to play sports,” he shrugs, “but he’ll have a mind of his own and can go into something else.”
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Although the area is best known for its copper mines, the region produces an array of gems and minerals. “Arizona is amazing,” says Tom Foster, executive director of bullion Plaza in Miami. “Arizona is just this great repository of pretty much anything you can ever think of in the way of minerals. Not only stuff that is marketable,like copper, gold and silver.” Statewide, but particularly in Gila County, many of the gems and minerals in the area are quite literally brought to the surface by copper mining. As Wolfgang Mueller, curator of gems for Bullion Plaza, writes in a 2012 issue of Rocks & Minerals, “The geological processes responsible for the copper ore deposits have set much of the stage for the grand collection of gemstones found here.” Among the “grand collection” are azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, gem chrysocolla, turquoise, jasper, quartz, tourmaline, bohmeite, amethyst, apache tears, argillite, and jasper. Gems include chrysocolla, turquoise, amethyst, azurite, and tourmaline. A beautiful collection was recently donated to Bullion Plaza Museum by Les & Paula Presmyk, with the help from the museum’s mineral curator, Wolfgang Mueller and his wife Diane. It is now part of the permanent displays found in the new Mineral Hallway. “We are excited about this new addition, and anxious to be able to share it with the public, when the COVID-19 goes down to the point where we can re-open,” says Foster, who continues work behind the scenes to enhance the museum’s displays.
S
JOB POSTING
Discover job opportunities with our local mines BHP: careers.bhp.com/careers/ Capstone–PintoValley: capstonemining.com/careers/ Freeport-McMoRan: www.fmjobs.com Resolution Copper: resolutioncopper.com/careers/
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12
September 2020
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
A Look at Covid-19 in AUGUST Globe Miami Times takes a look at the pandemic as it unfolds each month and have divided our coverage into four categories: Pandemic Numbers, Economic Impacts, Healthcare Impacts and Personal Impacts. Each category is then broken downWORLD into world,VIEW USA, Arizona, and Globe-Miami news.
Pandemic by the Numbers
ARIZONA VIEW
✦ In sheer numbers, the pandemic is continuing to worsen globally. The world began the month of August with approximately 17.4 million confirmed cases and 676,000 deaths, and ended the month with approximately 25,335,000 cases and 849,000 deaths. This is an increase of roughly 8 million cases and 173,000 deaths during August. For comparison, during July,WORLD the number VIEW of cases increased by 7 million and deaths increased by 167,000.
WORLD VIEW
ARIZONA ✦ The PhilippinesVIEW continued to struggle with high case numbers and went back into lockdown.
South Korea, Vietnam, Spain, France, and New Zealand saw fresh outbreaks. Italy closed nightclubs after cases among young people began to increase. The Australian state of Victoria went back into lockdown, and New Zealand also reimposed lockdown restrictions after five new ARIZONA VIEW cases were reported. (https://bit.ly/2FbSVe9, https://bit.ly/3by2u2S)
VIEW
✦ As of August 21, Arizona had the seventh-highest number of confirmed cases in the country. In terms of cases per capita, it was third in the country after Louisiana and Florida. It had the eleventh-highest number of deaths and was ninth in terms of deaths per capita. (https://bit. ly/2GF6hjT, https://bit.ly/3lVf7de)
USA VIEW USA VIEW
✦ Arizona began the month of August with about 175,000 confirmed cases and 3,700 deaths, and ended it with approximately 201,835 cases and 5,029 deaths: an increase of roughly 27,000 cases and 1,329 deaths during USA VIEW August. In July, those numbers had been 77,000 cases and 1,871 deaths. In other words, the state saw a large decrease in new cases, and about two-thirds as many deaths, compared to July. Cases peaked on June 29, and deaths GLOBE-MIAMI peaked on July 17 (with 97 deaths on that day).
✦ At the beginning of August the United States entered “a new phase” of widespread infections in both cities and rural areas, according to Dr. Deborah Birx. (https://cnn.it/3lVvR3X)
GLOBE-MIAMI ✦ The United States began the month of August with approximately 4.7 million confirmed cases VIEW and 157,000 deaths, and ended it with approximately 6,024,000 cases and 184,000 deaths: an
increase of roughly 1.3 million cases and 27,000 deaths during the month. For comparison, in July GLOBE-MIAMI thoseVIEW numbers were 2.1 million cases and 29,000 deaths, and in June, there were 824,000 new cases and 23,000 deaths. ✦ Although for the country overall the situation somewhat improved during August, there were hotspots in the Midwest where some states saw record numbers of infections: Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. (https://reut.rs/2EX0V2Z)
GILA COUNTY
✦ Gila County began the month of August with 822 confirmed cases and 29 deaths, and ended it with a total of about 1,106 cases and 47 deaths: an increase of 284 cases and 18 deaths during August. Given the county’s population, 1,106 cases works out to 1 in 50 people. In July, the number of deaths was 21 and the number of new cases was 485. (AZDHHS)
Our only way out of this pandemic is together.” ~ WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
✦ However, Gila County’s health department reports different numbers. According to the county, there were a total of 650 cases and 39 deaths by the end of August. Case numbers by city, as reported by Gila County: Payson, 350; Globe, 189; Miami, 49; Pine, 15; WORLD Claypool,VIEW 14; Star Valley, 9; Hayden, 6; Tonto Basin, 5; Winkelman, 5; Young, 3; Strawberry, 2.
ARIZONA VIEW
PERSONAL IMPACTS ✦ Mental health professionals are drawing attention to the mental health impacts of the pandemic and associated social distancing and stay-at-home measures. The CDC published a report that found “symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder increased considerably in the United States during April–June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. … Overall, 40.9% of respondents reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, including symptoms of anxiety disorder or depressive disorder (30.9%), symptoms of a trauma- and stressor-related disorder related to the pandemic (26.3%), and having started or increased substance use to cope with stress or emotions related to COVID-19 (13.3%).” 10.7% of respondents reported having seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before completing the survey, and the number “was significantly higher among respondents aged 18–24 years (25.5%), minority racial/ethnic groups, self-reported unpaid caregivers for adults WORLD VIEW (30.7%), and essential workers (21.7%).” (https://bit.ly/3lZykuc)
WORLD VIEW
ARIZONA VIEW
USA VIEW
GLOBE-MIAMI VIEW VIEW ARIZONA
✦ August 1, Rep.. Raul Grijalva announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. (https://cnn. it/3bFSYeo)
USA VIEW
✦ The Republican National Convention was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, but in a scaleddown version. The press was not allowed on site, and the GOP cited social distancing measures as the reason. (https://cnn.it/3jRMqMr)
✦ MLB postponed the Brewers-Cardinals game at the beginning of GLOBE-MIAMI the month due to positive Covid tests. A few days later, the team VIEWthat seven Cardinals players and six team staffers had tested announced positive, and the Cards postponed their four-game series against the Detroit Tigers. The Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain opted out of the 2020 season, as did New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Céspedes. Doug Pederson, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles tested positive. A group of NCAA Pac-12 football players threatened to boycott over health concerns as well as racial injustice. Northwestern University paused football workouts after a student-athlete tested positive. (https://cnn.it/3bFSYeo, https://cnn. it/333bR74, https://cnn.it/2Zb0IQg) ✦ The Commonwealth Fund survey (mentioned earlier) also found that 1 out of every 3 Americans had “experienced stress, anxiety or sadness that was difficult to cope with alone during the pandemic.) (https://bit.ly/2ZfLoSJ)
For all our differences, we are one human race sharing the same planet and our security is interdependent – GLOBE-MIAMI no country will be safe until we’re all safe.” VIEW USA VIEW
~ World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
September 2020
13
A Look at Covid-19 in AUGUST Let’s take a breath here and remember what is important, which is health and safety as a WORLD community. We can rebuild our VIEW sport and the economy but we can never recover lives lost.” ~ Tennis star Nick Kyrgios
ARIZONA VIEW
ECONOMIC IMPACTS ✦ In Europe and the United Kingdom, business is starting to recover - but economists still predict it will take at least two years for the United Kingdom and the Eurozone to return, economically, to where they were before the pandemic. (https://reut.rs/2ZfCpAR, https://reut.rs/2DzIUqy)
WORLD VIEW
ARIZONA VIEW
WORLD VIEW
✦ As is happening across the country, school systems in Arizona ARIZONA VIEW are attempting to make decisions about whether to hold in-person classes. August 6, state authorities established county-level benchmarks that are recommended for in-person learning to take place. These benchmarks include: 1) a decline in cases (or less than 100 cases per 100,000 individuals for USA VIEW two consecutive weeks), 2) two consecutive weeks with percent positivity of COVID-19 PCR tests below 7%, and 3) two consecutive weeks with hospital visits for COVID-like illnesses in the region below 10%. August 27, Yavapai County became the first (and currently only) to meet the benchmarks. GLOBE-MIAMI
USA VIEW
GLOBE-MIAMI VIEW
VIEWto Wikipedia, “Most school districts in Arizona ✦ According are beginning the school year online with some exceptions for vulnerable students. Despite not meeting the recommended benchmarks, the governing board for J.O. Combs Unified school district in San Tan Valley voted to resume classes in person on August 17; however, these plans were cancelled after many teachers staged a sick out. A second school district, the Queen Creek Unified school district, also voted to resume classes in person on Monday with some teachers resigning in response. (https://bit.ly/2R0NscD, https://bit.ly/35dIDFc, https://bit. ly/2F8wpCX, https://bit.ly/32682OY, https://nbcnews.to/3jVqZKG, https://bit.ly/2F5FKeP, https://bit.ly/2GuUl3S)
✦ In August, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 8.4%, and 13.6 million people are out of work - that’s 7.8 million more than in February, before the pandemic crisis hit. An additional 7 million people would like to work but don’t have a job and are not actively looking, so are not included in the unemployment numbers. In August, 24.2 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic—that is, they did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic. This measure is down from 31.3 million in July. //bit.ly/2F7OEZj)
USA VIEW
GLOBE-MIAMI VIEW
✦ A study by the Commonwealth Fund found that 31% of Americans were facing negative economic impacts due to the pandemic. For comparison, in Australia, 21% of people said they had suffered negative economic consequences. In France the number was 15%, and in Germany it was only 6%. (https://bit.ly/3h52rgl) ✦ The same study showed that people in Americans, Australians, and Canadians were much more likely to have lost a job or income due to the pandemic compared to Europeans. In the U.S., 27% of people reported having lost a job or income, and in France and Germany, only 7% did. (https://bit.ly/3h52rgl) ✦ New York City established checkpoints to be sure people entering the city from certain states understand they must self-quarantine for 14 days - or risk fines of up to $10,000. (https://reut.rs/2ZduKD2) ✦ Movie ticket sales began to tick up in August. The second week of August, ticket sales broke $1 million for the week. By the end of the month, weekly box office reached $16 million. (https://bit.ly/3i5FDhD) ✦ Studies showed that community outbreaks over the summer usually began at restaurants and bars. Indoor dining has been shown to promote infection and is banned in New York City and many other places. It also puts food-service workers at risk - who often don’t have health coverage through their employers. (https://nyti.ms/3jWHCoX) ✦ Many medical professionals and business leaders called for a new, strict lockdown for the United States, of up to six weeks, as the only way to end the spread of the coronavirus. They argued that too-soft and too-short lockdowns caused the United States to fail to contain the virus. Mask mandates and social distancing policies help, but on their own they “are not enough to control this pandemic,” the authors wrote. They called for sheltering in place “for everyone but the truly essential workers” and the use of testing and contact tracing to guide reopening the economy. More than 150 medical professionals called for the United States to “shut down, start over, do it right.” (https://nyti.ms/3by3LHd, https://bit.ly/3jQoEk0)
There is no trade-off between health and the economy. Both require aggressively getting control of the virus.” WORLD VIEW
~ Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, and Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota
ARIZONA VIEW
HEALTHCARE IMPACTS WORLD VIEW
✦ The World Health Organization advised that people postpone non-essential dental treatments in areas with community spread, due to the risk of infection. (https://reut.rs/2R0gusV)
✦ The World Health Organization also announced the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, a global collaboration platform that aims to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It would allow global coordination of rolling out new vaccines, tests and treatments. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it “a key route out of the pandemic and to global economic recovery.” The WHO also announced that the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility, another initiative to help countries coordinate vaccine access, now has 172 countries participating.
ARIZONA VIEW
✦ A global study concluded that obesity doubles the risk of being hospitalized if a person has Covid-19. Obesity also increases the risk of dying by nearly 50%. (https://bbc.in/335ha5L)
USA VIEW
USA VIEW
✦ The U.S. government has made arrangements to purchase more than 100 million doses of a potential vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, at a price of over $1 billion. (https://reut.rs/3bKjnYB)
✦ A member of the White House coronavirus task force, Adm. Brett Giroir, said on NBC that hydroxychloroquine is not recommended as a treatment. Giroir said, “At this point in time, there’s been five randomized controlled, placebo controlled trials, that do not show any benefit to hydroxychloroquine.” (https://cnn.it/333bR74)
GLOBE-MIAMI VIEW
14
September 2020
INDIE WEEK XXL –
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
SUPP ORT A R I ZONA BUSI N ESSES This came in from our friends with Pin Drop Trailers. Everyone can participate in Local First’s Indie Week Az! Check this out! Pin Drop Travel Trailers is participating in Local First Arizona’s Independent’s Week XXL. Independent’s Week, normally the first week of July, was postponed this year due to COVID-19. Lucky for all of us, it has been expanded to a whole month long in celebration of Arizona businesses.
Indie Week This annual event hosted by Local First Arizona highlights independent businesses across the state and their importance to the local economy. Keep your money circulating locally, shop with purpose, and help your community return stronger. Visit localfirstaz.com/indie-week to download your card. You could win prizes just for supporting your favorite local businesses.
The Rules According to LFA Per Local First Arizona news, #IndieWeekAZ is back and Indie Week XXL brings you a whole month to discover and support Arizona’s small, independent businesses — like us, here at Pin Drop — and right when we need it most! As a consumer, you can join in on the fun by visiting localfirstaz.com/indie-week to download your #IndieWeekAZ Action Card, shop and live locally (which you may already safely be doing), and get rewarded for it. LFA has some incredible prizes for participants. All you have to do is cross just 5 calls-to-action off your Indie Week action card and get entered to win locally-curated prizes. Each week, three randomly selected winners will receive a gift card to their favorite local businesses.
Pin Drop and Indie Week XXL All month long, Pin Drop Travel Trailers offers a special 20% discount on any #PinDrop rental reservation made in the month of September 2020. Reserve a Pin Drop Road Runner Model from our website using the COUPON CODE: PinDropIndeWeek20. The discount is offered on the nightly rental fee. All daily insurance rates and security deposit fees are required. This one-time 20% offer is good through September 30th, 2020 with only 25 redeemable reservations. Don’t miss the opportunity to rent a teardrop trailer right here in Arizona, isolate locally, and take a pin for a spin. More about this year’s Independents Week XXL and ways that YOU can participate can be found at: localfirstaz.com/indie-week
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Museums, Continued from page 1
The Board of the Gila Historical Museum met recently in August. Normally a robust Board of 24 members are active in planning multiple fundraisers for the museum, like Old Dominion Days in September, which has been hugely successful in the past. Because COVID has forced the cancelation of many of these events, they too are looking at technology to raise funds. Photo by LCGross
their own heritage. Director Sheldon Miller states, “Family research has gone way up during COVID. People have more time to chase the history of their lineage.” To support this, GCHM has five dedicated volunteers (Linda Lopez, Bob Freese, Lynn and Vernon Perry, and Kenneth Johnson) who invest hundreds of hours accessing museum resources for people who cannot physically utilize the museum’s archives while the building is closed. Like Foster, Miller also emphasizes the role technology plays in remaining accessible and relevant to the community, and acknowledges that this has not come easily to him and his cadre of older volunteers. “If there‘s a blessing in COVID, it’s pushed many of us into technology.” He states they are interacting with the public through a “contact us” button on their website, working to enhance future displays with interactive electronic interfaces within the museum, and striving to get more resources available electronically, like the Old Dominion Days history lectures and even the 150 recently donated antique Globe-Miami postcards. When reopened, Miller states, “We expect to have iPads and tablets available for guests that further explain displays and deep dive into our history, like explaining what pasties and cheese boats are.”
“The museum is a classroom. We’re educators.” ~ Tom Foster
Photo by LCGross
Globe-Miami is fortunate to have two local museums, Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum (BPCCM) and the Gila County Historical Museum (GCHM). Both of these organizations have been dramatically impacted by COVID and closed since early March. Now they are working to reinvent themselves to be both visible and viable during the current pandemic. This involves operating in ways they have never before had to consider. “It’s no longer about thinking outside the box, it’s about removing the box,” says Tom Foster, Director of BPCCM. “What can we do outside of walls and a ceiling to extend our reach so we can pull people back in, people we’ve lost since we’re not open? … Relevance and invisibility sort of work together because we have to let people know we exist. Even though there’s a sign on the door that says, ‘Closed until further notice,’ I’m still working in here. I’m trying to get things done, finishing exhibits, handling billing and financial stuff, writing grants, whatever. Just because we’re closed doesn’t mean we’re not accomplishing things.” Foster believes technology is the key to remaining relevant in our new reality. “What is becoming more and more prevalent is virtual. We’re in the middle of the Darwinian concept of ‘adapt to survive’. We can’t bring people here, so we bring what we have to offer to them until we can bring them back… It’s just basically trying to move away from the box, out of the box, abandoning the box maybe in the standpoint of this temporary period of time and reaching out into the electronic ether. It’s out there and waiting for us to use it.” One way BPCCM is embracing technology is through a partnership grant they are pursuing with the Miami Public Library focused on history and education. Through the grant, they plan to interview local authors and various experts on topics that impact our region (like the effect of the Woodbury fire or the history of the Salado people), create short videos that are published on YouTube, then embed links to the videos on the museum’s website and social media accounts. These videos will expose people to new concepts that the library and museum can support with displays and resources once they reopen. “The museum is a classroom. We’re educators,” explains Foster. “We’re trying to make it interesting enough and relevant enough for youth to go, ‘Wow, this is better than playing a game!’ It’s the whole idea of excitement and lighting a fire, especially when there’s so many distractions and more immediately rewarding experiences for young people.” While BPCCM is investigating ways to engage youth, the GCHM is looking at ways to support individuals looking into
Museums must be relevant and visible in the community, but they also need financial resources to keep their programs alive. Alarmingly, we’re approaching a cliff in museum funding and viability. Most museums are inching along on savings right now, but many cannot survive past 2021. “Their funding will be exhausted. There’s an insurmountable precipice ahead,” states Foster. His assessment is supported by the
AAM finding that 87% of American museums report they have 12 months or less of financial reserves to cover operating expenses. While museums desperately need funding, they cannot implement their previously successful revenue-generating programs and, consequently, they are scrambling for new revenue streams. GCHM usually raises funds through Hamburger Frys and the multi-day Old Dominion Days festival. Because these events have been cancelled, they are planning to create a calendar of historic regional postcards to sell this year as their alternative fundraiser. GCHS also receives some of their funding through the City of Globe’s bed tax fund, a revenue stream linked to tourism. BPCCM does not get bed tax funding because “we only have 4-6 beds in Miami,” Foster explained. Instead, BPCCM applies for grants from foundations, nonprofits, and state and federal programs. “A lot of what you see is because of Freeport. They’ve been one hell of a partner in the past.” Unfortunately, many grants were suspended in the midst of the uncertainty of COVID. BPCCM has been bridging the gaps with special gifts, some large, like $60,000 from Congressman Pastor to restore and open two new exhibit rooms upstairs, and some smaller, like the $250 sent out-of-the-blue from an individual who lives in California. During the COVID pandemic, many small rural museums in Arizona received funding support through the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security” (CARES) Act. Fortunately, both GCHM and BPCCM received initial $9,000 and $10,000 grants from the Arizona Humanities Council and plan to apply for a second round of support. But even with this infusion of cash, Foster states, “It’s hard. Looking at the financials and the outflow of money is grim.” Looking to the future, Foster cannot predict if our local museums will remain open. He hopes so and predicts “things will be different, but not catastrophic. We need to take a breath, think about what is happening, and then determine how we can effect positive change.” u
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LADIES AND THE COUNT ACROSS 2 First woman to run for President 3 Month of 1790 Census 4 Census goal 7 1790 President 9 Largest counted city 10 Women who marched 12 Not included in Census count 13 Last state to ratify
DOWN 1 Counts people 2 First state for voting 5 First Cabinet member 6 Census Department 8 New 2020 census method 10 Number of 1790 questions 11 First N.O.W. President
Crossword Answers on page 18 Crossword Builder: Joe Skamel As a retired Air Force vet, I’ve called Globe home since 2003. My hobbies include model railroading, embroidery and wordsmithing; for the last several years I’ve worked on behalf of the Cobre Valley Historical Museum identifying and documenting gravesites in the local area.”
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September 2020
MIAMI
17
HIGH SCHOOL
iami schools will reopen for in-person instruction on Monday 21 September. Students will attend on a hybrid schedule. Students living in Miami and Claypool will be on campus Mondays and Tuesdays, and work from home Wednesdays and Thursdays. Students from outside Miami and Claypool will work from home Mondays and Tuesdays, and come to campus Wednesdays and Thursdays. All Miami athletic teams are beginning full practices in anticipation of interscholastic competition this fall.
TOO GOOD
FOR DRUGS!
Every year Miami freshmen are trained in Too Good for Drugs, an evidence-based program that helps teens develop the skills to avoid inappropriate drug and alcohol use – how to avoid it altogether, how to resist when tempted or pressured to use, and how to ask for help when you’re in trouble. This is particularly important this year with students not in school. Our summer survey of
ONLINE STUDENT SUCCESS Succeeding at school during a regular year takes some basic skills – go to every class every day, turn in your assignments on time, study for quizzes and tests. Working at a distance – online now and on a hybrid basis once we bring students back to campus – requires a similar set of habits: Log in every day. Your laptop is your classroom right now, and checking assignments and messages in Canvas is just as important as getting to your desk on campus. Teachers can tell when you logged in and for how long, just as they can tell that you’re at your desk and paying attention during a normal school day. Keep up with your assignments. Procrastination affects everyone; we’ve all told ourselves that tomorrow is a better time to do something. Most of us have been at the teacher’s desk on the last day of the semester, with a dramatic sob story and a pile of work we did late the night before. Selfreliance is a big part of succeeding when you’re learning from home, and doing the work as you go along equips you to keep up. Join every available Zoom call. Even if you’ve heard the lesson and this is for the other brick-andclick group, sit in on the calls. You’ll see your friends and interact with the teacher and along the way you just might learn something. Most of life is a matter of doing the little things so the big things get done. When it’s time to clean the house, you clean one room at a time. You eat a sandwich one bite at a time. And you do your schoolwork one day at a time.
student activities revealed a significant drop in vaping, but some increase in alcohol and marijuana use. This is mostly due to availability, and we need to make sure our kids are equipped to stay healthy. Patricia Dodd, Miami’s parent engagement coordinator, has translated our annual Too Good for Drugs student workshop to our Canvas learning management system, and will be teaching the content to all of our freshmen.
MHS Joins College Knowing & Going
Miami is the newest member of College Knowing & Going (CKG), an Expect More Arizona program funded by the Helios Education Foundation. CKG helps schools build programs that launch graduates to successful careers at college and on the job. CKG components include paying for every junior to take the ACT, ensuring every graduate applies for college or a serious industrial training program, and helping families complete the FAFSA financial aid application. This project will help MHS to expand existing college-preparatory activities, including our College & Career Advisor and the American Dream Academy, into a stronger Miami-specific program. The goal, in short, is to move every student one or two steps upward in their post-secondary trajectory: the student who plans to work into a management training program; the student who wants to learn a trade into a real apprenticeship; the military-bound graduate into a desired MOS or even OCS; part-time community college students into full-time; and, full-time community college students to university. The project will be ramrodded by College & Career Advisor Jenn Walker and CKG Lead Teacher Kevin Hull.
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VIRTUAL By Linda Gross
You might be able to cancel the ferris wheel rides and live entertainment, or the petting zoo or the demolition derby, but there is one thing that cannot be canceled from this year’s Gila County Fair, and that is the Junior Livestock Show and Auction where kids show off and sell the animals they have spent all year feeding and grooming for this moment.
AUCTION
Despite the restrictions of COVID-19 and the chaos it has created in communities all across the country, 4-H and FFA kids (and their families) have held steady and raised their animals for this moment. The Fair committee is excited to announce they have contracted with a nationally-known and certified virtual stock show company with a proven track record of helping Arizona 4-H chapters
This year’s animals: 25 Beef Cattle 24 Hogs 16 Lambs 10 Goats 5 Turkeys
2019 Auction. Courtesy Photo
have successful auctions. The auction company will invite all bidders to preregister on the site and the auction itself will take place on September 26th. The virtual auction guards the health of youth participants, their parents and adult volunteers and livestock judges in keeping with federal, state and county guidelines limiting crowds and safe physical distancing. And organizers are hoping the online auction generates even more bidders who can now participate from the comfort of their own home. “We’re making the best of a tough situation,” said Jacque Sanders, a longtime volunteer and Fair Board member. “Gila County is following 4-H policy from state leadership and we’re so very thankful to the faithful buyers who have generously supported our livestock auction for so many years.” She was quick to recognize invaluable support of the Copper Buyers Club members, who have included Jason Guilliam with The Plumbing Company and Guilliam Concrete, John Augustine Ranch, the Dalmolin Family (5D Mining & Construction, and Dalmolin Excavating); DJ’s Companies, Inc; Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center, John & Kerstin Fowler (AZ Materials, Rockin’ 4 Cattle Company,
Crossword Solution, from page 16
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J Bar J Cattle Company); Freeport McMoRan, Sundt Construction, Professional Piping Systems LLC, Oddonetto Construction, TriStar Industrial, J&B Trucking, McSpadden Ford, Kenny & Laurie Hawkins. Copper Buyers Club members listed above were the most active and competitive bidders last year among more than 50 registered buyers overall. Stats from 2019 show the average steer brought $5,856, while lambs averaged $1,501, swine $2,240, goats $1,360 and turkeys $187. While much of the experience for bidders and spectators will feel similar to last year’s auction, with all 4-H and FFA kids dressed appropriately in their chapter colors and showing animals in the ring, the viewing and the bidding will be done online. For more information and questions, please email gilacountyfair@gmail.com.
Note • B uyers can bookmark the auction site bid.virtualstockshow.com, and register the week before the auction. • R EMINDER: 4-H and FFA students and families: livestock weigh-in Sept. 18-19. • T he livestock show will be held on Sept. 18 in Payson for Tonto Basin, Young and Payson exhibitors and on the 18th and 19th in Globe for GlobeMiami exhibitors. • Y ou will be contacted about a scheduled appointment for those days; masks will be required and officials will follow CDC, city, county, state and federal covid-19 guidelines.
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September 2020
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Full Charge Bookkeeper needed by several local small businesses who are using the services of one person who will be retiring at the end of the year. We will be looking for an experienced bookkeeper with knowledge of QB Desktop, Payroll, Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payable, Small Business and Non-Profit needs. Pay is $20-$25/hour. Approximately 15-20 hours week. Ideal for retired/semi-retired individual. Send inquiries/work experience to gross@globemiamitimes.com.
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WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE ADDITION OF TORY SATTER TO OUR GMT TEAM! Tory will be handling distribution and sales for us, in addition to offering up his fantastic skills in managing our sports photography spread each month.
Contact Tory at Satter@globemiamitimes.com or call 928-200-1402.
Now offering 6- and 12-month specials. Call today!
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September 2020
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Education, Continued from page 1
“There are multiple learning curves for everyone, and they are all steep,� says Glen Lineberry, Principal of Miami Jr-Sr School and founding director of the Arizona Student Opportunity Collaborative. Despite winds of frustration, local educators are ascending the steep curves and busting through barriers to progress. Teachers and parents are communicating like never before. Schools are creating safe learning spaces and everyone’s getting a crash course in online learning. The virtual connectivity of teachers, students and parents is no longer optional. It’s critical infrastructure.
Connectivity “I didn’t have internet� is now the number one student excuse for missing class and not doing assignments. Although urban schools entered the pandemic with an estimated 80% connectivity, rural areas averaged 60% or lower. In Miami, less than half of school families had adequate connectivity. Many were without computers. In the spring, MUSD repurposed grant monies to purchase Chromebooks for all students who lacked them. Next came the effort to get mobile hotspots into neighborhoods that need them, and new problems like maxed out broadband capacity and data limits. GUSD followed suit this summer and has encountered delays. In an open letter on the GUSD website, Superintendent Jerry Jennyx calls for patience. “We are trying to build a runway while the plane is landing,� he tells his team. Amidst the chaotic frenzy, Carol Bradford, thirdgrade teacher at Copper Rim, sees “a new level of teamwork� emerging. Colleagues at her school gather every day, by grade level, to talk things out, go over lessons and collaborate on new challenges. “It’s a whole new way of teaching and learning,� says 21-year veteran 5th grade teacher, Jim McBride. “For many of us, the pivot online has been trial by fire.� Students at Destiny Charter School already had Chromebooks, but teachers soon discovered their own computers were inadequate for their new tasks. They were supplied with new laptops and larger monitors. Jim applauds the move by Principal David Lendon to keep students with last year’s teachers for the first two weeks. “It made it more comfortable for kids to learn this new way of learning,� he says, “and we never really got to say goodbye.�
Few teachers, however, have been trained to teach remotely. Leslie Mora began her teaching career last year. An ASU graduate, her studies included a single course in online learning; it was all theory. “All my classes were online,� she points out, “so I did learn the student part of it.� Principal Lineberry devised a 5-day training for all his teachers on Zoom and other technologies. They had the summer (unpaid) to figure out how to use them most effectively. The learning experiences they’re creating vary by teacher, class subject and grade level. Some of it’s working. Some of it’s not. Adjustments are being made. Lessons are being learned. “I knew we had an extraordinarily strong faculty,� says Glen. “They have without exception stepped up.�
“There are multiple learning curves for everyone, and they are all steep.� Glen Lineberry, Principal of Miami Jr-Sr. School and founding director of the Arizona Student Opportunity Collaborative. Photo by LCGross
Online Learning Experiences “It’s not a case of just pushing the curriculum online,� explains Glen Lineberry. “Classroom management is completely different.� Since the advent of the internet in the late nineties, online learning has been considered a key tool in the nation’s quest to provide high-quality education for all – especially for children in rural areas, children with special needs and children with special abilities.
The standard protocol for everyone entering a school campus is posted here at Miami High school. Photo by Patti Daley.
Parent Involvement Parents of all socio-economic levels are overwhelmed by school closure, but the impact is greatest on those with fewer resources. “Parents are trying to ensure their kids are successful,� says Rhianna Oldfield, “but they don’t know how to help them.� Parents and grandparents may not know the subject matter. Or how to use the technology. They don’t have a way to monitor their child while they are working. Teachers, many with school-aged children of their own, are on the front lines, fielding texts and calls from parents and students at all hours of day and night. In addition to her more-than-full-time job, Carol Bradford mentors two student teachers and cares for her 85 year-old mother. She understands the strain parents are under. “These parents are like me, just trying to make a living and dealing with life,� Carol says. “I have to make myself available when they need me. I can’t not answer them.� While the demands of learning new tools and reshaping roles is taking a toll, benefits are coming forth. Clarity about class assignments. A way to track progress. Communication with parents about the learning process. “I talk to parents all the time now, not just when there are problems,� says Jim McBride. “They want to know what’s going on.� “The lines of communication are open,� Leslie Mora declares, her eyes wide, “always.�
Safe Learning Space “School is not only a place to learn, it’s a social environment. It’s their world.� Imac Holmes, Ed.D. is a clinical psychologist serving students in San Carlos. The lack of being in actual physical space with peers and teachers, she says, may be the biggest challenge kids face. When schools closed in the spring, the most urgent crisis was not how kids would be educated, but how they would be fed. Children get 60-70% of their nutrition at school. Now local districts use bus drivers and drop boxes to deliver food and school materials. Destiny distributes 400 meals a day. The school also provides onsite learning space for 60 kids (20% of their students) whose parents have no other options for childcare. Plexiglas cubicles separate student desks. 10 new bathrooms are being built. Meanwhile, teachers are working from home and most of the kids are online.
Destiny has built cubicles for all students at the school but was forced to cancel plans to bring kids back to school for now. Courtesy Photo.
Education, Continued on page 21
Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-6pm; Sun 9am-4pm GLOBE • OVERGAARD • PINETOP • SHOW LOW
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September 2020 Education, Continued from page 21
Young students are unanimous when asked what they miss most. Going to school. Being with my friends. For highschoolers, it’s clubs, sports and music. Teachers miss the fun parts, too, and want kids back in the classroom. “As teachers, we get our energy from the student interactions,” adds Glen. “That’s why we’re in this field.”
A Path Forward All agree the current state of education is not ideal, for anyone. The ‘ideal,’ asserts Lineberry, is a committed and enthusiastic teacher in a safe classroom with kids engaged in an excellent curriculum. “Everything we’re doing now will transfer toward that outcome,” Lineberry envisions. When it’s safe for students to return to the classroom,
21
it will likely be in smaller groups, on alternate days. A hybrid model. Physical class time will be more focused on performatory and group learning. Online learning will be used for independent study and student prep, previously known as ‘book learning’. “It’s a really effective model,” Glen says with excitement. “We never thought that was within our budget.” u Education, Continued on page 22
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September 2020
Education, Continued from page 21
www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com
Individual Attention CAROL BRADFORD, 3RD GRADE Copper Rim Elementary, GUSD “This year has been the biggest challenge of my career.” Carol has taught first-third graders for 26 years. But never like this. Alone in her classroom, she begins the school day with a Zoom meeting with her 24 third-grade students. They talk about what’s happening, the kids ask questions and she reads to them. “It is really difficult to maintain attention online,” she says. “We use the group time to socialize.” Students login to Tiger Knowledge Online (TKO) for their assignments, which require about two hours of online work a day. It can be done at any time during the day to accommodate parents’ working hours and multiple children in the home. The approach “seems to be working” but is not enough for most. “Kids need more hands-on learning, they need to be learning with groups of kids, and a teacher,” says Carol. She holds private Zoom calls with students that need help and offers short sessions of one-on-one time in the physical classrooms to help with reading and to do physical forms of learning. “I miss seeing the kids’ faces,” she says – “that glance into what they are really understanding.”
College Prep RHIANNA OLDFIELD, AP ENGLISH & SOCIAL STUDIES Miami Jr-Sr. High School, MUSD Rhianna Oldfield teaches senior high school students. These days she works from a desk in the corner of a colorful classroom with circular tables and green chairs that sit empty. Speaking into her computer, she wraps up class and reminds students of their next assignment. “Make a poster, digitally or with paper and send me a picture,” she tells them. “It’s due Thursday.” One student hangs on after class to discuss a difficulty he’s having. She empathizes with him. “It’s definitely overwhelming and more demanding than before,” she says. “The biggest challenge is to get students online and engaged with the course materials.” Rhianna teaches college-level English and Social Studies, US History and a course in Career & Tech. She has 150 students. Her tech tools include Canvas to grade work, PowerSchool to post grades, and Remind to communicate easily with students and parents. Classes are conducted via Zoom. She can break students into small groups for collaborative work. Some students have more difficulty with the digital component of doing and delivering work, she says. Everyone’s struggling with self-management. Her AP students are faring the best. “Being in an advanced course does not mean you’re smarter,” Rhianna points out. “It means you’re more motivated.” She lectures online two days a week. Students do a lot of independent study. She requires them to check in via text every day. “These are skills we intentionally develop,” says Rhianna, “so kids will be prepared for college.”
Relationships JIM MCBRIDE, 5TH GRADE TEACHER Destiny Charter School “When you create a relationship with a student, you can motivate them to do anything.” Jim McBride, 66, has lived his dream of being a teacher for the past 21 years by always having a second job. Bus driver duties begin at 6:00 am. At 8:00 he meets his 36 fifth graders online via Zoom. Jim dons his work shirt and tie and requires the kids to get dressed too. They stay online together all day “This way I can always see them,” Jim explains. “We do take breaks and kids can socialize.” It’s important for kids to have a safe space to express their unique identities and ideas. His class has show and tell. They share their pets. They do little dances. They’re exploring new ways to bring physical activity into the day, and at the kids’ request, one day they wore their pajamas. Not tech-savvy himself, the shift online has been hard; he’s having to learn new ways to teach. He has the help of a full-time aid and his students; they’ve amazed him. “The kids have been so patient,” he says. “The idea that ‘we’re all in this together’ is really helpful.”
Resources LESLIE MORA, JR. HIGH SCIENCE TEACHER Miami Jr-Sr High School - MUSD “Kids learn better and retain more of what they learn when they’re having fun,” says Leslie Mora. Starting her second year as a Jr. High Science teacher, Leslie reports attendance online for her 150 students has been 80-85%, about the same as before school closure. From a big empty lab on campus, she engages 6th and 7th graders with video, slideshow, interactive lessons and a digital whiteboard she bought on Amazon for $20. In late August the class conducted their first virtual lab. “The kids had a blast with them,” she says with a smile. “They were testing hypotheses, checking data.” She draws from many online resources to find effective ways to deliver the curriculum, including Textbooks, Canvas Commons, and Teachers Teach Teachers. “I’m building up my resources,” says Leslie. “I’m having fun with it.” u
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Gila County Fair Junior Livestock Show & AuctioN
LLC
Our Local 4-H and FFA Kids Need Your Support!
SEPTEMBER 2020 2020 SEPTEMBER
Sadly, COVID-19 requirements and guidelines cancelled this year’s Gila County Fair – so we got creative! Our virtual auction Sept. 26 allows Gila County youth exhibitors the chance to sell livestock they nurtured, raised, and loved , over the past year.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 50 YEARS Gila County Fair Livestock Auction Goes Online!
Get Your Team Together – Invite Family, Friends or Coworkers to Pool Your $$$ and Plan Freezer Space!
Then get ready to bid!
Our Commitment make the auction as smooth, efficient and easy as possible for you, our buyers
We’ll have up to: 25 Beef Cattle • 24 Hogs 16 Lambs • 10 Goats • 5 Turkeys
and a BIG success for youths who put their hearts, time and energy into their 4-H and FFA projects
ONLINE SEPT. 26
a big, sincere THANK YOU to our exhibitors, leaders, buyers and parents – this wouldn't happen without you!
AUCTION BEGINS AT 9AM
Attention Bidders ‘N Buyers *Sign-up and register the week before the Auction Day Sept. 26. bookmark: bid.virtualstockshow.com
Indie Week Expands to Support Local Business
Questions about the Auction? Email gilacountyfair@gmail.com
Postal Customer **********ECRWSSEDDM*****
gilacountyfair.com /gilacounty.fair
Teachers on the Frontline
