Epitaph Template 2010 - School of Journalism

Hoskin: City remembers local actor and
playwright after his death.
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50 CENTs
THS Yellowjackets: Sports facilities bound
for expansion.
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No tombstoNe is complete without its epitaph
Vol. CXXVIX No. 2
130 yEars IN ThE TowN Too Tough To dIE
loCal EdITIoN
ThEEpITaph.Com
FrIday, sEpTEmbEr 24, 2010
Sheriff Dever stands tall at the border
Cochise County’s top
cop takes leadership
role on immigration
By Devlin Houser
The Tombstone Epitaph
When he began his college career 40 years
ago, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever had
little interest in law enforcement.
He had planned to teach high school English literature. But because of what he describes as a “perfect storm,” Dever is now
arguably the most vociferous advocate lobbying for tighter border security.
After graduating from high school in his
hometown of Saint David, Dever spent two
years doing mission work in Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica, where he
learned to speak fluent Spanish.
He met his wife in college, and the two
lived together in a small apartment in a San
Diego mortuary, keeping grounds in exchange
for rent and utilities.
In March 1976, after his first son was born,
Dever’s uncle and then Cochise County sheriff called and offered him a job as deputy sheriff. Two decades later, he was elected sheriff,
and is now serving his fourth term. He and his
wife raised six sons in Saint David.
Dever is on the National Sheriffs’ Association board of directors, and in September was
elected chair of the Southwest Border Sheriff’s Coalition, which was formed in 2007.
The coalition’s goal, Dever said, is to increase communication among sheriffs in the
border region and lobby Congress for tighter
border security.
Dever, along with Pinal County Sheriff
Paul Babeu, is also the poster child on bordersheriffs.com, a website soliciting donations
for legal defense in lawsuits by the ACLU and
the federal government over Arizona’s SB
1070.
The law, if implemented in full, would
compel all law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws, though a federal judge froze its most controversial
provisions, which are set to go before the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals.
A
Q
A
We don’t have any money. Another one of our missions is to
try to get Congress to fund us. We
have all these mounting pressures on
us because of where we are, and because the federal government still
hasn’t secured the border, we think
we ought to be getting some financial
support, collectively.
Was there a particular
moment that really got you
more involved in border issues?
Really, it’s kind of the perfect
storm, and I hate to capitalize
on a terrible, terrible tragedy in one
sense, but it was a significant event
when Rob Krentz was murdered.
Right at the same time that SB
1070 was being debated, the they
had an event or two down in Texas,
it all sort of came together. The
ACLU sued, along with MALDEF,
and then, lo and behold, the Department of Justice sues. I’m still angry
about it. They took it to a place that
no policymaker, no one in a position
of influence can run and hide.
Q
Can you tell me specifically
what sorts of increased
communication there are among
the border counties?
A
We have regular phone conferences. We have twice a year conferences. We have Internet sharing of
communication, and just knowing
when you talk to someone on the phone
or shoot them an email, who it is.
Q
Tell me how you got involved in
bordersheriffs.com. I believe
that’s the Legacy Foundation in
Iowa.
Q
A
Is there any funding from
anyone for the Southwest
Border Sheriff’s Coalition?
A
I heard about the Rose Law
Group and did some research
on them. I sat down with Jordan
Rose. They actually reached out to
some people to look for a non-profit
for fundraising and were referred to
the Legacy Foundation in Iowa,
which was looking for a cause they
could take on.
No, we don’t have an outreach
there. We’ve been seeking grant
funding in Congress.
Q
A
Tell me about your role in
National
Sheriffs’
the
Association.
I chair the Immigration and Border Security Committee. Basically, that means any official position
that National Sheriffs’ Association
would take on border security- and
immigration-related issues is vetted
through my committee. Plus, I’m on
the board of directors, where it ultimately ends up for approval.
Q
You were elected chair of the
Southwest Border Sheriff’s
Coalition. What are your hopes
for this?
A
We will continue to drive home
the message that our nation is in
peril. We share crooks, and we didn’t
really have a good network for communication. This helps provide that
network and increase communication.
Q
Are going to do any PR
campaigns? Do you have a
website?
Q
A
Any further political ambitions?
Devlin Houser/Tombstone Epitaph
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever has become the de facto advocate in
chief for tighter border security by taking on leadership roles in law
enforcement organizations such as the National Sheriffs’ Association and
the Southwest Border Sheriff’s Coalition.
I’m not going anywhere. I’ve
been asked, “What do you have
your sights set on?” I don’t have any
inclinations beyond this.
More Q & A online at theepitaph.com
‘Five Star’ resort ready to open in October
By Will Saetren
The Tombstone Epitaph
The Schieffelin monument towers in
the background far down a dusty, dirt
road that was once a part of the old Highway 80 system. The sound of hammers
and power tools fill the air. Welcome to
Apache Spirit Ranch.
The ranch, which is undergoing the
final stages of construction, is going to be
a high-end resort that will cater exclusively to European tourists who want to
experience the old west.
When the ranch is completed it will
boast 17 rooms, all uniquely modeled in
its own separate building according to a
small segment of an 1880s western town,
said Bill Smith, the real estate developer
behind the project.
The themes include a replica stagecoach office, a blacksmith’s office and a
jail.
The ranch will have an 1880s themed
dining hall, a swimming pool, a hot tub,
a full bar and a corral staffed with
wranglers available to take guests on trail
rides and outings.
The nearest high-end resort that offers
services similar to Apache Spirit Ranch
is in Bisbee and Smith hopes to fill that
gap.
Don Taylor, the president of the
Tombstone Chamber of Commerce, said
he toured the facility.
“It is absolutely gorgeous, it is five
star, Tombstone needs a place like that,”
Taylor said.
Although the ranch will offer a wide
variety of accommodations, there has
been a conscious effort to preserve the
history of the ranch.
In the 1880s there was a homestead on
the property owned and operated by a
German immigrant named Herman
Trappmann.
On the wall of the bar hangs
Trappmann’s original branding iron and
the “marshal’s office” is decorated with
woodwork salvaged from the original
homestead.
The prize, however, is what Smith
believes to be the remnants of the original
panic room, which is located beneath a
Plexiglas section of the bar floor.
“The only way you could get into this
room was through a closet, so we suspect
it was more for protection than anything
else,” Smith said.
During the 1880s the region was
subject to Apache raids, outlaws and
Mexican bandits, Smith said.
The trimming and woodwork have
been elaborately handcrafted and decorated, but not in Arizona. And not even in
the United States.
Nearly all of the woodwork, cabinetry
and doors were built at a cabinet shop in
Germany and shipped to the US.
In fact, most aspects of the Ranch, especially its architecture, have a heavy
German influence.
Many of the investors are from Germany and the ranch is designed to mostly
Ranch/Page 4
Will Saetren/Tombstone Epitaph
Wrangler Jo Buttler and Black Beauty rest after completing a morning ride for
employees at the soon-to-open Apache Spirit Ranch. Visitors staying at the resort
will be able to take horses out on trail rides.
Chamber of Commerce
pushing the town brand
By Marisa Gerber
The Tombstone Epitaph
Amidst Tombstone’s spree of political change, at least one thing will
remain constant – its Chamber of
Commerce.
Although the chamber gets
money from the city, through a professional service agreement, which
lets them run the gift shop at Boothill
Graveyard and from its bed tax, the
chamber’s board functions entirely
separate from the city.
Unfettered by the threat of a
change of power at its helm, the
chamber trudges on and eyes big
plans for the future.
Pat Greene, who was appointed as
executive director of the Chamber of
Commerce by its board last year, said
he loves his job and hopes to have it
for quite some time. Greene said he
serves at the pleasure of the chamber’s board.
“I’m having a ball doing this. I
love Tombstone. I love to promote
Tombstone,” Greene said. “I can’t
think of a better thing to do than get
up in the morning and know that I’m
coming in to promote Tombstone.”
Mayor Dusty Escapule said he
credits Greene with bringing professionalism to the chamber and thinks
he is doing a great job.
“In my opinion, the chamber has
been outstanding in marketing
Tombstone,” Escapule said.
The chamber’s current tactic for
marketing the city is three-pronged.
“The website, the rack cards and
the travel shows is what we are really
Chamber/Page 2
It’s an extremely delicate job
to tag a monarch butterfly
By Michelle Cohen
The Tombstone Epitaph
Michelle Cohen/Tombstone Epitaph
Gail Morris holds a monarch butterfly after tagging it in
Canelo, Ariz., Friday, Sept 17. Monarchs are tagged in a little
mitten-shaped cell, called the discal cell, on their wing
because it’s their center of equilibrium.
If you’re looking for Gail Morris,
you’ll probably find her with a butterfly net in the middle of an Arizona
field.
Morris, a Chandler resident, took
time off from her administrative job
about four years ago looking for a
“change of pace.”
“I thought I was going to go back
to my job but I started getting back
into the nature of things,” Morris
said.
Morris worked as a docent at the
Desert Botanical Garden before volunteering at Southwest Monarch
Study. The organization studies
monarch butterfly migration patterns
in Arizona.
She still volunteers for the organ-
ization, and also works as a trainer
for the Monarch Larva Monitoring
Project, a national program that monitors breeding grounds.
Little is known about the butterflies’ migration pattern in the West,
which is why it’s important to study
them, said Dr. Orley “Chip” Taylor,
a professor at the University of
Kansas and director of Monarch
Watch, an educational program based
at the university.
Taylor said it’s important to know
where the western populations spend
the winter. “We pretty much know
this for the eastern monarchs, but the
western monarchs are really not very
well studied.”
Some of them go to Mexico
while others go to the California
Monarch/Page 2
Page 2
sEpTEmbEr 24, 2010
Sports program expands despite poor facilities
By Alejandro Serrano The Tombstone Epitaph
Tombstone High School is succeeding where other schools are failing.
While schools across the nation
are cutting back on their sports programs, Tombstone High is building
the foundation to have a successful
athletic program for years to come.
“Tombstone is building,” said
Athletic Director David Thursby,
“There’s a bright future.”
Due to financial limitations
mostly from a failing economy,
schools have had to decide if it was
within the school’s best interests to
keep extracurricular activities, like
athletics in their budgets.
“(Our budget) is about $45,000
per year,” said Principal Robert
Devere. “It’s damn little.”
The budget includes, butis not
limited to: uniforms, safety
equipment, and paying for referees.
However, the actual figure to
maintain the program is higher when
the expenses of field maintenance
and transportation are factored in.
“Transportation is one of our
biggest costs,” said Devere.
Another large cost looming in the
near future for the school is the
expansion of its athletic facilities.
The project will mean that all of
the athletic teams at THS will have
an on-site facility to practice and
compete at, eliminating the cross
country and track-and-field teams
from having to travel an hour per day
to practice.
Chamber
Alejandro Serrano/Tombstone Epitaph
The football team practices on a vacant lot at the new Tombstone High School on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Currently the school is unable to afford
building new facilities for its outdoor sports until the old school is sold.
In addition to having a track built
at a Tombstone High School for the
first time ever, the plans of expansion
also means that a football field,
baseball and softball fields, a
multi-purpose practice field, and four
tennis courts are to be built. Facilities
will be complete with seating, field
irrigation and drainage, lighting,
bathrooms, concession stand, and
about 100,000.”
Thirdly, Greene said the chamber
requents travel shows, like AAA’s Arizona
travel show and the Arizona Highways travel
show.
“Another thing I initiated last year was
going to travel shows,” Green said. “That’s
how we’re getting into the Phoenix and California markets with face-to-face,” Greene said.
Green said this year the board decided
Tombstone should be represented at “one of
the three biggest travel shows in the country,”
the Los Angeles travel show.
Greene said the Los Angeles show is very
expensive, but he thinks it’s worth it.
“Based on the figures I’ve seen, even in a
depressed economy last year they had over
20,000 visitors. So we need to be there,”
Greene said.
Greene said despite its autonomy from the
city, the chamber is still obliged to serve the
city, because of the money it gets from running Boothill’s gift shop and bed tax.
“Our mission and fiduciary duty from the
city is to use those funds to market and
promote Tombstone,” Greene said.
But, the chamber funding also comes from
membership dues, he said.
He said the chamber membership
typically floats around 100.
continued from page 1
coast – something they learned
during the tagging program, he said.
Taylor said that western populations are extremely low and declining
because of habitat loss – milkweed in
particular, droughts and warming
climates. “There’s lots of evidence
that high temperatures and dry
conditions have a very negative
impact on the reproduction of these
butterflies,” he said.
The monarchs’ populations have
hit a low point this past winter, and
Monarch Watch aims to track the
population, Morris said, who collects
data for the Southwest Monarch Study
and for a national databank. Morris
said she travels throughout southern
and central Arizona as often as she can
and sometimes brings her husband,
students and friends with her.
Copy Editors
purpose field that they left behind.
Other than the four athletic
programs that utilize the gym at new
THS, all the other teams are forced
to use the less-than-perfect facilities.
The current tennis courts have
weeds waist-high growing on the end
lines and along the net-line as well.
The baseball field doubles as the
softball field triples as the football
“I not only do monarch tagging, I
push education and encourage
everyone to plant more milkweed,”
she said.
Scottsdale resident and butterfly
enthusiast Laura Miller met Morris
about a year ago at a Central Arizona
Butterfly Association meeting.
“I mentioned I had a monarch in
my yard the spring before, and Gail
tapped me on the shoulder,” she said.
“Two days later, I called her and we
tagged a couple in my yard.”
How do you tag a butterfly?
Fully equipped in her white
T-shirt, khaki pants, boots, hat and
sunglasses, complete with butterfly
stud earrings and a fanny pack,
Morris and Miller set off on the hunt
Marisa Gerber
Annie Chandler
Sam Shumaker
Parisa Hajizadeh-Amini
James Bourland
Devlin Houser
Michelle Cohen
Samantha Silberman
Marisa Gerber/Tombstone Epitaph
Pat Greene, executive director of Tombstone’s chamber of commerce,
mans his desk last Friday afternoon. “I can’t think of a better thing to do
than get up in the morning and know that I’m coming in to promote
Tombstone,” Greene said.
“We always have a responsibility to them.
They’re always saying, ‘What are you doing
to help my business?’” Greene said.
Greene said the chamber’s web site is a
“major benefit” for local businesses.
for monarchs on a sunny Friday
morning.
Blue and white soft-mesh
butterfly net in hand, Morris easily
moves through the thigh-high grass
on the side of a road in Canelo while
explaining that this area of wildflowers and willow trees has one of the
richest ecosystems for monarchs in
the state.
After about 15 minutes of walking, Morris spots her first monarch
and waits for the female butterfly to
lay her eggs on a milkweed plant before catching it in a net.
“I never want to interrupt a female
laying eggs,” she said. “That’s too
important. We have to make sure that
our zeal for tagging doesn’t interrupt
their life cycle.”
Morris waits for the butterfly to
stop flapping its wings before
carefully taking it out of the net and
holding it by its wings between her
index finger and thumb.
“They are delicate and you don’t
Founded on the Southwestern frontier by John P. Clum, May 1, 1880
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Talks of finally selling the property after almost three years on the
market remain in the works. Phoenix
real estate developer Bill Smith is
negotiating to buy the property and
turn it into a high-end resort.
Until the eventual sale of old THS
and the school district receives funds
for athletic facilities, the current
teams are forced to play on the multi-
continued from page 1
kind of focusing on,” Greene said.
Thanks to the chamber, the Old West’s
gone high-tech this year.
Visit the Chamber of Commerce’s website, scroll down a bit and in capital, red letters you’ll find, “Webcam is on line again!”
Earlier in the year the chamber put up two
live web cams, which stream from their web
site. Greene called the cameras the chamber’s
key marketing strategy.
The cameras were down for a while
during renovations but he said they went
back up last week.
“When it was down I was getting e-mails
from all over the world, Australia, Sweden,
England telling me, ‘your web cam is
down,’” Green said. “They’re addicted to it,
they want to see what’s going on.”
While Greene called the website the
chamber’s foundation, he said rack cards, the
menagerie of pamphlets and brochures that
adorn the walls of visitor’s centers and hotel
lobbies, are almost as important.
Greene said Tombstone rack cars are in
every visitor’s center in Arizona, as well as
some places in California, New Mexico and
Texas.
“We go through 250,000 rack cards in a
year’s time,” Greene said. “That’s more than
what Sedona goes through, they go through
Monarch
scoreboard
The price tag on such a project is
estimated at about $1.8 million.
Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the completion of this project is at
the whim of the real estate market.
The old, vacated Tombstone High
School that was built in 1922 on a
three-block lot is currently actively
for sale for about $2.9 million.
Staff
Kara Bauman
David Blattman
Will Saetren
Alejandro Serrano
Nick Sturiale
Alison Weare
The web site got about 300,000 page
views last year and Green said there’s only
one way to get link a Tombstone business to
the Chamber’s website.
“They have to be members. That’s all they
want to hurt them,” she said. “But the
other part of it is that some of these
guys have flown 3,000 miles in their
migration, so they’re not as delicate
as we think.”
Morris takes out a blue, round
sticker small enough to fit on her
index fingernail with a tracking
number and the Southwest Monarch
Study’s e-mail address written in
black. She gently places it on the
monarch’s wing.
“You want to put the tag in this
little mitten-shaped cell, called the
discal cell,” she said.
After snapping a few photos of
the butterfly with the tag in view,
Morris releases it.
Morris spends a couple of hours
tagging about 10 butterflies that day
and said the number of monarchs
they tag in a day varies.
Morris said she plans to continue
tagging butterflies for as long as she
can.
“It’s all a love affair,” she said.
stadium. Bleachers sit on the third
base side of the infield running out to
left field, while the outfield fence
comes together in dead centerfield at
a right angle, different from the
traditional rounded outfield fences.
THS athletics are operating in
cramped quarters.
“We’re looking forward to having
our own facilities,” Thursby said.
got to be. That’s a major benefit,” Greene
said.
Greene and Chamber President Don Taylor, who manages the O.K. Corral, agree that
the chamber’s next big feat is using broadcast
media to reiterate the brand of Tombstone.
While the chamber already advertises on
cable TV in Cochise County, they soon hope
to spread their waves past the county line.
“We’re looking now at a broader market.
The Tucson, Southern Arizona market,”
Greene said.
Taylor said a lot of people don’t know
what Tombstone is all about.
“There’s a level of education we have to
get out there,” Taylor said.
He explained that a lot of tourists forget
that Tombstone is an actual city.
“We’re not Old Tucson Studios,” Taylor
said.
He said he’s receives countless phone
calls from people asking, “How much is
Tombstone and when does it open?”
Taylor said he thinks the chamber’s
“going in the right direction” and that “the
board deserves a huge amount of credit.”
While Greene said “we can always do
better,” he also said he’s proud of what the
chamber’s done in spreading the brand of
Tombstone.
“We’ve got to remind people in Arizona
we’re here and the people of the U.S. that
we’re here. About the only people we don’t
have to remind are the Europeans,” Taylor
said.
Border Brief
The Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector opened its doors to the public
Saturday Oct. 16 for an event aimed at boosting the number of agents along
the U.S.-Mexico border.
The open house – one of 23 around the country – drew some 520 people,
said Eric Cantu, an agency spokesman. The agency is hiring 2,200 new
agents – 1,200 to replace those lost through attrition, plus 1,000 additional
agents to be stationed along the border.
“Most of (the additional agents) will be sent to the Tucson Sector,” he
said, declining to give specific numbers.
The Tucson Sector has about 3,000 of the total 20,200 agents, and if it
gets even half of the additional agents, the number in the sector will increase
by 17 percent.
Besides the boost in manpower, the sector will get additional equipment:
roughly 10 mobile surveillance systems and 10 scope trucks, and some 50
heat-sensing binoculars, he said.
In August, Congress mandated $600 million for agents and equipment
along the border. Although apprehensions of illegal immigrants have
declined in recent years, flaring violence in northern Mexico and the
unsolved shooting of a Cochise County rancher have thrust border security
into the spotlight.
Cantu said the agency hopes to have all 2,200 hired by Oct. 1, though it
would probably be more than a year before the agents are out in the field.
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Correction
An article from last edition
incorrectly stated that Mayor
Dusty Escapule appointed Pat
Greene as executive director of
the Chamber of Commerce.
Greene is an employee of the
Chamber of Commerce, who
serves at the pleasure of its
board. Escapule and the city
council members appointed
Greene as grants administrator
for the funds used to renovate
the visitor’s center.
Page 3
sEpTEmbEr 24, 2010
Tombstone takes steps to preserve town’s history
By Kara Bauman
The Tombstone Epitaph
Tourists come from all over the
world to take a walk through
Tombstone’s authentic history. What
they don’t see is the time and effort
spent keeping “the town too tough to
die” alive.
Gun fights, museums filled with
artifacts and people dressed from
head to toe in old western attire play
a big part in the authenticity of this
town — attention to building
security, graffiti and long hours of
upkeep for preservation play just as
big of a role.
Any out-of-towner can stroll
through the Bird Cage Theatre and
stand where Western history’s rowdy
outlaws gambled, partied and even
shot each other.
One can also see more recent
history of passersby’s Sharpie
markings on the walls.
“It’s extremely disappointing,”
Bird Cage Theatre employee Laura
Shade said. “On a couple of walls,
people have written their names,
they’ve taken knives and cut pieces
of timbers out of the walls and have
even tried to steal artifacts — it’s
absolutely heartbreaking.”
Shade said it’s even sadder for
her to see because of the building’s
authenticity and having survived city
fires in 1881 and 1882.
Tourist Brian Notheis of Tucson
went on the Bird Cage tour and said
the vandalism he saw made him
upset as well, but instead of sadness
like Shade, he said he was flat-out
angry.
“If I ever saw someone pull out a
Sharpie and start writing on a wall I
would yell at them,” Notheis said.
“Then I’d take the marker from
them and draw all over their face
with it. It’s disrespectful and, just,
not cool.”
Incentives to vandalize and steal
don’t fall far from this specific building, though, one Tombstone employee said.
“It’s the worst in areas that are in
the open,” Tombstone Courthouse
State Historical Park manager
Patricia Moreno said of nearby ghost
Kara Bauman /Tombstone Epitaph
Tombstone visitors take a tour of the historic Bird Cage Theatre on Aug. 28, which is thought haunted because of over
a dozen murders that occurred in the building’s past.
towns. “Instead of just appreciating
it, people chip away at buildings,
take out windows — all kinds of
stuff. That is the most disturbing
thing to me.”
Whether touring the Bird Cage or
walking the wooden sidewalks of
Allen Street, visitors can find pieces
of history scattered throughout the
city. What they find and can range
from an old poker table, to an
antique pocket watch, to an entire
courtroom display.
The level of carefulness changes
from building to building.
For example, the Tombstone
Courthouse State Historical Park has
indoor environmental adjustments to
preserve the authenticity of its
pictures, books and antiques.
The items on display in the
courthouse are both originals and
replicas — the latter are put out for
public viewing when conservation is
in jeopardy, Moreno said.
“Paper is something we try to
keep from display because they’re
subject to decay,” Moreno said. “We
have some original books on display
but we try to keep copies out while
keeping the originals safe.”
Moreno said the courthouse
doesn’t display any original photos
in ambient or natural light either, and
further steps were made to reduce
possible damage: the windows have
a UV-protecting film and the light
bulbs have UV protectors on them.
On top of the changes to the
building’s environment, Moreno said
it takes her six hours to clean the
display cases in one room alone.
Even a simple cleaning in the
courtroom is tiresome. All of the
original chairs must be carefully
removed from the jury box before
the floors are cleaned along with the
windows, paneling and rest of the
woodwork in the room. The manager
said this usually takes her from two
to three hours.
Since the courthouse is a state
park, it has specific requirements to
meet. The maintenance of the
historic building might be considered tedious — especially with the
understaffed two full-time and two
part-time employees — but to them,
the juice is worth the squeeze.
“Oh yeah, it’s definitely worth
it,” the manager said of the
scrupulous cleaning. “My favorite
part of the job is dealing with the
public and giving them the correct
picture of Tombstone and seeing
them leave happy.”
Senior center
thrives under
new manager
By Alison Weare
The Tombstone Epitaph
Tombstone’s senior center, located at 507 E. Toughnut
St., has undergone some changes since July.
The city took over the center on July 1 and hired Deborah Hankerd as the manager.
Hankerd, who has lived in Tombstone on and off since
2005, used to manage her husband’s construction company and their fishing lodge in Alaska.
“Basically running a restaurant is what I feel like I’m
doing,” Hankerd said with a laugh. “I love it. It’s very
busy. It’s a lot busier than I thought it would be. It’s very
rewarding.”
The center is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. and offers free lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on those
days, as well as classes. The
most popular class is the line
“I love it. It’s dancing class on Thursdays, 3
very busy. It’s p.m. to 5 p.m.
When the city applied for a
a lot busier grant
to restore the old firethan I thought house and start the senior cenit would be. ter in 2004, officials said the
center would benefit an estiIt’s very
mated 698 people and that senrewarding.” iors would not be charged for
membership.
Deborah Hankerd
Before July, fewer than 50
Senior Center Manager
people used the building and
membership cost $12 a year.
Since its classified as a
501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization, the senior center
must adhere to IRS guidelines, which state that applicants
“must establish that (their) organization will not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests.”
Before the city took over in July, the senior center was
being run “like a private club,” according to Wanda Dibble, a volunteer at the center today and a critic of its previous operators. “They weren’t very nice to people.”
“We don’t have members as they used to have members when they had to pay money and dues,” Dibble said.
She said they call everyone participants now.
Hankerd said since she became manager in July
around 30 to 40 people come to the center each day.
“I think that the manager we have being so happy and
cheerful makes everyone want to come here,” Dibble
said.
Dibble said the visitors seem happy, too.
“Everybody that comes in finds that they are welcome
to come in and do whatever they want to do that we can
provide,” Dibble said.
And although the name might be a bit misleading, seniors aren’t the only ones welcome at the center.
Dibble said she sometimes keeps the center open on
weekends so tourists can see it. She even provides them
with lemonade, coffee and tea.
Hankerd’s long-term goals include adding more activities and keeping the senior center open on weekends.
Will Saetren /Tombstone Epitaph
Rick Gillooly, a horse wrangler for the Apache Spirit Ranch, plays fetch with Tank Friday, Sept. 17, while taking a break
near the ranch’s horse stalls.
Grant spurs school’s latest technology training
By Samantha Silberman
The Tombstone Epitaph
Students in the Tombstone Unified
School District will have the opportunity
to work with higher-level technology
thanks to a one-year $430,000 grant.
The grant is part of the Enhancing Education Through Technology State Program (EETT).
“As part of the grant, we must use 25
percent of the money for professional development,” said Joanne Nyquist, a Title
I and computer lab instructor at Walter J.
Meyer Elementary School.
In order to accomplish this, the teachers themselves have to become more technologically advanced.
More than half of the teachers at the
school are participating in a 40-hour class
that teaches them how to develop higher
level thinking skills.
“We were one of 11 districts to receive
this grant,” said Karl Uterhardt, Tombstone Unified School District superitendent.
Thanks to the grant, when Nyquist
teaches she is able to show what she has
on her personal computer on a large
screen so that the class can visualize it.
She also has the capability to use a
special pointer that can write and erase
markings that are put on the screen, which
provides an additional tool for students
who learn visually and creates collaboration between teachers and students.
The main reason for educating the students with this new technology is to encourage them to be strong, collaborative
learners so the teachers can expose them
to new environments.
The technology will make it easier for
the students to adjust from learning new
skills in a classroom to learning new skills
outside of the classroom.
For example, learning could potentially occur on the banks of the San Pedro
River.
The teachers want the students to be
able to take more field trips and with the
help of this new technology, students are
going to be able to take “virtual field
trips.”
Teachers are not only getting pleasure
out of seeing their students engaging in
higher level learning, but they are getting
other benefits as well.
For example, teachers are now able to
grade documents and drop them into certain mailboxes on the Internet.
This avoids having to manually bring
graded documents to offices throughout
the school.
This technology is hopefully going to
stimulate the students to want to learn,
and as a byproduct, improve their grades.
In previous years, students’ math and
science grades were not meeting passing
standards.
Soon, teachers will potentially see an
increase in students’ grades due to the collaborative and higher level technology.
Tombstone High School digs in for needed renovations
By Samantha Silberman
The Tombstone Epitaph
Samantha Silberman /Tombstone Epitaph
Richard Fenton, head of maintenance, stands beside the
construction at Tombstone High School. Last Monday was the
beginning of a 90-day repair and redesign of the new high school.
Tombstone High School is to undergo
repairs related to structural deficiencies. The
repairs started on Sept. 20.
Principal Robert Devere is also the head
of maintenance. Richard Fenton is the head
of maintenance at the high school and is
overseeing the project.
The estimated time of the repairs is 90
days. It will cost about $220,000, according
to a release from school officials.
Fortunately, the school will not be
funding this project. Fenton said, “This
project will be funded by the Arizona School
Facilities Board”.
The Arizona School Facilities Board
(SFB) helps school fund project that they
would not otherwise be able to afford.
Fenton explained that the original
redesign plans had many problems.
The main problem revolved around the
fire suppression and water system.
In the original plans, Fenton said, the fire
suppression and water system were joined
together at the time of original construction.
“It was designed so as to allow the
domestic water and fire water to input into
the system together. However, each system
should be separate. The fire suppression
would have been able to handle a fire”.
Another major change that will occur is
moving some of the administration offices
from the high school to the Walter J. Meyer
Elementary School where they have extra
classrooms.
Fenton said, “They are using approximately five classrooms for the new District
Office complex.
This will not hinder the communication
between the students and teachers. They are
primarily located in a different building and
classed will continue as usual”. This move
should be finished by Dec. 1.
Another maintenance problem the school
has faced is the concrete between the two
major buildings. According to Fenton, there
is a problem with the slope of the
concrete.
The concrete is falling into the building
rather than staying flat. Fenton said that the
way to fix this is by removing the concrete
that is currently there, fixing the slope, and
then re-pouring new concrete onto the area.
The school wants to put new concrete on the
drive-up ramp as well.
The current parking lot has become a
safety hazard for the students. “Our present
asphalted area will be resurfaced and the
graveled area will have asphalt applied.
We are also reconfiguring our parking
area to provide for a “buses only” lane
directly in front of the school. This will
prevent other traffic from entering this area
and prevent the potential of possible student
injury from excessive traffic,” Fenton
explained.
Fenton said there are also minor changes
taking place like replacing the leaking
showerheads in the boy’s locker room.
Fenton explained that all safety
precautions will be taken as the construction
is carried out. Those areas undergoing
construction will be fenced off. When the
main entrance of the school is blocked, the
students will enter the school from the side
entrance. Construction might have to occur
on the weekends, if it poses a danger to the
students.
Page 4
Police force
suits up in
new armor
By Sam Shumaker
The Tombstone Epitaph
Tombstone law enforcement will
soon be getting upgraded armor.
After the marshal’s office’s recent
auction of seized vehicles, there was
enough money available for the
council to approve the buying of
op-grade, bulletproof vests.
“I’d sure hate to think an officer
were dead because of outdated
vests,” said Mayor Dusty Escapule.
With many deputies having
outdated vests, this is a purchase that
Marshal Larry Talvy has been hoping
for. One deputy has had the same
vest for eight years, when such vests
are not considered bulletproof after
five years.
The new vests are stab and stun
gun resistance and can take rifle
shots.
“I’m very concerned, because
when you have outdated vests though
they are still effective they may not
be as effective as what’s out there,”
Talvy said.
The marshal’s office auctioned off
vehicles that were seized over the last
two years, said Talvy.
These cars are taken from thieves
and illegal immigrants and have no
proof of ownership when checked. If
no one establishes ownership of the
car within 30 days of seizure, the
Marshal’s office can auction it.
These were the extra funds needed
to supplement a grant from the
Justice Bureau which will pay for
half of the cost of the vests.
The vests cost around $1,200.
New vests have not been bought
in the past because though the grant
from the Bureau was offered, there
was not enough money to pay even
half the vests’ price.
The car auction changed that.
“This mayor and council actually
was really supportive telling me,
‘hey, that’s your money, you use it
for your department,’” Talvy said.
He gives credit for having a
plentiful number of cars to auction to
the marshal’s office stepping up their
activity in the past two years.
sEpTEmbEr 24, 2010
Tombstone loses champion of the arts
By James Bourland
The Tombstone Epitaph
Shakespeare once said, “all the world’s a
stage, and all the men and women merely
players.”
As far as Tombstone is concerned, the city
is now missing one of its favorite players.
Actor and playwright Robert “Bob”
Hoskin died Sept. 7 at the age of 85. Hoskin
lived in Tombstone for 28 years and was a
member of the Tombstone Repertory
Company and the Tombstone Vigilantes.
Hoskin produced several plays, including
“Strange Coach,” “The Mediocre Seven,”
“The Orps of Tombstone” and “The
Clantonsteins,” according to TRC actress
Barbara Howard.
“He was just a great friend…
he had such a strong
demeanor about him.”
Roberta Elford
Actress, member of TRC
“He was the director in a lot of plays I was
in,” said Betty Davis, a bartender at the Four
Deuces Saloon and Grill, and former actress
at TRC. “He was very patient, (a) nice person,
(he) didn’t ever yell at anybody, but he got the
job done. They (the TRC) were always very
successful every time he directed a play or
wrote a play, or even if he was in a play. He
was just a really talented actor. ”
Davis also remembers that Hoskin did
have a funny side as a practical joker, even
when he was on stage.
“We always pulled practical jokes on the
last night of a play. Everybody was always
doing something. He was just a super…
really nice guy.”
As talented as he was through the theater,
many of his fellow actors remember Hoskin
as an avid western painter as well, with his
work having been displayed around
Tombstone.
Davis explained that he steered clear of
profile paintings, but former actress and
member of TRC Roberta Elford recounted a
reluctant painting she received from Hoskin.
“He wanted to give me a gift. I said, ‘I
want a self portrait’,” Elford said. “He said,
‘I don’t do self portraits,’ and I said, ‘you’re
going to do one for me.’ So he did me one, in
James Bourland/Tombstone Epitaph
Roberta Elford displays a self-portrait of Bob Hoskin, a popular artist and painter in Tombstone who did not
like painting faces. “I feel very privileged, because I think I’m the only one who has a self-portrait of Bob,”
Elford said.
one of his outfits…in front of the O.K. Corral.
I feel very privileged, because I think I’m the
only one who has a self portrait of Bob.”
“I saw it not long ago, (and) honestly, it
didn’t look like him,” Davis said. “But it was
a good painting of a face… just not his face.”
For friends and co-workers of Hoskin,
more than just his theatrical and canvas
talents will be missed.
“With Bob, it was one of these things
where we just clicked,” Elford said. “We’ve
always kept in touch, it was like having a big
brother to me. He was just a great friend… he
had such a strong demeanor about him.”
Through the month of October, TRC will
perform his last play, “Doctor Clantonstein
and the Boothill Body Shop,” at Schieffelin
Hall and give a brief farewell speech after
every show, according to Howard.
“We are in the process now of rehearsing
for Bob’s last play,” Howard said. “I do feel
very honored to be in it. His last play is
extremely funny. It’s got a few little digs
about Tombstone in there.”
Along with the play, Howard said that
attendees will also be able to look at the self
portrait of Tombstone’s champion of the arts.
“We’re going to miss a very good man that
was a gentleman, had lots of charm, (and) the
visitors just loved him,” Elford said. “They’re
going to miss a wonderful character of
Tombstone.”
If you go
What: “Doctor Clantonstein and the
Boothill Body Shop”
Where: Schieffelin Hall
Hours: Saturday, performances
begin @ 7 p.m.
Sunday, performances begin
@ 3 p.m.
Details: Bob Hoskin’s final play
More Information: Play will run all
weekends in October
Apache Spirit Ranch: Adding the finishing touches
Ranch
Will Saetren/Tombstone Epitaph
Artist Bill Emmons and developer Bill Smith seek reprieve from the midday heat in the newly constructed
bar at Apache Spirit Ranch.
LEFT: Construction
worker Louie Martinez
is getting the ranch
ready for its grand
opening
in
early
October. Construction
on the ranch has been
ongoing since early
January.
RIGHT: Real estate
developer Bill Smith
stands in the 1880s
themed dining hall at
Apache Spirit Ranch.
Will Saetren/Tombstone Epitaph
continued from page 1
target German tourists, Smith said.
Many Europeans, especially Germans, have
developed an image of the old American west
through the fictional works of German author
Karl Friedrich May, who never actually traveled
further west than Niagara Falls.
Smith said Friedrich’s work is the main
inspiration behind much of the ranch’s
architecture.
“This is their perception of the old west,
from the movies, we just give them what they
want,” Smith said.
The resort won’t be open to the public during
its early October grand opening, but Smith said
he suspects it will be before long.
He said there’s currently no system for processing reservations in the U.S., but that the
investors are trying to figure something out.
Jo Buttler, one of the wranglers, said they
had already had a trial run with a group of
foreign tourists.
“They were the most wonderful group of
people, I was sad when they left,” Buttler said.
Still, working with foreign tourists can also
prove to be a challenge.
For one, there’s the language barrier.
Ron Lord, a wrangler at the ranch, said
speaking to the horses in German doesn’t work
too well.
“They’re cowboy horses,” Lord said.
Smith is also in negotiations to build a
similar luxury resort at the site of the old high
school in downtown Tombstone.
“Tombstone used to have a national
presence, this will give us another stepping
stone to get back to that national presence
again,” Taylor said.
Safety is a concern for the ranch, particularly
when it comes to horseback riding. “It’s very
dangerous if you don’t know what you’re
doing,” Lord said. Tree roots, rattlesnakes, and
squirrel holes in the trail pose dangers to even
the most experienced rider.
And that’s why the Apache Spirit Ranch has
employed Ron, Jo and their colleague Rick
Gillooly. Each wrangler has years of experience
and is passionate about their work. “Where else
can you get paid to ride horses?” said Lord.
At the end of the day safety is the most
important part of the game, said Buttler. “The
main thing is for them to have fun, be safe and
for all of us to go home on a good note”
Smith is also in negotiations to build a
similar luxury resort at the site of the old high
school in downtown Tombstone.
Artist Bill Emmons, who has done several
church murals in the U.S. and Australia, hand
painted murals in many of the rooms.