Heritage Fund

Wickenburg-Boetto House receives award

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Before and after shot of the Wickenburg-Boetto House.

[Source: The Wickenburg Sun, 3-23-2010] — The Wickenburg-Boetto House was recently selected to receive the Heritage Fund Historic Preservation Project of the year award.  The selection was based on many aspects, such as outstanding project performance and end use.  The Arizona State Parks board and the Arizona Lottery made the Project of the Year program possible.

The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee has chosen Wednesday, March 31 as the day to recognize the project and to award a bronze plaque to be placed at the Wickenburg-Boetto House.  Other projects being recognized include Old Adobe Mission in Scottsdale, New State Motor Building in Jerome, Children’s Museum at Monroe School in Phoenix, and Peeples Valley Schoolhouse.

The awards presentation is scheduled to take place in Phoenix and is set to begin at 1 p.m.  For more information, contact Cindy Thrasher at 684-5129.

Viewpoint: Abuse of public lands forces restrictions

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[Source: Steve Ayers, Verde Independent, 3-20-2010] — Once again, vandalism and abuse of public lands is forcing those whose job it is to protect those lands to limit access.  This week, the Arizona Game & Fish Department announced that it would restrict motorized access to its Upper Verde River Wildlife Area beginning April 22.  The agency’s move comes in response to years of vandalism, along with the continued destruction of habitat from illegal use of off-road vehicles.

The 1,089-acre property is prime riparian habitat that includes three miles of the very upper reach of the Verde River along with a mile-long stretch of Granite Creek.  It was purchased by the state using Heritage Fund money from the lottery in 1996.  “The problem has been ongoing for several years now,” said Zen Mocarski, public information office for AZGF.  “There has been a lot of off-road vehicle abuse, a lot of fences have been cut, a lot of habitat destruction.”  Mocarski says the property is managed for its wildlife and riparian area and those management goals take precedent.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Arizona Legislature’s passes a budget that slashes education, healthcare, state parks, and so much more

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[Source: Jim Nintzel, Tucson Weekly, 3-18-2010] — In an effort to avoid raising taxes in the face of a budget deficit of more than $2 billion, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature cut more than a billion dollars in state spending last week.  Allowing only one day for testimony regarding the budget bills in both the House and the Senate appropriation committees, GOP lawmakers eliminated state support for all-day kindergarten, took away health insurance from more than 300,000 Arizonans below the federal poverty level, and eliminated the KidsCare program that provided health-care coverage for children.

State support for people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses has been cut back, with an estimated 14,600 seriously mentally ill adults and 4,200 children losing their assistance.  The state’s GED and adult-education programs have been eliminated, as have dropout-prevention programs and AIMS intervention tutoring.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Don’t tolerate the closing of state parks

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[Source: Roxanne Cary Cheney, Eastern Arizona Courier, 3-17-2010] — I want to commend Diane Saunders for her March 7 article about the potential closure of Roper Lake.  However, I need to clarify some of the data.  Roper Lake is budgeted for four full-time employees.  If Roper Lake closes, it will cost Graham County about $5 million in lost revenue and about 70-80 jobs.  That loss cannot be tolerated!  Do the legislators and governor hope to make a ghost town out of our fair community?

Additionally, the governor has now stolen the Heritage Funds and directed them toward her bottomless pit (of a) mismanaged budget.  The Arizona State Parks Board Heritage Fund was established in November 1990 by voter initiative and provides up to $10 million annually to Arizona State Parks from Arizona Lottery proceeds (A.R.S. §41-503).  Another $10 million annually goes to the Department of Game and Fish to conserve natural resources and protect endangered species.  This portends the ultimate lifeline for State Parks.  Do our state administrators have any answers for the one lucrative revenue source they are killing?  Yes, they will let private companies manage a few of the parks, as it works so well in California State Parks.  This is NOT true.  Californians can pay up to $70 for the luxury of going to a mismanaged and dirty state park that is now managed through a concessionaries contract.  Do not let this happen. Flood your legislators with letters or phone calls.

Please call your legislators today and let them know you will not tolerate the elimination of the state parks as we know them today.  If you would like to be a part of the ongoing fight to save our state parks, please join the Friends for Roper Lake.  You can contact me at 775-230-2225 or Roxi1b@yahoo.com.