1 DAY AGO - Class XIV of Verde Valley Leadership met for the first time this year at the Cultural Arts Center of Yavapai College in Sedona Aug. 16-17. With presentations and discussion from four different guest speakers from organizations such as the NARBHA Institute, The Verde Independent, SET Counseling, and Yavapai College, Class XIV learned about True Colors, participated in an art therapy session to reveal personality styles and types as well as in depth information on perception. A large portion of the retreat focused on the importance of vision and class members were given methods to begin developing personal vision, mission, and goals. A presentation on the incredible leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his expedition to the South Pole served as introduction to Leading at the Edge, which the class will be reading and discussing as part of the program. Throughout the two-day retreat class members collaborated with fellow class members, former alumni, and past and present board Collapse

1 DAY AGO - TUCSON — Acknowledging it hasn’t quite worked as promoted, Gov. Doug Ducey wants to take a new look at legislation he signed three years ago that pretty much stripped cities of their ability to regulate vacation rentals. The governor said he still believes in the rights of individuals to be able to rent out rooms in their homes — and, in fact, their whole homes for special events like the Phoenix open — to help them earn some extra money. But Ducey conceded that the 2016 law, SB 1350, may be being used in ways that were not intended and have been “disruptive.’’ And that, he said, may include the practice of real estate speculators buying up homes in neighborhoods for the sole purpose of turning them into short-term rentals. The comments come on the heels of complaints from some communities, particularly tourist donations, where much of what had been the residential rental stock has been turned into short-term rentals, reducing the the supply of affordable housing. In fact Senate Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - CAMP VERDE -- A man recently pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from an incident in which he sent an explicit image to a minor girl. Cody Lee Collins, 20, was sentenced Aug. 5 by Yavapai Superior Court Judge Michael Bluff to four years probation. He signed a plea agreement July 8, pleaded guilty to furnishing obscene or harmful items to minors with a sexual motivation, a Class 4 felony. Collins was charged following an incident that took place on or about June 1 of 2018, when he was 19. Collins will be required to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence. He’ll be required to avoid contact with the victim and to submit to DNA testing and other standard protocol for such convictions, such as avoiding schools and playgrounds, not consuming alcohol, not living in the same home as minors and not having a police radio scanner in his possession. He’ll also have to pay a sizable amount of fines and fees, including a $750 fine and extradition costs of about $5,400 (One court Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - https://youtu.be/5NdA2Ez9glE COTTONWOOD – Dugan McDonald is less than a month away from seeing an 8.17-acre Rimrock parcel rezoned for development as a shopping center. Thursday, Yavapai County’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 9-to-0 to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve a zoning map change from R1L-35 residential single-family to C2-1 commercial general sales. McDonald, of High View LLC, plans to build a shopping center at the southeast corner of E. Beaver Creek and North Dave Wingfield roads. The center, according to the commission’s agenda, would include a grocery store, gasoline island and various shops. Though the project is still in the development stage, McDonald said Thursday that Clark’s Market – also in the Village of Oak Creek – would likely be the center’s anchor tenant. “Clark’s is the grocery store particularly motivated to come into this site,” McDonald told the commission. Discussions With three buildings totaling about 55,000 square feet, Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Verde River Day is just around the corner and planning for the 30th annual event is well underway. The committee is inviting members of the community to be a part of this great event by becoming a volunteer. Volunteers are needed to help with set-up and take-down, help people find their booths, provide help and support in the children’s gaming area, assist vendors where needed and being ambassadors for the City of Cottonwood and the Chamber of Commerce. The shifts are four hours only. Each volunteer will get one meal and a raffle ticket that might get you one of our great raffle prizes. Bonus: if you sign up for an early morning shift you will get a great parking place. Verde River Day promotes preservation and care of the environment by showcasing informative exhibits on the Verde’s riparian habitat. There will be 30-plus nature-based exhibits, sandcastle building, live animal exhibits, non-stop activities including canoe rides (with or without assistance), continuous live Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - The Verde Valley and much of the rest of Arizona is not on Mother Nature's good side so far this summer -- though that could change with only one or two storms, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist. Emily Thornton said Monday that most of the state is far behind on rain totals this summer. So far behind, in fact, that if the present total stands through the end of the traditional monsoon season, it would be one of the driest seasons since totals were first tracked. "So far, it's one of the driest seasons ever for most places in the state, going back to 1900," Thornton said. "But if precipitation gets going, with the big rain we often get, some places catch up to their whole seasonal total in one day." An excessive heat warning was in place for the Verde Valley from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 8 p.m. Wednesday. Wednesday's forecast high in Camp Verde is 107 degree, with an 11-mph wind unlikely to cool things down much. Even Sedona and Jerome -- often several degrees Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - RIMROCK – The agent and project engineer for a proposed housing development said Monday that Rimrock residents “appear to be strongly against” an additional 302 homes coming to the non-incorporated community. On behalf of Rimrock Properties, Inc., Larry Cepek spoke to more than 200 community citizens Saturday, Aug. 17, at a public meeting at Beaver Creek School. The meeting, Cepek said, was a requirement before the property owners can file an application with Yavapai County to have the land rezoned from single-family residential with minimum lot sizes of 70,000 square feet to Planned Area Development. Saturday’s meeting was sponsored by the Beaver Creek Community Association. Located northeast of Bice Road, Primrose Peaks Estates would include 64 studio units, 64 one-bedroom units, 102 two-bedroom units and 72 three-bedroom units, according to Jeremy Dye, assistant director of Yavapai County Development Services. The project’s northerly site portion along I-17 would remain open Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - COTTONWOOD -- Sunshine Hair Studio has been opened at 638 South Main Street in Cottonwood by owner and stylist Candice Finch. The studio currently has four hair stylists with room for two more in the future, Finch said. They offer haircuts, hair color, styling, offer retail services for a variety of home care hair. Sunshine will serve all the surrounding areas from Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Sedona, Cornville, Rimrock and Prescott, she said. She wants to build a personal, lasting and trusting relationship with each of her customers, Finch said, Sunshine is open Tues-Sat, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. The studio can be reached at 928-852-4039. Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - SEDONA — Since 1988, the Sedona Literacy Center has provided one-on-one help for young readers. This year, the program has expanded into the Cottonwood Community School. Sedona Literacy also partners with Beaver Creek, Oak Creek and West Sedona schools. But the Sedona Literacy Center needs more volunteers, said Director Carolyn Fisher. Sedona Literacy Center provides training, teaching materials, on-going guidance and support to volunteer tutors, Fisher said. “The tutor contributes something truly important in the life of a child, helping them become a reader,” Fisher said. Sedona Literacy works primarily with students in second and third grade, and meets with students once each week, Fisher said. Fisher said that volunteers can choose either the school or the day(s) that work best for them, and will work with the same student for the program year, which is from late-September through March. A volunteer’s time commitment is from 2.5 to 4 hours per week. “Not much considering Collapse