Community News May 27, 2009

Manzanita Garden Club Meets, By P. Nancarrow

The most recent meeting of the Garden Club was interesting and educational. Fred Jiminez has the most beautiful lawn I have ever seen! We took our shoes off and walked barefoot in the soft cool grass. He feeds his lawn every two weeks, waters it twice a week, and always mows it on the same weekday, but never mows it close to the ground. Fred showed us the vegetables and flowers he grows. Lettuce does well among flowers; indeed, the bright green makes a beautiful backdrop for the colorful blooms. Last year, Fred won a Yard of the Month from our Garden Club. Our rules say you can only win once every three years, so he is ineligible this year. He promised us this delightful club tour then. The fascinating lessons that Fred shared with us included the different ways that he composts. He has a bacterial composter. It is a large drum that he puts paper and grasses and other vegetable matter in, and adds some bacteria starter that he purchases from a local hardware store. He has to turn the drum several rotations per day. Another type of composting is with earthworms. They are in an "earthworm hotel," a stacking set of deep trays. He puts kitchen scraps (only fruit, veggie scraps or peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells) into a blender and feeds them. They process scraps faster that way, and he uses the "worm tea" they produce to water and feed his plants. The easiest way to compost though, is also still Fred’s favorite. It is a pile that he keeps adding to on the ground. He keeps a thermometer with a long stem in the pile, to make certain that the compost heats up enough to kill pathogens and weed seeds. Grass clippings (green), dry matter such as crosscut shredded paper and dry leaves (brown) are mixed together. After the pile is turned with a fork a few times, and no more heat is generated, it is broken down sufficiently to add to the first open "bin" he has on the ground, where many more earthworms work it over. When it is the consistency of potting soil, it is stored in another open bin next to it. Fred has created enough soil to fill a large raised bed where he is raising tomatoes this year. After a tour of his greenhouse (which he left up just because we were coming), we enjoyed the Jiminez hospitality with lemonade, chips and salsa (homemade), and cheese crisps made by Paula Jiminez.

Lions Camp Tatiyee Ready

Lions Camp is ready for the 2009 camping season. The work weekends are officially over. For each of three weekends, Lions, Leos and youth club members from all over Arizona came to camp (in some cases, whole families) to paint, clean up, rake up, spruce up and make repairs as needed. There is a great sense of fun and camaraderie during a work weekend, and many hands really DO make light work. Open House is coming up! Sunday, June 28, 11 am is the time and date. Open House is a chance for the public to come and see the camp, meet some campers and counselors, and have a great barbeque lunch and all the fixing's for only $8.00. Kids under 12 eat for $5.00. There will be entertainment, guided golf-cart tours of the camp, a raffle and a silent auction of some wonderful donated prizes. Lions club members and their families, prospective campers and their parents, and anyone who would like to see our wonderful, historical Camp Tatiyee can come up to Lakeside for Open House. Camp Tatiyee is located in the cool pines just off Highway 260, 7 ½ miles Southeast of Show Low, in Lakeside AZ. Look for the arrow-shaped sign at the driveway. For more information on Open House call Barbara Russell, 928-537-3742. Lions Camp Tatiyee is American Camp Association accredited. For more information go to: www.Arizonalionscamp.org (The kids will love you for it!)

Gila Community College SBDC Seminar

Gila Community College's Small Business Development Center is offering a seminar for business owners and managers entitled "Managing Your Business in a Time of Adversity." The seminar will be held Tuesday, June 16, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Payson and will be broadcast via ITV to Globe and San Carlos. The locations follow: GCC Payson Campus, 201 N. Mud Springs Road, Room #301, live. GCC Gila Pueblo Campus, 8274 Six Shooter Canyon Road, Globe, Room 522, via ITV. GCC San Carlos Campus, Tonto and Mesa Drives, Room 3 via ITV. The speaker is Stephen Hale of the SBDC Show Low office. Topics to be addressed include: -What’s in the stimulus law for small business owners? -Managing your business debt. -Requesting a loan modification from your lender. -Requesting an adjustment of your existing loan terms or conditions. -Accessing new credit or renewing a line of credit. -Requesting the lender release some collateral for other purposes. -What happens if I default on the loan? -What happens during "sale of assets"? -What should I do if we must close our business? To reserve a seat for this free seminar or ask questions call Ron Nielsen at the GCC SBDC office at 928-468-8039 x27 from Payson or 1-877-224-7232 x27 from other areas. Gila Community College is an excellent community resource and partner.

City of Globe Website, By Jesse Bryant

At the May 18 Globe City Council meeting, a presentation was made by Jeff Baer, instructor from Gila Community College, concerning a proposed City of Globe website. The website presented was constructed by students of Mr. Baer at the college. Mr. Baer answered questions from the council about what could and could not be done with a website and what is needed to build on the site over time. Possibilities discussed were offering printable city forms, online filing of forms by customers, and even live streaming of the city council meeting on the website. The city will review bid proposals for construction of a city website by outside vendors at the next scheduled meeting of June 1.

Ace Hardware Website

Foothills ACE and Globe ACE Hardware Announce the launch of our website at www.eagleacehardware. com . Please find a list of our locations, services and current specials. We even have an on-line store for your convenience. Eagle Ace Hardware is comprised of two stores: one in Ahwatukee Foothills, Phoenix Arizona and the other in Globe, Arizona. Each has an array of products and services tailored to meet the needs of the local community. Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Ace Hardware began as a small chain of stores in 1924 and has grown to include more than 4,600 stores in 50 states and more than 70 countries. At Foothills and Globe Ace Hardware, we are all committed to being "the Helpful Place" by offering our customers knowledgeable advice, helpful service and quality products. We promise that, "helping you is the most important thing we have to do today."