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Bird Watching and Feeding from The Lookout

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Jay’s Bird Barn receives new name and more space.

The Lookout, formerly known as Jay’s Bird Barn, has opened a bigger store, offering more bird products, optics and Hallmark products.

“My name isn’t Jay. We don’t sell birds and we’re not in a barn,” said Eric Moore, joking about the reasons for the name change.

Moore owns The Lookout with his wife, Gay. He said the store has 11 workers, including his wife and himself. “We are family and knowledge-based, and emphasize customer service,” he said. His son, Jay, was working with the business when it opened 20 years ago, but is no longer involved.

“We get a ton of calls asking if we sell parrots,” Moore said. The Lookout does sell birdseed, birdhouses, bird books and bird baths, but not birds.

“Birdseed has been our bread and butter for 20 years,” Moore said about the store’s popularity. They have thousands of customers in their database, with many coming from all over the state.

Moore says the quality of their seed is what puts them on the map, as they make their own in Prescott through a partnership with Yavapai Exceptional Industries (YEI). It is habitat-specific, because one neighborhood in Prescott will attract different types of birds than another section of the city.

“We ask people where they live. The blends are the key to our success and the customers can see the difference,” he said.

The optics section is three times larger than the old store. The Lookout carries Vortex and Swarovski binoculars, spotting scopes and tripods. The Lookout is aptly named, as it has big windows with birdfeeders outside and a great view of Thumb Butte. Customers can try the binoculars and scopes out the window. “We have the nicest optics in Northern Arizona,” Moore said.

The Hallmark section has also been enlarged, offering cards and gifts for special occasions including anniversaries, weddings, newborns, new homes and retirement. The Lookout also has nature-based and faith-based gifts. “We are a one-stop destination for gifts,” he said.

Hallmark has a licensing agreement with Disney and Peanuts, so the Lookout also carries those gift items. The store also carries nature cards created by local artists. The book section covers a wide variety of topics, including hiking and geology. It also sells small, foldable Sibleys bird guidebooks that are easy to carry and list 73 backyard birds and 72 nature birds in the Prescott area.

After 20 years of renting, Moore said they decided to buy this new building. The new store is 7,300 square feet, compared to the old 3,000-square-foot store.

“We hire employees who know the subject matter,” he said. “We have thousands of dedicated customers because they know about our specialized knowledge. I also know all the customers by name because they’re also our friends.”

Moore’s interest in birds began when he was 5 years old. He earned a business degree and worked in the grocery business for 20 years before opening his family business. “It was our own invention and creation,” he said. “We didn’t buy a franchise. We built it from the ground up.” QCBN

By Stan Bindell, QCBN

The Lookout is on 1230 Willow Creek Road but cannot be accessed from Willow Creek Road. Customers must turn onto Black Drive to get to the driveway.

Photo by Stan Bindell: Owner Eric Moore says The Lookout’s is known for its knowledge about birds and careful blend of bird seed for specific locations. 

Renee Rosales is a Champion for Neurodiverse Learners

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Theara founder offers brain-training exercises, coaching.

Maintaining the vision that “anything is possible with the right amount of education and determination,” Theara Founder and CEO Renee Rosales has set out to build a better way for the neurodiverse (ND).

“Neurodiversity is the belief that neurological disabilities and differences are not the result of faulty biology but rather the result of natural neurological variation,” Rosales said. “Conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism, Tourette’s, giftedness and dyscalculia fall under the ND umbrella.”

As co-founder of two of the first virtual schools in Arizona, Marana Distance Learning K12 and Northern Arizona Distance Learning, and with a 25-year career in public education, Rosales has developed Theara, providing online training and coaching programs using simple brain-training exercises.

According to Rosales, about 15% to 22% of the global population could be considered neurodiverse.

Her passion for the Neurodiversity Movement is very personal, as she has ADHD. “I am determined to eradicate the negative stigma and wear my ADHD identity like a badge of honor.”

In addition, two of Rosales’ children are neuro-distinct, with ADHD and dyslexia. “My second son was diagnosed with a very complex ND profile. He had very few intelligible words until he was almost 4 years old. Our journey was very challenging and I decided to use my experience to light the way for others navigating the same journey.”

When contemplating the name for her business, Rosales said the word “Ara” kept coming to mind. “Turned out the name Ara meant ‘a table of offerings.’ I left a well-established career to bring all my best to the table to offer to others.”

Her support options for the neurodiverse include Cognitive Coaching, ND Advocacy, DEI Consulting and the Theara Academy. “Theara Academy provides online education options that provide individuals the roadmap I didn’t have: Know the Way at Home, which helps families just beginning their ND journey, Know the Way at School, for educators and parents, Know the Way at Work, for employers and employees and EMERGE ND for Neurodivergents seeking to better manage, embrace and share their ND identity,” she said.

Acronyms, including JOY, BRIDGE, RESET, CONNECT and REACH, are used as brain training tools to help ND people build connections and improve personal development.

Avondale Registered Nurse, wife and mother Lisa Diggs, who is ADHD, bi-polar and OCD, has been coached by Rosales for more than two years on a bi-weekly routine. “Renee has been an amazing resource and her tools have helped me maintain and stabilize my mind on everything I have going on,” she said.  “I learn very well with the Theara acronyms and especially like JOY. My husband noticed how this has helped me and he is now listening to our Zoom meetings as well.” Along with ND, Diggs is also battling cancer and going through chemotherapy.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Rosales met her husband, Flagstaff Foot Doctors owner, Dr. Anthony Rosales, D.P.M., in Cleveland, Ohio. “Anthony was placed for his residency in Tucson, so we moved out West. I started my master’s at University of Arizona (UA) and completed it in Flagstaff in 2005. I also worked at Flagstaff High School and established the Mesa Distance Learning program there, as well as teaching English.”

Leaving her career in education and developing Theara was a personal process for Rosales. When contemplating the name for her business, Rosales said the word “Ara” kept coming to mind. She discovered “Ara” meant a table of offerings. “I left a well-established career to bring all my best to the table to offer to others. I chose to leave the comfort of a secure career with the goal of helping people through the challenges of ND. Theara is the culmination of all I have learned along the way.”

Theara Chief Operating Officer Wanda Tompkins left a 30-plus year career in retail to join Rosales on the Theara team. “I’ve never worked with my best friend before and it’s been great. Learning the acronyms is not just for ND individuals. It really helps anyone with better communication, better awareness and helps to refocus on where we need to be. It’s a huge positive in my life. I like to think of it as learning a new language.”

“Wanda and I have done collaborative work together and she has incredible skills in management and business operation. I wanted a team member who could bring those pieces into the operation,” said Rosales.

Theara’s Masterclass is a monthly live online coaching session where members can speak directly with Renee and other ND parents. “Our Masterclass is a group of families across the world who connect and can help each other navigate their journey. They build lasting relationships and find practical advice on strategies, situational management techniques, learning how to effectively communicate and other valuable support,” said Rosales.

Ronin Media Network Chief Revenue Officer Jason Rhude has been involved with the Masterclass for more than a year. “I’ve been taking her classes to better understand how to interact with people with ND in order to make a more cohesive work environment and understand how to identify and utilize these skills so people can thrive,” said Rhude. QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Photos by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography: With ADHD herself and two neurodiverse children, Renee Rosales is passionate about eradicating the stigma associated with neurodiverse conditions. 

Roots and Boots Music Camp Inspired by Pickin’ in the Pines

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June event promotes jamming and harmonizing under the stars.

Bluegrass is on fire, says Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp founder Julie Sullivan, and it’s lighting up the nation. “Everyone wants to know how to play it. It’s very accessible and people can identify with the music and the instruments. We’ll hear, ‘I have a banjo that was my dad’s.’ Or, they play guitar and plunk around at home. What I’ve found is almost everyone who has an instrument wants to play, sing and work out songs with other people to create that communal, tribal quality. That’s what I focus on.”

Sullivan is one of the founders of the hugely popular Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass and Acoustic Music Festival that attracts about 3,500 people and rocks Fort Tuthill for three days every September. “What makes it different from a rock concert is that people want to camp and play their instruments here. Jamming after bluegrass festivals into the wee hours is unique to this genre, having fun, singing to the stars.”

And that’s her inspiration for the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp, a four-day event for adults devoted to the study and enjoyment of bluegrass, acoustic folk and blues, scheduled for June 7-11 at Camp Colton on the San Francisco Peaks. Besides immersion classes with seasoned musician instructors from around the region, participants learn “the etiquette of jamming,” she said. “People learn how to play with an ensemble. We emphasize singing harmonies, too, which is so prevalent in bluegrass and folk music.”

Sullivan learned to play guitar when she was 14. She also sings and plays lead and backup acoustic guitar in her Roots and Boots band. She teaches others to play by ear, which is how she learned and how she continues to play. “That’s how bluegrass is played. It’s an oral tradition. Songs are passed along among people.”

As a young adult, Sullivan moved to Berkeley, California, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after college as an art student and fledgling guitar player. “I was really embracing my own musicality. I started working at a famous coffeehouse, The Freight & Salvage, and I was exposed to so many great bluegrass and folk legends there: Doc Watson, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Kate Wolf, Maria Muldar, Laurie Lewis. They were so welcoming and it was really through this folk and bluegrass form of music that I went on to perform and play it with other people. I loved it. It really resonated with me. And I could go anywhere in the world and find people to play with. It’s a universal language.”

Sullivan calls the music and the way it brings people together “uplifting.” After observing what an impact Pickin’ in the Pines had on audiences, she felt compelled to start the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp. “You can see they just really want to learn the music. So, I started thinking about a camp. Why shouldn’t we have a premier camp for adults to learn to play bluegrass and acoustic folk music?’”

The music camp was started in 2019 at Arizona Nordic Village, but the pandemic and forest closures derailed the camp in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, threat of wildfire closed the Nordic Village so, with just a few days before the start date, Sullivan reached out to Camp Colton. “It was available and perfect!”

She expects to fill the camp with 40 participants this year with a mix of locals, Arizonans and musicians from neighboring states. Eleven accomplished instructors will teach guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle, mandolin and singing.

“The camp offers daily immersion courses in many instruments and lots of fun electives, including sound craft, where students can practice performing and expand their knowledge of sound systems,” said Sullivan.

New this year, is an intensive vocal master class with Chris Sanders of The Hard Road Trio. “I’ll be helping people get the most out of their voices and bringing their music forward by singing and playing with the instrument that they like to be accompanied by,” said Sanders, a longtime Las Cruces, New Mexico musician, grounded in classical and choral music. “Every camp is its own community. We get to share this wonderful experience of making music with others in a safe and fun place to grow.”

The evenings, says Sullivan, are magical, with musicians playing, voices harmonizing and talent igniting around the campfire. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

To sign up or for more information, visit https://rootsandbootsmusiccamp.com/about/

Photo courtesy of Dawn Kish: Julie Sullivan, captured here playing the guitar, founded the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp. She is also an art director and graphic designer in Flagstaff, with her business Shine Creative Industries. 

A Lifeline to Recovery

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Onlife Foundation raises funds to treat addiction, support sober living.

Sometimes, life’s struggles can seem insurmountable. This is especially true when an individual is drowning in problems created by the ravages of addiction or mental illness.

Help might seem just out of reach as families struggle to afford effective treatment for loved ones who are suffering. However, a private non-profit, Onlife Foundation, was founded in Flagstaff about a year ago to help soften this dilemma by raising funds and creating a network of partnerships that can provide innovative and varied resources for those in need.

“The goal really is trying to meet an audience that’s stuck,” said Onlife President and co-founder Roy DuPrez. “There are so many treatment programs out there, including a lot of expensive programs with minimal results. Families don’t even know what they getting into. We often have scenarios where the potential family may have good private insurance but not enough to cover their out-of-pocket or insurance policy deductions. We’re trying to help them bridge that, so they can participate in better quality programs.”

The motto of Onlife Foundation is “Placing the Impossible Within Reach.” Critical to the non-profit’s success are its partnerships with effective programs that have proven to be successful in helping individuals recover from addiction and other mental health conditions and go on to maintain sober and enriching lives.

DuPrez also started two programs in the Flagstaff area that are affiliated with and benefit from the efforts of Onlife Foundation – Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery and Beyond the Basics. The Back2Basics program is for young adult males, ages 18 to 35, who have substance abuse issues and are looking for a positive and meaningful life. Its success lies in a combination of concentrated direct care therapy and life-skill building. The program maintains four residential facilities for clients in Flagstaff and is a hybrid residential and outdoor adventure recovery program.

“Young adults truly benefit from various activities that are satisfying and engaging,” DuPrez said. “There needs to be some sort of carrot, not just another relapse prevention lecture. That isn’t going to do it for most young people at that age. My vision is we need to broaden their experiences and offer them an opportunity to see what life can look like while being sober.”

Adventures include trips to places like Moab, Utah, Grand Canyon, the Superstition Mountains and Sedona. Activities may feature camping, backpacking, kayaking and river rafting, with cross-country and downhill skiing in the winter.

Beyond the Basics is an additional six-month transition program that follows the Back2Basics program. It is focused on giving clients the groundwork to gradually transition from rehabilitation and recovery into living in the “real world” with long-term sobriety goals.

The roots of the Onlife Foundation story, as well as the Back2Basics and Beyond the Basics stories, are grounded in the longtime friendship of DuPrez and Sean Orlando that began in high school in Scottsdale and continued on to college in Flagstaff.

“We’ve been best friends since we were teens,” DuPrez said. “Sean’s always had an altruistic background; my family, too. We have a background of being of service that’s always bound us together. We both moved up here in 1993 for higher learning at NAU.”

The two were college roommates. “Coming of age together and facing the many social challenges as teens and young adults allowed us to connect around a shared perspective and common purpose regarding life in general,” Orlando said.

DuPrez majored in Latin American studies and Spanish, and earned his master’s degree in academic administration. Orlando majored in Spanish and earned master’s degrees in sustainable communities and oriental medicine.

Between 2000 and 2006, their first collaboration in Flagstaff was the Indigo Movement, which met in the historic El Divino Redentor church on South San Francisco Street in downtown Flagstaff and sought to prevent youth violence and delinquency through self-empowerment initiatives.

After almost a decade of working together on projects, the two men took separate paths: DuPrez moving into the field of recovery and mental health, eventually starting Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery in 2010; Orlando went on to establish his own clinical practice.

The Onlife Foundation is closely allied with the Back2Basics program with a direct line of financial aid and program support to those on the path to sobriety and recovery. “It’s composed of alumni families and community members who have their own professional backgrounds and want to do something to support those trying to get help and hopefully get into treatment,” said DuPrez.

A key member of the Onlife leadership team is co-founder Laura LeVee, who serves as treasurer on the board of directors. She says her son was greatly helped by the Back2Basics program. “Connor became an alcoholic while in college, and he didn’t get good treatment for many years,” she said. “He tried various inpatient and outpatient solutions, but all were for 90 days or so, at which point, he would quickly relapse. In addition, the short-term centers did not specialize in mental health issues, which Connor desperately needed. Indeed, most addicts really need mental health support in order to sustain sobriety.”

Connor completed the Back2Basics program last summer and has returned to school to finish his undergraduate degree. He now works full-time for a gym in Flagstaff.

“I am enormously grateful to Roy and his program, and I hope that Onlife can send many addicts to Roy’s program, as well as others, that specialize in long-term solutions,” said LeVee.

Currently, Onlife is planning community-based fundraising events, as well as pursuing grant opportunities, in an effort to support more people suffering from addiction and help them maintain sober lives. QCBN

By Betsey Bruner, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Onlife is designed to help support young men seeking recovery through Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery and Beyond the Basics, which include outdoor activities like river rafting in their programs. 

Painting a Picture of Health

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What is your body telling you? What colors are you putting out there?

If you were to paint a picture of your health right now, would you put a fuzzy cloud of purple over your head or maybe a circle of red dots around your face? Would you see lines of magenta in your throat, splashes of yellow in your heart or blue squiggles in your abdomen? Katie Beecher might.

Katie is a licensed professional counselor and medical and emotional intuitive with more than 30 years’ experience as a healer. Strongly influenced by the work of psychologist and founder of analytical psychiatry Carl Jung, who believed the body expresses symptoms from our emotions, Katie promotes holistic health, the wellness of the mind, body and spirit.

Her new book, “Heal from Within: A Guidebook to Intuitive Wellness,” is packed with ancient wisdom and acute awareness about connectedness and how the body works. More profoundly, she explains what our bodies may be saying to us when something is not quite right.

A big believer in finding the root cause of what is making us sick, Katie not only addresses physical symptoms, but explores “everything in our past and present that may be contributing to being unwell, whether that be physically, emotionally and/or spiritually.”

“A lot of times when you are having an issue, the tendency is to just look at one aspect of it,” she says. “It may be physical symptoms and looking at just the physical cause or emotionally, like whether it’s a relationship thing, or whether it’s neurological. What I’ve learned from my own experience as well as working with clients is that there are so many different factors that impact our lives, our happiness and our wellness and they can go back to childhood trauma. But it’s also things like relationships now, nutrition, whether you’re happy in your career or not, spiritual things like how you are being treated and how you are expressing yourself. All these things impact how we feel about ourselves and that translates into how we treat our bodies and how those symptoms are expressed by our body.”

Also, Katie is a watercolor artist. She uses paintings to investigate and communicate what is causing distress and illness in her clients. “In one painting, the guides told me to show blue squiggles in the gut. Blue is about being empathic and sensitive. When I get blue, it’s often from people who are very influenced by others. They almost care too much about what other people think. From a very young child, this individual had a lot of gut symptoms and stomach aches. He discovered he was not being his authentic self and that was causing him pain.”

Katie works with chakras, or energy centers in the body that correspond to specific nerve bundles and internal organs. There are seven major ones. If a painting shows magenta lines in the throat, for example, that draws attention to the fifth chakra, which has to do with expression and may indicate a need to express oneself or speak up, she says. “Orange is often about being courageous. The more you trust your intuition and trust your true self, the more courage you will have to be able to do that.”

Color on top or above the head has to do with the seventh or the Crown Chakra, which she says is about connecting to the “supreme self” and the universal flow of energy. “Yellow in this area may indicate loving support surrounding this individual.”

Katie has recovered from an eating disorder, Lyme disease and depression and wrote “Heal from Within” partly to inspire others that they can also heal from very difficult conditions. In the book, she emphasizes bolstering and protecting our healing energy and “embracing an all-powerful loving force.” She offers ways to do this. Here are three:

  1. Ground yourself through meditation, being in nature or taking an Epsom salt bath;
  2. Make a list of negative or fearful thoughts. “If they are out of your body, you can begin to address them and release them.”
  3. Be aware. “Pay attention to how you feel when you are around certain people and places. Avoid the ones that are draining or negative.”

With a calling to help people connect with their intuition, Katie believes paying attention to our own symptoms and understanding where our pain is coming from in a deeper sense is key to holistic health.

What is your body telling you? What colors are you putting out there?

See how Katie diagnoses her paintings and hear more about holistic healing on the video podcast Zonie Living at StarWorldwideNetworks.com/shows/bonnie-stevens. “Healing from Within: A Guidebook to Intuitive Wellness” is available on Amazon. For more information, visit KatieBeecher.com  QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Bonnie Stevens is a public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com.

Courtesy Photo: Katie Beecher.

Celestial Gala Honored Jim and Linda Lee, Celebrated Planetarium

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“It was a really nice event, a great evening,” said Bobinsky.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium while honoring ERAU patrons, the Lees, at a Spring Celestial Gala that raised more than $70,000 to support the facility and STEM programming.

The Lees have been strong contributors to the success of the Quad Cities area for decades in a number of ways through charitable donations and business endeavors. They have donated to many community organizations and have impacted the area’s economic growth through upscale residential and commercial developments. The Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium, the only Arizona planetarium north of Phoenix, is one of their most visible contributions.

“The Planetarium has created a wonderful venue to bring not only our own students, but also high school, middle school and elementary students here to see what a STEM education can provide,” said ERAU Executive Director of Philanthropy Steve Bobinsky. “It also encourages Quad Cities residents to venture onto our campus, engage with faculty and students and see that we’re not just a flight school. We also offer incredible STEM-related majors such as aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, cybersecurity, gaming and simulation.”

A live auction at the gala offered bidders unique opportunities such as a private event in the planetarium for 100 guests; a 60-minute flight in an ERAU Cessna 172S NAV III aircraft; a European culinary tour for eight people at the home of ERAU Chancellor Dr. Anette Karlsson and her husband, Dr. Rick Lehman, compliments of chef and restaurateur Barry Barbe; and a four-day live-flight experience for a parent and student.

Bobinsky said $33,000 was raised through the live auction and an additional $40,000 gift was received to support the expansion of the planetarium’s show catalog and technological capabilities provided for the public as well as STEM outreach educational opportunities.

More than 100 people attended the gala and were treated to an evening of images and discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope, set to a London Symphony Orchestra recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, created by Planetarium Director Eric Edelman.

“It was a really nice event, a great evening,” said Bobinsky. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: ERAU President Dr. P. Barry Butler and ERAU Prescott Chancellor Dr. Anette Karlsson honored Jim and Linda Lee (center) and thanked them for their involvement with the planetarium. 

Bombas Gives Socks to Young Ones through Tennies for Tots

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“She saw a need and did what it took, almost single-handedly, to fill it. That kind of volunteerism is rare, but the reward fills you beyond measure.”

Paula Sedillo Wise and the volunteers for the non-profit she started, Tennies for Tots, were more than thrilled when they learned they would be partnering with Bombas, a sock and T-shirt company, and their One Purchased=One Donated program. They are sending her 3,000 pairs of children’s socks to add to the new shoes, books and book bags she provides to children 5 years old and younger who are part of families who live in poverty throughout Northern and Central Arizona. As she put it with a smile, “It knocked my socks off!”

Bombas donates one item of clothing for every item they sell. Currently, the company has more than 3,500 partners distributing those gifts throughout the United States. To date, Bombas has donated 75 million pieces of clothing to programs that serve those in need. Of the clothing they donate, socks, underwear and T-shirts are the top three most requested items at shelters. “We are honored to be a part of this amazing and one-of-a-kind program,” said Wise.

Paula started Tennies for Tots in 2018, after attending a back-to-school event in Prescott, where she learned that there where programs in place to help school-aged children with school clothes and supplies but they were not available for younger children. Although she works full time, she decided she was going to fill that need. She started with a couple of the Head Start Programs in Flagstaff. Slowly, she expanded, and now serves nearly 40 Head Start programs in four different counties in Arizona and more than 3,000 children every year, including those in Williams, Flagstaff, Page, the Navajo Nation, Winslow and the White Mountains. For many of these children, they are the first new shoes they have ever had.

Last year was a difficult year for Tennies for Tots, Wise reports. She and the volunteers had always shopped discount bins and store closings to buy shoes and socks that they gave away. This held the cost to under $10 per child. But with inflation and supply chain problems, her sources dried up. As a result, the cost per child rose by almost 50%. “But thanks to some new ideas and help from Bill and Barbara Packard and their ‘Going Full Circle’ books, we found a way to get everyone outfitted,” she said.

“Making a difference is all about a commitment to a cause,” said Bill. “She saw a need and did what it took, almost single-handedly, to fill it. That kind of volunteerism is rare, but the reward fills you beyond measure.”

Sara Presler, former mayor of Flagstaff, introduced Wise to the Packards about four years ago. They helped her create the non-profit and fill out grant applications. Hence, donations doubled from 2021 to 2022.

“We were amazed how this single mother who worked full-time had found the time and resources to help all these children,” said Bill. “We recognized the same drive in her that lead us to open Full Circle Trade and Thrift and our Pantry.”

As word has gotten out, Wise says requests for help from families have increased as well. “We are always looking for more help, so if you or a group you belong to would like to help financially or to volunteer, buying, sorting and distributing, we sure could use the help.”

For more information, visit www.tenniesfortots.org. The State of Arizona recognized Tennies for Tots as a Qualifying Tax Credit Organization in 2022. That means a single person may donate $400 or couples may donate $800 to deduct the full amount from their state income tax bill. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Paula Sedillo Wise is joyfully overwhelmed by the gift of 3,000 socks to support her non-profit, Tennies for Tots.

Quad Cities Solar Co-op Surpassing Membership Goal 

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“It’s thrilling to see so much immediate interest in local solar from the community,” said  SUN Arizona Program Director Adrian Keller.

The Quad Cities Solar Co-op launched on March 15, and has quickly blown past its membership goal of 50 residents. The solar co-op, a group formed to help residents go solar, just announced a new goal of 100 members.

The solar co-op, organized by non-profit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN), is free to join and open to homeowners and small business owners in the Quad Cities region. This includes residents in and around Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt.

On Wednesday, March 22, SUN Arizona Program Director Adrian Keller and local partners hosted a Solar 101 presentation at the Prescott Public Library to talk to residents about solar and explain how going through the co-op works. More than 60 residents from across Yavapai County attended the event.

“It’s thrilling to see so much immediate interest in local solar from the community,” said  SUN Arizona Program Director Adrian Keller. “We know that the process and considerations can be complicated, so it was great to see so many folks come out to the event and get their questions answered.”

Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase individual solar systems at a competitive price and top quality. Solar United Neighbors has run solar co-ops across the state, ranging from 50 to 200 members, but this is the first one for Quad Cities area residents.

With so much initial interest, SUN has already put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for solar installers to bid on the co-op. After collecting bids, SUN will facilitate a meeting for co-op members to select a single solar company to serve the group. Members are not obligated to purchase solar. Instead, they will have the option to individually purchase panels based on the selected installer’s group rate. SUN remains vendor-neutral through the selection process.

With the federal passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, co-op members will also have the opportunity to use the solar tax credit for residential solar. The residential solar tax credit saves homeowners 30% on the full cost of a solar installation. A similar tax credit is also available to small businesses, who are invited to take part in the co-op.

The solar co-op will also help participants consider battery storage, which, paired with solar, helps bolster the grid during extreme weather events like last summer’s monsoons. Thanks to the IRA, homeowners can take a 30% tax credit for battery storage for the next 10 years. The new legislation also makes it possible to receive the tax credit for stand-alone storage, no solar needed.

Partnering on the solar co-op are: Yavapai Climate Change Coalition, Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance, Sierra Club Yavapai Group and Interfaith Climate Action Team.

SUN has hosted 13 solar co-ops in Arizona since 2019. According to the group’s estimates, the 383 homes and businesses that now have solar panels because of co-ops represent 3,070 kW of solar power, $9 million in local solar spending and more than 89 million pounds of lifetime carbon offsets.

Individuals interested in going solar can learn more and sign up for the co-op at solarunitedneighbors.org/quadcities. QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Solar United Neighbors (SUN) hosts Solar 101 presentations for residents. 

Sheltering Animals in Disasters                                                             

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Volunteers practice drills, identify shelter locations.

A record-breaking winter of cold temperatures, snow, rain and flooding in Northern Arizona has provided much-needed precipitation but has also primed grasses and fuels that will burn quickly in a wildfire. The wildfire season is the most recurring threat in Yavapai County, but neighborhoods may also need to be evacuated quickly because of flooding, severe weather or hazardous waste spills.

Disasters never happen at a convenient time and strong emotions of fear and uncertainty can run high when emergencies force humans to evacuate their homes.

Statistics from FEMA show that in emergency evacuations, most people won’t leave home without their animals, but with a plan in place, they will be better prepared to evacuate quickly.

Such evacuations can also be frightening for others in the animal kingdom, including household pets such as cats and dogs. However, until recently, there has been a lack of safe havens for evacuated farm animals, such as horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits, llamas and alpacas.

Disasters have increased in size and frequency, and as communities grow, more animal owners are affected. Fortunately, Yavapai County is proactive in emergency preparedness. Serving the households of Yavapai County, two dedicated non-profit organizations partner with Emergency Management to provide animal shelter services at no cost to animal owners.

Animal Disaster Services (ADS) provides shelter to pets and small companion animals displaced by evacuations. Large Animal Shelters and Emergency Readiness (LASER) provides a safe haven for barn animals during evacuations, sheltering equines, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, llamas, alpacas and emus. Both organizations are powered entirely by volunteers and donations; there are no paid positions and no government funding is provided.

This spring, the outreach resources of both LASER and ADS have been merged to create a stronger force in emergency situations to help animals, large and small, in both urban and rural communities.

“In 2023, it’s a kind of renewed partnership between LASER and ADS,” said Cathy Heath, LASER director and secretary. “We’ve always worked alongside each other, because we both deal with animals. This year, we thought it would be good to join our efforts and get the message out about emergency preparedness and about the resources available for animals and our offer to make presentations to communities to help inform them.”

The two non-profits are members of the Yavapai County COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster), which is comprised of more than 20 organizations that may be activated to help people affected by disaster.

With similar missions, ADS and LASER address not only animal needs during a disaster, but also the safety of neighbors as well. They have teamed up to make community presentations about the resources they offer to individuals, families and households in the county.

Heath notes that LASER has been activated by Yavapai County officials seven times for local wildfires and has been on standby six times. “The April 2022 Crooks Fire struck early in the year and took everyone by surprise,” she said. “LASER sheltered 29 animals for the evacuated residents of Walker for an unprecedented 14 days. Our communities must always be prepared.”

Heath said the sheltered animals included chickens, turkeys, goats and horses. “There was plenty of food. Olsen’s Grain provides the hay. That’s one of our great community partners.”

It was challenging to prepare for the wildfire season during extreme winter conditions, she said, but efforts have been stepped up in the spring. “It’s been a very wet winter, so LASER held our first drill at the Yavapai County Office of Emergency Management on March 29,” Heath said. “The entire intake process was simulated with areas for our greeters and stalls. Some volunteers did role playing as animal owners, arriving at the LASER shelter with virtual animals and a variety of situations. The process was then reviewed in a roundtable discussion with input from everyone who participated.”

There was another session in April, with two more scheduled for May and June.

Volunteers are at the heart of both organizations, and in LASER alone, there are currently about 60 volunteers.

“We’ve picked up a lot of new volunteers,” Heath noted. “It’s stayed pretty strong. We have a lot of compassionate people here. Everyone pulls together when they are needed.”

Shelters are available at various predetermined locations depending on the locale and movement of disasters. The primary LASER shelter is in Prescott Valley, off Highway 89A, near Arizona Down. There, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors has dedicated a parcel with 190 stalls as a Large Animal Evacuation Shelter and, under a written agreement, LASER will supply and staff it during evacuations.

Also, fundraising events for animal shelters have been effective. “In 2020, in spite of the pandemic, our communities rallied to raise over $40,000 to build a LASER shelter at the Chino Valley Equestrian Park,” Heath said. “This community has recognized this need, and they have always rallied for us. We’ve had great community support.”

Heath is one of six members of the LASER Board of Directors. “We are all very dedicated. What’s great about our board, each of us brings a different experience to the table, so we have a great balance within our board.”

Founded in 1999, ADS has provided shelter to pets displaced by fires and flooding, as well as warming shelters in the winter and cooling shelters in the summers when residents have been impacted by major power outages.

“One of my goals has been to reach out to organizations and work together to inform as many people as possible about pet emergency preparedness,” said ADS President Nancy Stamile. “I’m very happy to say we are achieving this goal. Working with a variety of rescue groups has also given us a better understanding of all the different evacuation needs. We are so proud to be a part of helping families, pets and other organizations in emergencies.”

Most recently, ADS provided two shelters simultaneously, with one in Camp Verde and the other in Black Canyon City, as a result of recent flooding, which impacted multiple communities throughout Yavapai County.

Supply trailers make ADS services mobile, as they are ready to be deployed to predetermined shelter locations within Yavapai County. Shelter locations have been selected based upon availability, accessibility and proximity to potential American Red Cross shelters.

“We always have to be ready,” Heath said. “With the Crook Fire, no one expected a fire that early in the year. They’re saying there’s really no fire season anymore; it could happen anytime.” QCBN

By Betsey Bruner, QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Large Animal Shelters and Emergency Readiness volunteers train for evacuations caused by wildfires, like the 2017 Goodwin Fire, and other disasters, such as recent flooding events. 

Bronze of Prescott Fighter Pilot Being Created for Airport

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“The statue will remind people of the history of Arizona and will promote the city at a nominal cost,” said Goode.

Prescott-based sculptor Bill Nebeker is working on an eight-foot statue of Prescott World War I fighter pilot hero Ernest A. Love, which will be placed at the entry of Prescott Regional Airport, Arizona’s third busiest airport.

The Prescott City Council voted unanimously March 28 to approve $125,000 for Nebeker’s creation. The statue is funded by the Arizona Community Foundation and Friends of the Airport. The statue is expected to be placed there by April 30, 2024.

Prescott Mayor Phil Goode said the statue will be a great addition to the airport, placed in front of the new terminal. The old terminal was built in the 1940s. Prescott Airport was built in 1928 and was the second in Arizona, with Tucson having the first in 1919.

“The statue will remind people of the history of Arizona and will promote the city at a nominal cost,” said Goode. “Bill is a world-renowned sculptor. It’s fortunate that we have someone of his caliber who combines Western art and aviation.”

Nebeker said he was honored that the Art in Public Places Committee selected him. The hardest part, he said, was researching Love so he knew how to authentically portray him in bronze. “Love was an amazing young man.”

Nebeker learned that Love excelled in athletics and academics at Prescott High School. He studied engineering at Stanford for three years and was at the top of his class. He quit during his third year because of his fascination with airplanes. He was sent to flight school in San Diego.

Nebeker also learned that Love wrote home to his parents every week. Nebeker read those letters for his research, which are stored at Sharlot Hall. A book about him, written by a second-generation cousin, is in the Prescott Library.

Love was severely wounded when his plane was shot down over France. He died a few days later. This happened two months before the war ended. Love was considered to be missing in action for several months. Later, his body was buried at Arlington Cemetery.

Nebeker is known nationally for his bronze statue creations. He sculpted the one by the roundabout near Phippen Museum. He has another one on Courthouse Plaza that pays tribute to fallen officers. His statue of early settlers is in Glendale and a statue of a territorial marshal is located at the Arizona Department of Public Safety headquarters in Phoenix. He also makes coffee-table sized bronze statues.

Nebeker started working in a bronze foundry in 1967 and remained there for eight years. He has been an independent artist since that time. His work can be found at Mountain Spirit Gallery on Whiskey Row. It is also online and in galleries throughout the country. QCBN

By Ray Newton and Stan Bindell, QCBN

Photo by Stan Bindell: Bronze sculptor Bill Nebecker displays a lot of love with a miniature and larger-than-life statue of Presoctt World War I fighter pilot Ernest A. Love.