Cryptids of Cochise, dogs of Douglas, and counting the county.

In this issue…

_{Guest Writer}
Cacti and Cryptids by Sammy Klein
_{Land News}
Do it for the dogs of Douglas
… And the chickens of Douglas
Borderlands Restoration Network is hiring
Supervisors reject solar appeal
_{Water News}
A groundwater mural in Douglas
More local comments on Willcox AMA
… And on the Douglas AMA Mgmt Plan
_{Builder Inspo}
Desert stonework
_{Arizona Civics}
Cochise County still counting ballots

Howdy, from the editor

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween since the last Papers.

Today we’ve got a spooky edition of the GPP, compliments of a guest column by local earth builder, wild man, and my good friend, Sammy Klein.

He’ll give us a brief introduction to some of the cryptids of Arizona ~~ and a peek into the cryptic nature of our own human minds.

And if you’re a hard-boiled materialist who finds election results to be much scarier than otherworldly creatures — maybe you’ll feel better after a slow sip of these warm words of wisdom, from local brew-master and all-around-hard-working-do-gooder Weedy Weidenthal:

Cacti and Cryptids

There’s nothing new under the moon. No new faces of fear, after childhood’s end. That’s what I thought — until I moved to the desert.

Now the night black around me, supposedly emptier than ever, feels different.

It senses me as much as I sense it.

Science has given us this delusion that everything is understood in principle — subject to capture by measurements and causal predictions.

But everyday, our thinking minds struggle to justify the rationale of our instincts and intuitions. We only have conscious access to the tip of the psychic iceberg, while most of our inner-workings are submerged in a dark, oceanic mystery.

And this is a perfect reflection of our external reality. There will always be something going on out there that we just can’t explain or predict.

As within, so without.

I know that some of you know.

These Arizonan deserts are brimming with stories of lifeforms that exist only on the peripherals of our perception. And these beings are as old and varied as the cacti they haunt.

And it’s common to hear everyday folks, including the newcomers who finally make the move out here, claiming to have encountered something they struggle to explain.

I’m one of them.

Maybe this shouldn’t be so surprising. Think of all the history of this place. The conquests, tragedies, rituals and celebrations which took place in the forgotten corners of our valleys and mountains. Those powerful energies saturate our wild landscape, a cosmic cocktail of legend and magic.

And now we’re here, making our dusty lives amidst a nebula of mythos and the many strange and beautiful stars it has birthed.

Of course, neighbors — many of these stories are the result of exaggeration — hearsay — adrenaline, panic, and the nocturnal grumblings of our living desert, all mixed up by the desert winds.

Our imagination fills the unknown with the most wicked version of reality. It’s a survival strategy cooked into our bones. It only takes one underestimation of what’s really out there, and then you’re food for Mother Nature’s children.

Better to overestimate the danger and live another day.

But also — none of this really explains the much older tales that have survived and feel as meaningful as they do mythical. It doesn’t explain why sometimes the shadow of a presence isn’t just unnerving — it’s eldritch, beyond the imagination, deeper than the nervous system.

Sometimes we have haunted experiences that seem to touch our souls.

The truth… is in here.

Sammy Klein

Do it for the dogs of Douglas

Tucked away in sleepy Douglas is a dog rescue, plainly named Let’s Save Some Douglas Dogs. It’s been active 8 years strong under the care of a local hero, Carmen Martinez.

She looks after a motley crew of 27 canines, from pups to old guards, all sizes and breeds. And it’s not cheap to keep up with them — two were recently hospitalized after being injured, racking up pricey x-ray bills.

If you’ve been pondering the path of furry companionship, looking for a new addition to your existing pack, maybe a few hours of non-committal volunteer doggy care, or just wanna throw Martinez some cash for expenses — your help will be appreciated.

But if you decide to adopt, expect some due diligence from Martinez, as Lyda Longa reports for the Herald/Review:

Donate food, blankets, money or volunteer hours to the shelter by contacting Martinez at (520)220-0644.

… And the chickens of Douglas

I previously reported that, nationwide, organic chicken feed sales have been going up as the backyard chicken-keeping trend booms. And that trend might spike in Arizona as our towns and cities update their ordinances to comply with a new state law protecting the right to keep chickens.

Accordingly, Douglas has upped their chicken limit from four to six, but Mayor Huish didn’t love the state getting the city’s business, the Herald/Review reports:

“I love chickens. I don’t have any issue with the number of chickens,” Huish said. “I have an issue with the State legislature telling cities what they can and cannot do. These types of issues belong exclusively at the local level of government!!”

But whether or not residents can keep roosters is still up to the cities. And Douglas has decided to continue allowing roosters in backyards.

Borderlands Restoration Network is hiring

If you’re looking for work, and you never lost the childhood joy of playing in the dirt, you’re in luck. Borderlands Restoration Network is looking to fill positions in their staff and seasonal youth crew.

I recently spent a week volunteering with these fine folks and can vouch for their good spirits and quality workmanship. And once upon a time I took on similar work with the Texas Conservation Corps and treasured that experience. If you’re feeling the call — go for it.

Staff job descriptions:
https://www.borderlandsrestoration.org/employment

More info on youth internships:
https://www.borderlandsrestoration.org/becy

Supervisors reject solar appeal

It seems the Dahlia Solar saga has come to an end. After a unanimous thumbs-down from the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission, the UK-based solar developers appealed the decision to the county supervisors. But that only got them three more thumbs down.

Quite a few solar projects have been installed in Sulphur Springs Valley over the last decade, and they received some pushback too, but not like this one. Adjacent property owners and other locals made a big noise and scared off the project successfully.

One of the concerns cited by locals was that solar farms can catch fire and endanger surrounding properties — a concern which gained a lot of legitimacy a week before the appeal hearing when an electrical fire became a brush fire at the Red Horse solar farm west of Willcox.

Circles, hexagons, and triangles are the most commons shapes in nature.

So it’s no wonder our modern homes make us feel like squares, flat, boxed in.

Promise Domes builds homes that match your vibe.

They offer:

• Geodesic dome/home construction

• Foam insulation

• Trenching, grading, excavating

Harmonizing home and habitat.

Learn more at PromiseDomes.com

A groundwater mural in Douglas

A new work entitled “Beneath the Surface” by Arizona artist NNUZZO (Nicole Poppell) is coming to Douglas. The mural will be painted on the exterior of the Douglas Public Library.

If you’d like to help out, you can join the artist on Nov 14-15th, Noon-4pm.

And the city will celebrate its completion on the 16th.

This isn’t NNUZZO’s first mural in the city. She was previously hired to paint the “Desert Caretaker” mural on the historic Rivera Building downtown:

More local comments on the Willcox AMA

I was expecting more backlash about the Willcox AMA news, frankly. There were thousands of contentious facebook comments on the issue back in 2022, ahead of the vote.

This time around, almost nothing. Maybe it’s because there’s been no progress toward an “alternative solution” over the last two years. Maybe its because folks are tired of seeing more and more parcels cleared for orchards.

And maybe things will get noisier during the Public Hearing later this month — or maybe not.

In the meantime, Sonoran Wines is the third local vineyard to express support for the AMA initiation, writing an opinion piece in the Republic.

I learned something recently: Over 75% of Arizona’s wine grapes are grown in the Willcox Basin. Who knew. And because wine grapes return relatively high profits per gallon of water used, they’ll likely be a fixture of our valley’s agricultural future.

But the Willcox Basin also ranks highest for something else in the state: Earth fissures and land subsidence.

Local basin resident Lisa Glenn recently weighed in on the new AMA proposal.

And KGUN9 recently caught up with local basin farmer Ed Curry who explained how he’s continuing an inter-generational legacy of groundwater conservation in the valley.

Curry’s father, Noel Curry, helped to establish the Douglas Basin as a Critical Groundwater Area over 50 years ago, creating a moratorium on new irrigation wells.

… And the Douglas AMA management plan

This past Wednesday I attended the Public Hearing for the Douglas AMA’s first ten-year management plan. It had the lowest turnout of any AMA-related events since the first one almost two years ago.

Not surprisingly, it also had the fewest public comments. But the comments were good.

Local McNeal water provider, Neil Peterson, said that the water situation in our basin had a trick-or-treat problem: The corporate growers are getting king size snickers bars while the little guys are left with candy corn.

Myself and two other local residents also weighed in. I advocated for caps on groundwater use for industrial users like mines and feedlots, so that our water situation doesn’t get worse before it gets better.

After the hearing ended, a few us started chatting and were soon joined by three local farmers. One farmer said that they know there’s a problem and cutbacks are needed — but he wanted to make sure ADWR gets their crop-water-use and irrigation-efficiency data straight so that the initial annual water allotments are the right amount for each farmer.

Another farmer offered that local stakeholders should be getting together to have these kinds of conversation more regularly. I think she’s right.

Now that election season is (almost!) over, and we’re easing back into the Ground Party Papers’ goldilocks zone of content, take a moment to weigh in on what you want read on Sunday mornings.

Builder Inspo

Desert stonework

Confession: As much as I love all the new alternative building techniques that have been adopted and perfected in Cochise County, my favorite building material is still ordinary plain ol’ rocks. Or stones, really.

When I close my eyes and think about what my property in the Douglas basin will one day look like, I see stones everywhere. Walls, gardenbeds, arches, pathways, everything.

And there are plenty of big, beautiful stones in this valley that can be put to use.

Here are some arid land stoneworks that might spark ideas for your next build.

Arizona Civics

Cochise County still counting votes

The bottom right corner of Arizona seems bent on being known for election issues.

Right now we’re not even halfway done finalizing the results, with 28,643 ballots tabulated and 31,900 more to go.

What’s the problem?

First, a bomb threat slowed things down on election night. And then the main tabulation machine started slowing down, so that a stack of ballots now takes 30 minutes to process instead of a few minutes.

Nebraska has sent one of their tabulation machines over, arriving tomorrow, which should get things back on track. But the county is estimating it’ll be Thursday before the final count is in.

I’ll send out an addendum with the final election results later this week — not withstanding any further tabulation glitches…

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