By Mayor Sam Hosler, Town of Kearny
I’m tickled pink that a bunch of people who work for the Ray Mine will be descending upon Hubbard Park this Saturday, October 1. Starting in the morning, their intent is to give a Day of Service to the Town of Kearny.
A phone call from Mike Kotraba, Superintendent of Mine Operations at the Ray Mine, to Anna Flores, our Town Manager, started things off. Mr. Kotraba made the offer to do a day of significant work, with all expenses being paid by ASARCO. The two started making some initial plans, and the result is that the people from ASARCO will paint the exterior of the old Teen Center (getting it further down the road to being used purposefully), fix up and paint the ramadas next to the swimming pool, and paint the wood surfaces of Town Hall and Constitution Hall. That’s a lot to get done in one day.
I hope all the ASARCO volunteers won’t be too tired. Maybe they will have worked up an appetite. That same day, October 1, is the night of the Rotary Steak Fry at the General Kearny Inn from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. When ranchers are the cooks, only the best steaks will do! The meat is cooked to your order, and the side are more than plentiful. Best of all, the profits will benefit scholarships and other local work of the Rotary Club, and they are one of the most generous community groups. Tickets are $25 at the door.
This is also Homecoming Weekend in Kearny. The steak fry and bonfire are today (Wednesday), and the big parade starts at 4 p.m. Friday, September 30, on Jamestown and heads up Tilbury, getting everyone ready for the rivalry at the football field. I live on Jamestown, and I remember my first year in Kearny, looking out to see a parade assembling “in my front yard.” It was a treat then, and it is a treat now.
A representative group of people from Kearny and the Copper Basin met with Brad Mecham, a senior planner from Central Arizona Governments, to review the beginnings of the town’s ten-year plan from the public meeting and to do an analysis of Kearny’s strengths and weakness, both in governance and economic development. This will be a long process, but a good one. There will be many opportunities for public input.
A topic for another day is the work of the tourism group which has been meeting in Kearny, aiming for ways to make the Copper Basin a destination for visitors. It’s a good bunch of people taking on important work.