Covid update and vaccines

The highest number of positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic were recorded in Globe-Miami in January, with 481 new cases. That is an average of 16 new cases daily. The majority of these cases may be residual numbers from the holidays. There is no question that in the first week of February, we are seeing a decrease in cases and hospitalizations in Arizona and in our community. There were only 34 new cases documented in the first week, dropping our daily average to four. Vaccines in Gila County have also increased from 300 per week to 1,400 per week. I would like to commend the Gila County Health Department for advocating and distributing vaccines as they are received, and give a huge thank you to Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center for providing the facility and resources to vaccinate southern Gila County. It takes all of us working together to keep ourselves safe until we are able to vaccinate enough people to relieve some restrictions. I ask that you continue to follow all CDC guidelines until we get to that level of comfort.      

Projects in progress

The Connie’s Bridge project is moving into the design phase, with an anticipated construction date in the summer of 2021. The new bridge will be relocated just south of the old location and will take six to eight months to complete. The City of Globe would like to thank all those citizens that provided valuable feedback to the project team. Connie’s Bridge has been deteriorating for many years and is the number one bridge safety priority according to our past bridge studies. This is a $2.8 million project that has been funded through the State of Arizona general fund with no cost to our taxpayers. I want to thank and commend our staff for the commitment, time and effort put forward to secure these funds at the State Legislature. This is a tremendous savings to our taxpayers.

Community involvement

I had the opportunity to be one of three judges for this year’s Gila County Spelling Bee, held on Feb. 4 at High Desert Middle School. There were 18 participants from the Globe, Miami and Payson School Districts. I want to congratulate winner Aislyn Alexander, a fifth-grader from the Miami School District, who will now represent Gila County in the state contest.

Upcoming events

The Highway 60 Trash Mob has been building momentum these past couple of months. The focus is to clean up the Highway 60 corridor from Miami to the other end of Globe. The next scheduled cleanup is Saturday, Feb. 27. The cleanup area for this event will be from Highway 60 and Escudilla to Sonic and N. Cherry Avenue, on both sides of the highway. Check-in location will be at the empty lot between O’Reilly’s and Wells Fargo Bank at 8 a.m. Come help us beautify our community. All volunteers are welcome to help with this cleanup, and remember to bring a mask.

The City of Globe, the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce, and the San Carlos Apache Tribe are working together to bring the 1st Annual Poppy Fest, March 5-7. This event will highlight the beauty of the many poppy plants that consume our community every year. The three-day event will also offer food vendors, live entertainment and much more. Stay tuned for additional information as the event gets closer.    

The City of Globe is sponsoring First Friday events that take place on the first Friday of each month. These events encourage an all-day downtown shopping spree with live music provided by different musicians each month. We are encouraging all of our residents and visitors to come down and participate in these monthly events and help support our local businesses. 

Recognition

For the next couple of months, I would like to recognize those residents who have been appointed to one of our sub-committees under the Globe City Council. These are volunteer positions and vital to help our council to make informed decisions. This month I would like to thank these members of the Board of Adjustments: John Wong (Chairman), Lisa Brazil (Vice-Chairman), John Loos, Diana Montgomery and Bryan Gunnoe.

Thank you for your service.