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    Home » Long live the Posse Grounds – Sedona’s Legendary Community Park
    Editorials/Opinion

    Long live the Posse Grounds – Sedona’s Legendary Community Park

    March 5, 2012No Comments8 Mins Read
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    samaireformayor
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    By James Bishop Jr.

    A secret to too many!

    A man who has a vision is not able to use that power until he has performed that vision on earth for the people to see.
    – Black Elk

    Writing about what he observed in the U.S. in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville judged Americans to be “avaricious, self-serving, and aggressive.”

    But he was also amazed at their collective keenness to join together in one cause or another, the fruits of that concern for community being libraries, historical societies, hospitals, and yes – parks.

    And, amazed also, by those citizen volunteers who created and sustained parks back when they were the heart of small towns, of neighborhoods, when they were invigorating places for picnics, concerts, neighborly gatherings and such.

    What happened?

    Where did they go?

    According to conventional wisdom, municipal budget crunches across the U.S. have drained resources for programs and maintenance so that the resulting neglect has left many of the nation’s parks “empty, or, worse, dangerous.”

    Not so in Sedona.

    Here, the future is now, up on the Posse Grounds, a lively small-town park, that features a view-shed to melt the heart of a banker, tennis courts, a sky blue swimming pool, two lush ball fields, a renovated soccer field, covered ramadas for quiet picnics – while children play on the new playground equipment – while a sand volley ball court occupies some older folks.

    Although their names are not etched into pavers or in red rock walls anywhere yet, some old-timers remember the citizens that first created activities and marvel at the park’s evolution as the years unfolded. Together, those volunteers found that satisfaction was not just in creating a pretty place, but a way to gain a powerful sense of bonding and achievement.

    Cindy Rovey, who came to Sedona in 1976, found that the school, the pool, the ball fields, and the area where the Coconino County Sheriff’s posse roped and real cowboys did their stuff, were in place.

    She was struck by how many of Sedona’s citizens were involved, some of whom are still here and continue to be active in Sedona, or, at least, are still around. For openers, some of them are listed here: Bill Garland, George Coakley, Heidi Lawler, Dave Blauert, Steve Ash, Robert Larson, Jack Seeley, Bruce Rogers, Gail Herrick, Charlie Crick, and Len Barrow, who was a teacher at the school and ran Little League baseball forever.

    Some of those people made up the first Parks and Recreation commission when the park was turned over to them in 1989, shortly after the city incorporated.

    Bill Garland was the first Parks & Rec chair. Up until then, the land was leased from the state by an organization called the Sedona Community Center and was paid for with some grants and in-kind matching funds from local builders – business men and with private funds.

    A review of activities back in that day also offers a quick look at Sedona’s history:

    • 1953 – First Sheriff’s Posse Parade and start of rodeos.
    • In the summer of 1953, Stagecoach Players of Oak Creek built the first wooden stage.
    • 1962 – First ball field built.
    • 1969 – Groundbreaking for Sedona Community Park and Recreation Grounds. The land was a portion of 137.5-acre land exchange and leased by the state to Yavapai County. Twenty-two acres were set aside for schools, 15 acres for Sheriff’s Posse. Various organizations were to lease land, ranging from the Little League to the Sedona Westerners, Sedona Arts Center and many more.
    • In 1975 – the pool was built and the Marine Corps built the first dugouts and the snack bar.
    • In 1979 – the Lions Club installed the first water fountain.
    • In 1982 – the first Jazz on the Rocks sponsored by The Sedona Arts Center Citizens fixed up the stage and cleared the land, installed a drip system and seeded the site.
    • 1989 – Jazz on the Rocks held it last concert, their audience had become too large.During that same year, Yavapai College launched an “institutional taking” of 8.63 acres that was surrounded by the Posse Ground Community Park. Citizen Barbara Antonsen organized a program to discourage that plan. In 1993, the college backed off and the city of Sedona purchased the land in 1994.On December 10, 2002, the city approved naming this area in honor of Barbara Antonsen. A few months later she died.
    • 2005-2008 – at the request of the city, a volunteer group came together to raise funds to create a modest covered stage structure, and to renew and restore the park’s ecosystem with an efficient watering system, local grass, benches, picnic tables and landscaping.

    “I support this effort,” said Joe Martori, president and ceo of ILX Resorts. “Sedona’s legacy is on that land – the first Sedona Art Festival, Jazz on the Rocks, Pops concerts, rodeos, chuck wagon dinners, county fairs, St. Patrick days …… and so much more, even a carnival.”

    One of Sedona’s undersung talents, raconteur, musician, and connoisseur of adult beverages, Randall Mahannah remembers the old days: “Impressions from a distant memory … I’m thinking 1971-72. The Posse Grounds wasn’t much. A cleared-off roping arena with a horsewire fence surrounding the arena, a ‘grandstand’ built out of two-bys and surplus scaffold boards.

    “The area I think now contains the softball fields. ‘Twas mostly dusty and bare, with a few scraggledy-ass junipers and mesquite for landscaping. I don’t think the school was there at that time, though I could be wrong about that, too. Suffice to say, it has changed considerably over the last 35 years.”

    What he remembers most vividly is the third jazz festival, which occurred in September of ‘84 – and he was the emcee. It was on the area where Barbara’s Park is proposed to be.

    “The afternoon was perfect, temperature in the 80’s, partly cloudy with an occasional shower that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the festival attendees,” said Mahannah. “The last act of the festival was Nancy Wilson. She went on-stage about 4:30, after a brief shower and an act I cannot remember. The sky was darkened by the thunderclouds overhead, and the sounds of crowd noise, distant thunder, and her quartet warming up broke the crystal silence of the afternoon. I said a few closing announcements and introduced the lady.

    “The band broke into an introductory riff while I sat down with the crowd. After the band concluded, Ms.Wilson came to the front of the stage wearing a mid-length flowing red dress with a yellow flower print and sat on a stool.

    “At that moment, may God strike me dead if I prevaricate, a shaft of sunlight from the west broke through the clouds to illuminate the star of the show, like God his own self decided that this goddess of song needed a spotlight.

    “She opened her set in the next moment, and for one hour captivated an audience that, outside of a few hip insiders, had absolutely no clue who she was. I emceed 14 jazz fests, but never experienced a better moment than that.

    “I’m not sure what the point of that is, except to say that like every thing else in this silly-ass town, the Posse Grounds are in a state of evolution.”

    True, but the blessings of Mother Nature still abound. Two summers ago, when Eric Williams was delivering a version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” at Antonsen Park, against the background of dark clouds hiding sections of the red rocks, a giant rainbow appeared and the people stopped talking and just gazed in astonishment.

    What’s less miraculous is that mothers and daughters can do what mothers and daughters do and have done in this place for decades. A friend of mine dropped her daughter off for her soccer practice and drove around to the children’s playground so that her younger sister and her friend could enjoy the swings and climbing structures while she waited for her.

    The afternoon sun was glinting off the prehistoric red rocks; the clean and clear spring air was crisp and still cool to the touch. Said she later, “I felt blessed to be in this community and wise to have chosen Sedona to bring my children up in. You see our family had moved here just a year ago. We were welcomed and folded into the community with ease.”

    Just then, an attractive, older woman sat down next to her, evidently taking a similar break from the younger generation.

    As she sat down, my friend welcomed her, “What a good day for the playground. Isn’t it terrific how the city has provided such a wonderful park for the community?”

    “Oh yes,” she said. “It is a wonderful park. You know the park was developed by the citizens of Sedona long before the city was incorporated. And the city, and many volunteers, are continuing to improve it. You see the past, the present and the future blows in the wind up here.”


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    Posse Grounds Sedona AZ
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    Paid Political Ad Paid For by Samaire for Mayor
    Paid Political Ad for Samaire Armstrong
    Paid Political Announcement by Samaire For Mayor

     THE MOMENT IS UPON US

    Dear Sedona,

    The moment is upon us. The time for a united effort to shift the focus back to our community is now.

    The ability to thrive in our community, our environment, our workforce, and the tourist industry, is entirely possible because we have all the resources needed for success.

    Still, we need a council that isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions, that makes decisions based on data and facts, and through discussion, rather than moving and voting in group unison as they so regularly do.

    This is my home. I have been a part of the Sedona community for 28 years. I witnessed the road debacle, the lack of planning, the city circumventing the local businesses ability to thrive, while making choices to expand the local government and be in direct competition with private industry.

    I am a unique candidate because unlike the incumbents, I don’t believe the government should expand in size, nor in operations, nor would I attempt to micromanage every aspect of our community.

    City government should stay in its lane and allow the competitive market of local private industry to prosper. And it should defend our community from corporate takeover and infiltration of our town.

    I do not agree that we should sign onto International Building Codes and regulations by signing Sedona up to the ICC. It is imperative that we remain a sweet, rural community.

    Where are the arts? Where is this organic thriving element that we allege to be animated by. Where is our culture? Where is our community?

    The discord between the decision making process and the desires of the community have never been more clear. It has been nearly a decade in the making.

    It is time for a new era of energy to take charge. An energy that is reflective in the ability to succeed rather than be trapped in out of date consciousness.

    It has been a great honor meeting with each of you. I hear your concerns over the insane and out of control spending and I echo them. A budget of $105,000,000 in a town of 9700 residents is completely unacceptable. A parking structure (that looks like a shoe box) originally slated to cost 11 million, now projected to cost 18 million, is incomprehensible. Especially, considering there is no intention of charging for parking.

    For those who are concerned that I lack the political experience within our established system- that is precisely what Sedona needs… Not another politician, but instead a person who understands people, who listens to the voices within the community, and who will act in service on their behalf with accountability, for the highest good of Sedona. What I am not, will prove to be an asset as I navigate the entrenched bureaucracy with a fresh perspective. Business as usual, is over.

    Creative solutions require new energy.

    Every decision that is made by our local government, must contemplate Sedona first.

    • Does this decision benefit the residents?
    • Does this decision benefit the local businesses?
    • Does this decision actually help the environment?
    • Will this decision sustain benefit in the future, or will it bring more problems?

    What we have now is a city government that expands to 165 employees for 9700 residents. Palm Desert has 53,000 residents and 119 city employees. Majority of our city department heads are not even in town. I find this problematic.

    Efforts towards championing in and courting new solutions for our medical needs are imperative. We are losing our doctors. We must encourage competition with other facilities rather than be held hostage by NAH, who clearly have their own set of dysfunctions.

    We must remember that so many move to Sedona for its beauty, hiking, and small town charm. Bigger, faster, and more concrete does not, in broad strokes, fit the ethos of Sedona.

    The old world must remain strong here in balance, as that is what visitors want to experience. Too many have noted that Sedona has lost its edge and charm.

    As Mayor I will preserve the rural charm of our community, and push back against the urbanization that is planned for Sedona.

    As mayor I will make it a priority to create opportunities to support our youth.  After school healthy, enriching programs should be created for our kids, and available to the Sedona workforce regardless of residency and regardless of school they belong to.

    As Mayor, I will create an agenda to deliberately embody the consciousness of our collective needs here, allowing private industry to meet the needs of our community rather than bigger government.

    I hope to have your vote on Aug 2nd. I am excited and have the energy to take on this leadership role with new eyes, community perspective, and the thoughtful consciousness that reflects all ages of the human spectrum.

    Thank you deeply for your consideration.

    Sincerely,

    Samaire Armstrong


    Heads or Tails
    By Tommy Acosta
    Let’s face it. I love conspiracy theories. The more far-out the better. Yup. I’m one of those. Looking at the Trump raid fiasco there can only be two theories that I see fit perfectly into the scenario that’s being weaved for public consumption. The first is that what is happening is actually being engineered by the forces that want Trump to return to the White House. Just like with the Russia-Russia thing, what is going to happen after all the hoopla,Trump will be found completely innocent just like before and he will be loved even more by his fans and followers. Those who tried to put him down will be chagrinned while those who supported him politically will be exalted. Republicans will be revived, and they will go out and vote in a new Congress and Trump will rule once again. Then there is the other side of the coin. Read more→
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