Kirkpatrick Tours Winslow, Touts Value Of Cooperation

By Sam Conner
   Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick toured Winslow Saturday, and had words of praise and compliments for the community. Her tour included stops at the Hubbell Trading Post/Winslow Chamber of Commerce, Snowdrift Art Center and the Quilting Club exhibit, Alice’s Place, the Just Cruisin’ Car Club exhibitions, the new Winslow police facilities and the Winslow levee.
   The tour began at the Hubbell Building/Chamber of Commerce where she met a group of Winslow citizens, including Mayor Robin Boyd, Police Chief Steve Garnett, Chamber of Commerce Director Bob Hall, Navajo County Treasurer Manny Hernandez and others. Kirkpatrick expressed her appreciation for the renovation done on the historic building and the many exhibits there. She mentioned the old fashioned elevator which is no longer in use, the Kachina posters and sand painting map which were given to the chamber by Bashas’ when the store went out of business.
   The small group, which also included Kirkpatrick’s husband and her district director, Virginia Turner, then walked down First Street through the new pathway and eventually went to the quilting exhibits at Snowdrift. From there, the group walked down Second Street to the Seattle Grind Coffee Shop for a brief stop before continuing to Alice’s Place. That left a short walk to the car show outside La Posada. Kirkpatrick met many people on her tour and gave a very short speech at the car exhibits.
   She said that she was glad to be able to come to the fine exhibit on such a beautiful day in Winslow. She praised the community for the work that many citizens have done to make that event and others a success during these difficult times. She said that if we all work together things will get better and we will get the people who want to work able to work again.
   At the police facilities, Kirkpatrick praised the police for the excellent job they are doing. It has been noted that Winslow has greatly reduced its gang problem and earned a reputation of having an excellent police department. She announced a grant funding a police officer and said that she is very much aware that we need a good police department more in tough times like now than when the economy is good.
   Both Chief Garnett and Mayor Boyd said that they appreciate the support they have gotten from Kirkpatrick. She was described as being an Arizona native who has worked all of her life for the benefit of her state and its citizens. She has been a business person, a teacher, a prosecutor, a state legislator and now a U.S. Representative. She has a reputation of being one who works well with anyone and gets things done working across party lines.
   There were a number of Winslow police officers at the ceremony at the department, and both Chief Garnett and Lieutenant Roger Conatser spoke briefly, along with Mayor Boyd and Kirkpatrick. The group toured the new facility prior to the meeting in which the grant for the new officer was awarded.
   Perhaps the most important part of the tour for many Winslow citizens followed when Kirkpatrick and most of the group visited the Winslow levee north of Interstate 40 along the Little Colorado River. There they found a group of county officials waiting for them to discuss the Levee Recertification Project.
   Among those waiting at the levee were Navajo County Supervisor Jesse Thompson, Floodplain Administration Trent Larson and a few subordinates to those officials, as well as a smattering of citizens and friends of the group.
   Thompson praised Kirkpatrick in his opening remarks for her diligent work in getting funding for the rehabilitation project.
   Larsen talked about the project and said that it was a vital project for Winslow and the county. He said that much was close to being completed on the project, but that it was very important that it continue and become completed. Delays are seen as a threat, as they could make the work already done less useful. He said that he was sure Kirkpatrick understood that importance and would work to see that funding was made available.
   Kirkpatrick spoke and agreed that the project was very important to Winslow, and the Navajo and Hopi tribes, as well as Navajo County. She said that she was very pleased to work with Winslow, Navajo County, and the Navajo and Hopi tribes. She noted that the key to getting the job done was to work together for this project, which would benefit all of those entities and more. She said that people like Supervisor Thompson and Mayor Boyd were great to work with because they knew the value of success and what needs to be done to achieve it.
   Major Boyd spoke and said that he, too, had enjoyed working with Kirkpatrick, Thompson and other Navajo County personnel, which was the only way the project can be done. He reiterated that the recertification of the levee would be very beneficial to the city and the citizens of Winslow.
   It has been estimated that $400,000 to $600,000 every year goes from Winslow to insurance companies for flood insurance since the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared that much of Winslow is in a flood plain. In addition, persons who wish to improve their home to a large degree find that they must spend a great amount to raise their property three feet because it is in a flood plain. Many projects are just not done because of this and similar flood zone requirements.
   Getting the levee recertified and much of Winslow out of the flood plain would greatly benefit a majority of Winslow residents. This would be especially helpful in this time when financial resources are meager and many are either unemployed or fearful of becoming so.
   Kirkpatrick picked a gorgeous day to visit Winslow when much was happening downtown and she was able to see how the citizens work together to make it a better community in which to live. She expressed that opinion many times during her tour, and promised to do what she could to see that the levee recertification is successfully accomplished, the forest is managed in a safe way that is beneficial to the city, and the area and agencies like the police and fire departments, are adequately funded and equipped. She was optimistic that changes would be made to improve the forest and make projects like the oriented strand board plant possible, and the forests made safer and less likely to experience harmful forest fires.