By Carol Broeder

Arizona Range News

October 13, 2010

The Willcox Senior Learning Center held its ribbon cutting ceremony amidst “the hustle and bustle of Rex Allen Days,” while a Nov. 15 grand opening is planned.

“The opening of the long awaited Senior Learning Center is one step closer. On Saturday, Oct. 2, amidst the hustle and bustle of Rex Allen Days, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords did the honors and cut the ribbon for the new building,” said Tracy Zerkle, Learning Center Director.

She added that “in true community spirit” representatives from both local and state government, as well the Willcox Rotary Club and the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture joined Northern Cochise Community Hospital staff, board members, and local seniors to celebrate this event.

Giffords praised both hospital CEO Harley Smith and the city “for their efforts and collaboration that made the center a reality.”

She commended plans to “offer evidence-based health programming,” noting that federal funding is only available for these types of programs, proven to be effective.

Willcox Mayor Sam Lindsey told the audience that while it has been “years in the making,” many people have been instrumental in the planning and development of the senior center, and can take credit for it.

After the ribbon cutting, NCCH received donations totaling $3,000 — $2,500 from the Chamber of Commerce and $500 from the local Rotary Club.

Smith accepted the donations, saying that the money would be used to furnish and equip the senior center.

Zerkle gave attendees a brief tour of the new facility, even though construction has yet to be completed.

Barring any unforeseen construction delays, Zerkle expects the center will be open by mid-November.

The new facility includes “areas for the noon meal, two large classrooms in which older adults can participate in classes, including exercise, health, art, language and consumer interest,” she said.

The city and the hospital are currently recruiting five older adults on the learning center’s community advisory council.

“This council will act as a steering committee to insure the needs of all older adults will be represented and programming will be designed to meet those needs,” Zerkle told the Range News.

Letters of interest should be mailed to the attention of Tracy Zerkle, Learning Center Director, Northern Cochise Community Hospital, 901 W. Rex Allen Dr., Willcox, Ariz. 85643.

Plans are in the works for a contest to name the senior center, but Zerkle is waiting for the memo of understanding (MOU) between the hospital and the city to be finalized.

“One of the clauses states that the advisory council will choose the name,” she told the Range News.

“I think it is best to wait until we have that council in place.”

The Willcox City Council approved that memo of understanding in its consent agenda on Oct. 4.

At its Sept. 27 special meeting, the council met to review the city’s proposed agreement with the hospital in providing senior services.

Some changes were made to the draft agreement as a result of that meeting.

NCCH has four vehicles with which it provides “limited transportation services” to senior and disabled population in Northern Cochise County.

Since the city already maintains a vehicle maintenance operation for its own vehicles, the hospital asked that the city provide “normal preventative maintenance and repairs on the vehicles used for this project.”

The city will provide labor, tools, and housing at no cost to NCCH, the agreement says.

In return, the hospital will reimburse the city for any supplies, parts, and other “out of pocket” costs incurred by the city in performing preventative maintenance and repairs on its vehicles.

The city is not obligated to perform any work it does not have the knowledge or equipment to do.

In September 2009, the council chose NCCH as the entity to partner with to build a service program for seniors in this area, said City Manager Pat McCourt.

“Since that time, NCCH has actively pursued the development of a program for services to seniors,” he said.

“This includes a meals program, hiring of staff to administer the program, expansion of the transportation program to accommodate the senior needs.”

For its part, the city has pursued a grant to construct a building and has provided (prior to elimination of state funding), monies for the transportation program, waived fees for utility hookups and building permits, and agreed to chip seal the parking lot around the senior building, said McCourt.

At its July 6 meeting, the council approved and adopted the Special Project

Grant, authorizing the required city match of $23,750 (in in-kind services) for the Housing and Urban Development grant of $95,000 requested by the Office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords for fiscal year 2010-11.

By Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

October 13, 2010

TheHill.com

In these fraught political times, just weeks away from a high-stakes election, you might think it would be impossible for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to achieve anything on a contentious issue like border security. Think again.

Late last month, 412 members of the House of Representatives voted for a bill to crack down on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to sneak illegal drugs into our country. It was a demonstration of bipartisanship that should make every American proud.

Supporters of my Ultralight Smuggling Prevention Act included 246 Democrats and 166 Republicans. Among them was every member of Arizona’s House delegation.

Arizona has long been on the front lines of the border crisis confronting our nation. That crisis is complex – it won’t be solved by a single piece of legislation. But securing our border and improving safety in our border communities requires us to set aside our differences and work together.

That’s exactly what happened with the Ultralight Smuggling Prevention Act. This bill, which I introduced in May with Republican Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada, will amend an 80-year-old federal law so ultralights are included under our aviation smuggling provisions.

The Senate should move quickly to pass this bill. If it becomes law, individuals caught smuggling using ultralights can be prosecuted for using the aircraft in addition to being prosecuted for the drugs in their possession. If they are convicted of this new offense, they can receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This bill will establish the same penalties for smuggling drugs on ultralights as for those who smuggle using airplanes or automobiles.

The overwhelming support for the Ultralight Smuggling Prevention Act is evidence that my colleagues in Congress are beginning to understand the seriousness of the situation on our border. Slowly but surely, they are getting the message.

We saw bipartisanship at work with the recent passage of legislation authorizing $600 million in emergency funds for more Border Patrol agents and other border security measures. This bill became law on Aug. 13 and this much-needed money already is beginning to come to Arizona.

Too often, though, the critical steps we need to take to strengthen border security can get bogged down by shouting matches over amnesty. No responsible lawmaker today is talking about granting amnesty to anyone who broke our nation’s laws by sneaking across our borders. Granting amnesty as President Reagan did in 1986 is completely unacceptable to me and unfair to all those who played by the rules and entered our country legally.

But the “no amnesty” rhetoric is little more than a headline-grabbing distraction. Over the past 3½ years, I have worked to move past the empty slogans to make sure my colleagues and top administration officials appreciate the gravity of the crisis on our border. This summer, Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, came to the border at my invitation to see for himself the problems we face every day and hear directly from Cochise County ranchers.

These ranchers told Thompson in no uncertain terms that they feel betrayed and abandoned by their own government. They questioned how our border security personnel and resources were being used to protect them, their homes and their land from the smugglers.

Thompson came away from that meeting determined to help – and he has made good on his promise. The congressman has joined me in requesting an independent investigation of how the Border Patrol determines where to deploy its agents. That study, by the Government Accountability Office, should get underway in the weeks ahead.

I have relied heavily on the advice provided by the ranchers who live and work on the border. In regular conference calls with them, they have delivered a powerful message about the devastation that smugglers have brought to their land and way of life. Their ideas and insights have made a big difference and have helped me win support in Congress for legislation to strengthen border security.

The Ultralight Smuggling Prevention Act is just such a piece of legislation. The overwhelming bipartisanship shown by my colleagues in supporting this bill is an indication of what can be achieved by standing together. And hopefully, it is a harbinger of continued progress on this crucial issue.

For months, you’ve knocked on thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get the word out – we want a representative who looks out for middle and working class families.

But with only three weeks left, we are neck and neck with an opponent who is bent on unleashing an assault on those families.

Privatize Social Security? Cut $1 billion dollars out of our kids’ schools? Raise middle class taxes - again? That stuff might sell on talk radio, but it won’t help us or our economy.

It’s time to tell this guy: No way. No mas. Not gonna happen. Enough already.

We need you to step up to the plate and do three things in the next three weeks:

1.  Attend a debate and cheer on Gabrielle as she stands up for Southern Arizona.

2.  Sign up for a phone bank shift to help get out the vote.

3.  Contribute of $3, $33 or $333 to ensure that we have the resources we need to communicate with every voter in Southern Arizona.

In these final three weeks – just 21 days – we need the strength of all of our Cactus Roots to crank out the phone calls and doorknocks, and stand with Gabrielle to beat Jesse Kelly in November.

Every phone call you make, every door you knock and every dollar you contribute counts.

Can you bat Three for Three? Click here to show your support and help us win this one.

Gabrielle has stood up for us. Now we need to stand with her for our Southern Arizona values and for the seniors, working families and students who make our community great.

We won’t stop working until victory on November 2nd. Will you go to bat for the Southern Arizonans who are counting on us?

Thanks for all that you do.

Rodd McLeod
Campaign Manager
Giffords for Congress

Tucson, Ariz. – Jesse Kelly’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education would not only do damage to Arizona schoolchildren, it would also end a grant program that provides college money to the children of servicemembers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants help pay college tuition for students “whose parent or guardian was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and died as a result of service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.” (Source: Student Aid on the web, accessed 10/11/10)

Even after being questioned about his plan by leading Southern Arizona publications, including The Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Weekly, Kelly unapologetically stands by his call to cut $1 billion from Arizona’s struggling public schools and eliminate college tuition assistance that middle class families rely on.

However, the plan contains another devastating cut.

Arizona’s 8th District is home to tens of thousands of military families. By abolishing the Department of Education, Kelly would end this program to help ensure our fallen heroes’ children can still afford an education.

“The Kelly school cuts plan would be a disaster for Arizona’s kids and Arizona’s economy,” said Anne Hilby, communications director for Giffords for Congress. “But ending a college grant program for children who lost a parent in the war is even worse than a disaster. It’s a disgrace.”

Gabrielle Giffords is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse.

She fought for the New G.I. Bill of Rights, so our servicemen and women returning to Davis-Monthan and Ft. Huachuca can afford the full cost of four years of college tuition. And she helped push through the largest funding increase in VA history, so our brave men and women receive the quality care they have earned.

Gabrielle has been endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC as well as leading Southern Arizona veterans, including Sierra Vista Mayor Robert Strain; retired General John Wickham, who served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff under President Ronald Reagan; and retired General Bill Van Dyke, former Arizona Adjutant General.

Gabrielle also supported the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221). This bill, which became law in March, reforms the system of federal student loans to save taxpayers $87 billion. It invests $77 billion of those savings back into education, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant from $5,350 in 2009 to $6,900 in 2019 and keeping interest rates low on subsidized federal student loans. It directs $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending.

Giffords for Congress’ new TV ad, “Absolutely None,” highlights the dangers of Jesse Kelly’s plan to cut more than $1 billion dollars more from Arizona schools. The ad began airing in the Tucson media market yesterday. It can be viewed at http://bit.ly/9q1way.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and create jobs by investing in solar energy.

###

Tucson, Ariz. – Today, Giffords for Congress announced that the Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee (VFW-PAC) has endorsed Gabrielle Giffords.

In his endorsement letter, VFW-PAC Director Salvatore J. Capirchio praised Gabrielle’s “strong support for veterans, national security and defense and military personnel issues.”

The VFW-PAC’s goal is to provide the 2.1 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars with the ability to voice their support for candidates who are fighting for “our nation’s veterans and America’s security.”

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse, Gabrielle takes the pressures on military families seriously. Looking out for the more than 94,000 veterans in Arizona’s 8th District is one of her top priorities.

Gabrielle helped pass the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, so our servicemembers – along with their spouses and children – can improve their educations when they return home.

She also voted for the largest funding increases in the history of the VA, including $600 million in additional research for behavioral health, Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury care.

Gabrielle was the author of the 2008 law that allows members of the military who serve in combat zones to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. She continues to stand up for Southern Arizona’s servicemen and their families everyday.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and create jobs by investing in solar energy.

###

The Tucson Weekly

October 7, 2010

U.S. Congress, District 8: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has delivered for Southern Arizona. The much-maligned stimulus package may not have done all that was promised, but it provided enough money to ensure that the state continued to offer some degree of support to the schools, the universities, the poor people who need health-care coverage and a whole lot of others. If you need proof, check with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, who is more than happy to dish out stimulus money and then take credit for it.

Giffords has supported common-sense solutions to the problems on the border. She has been a fierce advocate of investing in the high-tech jobs of the future. And she has been a strong supporter of the U.S. military, fighting for fire stations at Fort Huachuca, improvements for the Barry M. Goldwater Range and expanded services for veterans.

Just last week, Giffords delivered a $50 million federal grant to help keep Tucson cops on the streets. A few months before that, she voted for crucial dollars for Arizona’s schools and health-care programs.

Her Republican opponent, Jesse Kelly, offers no support for any of those ideas. Instead, he promises to do little for Arizonans besides cut taxes for the wealthiest residents, destroy Social Security and Medicare for future generations, and stand up for oil companies that are responsible for ecological disasters.

We need someone who wants to fix government, not destroy it. Vote Giffords.

Tucson, Ariz. – At a press conference held earlier today, Jesse Kelly continued his assault on the middle class and made it clear he is sticking by his joblessness plan for Southern Arizona.

Kelly was joined at this press conference by out of work Southern Arizonans, or, as Kelly describes them, “the unproductive” who “sit on [their] couch and eat bon-bons.” (UA Republican Club Debate, 4/8/2010; Arizona Illustrated Debate, 7/30/2010)

Throughout the campaign, Kelly has called for an economic package that would devastate middle class families and seniors in order to cut taxes for corporations that send jobs overseas and the Wall Street CEOs whose abuses led to the financial crisis.

Kelly’s joblessness plan includes:

• Charging middle class families a 23 percent sales tax on food and medicine that will raise their overall tax burden by an average of $3,000 each year and cut taxes for millionaires by an average of over $40,000 each year.
• Letting corporations that send American jobs overseas stop paying income taxes altogether.
• Cutting a billion dollars from Arizona schools, which will deter new businesses from coming to Southern Arizona and leave our children unable to compete in the 21^st Century workforce.
• Opposing incentives to create tens of thousands of long-term, high paying jobs in Southern Arizona’s renewable energy industry.

“Jesse Kelly has no plan to create jobs,” said Giffords for Congress campaign manager Rodd McLeod. “If he feels real concern for Southern Arizonans who have lost their jobs, I don’t see why he would try to raise their taxes with his national sales tax scheme and let corporations that send jobs overseas stop paying income taxes at all.”

###

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Giffords’ record of investing in Southern Arizona

As a former small business owner, Gabrielle Giffords knows that the best economic stimulus is a job, and her first priority is to create and protect American jobs.

• Giffords voted to cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans and supported over $800 billion in tax cuts for families and small businesses.
• She supports extending the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts for working families – 98 percent of Americans.
• She brought more than $1.8 billion back to Arizona public schools in the past two years. Funding our children’s education is the single most important long-term investment Arizona can make in its economic future.
• She voted for the HIRE Act, which cuts taxes for businesses that hire unemployed workers and awards an income tax credit of $1,000 to businesses that retain these new employees.
• She introduced the Older Americans’ Workforce Agenda to help seniors get the jobs they want and give them the financial assistance they need if they choose to go back to school.
• She voted for the Small Business Lending Fund Act to establish a $30 billion fund to boost lending to small businesses looking to hire and expand their operations by providing additional capital to community banks.
• She is a nationally recognized champion for Southern Arizona’s renewable energy industry.  The worldwide market for power is over $6 trillion a year– there is a large and fast-growing demand for new, clean sources of electricity. Solar means tens of thousands of good jobs in Arizona and a competitive America worldwide.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and create jobs by investing in solar energy.

###

Tucson, Ariz. – Today, ranchers and law enforcement officials from across Southern Arizona stood up for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ strong border security record and condemned AZ-08 GOP candidate Jesse Kelly’s TV ad claiming Giffords supports amnesty.

No one knows the security challenges along the Southern Arizona border better than those ranchers and law enforcement official who live and work there everyday. Today they released the following statement concerning Kelly’s misleading claims:

“Securing the border and stopping the narco-traffickers who threaten our communities is Southern Arizona’s greatest challenge, and no one has done more to address this challenge than Gabrielle Giffords. Since the day she took office, Gabrielle has been our advocate, pushing for commonsense enforcement measures like cracking down on employers who hire illegal workers, deploying boots on the ground and funding our law enforcement agencies.

“Jesse Kelly’s claim that Gabrielle is soft on border security is an election year stunt. The truth is that Giffords does not support amnesty. She does support real action to fix our broken immigration laws, and her work to protect our community from smuggling violence has been effective and aggressive.”

Law enforcement officials taking part in today’s joint statement include:

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada
Yuma County Sheriff Ralph E. Ogden
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall
Pinal County Attorney James P. Walsh
Former Cochise County Attorney Chris Roll

Ranchers taking part in today’s joint statement include:

Warner and Wendy Glenn, Cochise County ranchers
Kerry Kimbro and Kelly Glenn-Kimbro, Cochise County ranchers
John Ladd, Cochise County rancher
Bill McDonald, Cochise County rancher
Dennis Moroney, Cochise County rancher
Dr. Gary Thrasher, Cochise County rancher

Gabrielle has a strong record of border security accomplishments. Since taking office,

• She helped double the number of Border Patrol officers stationed in the Tucson Sector.
• She pushed through a bill that brought home over $600 million to fund 1,000 more Border Patrol agents and three new operating bases along the border.
• She fought successfully to bring National Guard troops to the border.
• She authored a bill that cracks down on smugglers who use ultralight aircraft to bring drugs over the border. This bill recently passed in the House by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, 412-3.
• She introduced the New Employee Verification Act with Republican Sam Johnson of Texas. This bill would create a new mandatory electronic employment verification system along with a voluntary biometric pilot program. It would be more effective than the current E-Verify system.
• She worked to establish a Border Patrol checkpoint along I-19. Kelly continues to oppose this common sense measure.

Kelly’s new TV ad makes two blatantly deceptive claims about Gabrielle’s record:

Claim 1: Gabrielle Giffords “voted against funding the double layer fence.”

False. The measure Kelly’s ad refers to would have meant eliminating funding for high tech equipment that the Border Patrol needs and that has proven highly effective in tracking and apprehending smugglers. Gabrielle will not vote to eliminate funding for the Border Patrol—no matter how much pressure comes from Washington, DC.

Claim 2: Gabrielle Giffords “supports amnesty.”

False. What Giffords supports is Arizona Representative Jeff Flake’s STRIVE Act, a bipartisan attempt to fix our nation’s broken immigration laws.  That’s what Kellycalls amnesty.  Kelly is using Rep. Jeff Flake to raise money for him and campaigned with Flake in Phoenix on Tuesday. Will Kelly condemn Rep. Flake for writing this bill?

Earlier this year, the Arizona Republic‘s non-partisan AZ Fact Check site assessed that the STRIVE Act is not an amnesty bill, as it “does not support granting automatic legal status to those here illegally and would impose penalties on those here illegally.” http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/azfactcheck/fact-story.php?id=5.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and create jobs by investing in solar energy.

###

Wow, we are less than four weeks away from election day.

In the past week, we have knocked on thousands of doors and made tens of thousands of phone calls.

We’re just getting warmed up.

This election is tight, and over the next 27 days we will have to work harder than we’ve worked all year.

BUT WE’RE READY.

Our Cactus Roots will be walking neighborhoods across the district to talk to folks about what’s at stake this election and why the choice between Gabrielle and Jesse Kelly couldn’t be more clear.

Please join us this Saturday morning to walk for Gabrielle. We’ll be at Democratic Headquarters across the district, with bagels and coffee to thank you for all of the hard work you’ve already done and to launch our morning canvass.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP FOR A WALK

If we all work together, we will win in November.

Thanks for your support,

Jessica Schultz

Deputy Field Director

Giffords for Congress

Gabrielle is committed to protecting Social Security and Medicare. She is honored to receive the endorsement of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Read the endorsement letter below.

Dear Congresswoman Giffords:

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, on behalf of its millions of members and supporters, enthusiastically endorses your candidacy for re-election to the United States House of Representatives.

Our nation needs your leadership, vision and determination to fight for working families and older Americans. You earned the endorsement of the National Committee because you understand and support the critical roles that Social Security and Medicare play in the retirement and health security of our nation’s older citizens and their families. You are well-prepared to serve the needs of seniors and as your record clearly shows, you make the preservation of Social Security and Medicare a priority in office.

You understand that congressional efforts to privatize Social Security, which would undermine the most successful social insurance program ever, continue. You recognize fully that Health Care Reform extends Medicare’s viability and repeal likely would bring to an end this program so crucial to the health of older Americans. National Committee members and supporters want you to continue protecting Social Security and Medicare—the twin pillars necessary to a good quality of life for Americans of all ages— in the United States House of Representatives.

There is no membership in the nation more aware or active politically than the men and women who proudly are associated with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. National Committee members know they can count on you!

Sincerely,

Barbara B. Kennelly

President and CEO

Member, NCPSSM-PAC Board of Directors