Dear Community Member:
- VOTE SAFE INITIATIVE: Pima County and the Pima County Recorder’s Office are launching a Vote Safe initiative to encourage everyone to vote by mail in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Go to pima.gov/VoteSafe for information on how to register to vote, request a ballot by mail, check your registration and more. (FYI Newsletter, Pima County 9/11/2020).
- BALLOT DROP OFF LOCATION: Some of you would prefer to drop off your mail in ballot. The location for Green Valley will be Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, 17750 S. La Canada Drive, Sahuarita (on La Canada between Duval Mine Road and Sahuarita Road). To find out dates and times at which you can drop off your ballot, go to pima.gov and choose the Election Department. The information for the general election drop off dates is not yet available. The Council will post on its website, gvcouncil.org, the drop off location, dates and times as soon as they are available. We assume the Green Valley News will also provide this information. As soon as your early ballot arrives, find out more about dropping it off versus mailing it.
- FREE COVID TESTING IN GREEN VALLEY 8-11 FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: See the flyer the Council sent out on Monday, check our website for more information or call us for more information. This is Pima County Health Department testing and you will need a voucher to get tested. You can also go to pima.gov and the COVID section and then testing. You can register directly on that site. The testing site is Green Valley Presbyterian Church on Camino Del Sol.
- NOW YOU CAN TEXT 911! Calling is best so you can provide more information and answer potentially life saving questions, but if you can’t call, use the texting option. Texting is particularly helpful for those who are deaf, hard of hearing, have difficulty speaking, out of phone range, or in a position where it is unsafe to actually talk. A dispatcher will text back and start asking the kinds of questions a dispatcher would ask if you called. The first question is always your location. If you are on the road, try to remember mile markers or the exit, cross street or landmark you have just passed by or are just coming to. (FYI Newsletter, Pima County 9/11/2020 and Sheriff’s video on YouTube)
- YOUR HOA BELONGS TO YOU, THE HOMEOWNERS, SO PARTICIPATE: When talking with HOA Presidents, one refrain is continuous, “How can I get more people to volunteer for the Board”. Your HOA belongs to all the residents and ownership has some responsibilities, such as participating in governance. Many people don’t volunteer because they overestimate the time involved. Another reason people don’t volunteer is the kind of obnoxious treatment they sometimes receive from other HOA residents. Some people demand, not ask. They want miracles, favored treatment, bending the rules for them, have more/less rules, more services for less money–and on and on. You can’t please everyone and sometimes end up pleasing very few even if the Board’s decision is the right and legal way to do something. Fortunately, these obnoxious homeowners are usually in the minority. If obnoxious homeowners are in the majority, something is very wrong in your community. Most of the time, your HOA is just very happy you are undertaking the work of running that community. HOA Board terms are usually fairly short and, once you learn the ropes, not time consuming. If your HOA has a management company, Board membership takes even less time. If you manage your own HOA, it does take more of your time but usually there are some seasoned Board members or even ex-Board members to help a new person succeed on the Board. The Council provides free annual training after the first of the year for new Presidents, Treasurers and Secretaries. If you have good listening skills, could make some time for volunteering and want to help or improve your community and get to know people better, please volunteer to be a Board member. Also, if you are a homeowner, be nice to your Board–they are working for you for free and care about your neighborhood!
- IT IS GOING TO BE A LONG WINTER: Dr. Anthony Fauci warned late last week that Americans will need to “hunker down” for a difficult fall and winter. He said that every time COVID restrictions are lifted, “we get a blip…it’s whack-a-mole”. Dr. Fauci noted that we cannot say we have made real progress on COVID containment until the reported cases are 10,000 a day or less. Right now the count is about 36,000 per day. (The Week, 10 Things You Should Know Today, Saturday 9/12/2020). Dr. Fauci has also been emphasizing the need to keep up your preventative health care as the flu season approaches–get that flu shot now! The CDC reported late last week that dining in a restaurant results in a 3x greater risk of contracting COVID. That message is ONLY for dining in, not eating outside. Thankfully, it is almost time here for outdoor dining to be a pleasure. We also greatly encourage getting take out from your favorite restaurants, and maybe some new ones, as often as your pocketbook and appetite allow.
- KEEPING A PROMISE TO THE BOARD OF REPRESENTATIVES: During my almost two years as President of the Council, I presented to the Board of Representatives two out of three of the series “HOW UNIQUE IS MY VALLEY”, the history of early Green Valley as learned through resources such as reading all issues of the GV News from 1964-1980. Previously I had presented the same talk in one session OLLI classes. I promised the Board I would present the last segment at our meeting in March. COVID changed that. There was no March meeting. Before I leave this community I love, I am keeping my promise to the Board. The Council has no facilities for a webinar and Zoom doesn’t work for having so many people listening. I reached out to KGVY to find out if it would air the last segment of the series. Instead, KGVY asked if I would present the entire program in a series of three Friday ½ hour presentations on the “Cracker Barrel” program. So, beginning Friday, Oct. 2 and for the two weeks following, Oct. 9 and Oct. 16, at 11:30 all of you can hear the story of early Green Valley. It is far more exciting than you may think! Just tune into KGVY 1080 AM or 101.5 FM on those successive Fridays.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: One today is worth two tomorrows. (Benjamin Franklin)
Be kind to each other, be kind to yourself, be safe, and be well!
The Green Valley Council
Thao Tiedt, President
