Volume 30 • Number 13 March 29, 2023
The Voice of Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson
www.explorernews.com
Colonel featured as part of Business Connection
Inside
This Week
BY VERONICA KUFFEL Tucson Local Media Staff
T toward a final master plan. Cole has spent significant time on the 202-acre property northwest of Rancho Vistoso Boulevard. “It’s really quite a jewel,” she said. The draft plan has no less than 14 specific recommendations, among them ways to educate the public about the desert, integration of new soft-surfaced and accessible trails, three concepts for reimagining the former pond, and a preliminary revegetation/land management process. The draft was presented for discussion, but
he Marana Chamber of Commerce will highlight the military’s impact on the local economy during its Business Connection Luncheon on Thursday, March 30, at The Highlands at Dove Mountain Community and Golf Course. The Army and National Guard train in the area and the thousands of personnel interact with the community. “People come from all over the world to train through their programming,” said Amanda Wiggins, the chamber’s chief executive officer and president. “They’re coming to Marana, using our local restaurants and amenities, and learning about our community.” The Business Connect Luncheon will see featured speaker Col. Jeremy Pfeifer, commander, Western Army Aviation Training Site. He will discuss its impact and future at Silverbell Army Heliport in the Pinal Airpark. Wiggins said the luncheon and other chamber events allow Marana professionals to learn about their impact on the town and each other. “It’s great when our community leaders come together for any kind of programming because they’re also strengthening
see TRAILS page 8
see COLONEL page 10
NEWS........................... 4 Marana Chamber still going strong despite fire
FEATURES.................... 6 Chevy Showdown comes to Desert Diamond Casino
Beneath the shadowed Tortolita Mountains, a drained irrigation pond and its exposed structures sits within the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. A draft master plan has identified three possible options to reimagine the 2.5-acre pond, which once held irrigation water for the Golf Club at Vistoso. (Dave Perry/Contributor)
Plan for Vistoso Trails: ‘Keep it simple, natural’ BY DAVE PERRY
Tucson Local Media Contributor
SPORTS...................... 12 Teen bicyclists set to throw down at Old Tucson Studios NEWS...............................................4 FEATURES....................................... 6 SPORTS ......................................... 10 HEALTH ........................................ 16 WORSHIP/CLASSIFIEDS............ 18 PUZZLE/HOROSCOPES.............. 22 MLS #22300756
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28-slide draft master plan for the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve has one overarching goal for repurposing the former golf course: “Keep it Simple and Natural.” Liz Cole, project manager for consultant Sites Southwest, solicited input about the draft proposal from members of the Oro Valley Town Council at a March 15 study session. For a fee of $116,060, Sites Southwest has been actively analyzing the site, gathering public input, creating the draft proposal and heading
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