Briefs: Sopori to host Community Day

Sopori Elementary School will hold its third annual Community Day, featuring health care and safety awareness events, from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Last year, more than 300 people attended and 20 organizations shared information and gave demonstrations.

Following are some expected participants: Amado Food Bank, Eat Well Be Well, Project PPEP, United Health Community Center, United Way, Kool Smiles, Child Care Resources and Referral, Sahuarita Adult Learning Program, Mad Science, Elephant Head Fire Department, Gold Wing Riders, Department of Public Safety, Arivaca Fire Department, and Lifenet (Helicopter).

Sopori’s PTO will have parents and faculty various vendor booths and there will be free giveaways while supplies last.

Sahuarita teacher named ambassador

Sahuarita Primary School kindergarten teacher Barbara Tingle was named one of four “Ambassadors for Excellence” by the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) at a ceremony Thursday at AEF’s 26th annual Arizona Teacher of the Year luncheon in Scottsdale.

The AEF named Joy Weiss, a first grade teacher at Balsz Elementary School in Phoenix, as Arizona’s 2010 Teacher of the Year.

Tingle was one of four runners-up named as “Ambassadors for Excellence.” The others are Donna Moore, a physical education teacher at Julia Randall Elementary School in Payson; Cynthia Rolewski, a technology and reading teacher at La Cima Middle School in Tucson’s Amphitheater District; and Jamie Valderrama, a science teacher at Higley High School in Gilbert.

Agent Orange help is available

American Legion Post 131 is offering assistance to veterans who may suffer from Agent Orange-related diseases.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized that veterans who served in Vietnam and were exposed to Agent Orange, a defoliant, have had an unusually high incidence of certain diseases.

Vietnam veterans who served one day in-country can file for service connected disability compensation if they suffer from any of these diseases, which include Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL), Parkinson’s Disease and Ischemic heart disease.

Membership in the American Legion is not a requirement to receive assistance. The service office at the post can be reached by emailing jefftal131@cox.net.

Archaeologist to speak in Tubac

Archaeologist Matthew Pailes will give a presentation to the Santa Cruz Valley Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society on Thursday at the North County Facility, 50 Bridge Road, Tubac.

His topic will be “cerros de trincheras” (entrenched mountains), a specialized type of Hohokam village found in the Santa Cruz river basin starting about 1300 AD.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Cerros de trincheras are village sites built on volcanic hills that usually have numerous masonry terraces on their slopes and structures on their summits. They are found across the southern Southwest of the United States as well as in northwest Mexico.

This presentation will discuss a number of theories for why this style of village developed and how Hohokam communities were organized during this time. The Hohokam, the ancient people of southern Arizona, flourished in this area for 1,000 years before the arrival of Europeans and are often considered the ancestors of southern Arizona’s O’odham peoples.

Pailes is a preservation archaeologist at the Center for Desert Archaeology in Tucson and has written on the cerros phenomenon in graduate work at the University of Arizona and is currently modeling Hohokam cultivation strategies in the southern Tucson basin.

For more information about the Santa Cruz Valley AAS Chapter and its activities, call Alan Sorkowitz at 520-207-7151 or inquire via e-mail at asorko@cox.net. The Arizona Archaeological Society web site, at www.AzArchSoc.org offers information about the Santa Cruz Valley chapter and others throughout the state as well as activities and benefits of membership in the statewide organization.

Holiday market opening in Tubac

The Holiday Artisan Market at the Tubac Center of the Arts will open with a party on Nov. 20, 5-7 p.m. and will run through Jan. 3.

The market includes hundreds of hand crafted items and fine art and is open Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 4:30.

Wine & Art fest set for Tubac

The inaugural International Wine & Art Festival in Tubac will be helpd Nov. 20 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a sampling of foods and wines from several countries.

Enjoy shopping while following the trail of food, drink and music beginning in the La Entrada de Tubac plaza and winding throughout the village. Music will provided by various artists including Combo Westside, Trio Los Chanates, Brigett Murrietta and Rio Rico High School Jazz Band.

At least 10 percent of the shopping proceeds will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club, and a silent auction item will be available in various shops.

Tickets are $25 per person and proceeds will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Cruz County. Food will be served from 5 p.m. to 8 pm in various locations. For ticket information call the Club at 520-287-3733.

Medicare recipients can get some help

Potential and current Medicare beneficiaries can learn about everything from Part A&B benefits to Medigap coverage at the 24th Annual Medicare Update Conference on Nov. 19.

The event is sponsored by several organizations, including the Pima Council on Aging and Green Valley Recreation, and gathers experts to help clear up confusion on Medicare issues and explain changes.

The conference is $5 per person, and runs from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 19 at the West Social Center, 1111 Via Arco Iris, Green Valley.

To register, call 324-1960 and ask for a registration form, or you may register over the phone; or register online at www.pcoa.org.