Program from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Room 34

The program, which is scheduled for January 13, 12:30 to 2 p.m.  at the Yavapai Community College Sedona Center, is focused on fracking.  The program will be held in room 34 at the Center.

The lecturer for the program, Kevin Gibson,  will describe what fracking is and  current leasing and drilling activities with a particular emphasis on Northern Arizona. His lecture will also cover issues such as  what occurs when fracking goes wrong, financial matters, and health effects.  An audience discussion and questions and answers will follow the presentation.

Kevin Gibson holds  a B.SC and PhD from the Mining Department, University of Nottingham United Kingdom.  He has worked worldwide in the extraction industry, the last 20 years of his career was with Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company.  Now retired, he  lives in Snowflake, Arizona.

The program is free, open to the public and is co-sponsored by League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley,  OLLI at Yavapai College – Sedona/Verde Valley,  and Keep Sedona Beautiful.

The Yavapai Community College Sedona Center is located at 4215 Arts Village Drive, Sedona AZ, 86336.

Lecture on Verde Campus, Room “M”, 11:30, Jan 16

A lecture will be held January 16 at 11:30 on the Verde Campus on the topic, “Northern Arizona Climate Change: What’s Gender Got to Do with?” The lecture will be held in Room “M” on the Campus.

The lecture by Frances Julia Riemer will explore the issues of social justice and gender inequity in a changing climate.  She is professor of educational foundations and associate faculty/former director of Northern Arizona University’s women’s and gender studies program.

The mission of the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance – NAZCCA – is to educate and empower people to take action now against the negative impact the climate crisis is having on Earth.  NAZCCA is a grassroots, non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

The Verde Campus is olocated at 601 Black Hills Drive, Clarkdale, Arizona.

Four major productions scheduled  in December

December is a busy month for the Performing Arts Center on the Prescott Campus of Yavapai Community College.  Among the events listed for that month are: “The Season Begun,” “A Very Electric Christmas,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Storm Large.” Below the Blog has captured Community College ads that describe each event.

Note:  There are no major events scheduled for the Verde Campus or Sedona Center by the College during the month of December.

Programs and staff members address the unique needs of veterans and active military students and their families

The state of Arizona has indicated to veterans that Yavapai Community College will provide the support they need if they pursue higher education at that institution. The recognition came as the College was designated as a “Veterans Supportive Campus” by the Arizona Department of Veterans Services (AZDVS).

In a Prescott Community College Campus patriotic celebration, AZDVS director Wanda Wright congratulated the College for joining a team of 35 Arizona schools recognized for their efforts to “knock down barriers” to veteran student success. She said the designation also establishes the expectation that Yavapai Community College will “ensure no student veteran falls through the cracks.”

College President Dr. Lisa Rhine said the college will continue to be worthy of the Veterans Supportive Campus designation.

“Our Veterans Services staff work hard to stay current on community resources that meet the needs of our military students and families, as well as complete military sensitivity and awareness training. . . . It’s the least we can do for veterans who have risked their own safety and security so that we can have ours,” she said.

Sources:  Journal Extra, November 13, 2019; Signals AZ press release;  Jennifer McCormack, Yavapai College.

4:45 p.m. celebration features  Poseidon’s creator, internationally renowned Sedona artist, John M. Soderberg, Ph.D

The Yavapai Community College Verde Valley Campus is celebrating the installation of a life-size bronze of Poseidon, Greek god of the seas and protector of the waters, on Friday, October 11. The public is invited to attend the 4:45 p.m. celebration featuring Poseidon’s creator, internationally renowned Sedona artist, John M. Soderberg, Ph.D. 

The event begins in Building “M”, Room 137, on the Campus before moving outside to a location near the Mabery Pavilion for the unveiling. After the sculpture dedication, all are invited to attend the closing reception of the Visions of the Verde art show in the Verde Valley Campus Art Gallery (Building F).

The free reception is scheduled until 7 p.m. For information, contact Alexandra.Helm@yc.edu, or call 928.634.6511.

Poseidon was one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.

Admission is free, program runs from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Building “M” (or possibly at the adjacent Mabery Pavilion)

Yavapai Community College is offering Shakespear’s “Merchant of Venice” play on October 5, 2019 on the Verde Valley Campus.  The show begins at 6 p.m. and is anticipated to finish by 8:30 p.m.

The Classic Shakespeare romantic comedy performed live by Laark Productions will be either outside at the Mabery Pavilion on the Verde Valley Campus or inside Building “M” adjacent the Pavilion.

This is the forth year Lark Productions have performed live at the Verde Campus since developing a relationship with the College in 2016.

Laark Productions is a non-profit in the state of Arizona and is an IRS recognized non-profit charity under article 501(c)(3). Donations are not solicited for the benefit of Laark Productions.

Laark Productons operates with the combined “artistic and business concept of Lane and Karla Burkitt.”  Karla Burkitt has been teaching theater to grades k-8 at Franklin Phonetic School in Prescott Valley, AZ for the last 20 years.  Lane Burkitt is owner and director at 1lane road consultancy. The other members of Laark Productions are friends, family, cast members, technical crew, and other partners who work on its productions.

Former and current “Roughriders” and the community invited

Yavapai Community College has scheduled its first ever homecoming celebration for October 17-19.  The College is “inviting all former and current Roughriders, and the community to celebrate the past, present, and future of Yavapai College.” 

The dates and the scheduled events appear below.

Hours are from 10 a.m to 2 p.m and reservations should be made in advance

The Yavapai Community College Student Nurses Association is sponsoring a blood drive to be held on the Verde Valley Campus and Sedona  Center October 2. To set up an appointment to donate blood, the College provided  contacts:

Contact Dr. Stephanie Scovill at 928-771-4859,
Cynthia Schroder at 928-649-5470 or
Register to donate at BloodHero.com with code YCVERDE

For donating blood Acme pizza will give you a voucher for a FREE 10″ cheese pizza.

Festival short movies can be seen on the Prescott Campus at the Performing Arts Center beginning at 6:30; Tuesday, October 1; General admission tickets $10; students with ID $5

The Yavapai Community College Film and Media Arts Program is among the worldwide hosts of the 2019 Manhattan Short Film Festival. Catch the festival at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 in the YCPAC. Once in, you may  weigh in on your festival favorites. General admission tickets are $10 and YC students with an ID are admitted for $5.

The  The Mary D Fisher Theater in Sedona is also joining in the festival.  It has listed the following dates for showing the festival movies: Friday 9/27, Sunday 9/29, Monday 9/30, Tuesday 10/1 and Thursday 10/3.

The festival involves the showing of ten short films from around the world that are simultaneously screened in over 400 cities spanning six continents during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by the total ballots cast by the audiences in this Oscar-qualified film festival.

The 10 Manhattan Short films hail from seven countries with films from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, three films from the United Kingdom, and two films from the USA. These 10 represent the best short films from among 1,250 submissions to the festival  from 70 countries.

Festival organizers write that “the range of film genres includes intimate dramas; spine-tingling tales; a car that feels a part of a family; and a film about an apocalyptic future as part of the Manhattan Short program.”

New edit of film produced and directed by Yavapai Community College film school graduate ML Lincoln to be shown in Building M, Room 137 Tuesday night

The Yavapai Community College Film and Media Arts Program brings a showing of ML. Lincoln’s documentary movie, “Wrenched, to the Verde Valley Campus, on Tuesday, September 24 at Building M, Room 137. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. It is the new edit, with footage of environmental activist Tim DeChristopher.

The Community Colleges describes the moving as showing how Edward Abbey’s conservationist novels influenced the emerging environmental movement of the 1970s and ‘80s. Even today, Abbey’s books, particularly The Monkey Wrench Gang, inspire radical action groups in their fight to protect wilderness.

The movie is described in part on the movie’s own website as follows: 

It “reveals how Edward Abbey’s anarchistic spirit and riotous novels influenced and helped guide the nascent environmental movement of the 1970s and ‘80s. Through interviews, archival footage and re-enactments, ML Lincoln captures the outrage of Abbey’s friends who were the original eco-warriors. In defense of wilderness, these early activists pioneered ”monkeywrenching” – a radical blueprint for “wrenching the system.” Exemplified by EarthFirst! in the early ‘80s, direct action and civil disobedience grew in popularity. With tree-spiking, forest occupation and high-profile publicity stunts such as the cracking at Glen Canyon Dam, this group became the eventual target of FBI infiltrators, leading to the arrest of various members.”

The movie is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

As noted above, “Wrenched” was produced and directed by YC film school graduate ML Lincoln.

Sources:  Yavapai Community College; “Wrenched” website.