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Erin Ford

Stories by Erin

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As soccer practice heats up and coaches call out instructions across the Grand Canyon School field, another group of young athletes is circling the track.

By Erin Ford September 3, 2019
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I'm with the band: Grand Canyon students rock annual music festival
Bonfiglio Group works with aspiring young musicians at School of Rock

A fast-paced set, all the right dance moves and an excited group of young musicians means one thing at Grand Canyon School: School of Rock is back.

By Erin Ford September 3, 2019
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All of her life, Leona Begishi has been pulled in three directions.

By Erin Ford September 3, 2019
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John Tatham has been hiking and exploring the Arizona wilderness for decades, but it was his discovery and subsequent stewardship of a Native American antiquity site on the Kaibab National Forest that led to his recent recognition by Gov. Doug Ducey’s Archaeology Advisory Commission.

By Erin Ford August 27, 2019
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Nate Begay has spent years developing his signature style, beginning as a graffiti artist and branching out into many different mediums, including photography and even tattooing.

By Erin Ford August 27, 2019
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With a big team excited to start the season, the Grand Canyon Phantoms volleyball team is hard at work for their first game Sept. 4.

By Erin Ford August 27, 2019
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The Grand Canyon soccer season is off to a fast start with one of the school's largest teams to date.

By Erin Ford August 27, 2019
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Thanks to planning and money from a contingency account, the Tusayan Town Council has agreed to fund the Tusayan Fire Department a total of $402,000 to put toward payroll and expenses for the next two fiscal years.

By Erin Ford August 20, 2019
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It happens at least once every year in America’s 419 national parks and monuments — a hiker goes missing, a rafter gets swept away, or, even more terrifying, someone ends up the victim of a homicide.

By Erin Ford August 20, 2019
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After extensive flooding in June caused by a blocked water main, Glen Canyon Conservancy executive director Martin Stamat said visitors and locals should see The Powell Museum open again before the end of the year.

By Erin Ford August 13, 2019
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As it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Grand Canyon Deer Farm is focusing on giving back to other organizations helping out in their communities.

By Erin Ford August 9, 2019
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Grand Canyon National Park is officially on the search to hire a permanent superintendent.

By Erin Ford August 6, 2019
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When Grand Canyon School begins Aug. 5, seven new teachers will be in the hallways and classrooms greeting students and settling in for a year of teaching on the South Rim.

By Erin Ford July 30, 2019
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Twenty-four years ago, Matt Yost made his way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Grand Canyon with a group of fellow teacher hopefuls.

By Erin Ford July 30, 2019
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After relinquishing floodplain management responsibilities and reaching an agreement with Coconino County regarding unpermitted work at the Ten X housing development site, Tusayan is ready to move forward with remapping the area’s designation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

By Erin Ford July 23, 2019
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After an agonizing four years, 10 months and 10 days, the family of eight-year-old Isabella “Bella” Grogan-Cannella can finally sleep soundly.

By Erin Ford July 16, 2019
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The Tusayan Town Council voted unanimously to adopt a tentative budget at the July 10 council meeting.

By Erin Ford July 16, 2019
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Hopi Kachina carver brings legends to life
Darance Mak'wesa Chimerica carves Hopi Kachinas from local and regional materials

Whether they have the head of a cow, the feathers of a hummingbird or the rich cotton hair of the snow maiden, Kachina carver Darance Mak’wesa Chimerica said all Kachina have one thing in common: they bring the promise of a good life for the humans they watch over.

By Erin Ford July 9, 2019
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Under proposed new rules to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Forest Service is hoping to streamline its environmental analysis procedures in certain circumstances while still following the requirements laid out in the NEPA.

By Erin Ford July 9, 2019
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Grand Canyon is often, and rightly, referred to as an outdoor lover’s paradise — there’s hiking, biking and camping and a host of educational opportunities.

By Erin Ford July 2, 2019
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Waiting in the hot mid-morning sun for over an hour, a group of volunteers anxiously waits for a man on a forklift to unload several hundred pounds of food from the back of a truck and place it in a tidy line.

By Erin Ford July 2, 2019
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Tusayan budget in limbo after Home Rule fails
Tusayan Council postpones decisions on FY2020 budget

The impacts of Tusayan voters’ recent decision not to reauthorize the town’s home rule provision, allowing it to set its own budget, are yet to be fully determined.

By Erin Ford June 25, 2019
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Listening to “Guardians of the Grand Canyon,” it’s almost impossible to distinguish between the trilling of a flute and the winds that whistle through a side canyon the Havasupai Tribe calls home.

By Erin Ford June 25, 2019
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After changing hands earlier this year, fans of Bedrock City discovered that the attraction would be permanently closed to make way for a new one: Raptor Ranch.

By Erin Ford June 19, 2019
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Resting in the murky depths of Lake Mead is a piece of American history that saw a change in wartime strategy: a plunge from the height of World War II to a creeping decades-long Cold War with the then-Soviet Union.

By Erin Ford June 18, 2019
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WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Flipping through old photo albums takes Grand Canyon Deer Farm owner Patricia George back to the beginning. She flips past a faded photograph of herself with long hair, parted in the middle, in front of a few small deer.

By Erin Ford May 28, 2019
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Grand Canyon School principal retires in good spirits
Tom Rowland announces retirement; Matt Yost to take the reigns for 2019-2020 school year

Four years ago, Tom Rowland and his wife, Judy, got a phone call that changed the trajectory of their comfortable, retired lives.

By Erin Ford May 28, 2019
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After a long wait, Grand Canyon School will finally be getting high speed internet that students and staff so desperately need.

By Erin Ford May 28, 2019
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The Tusayan Town Council announced May 8 that residents would soon be able to register for high-speed internet services subsidized by the town.

By Erin Ford May 14, 2019
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As park visitation continues to climb, Grand Canyon National Park has finalized a plan to provide water reliably to the South Rim and several locations below the rim.

By Erin Ford May 14, 2019
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Shifting science: Looking at Grand Canyon's next 100 years
Science panelists discuss where Grand Canyon research has been — and where it's going

Standing at a point along the rim and gazing out into the Grand Canyon, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that the Canyon is more than a beautiful piece of scenery.

By Erin Ford May 7, 2019
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If the idea of sleeping in a tent under the stars sounds appealing but you’re not in love with roughing it for a few days, Under Canvas has you covered.

By Erin Ford May 7, 2019
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Mexican Gray wolves rebound; latest numbers cause for optimism
Mexican Gray Wolf population increases by 12 percent

Things are looking up for the endangered Mexican Gray Wolf, which suffered setbacks during the last year and the year before.

By Erin Ford April 30, 2019
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Hualapai Tribe raises fees for Colorado River rafters
Hualapai Tribal Council reinstates per-person fee for river runners

River runners embarking on trips down the Colorado River along the Grand Canyon’s western side will need to hand over more cash this year, after the Hualapai Tribal Council approved a $100-per-person fee April 10.

By Erin Ford April 30, 2019
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The Tusayan Town Council discussed several items at its last regular meeting April 10.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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Community businesses and federal agencies lined the Grand Canyon School cafeteria April 10 to offer eager students information and even seasonal employment after the last bell rings at the end of May.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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During an April 2 work session, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors issued a resolution in support of a permanent ban on uranium mining around the Grand Canyon and its watershed.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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After years of waiting, the town of Tusayan has a resident deputy: Jeremaiyah Greyeyes began his patrols in February.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, one in four women will experience domestic violence or abuse by an intimate partner in her lifetime.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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If it wasn't for the sandwich board sign and the enthusiastic promotion by volunteers like Mike Scott, someone looking at 87 Sunset Drive might easily mistake it for a storage shed.

By Erin Ford April 16, 2019
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For visitors to the Grand Canyon, sometimes the allure of inner canyon trails is part of the magic — looking further and further down and thinking “that doesn’t look very far at all.”

By Erin Ford April 9, 2019
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According to the National Education Association, getting a jumpstart on education in a quality preschool program can pay dividends later in life, including increased earning potential and higher academic achievement.

By Erin Ford April 2, 2019
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Avoiding the shock factor: Fire department teaches civilians how to save a life
Tusayan Fire Department offers monthly CPR and classes, next class April 20

As visitation to the Grand Canyon begins to climb into peak season, the Tusayan Fire department is offering visitors and residents the opportunity to become supervised in CPR during monthly classes at the station.

By Erin Ford April 2, 2019
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After a series of setbacks in the town of Tusayan’s development of affordable housing at Ten X Ranch, the town council instructed staff to begin searching for a town project manager to oversee construction at the site.

By Erin Ford March 26, 2019
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Ten X Campground expansion builds for the future
Proposed expansion to be completed in phases

Sitting back from State Route 64 just south of Tusayan, Ten X campground offers visitors eager to experience Grand Canyon National Park a placid alternative to the park’s camping accommodations.

By Erin Ford March 26, 2019
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The American Institute of Stress (AIS) defines stress as a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences, and it’s something everyone experiences from time to time.

By Erin Ford March 19, 2019
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Preliminary report says no ongoing uranium exposure at Grand Canyon
Final report to be released in 90 days detailing exposure

According to a preliminary interagency safety review, Grand Canyon employees and visitors aren’t experiencing ongoing radiation exposure from uranium ore samples previously stored in the Museum Collection building.

By Erin Ford March 19, 2019
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After partnering with the National Geographic Society (NGS) for the past two decades, the Visitor Center and IMAX theater in Tusayan has been renamed the Grand Canyon Visitor Center after NGS declined to renew its license agreement with the property.

By Erin Ford March 12, 2019
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No Home Rule: Tusayan calls for May budget override
Lack of paperwork voids Nov. 2018 election results

Tusayan could be looking at steep cuts to its annual budget next year after the Auditor General’s office found the town did not comply with state statutes prior to the Nov. 6, 2018 election.

By Erin Ford March 5, 2019
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Grand Canyon National Park celebrated its centennial Feb. 26 with cake, chorus and visitors from around the world.

By Erin Ford March 5, 2019