Bits and Pieces

Holiday Festival of the Arts this weekend at the Oro Valley Marketplace 

Art State Arizona and the Town of Oro Valley will host the 14th Annual Holiday Festival of the Arts & Tree Lighting Celebration on December 6–7 at the Oro Valley Marketplace. The free two-day event features more than 150 artists, over 500 performers, hands-on activities for kids, festive food, and the community tree lighting at 6 p.m. Saturday. This long-running celebration has grown into one of Southern Arizona’s signature holiday weekends, drawing thousands each year. See the two day event schedule here.

 “Safest City in Arizona” and holiday scams featured in this month's Crimefighter Newsletter

The Oro Valley Police Department ("OVPD") reports that Oro Valley was ranked the #1 Safest City in Arizona earlier this year by security company SafeWise, based on the latest FBI crime statistics showing the town had the lowest violent crime rate in the state. The department credits the community’s support, strong crime-prevention programs, and the work of its officers and volunteers for maintaining the town’s safety record. See the list here.

OVPD is warning residents about a spike in holiday scams, citing a Visa report showing that criminals are using more sophisticated, AI-generated fake shopping sites, package-delivery texts, travel deals, and even bogus charities to steal personal and financial information. Residents are urged to avoid clicking unknown links, verify websites before purchasing, and confirm the legitimacy of any charity before donating. (Source)

Council continues silence on possible Copper Creek Elementary closing
Wednesday, the Oro Valley Town Council remained silent on the possible closing of Copper Creek Elementary during last week’s meeting. This was the final meeting of the year, so there will be no further opportunity for council discussion before the Amphi School District makes its decision in January. Not one council member suggested adding the matter as a future agenda item.

No residents attended the meeting to voice concern or ask for council support. Perhaps the council viewed the absence of public comment as a reason to do nothing. Still, as we and others reported last week, there are residents who are worried.

We had hoped the council would show some leadership by ensuring those residents are heard and that their concerns are communicated to the Amphi School District before its January decision. We are not alone in that view. “This should have been anticipated and we should already have engaged area residents and at least have some options for addressing this. Unfortunately, not so,” Mayoral Candidate Mark Napier wrote on our Facebook page.

"Lights On Landoran" 

The holiday display and synchronzed musical light show is back at the west intersection of Landoran and Golf View Drive. The display runs nightly through New Year’s Day—6 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It's well worth the visit.

Council Member Greene announces that he is "alive and well"

Council Member Mo Greene addressed a "social media" rumor that he was going to resign from council. Greene, speaking at the Wednesday Council meeting, quoted Mark Twain, noting that "the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Greene has every intention of completing his term.

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Bits and Pieces

Henry Zipf, great-grandson of the Pusch Family has died

"The Oro Valley Historical Society Board members are saddened to announce the passing of our President Henry K. Zipf. Henry was the great-grandson of George and Mathilda (nee Feldman) Pusch, grandson of Gertrude (nee Pusch) and Henry W. Zipf, and son of Henry (Hank) G. and Ann (nee Lourie) Zipf. Henry is survived by sons Nolan and Stephen and his partner, Debra. 

The Pusch/Zipf family has long historical roots in both the Greater Tucson and Oro Valley areas. Henry was an active member and board member of the Society for many years. He dedicated much time and many resources to the organization. He had a great deal of local knowledge of Oro Valley’s early years. Henry was full of entertaining stories that included ranch life and his lifetime in the Tucson area. Henry could “spin a good yarn” and his chuckle was infectious!" (Source: Oro Valley Historical Society email)

Summer "Disc Golf" at Pusch View Course

Town of Oro Valley is offering disc golf on he Pusch Ridge Golf Course from June 6 through September 30. Tee times be begin at 7am and players will be able to play until 7pm.  There will be no conflict with regular golf as there will be time sufficient to overseed prep the course for its November 1 opening. The group Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf would like to see the course offered as a year-round traditional golf course. (Source: Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf Newsletter)

Crimefighter Newsletter focuses on Phone Scams

This month's issue of Crimefighter, a publication of the Oro Valley Police Department, focuses on phone scams. It details four scams. The article links to some fraud prevention tips. Both the newsletter and the tips are worth reading. One scam they did not list is the "pays us with a visa debit card" scam.  This is where the scammer wants to you to send the money through your purchase of a debit card. These cards are not traceable, thus they are ideal for scammers  By the way, there is no reputable organization that would request you to do so... so don't fall for this one.

Don't forget to take the town's housing survey by May 31

The town is conducting a housing survey.  You can complete the survey online. You can do this as many times you wish with as many different answers as you wish.  To date, there have be almost 1,000 responses. The town's Phoenix-Based consultant on this project, WestGroup Research, is using phone calls to conduct a statistically valid survey.  There have been 350 of these to date.  (We wonder how this works given that most people use cell phones as their primary contact and there are no cell phone directories. Also, many phone cell users do not answer calls from anyone they don't know.) There is also a survey of business owners on this matter. 75 have responded so far.

Some consider this to be a  biased  survey of housing needs. 

The result of the survey matters because they will be relied upon in the building of the 2026 General Plan. Also, developers and town staff will use the results to assess economic development requests.

Community Center "silver sneaker" members disadvantaged if they want to be premium members

There are two memberships to the community center: Regular and premium. Members use the senior sneaker program, a program that some health care insurance providers offer, can get a"paid for" regular membership. However, they are not allowed to be a premium member unless they pay the full fee. If they do so, they forego the "silver sneaker" benefit. The town is looking in to this.

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Bits and Pieces

OV Planning Division recognized for policy to conserve saguaros 

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (Sept. 2, 2022) – The Town of Oro Valley is pleased to announce that the Planning Division won an “Ordinance/Regulation/Legislation/Adopted Policy” award by the Arizona Chapter of the National Planning Association for the division’s project entitled “Keeping Heritage Saguaros Central to Design.” The award was presented on August 25 at the 2022 State Planning Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf plan Halloween kickoff

"Break out your best orange and black golf clothes and come prepared to celebrate our beautiful course, connect with friends from last season, and have a great time!! Here is what we know so far – we are working on the details. 

• Save the date: October 31, 2022 
• Two shotguns with 48 golfers each at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. 
• Coffee, donuts, and juice in the morning 
• Your golf registration will include lunch and drink tickets Guests and volunteers will be able to register for lunch only 
• A refreshment caret will be available during the tournament 

We are looking for hole sponsors - an opportunity to showcase your business and welcome our golfers. Please let Anna Bifano (Annabifano73@gmail.com) or Carolyn Weinig (cweinig@icloud.com) know if you’re interested." (Source: Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf Email)

Be alert to a phone scam involving the Oro Valley Police Department

This month's edition of Crimefighter discusses a phone scam that involves the police department. 

"Recently, an individual claiming to be an Oro Valley Police Department official was calling members of the community and saying that they needed to pay money. The criminal was able to “spoof” the police department’s main phone number, which means that they were able to make the caller ID show that it was the Oro Valley Police Department number calling. Unfortunately, one of our residents fell victim to this scam and was defrauded thousands of dollars."

Learn more about what to do here.

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Scams Everywhere

"Never Ending"

“We have the never ending scam calls regarding vehicle warranty, there’s a warrant for your arrest, or you have won millions,” according to Oro Valley Police Sgt. Amy Graham.

 
“But now we are starting to see a trend towards using the computer against you. Scammers send emails as though they are with Microsoft or Amazon; or they let you know there was a mistake in a bill and; they are sending you money, they just need access to your account.  It’s amazing the number of ways they prey on peoples’ uncertainty especially around computers.”

Seniors most vulnerable  
We are all targets. But we are not all equally vulnerable. Lack of technology skills and increasing isolation brought by the pandemic have made seniors specific targets of scams. These include sweepstakes scams, romance scams, IRS impersonation scams, charity scams, healthcare scams, telemarketing scams, and tech support scams. 

...especially when it comes to family scams

Seniors can be scammed by their own family members, caretakers and neighbors. Their high level of trust in these people makes seniors vulnerable.

“Your grandson is in jail. Send bail money.” Or worse: "You are not competent so grant me financial power of attorney.” Often these requests come from previously uninvolved family members or friends seeking to get account access.  

 
Prevent computer and bank fraud

According to Sgt. Graham, here is what we need to do. 

"Do not give access to your computer to anyone online. If you are ever asked to download a program that is emailed to you do not do it.  If you received an email with a link to open be suspicious; and for your own computer’s safety do not click on it. Our biggest vulnerability is uncertainty and when we open a document, you cannot undo it."

 

Graham continues: "In this day of online banking, it is becoming easy for people to be attacked online. If ever you have questions regarding a bank charge, a computer issue or a phone call, hang up and dial the main company directly. Do not  use any phone numbers you were given by the suspect or through their sent email.  Slow down and double check the information. Even if it appears to be legitimate ask someone else who has more knowledge, such as your local bank or police department. Play it safe: Slow down, educate yourself and ask questions.”

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Bits and Pieces

Conceptual agreement reached on Vistoso Preserve 

All parties to the sale of the former Vistoso Golf Course and its conversion into a permanent preserve have formed a conceptual agreement. “As there is now no disagreement on any issues of substance, the parties will be working through contracts and legal documents with the goal of completing the deal no later than by close of next week.” (Source: Reader's email)

Once the agreements are signed, fundraising will begin.  LOVE will keep you up to date as we learn more.

Oro Valley Marketplace changes and the water challenge are featured on this week's Jim Horn Oro Valley Podcast talk with LOVE

We are Jim Horn’s Guest on his Oro Valley Podcast this week. We talk about two topics: The proposed changed to the Oro Valley Marketplace and “Water”. We discuss two questions: Are the changes proposed to the Marketplace something the town needs? Can Oro Valley remain an oasis of plentiful water when the rest of the West isn’t? Get updated on the Marketplace proposed changes here. Listen to Jim’s podcast here.

Oro Valley Historical Society membership meeting next Thursday

The Oro Valley Historical Society is holding a membership meeting at the Pusch House at Steam Pump Ranch on Thursday, September 30 at 2:30pm. After the meeting, attendees are welcome to tour this month’s exhibit and enjoy some refreshments.

Fall "Pavement Preservation" schedule available

The town has released its plans for this fall’s pavement preservation schedule. Work starts in late October. This is a program started years ago to refresh our town’s street’s long before they have to be replaced. The program truly does extend the life of our streets. It’s why the condition of our roads is so good. Read what’s going to be done and where here. 

Lots of scams

There are many different kinds of "scams". Seems like more than ever. Visit this FTC link to learn more. We receive emails routinely about being charged for a Norton Security subscription. We have no such subscription. We simply delete the message and we suggest you do the same.

Alleged "Pima County Sheriff's Officer Captain Mark Bowen" Scams Oro Valley

We received a call from Captain Mark Bowen, Badge 8004, Captain of Warrants for the Pima County Sheriff's Office. He informed us that we had two outstanding warrants for failure appear for federal jury duty. One warrant was for "Contempt of Court" the other was for "Failure To Appear."

We knew it was a scam.  A county Sheriff is not going to enforce a federal warrant. And, most certainly, no peace officer is going to call us on the phone about this. No. Instead, if it were real, we'd receive a notice in the mail or perhaps a personal visit.  Besides, we never received jury duty notice.

So, we decided to waste his time. We spent 15 minutes with him asking him to explain what was happening and what we needed to do. His explantations were deliberately confusing. What we needed to do was to go to the local police station and spend 8 hours being processed; or, for a mere $3, we could expedite the process and get the whole thing taken care of at the police station in no time. Of course, he wanted us to pay by credit card, including the CVV; and he wanted to put an "Ap" on our phone to trace our progress to the police station.

We asked so many questions that, at one point, he accused us of being stupid. "Did you have a stroke? Because you don't understand me," he said. And when that didn't work he yelled as us. We told him that that was not very nice. We told him we knew his boss, Sheriff Napier and that Mark would never want any of his people acting like this.

For some reason, rather than just giving up, Captain Bowen told me that we had made a mistake. We had misidentified ourselves at the beginning of the conversation. He wasn't looking for us. He was looking for someone else with the same last name.

"Why did you waste my time?" he asked.

Duh!
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This scam has been running for many years, recently in Cochise County. One search turned up this California incident. This scam has be written about by the FBI. We did report this incident to the Oro Valley Police.