Posted February 3, 2023
It’s almost time for the Roskruge Cougar Classic. The annual basketball tournament for players between 5th and 7th grades will be held over the course of three weeks.
The tournament is in its 40th year. The first tournament, held in 1983, had only three teams and was staged on the concrete outdoor basketball courts at Roskruge Elementary near downtown. In the years since, the field has expanded and the tournament is played in air conditioned gymnasiums.
This year’s tournament will feature 44 teams from 29 schools, including boys, girls and co-ed teams. Four new schools are participating this year (DaVinci Academy, Gale Elementary, Robbins K-8 and Vail Middle School), which brings the number of schools that have participated over the years to 101.
Tournaments like this cost money to put on, and that cost is usually borne by the families that participate. This year, however, my office secured funds to make the tournament free for all families that are participating.
The tournament tips off this weekend with games at Pueblo and Santa Rita High Schools. Click on http://roskrugecougarclassic.org/ for more information.
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We have created a homeless outreach position within our office. Kat Stratford, is joining our team and will be working very closely with agencies like Housing and Community Development to work directly with the homeless community as well as constituents to help address the ongoing crisis.
She finished two weeks of shadowing and began work in the field this week. Already, Kat has made contact with encampments reported by our neighbors in Ward 2 in Old Fort Lowell and Palo Verde Park neighborhoods. This work has meant hiking through washes, cluverts and arroyos so she can offer resources and, hopefully, start to put our homeless neighbors on the path to housing.
This community-based strategy is just one piece of our plan to address the homeless crisis, and we're looking forward to sharing more of her work with you each week.
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A once a year extravaganza to support veterans will be held 11 am to 5 pm on February 11 at Esperanza en Escalante Transitional Housing at 3700 S Calle Polar.
This is to support our veterans and their families in transitional housing. With the current housing crisis, veterans who have lost their apartments due to extended hospital stays as well as other veterans with families who were renting need support from our community.
This year, the event features a car show and local bands Xception and Whiskey Riverdogs. There will also be raffle items, vendors and the Veterans Administration will be on hand to answer questions. The Sons of AMVETS have volunteered to cook hamburgers and hot dogs. Funds raised will go to support veterans in transitional housing.
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Effective February 6, 2023, the City Clerk’s Office is temporarily moving from City Hall to the Elections Support Facility at 800 E. 12th Street, near Broadway Blvd. and Euclid Ave., one street south of the Del Taco and Greyhound Bus Station.