Flowing Wells Pool

Flowing Wells Pool, 4545 N. La Cholla Blvd., will open for the summer beginning Memorial Day weekend – Saturday, May 26 – and be open through Labor Day – Monday, Sept. 3.

Renovations planned for the summer have been postponed until later in the year.

Adult lap swim is noon to 5 p.m. and open recreational swim is 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday through Thursday.

Swim lessons and swim team activities will be available.

Swim lesson registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 1.  Lessons begin June 4.  Lessons cost $20 for a two-week session (8 classes).

Registration for swim team for children ages 6 to 18 begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 26.  The first practice is May 29.  Meets begin June 2 and end with the Championship meet on July 14.  The fee is $20 for the entire summer (includes practices and meets).

For more information, please visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/pools/index.htm.

Lifeguards wanted

The Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department is looking for Red Cross-certified lifeguards to work at County pools this summer.  Currently certified lifeguards who are interested can call Andrew Ivy at 520-877-6126 to request an interview.

The Department will be holding a lifeguard class from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 28-31 to certify individuals to work at County pools.  The lifeguard class is $100.  Individuals must be at least 16 years old.  Contact Andrew Ivy at 520-877-6126 to register for the class.

Pima County’s seasonal swimming pools will open Memorial Day weekend – Saturday, May 26 – and be open through Labor Day – Monday, Sept. 3.

For admission fees, pool addresses and phone numbers, and other information, please visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/pools/index.htm.

Swimming Classes – Swim Lessons

The first of four sessions of swim lessons begins Monday, June 4.  Lessons cost $20 for a two-week session (8 classes).  Register at your local pool.  Classes are available for children as young as 6 months. For specific class offerings and times, please call your local pool.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Knights of Pythias Tucson Lodge #9, in partnership with the Picture Rocks Fire District, the first 50 area residents to register will get FREE swim lessons at the Picture Rocks pool (see flyer below).

Session I: June 4-June 14
Session II: June 18-June 28

Registration for Sessions I and II begins at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 1 (Ajo pool swim lesson registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, June 2) and continues during open hours.

You may register for both Session I and II at this time.  If your child progresses in one session to the next skill level, every effort will be made to accommodate him/her in the next level class in the next session.

Session III: July 9-July 19
Session IV: July 23-August 2

Registration for Sessions III and IV begins at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 29, and continues during open hours. You may register for both Session III and IV at this time.

If three or more lessons are cancelled in any given session due to lightning or mechanical malfunction, lessons will continue past August 2.

Swim lessons at Kino and Northwest YMCA-Thad Terry pools are taught through the YMCA.  Please call 838-0938 at Kino or 229-9006 at Thad Terry for information on swim lessons and fees.

Swim Team

The Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department’s Novice Summer Swim Team Program provides a fun, exciting, and rewarding swimming experience for children ages 6 to 18 at all Pima County pools except the Thad Terry and Picture Rocks pools.

The fee is $20 for the entire summer (includes practices and meets).

Registration begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 26, at any pool offering the program and will continue during regular pool hours until June 21 (or until the team at a specific pool reaches capacity).

The first swim practice is May 29.  Swim meets are on Saturday mornings or nights during June and July. Swim meets will begin on June 2 and will continue until the Championship swim meet on July 14.

For additional information, please call (520) 877-6126 or (520) 877-6109 or visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/pools/swimteams.htm.

The Thad Terry swim team is offered through the YMCA. Please contact Thad Terry at 229-9006 for more information.

Celebrate the completion of another segment of The Loop on Friday, April 27, at the south end of Michael Perry Park on Tucson’s East Side.

The Loop is 55 miles of car-free paths being developed around metropolitan Tucson, with links to Marana and Oro Valley, for Pima County residents and visitors on foot, bikes, skates and horses.

The new segment — a project of Pima County and the City of Tucson — extends the Pantano River Park divided path (one gravel; the other, paved) past Michael Perry Park south to Sellarole Road.

The celebration begins at 2 p.m. at the new neighborhood trailhead at East Stella Road.  Bring your bike and join a group fun ride after the celebration.

The Loop will connect Pantano River Park to greenways along Harrison Road and the Julian Wash, Rillito River Park, and Santa Cruz River Park.

For more information, please visit www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Pima County and the City of Tucson invite the public to two open houses for an update on the progress of The Loop.

The Loop is 55 miles of car-free paths being developed around metropolitan Tucson for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians.  The Loop will link the Rillito, Santa Cruz and Pantano river parks with greenways along the Julian Wash and Harrison Road.

The open houses will provide updates on the Julian Wash and Harrison Greenway seg-ments and answer any questions the public may have.  Project displays will be at each open house for review, and the project team will make a short presentation at 6:15 p.m.

The open houses are:

• 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, at Desert Sky Middle School, 9850 E. Rankin Loop, west of the intersection of Rita Road and Houghton Road.
• 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Thomas Jay Regional Park Recreation Center, 6465 S. Craycroft Road.

For more information about The Loop, please visit www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations for effective participation and communication in the meeting may call Julie C. Simon at (520) 740-6410 by April 20 for the April 25 meeting or by April 27 for the May 2 meeting to make appropriate arrangements.

Head to the University of Arizona Recreation Center pool on Saturday, April 28, to learn how to stay safe while having fun in the sun and the water this summer.

This free Summer Sun, Safe Fun 2012 event for the entire family runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center at 1400 E. Sixth St.

The Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with UA Campus Recreation, the UA Cancer Center’s Skin Cancer Institute, American Red Cross, Tucson Fire Department, Tucson Parks and Recreation and the YMCA of Southern Arizona to present the event.

• Learn about sunscreen and how to keep your skin safe outdoors.
• Find out about Tucson-area swim lessons and lifeguard classes.
• Watch CPR demonstrations, and see a Tucson fire truck up close.
• Bring your swimsuit and towel and learn how to play safe in the water and how to rescue others while staying safe yourself in backyard pools.
• Enjoy refreshments; get free giveaways; and win great raffle prizes.

For more information, call 621-8718 or visit www.campusrec.arizona.edu/safefun.

For general information about Pima County pools, swimming lessons and lifeguard classes, go to www.pima.gov/nrpr/pools/index.htm.

See top-quality fields and facilities open to the public for shooting sports

Tucson Trap & Skeet Club will host more than 250 elite shooters from 43 countries this month who are attempting to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.

The club was chosen for the International Shooting Sports Federation’s 2012 World Cup after leasing 300 acres from Pima County in 2011 allowed it to expand its facilities and become the second-largest sport shooting facility in the nation.

The public is invited to watch accomplished marksmen and markswomen, including four-time Olympic medal winner Kim Rhode of California, at the March 24-31 event at the club’s nearly 400 acres at 7800 Old Ajo Highway, less than 10 minutes west of West Ajo Way and South Kinney Road.  Admission and parking is free for spectators.

Although the Tucson Trap & Skeet Club holds several nationally and internationally attended shoots each year, this is the first time the club is hosting one of the four World Cup Shotgun Olympic qualification competitions.

Rhode is attempting to become the first U.S. woman to win five individual medals in five Olympic Games.  Gold medalists Vincent Hancock of Georgia and Glen Eller of Texas as well as bronze medalist Corey Cogdell of Alaska will be part of the USA Shooting Team represented in Tucson.

Trap shooting involves shooting at clay discs thrown into the air by a machine below ground in a trap house.  Skeet shooting involves shooting at clay targets thrown by two traps – a “high house” and a “low house.”

Since last year, Tucson Trap & Skeet has more than doubled the number of its trap fields – to 50 – and skeet fields – to 15.  It is the only facility in the nation equipped to host Olympic Trap and Olympic Skeet at the same time.

Tucson Trap & Skeet also has two full-size sporting clay courses of varying terrain with 12 stations each, providing a variety of target sizes, angles, speeds, elevations and distances.

Tucson Trap & Skeet is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week during the winter season.  Hours vary with the time of year.  Shotguns are available to rent and ammunition is available for purchase.  Instruction is available for an hourly fee arranged through the office, and the free safety training is required for beginning shooters.

The club’s 9,000 square-foot clubhouse is open to the public and includes a restaurant and bar with free Wi-Fi.  The club also has 200 full-service RV hookups available for members and registered guests.  All facilities are handicap accessible.

The club is a USA Shooting Certified Training Center.  It hosts the Scholastic Clay Target Program to introduce boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 18 to firearm safety and clay target shooting.  It is the host club for Boy Scout and 4-H shotgun training and for the University of Arizona shotgun team.

Tucson Trap & Skeet has hosted more than 90 corporate events since 2005, introducing most of the 2,600  participants from 12 countries and nearly every state in the nation to the sports of skeet and trapshooting.

Tucson Trap & Skeet is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and has served Southern Arizona sport shooters since 1948.  For more information, please call 520-883-6426 or visit us on the web at www.tucsontrapandskeet.com.

Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department has three shooting ranges:

Southeast Regional Park Shooting Range
11296 S. Harrison Road.
Phone: 877-6036
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday year-round (closed on all Pima County holidays)
$8 per shooter per day; youth under 16 years of age may shoot free (must be accompanied and supervised by an adult)

Tucson Mountain Park Rifle and Pistol Range
About 2.5 miles north of Ajo Way on Kinney Road, .3 miles from the south Tucson Mountain Park entrance
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday (closed on all Pima County holidays)
$6 per shooter per day; youth under 16 years of age may shoot free (must be accompanied and supervised by an adult)

Virgil Ellis Rifle and Pistol Range
Ajo Regional Park
Sunrise to dusk daily
No charge

For more information, please visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/shooting/index.htm.

Pima County is seeking proposals from qualified individuals who want to be instructors in the Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department’s special interest art and leisure classes.

Copies of solicitation #37863 can be obtained online at www.pima.gov/procure/ifbrfp.htm; in person from the Pima County Procurement Department on the third floor of the Pima County Administration Building, 130 W. Congress, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or by calling 520-740-8161.

Proposals are due at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 29.

Conferences to answer questions and clarify requirements are scheduled for:

• 6 p.m. Thursday, March 15
  Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center
  1660 W. Ruthrauff Road
• 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 20
  Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, Administration
  3500 W. River Road

Attendance is optional, but highly recommended and encouraged.

Proposals for all types of classes and age groups will be considered.  Classes offered in the past have included art, pottery, music, tennis and martial arts for children as young as 6 and art, pottery, country dance, photography, tennis, fitness, first aid and CPR, gardening, and firearms instruction and safety for adults ages 16 and older.

Pima County offers six sessions of classes a year.  Individuals submitting proposals will be considered for sessions beginning with Session V, which starts Sept. 2.

Pima County will accept proposals for classes at the following County facilities or at an instructor’s designated facility.  Some County facilities have equipment available such as pottery wheels, kilns and torches at no charge to the instructor.  To inspect a facility or equipment before submission of a proposal, contact Program Manager Carolyn L. Lenz at 877-6156.

• Pima County Art Center at the NW YMCA, 7770 N. Shannon Road.
• Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road.
• Ajo Recreation Center, E.S. Bud Walker Park, 2905 Fifth St., Ajo.
• Children’s Memorial Park, 4851 N. 15^th Place (for dog obedience classes).

Pima County will take 20 percent of the session fee per student for utilities and maintenance costs.

For more information, please contact Grant Bourguet at 520-419-1481 or Grant.Bourguet@pima.gov or visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/classes/index.htm.

The public is invited to the grand opening of MHC Healthcare’s medical and dental clinic at 1670 W. Ruthrauff Road, next to Pima County’s Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Pima County is partnering with MHC Healthcare to improve access to affordable health services in the Flowing Wells community.

MHC Healthcare is offering medical and dental services at the clinic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.  A family nurse practitioner provides family practice and women’s health services; and a dentist and dental hygienist see dental patients.  For an appointment, please call 520-616-6797.

MHC Healthcare has been providing health services in Pima County since 1957.  It is a nonprofit, federally qualified health center, where “no one is turned away based on their ability to pay.”

MHC Healthcare recently opened a flagship clinic at 13395 N. Marana Main St., and has a growing network of 14 satellite locations in Pima County.  It also partners with schools and local governments and organizations to deliver health services, especially to the underserved and uninsured, across Pima County.

MHC Healthcare accepts most insurance plans; can help patients navigate the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program; or offers a sliding-scale fee based on household income.

For more information about MHC Healthcare, please visit www.mhchealthcare.org.

For more information about the Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, go to www.pima.gov/nrpr/centers/ellie_fw/index.htm.

Registration is open for the 4^th Annual Beat Cancer Boot Camp Challenge, a 5K obstacle course event that raises funds for Beat Cancer Boot Camp, a local exercise and support group for cancer survivors and anyone affected by cancer.

The challenge, co-sponsored by the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, will get under way at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road in Tucson.

It features a military-style 5K obstacle course with mud pits, hurdles and climbing walls along the Rillito River.  Obstacles for the event are designed and built by members of the Army, Navy, ROTC, local fire stations and law enforcement, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Individuals and squads can walk, run or race alongside celebrity athletes, including Bernard Lagat, six-time World Championship medal winner and two-time Olympic Medal winner.

Early registration (before Feb 19) is $30 for individuals or $135 for squads of five.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and top three female participants and to the top squad.

More than 500 people participated last year.

Anita Kellman, a licensed mammography technician who works as a clinical liaison for a Tucson breast surgeon, founded Beat Cancer Boot Camp to empower and inspire cancer survivors to take charge of their lives.  Its programs also provide support, education and camaraderie for cancer survivors, their families and friends.

For more information about Beat Cancer Boot Camp and to register for the challenge, please go to beatcancerbootcamp.com.

For more information about the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, visit www.pima.gov/nrpr.

Carrie Baarstad emailed Pima County District 1 Supervisor Ann Day in November 2010 to ask whether playground equipment could be added to the Tucson-area park near her home so her young daughter could play there.

Next week, Baarstad, her husband and her 3-year-old daughter will attend the dedication of the new playground at Northwest Community Park, 7601 N. Mona Lisa Road, east of the Northwest YMCA at North Shannon and West Magee roads.

Northwest Community Park playground

The dedication will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9.

“It’s a small playground, but these types of amenities are important to our quality of life in our neighbor-hoods,” Day said this week.

The park – with a dog park; baseball, softball and soccer fields; exercise stations; restrooms; a ramada with tables and a grill; and parking – “was very much being utilized,” Baarstad said this week.

“We have this beautiful park but were so disappointed that there wasn’t anything for the little ones.”

Baarstad believes in “just asking” – “You can’t end up with any worse than what you’ve got,” she said – so she emailed Day.

Her request went to the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, and shortly after Baarstad’s daughter turned 3 in November 2011, Day’s staff assistant, Valerie Samoy, called to say that the playground equipment was on its way.

“I was amazed that Valerie remembered me or followed up,” Baarstad said.

The project cost $64,753.  Day’s District 1 Office contributed $15,000.  The remainder came from 2004 General Obligation Bonds.  Durazo Construction was the project contractor.

“Pima County has come a long way in terms of developing parks and recreational facilities for our families and children, but we need to do so much more in the future,” Day said.