Hello, Northern Arizona! Back in 2011, I was serving on City Council and was invited to attend a Veterans Round Table at the American Legion hosted by (then) Coconino County Supervisor Mandy Metzger (District 4). It was there that a local man told a story about his brother, a United States Veteran who had passed away recently. He had been ill for a while and was receiving care through the VA. He was being taken care of in a veteran’s home, but that home was in Phoenix. It was the closest … [Read more...] about Flagstaff Receiving Its First Veterans’ Homes
Columnists
Welcoming Companies that Chose Flagstaff
Last year was a good year to open a new business in Flagstaff. Despite the many challenges that have been highlighted in our local media, in 2018, more than 30 new companies made Flagstaff their home and created over 425 new jobs with everything from restaurants, boutiques, start-ups and new healthcare facilities. Retail options will always be important to our mountain city. It’s a great source of tax revenue, provides jobs for our residents and shopping and dining options for Flagstaff … [Read more...] about Welcoming Companies that Chose Flagstaff
Veterinarian Joining High Country Humane
Dr. Carly Bennett is the High Country Humane shelter’s full-time veterinarian. Dr. Bennett was born in Germany and came to Arizona at the age of 12. As an undergrad at Northern Arizona University, she started volunteering at Second Chance Center for Animals and says this is where her love of shelter medicine began. “I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian as long as I can remember and worked as a technician at Second Chance for a year and a half before starting vet school. That’s when I really knew … [Read more...] about Veterinarian Joining High Country Humane
Why Bring Naturopathic Oncology to Flagstaff?
Picture in your mind what you think of as a typical person diagnosed with cancer. Did you think of someone who is barely holding on to life, skin and bones, and a pale shadow of that individual’s former self? We’d like to change that image. What it means to be diagnosed with cancer in 2019 is in many ways vastly different from what it meant only a few decades ago. The treatments, options and outcomes for various types of cancer continue to improve; but at the same time, the focus of many … [Read more...] about Why Bring Naturopathic Oncology to Flagstaff?
Understanding Addiction as a Brain Disease
The mere fact that relapse is more common than uncommon sheds light on how difficult it truly is to break addiction. No one enters rehabilitation with the intention to fail; rather, they enter a treatment program hoping in their heart they can stop using for good. The problem with this approach is that addiction doesn’t happen in the heart. It happens in the brain. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as a chronic, underlying, largely genetic brain disease, … [Read more...] about Understanding Addiction as a Brain Disease
Preparing Your Home to Sell
Spring is in the air! The real estate market is beginning to warm up. Many home sellers are embarking on the daunting task of prepping their home for a spring/summer sale. Traditionally, these warmer months bring increased energy to the Flagstaff real estate market. According to NAAR’s 2019 Profile of Home Staging, “When staging a home... 39 percent of respondents stated that staging a home increased the dollar value of the home between 1 and 10 percent.” De-Cluttering, … [Read more...] about Preparing Your Home to Sell
How Elevating Animal Welfare Benefits the Community
When High Country Humane (HCH) was awarded the contract to start providing animal shelter services for the city and the county, it came with a clear mandate to provide a high level of care for the companion animals in our community. Based on input from the community, the city and county had recognized the need to make animal welfare a top priority. The county had accepted the donation of the former Second Chance Center for Animals as the new state-of-the-art animal sheltering facility and asked … [Read more...] about How Elevating Animal Welfare Benefits the Community
Dentistry for the New Mom and Dad
My wife and I are having our first baby very soon, and I know that I’ll be looking for all kinds of answers to help me along the way in raising my little girl to be as healthy and strong as she possibly can be. I will look to others for guidance and answers as much as possible, and as a dentist here in Flagstaff, I also hope to provide some answers for other young moms and dads. I get these questions all the time, and maybe you’ve had them as well. When should I bring my child to the dentist … [Read more...] about Dentistry for the New Mom and Dad
Sleep: The Wonder Drug
Greater than any pill, tonic or fad diet is the power of sleep to heal. Essential and often elusive, adequate, restful sleep plays a vital role in securing lifelong health. Influencing hormones and immune function, sleep has a ripple effect of consequences that impacts nearly every aspect of our physiology. Persistently poor sleep leaves us more susceptible to common illnesses and increases our risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and even early mortality. Melatonin and certain … [Read more...] about Sleep: The Wonder Drug
Recognizing, Treating Brain Injuries
The human brain is an extraordinary and complex organ. It is responsible for our ability to think, feel, process information, concentrate, make decisions and experience emotions. It is responsible for our ability to walk, talk, eat, draw, write and sleep. It coordinates – without us even knowing it is happening – our breathing, heartbeat, organ function, blood circulation, digestion and more. Unfortunately, traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. … [Read more...] about Recognizing, Treating Brain Injuries