Wills’ speculates that newspaper cartoon may hurt chances of getting gift if College loses out in grant writing war for DK ranch

At the May monthly meeting of the District Governing Board, President Penelope Wills refused to give Representative Deb McCasland an update on the grant application that was in the works for the D.K. ranch in the Verde Valley. However, at the June meeting, an obviously angry Wills’ gave a full update without being asked by anyone. That 4 minute report can be accessed by clicking here.

During the update, Wills  focused on the Sedona Redrock News (but not by name) and a cartoon and editorial in that paper to take the blame if the College grant request is denied. Wills’ told the Governing Board that the paper seems “to be mocking” this potential gift.

If the newspaper was “mocking” the College and the potential gift, it should have come as no surprise to Wills. The Blog believes the Cartoon, which appears below, acccurtely depicts how most folks in the Valley feel about the domination by Prescott over Sedona and the Valley.  Wills’ did not identify the date of the editorial so the Blog cannot link you to that item.

More information about possible grant of DK Ranch surfaces

Thanks to an article by Mark Lineberger of the Larson newspapers, a great deal of new information has surfaced regarding the possible gift of the DK Ranch in Cornville. It has about 1,500 feet on Oak Creek on 45 acres of land. The ranch is located in Cornville and has been listed for sale for as much as $4.5 million dollars.  The College will submit its proposal for the property by June 1. There is a home and a barn, which President Penelope Wills describes as in “excellent condition.”

According to the article, the ranch is now owned by the Steele Foundation,  a philanthropic organization based in Phoenix The Steele Foundation has awarded more than $75 million in grants to over 300 organizations within the state of Arizona. Apparently, this is not a Charitable Remainder trust, as was originally thought. It now appears that if the College is successful, it will receive the property free and clear—although those details have yet to be publicly confirmed by the College.

In the interview with President Penelope Wills, she told Mr. Lineberger that the College was “invited to submit a proposal” to the Steele Foundation. She said that the property cannot be “flipped” for resale and must be used for educational purposes. . She also said that the property could be used  for classrooms. Wills said it would likely take at least a year to develop a plan for the property should the college acquire it.

Stuart Blacklaw was also interviewed by Mr. Lineberger. He said that the ranch could potentially be used for agricultural instruction and the teaching of animal sciences. “That’s the primary focus that we envision,” he told the reporter.

The property has water rights going back to 1919. Other uses of the property discussed in the interviews were: (a) Use the ranch to teach conservation and environmental science. (b) Partner with the Universality of Arizona’s veterinary medicine program.  For some, it was odd that a discussion of expanding the viticulture program to that site was not discussed.

The article by Mr. Lineberger appeared in the May 13, 2015 issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.