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Supporting our kids and serving the community:

Boys and Girls Club

Mingus Union High School Marauders

Cottonwood Parks and Recreation

Community Softball teams

Local Baseball teams

Zoomer's Bikes

WE MOVED to better serve you
450 S Willard Street, #115 Cottonwood, AZ 86326.
Manzanita Medical Complex; with Urgent Care, Family Health Providers

Healthcare at its finest

Thursday, April 30, 2009 --Verde Valley News

Editor:

Recently, I had knee surgery in the Verde Valley Medical Center. My physician was Bradley Williams.

We are so fortunate to have a first place award winning orthopedic center there. The nurses are very professional and compassionate. Dr. Williams is an outstanding surgeon.

My rehab therapy is being done by caring, well-trained personnel right here in Camp Verde.
I've been in several hospitals, but none can equal the care I received there.

I don't know why anyone would choose to go to Flagstaff or Phoenix when we have such an outstanding facility and medical personnel in our Verde Valley.

Thanks to all of them.

Jerry McElhaney

My Turn: Let's stick to the plan for Rec Center
Dr. Brad Williams, My Turn

Tuesday, June 03, 2008 --Verde Valley Independent

What a beautiful area we live in. The weather is pretty much as good as it gets, the scenery is spectacular, and the people of the community are warm and genuine.

I see hundreds of people a month in my office and around the community and can assure you that we are here because we know what matters in life. You could say we have our priorities straight.

People do not come here for the money. We come here to raise our families in an incredible setting filled with wonderful supportive people.

The benefits of the Cottonwood Recreation Center are immeasurable: obesity and diabetes treatment and prevention, presentations and seminar facility, prevention of drug use and other unlawful or unhealthy alternatives, increased property values, drawing good families and professionals to the Verde Valley, and general community involvement.

The Recreation Center will be a place where we can leave our work behind and all meet and enjoy our families and friends or perhaps even swim alongside the mayor and share our ideas for a better community. Spending time at the community center ... priceless. If we're going to invest in anything for our community, this is it.

Since we are spending upwards of $20 million, it stands to reason we should do our best to build the Recreation Center the right way the first time. The "disappointing changes" are far from inevitable when it comes to this type of project.

Yes, we did lose the second floor of our DMV. However, it's entirely different for a DMV to lose a second floor due to downsizing compared to losing key components of a year-round community center such as an indoor pool and walking track. Did you know the substitute walking track plans are actually very dangerous? In addition, many DMV activities are now done online, and downsizing may have been the appropriate solution for that project.

The Recreation Center project, on the other hand, is entirely different. The Recreation Center is truly an investment in our community. We are going to grow regardless, and the Recreation Center will encourage a year-round healthy and active lifestyle for present and future inhabitants of the Verde Valley.

There is no doubt that proceedings with the original or improved plans and ensuring local labor and materials are used for building our Recreation Center will benefit our community the most.

The promise of a spectacular Recreation Center played a major role in moving our family here. Thus, my first ever town hall meeting regarding the fate of the Recreation Center was too important to miss. Apparently, the record number of supportive comments presented from our concerned citizens so moved our galeophobic councilman, that even he somewhat rescinded his pessimistic position.

I guess Mr. Kirby isn't a grumpy old man after all he really has a nice smile. Even though the "golden ring" is just within our reach, and the Jaws music has faded, we may have to settle for something that is actually much less than was originally voted on and promised.

Because some delays and errors in calculations, the Recreation Center we voted upon can no longer be completed for the original $17 million. Since time is money, there is no doubt we should move ahead as soon as possible.

However, the designers have compromised the original plans and sacrificed safety and the indoor jogging/walking track and pool. With the altered plan, the track has such extensive cross traffic that an excited child or just about anyone could easily collide with someone just trying to regain their mobility. The other idea of a track around the basketball court is even more ridiculous. Furthermore, since the altered plans do not provide the key indoor amenities of the original plan, and it is possible that a significant number of people voted for the Recreation Center because of these amenities, we cannot proceed with anything other than the original plan without another vote. Some may argue we need a vote either way, but there are other options.

Why rush into building an unsafe Recreation Center that lacks several crucial activity elements when we have a voter-approved plan from two years prior? If we change anything, we should take advantage of advances in technology such as low energy LED lighting, water efficient plumbing and fixtures, and up to date solar panels (In less than two years, due to advances in technology, solar panels will be 10 to 20 times less costly.) Perhaps we could have many of these fixtures donated by companies in exchange for the excellent marketing they would receive. Phoenix Cement is committed to provide many tons of donated concrete and they should be well recognized for their generosity.

Perhaps we could even have a green Recreation Center that sets the standard for low water usage and energy independence or at least an improved version of the original plan.

Plenty of generous people, churches and businesses can help to make the original plan a reality. With enough donations, the total cost of the center could possibly be closer to the original estimate or even less. Additional revenue can be obtained by leasing office space to medical and other professionals or perhaps small healthful commercial vendors such as Jamba Juice or other local alternatives could have space in the center as well.

Further, we can proportionately reward donations with named bricks, tiles, rooms, structures or perhaps the entire complex. Low rate membership fees, room rentals, events and other sources should pay for utilities and maintenance of the facility.

Let's not tarnish our dream with complaints about money and instead find a way to give us what we were promised. Get everyone involved so we may have the solid gold ring we were promised rather than a cheaper substitute that will sacrifice year-round enjoyment by our children and grandparents alike. Give our community a chance to show how much the Recreation Center means to us by moving forward with the original or improved plans (utilizing low energy, water conserving technology) now.

One option would be to reach out to the community for some assistance so we may have the original perhaps even a revised greener Recreation Center. We could wait a couple of months for donations to arrive, but I think we can start groundbreaking on the original plan and ask for donations, volunteers and general regional support. There are some in this community who could surprise us by paying for the entire jogging track or indoor pool. Though I have only been here a couple of years, I know the people of our community. You're going to love meeting them at our new Recreation Center.

If we're going to spend the money, then we'd better do this right. Get involved. Let the mayor and city council know how you feel and how we can all help. Great things will happen.

Dr. Brad Williams is the owner of Agility Orthopedics in Cottonwood.

Reader Comments

Posted: Friday, June 06, 2008
Article comment by: cdenter

It is great to hear from someone who is willing to do something to make the Rec Center happen. Thank you Dr. Williams! As for Mark Miskiel's "let's wait" attitude - for how long? The Rec Center has been in the capital improvement plan for at least 10 years but there never was the money. Now, we have the money. If we don't build it now - when will we and how much more of it will we lose by waiting? Where will more money come from if we wait? I hear estimates are that we lose $170,000 worth of rec center every month we delay. Additionally, we have to pay interest on the bond whether we use it or not. We might as well use it and enjoy at least some benefits.

Posted: Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Article comment by: Mark Miskiel

A well written editorial and the optimism is refreshing however while it is tempting to say lets build it now, why not wait till the economic climate has changed and it can be built correctly without compromise. While construction costs will rise with a delay, it would be far better to wait and build something state of the art. Possibly some of the technology mentioned by Dr. Williams will also come down in cost during the wait. I sure would hate to see something as important as the recreation center done poorly because of the rush to go forward now. Good things come to those who wait and maybe we need to consider that right now. I'm just worried that the community will end up with half of what was promised and if we had waited, maybe we could have had a more functional recreation center without any compromise in the facility.

Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Article comment by: crooney1955

I love your optimism! You look at the glass as half full rather than half empty. It's refreshing to see someone that looks for ways to accomplish things rather than looking for ways to not do something. Your alternatives make sense. There are people in our community with the means (financial and brains) to make things happen. Many citizens legacy will be that of cronic complainers. Obviously your legacy will be that of someone who creatively tried to accomplish good things for the community. Thank you for your constructive comments.

News:

Support your community
Agility Orthopedics is a proud supporter of Cottonwood local sport teams.

Arizona, USA : 2006 — Dr.Bradley Williams MD. PhD. became one of the first surgeons in the state of Arizona to perform partial knee replacement surgery utilizing the Oxford^® Unicompartmental Knee System and one of a handful of surgeons in the country to performing the Combined anterior cruciate reconstruction and Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Leading surgeons in Oxford, England, along with engineers at Biomet, headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, developed the unicompartmental (partial) knee system, which was previously not available in the U.S. The Oxford^® Knee is the only FDA-approved Free Floating Meniscal Unicompartmental knee system available in the United States and has been utilized throughout Europe for more than two decades.

Often recognized as the most widely used and clinically proven unicompartmental knee system in the world, the Oxford^® Knee System had demonstrated excellent clinical results. Surgeons in the U.S. now have access to this system whose clinical results have equalled that of the most successful total knee replacements.¹

Unlike total knee replacement involving removal of all the knee joint surfaces, a unicompartmental knee replacement replaces only one side of the knee joint. Knee osteoarthritis usually occurs first in the medial (inside) compartment, as this side of the knee bears most of the weight. In knees that are otherwise healthy, a unicompartmental approach allows the outer compartment and all ligaments to remain intact. By retaining all of the undamaged parts, the joint may function more naturally.

In a healthy knee, the meniscal cartilage serves as a shock absorber between the ends of the bones. The Oxford^® Knee is the first unicompartmental implant with an artificial meniscal bearing designed to glide freely throughout the knee’s range of motion to more closely replicate normal movement. The free floating nature of the device also greatly improves durability of the implant.¹

The Oxford^® System offers a precisely instrumented system designed to balance the soft tissues and to accurately reproduce normal knee motion. The Oxford^® Knee may also allow for a more rapid recovery due to the use of minimally invasive instrumentation and technique. With proper use of the Oxford^® instruments, the operation can be performed through a small incision with great precision.

“My first patient walked within hours of surgery and was discharged to home within 24 hours requiring nothing but oral pain medication,” said Dr. Williams.

Individual results may vary. There are potential risks to knee replacement surgery. Visit www.biomet.com and read “Risk Information.” The life of any joint replacement will depend on your physical condition, activity levels, willingness to follow surgeon’s instructions, and other factors. Only an orthopedic surgeon can determine whether you are a candidate for knee replacement surgery.

¹Murray, D.W.; O’Conner, J.J.; and Goodfellow, J.W.: “The Oxford Medial Unicompartmental Arthroplasty. A Ten Year Survival Study.” JBJS (Br), No. 6, 80-B: 983-989, 1998

Lois Neville 82 of Sedona climbs Mount Whitney:
Lois Neville, 82 of Sedona climbs Mount Whitney with her family and friends. A patient of Dr. Brad Williams MD., Neville was able to realize her dream within less than 6 months after arthroscopic knee surgery.

Neville was a registered nurse who moved to Sedona 13 years ago. An avid hiker and swimmer, she began experiencing sharp pains in knee. She consulted Dr. Williams and underwent arthroscopy surgery and physical therapy with her focus on getting up, out and climbing the 14,496 ft Mount Whitney. Within 6 months of her surgery, she did it - 22 miles round trip, a 6,000 foot elevation gain and at over 14,000 feet, it is the highest peak inthe lower 48 states.

Congratulations Lois, you are an inspiration on how to live.

Get up, Get out, Get going......