GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
Alonzo Chavez, a longtime Martori supervisor, was filling up water containers and loading them in the back of his truck to refresh farmworkers, who are given plenty of breaks in the intense heat to hydrate in the fields. “All of the people here in the field are Guatemalans,” said Chavez, himself a Mexican farmworker from San Luis Potosí. He said he’s worked in the fields in and around Maricopa for 25 years. There are an estimated 2.4 million hired farmworkers in the U.S., including migrant, seasonal, year-round and guest program workers. Thousands of them work in fields around Maricopa. The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, which advocates for migrant farmworkers, describes each Maricopa migrant laborer as “the farmworker who much of society never sees or considers.” “The farmworker who, in bitter cold and extreme heat, plants, tends and harvests the food we eat every day,” AFOP’s statement to InMaricopa continued. “The farmworker who often makes too little in pay to afford the very foodstuffs he or she picks. The farmworker who, despite these challenges, makes the necessary sacrifices to ensure his or her children get a good education. AFOP salutes these unsung heroes.”
Tap water in this part of Hidden Valley is not drinkable and is often considered unhealthy. It is tainted with nitrates and arsenic, toxic byproducts of agricultural chemicals of the past, said the store’s owner Rob Del Cotto. The water problem gave Del Cotto an idea 16 years ago when he opened the store in the strip mall owned by his brother, Rand. Rob bought a reverse osmosis water treatment system and sells water to hydrate the agricultural workforce in the surrounding fields. “I live right down the street,” Rob Del Cotto said. “You can’t drink the water. It’s horrible.” Rob’s newly upgraded system today produces about 5½ gallons per minute. Residents living near the store also come in to fill up on water for cooking and drinking. You could call Rob Del Cotto’s water system “trickle out” economics, a retail ripple effect of the farm-to-store economy. He fondly calls the retired school buses painted white that move the migrants around “the magic buses,” after the 1960s song by The Who. They come and go at all times of night to capitalize on cooler temperatures and during store hours bring in that magic dollar to the Del Cotto family. Rand’s daughter, Randi, also works at the store. Martori has an ice and water contract with Rob’s Convenience Store.
BRIEF
The farmworker who much of society never sees or considers. The farmworker who, in bitter cold and extreme heat, plants, tends and harvests the food we eat
Permits Sept. 9 – Oct. 11 COMMERCIAL
11 RESIDENTIAL SOLAR 11 RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOLS 95 SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES 8 TEMPORARY SIGNS Permits Issued
RESIDENTIAL Beazer Homes to construct 2 homes in Rancho Mirage. Castlerock Communities to construct 4 homes in Rancho Mirage. K. Hovnanian Homes to construct 11 homes in Rancho Mirage and 25 in Santa Rosa Springs. KB Home to construct 5 homes in Desert Passage. Lennar to construct 3 homes in Anderson Farms. Meritage Homes to construct 9 homes in Rancho Mirage and 12 in Province. Pulte Home to construct 3 homes in Santa Rosa Springs. Richmond American Homes to construct 20 homes in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado.
Apex Motor Sports 3 tenant improvement permits for garages and a garage condo valued at $130,000. Maricopa AZ Investments commercial tenant improvement permit for Harbor Freight and racking system permit valued at $40,000. Headquarters Café addition permit for a 544-square-foot shade structure valued at $18,000. Honeycutt Luxury Rentals 9 permits to construct garages, shade structures and carports at Honeycutt Run. K’Bella Spa & Wellness monument sign permit at 45004 W. Garvey Ave.
every day.” AFOP STATEMENT
Now hiring
Substitute Teacher All Subjects (Salary $75-$150 per day) and Government Teacher (Salary $48,000-$60,000 annually)
NOVEMBER 21, 2024
Casa Grande Recreation Center Tickets: $25 ea.
Games, Food, 50/50 Raffle, Mascot Photo Booth, Silent Auction
Scan code to learn more about the positions and apply!
Presented by
41735 W. Alan Stephens Parkway (520) 265-5589
MAricopa’S public and tuition-free charter school for the future!
TerritorialParty.com
November 2024 | InMaricopa.com
23
InMaricopa.com | November 2024
22
Powered by FlippingBook