Desert Messenger

September 5, 2018 www.DesertMessenger.com 3 SEE BLM PAGE 15 Quartzsite Town Council members attend League of AZ Cities & Towns Conference BLM Yuma Office & NIC partner to offer LTVA permit sales online Quartzsite, Ariz. – More than 1,000 city and town offi cials, legislators, business leaders and guests from across the state gathered in Scott- sdale last week for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Annual Conference, held August 21-24 at the Phoenician in Scottsdale. Among those in attendance were Mayor Norm Simpson, Vice Mayor Loretta Warner, Council Members Starr BearCat, Steve Schue, Bruce Swart, Lynda Goldberg. Town Man- ager Jim Ferguson also attended. Council Member Swart carried the Town Flag during the Parade of Flags at the Opening Session. The conference is held annually in late summer and provides a unique op- portunity for local offi cials to gather together to attend training sessions designed to aid in more effective and effi cient management of Arizona's municipalities, to hear from state and legislative offi cials, as well as share common concerns and ideas for problem solving. Conference highlights included: • General Luncheon on Thursday, August 23 recognized local offi cials who have served on municipal coun- cils from 8 to 32 years. In addition, the League presented our Legislative Friends and Champions Award, hon- oring local government supporters from the state legislature. • The Thirteenth Annual Youth Program welcomed more than 100 youth delegates from cities and towns throughout the state. Del- egates participated in sessions and activities planned specifi cally for youth interested in local government and interacted with local elected of- fi cials, networked with other youth delegates and learned about issues and challenges facing Arizona. • More than 20 educational sessions on topics ranging from budgets and Public Records Law, to sessions on digital governments, local au- tonomy, the opiod crisis, trends on short term rentals, council-man- ager relations, trending TPT issues, legislative changes, and economic development. • The Showcase of Cities & Towns traditionally is the most popular event at the Annual Conference. Quartzsite Chamber & Tourism President Shanana Rain Golden- Bear and Board member Monica Timberlake attended the confer- ence, organized and manned the booth at the Showcase. Mayor Simpson and attending Council members dropped by the booth to shine a light on Quartzsite. This year, the booth was decorated in a western theme promoting Buck Connors Western Days, the newest Quartzsite event planned for Veter- ans Day weekend. The Town of Quartzsite provided collectable Q lapel pins, old fash- ioned sodas with koozies in the shape of a cowboy boot. "Humpy, the Quartzsite Camel" donned a western hat and bandana scarf. Boots were painted by Teresa Young, a Cham- ber volunteer. Howdy Humpy was hidden in the conference center. The fi rst to fi nd Howdy Humpy was Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers. The 2018-19 Quartzsite Visitor Guide & Business Directory along with The Passport and Buck Con- nors Rack Cards were distributed to the attendees. In addition to the many education- al sessions and networking events at the conference, mayors and council- members from across the state met during the event to develop resolu- tions for the League's Municipal Policy Statement. The policy state- ment represents the collective in- terests of cities and towns statewide and will guide the League of Arizona Cities and Town's lobbying efforts during the upcoming legislative ses- sion that begins in January 2018. Next year's League conference will be held in Tucson, August 20-23, 2019. YourPassNow offers visitors digital access to America's public lands YUMA, Ariz. – Recreationists will now be able to easily purchase rec- reation permits online for Bureau of Land Management Long Term Visi- tor Areas (LTVA), making access to public lands more convenient. The permits will be available through the digital marketplace, YourPass- Now (https://www.yourpassnow. com/. This innovation is made pos- sible through a partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and NIC Inc., a digital government services provider. "Purchasing a permit through YourPassNow offers our visitors improved access to recreational op- portunities on public lands," said William Mack, Jr., BLM's Colorado River District Manager. "This digi- tal service will greatly improve the convenience of visiting LTVA sites and streamline our internal BLM fee collection process. We are excit- ed to pilot this service for the BLM and hope to continue to enhance the visitor experience on public lands." YourPassNow provides an alterna- tive to the traditional paper-based, in-person purchase method while simultaneously providing public lands with a tool to help manage the visitor experience. Using a personal device, visitors can purchase passes and permits from www.yourpass- now.com. Once purchased, passes and permits can be downloaded or stored to a virtual wallet for imme- diate and future use, unless other- wise specifi ed. Passes and permits are also emailed for those who want to print their pass. The BLM offers long-term camp- ing opportunities for up to seven months between September 15 and April 15 at the following designated Long Term Visitor Area locations, THRIFT STORE Benefitting the La Paz County Animal Shelter in Parker Supported by your generous donations! 455 E. Main St. Quartzsite Open Tues. thru Sat. 9-3 928-927-4223 585 N. Central Quartzsite Open Mon-Fri 8-5 928-927-8787 Johnny DelPino, Owner BEST AUTO RV & TRUCK REPAIR SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON!

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