Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com September 4, 2019 DESERT MESSENGER Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper Proud to be a Quartzsite Licensed Business 928-916-4235 O� T��� - E���� T���! Founded by Walt Akin October 1, 2004 P�������� �� P���� R��� P��������� C�. P.O. Box 3185 Quartzsite, AZ 85359 P�������� ����� � ����� 1st & 3rd Wednesday Sept. thru May with Special Summer Editions June, July & August EDITOR/PUBLISHER Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST Joanne Winer GUEST COLUMNIST Gypsy Jane Finley CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE LETTERING Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.MyQuartzsite.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 2018 © Copyright All Rights Reserved Copyright 2013 Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Desert Messenger. LIKE US on Facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews FOLLOW US on Twitter @QuartzsiteRain Neighborhood Watch to meet Quartzsite Neighborhood Watch meets the fi rst Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. The next meeting will be THURS- DAY, SEPT 5TH, 2019, at the Quartzsite Community Cen- ter. For more information contact the Quartzsite Police Department at 928-927-4644. County Landfill Transfer Station now on Summer Hours The Quartzsite Transfer Station is now on their SUMMER hours. They are open Sunday thru Tuesday, 6:00am to 1:00pm. Summer hours are from April 1 thru Sept. 30. Dump your trash for free at the Transfer Station. Please cover your load. For more info call the Main landfi ll 928-916-1253 or Main offi ce at 928-854-9152. The transfer sta- tion is located north of Town, just off Hwy. 95, near the Sewer Treat- ment Plant. By Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear The new school year already be- gun for our local youngsters. But for many students the excitement is tempered by caution and worry. "It is an unfortunate reality that violence exists on our school cam- puses," explains Mahsa Karimi, Manager of Education with Allied Universal. According to StopBullying.gov, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or per- ceived power imbalance. "Rather than simply avoiding a bully, learning to identify untoward behaviors and working to discour- age and rectify can create better outcomes for both bully and intend- ed and unintended targets." We teach our students to keep their hands to themselves, show respect for teachers and fellow students, to have empathy for those suffering. However, students are seeing bul- lying between adult leaders on the nightly news. What happened to lead by example? According to Toni Birdsong, a Family Safety Evangelist to McAfee, "If the adults are the bullies, where does that leave our kids? Who do they look to understand character traits such as tolerance, empathy, and common civility online?" She said, "This is your cue, parents, to push your way back onto center stage." To help your child process what's going on in the news, Birdsong has some great tips: Don't assume your child is understanding and appro- priately assimilating the adult bul- lying they see going on in the media (or even in their community). They are scrolling, laughing, and likely, confused about the adult bullying they see — whether they talk about it or not. A) Have critical conversations about the power of words, the importance of humility, and the power of empa- thy. Be the digital role model kids so desperately need today. B) Model a healthy perspective on- line and off. Let your kids see you handle confl ict well and weigh your online responses wisely. C) Allow them to see you make mistakes and make amends. Teach them tolerance, kindness, and for- giveness every chance you get. D) Teach your kids to create balance in the content they consume. Point out all the right stuff happening on- line outside of the rash of bullying they encounter. So as an adult, what can you do if you happen to get into the line of fi re with another adult? It's not go- ing to be enjoyable, but if you act swiftly, hopefully, you can cut the confl ict short. "Bullying always has social and emotional consequences, whether we experience them or not. It's up to parents, educators, leaders, leg- islators, and family advocates to re- draw those lines for ourselves and, more importantly, for the kids look- ing up to us for guidance," Birdsong said. Let's encourage students them- selves to feel empowered to be the catalysts for change on their cam- puses. So as adults, let us be shining examples of being better human be- ings for our future generation. Let us show compassion through our words, deeds and actions. Let us reach out to those who are different to learn more. "Some people try to be tall by cutting off the heads of others." —Paramahansa Yogananda VFW Auxiliary is asking for dona- tions for the women Veterans at Prescott Hospital. The items being requested must be new in original packaging or with tags on each. Items being requested by the Hos- pital include: socks, pajamas, robes, underwear, sport bras, nice shirts and pants, sweat shirts and sweat pants. All sizes are needed. Donations can be placed in the marked clothes hamper at the Post. Cash donations are also accepted. Let's help these Heroes feel good about themselves and feel in their new outfi ts. VFW Auxiliary seeks donations

• Cover