Desert Messenger

July 15, 2020 www.DesertMessenger.com 11 IMPORTANT NOTE: If you haven't received a 2020 Census Form, with a Census ID #, you can visit the fol- lowing site and just follow direc- tions for fi lling it out. It's the law, it's quick and easy and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. It's also safe, secure, and confi dential. Your response helps to direct bil- lions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads, and other public services, serves our own community and.... determines the number of seats each State gets in the House of Rep- resentatives, which is YOUR politi- cal representation. 2020 Census The unprecedented coronavi- rus pandemic has a lot of people on edge. There are rising levels off anxiety, uncertainty and fear across the country. The Salvation Army has launched, what it's calling, the fi rst nationwide hotline to provide emotional and spiritual support to anyone impacted by the crisis. The service is open to anyone looking for spiritual guidance, local ser- vices, or just someone to talk to. The Salvation Army says they have pastors and emotional-care per- sonnel ready to listen. During this time of increased stress and anxity, if you need some- one to talk to, please call our free emotional and spiritual support hotline. Staff are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, and counselors speak English and Spanish. 1-844-458-HOPE (4673) What happens if someone calls after hours? The Salvation Army says callers are encouraged to leave a message. Emotional & spiritual support from TSA FREE CLASSIFIEDS Desert Messenger offers FREE Classifi ed Ads! HERE'S THE SMALL PRINT: Items for sale under $1000. Private Party Only. 1 per month. Yard/Ga- rage/Craft Sales, Wanted, Give-a-ways, Free, Lost & Found, etc. (non-commercial) For more information, contact Rain at 928-916-4235 or Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com Council Candidate Answers Questions New way to chat with Town Hall Town of Quartzsite now offers text notifi cations on your phone through TextMyGov. iWorQ is excited to an- nounce a strategic partnership with @TextMyGov to expand citizen en- gagement with text messaging To opt in, text the word "QUARTZSITE" to 91896. What to expect: After the initial keyword is sent, you'll receive a confi rmation message asking you to reply "YES" to verify opt-in. There will be 0-4 text messages per month with a notifi cation from the Town regarding the categories you are opted-in for. Message and data rates may apply. Check with your mobile phone carrieer for more de- tails. How to Opt-Out: Text "STOP" at any time to remove yourself from the notifi caiton list. Also are you looking for answers? Need to report an issue? Now you can Text the Town of Quartzsite directly. Introducing the new way to skip a phone call and use your mobile phone's text messaging to fi nd answers to your questions. Text "hi" or one the words listed be- low, to 928-260-4442. "Trees, Sewer, Contact, Street, Wa- ter, Pothole, Weeds, Departments, FAQ." TextMyGov will help you to quickly fi nd the answers your looking for or help you to report an issue to the Town. [Editor's Note: Mr. Smith's re- sponse was not received in time for June 17th edition, so it is being printed in fairness to all council candidates] Primary Election is Tuesday, August 4, 2020. [Readers can View all the other candidate's responsed online at www.DesertMessengerOnline.com, June 17th, 2020 edition.] The Desert Messenger offered local can- didates the opportunity to readers for free. These questions were asked of all local-race candidates for Town Council. 1. Candidate Name: 2. Position Seeking: 3: Campaign Website/Social Media: 4. What in your background, train- ing, and experience qualifi es you for the position you are seeking? 5. In the past year, what activities have you participated in which have benefi ted the Quartzsite community? 6. What do you consider to be the most important public issues and what actions will you propose to adress them? 7. If elected, how will your posi- tion benefi t the community? The following candidates are run- ning for Quartzsite Town Council, (in alphabetical order) Elect One 4-yr Mayor, Elect Two 4- yr Council Members,Elect One 2-yr Council Member Candidates listed on the Ballot: MAYOR Norman Simpson 4 yr COUNCIL Karey Amon, 2 yr Starr BearCat, 4 yr Beverly Cunningham, 4 yr Randy Smith (no response) 2 yr Monica Timberlake, 2 yr Dennis Vosper, 2 yr Write-in Candidates fi led Mayor- Amber Myers, 4 yr Council - Don Day 4 yr Council - Sam Saxton, 4 yr Randy Smith My name is Randy Smith. I am running for the two year term for town council. I have a bachelor's degree from Cal State LA and nursing license from Calif. I retired from California corrections where I was a nurse. I have no pri- or experience in politics and feel that is an asset since I have no baggage to bring with me to the job. I will come to the position with an open mind and a fresh outlook. After I retired from CDCR, I drove the Camel Ex- press for the town and have seen a little of how the town is run. I have lived in the area since 2007 and seen Quartzsite when it was a busy winter haven for snow- birds and vendors and watched it dwindle down to 50 % or less of its full potential. I feel this needs to be improved otherwise this town will become just another dot on the ten freeway. We need to bring back vendors and create jobs for the locals who live here full time. I feel this is one of the most impor- tant things, if not the most impor- tant thing we can do for this town to survive. We need to work with property and store owners in town to come up with solutions to bring vendors back to Quartzsite. As a member of town council I want to work with these business owners to fi nd ways to do this. I recently became one of the managers of the new "Win Win Bingo " casino here in town. The philosophy and strat- egy of the owner of "Win Win" is for businesses in town to work together as a team to help each other grow and bring jobs back. This is the example I will follow as a town council member to help bring businesses and people together as a community. The only way this town will come back to life is to put aside our complaints and self- ish attitudes and look at the common goal for the town and at this point the goal must be to bring jobs and ven- dors back. The only way to do this is for the town to work with the busi- ness and property owners. There must be some give and take from both sides. How will I do this? I will have an open mind, listen to ev- eryone, and look at all sides.

• Cover