Desert Messenger

10 www.DesertMessenger.com April 20, 2022 SEE DISQUALIFIED PAGE 16 Gardening with Dennis is here for you! BONDED NOTARY PUBLIC • Mobile Notary Service • Professional Correspondence • Proof Reading • Copies Year Round Quartzsite Resident 562-682-7283 PESTS! By Alex Taft It is easy to assume that because of our dry climate pests are few and far between. Not so. In 2012 all the desert museum palo verde trees along the Plymouth Ave. Walking Trail were losing their leaves. Den- nis was immediately concerned. On the ground around each tree were bits of black detritus. The cause was the palo verde buck mouth caterpil- lar. These critters attack trees such as cottonwood, mesquite, and palo verde. The black detritus we discov- ered was caterpillar poop. The then Parks Department did re- search on how to protect the trees and contacted the La Paz County Extension Offi ce. The result is we found a way. Caterpillars it seems, climb trees. The mechanism to pro- tect the trees was to prevent them from climbing. We wrapped the tree near the base with white paper and then wrapped fl ypaper around that. It prevented the caterpillars from climbing to attack the trees. The trees recovered and are still stand- ing ten years later. A non-toxic and effective solution. If you have sage bushes, you may have encountered white fl ies. They can nest in the sage and if you dis- turb the bush in any way, a cloud of white fl ies can erupt in your face. White fl ies also like house plants if they can get to them. The solution is a spray bottle fi lled with water and a little dish washing soap. Simple, non-toxic and inexpensive. Ironwood trees are called that for a reason. They repel insects that would eat the leaves and bore holes in the trunk. They are not, however, immune to black aphids. If aphids descend on an ironwood during the blooming season, they draw most of the sweetness from the fl owers and in return they secrete a sweet solu- tion. Aphids work fast. One day the tree will look like a pink cloud and the next day some of the branches will be black and shiny, slick from the aphid secretion and in a couple of days most of the tree will be black. The result is that a tree produces very few bean pods for that season. A large tree can look black and shiny and dead. It is not. What you are seeing is the secre- tions by the aphids which is called honeydew. It will bloom again next year, hopefully free of aphids. There are several options to deal with aphids. One is the traditional way of using an insecticide on the tree. Another is to use a biological deterrent, such as lady bugs or lace- wings. Another way is to mix castile soap and water to spray trees, but this is not practical on a large tree. Sometimes just hosing off the tree can at least temporarily remove the aphids. From memory, in one year out of the almost thirty years I have lived here, did I see aphids at- tack most of the ironwoods in town. It happened after a drought fi lled year. It is not a common event but it is quite a sight. So the pests in the desert besides the obvious scorpi- ons, spiders and fl ies can occasion- ally be a problem, but simple and safe remedies exist. Note: for those who did not know Dennis, he was a part-time employ- ee of the town parks department, a Master Gardener since 1985 and instructor for the Master Gardener Class. He passed away in 2018. which include compliance with all federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations (i.e., to include, but not exclusive of, state standards of conduct for public offi cials, confl ict of interest, open meetings laws and the like). (D) Failure to comply with this sec- tion shall result in ineligibility of the candidate or elected offi cial seeking re-election to be qualifi ed to run or be appointed to town offi ce. Questions were raised about should the members of council that are run- ning for election recuse themselves from this item? Town Attorney Jo- seph Estes explained, "The agenda items do not apply to you personal- ly," even though it may look to ben- efi t individuals in the election. He stated, "No, it's not a disqualifi ca- tion. I would suggest it is a require- ment for you as a council member to consider these issues. Those are not disqualifi cation matters for in- dividual council members." Estes explained, "It was deter- mined that Mr. Roth did not pull permits when permits were re- quired. He also delinquent in his utility bill with the Town." Roth dis- puted the claims and said, "I'll give you a thousand bucks if you can fi nd a utility bill with my name in it, in Quartzsite. It doesn't exist." Council adjourned into Executive Session for legal advice from the Town At- torney. When they returned, Estes stated, "According to the fi le infor- mation on the utility account, Mr. Roth is listed as a co-applicant on the account application form with the Town." When Mayor Simpson asked Roth if he understood what was said, that his signature was on the account, Roth replied, "I've heard enough." Council's vote was unanimous. Regarding Dennis Vosper, Estes explained, "There's an outstanding fi ne that was imposed against Mr. Vosper in 2020 by an attorney in his fi rm, before Estes arrived there. "Regarding to an election campaign violation, that he was found to be responsible for and it has never been paid and remains unpaid." He explained an opportunity was pro- vided for Vospter's response. Espes said, "A notice of violation and a notice of imposition of penalty was issued. Vosper had an opportunity to appeal to the Superior Court. He intended his intent to appeal, but there has been no appeal and the fi ne has not been paid." Vosper told the council said he would not be there if the Town attorney had not followed the law. Vosper said, "We're talk- ing about the $100 fi ne itself." He blamed Starr BearCat, who fi led the complaint, saying it was mischie- vous, because she was running at the time. "I wanted my day in court and that's why I didn't pay the fi ne. I think I deserve an apology, I never got my day in court, I was not given an appeal. I am unable to appeal. My name is not in the court system. I would say the Town did violate the law and I actually would like an apology with the threat of not being able to run. It's a form of tyranny. I never got my day in court." Estes explained "When a complaint for a campaign violation is made the enforcement offi cer (Town At- torney) is required to take certain steps and to investigate the allega- tions. Notices were sent out asking for information; a due process of sort. ARS 16-938.e-2 requires the enforcement offi cer to determine the value of the violation. The val- ue of the coordinated expenditures DISQUALIFIED FROM PAGE 1

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