Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com August 17, 2022 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 NOW PUBLISHED ONCE/MONTH on the 3rd Wednesday of each month OWNER/EDITOR/PUBLISHER GRAPHIC DESIGN/ AP AR MARKETING EXECUTIVE/CLASSIFIEDS Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE DESIGN Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.DesertMessengerOnline.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 2022-23© 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 By Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear QUARTZSITE ROCKS! LETTERS TO EDITOR POLICY Desert Messenger encourages letters from its readers. Letters should be no longer than 300 words, and may be edited for grammar, content and length. OPINIONS EXPRESSED HEREIN DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THOSE OF THE DESERT MESSENGER. We invite you to not only see a problem, but search for the solution to share with the community, keeping the benefit of all in mind. Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published. Third party letters will not be accepted. To avoid confusion over people with common or similar names, writers must provide a full name and indicate the name they are known by. Writers must provide a full street address and phone number. Rvers can provide the location of park/BLM land, etc. Street addresses will not be published. Phone numbers are for verification only and will not be printed. Send letters to: Desert Messenger, P.O. Box 3185, Quartzsite, AZ 85359 or E-mail to: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 Stay up to date 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 mo- bile phone carrieer for more details. How to Opt-Out: Text "STOP" at any time to remove yourself from the notifi cation list. Also are you looking for an- swers? 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 quick- ly fi nd the answers your looking for or help you to report an issue to the Town. DEADLINE : WED. SE PT. 9 TH for SEPT. 21 S T edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com "Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future." ~Deepak Chopra To learn from our mistakes is to move forward in life. We all have choices on how to deal with what's thrown at us. We can choose to place blame on others, or just pony up and own our actions. Some folks have some great ideas about how to improve life for Quartzsite residents. I know I was excited with new ideas when I fi rst got involved in community events. Sometimes folks told me why events were not successful in the past while others just wouldn't share any tips, but said, "It just ain't going to work." I appreciated the folks who took time to explain why certain things did or did not work in this commu- nity. Listening to their wisdom and experience actually helped shape many of the successful events I have been honored to participate in. It's truly a blessing to have so many elders in this community who are willing to share their stories with our younger people. Maybe they have ideas they wished would have occured; maybe they have knowl- edge of the history and of events in the community; maybe they are willing to share the mistakes made and give suggestions for the future. When we can listen to those who have gone before us, our lives im- prove. In that job at the newspa- per back then, I learned the folks who had been there for a long time had good reasons why they doubt- ed my ideas. However, learning about those obstacles, made work less challenging. But if I hadn't lis- tened and been stubborn, very little change would have happened. I hope the folks with new ideas re- member to keep an open mind and heart, listening to the elders to gain a better understand of the fl avor of this community, while honor- ing the traditions and what makes Quartzsite unique. It's so easy to continue the "We've always done it this way," mantra when approached with new ideas. When I was promoted to Special Projects Coordinator at a daily newspaper in northern California, the long-time employees didn't quite know how to handle my new- fangled ideas. What the heck is this young whipper-snapper doing telling us how to run our affairs? Yup, it was a bit of a challenge, but I enjoyed the opportunity. They warmed up to me when they real- ized I was not taking away from them; but I was adding to the suc- cess they had already achieved. I taught my children they are go- ing to make many mistakes; just learn from them; that's all part of growing up. I also showed them mine. If we let our mistakes con- sume our thoughts, we become "a prisoner of the past."

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