Desert Messenger

WED. SEPT. 1, 2010 Vol. 7 Issue #114 www.DesertMessenger.com ONE COPY PER PERSON PLEASE NOW ONLINE! Recalls again Public Notice: There will be a Special Recall Election on March 8, 2011. The offices to be recalled are two council seats. Councilmembers Joe Winslow and Bar- bara Cowell, who were elected in May, 2010, have been recalled. • Candidates wishing to apply for the two council seats can pick up pack- ets no earlier than No- vember 8, 2010, 8am. • Packets will be available at Town Hall, 465 N. Plym- outh Ave. Quartzsite. • Candidate packets filing dealine is no later than Dec. 8, 2010 at 5:00pm. Candidate packets should be filed at Town Hall. • Voter registration dead- line for the Special Elec- tion is February 7, 2011. 2 4 6 8 10 12 15 16 18 20 What’s Inside Editorial Letters to Editor Stone Stories Happenings Voices from the Past Virus in Quartzsite? Restaurants Church Directory Leave No Trace Puzzles 22-23 Classifieds Quartzsite’s FREE Community Paper Mayor Foster under review by Ethics Committee QUARTZSITE -The newly formed Ad Hoc Ethics Committee held their 3rd meeting on Monday, Aug. 23, at 4pm at Town Hall. Newly elected Mayor Ed Fos- ter did not attend, stating in a letter, “I will not be appearing before your committee on Au- gust 24 or at any other time.” Vice Mayor Barbara Cowell, Senior Councilmembers Jose Lizarraga and Bob Kelley ex- plained the process of how “we got here today”. Cowell stated, “We did not want to do this!” referring to the commit- tee being formed to address the questionable behaviors of the mayor. She presented a 3” binder of documents that had been pre- pared for this meeting. A re- dacted version for the public is now available at the Library. Town Ordinance dictates that a “suspected violation or alleged violation by a Council member, must be reported to the Mayor. Any suspected vio- lation or alleged violation by the Mayor must be reported to the Vice Mayor.” Following procedures of Town Codes, Mayor Ed Foster was contacted to seek a reso- lution of the matter. The next step was to convene a special ad hoc committee to “conduct inquiries and investigations as necessary to fulfill their ob- ligation”. “The incident or violation is not minor if it involves the injury, or potential injury (physical, emotional, defa- mation, harassment, etc.) to any person, significant expo- sure to the Town Treasury or probability for a repeat occur- rence.” The meeting continued with allegations of: • Using town letterhead with- out direction of the majority of the council. • Making multiple complaints to State Agencies using town letterhead, representing the town without approval of the majority of the council. Com- plaints and investigations have been made with DPS, Arizona Attorney General’s office, AZ Post, La Paz County Sheriff’s Dept. There was no notice given by Foster to the Town Manager, Town Coun- cil or Town Attorney regard- ing the initiation of these in- vestigations. Town Attorney filed Freedom of Information requests with many different state agencies to get clarifica- tion of rumors around town and the Internet. • Publishing false statements that “the town is insolvent” on Foster’s website when the town has been under budget for the past two years. • Making demands of town employees and Town Man- ager Alex Taft. Town Code clearly states “A council mem- ber shall not direct town staff to initiate any action, change a course of action, or prepare any report....without the ap- proval of the Town Council.” • Creating a Hostile Work En- vironment with employees at Town Hall. • Misuse of the Title of Mayor • Misrepresenting the Town’s Officer James Schultz returns from Kuwait Quartzsite - At the regular meeting of the Town Council on Monday, Aug. 23rd, Officer Jim Schultz was honored by the Quartzsite Police Dept. Police Chief Jeff Gilbert welcomed Officer Schultz back to full duty with the Quartz- site Police Department after serving in Kuwait with Co- alition Forces and Command with the 3rd Army. Schultz was promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel during his 488 days of active duty. In recognition of his service, Chief Gilbert presented Schultz with a framed picture that honors all veterans. “It is the veteran who has given us the freedom of speech, of religion, of press, the right to assemble, the right to a fair trial, and the right to vote.” Dennis Dole, VFW Ari- zona Commander, representing the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the State of Arizona, gave a hearty welcome home with a Certificate of Appreciation. Dole said, “Your service and sacrifice are greatly appreciated!” Officers from VFW Post 769 and Auxiliary were present. Jill Schultz was also honored by the Ladies Auxiliary for “keeping the home fires burning while your loved one was deployed”. Shultz was given two standing ovations by the crowd. Welcome back home! position on issues. • Making false statements with state agencies • Presenting evidence that was falsified to a state agency • Many other issues were discussed. Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert said, “This whole event since he’s been elected as mayor, with the allegations, accusa- tions, charges, and complaints, have worn deeply on me, the department and the community. It’s gone beyond creating a hostile work environment, every officer that serves this town has been affected by this. The QPD is not corrupt! Quartzsite is a wonderful community. I do believe the community will heal from this!” The Ethics Committee met again on Monday, Aug. 30 in pri- vate. As of press time, no decision had been announced. The whole meeting was video taped and is now available on www.youtube.com/QWatchingEyes. Visit www.QuartzsiteBlog. com and www.DesertMessenger.com for the latest updates. FREE!

• Cover