Desert Messenger

March 7, 2012

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March 7, 2012 Electronics waste recycling, March 10, Parker ADEQ Announces Free Regional La Paz County Electronics Waste Recycling Event for Saturday, March 10 in Parker PHOENIX– Arizona Department of En- vironmental Quality officials announced March 1st that a free regional La Paz Coun- ty electronics waste recycling event will be held Saturday, March 10 from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. in Parker at the old Dayton Superior building across from La Paz Re- gional Hospital in the 1200 block of West Mohave Road. ADEQ and its partners – Colorado River Indian Tribes Environmental Protection Office, Town of Parker, La Paz County, University of Arizona Extension Office and E-Waste Harvesters of Phoenix-- an- ticipate collecting tons of unwanted tele- visions, computer equipment, monitors, batteries, chargers, cell phones, VCRs, CD and DVD players, printers, small applianc- es, fax machines, stereos, cables and cords during the event. "This is the first event we have done in La Paz County and we welcome all residents of Parker, Quartzsite, Bouse and the sur- rounding areas to attend," said ADEQ Di- rector Henry Darwin. "This is a great op- portunity for people to dispose of all the unwanted electronics they have collected over the years while at the same time en- suring that this potentially toxic stream of waste is disposed of responsibly and does not take up valuable landfill space." Companies and individuals donating e- waste will receive a certificate of disposal for their records from E-Waste Harvesters if they want the document. E-Waste Har- vesters will erase all hard drives with state of the art software and recycles all mate- rials in accordance with state and federal regulations. ADEQ has sponsored 52 e-recycling events throughout the state since August 2009 and collected more than 1.3 million pounds of recyclable material from more than 10,000 vehicles attending. For more information, call (928) 662- 4336. By Alex Taft Quartzsite Town Manager There has been a lot of comment over the number of lawsuits the Town of Quartzsite has had to face. Quite often a Notice of Claim is referred to as a lawsuit. There have been many Notices of Claim. A Notice of Claim is formal notice that a party considers they have a claim against the Town for whatever reason and the Town has 60 days to respond. The claims are re- ferred to the Town's insurer. Notices of claim have been filed by individuals acting on their own behalf, attorneys acting on behalf of their clients, and even attorneys that are not part of the Arizona State Bar. These notices have often been referred to by those filing them as "lawsuits". They are not. They are talked about at length in the blogs presumably to create the impression that the Town must be doing some- thing wrong if everyone is suing them. Is the Town also dealing with law- suits? Yes, but not a hailstorm of them as the blogs would lead you to believe. One of the lawsuits that was concluded was by the former mayor, Ed Foster, who brought a court action against the Town challenging the recall peti- tions taken against him. Because Mr. Foster was an official of the Town tak- ing an action against the Town, the insurer could not be involved. The Town's attorney at the time, Pamela Walsma handled the case. Ultimately the Town argued successfully against Mr. Foster's challenge and Mr. Foster was ordered to pay the Town's attor- ney fees by the court in May of 2011 in the amount of $2598.09. This is all a matter of public record. To date, Mr. Foster has not paid those fees. More than $2,000.00 is still owed from May of last year. The recent rhetoric regarding "law- suits" can be, to quote Shakespeare, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V). www.DesertMessenger.com Town "lawsuits" update River Fair and RiverMartin Produc- tions present the 31st Annual Texaco Country Showdown "Local" Contest March 31, 2012, 6:00pm at the Colo- rado River Fairgrounds. The Annual Texaco Country Show- 31st Annual Country Showdown Blythe, CA- KJMB, The Colorado Page 7 down, is the largest Country Mu- sic Talent show, open to all ages, in the nation. Competition begins in early spring with over 450 local tal- ent contests throughout the United States. Winners then compete at the state level and then advance to one of the five regional levels of competi- tion throughout the summer and fall. Five finalists compete at the National Final's, held in January, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville for a Grand Prize of $100,000. The Na- tional Final's competition is aired on nationwide television. Solo singers, duets and bands can compete in this Nationwide Com- petition.For applications and in- formation please contact Barbara Martin @ 760.218.5677 or email bmartin@theholtgroup.net. Be sure and check out their website www.countryshowdown.com for a list of other local winners and past winners of the Texaco Country Showdown. CRAFTS & YARN Thank you to all our customers & friends! We are closed now and look forward to seeing you next season! Tyson Wells Space #11 • Dear Voters, My name is Barbara Cowell. I've lived in Quartzsite for 43 years (as of January 17, 2012). Quartzsite has taught me a lot about friendships, and about loving a place; this is my home. It's a small town and a big town, all in a matter of a few months. I worked at the Post Office for 15 years, front counter, and over and over I heard our winter residents say, "It feels like coming home", which our residents already know as home, and that's what Quartzsite should feel like, a place you want to call home. Over the past two years, since I've been on the Quartzsite Town Council, I've had to fight to keep Quartzsite a place you want to call home. There is a faction that wants to take Quartzsite back to the "no rules" era. I was here during that time, and it was a time of who you paid off to get what you wanted or just ignore the rules altogether. We had one county police officer to cover Quartzsite, Ehrenberg, and Salome. If you had an emergency, you were lucky if an officer would show that day. And the roads! Only Main Street and Highway 95 were paved. We need to stay vigilant with a council that stands strong and keeps Quartz- site on the right path. We will never be a Palm Springs, because we are just not that type of a town. We need to channel growth in the right way, and with the Baby Boomers on their way, we WILL have growth…they also love the sun. Quartzsite needs to grow. We need to be a year-round town, not one that is geared to a season that only lasts 3 months if we're lucky. Quartzsite, Arizona is a gathering place of residents, winter visitors, vendors, and tourists; all of whom enjoy this small town with a big heart. As a realtor, I have a pulse on what's coming to Quartzsite: the trade route between Mexico and I-40 finds Quartzsite as the first stop; the airport (half military/half civilian) that YPG military base would like us to go into conjunction with; investors who want to bring in additional businesses such as Jiffy Lube and Dollar General; and the Assisted Living Project that is well under way and will be built soon. JOSEPH BRUNO • BACK FLOW SPECIALIST 115 N. Emelia, PO Box 581, Quartzsite ABPA Certified No. 29-00027 928-916-4965 775-790-3260 We, as a council, are honest in everything we do. We check with our risk pool attorneys before we do anything. And now, with our in-house attorney, we can find out within minutes the best direction to take. It is sad that this council has had to be on its guard with every decision, motion and second on any subject that comes before us. One of our attorneys once said, "This council accomplished more in six months than all the other councils did in ten years." I'm proud of what this council has accomplished in the two years I've been on it. With your continued support I know that Quartzsite will continue to be the home you want and the winter home you can't wait to get back to. God bless! Barbara Cowell Paid for by Barbara Cowell, PO Box 417, Quartzsite, AZ 85346 Arlene & Dale 605-390-6379 Local Resident! Serving Quartzsite area!

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