Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com December 2, 2015 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 Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published.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 Street addresses will not be published.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 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 P�������� ����� � ����� 1st & 3rd Wednesday Sept. thru May with Special Summer Editions June, July & August EDITOR/PUBLISHER Shanana "Rain" BearCat CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST Joanne Winer GUEST COLUMNIST Jedidiah Free GUEST COLUMNIST Gypsy Jane Finley CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE LETTERING Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.MyQuartzsite.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com Copyright 2013 Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Desert Messenger. LIKE US on Facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews FOLLOW US on Twitter @QuartzsiteRain The funny thing about the above quote is there are so many people try- ing to decide who gets the credit. I hope you and your loved ones enjoyed the Thanksgiving Weekend. It was a very busy weekend in town with folks busy not worrying about who gets the credit: • Members of a French film crew spent almost two weeks in town pre- paring for a documentary film about the people, events and beauty in and around Quartzsite. They'll be back in January for all the fun! • Volunteers made the days surround- ing Thanksgiving a time to remember by cooking delicious meals for hun- dreds, delivering lots of smiles and laughter to everyone attending. • Shop Small Saturday was a great success in town! Many business owners wanted to get involved and offered specials for local shoppers the By Shanana "Rain" BearCat day after Black Friday. Volunteers are planning for a bigger and better day next year! • Strangers in line sharing heart-felt gratitude for sharing. • Shoppers found unique and beauti- ful items at the annual Santa's Work- shop Arts & Crafts Fair. Even the cold couldn't keep the shoppers from having a great time. The nice thing about all these volunteers is no one cares who gets the credit. They do it for the love of serving the community. This is such a liberating thought that drives creativ- ity, leadership and change in a society. In our world of instant gratification through social media with "Likes" giv- ing validation, it's amazing when folks just live their passion. Quartzsite is well known for its huge volunteer force and we are truly blessed with such generosity. We all enjoy being recognized for our ac- complishments, but I think the above quote asks us to check our motivation in life. Why do we do what we do? Is it because we enjoy doing it and we want to give value to the world? Do we look for opportunities to help? On Thanksgiving, we shared with our relations our gratitude and blessings in life. We can carry this gratitude forward every day. Pick an organization and volunteer. It's fun! "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." DEADLINE : WED. DEC . 9 TH for the dec 16 th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com WACOG seeks input Western Arizona Council of Gov- ernments (WACOG) is conducting two citizen surveys, one under the Area Agency on Aging for residents age 60 and over (https://www.sur- veymonkey.com/r/wacogaaa15) and one under Community Services and Head Start programs (https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/wacoghs15) for any residents of La Paz, Mohave and Yuma Counties. WACOG wants to gather responses from both those that have and those that have not used WACOG services. As a Community Action Agency, Head Start provider, and Area Agency on Aging, WACOG must periodically evaluate the needs and assets of the community in order to plan and develop services that ad- dress these. Brian H. Babiars, WACOG Execu- tive Director, says, "The informa- tion gathered is shared with the community and other nonprofits. The data guides program develop- ment and supports funding for ser- vices at WACOG and other commu- nity agencies." The surveys are also available in Spanish for both Community Services (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ wacoghs2015es) and Senior Services (https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/ wacogaaa15es). WACOG is collecting community input with these surveys through January 8, 2016. Western Arizona Council of Gov- ernments (WACOG) has a vision of western Arizona communities where all residents, including those in poverty and the most vulnerable populations, can flourish and pros- per. WACOG believes that all peo- ple should have the tools needed for self-sufficiency and empower- ment to achieve their full potential and contribute to their community. WACOG serves over 23,000 indi- viduals and families annually and has been working in our community for over 40 years.

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