Desert Messenger

May 2, 2012

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Page 22 PERSPECTIVES FROM PAGE 19 very wrong. It makes you wonder why he left high school in Yuma and came here. Further, in speaking with other teachers and having many colleagues from large cities that were (and are) teachers and college professors then and now, I find: 1. Teacher suicide: definition of a teacher who slowly goes up the ladder (middle to high school) then comes crashing down for some questionable action or ability all the way down to el- ementary school in a very small out-of- the-way town like Quartzsite, Arizona. 2. How can a teacher be allowed to speak and act politically when they are hired as paid public school teachers? 3. How would students' parents react to a teacher who is paid by tax dollars being in politics and knowing their children will have substitute teachers for a lot of the time losing continuity. How would a teacher in politics do his daily teaching, grading, preparing tests, attend special meetings, school conferences, parents' meetings, and school events? 4. For 12 months out of the year, not just 9, a Councilperson spends a lot of time on Town business, Town train- ing, Town Court Cases, Town issues in La Paz, Parker, Tucson, Yuma, Phoe- nix, work sessions and Town Meetings and ALL during school hours/days. www.DesertMessenger.com This includes on a rotating basis, at- tending all of the numerous Boards and Committees, Town Hall Meetings, signing Town checks. Finally this in- cludes annual conferences and train- ing, which last four days at various locations throughout Arizona. How can the School District justify giving Orgeron's students much lower qual- ity education with the lack of continu- ity and substitute teachers so often? And, how could the District justify the huge expense (from our taxes) for all the substitute teachers? How can the District justify giving a paid teacher all of this time off and require other teachers to work their full weeks? Lastly, how can the District avoid law- suits for unfair and unequal treatment for "some" teachers? We expect all Council members to be available, also on a rotating basis, to show up at Town Events (personally, I have never seen Mark Orgeron at any Council Meetings, rarely at Town Events). I am very concerned, and you also should be when you read Mark Orgeron's answers to questions that are indeed sarcastic, inflammatory to- ward specific public members without any due process only innuendo and hearsay of his own friends. Others have told me of their shock that he had spoken in this manner. Well, it is a shock and a shame that a teacher paid by our tax-paying dollars is abusing his station as a teacher to pontificate politically. Recently, Mark Orgeron, a Head Teacher at Quartzsite Elementary School has been in the papers for this Facebook comment: "Corrupting Ar- izona's students one child at a time". In light of recent Scholar Academy's serious digression, we should be more aware of impropriety when it comes to our Teachers and connecting with staff or our students. Our children matter, their parents matter and our Towns- people matter. Teachers are role mod- els for our children, all of them, all of the time, and should clearly be held to higher standards no matter what. I am very tired of certain people playing dirty and with no decency or reality. I urge everyone to vote and understand that the current Council has done well for this Town. We aren't without some problems as just hap- pened last week and totally unrelated to Town's politics. You can all see our beautification projects, new busi- nesses, the Community Building that will be breaking ground next month, increased vendor permits, and mostly, a safe, quiet, and lovely town to live or visit. Please vote and deal with the reality: Quartzsite is terrific and grow- ing, keep it on its path, vote with in- tent, vote for progress as it has started, and will continue…vote! NOTICE to Advertisers: Please check your ad(s). Errors/corrections must be submitted before deadline, to be published in the next avail- able edition of the Desert Messenger. DEADLINES are printed - in multiple locations - in EVERY issue of the Desert Messenger! For rates and deadlines visit www.DesertMessenger.com PUZZLE PAGE ANSWERS (from page 20) May 2, 2012 Don't keep your heap! The economy is showing signs of recovery even with the rising cost of gas. Many people who held on to their car during the recession are now looking to replace it with a more fuel efficient one. If you are one of those people, you have to figure out what to do with your car. If your vehicle does not get good gas mileage, has a lot of miles, is more than 5 years old or is not in good condition, the dealership won't offer you much for it as a trade in. They won't want it because there is no demand for it. It will be difficult to sell it privately for the same reason. One alternative is to sell it for a couple of hundred dollars to a junk yard. A better alternative is to donate your car to charity. Cars4Charities will gladly take your old car, no mat- ter what shape it is in. In return for your generosity, you will get a tax deduction of $500 or more. They have hundreds of charities that can be helped by your car donation. For details, please go to http:// www.cars4charities.org/ or call 866.448.3487. of the Desert Messenger Email: desertmessenger7@yahoo.com DEADLINE is WED. May 9 for May 16th issue Phone: 541-218-2560 www.DesertMessenger.com

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