Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com June 15, 2016 OPINION 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 By Shanana "Rain" BearCat 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 Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published.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 pub- lished. Phone numbers are for verification only and will not be printed. Mail letters to: Desert Messenger, P.O. Box 3185, Quartzsite, AZ 85359 or E-mail to Editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 DEADLINE : WED. JULY 6 TH for the july 13 Th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com At the General Election in No- vember of 2016 the Quartzsite Fire District Board will increase its membership from three to five members. There will have three seats available. If you live within the boundaries of the fire district and are interested in serving the community as a Fire Board Member please contact La Paz County Elections Department at (928)-669-6149. Please be aware that Rainbow Acres and La Paz Valley are within the boundaries of the fire district and qualified per- sons from those areas are welcome to run for the fire board and rep- resent their area. The Quartzsite Fire Department also has a limited number of Board Member Packets for this non-partisan nomination petition. Packets must be properly complet- ed and filed at the Elections De- partment in Parker between July 11th, 2016 and August 10, 2016 to be eligible. For more information contact Kevin Scholl the Elections Director at the above number. If you would like to speak to a cur- rent board member, please call the Fire Station at 927-6556. Fire board openings Chamber & Tourism on summer hours I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our peaceful Sunday morning was shattered with the news of the hor- rific terrorist shooting at a popu- lar LGBT night club in Orlando, Florida. My heart sank with the news that so many beautiful lives were cut short, just while enjoying a night out with friends. We could easily get into arguments about gun controls, political rhetoric and blaming "them." Anger and blame is natural, but rarely works to heal. Putting up our defenses in the face of such violence and terror is an expected reflex. However, the collective sadness and grief our na- tion is feeling deserve our attention and compassion more than angrily pointing fingers. As a target of hateful attacks right here in our community, I personally feel the pain of our relatives, yes, our relatives, for we are all related. Because no matter how different we may see things, or how opposing our If you need someone to speak with after Sunday's devastating news, Cenpatico Crisis Line is open 24 hours/day. 1-866-495-6735 ideas may seem to be, when you put yourself in the shoes of another with empathy, you'll realize that we all have far more in common than the differences we think we have. Bill Bullard said… "Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowl- edge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding." What happened in Orlando impacts all of us. Not just LGBT people and their families, but all Americans. We must all come together and be united against hate and violence. Support each other and... As my elder Buck Ghosthorse said, "Always...Pray for your enemies." The new Chamber Area Chamber & Tourism are now on summer hours. The office is Open 10am-2pm; closed Tuesdays and Sunday. Drop in and see what's happening! Check out the Facebook page for updates: business and social media tools, current events, etc. The Chamber & Tourism is located at 1240 W. Main Street, Quartzsite, directly across from McDonald's. For more info visit www.QuartzsiteTourism.com or call 928-927-5200.

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