Desert Messenger

4 www.DesertMessenger.com October 18, 2017 Art Guild gears up for the season Quartzsite Art Guild winter season begins Thursday November 2nd 2017. Meetings are held the first and third Thursday of each month. Starting at 6:00 P.M. at the Senior Center on Moon Mountain ave. Quartzsite AZ. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun, classes and showing their art work in the Art Show. $5.00 to join the Guild and an additional $5.00 to be a Senior Center Member. The first meeting will be catching up on our summer adventures as well as a refresher of 2017-2018 Art Guild planning. For more information call Linda Klein @ 509-475-9600 Guild Treasurer Nominations open for Business of the Year Town of Quartzsite Health & Development Board will honor a LOCAL Business that has demonstrated a commitment to Community Service, Business Innovation & Excellence, and Business Improvement and Growth. The public is encouraged to submit nominations with this form. A panel consisting of one member each of the Quartzsite Town Council, Quartzsite Area Chamber & Tourism, Quartzsite Business Chamber & H & D Board will review the nominations. The winner will be honored at the Quartzsite Council Meeting on Tues. Dec. 12, 2017. The nomination form is on Page 13 of this edition and is also posted on the Town's Facebook page. Return Nomination Forms to Town Hall, Senior Center or Transit Driv- ers by FRIDAY, OCT. 29, 2017. Town Hall is located at 465 N. Plym- outh Ave. 928-927-4333. Please everyone mark your calendar for the Fourth Annual Soup and Chowder Festival to be held on December 9, 2016 at the Quartzsite Improvement Assoc. (QIA.) As last year it will be held along with the Operation Hero Comfort Silent Auction. Please think about how you may be able to take part in these events. Maybe you can start trying out some different recipes for soups or chow- ders. Or Desserts. Perhaps a nice donation for the raffles for Operation Hero Comfort, the packages they send over seas to our men and women in harms way is still very much needed and appreciated. More information will be coming out soon but please save the date. The Friends of Quartzsite Food Bank needs all the help they can get to help keep the food bank going for those in our community who need their services. 4th Annual Soup & Chowder Fest planned Are you looking for something to fill some of your valuable time? Why not volunteer? Quartzsite Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism has several days and times available. Come to the Chamber located at 1240 W. Main St., Quartzsite, across from McDonald's, on Mon, Thurs thru Sat from 10am to 2 pm for more information or call 928-927-5200. Be sure to LIKE us on www.facebook.com/QtzTourism/. Volunteers wanted for chamber Washington, D.C. October 11, 2017, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after a House Commit- tee on Natural Resources legislative hearing on H.R. 2630, which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey Bureau of Land Manage- ment (BLM) land to La Paz County, Arizona, to create economic develop- ment opportunities and facilitate renewable electricity generation for the Western United States: "This bipartisan legislation is a remarkable opportunity to put Arizona's best asset, sunshine, to work. Solar energy generation in La Paz County will provide clean renewable power for the Southwestern United States as well as create high paying jobs and economic development for this rural corner of Arizona. Many are unaware of the burdensome federal land is- sues Western counties face," said Rep. Gosar, "but I am here to advocate for the citizens of La Paz County and am happy to serve as an ally for American energy opportunity." "I am pleased that a county which currently has only six percent of its land available for taxable economic use is about to see new opportuni- ties, increased employment and energy innovation. This bill will allow the County to purchase approximately 8,000 acres from the BLM at fair mar- ket value to use for solar energy development. This means a return to eco- nomic opportunity and prosperity for the hard-working citizens of La Paz County. I commend Chairman Wilson, the County Board of Supervisors and the broad stakeholders for assisting in the creation of this common- sense bill that signals a commitment to sustainable energy and innovation in Arizona." "I'd like to thank Congressman Gosar for spearheading the La Paz County Land Conveyance Act, which would finally allow us to put more of our land to good use," stated La Paz County Supervisor and Chairman of the Board D.L. Wilson. "Far from simply accepting the challenges of the immense federal footprint in our community, we are creating new opportunities to take full advantage of the unique assets of our County. The work we are doing with this bill will have direct positive impact on the lives of La Paz residents by creating good paying jobs and providing much-needed rev- enue for important county services." La Paz County, Arizona, is a small county in Southwestern Arizona de- fined by the Colorado River, vast Arizona desert, and a massive federal footprint. H.R. 2630 is a cooperative effort with the La Paz County Su- pervisors to help facilitate a land transfer from Bureau of Land Manage- ment to the County. Because of the limited private land available in the County, a sale of federal land to the County is necessary to provide enough space for this type of development. This transfer would allow the County to purchase land at fair-market value from the BLM, which they can use to pursue utility-scale sustainable solar energy production with private de- velopers. The land is located about 35 miles west of Quartzsite. After acquiring the approximately 8,000 acres from BLM, the La Paz County Board of Supervisors intend to create long-term lease contracts with renewable energy project developers. This effort responds to national demand to increase renewable power generation while also helping to cre- ate new sources of revenue to address the economic challenges inherent to a jurisdiction with almost 95% of the County's property owned by federal, state or tribal governments. La Paz County proposes to use a similar process to acquire a large parcel of property that could interconnect with the "Ten West Link" currently proposed to transect La Paz County. County seeks transfer of BLM 8,000 acres for economic development

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