Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com November 18, 2020 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 OWNER/EDITOR/PUBLISHER GRAPHIC DESIGN/ AP AR MARKETING EXECUTIVE/CLASSIFIEDS Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST Jackie Deal CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE DESIGN Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.MyQuartzsite.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 2020 © Copyright All Rights Reserved 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" Golden-Bear 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 com- munity, 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 Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published.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 loca- tion of park/BLM land, etc. Street addresses will not be published. 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. NOV. 25 TH for Dec. 2 nd edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com QUARTZSITE ROCKS! Warning: This is not one of my typical "Feel-good, Peace, Love, Joy" editorials! So you may have heard there was an election two weeks ago. Some folks are angry, some folks are hap- py. By the way, this happens every election cycle. Some win and some lose. Meanwhile Life during a Pan- demic goes on....or not. Yes, I know a few folks who are no longer with us due to this disease. On World Kindness Day, I actually got yelled at to "take off that damn mask." We all know this behavior is not acceptable. But it seems almost no one in local government wants to take the lead, so here goes... We are all fi ghting an invisible but common enemy, and it is im- perative that we collectively be- come part of the solution, and not part of the problem. But if folks continue ignoring state and federal health guidelines, Quartzsite could be the next superspreader event. New lockdowns and restrictions are sweeping the nation as COVID- 19 cases rise. Case numbers were on the rise Monday in 49 states and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to the latest NBC News data. Utah now requires people wear masks any time they are with- in six feet of someone outside of their household. In just one day this weekend, I've had discussions with 6 different peo- ple concerned about the thousands of visitors (and residents) not wear- ing face coverings. One email start- ed, "I hope you can do something..." Well, I alone cannot, but if everyone spoke to those who actually make these decisions, maybe something would change. I'm bombarded daily with folks wondering why Town Hall has not taken a stronger stance on mandat- ing or even encouraging mask wear- ing in our community. Town Coun- cil did mandate face coverings for all Town properties. Well, okay, so that's a start. Let's protect Town em- ployees...The fi rst draft of the reso- lution only encouraged "residents" to wear face coverings. Are you fl ip- "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." ~ Dr. Theodore Seuss Geisel pin' kidding me? Who proof-reads these things? Thankfully, Council Member Starr BearCat realized this and strongly encouraged the change to change the words to "the public." I haven't seen most Town Council members or Town Administration making any public statements re- garding this pandemic. So many residents have contact- ed me with deep concerns for their safety this season. I listen. I hope. I pray. I then say, I don't have any power to do anything. I suggest they contact the business owners or corporate offi ce when clerks don't enforce their company's requiring wearing a face covering. Write the Town Council via email. Call them. Call Town Hall until you are heard. I cannot do this alone... nor can you. But together, our words have power. We have lost too many peo- ple to this horrible disease, and NO, it's not "just the fl u." One concern of having a mask mandate is anti-maskers will fl ock to other communities to shop and do business. From the countless Face- book comments, texts, emails and phone calls to me, folks are already shopping where they feel safer, such as Parker & Blythe, where face cov- erings are mandated. Got another argument? Oh, yeah, "personal choice/freedom." And if this was one of those situations where your choice had absolutely no impact on me, I'd say, hey, feel free to do what- ever you want, but the virus doesn't care about your personal opinions. At the beginning of this pandem- ic, I wrote about how our elders teach us to take care of each other, to honor our elders, to love one an- other as family. We are our broth- ers and sisters keepers. As Dr. Seuss teaches us, indi- viduals can make a difference, but it starts with caring and taking re- sponsibility. If we want to continue shopping locally, it's up to us to wear our face coverings. If we want to support our local businesses dur- ing this time, wear your face cover- ing while in public. If we all did this together, we can slow the spread!

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