Desert Messenger

6 www.DesertMessenger.com September 20, 2023 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 NOW PUBLISHED ONCE/MONTH on the 3rd Wednesday of each month OWNER/EDITOR/PUBLISHER GRAPHIC DESIGN/ AP AR MARKETING EXECUTIVE/CLASSIFIEDS Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Starr BearCat NAME PLATE DESIGN Paul Winer www.DesertMessenger.com www.DesertMessengerOnline.com E-mail: Editor@DesertMessenger.com 2023-24 © 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 QUARTZSITE ROCKS! "Please be responsible for the energy you bring into this space."-- Jill Bolte Taylor EDITORIAL 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 Letters considered libelous, in poor taste, on a personal issue, mean spirited or dominated by Scripture quotes will not be published.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 Street addresses will not be published.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 News celebrates 20 th year anniversary I believe in the power of kindness. Showing kindness can actually be easy when we practice compassion towards others. There are lots of ways to show kindness and when I come from compassion, everyone benefi ts. The International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day) celebrated annu- ally on September 21 is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. At a time when war and violence often monopolize our news cycles, the International Day of Peace is an inspiring reminder of what we can create together. Peace. There are those among us who won't have anything to do with World Peace Day, because of their anger or fear of the United Nations. We heard it loud and clear at a council meet- ing a few months ago, when citizens rose up against the idea of having a Peace Pole on town property. But we all must move beyond our own fears to help those around us. I prefer to focus on working to- wards peace in our world starting in our local community. We all have a role to play in fostering peace. We can start in our own home by foster- ing a peaceful environment: Play- ing peaceful music, encouraging our family members to speak softly, nurture yourself. We can also support movements for equality and human rights ev- erywhere. We can speak out against hate speech both offl ine and online. I want to work towards a world where compassion and empathy overcome suspicion and hatred. A world that we can truly be proud of. But achieving true peace requires building communities where ALL members feel that they can fl ourish. It involves creating a world in which people are treated equally. We all lose in a society character- ized by discrimination, division, dis- trust, intolerance, and hate. So how to start? Find your inner peace fi rst. Feeling at peace internally can boost overall contentment and feelings of happiness, regardless of the chal- lenges you face. Find your peace and go out a Spread a little Peace today, tomorrow and everyday! Also be sure to look for Kathy Piva's creatively decorated PEACE ROCKS which will be placed around town at the Chamber's rock garden and Celia's Rainbow Gardens. Quartzsite, AZ – Shanana Rain Golden-Bear, Publisher of Desert Messenger News, announced at the monthly Ladies Luncheon on Tues- day, August 1st that she will be re- tiring the print edition of the com- munity paper in May, 2024. She explained when she took over the 4-year old paper in 2008, she com- mitted to publishing the paper for only four more years. She said, "The number four is very sacred to me. Those four years went by, and I made commitment to an- other four years. Those four years went by again and another commit- ment was made. This year will be the completion of my fourth 4-year commitment and also happens to be the 20th anniversary!" The paper was founded in 2004 by Walt Akin, a plumber and Quartzsite Town council member, who later was appointed Mayor. The newspaper industry has faced signifi cant challenges in recent years due to the rise in printing costs, de- clines in print advertising and read- ers adopting digital news sources. In 2008, when Golden-Bear acquired the paper, it was only 12 pages, and there were a total of three Quartzsite papers available. Also back then, both the Blythe and Parker weekly news- papers actually covered Quartzsite news, but they cut back local cover- age many years ago. Golden-Bear said plans are in the works for readers to be able to ac- cess 20 years of past editions online at www.DesertMessenger.com. "I'm excited to share the past 20 years of Quartzsite history from the eyes of a small town publisher.I am open to possibilities and look forward to what the universe has in store for me!" Watch for lots of changes beginning with the September edition. Be sure to keep up to date by LIKING Desert Messenger News Facebook page. DEADLINE : WED. OCT 1 1 TH for Oct 18 th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com

• Cover