Desert Messenger

26 www.DesertMessenger.com October 18, 2023 SPECIAL SECTION �������������������� Serving The Communities Of Quartzsite, Ehrenberg, Brenda & Bouse ��������������������� ������������������� Raging waters in Quartzsite locals make the best of situation by Joann Winer Last Tuesday's council meeting was fi lled to capacity as two new members of council were sworn in after the Sept. 1 st recall election votes were accepted by Town Council vote to be offi cial. Quartzsite Magistrate, Terry Frausto, performed the ceremony at the front of the council chambers, with winners Joe Winslow and Barbara Cowell taking the oath of offi ce and being seated at the beginning of the meeting. Barbara Cowell won the recall elec- tion against Bill Moore by a landslide. She has been a resident of Quartzsite for over 40 years, and has raised her family here with her husband, Everett. Barbara has been in business in Quartz- site for many of those years, and for the past several years has been a real estate agent, fi rst with Betty Hunter Realty, and more recently with Arizona West- coast Realty. She has been very active in the town, volunteering for many clubs and organizations, and has been a very active member of the Quartzsite Rotary for many years. Barbara has always been very community oriented, and has seen many changes in all the years she has been a part of Quartzsite. She feels that this background and experience will work to help bring more positive things to Quartzsite, and help promote the town to our winter visitors. Barbara has been well respected in our commu- nity, and most people in town know her as a hard worker and dedicated mother and businesswoman. Recall winners sworn in Joe Winslow is a newer member of the Quartzsite community, who also won his seat by a large margin over the other candidates, winning Carolyn Guthrie's seat. Joe is probably known best in town as the co-founder and president of Operation Hero Comfort, a group that sends hundreds of packages to troops in harm's way each year since they started in 2006. Joe also has a background that will work well for the town's future. He has been a resident here for 8 years. He is a retired Army Infantry Sergeant of 24 years, and also spent 2 years in the Navy as part of the Western Pacifi c Formosa Control. Joe is a former Atomic Energy physical/electronic security employee at Mercury, Nev. test facility, and has experience with emergency operations and disaster planning/reaction. He was the military archivist with Washington State from 1990-1996. Joe has a BA in fi ne arts, and did post graduate studies. Joe is a lifetime member of many military organizations, including VFW, DAV, AM- VETS, American Legion, Cold War Veter- ans Assoc., and National Infantry Assoc. He is also a member of Berlin American Veterans Assoc., U.S.S. Rupertus Assoc., and Sons of the American Revolution. Joe is also a founding sponsor of both the National Infantry Museum and the National Native American Museum of the Smithsonian Institute. His experiences and expertise will also be of great benefi t to the council. Congratulations to our two new Council Members! They will fi ll in the seats until the next election where the terms of the recalled members are up. New Council Members Barbara Cowell and Joe Winslow Sat. Sept. 5, 2009, Tyson Wash over ran its banks, & washed out all three roads, dividing the town, east to west. The next day, locals enjoyed what some call Lake Hamilton, the parking lot at Rice Ranch which turned into a huge lake. Above, owners of Rice Ranch, CW and Doris Hamilton, took a ride on the lake on Roy Austin's pontoon boat. Left, Vito Austin brought out his jet ski and gave a great show on the "lake". The unusual sounds brought lots of curious onlookers! More photos on page 8.

• Cover