Desert Messenger

DESERT MESSENGER Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper Proud to be a Quartzsite Licensed Business 928-916-4235 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" Golden-Bear CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST Joanne Winer GUEST COLUMNIST Louise Rouse GUEST COLUMNIST Jedidiah Free GUEST COLUMNIST The late Rosalee O Wheeler GUEST COLUMNIST Violet Kiss 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 Copyright 2014 6 www.DesertMessenger.com February 19, 2014 By Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear OPINION I hope you enjoying watching athletes from around the globe live their dreams in Sochi for the Olympics. Some sports are team sports, while others are individ- ual competitions. However, not one athlete has made their journey to the Sochi without the support of someone. I was inspired by the story of total strangers coming together to donate thousands of dollars for an American athlete to live out his dream. That's the ultimate team mindset at work! Whenever a town gets a new administrator, the community choses how to adjust to these changes. We could become like a bucket of crabs, or move for- ward in a positive direction as a unifi ed team. We can chose to leave behind our grievances and support each other, collaborating for a better future, or we can fall prey to the Crab Mentality. Crab mentality refers to an interesting phenom- enon that occurs in buckets of live crabs. If one crab attempts to escape from Unity is strength..when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. ~Mattie Stepanek 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 208-290-5102 Honey Do Lists? Builder with 35 years experience in satisfied customers! High quality workmanship Small to Large Projects Call Rich! not a licensed contractor the bucket, the others will pull it back down rather than allowing it to get free. Sometimes the crabs seem almost malicious, waiting until the crab has almost escaped before yanking it back into the pot, grabbing at each other in useless "king of the hill" competition, ensuring their collective demise. When you see someone aspiring to live their dreams, instead of fi nding ways to bring them back to the pack, encourage them in their endeavours and allow yourself to be inspired by them. Instead of pulling them back into the bucket, give them a helping hand to get out. And when you look around, make sure that you're not sur- rounded by crabs. Olympic athletes cannot afford to participate in Crab Mentality; neither can we. We have the opportunity to work together, heal the wounds of the past and welcome the changes which will inevitably come with the young- est Town Manager that Quartzsite has ever had. Let us welcome new ideas and embrace the fun ahead! Across from McDonald's • Quartzsite NEED CASH? Jim Buys GOLD! Broken Jewelry, Old Teeth, Coins, Nuggets, etc. 1240 W. Main Street Don't leave your dog in a car on a hot day! How many times have we heard that? And yet, it is easy to tell yourself "I just had the air conditioning on so the car is cool and I'll just be a few min- utes". But did you know: - a study by McMaster University found that within 20 minutes on a 95 degree F day, the temperature of a small car that was just air-conditioned can exceed 122 degrees F within 20 minutes and soar to 150 degrees F within 40 minutes? (Leaving the win- dow slightly didn't help.) - on a cooler 78 degree day, tempera- tures inside a car parked in the shade can reach 90 degrees or higher — and reach 160 degrees if the car is in the sun - even on a sunny day when the tem- perature is only in the 60s, a vehicle can reach dangerously high tempera- tures inside - rolling down the windows won't help much on a hot day and can leave your pet vulnerable to escape or danger from passersby and confi ning a dog in an enclosed space creates the risk the dog will become aggressive and could bite someone sticking their hands in the window, perhaps someone trying to rescue the dog - leaving your pet in a car with the air conditioning running can be danger- ous – the compressor can shut down if the engine gets too hot and blow hot air into the car. (Dogs have died this way) - something could happen to delay you while your dog or other pet is left in the car too long with fatal results - animals don't sweat like we do and if dogs have only hot air to breathe, they can die of heat stroke or suffer brain damage - in just 15 minutes in a hot car, your pet's body temperature can climb to levels that will cause permanent injury or even death Also, even though you do not intend to hurt your pet by leaving him in the car on a warm day while you shop, have dinner, or visit a friend, it is illegal in many states, including Arizona. Arizona Revised Statutes allow police and animal control offi cers all over the state more latitude in enforcing the animal cruelty laws and rendering aid to animals in need. Call 911 if needed. It's hot for Fido

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