Desert Messenger

May 6, 2015 www.DesertMessenger.com 7 OPINION Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily represent those of the Desert Messenger. letters to the editor THANK YOU We were travelling from Yuma on our way home to Canada, through Quartzsite on April 8/2015. We were a mile and half south of Quartzsite, on highway 95, where the road is busy and narrow with very little shoulder. This is where we got a fl at tire. It was a dangerous situation as we were not right off the highway. As we were struggling to release the donut and fi gure out how to put the jack together a Quartzsite police offi cer arrived. He was heading south, did a u turn and used his car as blocker to protect us while we had to change the fl at tire. The offi cer then proceeded to retrieve the donut tire from under the center of our van and change our fl at tire, doing all the work himself. Talking to him he had only been an offi cer in Quartzsite for a couple of months, and had recently moved from Wisconsin. He had just fi nished a fourteen hour shift and was on his way home. He had us up and going in record time, (I think we would have been struggling for hours). Many thanks again to that offi cer. Unfortunately we can't remember his name. Just wanted to share a very posi- tive experience with the Quartzsite Police Dept. Sincerely, Lee Crowley and Donna Walker THANK YOU TO YA SPONSORS On April 17th -19th, local youth had an opportunity to participate in the Turn up the Music program with the Young Americans, thanks in part from several scholarships from Quartzsite businesses and com- munity members. Over 3 days, the participants worked with members of the Young Americans cast on singing, dancing, song writing and improv before performing in a one hour show for members of the community. This is the second time the program has been hosted by Palo Verde College in Blythe, Ca. and this time almost 30 students from Quartzsite and the Quartzsite Elementary School District participated. The Young Americans were founded in 1962 as the fi rst show choir by Milton C. Anderson. In 1992, "after witnessing the removal of music programs in our nation's schools due to budget cuts, The Young Americans decided to create the National Mu- sic Outreach Tour. The goal of the tour- to bring music back into schools, opening doors of discovery for the musical talents of young people. Students spend 3 days learning to work together, to respect each other's strengths and to discover their own potential- all through the universal language of music and dance." In 2000 they began their fi rst Interna- tional tour, and currently have tours in the U.S. Europe, The U.K. and Ireland and Japan. The current "Turn up the Music" campaign has had over 750,000 stu- dents participate worldwide has made a commitment of $1,000,000.00 to fund arts programs in the communi- ties they visit. On April 19th, they presented Palo Verde College with a check for $1090.00 for their pro- grams. In addition, on April 17th, The Young Americans cast took time to do a one hour show at Ehrenberg El- ementary School that was attended by all the students of both Quartzsite and Ehrenberg Elementary schools. The following business and individu- als made it possible for one or more children to attend the three day work- shop; Gold Prospectors Association of America, Hardee's Beads and Jewelry, Silly Al's Pizza, The East Side Bread- ery, The Desert Messenger, Council Member Loretta Warner, Council Member Carol Kelley, and Pamela Caskey. A huge thank you goes out to them for their willingness to support our youth and the arts in our community. Monica Timberlake Quartzsite East Side Breadery 928-927-6715 INSIDE AL'S RV PARK 510 S. Riggles, Quartzsite Corner of Riggles and E. Kuehn FARMERS MARKET Every Wednesday thru March Desert Gardens Showgrounds East end • 8 am-12 noon STORE ON THE PORCH NOW OPEN Mon - Sat • 8-4 through March Sundays order and pick up only. May make exception to bake when ordered by 10am Sunday Morning. Closed the last Sunday of month. Sourdough Breads Cinnamon Rolls Artisan Breads Fudge, Cakes and Goodies on hand in store every day! Check out our menu on Facebook and at www.EastSideBreadery.com Nature's Nuggets BUYS & SELLS GOLD Nuggets - Jewelry- coins Call Richard 928-927-5479 • 435-730-3388 In Quartzsite over 15 Years! Gold Sand Concentrates Placer Gold 24 Mesh Size up to Nuggets Quartzsite Licensed Business Paul Winer, Quartzsite's ambassador? By Shanana Rain BearCat Over the past few months, major news reporters have been visit- ing local personality Paul Winer at his bookstore, Readers Oasis in Quartzsite. On March 31st, the LA Times reporter, Carolyn Kellogg featured Paul Winer in her article, "The strange, true tale of the naked bookseller." Her article is found at http://www.latimes.com/books/ jacketcopy/la-et-jc-the-strange- true-tale-of-the-naked-bookseller- 20150331-story.html Sam McManis, the Sacramento Bee's Travel Writer, roams the region to fi nd unique articles for Sacramento readers. McManis came to Quartzsite last month to interview Paul Winer. The article, "Naked (almost) bookseller draws crowds to a small Arizona town" appeared in his column Discover- ies on April 24th. Read Discoveries here: http:// www.sacbee.com/entertainment/ living/travel/sam-mcmanis/ar- ticle19561614.html#storylink=cpy Both reporters also interviewed locals and snowbirds while Winer entertained them with his famous boogie woogie blues piano playing and singing. Winer told Desert Messenger snowbirds from Sacramento drove to Quartzsite to give him a copy of the article. All this publicity is putting Quartzsite on the map and drawing tourists to see the "almost naked bookseller."

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