Desert Messenger

Read Desert MESSENGER E-edition online @ www.MyQuartzsite.com August 12, 2015 www.DesertMessenger.com 7 Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily represent those of the Desert Messenger. letters to the editor DID YOU KNOW... Well, we have hit the mid-mark for paying and collecting the property tax in La Paz County for this current year, and once again I have to share with you the continuing bad news. Accord- ing to the La Paz County Treasure's records, we are once again on track to send the Yuma Administration of Arizona Western College over $5,000,000.00. That means that over the past 7 years we have sent the Yuma Admin- istration of Arizona Western College over $30,000,000.00. If you are con- fused, that is Thirty MILLION U.S. dollars. Sometimes I wonder, because of the lack of outrage I have seen over the past couple of years when this information fi nally came to light, if the tax payers in our county realize all that money leaves the county to be used totally however the Yuma Administration of Arizona Western College chooses. La Paz tax payers have no voice in the matter. In the same period of time the La Paz operation of Arizona Western College has received less than $1,000,000.00 per year in order to operate. To make it a little clearer for those that are not great in math; over the last 7 years we have sent the Yuma Administration of Arizona Western College over $30,000,000.00 and re- ceived back in college services less than $7,000,000.00. What a GREAT deal!!! How many people out there have noticed the old John Deer building is gone? That building was bought and paid for by the tax payers of La Paz County. This was a building that of- fered the people of La Paz numerous classrooms and offi ces which could be used to offer additional academic and technical classes badly need by our students. In addition, in the rear of the property, there was a building complete with cranes and other valu- able industrial equipment that was for a long time leased to La Paz County and used as our county vehicle main- tenance shop. When AWC terminated the lease with the county it sat vacant East Side Breadery 928-927-6715 INSIDE AL'S RV PARK 510 S. Riggles, Quartzsite Corner of Riggles and E. Kuehn SUMMER HOURS ORDER 7 DAYS/WEEK 928-927-6715 Closed the last Sunday of month. Cinnamon Rolls Artisan Breads Desserts and much much more! Check out our menu on Facebook and at www.EastSideBreadery.com Nature's Nuggets BUYS & SELLS GOLD Nuggets - Jewelry- Coins- Sivler Call Richard 928-927-5479 • 435-730-3388 In Quartzsite over 20 Years! GOLD SHOW Feb. 12-14 2016 Quartzsite Licensed Business for years, eliminating the income it produced, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a possible income producing space. At the time I was the Direc- tor of the AWC operation in La Paz County, our now County Supervisor D.L. Wilson had at least one company interested in leasing the space and re-locating their business to Parker. At this same time an AWC Governing Board member and I met with a local construction company that set the cost of bring the building up to code so it could be used again at $50,000.00 to $70,000.00 and another company that estimated the salvage value of the ma- terial in that building at $700,000.00 or more. Now we are left with a vacant lot with a sign on it promising something to come, sometime in the future. What a GREAT deal!! Has anyone heard what they got for salvage of the building and industrial equipment in the building? Jim Brouillette, Former Director AWC La Paz GRATEFUL TO ST. MARY'S I would like to take a moment to share with all of you who weren't aware, our Food Bank's latest bid for partnership has been a huge success. Last winter we reported our desire to become affi li- ated with St. Mary's Alliance, the fi rst food bank in the WORLD and one of the largest in the USA. Now we can let it be known that we were successful. This month, to the benefi t of our cli- ents, we became offi cially part of their system. What this provides for us is a more stable base of food. We still will count on local contributions of funds and canned goods, but during the sum- mer, when the snowbirds leave, we'll not have to see food bank's shelves suddenly become bare. Likewise, in the winter, when we have more clients, we'll not face terrible shortages. It's truly a win-win situation as Quartzsite gains stable basic food and now St. Mary's Alliance is closer to fulfi lling their goal of "Eliminating Hunger in Arizona". As recent as last year, the only county not affi liated with St. Mary's Alliance was LaPaz. Now that is no longer the case. Thank you St. Mary's Alliance and congratulations to the Quartzsite Food Bank. Frank Oulman RECALL UPDATE Freedom from Hal Davidson Recall In regards to the recall of Hal David- son, many people have asked me why he needs to be recalled. Being on the Council it is important to be able to think for yourself and decide things on their own merits. Mr. Davidson has shown that he has diffi culty doing this. He has also shown an inability to understand the Arizona Open Meeting Law. Mr. Davidson conducted a serial meeting when he distributed a letter of support for the police chief, asking all council members to sign the letter. He is also using his personal e-mail ac- count for Town Business. After several Public Records Requests (PRR), he has refused to provide any e-mails in regards to Town Business. Through other PRR requests it was revealed that Mr. Davidson has in fact received e-mails from the Town of Quartzsite and has sent them from his personal e-mail address. By Mr. Davidson not providing the e-mails requested and potentially deleting public records, he has shown the inability to be open and transparent. I have heard from multi- ple people, that Mr. Davidson said he'd like to resign from his counsel position but is afraid to. Through observing Mr. Davidson these past few months it is crystal clear that he does not have the ability to be a leader of our community. There's an old saying "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way". Mr. Davidson is not a leader, he is more of a follower. For Quartzsite to move forward he should either resign or be recalled and get out the way. Those are some of the reasons I have started this recall. If any registered Quartzsite voter would like to sign the recall petition, I always have them with me, so any time you see me you're more than welcome to sign the recall petition. E-mail me at "starrkj7cc@exede.net " so we can ar- range to meet so you can exercise your constitutional rights and sign the recall petition . I thank everyone for their support in this matter. Starr BearCat Quartzsite

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