Quartzsite Mayor Ed Foster suppresses Public Comments

6 Videos are now available online.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-LCT--Qa70&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=17bbUE_LFDc

The videos are of the Quartzsite Town Council meeting of October 26, 2010. See and hear for yourself Mayor Ed Foster's words telling the Council Members and the public he would not accept any comments under "Reports and Announcements". Council Member Patricia Anderson asked about the council reports. Foster denied any reports or announcements. His excuse was he was afraid that someone might say something off topic and he could be fined, according to Arizona Open Meeting Laws. Foster said he would seek a second opinion after Town Attorney Pamela Walsma advised him of his obligations.

He also denied the people's free speech rights during "Communications/Petitions and Citizen Comments". Both items were on the agenda. Originally, Mayor Ed Foster was not going to allow any public comments at all during the meeting, but he changed his mind, allowing comments under each agenda item.

There are 6 videos in all.

NOTICE: if anyone wishes to make a report or announcement at the next Quartzsite Town Council meeting of Tues. Nov. 9, 2010, make sure it gets on the agenda. According to Town Code Section V.2, "Requests for items to be placed on the agenda should be submitted to the Town Manager or Town Clerk in writing no later than 11:00am on the Wednesday of the week preceding the scheduled Council meeting."

Make sure your submission request is turned in by 11am Wed. Nov. 3, 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-LCT--Qa70&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=17bbUE_LFDc

Also in the Quartzsite Town Council meeting of Tues. Oct. 26th, the council passed new regulations regarding vendor permits. One of the big changes is that there is now a Special Event Vendor Permit for only $15. This will allow vendors to come for one, two or three day events in Quartzsite and not have to pay the normal $50 fee.

Quartzsite Town Hall meeting today 3pm, QIA

There is a Town Hall meeting planned for this afternoon at 3pm to be held at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA). This is an open meeting for the public to discuss town issues with Quartzsite council members. It is a moderated meeting and questions should be submitted on cards, which will be provided.

According to Wikipedia,

 "A town hall meeting is an informal public meeting. Everybody in a community is invited to attend, voice their opinions, and hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest, although attendees rarely vote on an issue. In today's heterogeneous communities with large populations, more often, town hall meetings are held so that people can influence elected officials in their decision making or to give them a chance to feel that their voices are being heard."

ATV Trails near Quartzsite informational meeting, Nov. 3

Parker, AZ- The public is invited to the Parker meeting with Arizona Sunriders ATV Club to help bring awareness to the potential threat of trail closures.

Response has been so great location has moved to:
Parker High School- Multi Purpose room- located just left of the student parking lot.
1600 Kofa Ave
Parker, AZ 85344
Time: 6:00 pm

The issue at hand is the possible trail closures by the BLM. Please come and learn how you can help!

928-669-6115- office number

AZ Centennial Event Calendar Planning meeting tonight!

If you missed the last meeting, here's your chance to have input for the Arizona Centennial of Quartzsite Committee plans for the year!

Join us at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) on Ironwood at 7pm. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Arizona! Don't miss out on the fun! Organizations, clubs, churches, businesses, groups, individuals, and snowbirds are ALL WELCOME!

The meeting is held in cooperation with the Quartzsite Busines Chamber of Commerce during their regular business meeting. It doesn’t matter if you are ‘seasonal’, snowbirds or snowbird groups, winter visitor-related, or year-round. The more the merrier. Come one, come all.

Bring your calendars for the rest of this year and especially next year’s to coordinate with the Centennial’s calendar. It will give one large “kick” to a fun Centennial Year finishing off with the biggest party of the State here in Quartzsite ending on February 14, 2012!

What an awesome day! Rockin' in Quartzsite and Red Ribbon Week kickoff!

Thank you Quartzsite for another beautiful event for the whole community! This post will have more personal touches than normal, as I am so grateful for the countless volunteers that helped make yesterday's event such a positive experience for the community!

Rockin' in Quartzsite is a public art event focusing on the uniqueness of what drew many folks to this area, the rocks! Artists paint rock art pieces which go on display around town for the whole season. In March, the rock art will be auctioned at the Rock Auction! Using a Volunteer Equity Program, funds raised will be donated back to the community through the various organizations designated by the volunteers.

The 2nd Annual Rockin' in Quartzsite kicked off yesterday!  Quartzsite Community Prevention Coalition joined the event this year with kid's events, free hot dogs and t-shirts. The theme was "If you abuse..." alcohol, prescription and illicite drugs. There was a special guest teenager, who shared her pain of losing 4 friends over the last two years to drug abuse.

This year, Proud Neighbors of Quartzsite decided to change it up a bit, by using flagstone slabs instead of boulders. Last year, some boulders were difficult to see on the ground. By using the slabs, the level of visibility will increase. Many hours of discussion were held about how to display the rock art. Mark Goldberg, an artist and creative genius, designed and built a protype stand for the stones.  Many volunteers gathered at his workshop to cut, drill, sand, and paint the beautiful stands to showcase the artists work. Mr. Goldberg worked very hard on attention to details and his concern for safety was paramount! Thank you, Mark Goldberg for the untold hours of work you have put into this project.

Hats off to

• Inland Builders, Ace Hardware in Blythe, CA for donating all the flagstone slabs and building materials for the Rock Art Pieces and stands. Thank you sooo much for your generousity and support of our community!
• Kym Scott, of Tyson Wells Showgrounds for the extremely generous donation of his warehouse for two weeks! We couldn't do it without you, Kym! Hearts of gratitude for how much to contribute to the community of Quartzsite!
• Mark Goldberg, for his incredible design, hard work, and long hours assembling the stands for the slabs. And to the many volunteers he recruited to help, even Council member Patricia Anderson and her husband, Floyd,  pounded a few nails!
• Roger Williams for stepping up to take on the position of project manager for an event about which he knew little. Thank you to his wife, Patty, also for her long hours of volunteering! Awesome job!
• All the artists who are donating their time and creative energies for this public art event! Jesse Koontz (Ray Ray), Tina Moore, Nan Burrows, Carol Brainerd, Patricia Oechslin, Mary Jo Gilder, Ron Stoltz, Jo Foster Snow, QES Students, Penai Bettmann, Mark Goldberg, Rainbow Patrick, Betty Michel, Annette Crandall, Rita Wilson. Artists Rock in Quartzsite!
• Quartzsite Elementary School (QES) 3rd & 4th grade teacher, Mr. Wymer. Also of QES: Linda Ward (who's brilliant idea got the kids motivated) and Trina LaFontane for their many hours of volunteering.
• 16 QES students who painted two Rock Art Pieces and their parents for allowing them to participate. 3rd graders, Ashley Coen, Frederick Hull, Gabriel Norris, Daniel Perez. 4th graders, Savana Adams, Isadore Baeza, Daniel Bedzyk, Cherokee Frazier, Cobey Hager, Zachary Hager, Rober Hull, Maleiah Sharp, Colton Robertson, Laianni Sales, Jeffrey Scott, Jasmine Tinoco. It was a pleasure to have you all there! We hope to see you on Nov. 6th at the Artist Reception! 
• Thank you to Quartzsite Community Prevention Coalition coordinators, Tracey Richardson and Yesenia Jackson and all their volunteers. Isaiah 58 Project cooked the hot dogs, Mike and Linda Hobby coordinated a great effort for this event!
• John D. "Skip" Gallup volunteered many hours of photography, both for the 1st Annual Rockin' in Quartzsite and this year's event. You can see his photos of last year's event hanging at Quartzsite Town Hall.  Thanks, Skip, for also taking photos of the Ribbon Cutting yesterday at Alternative Therapies!
• Thank you, Monica Timberlake, for your tireless volunteering for this and many other events for the community! You Rock!
• Town of Quartzsite helped with the use of the fork lift to get the pallet of stones off the truck. Thank you so much, Town Manager Alex Taft for your help and flexibility!
• To the volunteer membership of Proud Neighbors of Quartzsite, I say a heartfelt thank you!  Awesome job everyone! I really appreciate the cooperation of everyone working together. Every event seems to have a few glitches, but ya'll worked together great and without losing your sense of humor! We have many more hours ahead of us, getting ready for the Artist Reception. Let's show Quartzsite what an amazing community we have when we all get together for the benefit of Quartzsite!

Tyson Wells Showgrounds allowed us to transform a warehouse into the Rock Motel where the Rock Art Pieces are now asleep in their "beds". The artists will be painting for the next couple of weeks, away from public viewing. (We don't want to "disturb the rocks" or "awake them" before it's time! tee hee) And then....

Please join us for the

Artist Reception Gala on Saturday, Nov. 6th from 5-8pm.

The public is invited to meet the artists and help wake up the Rocks so they can move onto their next locations all around town for the whole winter season! Here's your chance to get the first look at all the rock art, in one place, before they "hit the town"! This fancy event will honor our artists and allow them to shine! Please join us for the free elegant meet and greet evening of fun, food and entertainment.

Sponsor locations will be found in the Rock Map, published in the Desert Messenger. The public will be able to vote on their favorite for the People's Choice Award at each sponsor's location. Make sure to say thank you to the sponsors, also! It does take a village for an event of this magnitude to happen, so please spread the word and thank everyone involved.

New Roundabout near Quartzsite! Vicksburg Rd. & Hwy 60

Construction begins on new roundabout at US 60 & Vicksburg Road Monday


The Arizona Department of Transportation is transforming a four-way stop intersection into a new roundabout at the interchange of Vicksburg Road and the US 60 east of Quartzsite in La Paz County . Construction will begin on Monday, Oct. 25 and should be completed by early spring 2011.
During construction motorists can expect:

•Beginning Oct. 25, work crews will be on-site from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. •Lane closures will take place and workers will be directing traffic through construction zone. •Vicksburg Road interchange will be closed to through traffic beginning Nov. 8. It is expected to reopen by the Thanksgiving weekend. •Local residents will have access to Vicksburg Road . •When Vicksburg Road closes, crews will work from 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. •US 60 will remain open at all times. •No work during holidays.

ADOT will replace the existing intersection with a roundabout to improve the flow of traffic through the area. The project also involves removing and replacing existing pavement as well as new lighting, traffic controls and upgrades to the drainage system. The closure of Vicksburg Road will allow the duration of construction to be reduced by two-and-a-half months and will keep motorists and workers safe during construction.

Message boards will be displayed to inform commuters of construction updates and restrictions. Law enforcement officers will be present along the work zone to control traffic and monitor speeds.
As always, drivers are reminded to proceed through the work zone with caution, slow down, and be alert for construction equipment and personnel.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.

For more information regarding this project, please contact Gaby Gonzalez at (928) 699-8983 or e-mail ggonzalez@azdot.gov.

Rockin' in Quartzsite! Today

It'll be a busy day in Quartzsite today!

There will be a ribbon cutting and open house to welcome a new business to Quartzsite at 10 a.m. The new business in town is Alternative Therapies, owned and operated by Barbara Lancaster. Barbara is a registered nurse, who is also trained in Reiki, Hypnosis, and Ear Candling. She also sells Mary Kay products.
Barbara's new office is located at Palm Plaza #8--255 N.Central Blvd (Hwy 95N).
The ribbon cutting is being sponsored by the Quartzsite Business Chamber of Commerce. Please come out
and show your support for this great new business in town and meet Barbara Lancaster and get to know what she does. Refreshments will be served after the ceremony. For further information, please call Barbara at 927-5858.

Proud Neighbors of Quartzsite presents the 2nd Annual Rockin' in Quartzsite- A Celebration of the Arts! Come on from 11-1 down to the Rock Motel and see the Rock Art Pieces being painted. There will be 15 third and fourth graders from Quartzsite Elementary School joining the fun this year. The Quartzsite Community Prevention Coalition will also be kicking off Red Ribbon Week. There will be lots of activities for the whole family along with free hot dogs! Come join the fun and see the new Rock Art!
This free family event will also include rock painting and a chance to meet the artists. The Red Hat Run-Abouts will have their October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month fundraising booth.
If you missed last year’s event, don’t miss this one! The artists are painting flagstone slabs, which will be very visible when the Rock Art is placed all around town from early November through March 1st. The Rock Art will be available for purchase at the Rock Auction on March 5, 2011.
 
After Rockin' in Quartzsite take a short drive over to Blythe for a car show. There will be a special concert following the car show in Blythe on October 23 at Quechan Park. The concert will feature Paul Winer doing some great piano boogie woogie and blues, doing songs he wrote from his Sweet Pie days, and will be accompanied by Ralph Martin on the washtub base. There is a dinner before the show and it starts at 5 p.m. The entertainment starts at 6 p.m. Cost for the dinner and show is $15.00 per persons, just for the entertainment $8.00. Have a great day at the car show and stay for the dinner and entertainment.The Country Rangers, who are playing at the car show, will also be featured at the evening dinner and entertainment show.They do classic rock and roll, country and country rock. For more information, please call Sam Patel at 760-922-5143.