Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.

April, 2018

• 18 April

  Ground broken on new industrial facility

  

  A new business is opening in Parker South, also known as Parker Annex. The Town of Parker and the La Paz Economic Development Corporation broke ground Friday on a new facility for a company called Environmental Waste Solutions. Environmental Waste Solutions services California, Nevada and Arizona, and revolves around recycling of industrial liquids, industrial solids, and California regulated waste. The …

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• 17 April

  Man arrested near school after standoff with cops

  

  A man has been arrested in the town of Parker after a standoff with law enforcement officers from various area agencies. The man, who was reportedly wanted for homicide, was barricaded inside an apartment near the intersection of 9th Street and Mohave Avenue in Parker on Monday afternoon. Agencies including La Paz County Sheriff’s Department, Parker Police Department, Colorado River …

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• 13 April

  Parker kid on TV, cops crash his birthday

  

  Cristian Alvarado wants to be a cop. His 6th birthday party was ‘crashed’ by members from several local law enforcement agencies, giving him what he told his mom was the best birthday ever. The police gave him his birthday present – a new puppy called Sergeant – and he ended up being featured on multiple state TV news outlets. Cristian’s …

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• 12 April

  To The Editor: What’s with this road to nowhere?

  

  This letter comes from a person wondering why the County is working on a dead-end road: With all the recent publicity surrounding La Paz County finances, employee furloughs, layoffs, lack of funds, why is La Paz County busy building a Road To Nowhere? For the past week or so La Paz County workers and construction vehicles have been busy upriver …

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• 11 April

  Parker teachers join statewide movement to increase education funding

  

  Blake Primary School teachers staged a “Walk-In” today to show support for the “Red for Ed” movement in Arizona, showing solidarity with the statewide movement to increase teacher salaries in Arizona. The state’s teachers are among the lowest-paid in the nation. Adjusted for local cost of living, federal figures show Arizona elementary teachers rank 49th in earnings and high school …

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• 9 April

  COLUMN: Pro wrestling is real?

  

  In case you didn’t know it, last night – April 8th – was this year’s ‘WrestleMania.’ No, I didn’t watch it, since I’m one cheap guy and refuse to pay for things like that. And no, the results of the matches aren’t important here at all. But there’s just one big point I want to make this month and here …

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• 6 April

  ‘Mock fatal’ demonstrates risks to students

  

  A ‘mock fatal’ demonstrated to Parker High School students Friday the risks of drunk driving and distracted driving, and urged that students not get into a vehicle with anyone who has been drinking. The ‘accident’ was staged in front of the bleachers at Joe Bush Stadium for hundreds of Parker High School students who watched as real police, fire, ambulance …

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• 3 April

  AWC open mic night to provide showcase for artists

  

  Writers, musicians, dancers, comics and other artists will perform one after another at Arizona Western College in Parker in a few weeks, on an ‘open mic night’ intended to showcase the local arts. Each act will be given a slot of 3 – 5 minutes in which they can share their work, according to organizer David Kern. “I’m a big …

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• 2 April

  Man arrested for smoking weed in front of Sheriff’s Department

  

  If you’re going to smoke weed illegally, the worst place to do it may be directly in front of the Sheriff’s Department. A man was arrested Monday morning in Parker, Arizona after deputies discovered him allegedly smoking marijuana directly in front of the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department. Lieutenant Richard Epps said he was sitting in his office when he …

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March, 2018

• 29 March

  New 911 dispatch center made out of reclaimed office space

  

  These are the people you will talk to if you ever need to call 911 in the Parker area. And they have new digs, thanks to a decision to clear out an old outdated system of files at the Sheriff’s headquarters in Parker, saving money and creating a larger space. La Paz County Dispatch is the vital link between citizens …

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• 22 March

  Viewfinder: Rainbow Over P Mountain

  

  Rainbow over P Mountain, as seen from Avi Sequilla Airport. No filter.

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• 21 March

  La Paz court decision on medical marijuana upheld

  

  A decision made in a Parker courtroom regarding medical marijuana across state lines has been upheld by the Arizona Court of Appeals. Stanley Kemmish, a California resident, was stopped by the Arizona Department of Public Safety in La Paz County in 2016 for a headlight violation. When the two officers approached his window, they detected a marijuana odor and a …

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• 19 March

  Business leader to speak to Parker businesses

  

  A motivational speaker is to talk to the Parker business community this week on the subjects, ‘Leadership for Business Success’ and ‘Customer Service: Inside and Out’. David Aaker is an internationally recognized motivational keynote speaker, trainer and author in customer service, leadership and communication. He has been invited by the Parker Regional Chamber of Commerce and Tourism to give two …

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• 15 March

  Bill Williams swells after Army Corps release

  

  A release of water from Alamo Lake swelled the Bill Williams River this week as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared for maintenance and repairs on the dam.   The maximum flow on the Bill Williams was seen Thursday, with around 5000 cubic feet per second coming through the dam. A sharp drop-off in flow is planned for the …

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• 6 March

  COLUMN: The value of long time friendships

  

  We hear a lot now days about the value of family and that’s good. I often think that the more the American family deteriorates, the more we talk about how important family is; as if we can make our families healthy and whole just by wishing! Of course it takes a lot more than that. But I don’t think we …

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• 5 March

  Alamo Lake to be “flushed” March 12th, says Army Corps Colonel

  

  Colonel Kirk E. Gibbs of the Army Corps of Engineers was in Parker, AZ on Monday to address the La Paz County Board of Supervisors regarding an upcoming release of water from Alamo Lake which will increase flow in the Bill Williams River downstream. The release is necessary for maintenance of the dam, according to Gibbs, who is the Commander …

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• 5 March

  Matthew Newman will not seek re-election as judge

  

  Matt Newman will not seek re-election as Presiding Judge of the La Paz County Superior Court, he told his staff Monday. Newman was appointed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey last year after the retirement of former judge Samuel Vederman, who now has his own law practice in the area. He took the bench as the 4th judge of the court …

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February, 2018

• 23 February

  CRIT recall is about water rights, council responses

  

  Tribal water rights are at the center of an effort by two members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to recall the entire CRIT Tribal Council. Tim Stevens-Welsh and Amber Van Fleet took out recall petitions and gathered enough signatures to trigger the special election, which will be held in April. They say the Tribal Council should not be …

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• 22 February

  Parker schools respond to 2 student gun statements

  

  Neither incident represented a legitimate threat or intention, according to police, but schools responded in abundance of caution — Two Parker school principals have written letters to parents about alleged statements from students regarding firearms in the days since the Parkland, Florida shooting. First, a Parker High School student was taken into custody on February 16th after he allegedly talked …

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• 21 February

  New film reveals how 4 tribes became part of CRIT reservation

  

  A new 54-minute documentary film will tell the story of how families from four different southwestern tribes came together to live as one entity, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT), and how a Japanese-American internment camp played a role in how it all happened. The film is set to premiere in Parker, AZ next week. In Our Voice: The Chemehuevi, …

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• 5 February

  COLUMN: Live! – Just Live

  

  It’s amazing the kind of things that pass for news stories nowadays, isn’t it? Just the other day a news personality who I follow on social media mentioned the results of a new study and wondered what her followers thought of it. So I told her. This column is a longer, more thoughtful version of that response. As reported by …

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• 1 February

  This former truck stop just went up for auction online

  

  PHOTOS BELOW. A prime piece of commercial real estate next to Interstate 10 in Quartzsite just went up for auction online, and there’s no reserve. The property formerly known as Ted’s Truck Stop and Ted’s Bull Pen has frontage on Main Street in Quartzsite and on I-10, with a huge sign included. It’s almost 8 acres in total. “It’s been …

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January, 2018

• 29 January

  Viewfinder: Controlled brush burn south of Parker

  

  The Colorado River Indian Tribes Fire Department oversaw a controlled burn Monday just south of the town of Parker, clearing brush from a field adjacent to the Ahakav Tribal Preserve. Photos by Parker Live. Click to enlarge.

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• 26 January

  Justice for Cynthia: Parker man and woman sentenced for 2016 murder

  

  A Parker man and woman have both been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for the 2016 murder of Cynthia Williams, whose body was found in a canal in the valley south of Parker. Cynthia Williams On Wednesday, Sharon Marie Clark, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to 25 years in prison, followed by a …

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• 23 January

  Parker man fatally shot after driving onto property in Chino Valley

  

  A Parker man was fatally shot after he drove onto someone’s property in Chino Valley and fired a shot, according to media reports. Delton Griffith, 58, had apparently driven his pickup truck onto the property unannounced and gotten it stuck in the middle of a garden area. When the resident of the property and another man visiting approached the vehicle, …

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• 15 January

  WATCH: Hundreds of VW buses descend on Lake Havasu

  

  The happiest people drive VW buses. I was on my way to an editing session when I noticed a lot of Volkswagen buses on the highway. I followed them to Buses By The Bridge, an annual VW bus meetup in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Here’s a little of the action from the event!

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• 12 January

  Standoff in Big River leads to domestic violence arrest

  

  A man was arrested Wednesday in Big River for assaulting his girlfriend and pointing a firearm at her and their children, threatening to kill them. Deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Colorado River Station responded to the 7300 Block of Oneida Trail in Big River for a domestic battery investigation involving Christopher Worthy and his live-in girlfriend. During …

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• 11 January

  Vehicle ploughs into others at Parker intersection

  

  A vehicle ploughed into several others at a major intersection in Parker, AZ Thursday morning, according to Parker Police Department. The vehicle was doing a high rate of speed when it collided with other vehicles at around 11 a.m. at the intersection of Riverside Drive and California Avenue. 5 other vehicles were involved in the incident, with 3 sustaining heavy …

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• 10 January

  Viewfinder: Winter Sunset

  

  With highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 40s, it’s been a perfect January in Parker, AZ. Wednesday’s sunset was spectacular as seen here at the Black Pearl restaurant.

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• 10 January

  COLUMN: Enough with the hype!

  

  At the beginning of a new year, I want to address something that’s been weighing on me for quite some time now. It’s something that we’d all be so much better off if there was a whole lot less of it in the world. I’m talking about hype. It blares at us from every corner. From the endless “breaking news” …

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• 9 January

  LISTEN: Parker 250 brings UTV racers back to Parker

  

  ‘GMZ UTV Winter Nationals Casey Folks Parker 250 Presented By Polaris’ is the full name of the race that kicked off the 2018 Best In The Desert season in Parker, Arizona Saturday. The entry list was 14 pages long and brought racers from across the United States in multiple classes of desert-appropriate vehicle, including bikes, quads and the hugely popular-and-growing-fast …

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• 9 January

  This flu season may be the worst ever

  

  A record flu season in Arizona and California has emergency rooms packed, medicine shortages and deaths being reported. Anecdotal reports have circulated since early December about the length of the illnesses being seen and the severity of the symptoms in some cases, but government data confirms that influenza activity levels in the region this year have reached an early peak, …

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• 2 January

  Two-week river drawdown begins

  

  The Bureau of Reclamation announced that it will lower the level of the river on the Parker Strip by one foot beginning Tuesday. River drawdown today!   The Bureau said that the level of Lake Moovalya by approximately one foot in elevation for about two weeks beginning in early January 2018. Lake Moovalya is the small body of water behind …

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December, 2017

• 21 December

  Wind and freezing temps, warming up for Christmas

  

  The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for La Paz County, AZ as a windy, colder front moves over the region. Wind and blowing dust impacted the Parker area on Thursday, with anecdotal reports suggesting that the weather was making driving difficult on the highways in the area and Public Works departments active in clearing debris from the …

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• 20 December

  County ballot initiative coming in May

  

  La Paz County intends to hold a ballot initiative in May 2018, when it will ask the voters to approve an increase to the county’s ‘expenditure limitation’. “We’ve never dealt with this in La Paz County,” said District 2 Supervisor Duce Minor, speaking on KLPZ 1380am Wednesday morning. Minor compared the initiative to what is known as ‘home rule’ on …

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• 7 December

  KLPZ’s 12 Days of Christmas

  

  UPDATE 12/20: Winners have been announced! You’ll be getting a call from us if you are one of them. If not, thanks for participating and Merry Christmas! — UPDATE 12/19: If you haven’t gotten your name in by now, it’s too late! The boxes have been collected and the drawing for winners will be tomorrow morning on KLPZ 1380am from …

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• 5 December

  COLUMN: Make it memorable

  

  In case you missed it, it’s December already, and I’m already a few days late with this column. So don’t ask me what happened to the rest of 2017 because obviously I have no idea! We have less than a month left till the year is over and I’m a year older and a bit befuddled about how all this …

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• 4 December

  Obituary: Ray Patrick, 1923-2017

  

  Raymond H. (Ray) Patrick, an eighty-five year resident of Parker, passed on December 1, 2017. Born December 25, 1923 in Globe, Arizona, Ray graduated from Parker High School in 1942 where he participated in all sports. He attended the University of Arizona and later joined the United States Marine Corps as a paratrooper. While serving in the Pacific Theatre, Ray …

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November, 2017

• 30 November

  LISTEN: Sheriff’s Bagby almost hit by out of control Corvette

  

  An “explosion” is how Sheriff’s Captain Curt Bagby described the collision of a white Corvette with a guardrail north of Parker last night. The collision happened so close to Bagby that the debris from the crash rained down on his vehicle, he told Parker Live. Part of the car ended up on the other side of the guardrail and embankment, …

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• 30 November

  Kathy Field demands $950,000 for wrongful termination from La Paz County

  

  Former La Paz County Public Defender Kathy Field has filed a notice of claim with her former employer demanding $950,000 for wrongful termination. Field was fired on May 1st, 2017 in a 2-1 decision by the Board of Supervisors. No reason was given publicly for her termination, which Field is now challenging in documents sent to the County by two …

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• 28 November

  30-minute shootout with suspect on I-10

  

  UPDATE 2: A press conference in Phoenix with the Arizona Department of Public Safety this afternoon gave more details on the shooting incident. La Paz County Sheriff Bill Risen appears just after the 12 minute mark. — UPDATE: The suspect has been named as 36 year-old Sladjan Petkovic, accused of shooting and killing his neighbor, 45 year-old Steven Arvallo, near …

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• 27 November

  Free limes at Maya’s – ALL GONE

  

  UPDATE 2:30pm – Limes are all gone. — Maya’s bar and restaurant in Parker, AZ has 100 boxes of free limes to give away Monday, after a trucker dropped them off at their establishment. A spokesperson for the restaurant said they want to give them to the community, and said there’s plenty to go around. “They are large, ripe, green …

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• 21 November

  129 marijuana plants seized in Big River

  

  A man has been arrested and 129 marijuana plants seized in Big River, CA under San Bernardino County code. Michael Hall was arrested on numerous charges relating to a stolen firearm and the illegal cultivation of marijuana. On Monday afternoon, San Bernardino County deputies served a search warrant at a residence in the 14000 block of Del Rey Road, where …

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• 17 November

  Body matching Sandy Giles found just 10 feet from side of the road

  

  A body matching the description of a woman missing since May 2017 has been found in Earp, CA. According to Sandy Giles’s daughter Kendall, the body was found just 10 feet from the side of Highway 62 only 800 feet from where Sandy’s car was discovered last May. The body was decomposed but matches features including bleached blonde hair, dentures, …

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• 16 November

  Viewfinder: Owl on the Prowl

  

  At a house in Bouse.

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• 15 November

  Chamber cancels Lighted Boat Parade, Sheriff commits boats anyway

  

  UPDATE: Parker Live has it on good authority that Santa will be out on his waverunner on Christmas Eve from around 10 am until around 2 pm, visiting riverfront communities. Look out for him! — The Parker Regional Chamber of Commerce & Tourism has cancelled the annual Lighted Boat Parade along the Parker Strip, which usually takes place on Thanksgiving …

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• 7 November

  La Paz County to streamline hiring process, employee travel

  

  The La Paz County Board of Supervisors has voted to streamline the process of hiring new employees, employee travel for work and authorizing expenditure by staff. As the County recovers from its financial crisis which peaked in early 2017, it has hired a new County Administrator, a new Finance Director and other key administrative positions. During the worst of the …

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• 7 November

  Man turns himself in for murder of roommate

  

  A man turned himself in for murder at Quartzsite Police Department on Friday morning, according to law enforcement. On Friday morning at around 9:45 a.m., Enrique Reyes arrived at QPD saying that he had committed murder in Lake Havasu City, where he is a resident. He was in possession of a handgun. Lake Havasu City Police Department was notified, at …

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• 6 November

  30-minute delays between Parker and Lake Havasu City

  

  Crews are working on pavement preservation on a 14-mile section of SR 95 between Parker, AZ and Lake Havasu City. Drivers may see delays of “up to 30 minutes” according to ADOT while traffic is guided through the construction zone with a pilot car. Work is scheduled between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, November 6th, and Tuesday, November …

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• 2 November

  COLUMN: Impossible Possibilities

  

  So I was checking out the headlines on some of the websites I like to visit when I came to a crashing halt. “Scientists Say the Universe Shouldn’t Exist.” Yeah, that caught my eye. It turns out that, according to the theories and mathematical models developed to try and understand it, the universe should have never formed in the first …

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