Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.

December, 2019

• 6 December

  Zoning commission denies recommendation for smelting plant after hundreds show up to protest it

  

  The La Paz County Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to deny recommendation of a zoning change that would allow Alliance Metals to open an aluminum smelting plant in the town of Wenden. The recommendation to deny will now go to the Board of Supervisors for a binding decision. The Commission had several items on its agenda before the two …

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• 4 December

  Former Rep. Mosley abandons legislative immunity fight, goes to driving school

  

  UPDATE: Mosley’s attorney Jacob Baldridge has replied to Parker Live with specific answers to two questions we asked him: (1) What was the reason behind Mosley’s decision to abandon the ‘legislative immunity’ argument he had been making up until now? (2) Did Mosley fire David Stringer as his attorney? Was that decision due to Stringer’s own public scandal and/or ethical …

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• 2 December

  Viewfinder: Lighted boat parade

  

  Every Thanksgiving weekend, on Saturday after dusk, a group of local volunteers rig their boats with lights and parade up the Parker Strip to celebrate the holiday season. Along the way, they are greeted by riverside neighborhoods, who wave and welcome Santa (who is usually aboard a boat). It’s a fitting way to enter the month of December in Parker, …

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• 2 December

  War of words over smelting plant continues after environmental permit approved

  

  A war of words continues between those who oppose the opening of a new smelting plant in rural La Paz County and the company which plans to open it, Alliance Metals and its supporters, after state environmental regulators signed off on the facility. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) approved the company’s application for an air-quality permit, which the …

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November, 2019

• 18 November

  Brooke Water to be sold, community meeting planned

  

  The water utility serving the Arizona side of the Parker Strip will be sold to a much larger company, if plans for the sale come together, and a community meeting to answer questions about the proposal will be held Thanksgiving week. Brooke Water LLC has been serving 2100 customers in the river communities north of Parker, AZ for many years. …

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• 18 November

  Man arrested for suspected meth and ammo while on probation in Big River

  

  A man who is a convicted felon on probation was arrested for possession of suspected methamphetamine, ammunition and high capacity magazines. On Wednesday at about noon, deputies and detectives from the San Bernardino Sheriff Department’s Parker Dam Resident post conducted a probation compliance check in the 149000 block of Capistrano Way in Big River. Daniel Martinez Jr, 51, who was …

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• 18 November

  Burger King employee robbed at gunpoint, left tied up

  

  A woman who is an employee of Burger King in Parker was robbed at gunpoint and left tied up until she was released by people who heard her yelling early on Saturday morning. The employee, a female, was by herself opening the store for the day when the incident happened around 5 a.m. on Saturday. Burger King opens for breakfast …

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• 12 November

  Supervisors disagree over Economic Development Corporation

  

  County Supervisors disagreed last week in a public meeting over the value of an organization known as the La Paz Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The organization, which is properly called a ‘public-private partnership’, operates independently but in partnership with La Paz County, the Town of Parker, La Paz Regional Hospital and other investors to pursue economic opportunities in the area. …

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• 8 November

  First-generation students make up 60 percent of AWC college population

  

  A majority of the students at Arizona Western College are the first members of their families to have gone to college. First-generation students make up over 60 percent of the population at AWC, and a number of faculty and staff members are first-generation too. One of those faculty members is Yaneli Pasillas-Miller, an English adjunct instructor and Student Success Center …

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October, 2019

• 24 October

  Volunteers to clean up Take Off Point for National Public Lands Day

  

  Take Off Point Recreation Area is to get a freshening up, with volunteers invited to join the effort on the morning of National Public Lands Day. Take Off Point, next to Parker Dam on the southern end of Lake Havasu, is a popular free boat launch site used year-round by boaters and other water users, but peaking on summer weekends. …

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• 24 October

  County gears up for 2020 election, Recorder Shelly Baker to retire

  

  La Paz County is preparing for the 2020 election, with candidates beginning to register for most of the key offices countywide. Seats that will be decided next year include all three County Supervisors, County Assessor, County Attorney, County Recorder, County Sheriff, County Superintendent of Schools and County Treasurer. If they decide to run for the offices they currently hold, the …

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September, 2019

• 24 September

  Man charged with 3 year-old daughter’s murder goes to trial

  

  A man charged with the murder of his own 3 year-old daughter is on trial this week at La Paz County Superior Court. Prosecutors say Aaron Freeman, 26, of Blythe, beat his daughter, Autumn Shibley, in several acts of abuse over the course of June 10th, 2017, one which resulted in a perforated stomach, her admission to hospital in Blythe …

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• 18 September

  READ: Arguments for and against an aluminum smelting plant in La Paz County

  

  A proposal to build an aluminum smelting plant along the highway connecting the towns of Wenden and Salome in rural La Paz County have created controversy, with some local residents saying they don’t want the plant and the company arguing it would be great for the local economy. The debate started when the Arizona Republic ran a piece on it …

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• 15 September

  Viewfinder: Parker’s railroad bridge up in flames

  

  UPDATE: Added morning photos at bottom. The bridge is still burning, but fire fighting efforts appear to have stopped as the reachable sections have been put out. The bridge will be unusable until repaired. — ORIGINAL STORY: A fire broke out on substantial sections of the railroad bridge in Parker, AZ on Saturday night. Many agencies were still responding at …

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• 10 September

  Man accused of forklift assault goes to jury trial

  

  UPDATE: The trial reportedly ended with a hung jury Thursday, with the jurors unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A hearing on the case will be held in November to determine any further actions prosecutors wish to pursue or not. A jury trial began Tuesday for a man accused of purposefully steering a forklift into another man who was riding …

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• 2 September

  Power outages, damage from Labor Day weekend storm

  

  UPDATE: Ice is available at Parker High School and BlueWater Resort & Casino. Red Cross is assisting. UPDATE: Brook Water has issued its own advisory of service interruption. See it HERE. UPDATE: BIA estimates time for restoration of power late tonight. Multiple power poles are still down. CRIT has services available for residents. Info HERE. —- A storm that rolled …

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August, 2019

• 29 August

  Fire conditions lead to extended BLM fire restrictions

  

  Fire restrictions, implemented in June, will remain in effect due to extremely dry conditions on Bureau of Land Management lands within the Colorado River District (CRD). The district’s 5.4 million acres of public lands in western Arizona extend from southern Mohave County, along the Colorado River, through La Paz and Yuma Counties and include the management of a small strip …

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• 21 August

  Suspected violent domestic abuser arrested in Ehrenberg

  

  A man was arrested in Ehrenberg on suspicion of committing a litany of violent domestic abuse crimes. Jacob Orlando Jones, 31, was arrested for aggravated assault / choking, assault general x2, aggravated assault with a victim 15 years of age or younger, aggravated assault on a minor child, kidnapping (x2), attempted murder domestic violence, attempted second degree murder domestic violence, …

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• 20 August

  County officials to get raises, despite outcry

  

  UPDATE: At least one County employee has contacted Parker Live to say that the salary information in the circulated document mentioned in this article is incorrect. Animal Control department head Michael Ramos told us his salary was never the ‘Estimated FY2019’ number in that document, and his raise was 1 percent, not 22 percent as the document claims. As noted …

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• 19 August

  Jury pool is being “depleted”, says judge, halting grand juries

  

  The La Paz County jury pool is depleted after so many court trials that the Superior Court Judge, Jessica Quickle, is putting a stop to new grand juries with immediate effect. In an email to court personnel and county officials, Quickle announced her decision. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” she wrote, “This email is to inform you that La Paz County will …

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• 19 August

  On boat patrol with La Paz County Sheriff

  

  Parker Live spent 2 hours on boat patrol with the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department recently, to find out what they do, to see the most common river law violations and give the public an idea of what their typical processes are like. The Sheriff’s Department allowed us complete access, without any ‘no go’ areas or restrictions. The officers were …

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• 8 August

  Road preservation projects in the works

  

  The Arizona Department of Transportation has allocated $36 million for multiple pavement preservation projects on highways across the state during fiscal year 2020, which began July 1st, 2019 and ends on June 30th, 2020. ADOT says it evaluated existing pavement conditions to identify the locations in each of its seven districts that are currently in good condition. The goal is …

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• 7 August

  Parker man arrested in connection with child molestation

  

  A Parker man has been arrested in connection with the molestation of a child. Jose Mario Tavizon, 42, was interviewed by detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Colorado River Station on Monday as part of an investigation into child molestation that occurred in the community of Earp. Tavizon is known to the victim’s family, according to the Department. …

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• 2 August

  Central Arizona Project recognizes CRIT for fallow agreement

  

  The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) was recognized by the Central Arizona Project (CAP) for signing the System Conservation Agreement with the State of Arizona and the crucial role of the Tribes in drought relief. To help Arizona fulfill its Drought Contingency Plan obligations, CRIT has pledged to fallow farmland in order to contribute 150,000 acre-feet over three years to …

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• 2 August

  The La Paz County Public Defender has died

  

  Arthur Higgs III, the La Paz County Public Defender appointed to the position in January, has died at the age of 53. Higgs was first hired by the County as Deputy Public Defender in February 2016 before being promoted early this year. A statement by his colleagues at the Public Defender’s Office said he was a big part of the …

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• 2 August

  COLUMN: One small step

  

  I want to take a moment and talk about something that occurred to me during the recent 50th anniversary of the first moon walk. I was 16 years old when Armstrong first stepped on the moon. I was a huge space program fan, as almost everyone I knew was. I had followed the space program in school as it developed. …

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July, 2019

• 23 July

  Services will be held Saturday for teen girls who died in canal

  

  Memorial services will be held on Saturday for two teenage girls who tragically drowned in a canal near the BlueWater Lagoon subdivision in Parker, AZ on July 14th. Claudia Ann Snyder, 17, and Anna Marie Snyder, 15, were reportedly walking from BlueWater Lagoon back to a relative’s house in the town of Parker. They entered the canal at around 8:30 …

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• 17 July

  Man unresponsive in vehicle, armed, arrested in Big River

  

  A man who was found unresponsive in a vehicle armed with a firearm was arrested Tuesday in Big River. At around 2:50 a.m., deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Colorado River Station responded to the intersection of Rio Mesa Drive and Rio Vista Drive in Big River for a report of an unresponsive male in a vehicle armed …

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• 15 July

  Solar project near Salome gets a green light

  

  A utility-scale solar project two miles west of Salome, AZ has been cleared through the latest stage of development. The Department of Energy’s Western Area Power Administration has completed an environmental impact assessment and concluded that there is ‘no significant impact’ for the project’s interconnection to the power grid. The interconnection involves new power poles up to 100 feet tall, …

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• 4 July

  Earthquake felt in Parker Thursday morning AND Friday evening

  

  UPDATE Fri PM: Another earthquake, this one much larger, hit on Friday evening. It was also felt in the Parker area. Info HERE. — ORIGINAL STORY THURSDAY: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake which struck near Ridgecrest, CA on Thursday morning was felt over 270 miles away in Parker, AZ. Some Parker area residents along the Colorado River reported feeling the rumble …

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• 3 July

  Laws to be enforced by multiple agencies over 4th weekend

  

  Multiple agencies will be out on the Colorado River and surrounding roads over the holiday weekend, with special enforcement patrols aiming to keep the river safe, according to both Arizona and California law. Officers from the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department and other agencies will be present on the water as thousands of people enjoy …

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• 3 July

  Where and when to see fireworks in Parker this holiday weekend

  

  There’ll be lots of fireworks to be seen in the Parker area this 4th of July weekend. On Thursday, July 4th at dusk, the Colorado River Indian Tribes will have its annual fireworks at Manataba Park, in the valley just southwest of the town of Parker. The annual BBQ starts at 4 pm under the tin shed. Also on Thursday, July …

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June, 2019

• 27 June

  Murder-suicide in Ehrenberg

  

  A man allegedly shot his wife and then himself in Ehrenberg Wednesday night, according to law enforcement. Santos left, Mejia right “Upon arrival, we learned that Francisco Rodriguez Santos had allegedly shot his wife and then committed suicide by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” said La Paz County Sheriff’s Captain Curt Bagby. “The victim was immediately transported to a …

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• 26 June

  Deputy attacked on I-10

  

  A deputy was attacked by a man walking along Interstate 10 over the weekend, according to the La paz County Sheriff’s Department. “One of our Deputies was attempting to check the welfare of an individual who was walking along Interstate 10,” said Captain Curt Bagby in a press release. “Upon contact, the subject allegedly attacked the Deputy and attempted to …

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• 26 June

  WATCH: The story behind the ‘alligator’ that made waves in Parker last weekend

  

  It’s no crock: Alligator sightings on the Colorado River in Parker, AZ prompted calls to the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department from fearful boaters last weekend. But a snappy response by the department on Tuesday made it clear that the gator was a toy. Parker Live met with the owner of the faux reptile north of Parker late on Tuesday. …

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• 23 June

  Man dies after being hit by boat prop

  

  A man was killed after his boat propeller hit him on Lake Havasu Sunday. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Colorado River Marine Enforcement Unit responded to the fatal boating accident in California Bay on the lake at approximately 12:49 pm. The operator and 4 passengers left the Bridgewater Channel and headed south on Lake Havasu when the operator, Ismael …

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• 5 June

  Biggest day on the river coming Saturday

  

  The biggest day on the Parker Strip calendar is coming this weekend. The 42nd Annual Parker Tube Float will attract thousands of floaters who will run from Buckskin Mountain State Park to La Paz County Park on the Colorado River. The 2019 theme is Float Town, USA. Changes in recent years have established a new float, and this year’s event …

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• 1 June

  Man’s body recovered from Headgate Dam

  

  UPDATE: The body of a man who drowned in the Colorado River in Parker last weekend has been recovered from Headgate Dam. The man’s body was found at the dam at around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday after a weekend of recovery attempts by divers. – ORIGINAL STORY: A man who disappeared into the river and did not resurface was being searched …

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May, 2019

• 28 May

  12 year old suffers “major injuries” from boat prop in tubing accident

  

  Bottom story updated to clarify witness statements. — A 12 year-old boy suffered “major injuries” from a boat propeller on the Parker Strip Saturday and was flown to Phoenix. Reportedly the child was with his family near Emerald Cove Resort tubing late Saturday and was in the water when the boat, driven by his father, moved toward him and the …

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• 26 May

  VFW burns: “We’re going to have to rebuild from the ground up”

  

  The VFW building in Parker, AZ will be a total loss after a fire that started early this morning. The fire reportedly began in the kitchen area of the building. It is not known at this time what caused it. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7061 has been at the location on the corner of 6th Street and Hopi Avenue …

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• 24 May

  Flat-Earther arrested for vandalism

  

  A Parker man has been arrested for more than 30 acts of vandalism, spray paint taggings on federal land near Parker Dam which appear to show support for the flat earth movement. View this post on Instagram #graffiti #flatearth #letterscience #bombingscience A post shared by skyler butts (@skyrydeinc) on Feb 1, 2019 at 8:43am PST Skyler Butts was arrested Thursday …

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• 23 May

  Did this woman con this man out of money for his missing dog?

  

  A man camping in the desert was the victim of an alleged con by a Blythe woman who he says lured him to Parker and took the money for his missing dog. Christopher (left) with Tamara (right) in Parker Christopher Cross, a Palm Springs-based entrepreneur, told Parker Live that his 2 year-old French bulldog Poco went missing on May 10th …

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• 22 May

  COLUMN: A Fallen Friend and Hero

  

  Human beings are amazing creatures when you stop to think about it. Our behavior is often amusing, sometimes amazing and always has a consistent quality of inconsistency about it. We don’t like pain yet often seek out activities that we know will cause pain and discomfort. We all want to be happy yet regularly act in ways that all but …

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• 21 May

  CRIT signs short-term Colorado River drought plan at Hoover Dam

  

  A delegation from the Colorado River Indian Tribes in Parker went to Hoover Dam Monday to sign a short-term drought plan that will better manage the available water in the southwestern United States. The landmark deal will likely prevent the Colorado River reservoirs from being depleted for the next few years, and involved seven western states and the federal government. …

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• 20 May

  Viewfinder: Big Bend Resort new store, eatery now open

  

  A new eatery, market, swimwear boutique, gas station and arcade has opened at Big Bend Resort on the Parker Strip. The California-side store will be a brand new place for boaters to stop on the Colorado River while visiting Parker this summer. It was built after the operator was asked to demolish the concession it operated for decades at Buckskin …

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• 20 May

  Hospital thrift store to close

  

  A thrift store that has been a Parker fixture for 37 years is to close on May 31st. The La Paz Regional Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop on Kofa Avenue will close after a sale to clear its inventory. “The volunteers of La Paz Regional Hospital Auxiliary have devoted countless hours of service to providing this community service,” the hospital stated …

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• 16 May

  County Attorney has a new Chief Deputy

  

  La Paz County Attorney Tony Rogers has a new Chief Deputy. Ryan Dooley was appointed to the position recently after being hired back in September. Dooley will take over the role from Karen Hobbs, who has worked with Rogers at the County Attorney’s Office for several years. He was originally hired to work as a Civil Deputy to work with …

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• 13 May

  Marina Village to be without water as power goes out

  

  The Marina Village Annex will be without water Monday night as APS conducts a scheduled power outage at the same time, according to Brooke Water. “Operations reports that a water service interruption is necessary for [Marina Village Annex] in order for Arizona Public Service (APS) to make necessary system maintenance,” Brooke Water stated in a notice. “Ops has been advised …

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• 13 May

  Former deputy who groped a coworker takes a plea agreement

  

  A former La Paz County Sheriff’s Deputy has admitted to attempted sexual abuse at a party last summer. John Gomez was with a female deputy in the kitchen area of a residence on Reata Avenue in Parker on August 19th, 2018 when he allegedly made advances on her and inappropriately touched her. The victim told investigators with the Yuma County …

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• 10 May

  12-hour upriver power outage coming Monday

  

  UPDATE: Brooke Water customers in Marina Village Annex will also experience an outage simultaneously with the larger APS outage. For more info go HERE. — APS has scheduled an estimated 12-hour service interruption for customers in the Parker Upriver area for necessary system maintenance. In order to safely repair a damaged power pole and electric equipment, APS will be taking …

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