John Wright

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story had the return journey wrong; the Santa Fe 3751 will be back in Parker on Friday, rolling out early Saturday.

Photo credit: theexbrit on Flickr.

On Monday, the steam locomotive known as the Santa Fe 3751 will make the first of two overnight stops in Parker on the way between Los Angeles and the Grand Canyon.

The excursion, operated by The Central Coast Railway Club under contract with Amtrak, BNSF and the Arizona & California Railroad, will take 6 days in total and comprise a night’s stay in Parker and a night in Williams.

The engine is a 4-8-4 “Northern”-type steam locomotive. The AT&SF once owned more than five-dozen such designs. The Santa Fe originally employed all of its Northerns for use in passenger service, where their blend of power and speed was suited just right on a railroad that stretched more than 2,200 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles, and whose main line was quite rugged west of Texas.

Santa Fe 3751 was spared the scrapper’s torch and donated to the city of San Bernardino where it remained on displays for many years before being restored back to operation by the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society in the early 1990s. Today, the locomotive occasionally makes an appearance from its home in Los Angeles to pull excursions or help to educate the general public about railroads.

The excursion will be expected to arrive in Parker after 9 p.m. on Monday, May 14th (UPDATE: the railroad now expects arrival after 10 p.m.). Passengers will spend the night in area hotels/resorts, and Pullman passengers will stay aboard the train in their sleepers. The following morning (Tuesday, May 15th), the Santa Fe 3751 will leave Parker for Williams around 9:30 a.m. The return trip will stop for the night in Parker on Friday (May 18th) and leave early on Saturday, May 19th.

Tickets can be purchased in segments, so passengers can get on and off at any stop, including Parker. Passage from Parker to the Grand Canyon aboard the Santa Fe 3751 starts at around $475 (return). Info HERE.

The Town of Parker is accepting letters of intent from Town of Parker residents wishing to serve as a Town Council Member for the remaining 3-year period of Council Member Steve Madoneczky’s term.

The job requirements include that you must be a registered Town of Parker voter, residing within the Town limits, that you’re able to attend regularly scheduled Town Council Meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. and some other ‘special’ meetings upon request.

If you think you may be interested, the Town is accepting letters of intent at:

Town Council Member Intent
1314 11th Street,
Parker, Arizona 85344

Letters of intent must be submitted by Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 5 p.m.

CORRECTION: The original version of this story stated, per the Desert Messenger article passed along to us by Police Chief Gilbert, that the charges involved “felonies” including “aggravated assault on a peace officer”. Michael Roth says this is incorrect and his charges are Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass, both of them misdemeanors. According to a QPD Press Release, there were felonies among the original charges, though it is not known whether the County Attorney will prosecute them.

Michael Roth, a Quartzsite resident and local activist, was found guilty of Criminal Trespass and Criminal Damage for taking part in the national ‘Chalk The Police Day’ protests.

On September 26th, 2011, Roth and Dana Stadler used sidewalk chalk to leave protest messages on the Town Hall steps and other surfaces. Video from surveillance cameras led to the arrests of Roth and Stadler. They both reportedly refused plea bargains and were convicted under a portion of Arizona law that addresses graffiti. Judge Lawrence King sentenced both to 120 days of probation.

Then, on Friday, Roth and Stadler were both arrested again at the Quartzsite Police Department, with multiple charges.

Roth commented, “The charges were ridiculous to begin with. But that’s not surprising. Everything the government in Quartzsite does is doubly ridiculous! While the rest of the nation was able to peacefully, non-violently protest the criminal activities of their police departments with children’s chalk on National Chalk The Police Day, Quartzsite Chief of Police Jeff Gilbert and Town Manager Alex Taft used the opportunity to abuse their authority, harassing anyone who questions their policies and tactics. What are they so afraid of?”

Roth and Stadler were released by the judge on their own recognizance.

Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert contacted Parker Live to point out some statements reportedly made by Roth in the Desert Messenger after his conviction. Roth is quoted as saying, “If Jeff Gilbert keeps these policies up, something is going to happen to his officers, ‘cause somebody, less calm than me, less calm than Stadler, is going to do what’s already happened to a cop in this town. They’re going to mess with the wrong person and that blood will be on Jeff Gilbert’s hands.”

[ AWC Teacher of the Year Steve Lund, Yesenia Melendez and President Glenn Mayle ]

An Arizona Western College student from Parker, Yesenia Melendez, has been named recipient of the Steven P. Lund Presidential Teacher of the Year Scholarship by Steve Lund, who was her English as a Second Language professor during the Fall 2011 semester.

Although it was her first semester at AWC, “It was evident from the beginning that she had clear academic and professional goals,” Lund says. “Her dedication to her studies and success to date at AWC provide inspiration to all our students whose second language is English. These are the reasons why I selected her for this scholarship.”

Melendez is majoring in business and has a GPA of 4.0. though she admits it is somewhat difficult for an ESL student to succeed in a college where English is the primary language. “But it’s not impossible,” she adds. “I think that if someone wants to succeed in life, one has to struggle in order to achieve it. As any student should do, I do my homework, I go to class, and I study for my tests.”

Dr. Glenn Mayle, president at AWC, notified Melendez of her scholarship.

“When I received the e-mail from President Mayle saying that I got this scholarship, I was so happy and excited … because it’s going to be very helpful,” says Melendez.

The scholarship is presented each year in the name of the faculty member selected as the AWC Teacher of the Year either to an outstanding high school student from within the college district who intends to enter AWC the next year, or to a continuing AWC student.