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KEITH: All of your favorite characters from The Hangover return for this, the last and final installment of the franchise, Part 3.

I like the attempt at creating a new storyline as opposed to Hangover 2, which basically followed the same formula as the original. This movie, though, centers around the Ken Jeong character more than either of the other two. I like him in small doses, but I don’t know that he should have been in the central role here.

There are funny moments in the movie but nothing beats the original. Zack Gilifanakis is great once again in his part as Allen. Melissa McCarthy is outstanding in the scene she has; my only complaint is that it seems so fast and was over so quickly! I wanted to see a bit more.

Stick around through the credits for a surprise! All in all a good end to the Hangover series.

JOSH: In typical Hangover fashion, the third (and most likely final) installment of this rude, crude and extremely irrelevant franchise did not disappoint. Hangover Part 3 takes the ‘Wolf Pack’ to Mexico and then back to Vegas where it all began. I found myself LOLing the entire time. John Goodman plays a great villain that will do anything to get back what’s his. Ken Jeong is back once again as the bad guy you hate to love.

Hot tip: stay in your seat during the end credits for a bonus scene that will leave a warm feeling in your bosom.

Instalment 1

I suppose I should start this first column off by telling you that “Parker Stripped” has nothing to do with either strippers or stripping. I realize this will come as a great disappointment to some of you, but as they say, the truth hurts. The rest of you need have no fear, neither I nor anyone else will be disrobing here, which is further proof that just about every cloud has a silver lining since no one wants to see me au naturel!

Instead every month I’ll be trying to strip away some of the clutter, illusions, busyness and denial that so often fill up our lives and blind us from seeing what’s really important. If there is real meaning and purpose in our lives, and I believe there is, then why is it so hard to see? If we are here for a reason what’s stopping us from discovering at least part of what that reason is?

Those are huge questions and I don’t claim to have all the answers to them. What I want to do is to explore some facets of this topic every month. I want them to relate specifically to how we live life here in the Parker Area. I hope I can help to strip away some of the things that so often distract us so that we can both see the truth and try and live more meaningful and satisfying lives.

And here’s some more good news, this will be a Sermon Free Zone! What I write here won’t be sermon extracts or devotionals. So have no fear – no sermons allowed! I hope to approach these things from a spiritual and philosophical perspective that will encourage discussion, disagreement and ultimately action.

So what’s our biggest impediment to living authentic and meaningful lives? I believe that in our modern American culture it is our obsession with constantly being busy. Busyness has become the great pursuit of many of us and is often seen not as an option but as a duty. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people confess to me that they have time on their hands as if it were some kind of sin. Spare time is spoken of in whispers lest my uber busy friends and family discover I’ve strayed from the path of constantly busyness and heap shame upon me like some kind of modern day scarlet letter.

I know that many of you reading this (someone’s reading this right?) are so busy you practically run into yourselves coming and going. Young parents are so busy running their kids to a plethora of activities that they rarely have time to just be with their children and to get to know them. Husbands and wives have precious little time together either and are always on the go.

We have become a multi-tasking culture. That may be a good way to get a lot done – though recent studies suggest you become less efficient when you try and multi-task – but is that what life is really all about? Are you going to fret over all the unfinished things on you to do list when you’re lying on your death bed?

Not likely.

So for this month why not do an inventory of all the things that keep you so busy and just drop a few? Yes, that’s right, just say no to busyness! Take time to talk to your loved ones, or to read a book, or just to stare at creation and take in the wonder of it all. You might not be productive during that time but I believe you’ll be better for it.

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Louie Marsh is a part-time Minister at Christ’s Church on the River, Chaplain of the Marine Raider Association and has traveled and taught the Bible in Asia, Africa and beyond.

Town of Parker train car gets a new paint job on California Avenue. Via Mary Hamilton.

Parker’s high school football team now has team apparel available to the public. The Blue and Gold Booster Club wants to send Parker Broncs players to Football Camp and you can help.

Order your Broncs team apparel and show your pride and support. Proceeds go towards sending Broncs players to football camp this summer.

Supporters can browse the selection and shop online by clicking HERE.

Orders must be placed by June 3rd.

Sheriff John Drum says Parker Police Chief Rod Mendoza has some of his facts wrong in the statement that was read into the record at the Town of Parker Council Meeting earlier this week.

The war of words is over the county’s Narcotics Task Force, an intergovernmental force set up to curb drug crime in the area. Earlier this month, the Parker Police Department says it shut the Task Force building down due to lack of payment and removed the items to its headquarters so the officers involved could keep working.

Sheriff Drum says the removal of the items was illegal and he intends to address it criminally. Chief Mendoza says he got the blessing of other agencies, which Drum contests, saying, “I spoke with each every one of these officials on May 22nd, and I can assure you they did not express their support in favor of the Parker Police Department removing equipment, vehicles and money from the Task Force.”

The entire statement by Sheriff John Drum is included below. For previous articles on this story, CLICK HERE.

“I feel I need to clear up a few facts in regards to Chief Mendoza’s recent article about the Task Force that were simply not true.

The La Paz County Sheriff’s Office has been the “Host” of the La Paz County Task Force since its inception in the late 80’s. The Sheriff’s Office is also considered the “Host Agency” when it comes to the HIDTA and ACJC grants.

I cannot help the fact that the previous Sheriff’s Office administration did not have detectives in the unit but we are committed to building it back up. As soon as I took office, I placed a Lieutenant in the Unit. Now that we are building up our staff, I am in the process of adding three more detectives. The fact that Parker Police was allowed to take over in July of 2010 is not my concern or responsibility.

I would like to point out that Chief Mendoza talks about his recent 8 month County wide investigation that netted 10 arrests. I did not overlook the fact that all of these arrests/investigations were in the Parker area. I did not see any investigations from the outlying areas (Quartzsite, Ehrenberg, Salome, etc). Once the Sheriff’s Office takes command, we will balance out our efforts by equally distributing our investigations throughout the entire County.

I would also like to address the fact that if Chief Mendoza truly wants to provide equal investigative efforts to everyone and he wants to “continue to combat drugs that plague our County” then why would he lock the Sheriff’s Office out of the building and illegally take all of the surveillance equipment? He has basically eliminated the Sheriff’s Office from conducting narcotic related investigations over a budgetary issue.

Finally I would like to address the issue of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and H.I.D.T.A. Administrators. I spoke with each every one of these officials on May 22nd, and I can assure you they did not express their support in favor of the Parker Police Department removing equipment, vehicles and money from the Task Force. I will not make a statement on their behalf for I have been assured they will handle this issue properly. Also, for Chief Mendoza to insinuate that he had talked with Border Patrol and they have agreed to become part of the Task Force is simply not true. The Sheriff’s Office has already established a great working relationship with Border Patrol the Parker Police Department was not a part of it.

In closing, I would like to express my regret that we are involved in this issue. I would like nothing more than to sign the I.G.A. and begin working with all of the Agencies. Unfortunately I could not read some of his statements and not feel compelled to correct some of the misinformation.

Respectfully submitted,
Sheriff John Drum”

A local resident is clearly frustrated by the recent drama between law enforcement agency leaders over the intergovernmental Narcotics Task Force:

“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the patrolmen and support staff of the various law enforcement agencies in our local area. Not only do you risk your lives to ensure the safety of our community, but you do so with the added pressure of grueling work schedules, skeleton crews and asinine administrators.

I refer, of course, to the ongoing public spectacle between said administrators, which has only escalated in the past weeks. If one wants to see the show, one need venture to the venue of a public forum or online. (Tickets are free). Here one can find the stage complete with the cries of self-righteous, entitled actors-defined as individuals portraying the role of leaders. The administration-actors are ill equipped with real tools of progress such as accountability, the and the ability to community, cooperate and compromise.

Instead, the administration-actors embrace their roles, and with drama, stage and a misplaced sense of victimization, each intend to prove that they are the protagonist of their play. With a trained eye, one can learn to recognize the props of this recurring drama: equipment and programs used solely for pageantry, and vehicles/command units which see no roadside detail but serve as phallic extensions of each department’s power. And like true narcissist, these actors rarely make appearances at events or initiatives that don’t directly correlate to their productions, no matter how pressing the issue.

And where are the wranglers for the actors? The directors who have let the play get this bad? The people, who can say, “Shut up. Shut your mouths. Stop reading from your scripts. Stop the dramatization. We don’t care if you were hired, elected or appointed. You have a job to do, and in this position you owe this community a level of professionalism and productivity. So each of you, put your big-boy pants on, and stop acting like leaders; be leaders.”

Does the resident have a point? Are law enforcement administrators dramatizing the issues in a self-righteous way? Or are they just doing their jobs? Let us know in the comments section.

Attorneys gave closing arguments today in front of a La Paz County jury in the case of a woman on trial for second-degree murder, allegedly caused while drunk driving on I-10.

Rebecca Loya, who was 57 at the time of the crash which killed two children, took the stand this morning. Loya broke down multiple times during her testimony and avoided eye contact with everybody in the courtroom as she spoke.

The jury went out for deliberations just before lunchtime today after hearing closing arguments from the attorneys and final jury instructions from Judge Michael Burke.

La Paz County Attorney Tony Rogers, the prosecutor in the case, told the jury that Loya’s conduct rose to the level of second-degree murder because she was aware of the risk she was taking and showed an indifference about her choice. He talked at length about witness testimony that she was weaving all over the road. “You or I might hit the rumble strips on the side of the road once,” Rogers told the jury, “but that’s our wake-up call. Rebecca Loya hit them again and again and again, and each time made the decision to keep driving.” Witnesses reported seeing Loya’s vehicle completely outside the lines on the roadway, he said, and then weaving back into the lane.

Loya admits drinking and driving, and says she can’t remember the accident and believes she was so tired she fell asleep at the wheel. Her attorney Matt Newman made a brief closing statement during which he acknowledged Loya’s guilt, but said, “Now you must decide which crime she is guilty of.” Newman said that charges of second-degree murder are usually reserved for people who have committed such crimes before, and that his client has never been in any trouble with the law before.

Jurors who do not believe Loya’s crime meets the burden for second-degree murder may opt to convict her of the lesser charge of manslaughter, which Newman urged them to do.

UPDATE 3:50pm– A verdict has been reached and is expected to be read around 4:30pm. Parker Live will report the verdict when it is available.

UPDATE 4:25pm– Verdict: guilty, second-degree murder, two counts.

Our previous story on the start of the trial can be found by clicking HERE.

In a statement Parker Police Chief Rod Mendoza says was read into the record at Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Town of Parker explains why it shut the Narcotics Task Force building down and removed equipment, money, guns and other items from it.

Saying that it has not been reimbursed by La Paz County for the building since February 2013, the Town says it shut the building down for financial reasons and removed the assets inside so that the Task Force could continue operating out of Parker Police Department.

The Town claims that the Sheriff’s Department has not been a major participant in the Task Force operations until recently, saying, “Parker Officers have been the sole entity keeping the Task Force operational during the last two years working cases throughout the County and will continue operating as per the IGA agreement.”

Two weeks ago, the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office said it would be taking command of the task force on June 1st, 2013. The Town’s latest statement complains that this “demand” involves backing out of a current intergovernmental agreement which was renewed for another 5 years in 2012, saying, “The Sheriff wants control and complains about productivity even though they have not had a single deputy assigned to the Task Force in two years.”

The entire statement by the Town of Parker is included below. For all articles about the Narcotics Task Force (including a war of words between Sheriff Drum and Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, a recent spate of arrests by the Force and announcements on the future of the Task Force), CLICK HERE.

“During the last two years Parker Police Officers have been the only members of the Task Force combating drug activity throughout the entire county. The Sheriff’s Department has not assigned a deputy to assist us until a few months ago. During these last two years Parker Officers have worked effectively with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), HIDTA, Boarder Patrol, Mojave County Task Force, Phoenix PD Task Force and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

Last month The Task Force completed an eight month investigation and served 10 arrest warrants on individuals for sales of drugs and narcotics. Parker Officers have been the sole entity keeping the Task Force operational during the last two years working cases throughout the County and will continue operating as per the IGA agreement.

On the evening of May 14, 2013, the Parker Town Council was fully informed that the County Administrator denied reimbursing the Town of Parker operating funds for the Task Force building and salaries for the Task Force officers. Historically the Town of Parker pays all Task Force bills and then will be reimbursed from the RICO account which now controlled by the County. However, by State Statue the County Attorney is supposed to be responsible for controlling all RICO monies.

Currently the County has not reimbursed the Town since February 2013 and now owes the Town over $63,000. The decision to close the Task Force building was a financial move. The Town needed to be reimbursed for their expenditures. The equipment removed from the building was simply relocated to the Parker PD in order to continue working Task Force operations. Parker is still working within the IGA and will continue to combat drugs that plague our county.

After the Task Force Building was closed for lack of payment, the Task Force relocated to work from Parker PD. We then notified DPS Captain Campbell, DEA agent in charge of La Paz County, Assistant Director of HIDA Ralph Ogden and all three supported what we were doing and reconfirmed their full support of our operations. There was never any criminal activity by this move as the Sheriff incorrectly stated.

Our current Task Force IGA was signed by all entities in 2007 and renewed for another five years in October of 2012. The Sheriff Department now demands to back-out of this agreement and sign a new agreement giving a majority of the authority to the Sheriff’s department and away from the current NTF board. The Sheriff wants control and complains about productivity even though they have not had a single deputy assigned to the Task Force in two years. It was just a few months ago he assigned a Lieutenant to the detail.

The current Task Force IGA consists of the County Attorney, whom is the chairman, Quartzsite PD, the Sheriff’s department and Parker PD. We have reached out to other entities to become board members but the Department of Public Safety and DEA have both stated they would rather just offer their full support whenever needed.

I spoke with Border Patrol agent in charge of the Blythe Station and he is working on an agreement to join our Task Force. The current NTF board welcomes new board members to assist us in our mission.

The County Attorney is the Chairman of the Task Force and has told the Sheriff numerous times that any new proposed IGA must be reviewed and approved by all entities of the current IGA.

Our mission has never changed. We are committed to eradicating the criminal activity surrounding the use and sale of drugs and narcotic in our communities. We have and will continue to effectively work with all Federal, State and Tribal agencies. We are looking forward to having the county release the RICO funds to reimburse our officers and for the maintenance of the Task Force building in order for us to resume normal operations.

Per Arizona State Statue the County Attorney is the chairmen of the Task Force and we will patiently wait until he has had time to review all the legal, State and Federal issues that need to be addressed in the Sheriff’s proposed IGA.

In closing, the Town of Parker will always work with all entities to enhance the quality of life and in the protection of all citizens of La Paz County.”

Via Randy Hartless. “Smoke blocks the sky near Yuma. Colorado River fire.”

Lily of the Valley Church, May 24th, 11am