John Wright

John is Editor of Parker Live. He is also the host of a daily afternoon radio show on KLPZ 1380am and a documentary filmmaker.

Three structures lost in Lakeside fire

Three structures are a “total loss” after Wednesday’s fire in Lakeside 2, according to Buckskin Fire Chief Chris Chambers. Photo by Araceli L. “It started in a garage,” Chambers told Parker Live, “and then quickly spread to each trailer on both sides.” The fire was driven by wind gusts on the hilly area, and worsened by the close proximity of …

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Houses on fire north of Parker

UPDATE 6/8: Three structures are a “total loss” after Wednesday’s fire in Lakeside 2, according to Buckskin Fire Chief Chris Chambers. Full update HERE. — ORIGINAL STORY: Two, possibly three, houses are on fire north of Parker in the area known locally as ‘Bean Pot Hill’. The houses, clustered between Captain Lane and Horizon Blvd, ignited sometime after 5 o’clock …

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LISTEN: The Tube Float is back this Saturday!

The Parker Tube Float is back for 2017 with a whole new route! Starting at Buckskin Mountain State Park and floating along the Colorado River for 3 miles to the south end of La Paz County Park north of Parker, Arizona, floaters are in for a treat on Saturday, June 10th, 2017. The new route makes for a shorter float, …

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Crash kills 4 people in homebound weekend traffic

UPDATE 12:33pm: Added identities of two of those who died. — Four people died on the road between Parker and Desert Center on Monday, according to news reports. Photo courtesy Brian Mumey and the Los Angeles Times Two soccer coaches from a Chino Hills high school were among those killed. Matt Hodges, 30, was the head coach of the varsity …

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Where is Sandy Giles?

UPDATE, NOV 2017: A body matching that of Sandy Giles has been found. See the separate article on the discovery HERE. UPDATE: It’s been over 2 months since Sandy went missing. There’s still no better information on what may have happened to her. UPDATE: Any new updates can be found at the Help Find Sandy Giles Facebook page, which is …

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LISTEN: Sheriff Risen, Captain Bagby on reduced funding

Sheriff Bill Risen and Captain Curt Bagby stopped by the studio of KLPZ 1380am Monday to talk about the challenges of operating the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department on reduced funding. Risen, elected in November, told Parker Live‘s John Wright that he has been asked to cut $30,000 per month from the department’s budget, and has not resolved how to …

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Department running on “bare minimum”, Sheriff says

Sheriff Bill Risen is running on the bare minimum in funding, he says, and is worried that it may not be enough. Speaking to the Board of Supervisors on Monday morning, Risen said that his department has handled 1,295 calls in the last 30 days with minimal staff, including: vehicle collision investigations medical calls disturbance calls assistance calls assaults thefts …

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Schools locked down as suspect apprehended

Some Parker schools were locked down while law enforcement arrested a suspect armed with a knife Monday morning. Parker High School, Wallace Junior High School and Wallace Elementary School were placed into lockdown as a precautionary measure, according to Parker Police Department. “Law enforcement received information there was an adult male, possibly armed with a knife, running toward Parker High …

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Supervisors not laughing at Goatman intervention

“You can’t make this stuff up.” So said District 2 Supervisor Duce Minor in a special meeting of the La Paz County Board of Supervisors this past week, addressing an agenda item which came after an online posting by someone purporting to be the legendary ‘Goatman’. Item 2 on Wednesday’s agenda asked the Board to vote to send a ‘cease …

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