the lighthouse inn

Norma and Shorty Thornton lived in Nikiski and ran the Lighthouse Inn, starting back in the 1970s. They were there until at least 1982. The  Lighthouse Inn has since suffered disrepair and roof collapse sometime around 2020. It has been torn down. Photos of the building are below this article. Many in Nikiski have fond memories of eating at the Lighthouse Inn and visiting with Norma.

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Woman sues Bullhead City after being arrested after feeding unhoused people at public park

Written by:
Angela Cordoba Perez

Arizona Republic

Published Oct. 31, 2022

(Article and photos from: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/10/31/norma-thornton-arrested-after-feeding-homeless-sues-bullhead-city/10652939002/

When Norma Thornton was young, her grandmother taught her to share with those who have less, which she has done with her cooking. Until March, Thornton used to give out homemade meals to low-income or unhoused people at the Bullhead City Community Park.

But on March 8, 2022, Thornton was arrested and accused of violating a Bullhead City ordinance that restricts sharing food for “charitable purposes” at public parks.

Her charges were dropped. Now Thornton is suing the city in hopes of changing the ordinance and being able to give out her food at the park without the fear of going to jail.

Thornton, 78, cooked her first meal when she was 6 years old and enjoys cooking. For almost 20 years she owned a restaurant in Alaska, she said.  

Thornton and her husband became Bullhead City residents in 2018. Since 2019 she has been going to the Bullhead City Community Park each week, sometimes six days a week, to bring balanced and hot meals to people who might not have access to them.

“When you share your food, it warms the people's heart and it gives them little piece of you, a little piece of love,” Thornton said. “And when it's something that really tastes good or excites them, you can see it in their eyes.” 

Delicious dishes

Thornton remembered how excited a man got when she cooked spaghetti, which he said was his favorite dish.

“He says, ‘You did good. It made me think of my grandma, about such wonderful memories of being in her kitchen,’” Thornton said.

His reaction made her whole week worthwhile, she said.

Some of the meals she shares include fried chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade cream gravy, broccoli and a dessert like cookies. She also does casseroles and as the weather gets colder, she said she’ll start making more soup. 

Thornton said she gets most of the ingredients from a food bank and from people in the community who donate them. She buys some, too.

“Whatever I have, I try to turn it into something good,” Thornton said.

Thornton served about 35 people each day with these homemade meals. Sometimes she did it all by herself; her husband has also helped distribute them.

Besides sharing food, Thornton also brought hygiene products such as shampoo or toothbrushes to give to unhoused people, and she has helped people by giving them rides to the store.

Thornton said the people she has helped, who she described as good people who have fallen on hard times, have become her friends. Sometimes all they need is someone to listen to them, she said.

“We share hugs, we share stories, we cry together, we pray together,” Thornton said.

While Thornton said what she does can be hard work and tiring, she said it also fulfills her.  

Thornton faced four months in jail

The day Thornton was arrested she was loading her car after sharing her food when she saw a police car. She said she thought officers were doing a routine check and didn’t imagine she would end up in the back of the car.  

“I still have difficulty believing that that even happened. I mean, it doesn't make sense to me, but yeah, it was a wonderful day up to that point,” Thornton said.

Body camera footage of the arrest released in an Institute for Justice video shows an officer telling someone in the radio, “I think this is a PR nightmare, but OK,” before arresting her.

The officer then gets off his patrol vehicle and tells Thornton she is under arrest on suspicion of violating the city ordinance. Thornton said the officer approached her in a “courteous” manner.

The body camera video shows the officer saying he didn’t want to handcuff her before placing her in the patrol vehicle.

“I’m not going to do that because I don’t think you’re a hardened criminal, I don’t think you’re out to hurt me,” the officer says.

Homelessness increasing in metro Phoenix: 

The Valley has more than 5,000 people living on the streets. Thornton said officers hadn’t warned her to stop sharing food at the park before that day. 

Mackenzie Covert, a spokesperson for Bullhead City, said the police chief said Thornton had admitted she was aware of the ordinance when she violated it. He also said the reason the officers went to the park that day was because someone called to report Thornton was feeding people in the park.

Thornton was given a citation and ordered to court, where she thought she would get a fine. But later she realized she could face more serious charges. She was facing up to $750 in fines and four months in jail, according to the lawsuit.

“In front of that judge, it was downright terrifying. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like if I’d had to go to jail,” Thornton said.

Thornton rejected a plea deal, and in July 2022, the city dropped the charges against her citing that “the defendant was unfamiliar with the new law. She now understands it,” according to the lawsuit. Thornton said she was warned that if she began sharing food in the park again, she would go to jail.

City says it's trying to ensure safety of those in need

After the Institute for Justice released the video on Thornton’s case, Bullhead City put out a statement saying the video was “misleading and lacks many critical details.”

Covert said the city decided to pass the Food Sharing Event ordinance in February 2021 because maintenance staff was being called out to the parks by community members to “clean up human waste,” litter and things left over from food sharing events. He said with the ordinance they intend to maintain the “safety and cleanliness” of the park, as well as ensure the safety of the people receiving the food.

Covert said they want to make sure the people preparing the meals are doing it safely.

The ordinance doesn’t apply to individuals or organizations who serve any food from private property.

“Individuals are free to serve food to any homeless person at their place of residence, church or private property. Our ordinance applies to public parks only,” Mayor Tom Brady said in the city’s statement.

The ordinance requires organizations or individuals to obtain a permit issued by the city to have a food sharing event at a public park. The permit is required only for homemade meals and isn’t needed to share “sealed prepackaged foods readily available from retail outlets and intended for consumption directly from the package.”

Thornton said buying prepackaged food isn’t viable as she couldn’t afford buying the number of meals she usually gives out in a day.

A $250 refundable deposit and a $30 event fee are required to apply for the permit to share homemade food. The deposit is refunded after the event if the place is cleaned up, Covert said.

Other requirements for the permit include having a general liability insurance and proof compliance with the Mohave County regulations on food preparation and distribution.

Under the ordinance, an individual can apply for the permit and hold one food sharing event per month. Covert said if someone wanted to share food more than once per month, they would have to partner with multiple entities.

The ordinance also states that a food sharing event is a “non-social gathering” that is planned to serve food for “charitable purposes at no cost.” Covert confirmed this means that if someone wanted to have a picnic at the park and invite some guests, they don’t need a permit.

“So there is a relationship, a familiarity between the person who is providing whatever food may be provided and the people who are receiving it. So there's some implicit trust there. What we're regulating is this kind of advertised distribution to random people where the people who are receiving the food don't necessarily know you and you don't necessarily know them. That's where we feel the safety concerns,” Covert said.

Covert said the city believes it’s best if people who don’t have homes get their resources at homeless shelters, such as the Legacy Foundation Christine Stamper Center for Help & Hope, operated by Catholic Charities. He said the shelter has 46 beds and has services such as laundry, bus passes or mental health services.

Covert said they realize homelessness is a complex problem and encouraged the community to assist at the shelter.

In the city’s statement, Mayor Brady also spoke about the shelter.

“The city provides funding of $127,000 annually to our homeless shelter. I would encourage all who wish to help the homeless to volunteer at the shelter’s commercial kitchen, where two meals a day are served. The City Council voted to allow our families to peacefully enjoy our parks,” Brady said.  

'I am enabling people to be able to survive'

After Thornton was warned not to share her food at the park again, she got permission from a jet ski shop to use their private alley to continue sharing her food, according to the lawsuit.  

Thornton said the park was a better location to share her food as there was grass, trees for shade and picnic tables, while in the alley she said some people are having to sit on the ground.

Suranjan Sen, Thornton’s lawyer, said if the city was concerned about food safety, they wouldn’t allow 

Thornton to share her food “blocks away” from the park, in the alley. He also said he wonders why the litter left at parks is an issue with homemade foods and not prepackaged foods.

Sen also emphasized that not everyone who gets food from Thornton is unhoused, and that she wasn’t enabling an encampment as no one was spending the night in the park after it closed.