Firefighters battle Larson fire

As everyone is probably aware, on Friday, there were two lightning-strike fires on the west side of the Valley. The fire department's first call was to one near base housing, which they were able to douse quickly. Unfortunately, the second one was larger and in difficult off-road terrain. As of now, the firefighters are battling a rekindled Larson fire, that has spread to 500 acres above Coleville High School. Both of Coleville's schools have been evacuated to the Mountain Warfare Training Center community center. Residents along Highway 395 from Larson to Cunningham lanes have been told to leave their homes. Several area fire departments are involved in battling this fire. Firefighters managed to get a line most of the way around it by today, but high winds and low humidity may have contributed to its rekindling. Our firemen reacted quickly and got the necessary support teams from the government. Thank you to our local volunteers for all their hard work.

Nursing scholarship awarded

Local resident, Priscilla Rosen, is a nursing student at Western Nevada Community College. On May 11, the Northern Nevada Nurses of Achievement awarded scholarships to Priscilla and six other top northern Nevada nursing school students. Congratulations, Priscilla.

Breathing easier

Many of our local residents had been unaware of an Army National Guard training to take place on MWTC and surrounding land from May 29 to June 26. Fortunately, those who did know about it wrote their letters of concern, and the National Guard cancelled those operations in early May. Since then, we became aware of operations planned by the U.S. Army for helicopter and troop training from May 30 to June 10. I received a notice from the U.S. Forest Service after last column's deadline that the Army cancelled that operation on May 27. So, for now, we have been told of no activities planned to cause the concerns that our residents felt over these last two. Good news for us all.

Coleville High graduation

June 16 at 10 a.m. at the Coleville High School gym, our 2007 class will have their graduation ceremony, with scholarships being awarded to some deserving grads. It will be a proud moment for all of us who know these young people and wish them well in the next steps on their road of life.

This and that

-- Our Friends of the Library and the Antelope Valley Artists are holding a get-together with a reception this afternoon, 4 p.m., to unveil the new photographic display of the Antelope Valley and surrounding mountains. The public is invited to come to the Coleville Library, see the photos and have refreshments.

-- As it has been in the past, the Memorial Day ceremony at the Coleville cemetery was a moving event. The roll call of past Antelope Valley residents and their military affiliations, as well as two poems read by Charles Evans, the VFW Post 3567 chaplain were impressive. Don't miss it next year.

-- The Antelope Valley Regional Planning Advisory Committee meets tomorrow, 7 p.m. at the Walker Community Center. As always, the public is invited and welcome to attend.

-- The Toiyabe Indian Health Project held their Board of Directors meeting here last Friday. One of the items on their agenda was the desire to re-open the clinic in Camp Antelope. This is still in the exploratory stage and will take some time and study. Also attending the meeting were Dave Wilbrecht, Mono County Chief Administrative Officer and Rita Sherman, from his staff. We'll hope that something good for the area and our citizens comes to pass.

-- Our Lady of the Valley Chapel's rummage sale went wonderfully. There were many people arriving with donations, but also staying to shop. Good luck to this group in all of their fundraising efforts. We know how many people would like to see their church a reality.

-- Aug. 4 and 5, at Lampe Park in Gardnerville, our local Relay for Life team will participate in this very special event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The relay honors cancer survivors and works toward finding cures. Our local group is offering raffle prizes of a gorgeous mirror made by local woodworker, Mike Elliott, as well as a Shimano rod and reel to catch the big trout on the river. The raffle tickets are already available at 3 Flags Trading Post in Walker. You can get your tickets and see all the other goodies that survivor Marlene has there. In addition, the group is still seeking survivors to participate with them at the relay.

-- Lynne Katusich can be reached at lynnekat@schat.net or (530) 495-2552.