Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone in the community development division of Douglas County. For some time, I have been employed at the building department as a building inspector.
In learning new things within my job description, the economy brought new departmental challenges. These challenges required cross training to learn other skills related to the building permit process, such as running the public counter, expanded clerical skills, and increased interaction with the planning and engineering departments.
The economic downturn has brought to the forefront duties that are rather unpleasant for the heads of the different departments.
The worst is probably the laying off of colleagues and friends. As these people leave, the ones left behind have a greater burden placed upon them as the public still needs services performed. The remaining employees now have additional duties and responsibilities with no pay increases.
I know, because I got to experience these duty transfers over the course of of the last six months, as some in our department were released from their employment. I told some of the guys that the additional training was just resume enhancement, in case I ever needed to look for another position. And now I am off to my next adventure. I was laid off on Feb. 6.
I am writing this letter to, and for, the remaining coworkers and staff in the building, planning, engineering and code enforcement departments. These are the best people that the public could have in these departments. Please remember when you (the public) need to deal with them that they are running departments, that in some cases, staffed by less than half of what they should be. And take it from a former insider, they are doing an exceptional job.
I would like to thank Mimi Moss, David Lundergreen (best boss ever), Darcy Worms (HR), Lawrence Bobo, Jerry Baker, Marsh Augenstein, Valarie Nunes, Lani Collins, Bob Butler, Lucille Rao, Dirk Goehring, Valarie Clausen, and all the rest for your friendship, professionalism, patience, and commitment to excellence. It has been a privilege to work with each of you, God bless you all.
Brook T. Enos
Gardnerville
Editor:
We make better voting decisions when we know how our elected officials will do their job, rather than relying on election season promises and slick marketing of a candidate. An easy tool to follow our congressional delegation's votes can be found at www.congress.org.
Scroll down to "Stay Informed" and click on "Vote Monitor" to sign up for a weekly summary of bills that were voted on, a brief description, and how our representatives voted. There's an email link to each if you'd like to comment, and a list of upcoming votes expected in the following week, so you can weigh in on those before the vote takes place.
Between Jan. 5 and Feb. 6 the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization both passed with Reid voting for them and Ensign and Heller voting against them.
Heller also voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, the TARP Reform and Accountability Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the DTV Delay Act. Both Reid and Ensign voted to confirm Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Timothy Geithner as Secretary of Treasury. They disagreed on the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General and on the Omnibus Land Management Act, with Reid voting for both and Ensign against.
If you're unsure about the merit of a bill, it's easy to look it up online and read a short summary or the whole bill. Use your own common sense and personal values to decide whether you approve of the votes or not, preferably without listening to the spin of partisan talking heads, or at least by listening to both sides of the argument.
Over time you'll have a good idea about whether you are represented well or not, and then you can cast your ballot with confidence at the next election.
Vicki Bates
Gardnerville
Editor:
While Douglas County may be a pretty special place to live, there's nothing special about the number of foreclosed homes we see in the legal notices at an alarming rate. Along with the rest of Nevada, we are part of the dubious "foreclosure capital of the world."
Until (Feb. 12) there was a provision in the "shovel-ready/jobs creating/stimulus" package for a $15,000 tax credit for persons wishing to buy a home and share the American dream and turn some of our foreclosures back into homes instead of vacant property.
I say was because in one of those sleazy backroom deals that should gag all of us, Harry Reid swapped the tax credit for a "big chunk" of an $8 billion deal that would run a mag-lev train between Vegas and Disneyland (AP "Economic stimulus package on track for final votes"). This affects not only Douglas County but the whole nation by exacerbating the foreclosure problem in favor of a pure porker of a project which is probably 50 years down the road.
When it reaches the point where our U.S. senator is swapping pet projects in lieu of helping voters live the American dream, it was time for us to swap senators. I don't care who runs against Reid in 2010 or which party they come from; we absolutely have to get rid of a Senator who puts pork and pet projects ahead of the overall good of the nation and Nevadans.
Steve Lang
Gardnerville
Editor:
Sen. Harry Reid's campaign commercials are taking credit for children's health care in Nevada. But once the kids grow up and join the military, he's not so supportive.
Capping his loud, public, irresponsible obstruction of the Iraq war, in April 2007 Reid appeared in al Jazeera media to declare that his country had lost. Sen. Reid bragged the same month to Congressional Quarterly that the Iraq war would win seats for his party.
What he meant was that bad news from a war being waged by a Republican president was good for Democrats. Cheerleading the enemy, recklessly endangering American soldiers, was Sen. Reid's bit to make sure the bad news continued.
Thank God the surge mooted his efforts or we might have seen a Jane Fonda-style picture of Sen. Reid on an enemy gun mount.
Lynn Muzzy
Minden
Editor:
The Douglas County Historical Society fundraiser melodrama "Hotel Minden" turned out so great and everyone had a great time. There are so many people to thank for this success.
First of all, many thanks to all the people who purchased tickets for the melodrama and kudos to the cast and technical crew. We had so much help from the society volunteers, for the posters and programs, set up and take down, food servers, bartenders, desk and bookstore help.
The Elks were so generous again in taking care of the Sunday matinee lunch.
A special thanks to The Record-Courier for all the publicity " they really do a good job for us. Our hope is the author, John Smith, and director Sue Smith, will come through with another play next year.
They do a wonderful job. Also, thank you to Smith's, Wal-Mart, Costco and Carson Valley Inn for their donations that helped with the food and drink.
Grace Bower
Minden
