Editor:
'Twas the night before Christmas not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
But as I opened the door from a faint knock, I was greeted by two large Douglas County Santa's Deputies arms laden with brightly festive packages. This Christmas cheer was generously given from the sheriff's office personnel.
Deputy Booth tirelessly and thoughtfully organizes this annual blessing for families in need with the gracious support from the personnel. They truly represent their badges of honor and integrity and exceed beyond their duty call to serve their community with generously kind hearted and caring personnel. I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful kindness you blessed my family and four others with this memorable Christmas!
And as the years pass and my children don't hear Santa's sleigh bells anymore, I'll remind them of the true meaning of Christmas with the pictures and special sheriff's office Christmas tree ornaments from this magically unforgettable Christmas.
The Evans Family
Gardnerville
Editor:
The members of the 2008 Minden Town Board have been working together as a board since 1986 when Robert Hadfield and Dave Sheets were elected. Bruce Jacobsen and Raymond Wilson were elected in 1984 and Ross Chichester was elected in 1982.
This constitutes the longest running elected board in the state of Nevada. With the approval of term limits by the voters of our fine state, there is little likelihood that another board will sit together for this length of time, under current rules. Bruce Jacobsen and I were "term limited." Robert Hadfield, Dave Sheets, and Ross Chichester's terms will be completed in December 2010.
This board has put the town first and foremost with no hidden agendas. The love of the town has come first. The citizens of Minden have elected this board six times. For that we are very grateful and humbled by your confidence and trust.
When I was first elected to the town board, there were three employees with $250,000 in the bank. Today, as I leave office, there are 16 employees and $7.5 million in reserve in three funds for the town. The town has no debt. All expenses incurred are paid as the work is performed.
The town, in my opinion, has the very best employees in the state. Most are long-term with only three leaving the town in 24 years. One retired, and two transferred to the county.
The town has one of the best water systems in the state with the best tasting water in the state. We have eight deep wells with no above-ground storage. All the wells "talk" to each other about how much water to pump, depending on the demand.
The grand jury report concerning the Minden water system and how it is managed reads as follows:
"There is an extensive proposed capital improvement budget created by the Town of Minden Water Co. It is the philosophy of the Town of Minden Water Co. to take a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to improvements within their utility district. It seems a prudent way to conduct business so that the general functioning of the utility district is kept in good repair. Anticipated problems can be addressed, budgeted for, and handled before they spiral into emergency situations, which can be very costly to the rate payers. The rate payers of this district may wish to be thankful for this forward thinking and responsible approach."
The streets of Minden are the best maintained and repaired in the county and possibly the state. All streets are re-oiled every four years on a rotating basis, and replaced as needed.
It has been my pleasure and joy to serve the citizens of Minden for the past 24 years. Thank you for allowing Bruce Jacobsen and me to serve you, addressing your concerns over the years.
I wish all the citizens of Minden a very happy and healthy year ahead.
Raymond Wilson
Retired Minden Town Board chairman
Editor:
Listen up all Nevada state employees and retirees, time is running out for you to face your responsibility. Why is it when there is a budget shortfall it always falls on the shoulders of the state workers? It is fact that the state employees are being treated without consideration and appreciation. This great state could not function one day without these dedicated state employees. That's not so for the Legislature that is going to make the decisions for their future. And it is obvious they are tired of being treated like Cinderella. Not only is it nearly impossible for the employees to survive on their wages, their health benefits are being slashed as well. Does the Legislature have the same wages, retirement and benefits? Better check this out. Then there are the ones that are going to be without employment at all. What has happened to this great state? Could it be managerial incompetence?
Then there are the retirees that can no longer get a job " none available, if they were capable. So cutting their health benefits is taking from the disabled. Is this what Nevada and America are all about?
Raising mining taxes a bit and increasing the room tax on tourists that can afford to vacation just might be a novel idea. Do you think tourists want to vacation where the area is in a depressed state? Would you? Guess this might be too simple.
The privilege is always yours to write letters to your senators and congressmen voicing your opinion. Let's all pull together and attend the Legislature hearing that affects our health benefits when it is announced, the more in attendance, the better. Heaven forbid every state worker take a sick day. The responsibility is yours, no one else's, so unless you are satisfied with your situation please join the rest of us.
Bill and Marie Sweetwood
Carson City
Editor:
We are living in times of economic depression and our Legislature is meeting to balance the budget, protect and positively impact the citizens of Nevada. I personally can see nothing positive from Senate Bill 18 initiated by Senator Maurice Washington to raise speed limits in school zones and crossings. To implement this bill would mean time, energy and monies spent unnecessarily. Who would this piece of legislature benefit? To implement this bill could possibly mean a traffic study, and will mean changing road signs and road painting.
Many drivers on the roadways already exceed the present speed limits. Raising the speed limit would only mean further exceeding of higher limits. Speed kills because it is coupled with road conditions, weather conditions, vehicle conditions, driver and passenger mental and physical conditions. We need to protect our young people as much as possible. We talk of our concern for young people's education, living conditions, and eating habits. Wouldn't the passage of this bill further endanger their safety entering and exiting their place of education? These zones and crosswalks were created as safety buffers. School zones are not so long in length that drivers cannot slow to the present speed limits and still make their destinations on time. If we cannot give respect and patience to these areas, we have certainly lowered our regard for human life.
If, on the other hand, your argument in favor of this bill would be that its passage creates jobs, consider lowering highway speed limits of 65 mph to 55 mph and further save lives and fuel efficiency. I consider raising speed limits in crucial areas inhabited by our young people to be thoughtless and irresponsible.
I definitely oppose this bill and will encourage my friends and neighbors to do so also.
What bothers me even more is there are probably many bills being introduced that are just as frivolous with negative impact on the citizens of Nevada.
The job of representative, as the word indicates, is to represent its citizens by decreasing spending, improve efficiency, protection and safety.
No one says it will be easy, but that is what a budget, responsibility and priorities are all about. We all must do it whether in our daily home lives, jobs or community. I have great respect for those concerned persons who are working hard to give Nevada the best representation possible. I am proud to be an American and live in the country of freedom of expression.
As this legislative session begins shortly, we can all do our part by going to the Web site at: www.leg.state.nv.us to look at the bills that will be introduced and become aware of what will affect us now and in the future. You may also write your senators and assemblymen at: Legislator Building, attn: senator leadership or assembly leadership, 401 S. Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701-4747 or call the Legislature at 684-6800.
Beverly Giannopulos
Minden
Editor:
In the first depression FDR came into the presidency with a promise of government fixing things by taxing the other guy. With massive government spending and increased debt things did get better. WWII was a blessing for the nation's out of control spending. Not one American complained about increased taxes. After WWII, the increased taxes were absorbed into our way of life and government spending increased with all kinds of pet projects.
The last huge pool of dollars was the Social Security fund. This fund was only meant to supplement retired people's savings upon leaving the work force. From its very beginning there were problems with cash flow. The first person to collect was a lady that paid a total of 12 cents and collected hundreds of dollars. Then all kinds or programs were added to the cost of this program. President Johnson saw this fund as a way to pay for a war that JFK escalated our involvement.
Then came the first credit problem that most of the living Americans can remember. With the need for cash to supply the new credit cards and other out of control borrowing by the nations people, the interest rate for home mortgages got as high as 18 plus percent under President Carter.
Jumping ahead to 9/11, Americans wanted to pick up arms and make someone pay for the Pearl Harbor of our day. Forget all of the talk about weapons of mass destruction because, in reality, it had little bearing on the feelings of the nation's people. We just wanted someone to pay for 9/11 and we just knew that Hussein had to have something to do with it.
As far as the money problems of today, it has to be blamed on the greed of the American people. We buy a house, not for a home, but as an investment. That 1,100-square-foot house for four of the '50s became a 2,000-square-foot house for two in the 21st century. We don't save to buy; we buy and worry how to pay later.
Our government takes care of people who refuse to take care of themselves. It pays a farmer to grow crops and his neighbor not to grow the same crop. It wants to bail out car makers and construction companies where the employees cost $70 per hour. United Auto Workers retire with $3,000 a month plus a great medical benefit. This means that the waitress in Nowhere, Kan., who is lucky to get minimum wage plus tips, will have to help pay off this debt the rest of her life.
The student that delivers your pizza and his great grandchildren will be paying off this new government give-away the rest of their lives. Forget the income taxes as to how this new debt will be paid off.
Some in Congress want to add between 50 cents to $1 per gallon gas tax to help pay for the next $750 billion they want to give away. Everyone in America pays all kinds of taxes - gas tax, sales tax, sporting goods tax, Social Security tax, income tax, Medicare tax and on and on. The smart people are right, each and every American works far into April just to pay his or her share of the tax burden.
Only by cutting government spending and making us responsible for our own actions will this country ever rebound.
It is time that the car makers, steel companies and the government declare bankruptcy and start from scratch and forget about giving away our money to those who can't even balance a checkbook.
Jerry Siebler
Wellington
Editor:
In the article appearing in The Record-Courier of Jan. 18, Assemblyman James Settelmeyer expressed ideas that have led us to our present economic crisis.
He first goes after government spending as our main problem. Settelmeyer states, "We can no longer allow inefficient and costly concepts that have helped to create the train wreck we now face to continue, and until government is efficient we shouldn't ask people to give more taxes."
What does he mean by costly concepts? Does he mean Social Security or Medicare? Does he mean regulatory agencies that protect us from contaminated food? Conservatives always say they seek an "efficient government," but in reality they seek a government that can run without their taxes.
Mr. Settelmeyer goes on to say, "Nevadans should not rely on the government to rescue them from the crisis."
But is it right for unregulated corporations as A.I.G., banks, or the auto industry to be rescued but nothing for individuals losing jobs or in foreclosures? As usual Mr. S. as a conservative, cannot place blame on a greedy, unregulated market as the main culprit for our economic debacle. In Mr. Settelmeyer's blame game Bernard Madoff would probably come in a distant second to government in the creation of economic problems for so many people.
Mr. Settelmeyer's article seems to indicate cutting jobs, and cutting taxes are our only way out of crisis. It is government involvement, concerning the infusion of money into our economy that may be the only way out of a 1930-type depression.
Unfortunately, we do not know if this infusion will work.
The question is, do we stick with Mr. Settelmeyer's do nothing, conservative methods, or accept a government that will soon try to pull us out of this terrible conflict?
Harold Zaroff
Minden
