Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: Good luck to our newly elected officials

The Nevada Appeal's "Silver Dollar" and "Wooden Nickel" feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.

SILVER DOLLAR: To our newly elected and sworn in officials. We offer you a silver dollar in hopes that you can turn it into gold for the Silver State. This new batch of officials from local to state and national levels knows the well-

documented challenges that face them. From determining the fate of the City Center project in Carson, to closing Nevada's budget deficit, to the House and Senate who are reminded daily of a national unemployment rate near 10 percent - we will simply say good luck and God bless.

WOODEN NICKEL: We hate to be coarse, but whoever chopped down the Shoe Tree outside Fallon is a certified jerk. What a senseless, petty act of vandalism. Sure, it was just a tree, not a human being, but it was a landmark, in its own quirky, only-in-Nevada way. Shoe Tree, you will be missed.

WOODEN NICKEL: Brrrrrrrrrrrr, it is like winter out there. The arctic temperatures that were here for the majority of the week had us reaching for our Snuggies and hand warmers ... and that was inside.

Thankfully the milder temperatures made for a warmer weekend and the extended forecast calls for more of the same. With the snowpack at about 250 percent of normal, we don't mind a week or two reprieve from the snow. However, it will be a few more months before we reach for the shorts and flip-flops.

SILVER DOLLAR: No matter the outcome of today's Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, the Nevada Wolf Pack football team had a great season. The Pack goes into the

6 p.m. meeting (on ESPN) against Boston College with a 12-1 record. That record includes home wins over the University of Cal Bears and then-ranked No. 3 Boise State. The 13th ranked Wolf Pack can cap off a remarkable season with a win tonight. Go get'em Pack.