Silver Dollars and Wooden Nickels: Link Crew eases the big transition to high school

The Nevada Appeal’s Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes achievements from the capital region and, then warranted, points out other acts that missed the mark.

SILVER DOLLAR: About 60 seniors are part of Carson High School’s Link Crew, which is designed to make freshmen feel more welcome. Each Link member shows a group of incoming students around the school, offering a glimpse at what life as a high-schooler is all about. Students who were shown the ropes during freshman orientation last week will have a better idea of what to expect when school starts Monday.

WOODEN NICKEL: Two girls had their lemonade stand shut down at the Reno-Tahoe Open this month. Their crime? Selling food without a permit. Other vendors who had paid event fees to be there complained, and the Washoe County Health Department cited the girls and closed the stand. If you’re complaining about competition from girls selling lemonade, perhaps it’s time to diversify your offerings.

SILVER DOLLAR: The state surpassed its recycling goal for 2012 in Carson City and other counties with 45,000 or more residents. The recycling rate in those counties was 28.8 percent, which is 3.3 percent above the goal. Carson’s rate alone was 24.9 percent — a far cry from Douglas County’s rate of 54.5 percent. That’s the good news. As for the bad news ...

WOODEN NICKEL: Nevada ranks 43rd nationally in state recycling rates. The statewide rate, once more-rural areas are factored in, is a measly 6.34 percent. This is one area in which our neighbors to the west set a good example; California’s recycling rate is 68 percent.

SILVER DOLLAR: There’s still more positive economic news for Nevada. The state’s foreclosure rate has dropped about 44 percent year over year, and it fell 2 percent from June to July. Also, initial unemployment claims here fell 5 percent between July 2012 and last month. Nearly 17,800 initial claims for unemployment benefits were filed in July — far below the peak month of December 2008, when more than 36,000 such claims were filed.