Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: Run showed victims respect they deserve

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: The smoke cleared just in time for Friday morning’s 5K memorial run/walk for the victims in the Sept. 6, 2011, shooting at IHOP. Nevada Guard soldiers and airmen gathered around shooting survivor Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Mock in the late-summer, pre-dawn chill in the restaurant’s parking lot, then headed due east. The run might become an annual event; our hats are off to the honorable military members who participated Friday.

WOODEN NICKEL: Former Carson City Animal Services manager Gail Radtke sued the city this week, claiming she was wrongfully ousted in the wake of the controversial euthanasia of a woman’s dog. Radtke, who says in the lawsuit that the dog was put to sleep according to the shelter’s policies, seeks unspecified damages. The legal action spurred by the incident might not be over; Cal Dunlap, a lawyer for the dog’s owner, said Friday that he’s finishing an evaluation and plans to make a decision about a possible lawsuit soon. “I would also say that I’m going to take a look at the allegations in the complaint that’s recently been filed and also will be interested in the city’s answer,” he said. A situation that was ugly to begin with continues to get uglier. We wish incoming interim Animal Services manager William H. Brandon the best of luck.

SILVER DOLLAR: Readers expressed their feelings regarding last Sunday’s story about a Carson woman who’d undergone a gender transition, and it was generally quite positive. We applaud the bravery of the couple who were featured. We couldn’t have told their story unless they’d been willing to share it.

WOODEN NICKEL: News broke Thursday that an illegal fire started by a hunter was the cause of the Rim fire, which poured smoke into our valley for two weeks and spoiled one of the sweeter parts of late summer. He hadn’t been identified or arrested as of Friday afternoon, but the latter could change as the U.S. Forest Service’s investigation unfolds. The fire could have done a lot of property damage, considering it burned an area twice the size of the entirety of Carson City. That’s the silver lining amid the clouds of smoke residents have been choking on. The fire was a reminder of nature’s raw power; the hunter’s actions are a reminder of humans’ ability to help unleash it.

WOODEN NICKEL: All signs indicate that Nevada is woefully unprepared for the upcoming transition to so-called Obamacare — although, to be fair, state officials are doing a good job amid ever-changing federal circumstances. There no doubt will be numerous kinks to work out in the coming months and possibly years. We just hope no one’s health suffers as a result.