SILVER DOLLARS AND WOODEN NICKELS: Carson City to enter rarefied air of music

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

SILVER DOLLAR: To the leaders instrumental (pun intended) in bringing the United States Air Force Band to Carson City. It will be an historic night when the USAF Band performs at the Carson City Community Center on March 4. There are only 750 seats available, so one would advise to show up at the Carson Chamber of Commerce, 1900 South Street, to pick up tickets for the performance, which is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

SILVER DOLLAR: To the staff, parents and students at Empire Elementary School for the expansion of its breakfast program. Governor Brian Sandoval and First Lady Kathleen were at Empire last week to recognize the school for its effort to ensure students are as ready as possible for the classroom.

SILVER DOLLAR: To John Glover, who once again has been named as the Douglas High baseball team’s head coach.

SILVER DOLLAR: To local donors and organizations in helping FISH to purchase its “new” used shuttle being used to transport residents at its homeless shelters.

WOODEN NICKEL: While Gov. Sandoval indirectly receives a Silver Dollar for his support of programs such as the one at Empire, he receives a Wooden Nickel for his funding proposal for Western Nevada and Great Basin Colleges. Without going into all the details, his proposal will hurt WNC and GBC at a time when community college education is vital. Admittedly, Sandoval had some tough decision when coming up with his proposed budget, but we hope the funding he took out for WNC and GBC can eventually be restored.