Teri’s Notebook: Author to visit Carson City; Catmandu in need

Calamity Jan, also know as Jan Pierson, just released the fifth book in her “Ghostowners” mystery series.

“Ghost Girl in Car No. 9,” is set in Carson City where young detectives tour the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

There, they encounter the Ghost Girl, who’s rumored to have been appearing in car 9 for more than 100 years.

The Ghost Girl beckons them to follow her back to 1873 when she’s taking the train bound for the Nevada Children’s Asylum in Virginia City.

Reluctantly, they follow her and get caught up in Nevada’s wild history. Along the way, they meet some of the state’s most interesting characters, including infamous stagecoach driver Hank Monk, Pony Bob of the Pony Express and the legendary John “Snowshoe” Thompson of Genoa.

“This tension-packed story, laced with humor, blends with just the right amount of history to make this read both educational and fun,” reads a statement about the book.

Dedicated to the Nevada State Railroad Museum, the book is recommended for readers aged 8 to 13.

Calamity Jan will be in Carson City for a book signing 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. A day earlier, she will be at Bodie State Historic Park signing the first book in the series, “Goodbye God, I’m Going to Bodie.”

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You may remember, I did a column a few months ago about the Catmandu Adoption Center and Sanctuary for cats, at 1829 Brown St.

Officials there reached out to say they are in need of donations and volunteers. Some of those needs include:

Weekly volunteers: people who can come in once or twice a week for a few hours at a time to help with daily cleaning, phones, office work, and odd jobs.

Able bodies to help with a few rehab projects, including putting down new vinyl on one floor, tiling another and rebuilding some of the “Catios.” Each of these projects will require three or four people at a time until the jobs will be finished. If you can come for a few days, that’d be great, if you can only come one day, that’s great too.

Those who can’t volunteer their time can help by making a donation for the following:

Two floors that are going to cost a little more than $500 each.

Some of the Catios are unstable and need to be rebuilt and secured.

The quarantine building needs a partition wall and ceiling, including two-by-fours for framing and sheet rock.

Several new kitten condos for Kittenmandu Materials for each will be around $100 to $150.

In addition, a tiny kitten, only about a week old, was anonymously dropped off during the night. The kitten desperately needs loving, attentive foster care, as she needs to be fed every two hours.

There’s also Maxine, a sweet young cat who lost a leg to an infection. Her veterinarian bill is more than $2,000 already.

Any amount you can afford is greatly appreciated. You can designate your donation to a specific project, or let Catmandu choose by priority.

Catmandu’s hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Anyone can come in during business hours to volunteer and/or drop off donations.

For more information, call Linda at 297-3419 or Lori at 315-3289.

Teri Vance is a journalist, freelance writer and native Nevadan. Contact her with column ideas at terivance@rocketmail.com.