Letters to the editor for Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017

Dedicated volunteers upset to see wild horse program squashed

Gov. Sandoval needs to wake up to the fact that the Nevada Department of Agriculture is abandoning not only the wild horses of the Virginia Range, but a fully-funded and volunteer-based operation that has successfully done what no state agency or even BLM have. With the support of AWHC, these dedicated volunteers have successfully brought birth control to the Virginia Range in the only program of its kind in the U.S.

Thinking outside of the box is something that neither the state of Nevada or the BLM seem capable of, but this small group of volunteers has. And to compound matters, Sandoval is now walking away from it. Why is that, governor?

I am damn proud of my wife, whose commitment to solving the problem is incredible. She has darted more mares than anyone. Spending many hours tracking, documenting, darting and maintaining an online census of all of the nearly 3,000 horses on the Virginia Range. Countless rough off-road travel, hiking, climbing and tracking sometimes for hours before being able to take a shot. It is amazing.

It’s not over until it’s over, and I hope that our governor will not throw away a winning hand.

John Kilian

Virginia City Highlands

Wake up, the wildfires are coming

About one month ago, we experienced the massive wildfire that destroyed much of Santa Rosa. Northern California is still trying to recover.

Now, on Dec. 5, the news was full of another massive wildfire in Ventura, Calif. One fire official said the wildfire was destroying an area the size of a football field each second. The wildfire was being pushed by Santa Ana winds.

We have experienced this before, but not the speed and size of the Santa Rosa and Ventura fire storms. Thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed. Climate change is making matters much worse.

Our leaders must not only acknowledge our climate is changing, but also that they must act to discourage emission of fossil fuel carbon. Ignoring this need to act could result in being awakened late one night (as in Santa Rosa and Ventura) by firemen trying to save your life, home and job.

We know how to reduce and eventually remove the carbon in our air. We need to acknowledge that we must do so. How big does the destruction and displacement of populations need to be for our elected officials to act? In fact, 62 members of the House of Representatives have a caucus to seek answers to climate change and encourage other members of Congress to join in their efforts. This issue is nonpartisan, every person on this earth is at risk.

Please check out our website, www.citizensclimatelobby.org. We are doing what we can to help. The need is here and urgent.

Bill Prowse

Carson City

Small business owners support tax cuts

Those who are still uncertain about Congress’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act should look to Nevada for evidence that low business taxes work.

Our state is one of seven that doesn’t levy an income tax, and it taxes business revenue at a top rate of one-third of 1 percent. Low taxes and limited red tape have allowed Nevada’s economy to grow almost twice as fast as the U.S. average. Congress’ plan to reduce the federal tax burden on small businesses and individuals would promote even more growth. Smart cuts like this let the smallest businesses get a leg up on their way to becoming medium and large businesses.

When I opened Junk King almost three years ago, a sizeable tax cut would have helped me get my businesses off the ground. A tax cut now would do wonders in my goal to keep growing and servicing my community.

Politicians always talk about small business as the backbone of America. It’s time to put some muscle behind those statements and give small businesses the tax relief they need to expand in local economies.

Brian Cassidy

Reno

Carson City needs medical clinic for veterans

I would like to know why Carson City, the state capital, does not at least have a satellite office for the veterans hospital.

Veterans having to drive all the way to Reno for a simple blood draw is totally ridiculous. Weather and traffic aside, it is a tiring trip, and parking is horrible once you get there.

Would it really be so difficult for a doctor to be available to help out our veterans here?

Frances Bennett

Carson City

Kudos for calling out liberal hypocrisy

An excellent letter submitted recently by Mr. Otto Tarvainen calling out the hypocrisy of recent letters from the Van Alfen/O’Neil crowd.

The liberal leftist movement in this country is in complete meltdown and getting worse by the day. The bodies are piling up as Mr. Trump continues to drain the swamp. More than 90 percent of the politicians recently accused of sexual misdeeds are Democrats, following in the steps of Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, and Anthony Weiner, to name only a few.

The Mueller investigation, after months of wasting more than $7 million of taxpayer money, is going nowhere, the mainstream media making up fake news stories only to later issue retractions, NFL attendance and revenues in free-fall for mocking the national anthem and the U.S. flag, adding to a total collapse of morality in the entertainment industry.

During eight years of Obama, the GOP won control of 69 of 99 houses in state legislatures, more than 4,100 state lawmakers, two-thirds of the governorships, plus control of both houses of Congress and the Oval Office. Trump Derangement Syndrome must be terrible affliction. In the meantime, the Trump train rolls along racking up daily wins.

A message to the Van Alfen/O’Neil crowd: Keep those vile, anti-Trump letters coming, but be prepared to do it for the next seven years as you are the very reason that Trump won the election and will get reelected in 2020. There are more of us than you.

Bill Johnston

Carson City