Feb. 10, 2022, R-C Letters to the Editor

Rice supported Genoa Lakes residents

Editor:

Mr. McCann, in his letter to the editor of Feb. 3, obviously did not do his homework. Wes Rice met with the committee which proposed the golf course ordinance, listened carefully, and voted twice to approve the ordinance. As a member of said committee, I was there for the meeting and the votes (unanimous) when the County Commissioners approved the golf course and public lands ordinance. Mr. McCann must not have attended the Commissioners meeting when the final vote was taken. Yes, Wes Rice will get the votes of Genoa Lakes residents as he supported us when we needed it. I call that being responsive to the needs of his constituents.

Nancy Edmundson

Genoa Lakes

Rice not preserving Valley

Editor:

Reading Douglas County Commissioner Wesley Rice’s announcement that he is running for re-election to a second term was like being awakened by a recurring nightmare. Two years ago, we were subjected to the duplicitous Larry Walsh campaign in his bid for re-election as county commissioner. During his first campaign Walsh had this to say in a letter sent to potential contributors to his campaign: “I will strive to protect our community from special interests who are constantly seeking to transform our county in ways that put even more strain on our infrastructure or to increase the tax burden on families to the benefit of only a special few.” Now Rice is making similar claims. If ever there was a contrivance that runs absolutely to the contrary of what Walsh said, and now Rice says, it was RDA No. 2. Voters across the valley asked that the RDA No. 2 issue be put on the ballot. Rice opposed that dimension of democracy, saying he was elected to office to make decisions, that there was no reason for the matter to come before us, the people. He supported that ill-conceived venture to the end.

Rice says his overall focus is to maintain our rural lifestyle. Since his election in 2018, Rice has voted for all development proposals, with rare exception, most egregiously for the ill-conceived Muller Parkway and the ordinance to change the land use of nearly 1,000 acres in the Carson Valley from agricultural to residential, and the construction of 2,500 homes. Clearly not a balanced effort to preserve the rural nature of the county. Moreover, the legal propriety of transferring development rights from the Topaz water shed to the Carson Valley was at best suspect, but Rice voted for it nonetheless. 

Rice has turned in a sterling performance representing the casinos, a major source of law enforcement calls for service, but voted against supplemental funding for an additional sheriff’s deputy. His performance in standing tall for the Carson Valley by adhering to the master plan and representing the majority of the voters in the county has been disgraceful. 

Rice is making the same campaign promise he made four years ago: preserve the rural nature of Douglas County. There is more than a hint of duplicity in Rice’s announcement. His voting record is diametrically opposed to his campaign promises, the same promises he is making today. I don’t trust him. Commissioner Penzel has retired; we removed Walsh in the last election. The only leg of the infamous Penzel-Walsh-Rice troika that remains is Rice. We need a candidate with a fresh, honest perspective to take his place.

DeVere Henderson

East Valley

Background checks important

Editor:

I am relieved to read that Douglas County volunteers must undergo background checks. A background check reveals past work experience, education, military status, but more importantly, law violations, and whether a person has been incarcerated. 

Volunteers are the life’s blood of the Douglas County community, and I want to be assured that a person volunteering in my community is safe to be around children and adults.

Donna Smith

Fish Springs

Thanks for supporting Taste of Carson Valley

Editor:

Tahoe Youth & Family Services first annual “Taste of the Carson Valley” provided participating restaurants an opportunity to share their tastiest bites and signature cocktails with very special ticket holders. Friends of Tahoe Youth & Family Services boarded the Hilltop Church bus and left the driving to David. 

Thank you to JT’s Basque Restaurant, the Carson Valley Country Club, Cook’d, Sonney’s Barbecue Shack, and The Overland managers and staff for their generosity and support of Tahoe Youth & Family Services. 

Our gratitude goes to ABE Printing & Copy Center for all event printing, all the business donations for raffle items and our silent auction Valley and Lake packages. Special thanks to Daphne Hillyer of Carson Valley Medical Center for water on the bus and enthusiastically selling an entire roll of raffle tickets in five hours! Lisa and Todd Whear are the heroes of the night, selling the most tickets for the event to friends and family. 

Finally, special thanks to Courtney Moore for her design and publicity work attracting restaurants and potential ticket holders to the event. Kudos to our MC at the Overland competing with the San Francisco 49ers playoff game, Board Member David Stevensen. Board members DeAnna Imelli, Michael Millwork, Judy Breza and Cheryl Bricker acted as hosts at the restaurants. Fundraising proceeds will find their way to our clients receiving counseling and supportive services. 

Thank you for turning an idea into a fun and profitable evening.

Cheryl Bricker 

Board President of Tahoe Youth & Family Services

Deputies have a tough job

Editor:

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a ride-along with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office as part of a yearlong participation in Leadership Douglas County. My thanks to Capt. Rick Koontz for arranging it. 

Over seven hours, with two deputies and a K-9 (thank you Eric, Joel and Bak), I gained a heightened appreciation for what these men and women do. Wearing almost 30 pounds of equipment, much of which is protective in nature, they allowed me a small peek at the role they play in keeping us safe. 

Their equipment, training, knowledge of what is happening in Douglas County and a willingness to do a job that requires split second decisions that could be questioned in the future were all impressive. A day well spent.

I drove home knowing this was not a job I could do, more thankful than ever that it is a job they can.

Alan Rasell

Genoa Lakes

Thanks for thinking of us

Editor:

On behalf of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, I just wanted to thank our great community for all of the gifts and goodies over the holiday season. From October through January, our community spoiled us regularly with baked goodies, “Thank you” cards, posters and many more kind gestures. 

We at the sheriff’s office love our community and appreciate the support each day. Thank you again, and I hope 2022 is safe and healthy for everyone.

Capt. Rick Koontz

Patrol Division

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

If something’s missing, try church

Editor:

We live in a beautiful county, all around us are God’s creations. I too thank God every day for living here, for my health and love of family and friends.

In Gardnerville and Minden alone, there are at least 10 churches. What if we took one hour of our Sunday or Saturday to thank God for the blessings that are bestowed upon us and meet others who may share things that are common. Maybe make new friends.

There are some who feel like their alone; God created each one of us to have different gifts and talent to share with one another. It is a wonderful thing to share who and what you have to offer other people in this life.

So, look on the internet or in the directory of your phone book to find a church that you want to visit on Sunday. See if that’s where you feel welcomed and the spirit of God within the church and the congregation. 

If you feel like something is missing in your life, try a little time to visit a new church, you might be surprised.

Tamara Brewer

Gardnerville

Republicans grow deficit, too

Editor:

When G.H. Bush left office we had a projected budget deficit of $255 billion, when Clinton left office we had a projected surplus of $128 billion, when G.W. Bush left office we had a projected budget deficit of $1.4 trillion, when Obama left office we had a projected budget deficit of $665 billion and when Trump left office we had a projected budget deficit of over a trillion dollars (per Forbes). 

Both G.W. Bush and Trump entered office with strong economies in place only to see those strong economies go south during their tenure in office.

In Biden’s first year in office we had GDP growth of 5.7 percent, the best since 1984, added 6 million new jobs, saw wage increases and farmers had best year since 2013. We along with the rest of the world are experiencing inflation. Inflation is being driven by supply chain bottle necks. Food and used vehicles are the principal drivers of inflation (per Forbes). Once the supply chain issues are resolved we should see inflation start to drop.

Per the CDC, non-vaccinated people are 17 times more likely to get COVID and 20 times more likely to die from COVID than vaccinated people. NPR study found counties that voted for Trump had almost 3 times more COVID deaths than those that voted for Biden. COVID doesn’t care if you are liberal, moderate, or conservative and it doesn’t care who you voted for in the last election, what matters most is whether you are vaccinated or not.

Democrats have questioned some elections, but they used the tools given to us under the Constitution to address them, i.e. courts. Al Gore won the popular vote in the highly contested 2000 election but conceded the election to Bush after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush. Hillary Clinton conceded the election to Trump in 2016 even though she had received over 3 million more votes. Biden won both the popular vote (7 million more votes) and the Electoral College (same margin as Trump in 2016) but to date Trump has not conceded.

Over the Jan. 29-30 weekend, Trump stated Pence had the power to overturn the election, thus Trump finally admitted the election was not stolen from him. The Jan. 6 attack and the sending of fake Republican elector certification documents from five states Trump lost (Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada) were all part of the plan to overturn the results of a free and fair election (per the courts, Trump’s AG, Cyber Chief, FBI Director). A number of memos have surfaced confirming Trump and his campaign were planning to overturn the 2020 election with the fake elector certification documents. They hoped the existence of fake elector certifications would allow Pence to stop the certification of Biden and give the election to Trump instead.

Irene Rice

Gardnerville