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July 16, 2004
Beatty fights 'foul odors'
By RICHARD STEPHENS Stagecoach manager Keith Kearns said he had searched for the source of the bad smell in the business area and had found that workers installing sewer lines had left some vents uncapped. After the vents were capped, the odors persisted, however. He said that he had traced them to a boggy area across the highway that was being trampled by cattle grazing there. Kearns also complained about the lack of flow in the riverbed, with the stagnant water breeding odor and mosquitoes. Bill Sullivan, who said the mosquito problem was the worst he'd ever witnessed in Beatty, also brought up the danger of flooding created by lack of channel maintenance in the river bed. He reminded everyone of the devastating flood on 1969 in which debris blocked the flow under bridges and backed up water, leading to considerable property loss. Sullivan said that he has asked for the question of riverbed maintenance to be put on the next town board agenda and advised, "You'd better schedule the big room for that one." Board members had some doubts as to what they could do about the mosquito problem and even whether they were the proper body to authorize or pay for spraying, or whether spraying could be done in the toad habitat area. Several people indicated there were products available that could safely be used, and the board voted to have the area sprayed, following Commissioner Joni Eastley's promise to "leave it up to the women" (herself and town secretary Mary Ball) to work out the details of how it could be done. In other news: • Eastley reported that she had met with a California manufacturer of motorized elevating wheelchairs that was interested in relocating his business to Beatty. He has toured the Bullfrog Mine property and seems sincerely interested, she said. She said that a couple of issues, including acquiring water at the site, would have to be worked out. • The board tabled several items. One that was more or less postponed, pending the outcome of an investigation into procedures, was a proposal to hire a company to sandblast the east wall of the older part of the Beatty Community Center so that it could then be sealed and repainted. The wall has been damaged over the years from water seeping through the unsealed cinder block. Board member Bert Bertram was particularly concerned that county maintenance crews might not show up to seal and repaint the wall in a timely fashion after it was stripped, and that more damage might be done if it were to rain on the unpainted wall. The county has reportedly been slow in responding to maintenance needs in Beatty in the past. Ball pointed out, for instance, that the town had paid for new locks on the community center doors two years ago, and they are yet to be installed. • The board approved the expenditure of up to $3,000 for banners to be hung on power poles along the main routes through town. The banners would welcome visitors and promote tourism. • The board voted to work with county human resources to hire a seasonal employee to maintain the cemetery. They also signed a letter of support for the work being done by a local Nevada Department of Transportation crew to improve and beautify the right-of-way through Beatty. |
