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December 16, 2005
$6,420 APPROVED TO BUY DIGITAL RECORDING EQUIPMENT Town ignores seniors' plight
By GINA B. GOOD
The agenda item acknowledged services at the senior center "may be compromised or discontinued." However, the only action asked for by the item's sponsors, member Paul Willis and town manager Dave Richards, was to vote on researching options to the current service provider - the non-profit entity, Pahrump Senior Center Inc. Finding potential funding sources was also mentioned in the agenda item. The item stated the research should be considered "at the earliest possible date and prior to the discontinuance of those services." The board passed the action unanimously. Since there are no board meetings scheduled until January, it sounds as though the Town of Pahrump will not act on behalf of its senior citizens, some of whom could go hungry during the holidays. Walt Kuver, vice president of the senior center's interim board of directors, was asked to update the members. "Our status is tight this month. We are getting very good support from the community, but cash flow remains our biggest problem," he said. "We are focusing on the future and getting our operation under control to operate successfully and be solvent," said Kuver. "We believe the Pahrump Center should be run by Pahrump people, but we are not rejecting any help from the county," he said. "We are trying to build the spirit back," said Kuver. "We hope to work our way out of the financial hole we are in and work into a happier atmosphere." Ken VanHeule, president of the interim senior center board, said the senior center had laid off staff. "Interim board members are taking the place of former staff members at no cost," said VenHeule. "We have been very successful reaching out to the community and have gotten an excellent response," he said. "Wal-Mart put new tires on the center's Meals-On-Wheels van." VanHeule also said the senior center serves families in dire need. "They only have the meals we provide them," he said. "There is nothing in their refrigerators. "The bottom line is they are our seniors," VanHeule said. "We are doing our damnedest to keep the center going." Later in the meeting, Tim Gold, president of the Pahrump Fire-Rescue Service firefighters' union, pledged $500 to the senior center from IAFF Local 4068. The interim board of directors for the Pahrump Senior Center meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m. The meetings are open to the public and are held at the Center, at 1370 W. Basin Ave. Also on the agenda was the purchase of a Veri-Scribe digital recording system for town board meetings. The system would make high quality recordings of meetings. It would allow those audio recordings to be uploaded to the town's web site for the listening pleasure of interested citizens. Meetings could also be transferred to CDs if requested. The total cost of the system is $6,420 and includes $1,000 for installation and training, along with $425 for technical support. Member Laurayne Murray questioned the purchase, wondering if any additional cost would be incurred for uploading lengthy MP3 files to the town's site. Chairman Richard Billman assured her "a file is a file" and said there would be no extra charges. A laptop computer must also be used with the system; there is a laptop available at the town office. Even so, during public comment, Karen Selby wondered if the expenditure was needed. "Do we have enough people in Pahrump who even care?" she asked, referring to the number of people who would take the time to listen to a three-hour meeting. "A verbatim and real time (recording) is a great asset for the community to have at their disposal," Willis said. The expenditure passed by a vote of 3-1, with Murray voting against purchasing the digital system. |
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