Way beyond disgusted

After reading the article ("No way to treat dogs," Aug. 11) in the Pahrump Valley Times, it was the last straw for me.

What in the hell is going on at the animal shelter, and even more important, animal control?

There is simply no excuse for allowing the dogs that were caught in traps to be let go.

If this animal control person is as well-trained as he was portrayed, he never would have made such an incredibly stupid blunder.

Suppose these dogs were lost and had chips that could have been scanned and returned to their owners.

They could have been sick with parvo and by running loose, spreading the disease. Even if none of the above is true, and we will never know, this man should be fired.

We the taxpayers have been haunted with unqualified people running this pound and animal control for years.

And, while I'm nailing this mess to the wall, how about you, District Attorney Bob Beckett? You pretty much ignore animal abuse unless you're being interviewed by the media; then, you become an advocate for the stopping of animal abuse.

The truth is, in my opinion, you don't give a rat's behind, and you have proven it many, many times over. Stop being so willing to get your butt in the spotlight and start doing, again, what you get paid to do.

My last thoughts in this letter are going out to the people of Pahrump. Why don't we the people expect much more out of the people we put in positions of authority?

They have no business making us feel that we've inconvenienced them when we question what they are doing. This should be stopped now. We must insist on change with no excuses accepted. More money must be put into making a much larger and better place than that hellhole we call a shelter.

Attitudes must change. The four of you - Brent, Bob, Debbie and Debbie - aren't getting shortchanged in the money department. Why should the animals? I'm sick and tired of pathetic excuses.

If you aren't willing or are not capable of handling the huge undertaking, then get out and let someone who can. And Pahrump, we should demand it.

Everything in this letter is my opinion and only my opinion.

Sarah C. RaUlin

Mariahs S.P.C.A.

My day to vote ... or so I thought

I made it a point (Aug. 15) to vote as is the duty of any citizen. I usually vote early, but since I had moved to Pahrump last year I didn't know where to vote early.

I walked into the polling station at the Bob Ruud Community Center and gave my name. The man with the hard copy voter rolls couldn't find my name and told me, "You aren't on the rolls but not to worry, it's happened a lot today." I was pointed over to another station.

The man ahead of me was told he couldn't vote because he wasn't in the system. The election official tried to look up my name on her laptop but it also was nowhere to be found.

It seems I wasn't the only person denied a chance to vote that day. That man and myself had to fill out the form again just so we could vote in November. I was told by the voting official that when I changed my registration at the DMV after my move, that the DMV had not turned in my paperwork to the register of voters. That official told me that I wasn't the only one as the Pahrump DMV was the only DMV in Nye County to not turn in any voter forms. Just think of the hundreds of forms and the votes that could have changed the outcome of this primary.

I urge all Pahrump residents who were denied a chance to vote to come forward with your experiences. Without your voices we can not get to the bottom of this debacle.

Troy La Mana

Tired of the status quo

Actually, this is an open letter to the county commissioners. With two new commissioners on the board, many people in the valley have high hopes that things will take a new direction than what we've seen in the past. We are tired of the status quo and good ol' boy government; it's time the commissioners show some of the intelligence and moxie they claimed they had before they were elected.

This valley needs to move forward and grow, but the growth needs to be in business and homes in a balanced agenda. We must bring jobs here, both retail and light industry. You can't keep putting up barricades for these potential businesses to jump over. We need them, they don't need us.

The new home buyers are not going to pay outrageous prices for their homes and then pay outrageous gas prices to drive to Vegas to go to work.

I don't understand how the commissioners can ask the people of this community to start thinking about water conservation and then even dream of addressing a request by the developers to build eight homes per acre. That is insane and, if passed, would reflect the mentality of the people on the planning commission and the county commissioners.

When a developer submits plans for the area they want to improve, it should also require that they widen, pave and curb all the outlining city streets from the center of the road to the edge of their development. Also, set aside land for schools and neighborhood parks, in extremely large developments.

We need to address the zoning laws; we need hard zoning. If the guy next door wants to have a used-car lot, or trucking company, or any other business, they will have to purchase property in a commercial area, get permits and a business license.

Animals need to be considered in the zoning regulations also. Nineteen goats, two horses, and two dogs do not constitute a 4-H project. There also needs to be a crackdown on the many businesses that already dot the community that have no permits or license.

The county commissioners have got to stop hiring out-of-state and out-of-town consultants to do studies and surveys at a cost of hundreds and thousands of our dollars. We elected you to your positions because we perceived that you were reasonably intelligent and capable of making decisions among yourselves. Granted, sometimes things arise that we all need further guidance on and then we can go for advice.

Offhand, I don't recall how much the commission spent on a study a while back, trying to decide where the new jail and county offices should be built (where they are now, at the Calvada Eye, or the 40 acres we already own in Mesquite). Well, if they had asked any resident of the community, we would have said on the 40 acres you already own, how hard is that? But you went to a consultant and spent all that money and they told you the same thing. I rest my case.

Please ... carry us forward to a prosperous future. Good ol' boy and status quo government doesn't cut it any more. We voted you in and we can and will vote you out.

Jane Schmidt

Relay For Life thanks you

As Publicity Chair of this year's American Cancer Society's Relay For Life committee, I would like to thank the residents of Pahrump for their generosity and support.

Twenty-four teams participated in this year's event; over 425 people raised over $40,000 so far for the American Cancer Society's research, education, advocacy, and service programs. The outstanding support received proves that the people of Pahrump are truly committed to the fight against cancer.

I want to applaud the survivors who participated in the opening lap and the survivor caretakers as well. They are the reason we continue the fight because each year more and more people are living wonderful and productive lives following a diagnosis of cancer.

A special thanks to the many Relay For Life volunteers who worked to make this event a success. The Relay For Life committee did an outstanding job of putting the event together, especially our fearless leader, Manon Rodriguez. Committee members are:

Event Chair -- Manon Rodriguez

Co-Chair -- Tracie Dreyer

Team Recruitment -- Carla Konochik and Sharon Hoppe

Entertainment -- Dan Rodriguez

Accounting/Registration - Jesse Vick and Debora

Advocacy -- Nancy Phillips and Barbara McCulloch

Mission Delivery - Aurora

Luminarias -- Charlie Hannold and Dennis London

Survivor Chairs -- Albert Bass, Donna Torelli and Johanna Viggiano

Publicity -- Staci Behnke

American Cancer Society Staff -- Jannelle Takebayashi

We also appreciate the generosity of this year's corporate sponsors. Relay For Life would not be possible without them. Our corporate

sponsors are:

Wal-Mart

Floyd's Ace Hardware

Pahrump Valley Door

Bechtel

Action Audio & Motorsports

Roman Horizon Tile

AVCO Construction

Papa Murphy's Pizza

Big O Tires

Provneza Neth Properties

Provenza Realty

Dow Industries

Joe's Sanitation

Pahrump Valley Disposal

Martinizing Dry Cleaning

Wells Fargo

Canyon Concrete Inc.

Romero Enterprises Inc.

Valley Electric Association

First United Mortgage

Extreme Finish Inc.

KNYE Radio

Channel 41

Mountain View Construction

Floyd's Construction

Southwest Paint & Drywall

Dave Moore Construction

Saitta Trudeau Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Channel 30/62

Desert View Regional Medical Center

Rural Health Management Corporation

A special thank you to the media for covering the event and doing such a great job helping me get the word out about the Pahrump Relay for Life event this year!

Again, thank you for supporting the American Cancer Society, and remember, it's not too early to become involved in Relay For Life for next year.

Staci Behnke

Relay For Life Publicity Chair American Cancer Society