DAV thanks

The Disabled American Veterans, Chapter No. 15, Pahrump, would like to thank all the businesses and people who donated or discounted all of our fabulous prizes, given away at this year's Fall Festival.

In no particular order, they are:

Front Site, which donated our grand prize; Spring Mountain Auto Ranch, second prize; Marie Wujek at the Pahrump Valley Times, Yamaha of Pahrump, Mountain Falls Golf Club, Dr. Steve Foster at Desert Valley Chiropractic, Sagebrush Trucking, Jewelry of Romance, Ron and Patty at Shadow Mountain Feed, Big "O" Tires, Scrapbook Cottage, Deb at Skate Zone, Don and Randy at Saitta-Trudeau, Kevin Pape and Carlton McCaslin at Wal-Mart, Pahrump Valley Auto Plaza, the Chicken Ranch, Mountain View Casino, Staci Behnke at Valley Electric, David Corso, My Paralegal, Last Chance Saloon, Sue Thompson, Amargosa Country Store and Hardware, Bob and Lana Ahrendt, Sheldon Finklestein, and to Dave Richards and Paul Willis and all the people of Pahrump who supported the Disabled American Veterans.

Finally, I would like to thank DAV State Commander Kyler Escalera, all the officers, members and families of the Disabled American Veterans, and of course, Carole Cusimano.

We sincerely thank you all.

Bernie cusimano

DAV Chapter 15 commander

Can't support

tax hike

There will be an advisory question on the ballot this November, requesting voters to approve a sales tax increase. As a candidate for the Pahrump Town Board, I cannot, for the following reasons, support this initiative at the present time:

The purposes for which the money raised by the tax increase are not sufficiently precise. I feel that no tax increase which is restricted to specific uses should be passed by the people unless those specific uses are stated with binding exactitude, such that the number, type, rank and planned hire date of additional positions to be funded, and the type, cost and planned date of acquisition of specific pieces of equipment or facilities, are given in the ordinance along with a stringent prohibition against using the funds for any other purpose.

There must also be a provision that the level of funding from existing sources of revenue for the activities benefiting from the tax increase will not be reduced.

If the proponents of the tax increase cannot provide this information and these assurances, then, they have not done the planning required to justify a "yes" vote on the tax increase.

What I'm suggesting is that the proponents of the tax increase prepare a binding budget showing exactly how and when the money is to be spent and how long the tax increase will be needed. If they have not prepared such a budget; they cannot know how much in the way of taxes they require.

Instead, they have simply selected a tax increase they believe will be accepted by the voters. The current advisory question is, in reality, a blank check given to politicians to spend in their own best interest.

The record of incompetence and corruption accumulated by the current Board of County Commissioners would indicate that, even if the limitations described above were met, the commissioners would simply ignore the recorded will of the people and use the money as they saw fit.

The record also shows that they would see fit to hire, without bid or competition, their cronies and benefactors as hourly-rate consultants to prepare the plan that should have been prepared before requesting more taxes. The record also shows that the consultants would never develop a satisfactory plan, they would simply gobble up the funds provided by the tax increase.

I include the following transactions in the commissioners' record of corruption and incompetence:

The Nevada Elect Agreement, the US MetroNets Agreement for ultra-wide-band Internet service for Pahrump, the acceptance and imposition of Tiscler-Bise's work on the Public Facilities and Impact Fee Ordinance,* the Focus Group Development Agreement, the Gelb Agreement, the Agreement to Lease PMC to Dr. Bady* and the refusal to dispose of property belonging to the dissolved Pahrump Hospital District - the proceeds of which should have been used to pay off the district's debt and relieve the taxpayers of that burden.*

Those items marked by an asterisk were accomplished in frank violation of Nevada State Law, which the commissioners chose, quite deliberately, to violate and, in the case of the last item on the list, continue to violate to this date.

Add to the above the endless stream of no-bid, no-competition agreements that the commissioners have bestowed upon grateful beneficiaries and one has a splendid record of incompetence and corruption, indeed.

When the detailed ordinance set forth above is developed, and we have a county commission that respects the taxpayers of this county, and the laws of this state, then, and only then, I may be able to support a tax increase.

John T. mCdonald

Listening to

the 'clicks'

"Clicks." No, not an on-off switch making noise, but another word for human bees hanging around honey.

When it comes to change, so many times I voted, having high hopes, only to see change go down the tubes.

Whether it's political, non-political, some volunteer organization or a penitentiary full of jailbirds, it seems you'll find a "click."

Cliques give the leader of the pack an OK beforehand on whatever he or she decides to do, what they interpret best in their view or interests.

I've been to council meetings where the new kid on the block is green politically and when the vote is cast, watch closely, they are the last after looking at other members on casting their vote.

Until they get their foot in the door, these are known as the "go with the flow members." This was in Clark County.

Four years ago, when I moved to Nye County, local opinion was that, politically, Pahrump was in such disarray, they couldn't wait for change to vote Trummell in to mend all the problems.

Mr. Hollis was voted in as he was an "old timer" here and knows what's needed in Pahrump.

After reading PVT opinions, some residents can't wait once again to replace the people they couldn't get into a commissioner's chair fast enough before.

Pointing the finger at anyone changes nothing, but here I am once again looking at another election all psyched up, hoping for that big change Pahrump needs that so far has been a myth.

How many people do we have to go through until we find a committee that can work together and make all decisions sensible in Pahrump?

Do you think if each time any election is held we should vote in everyone new so there are no new kids on the block having to fight "clicks" already in office?

My opinion, you decide.

Charles hagen