36 years ago this month

A mammoth tax suit against federal contractors at the Nevada Test Site, which could result in $8 million in back taxes as well as a reduced tax rate throughout Nye County, will be heard by the Nevada Supreme Court Dec. 13.

"If our suit is upheld, Nye County's entire indebtedness could be paid off," according to Bill Beko, Nye County district attorney. "About half of the money would go for schools. This would mean that the school board would have money to build a Pahrump Valley High School for cash."

The sumptuous Calvada Inn, including restaurant, cocktail bar and supermarket are scheduled to open in the early part of December with a casino slated to be added in January, pending license approval. Daryl EngeBregson, the Las Vegas attorney who heads the group which has leased the building, announced the market will open Dec. 4 with the restaurant and bar to follow on Dec. 11.

30 years ago this week

Recruitment of physicians and physician's assistants to serve Nye and three other rural counties is under way. By the middle of next year it is expected two doctors will be contracted to serve Nye and Lincoln counties. In addition, three physician's assistants are also expected to be hired by then.

One of them will operate full time at the Nye Pahrump clinic. Mineral and Esmeralda will get the other two.

The Pahrump Valley Senior Center is expected to be open in time for their Christmas party. "I think we'll make it. We will give it a big shot anyway," Carl Floyd said about the completion of the center.

The building is looking great, with the exterior almost completed. Only the north side of the building still requires siding. Most of the work, starting with finding a building, dismantling it and hauling it piece by piece to Pahrump for reassembly and modification, has been done by a determined band of senior volunteers.

20 years ago this week

Pahrump Valley is to get a new $350,000 jail early next year that will increase local prisoner capacity from two to 20. The county commission this week approved the purchase of a modular facility from Eagle County, Colo., for $200,000. The cost of relocating the units is expected to be another $100,000, and some additions including a kitchen are expected to cost another $50,000.

The commission and sheriff unanimously supported the purchase since it is a lot less money than would be paid if the units were to be bought new. As they stand, they are in virtually new condition.

Nye County Treasurer Rena Bailey butted heads with the county commission Wednesday over who should decide where the county reserve cash should be deposited.

Bailey now invests all such funds in short-term certificates at First Interstate Bank in Tonopah. Commission members contend that the other bank covering Nye County, Valley Bank, should also be considered when the county invests such money. Bailey contends that the commission can tell the other offices that money must be invested but that only she has the authority to determine where the money is invested.

It took two long meetings and considerable debate but the first reading of a proposed Pahrump business license ordinance has been put into the books.

The committee looking into the proposal finished the task at a Tuesday meeting at the Community Center with Chairwoman Diana Stiles telling the small audience that a second draft proposal will be ready sometime after the first of the year.

Several people in the audience expressed concern over firms that do work away from their main office - where all proper licenses must be displayed.

10 years ago this week

Members of Pahrump's Fairgrounds Advisory Board will decide at their meeting Thursday which direction they want to go now that their project has been officially designated as the Nye County Fairgrounds.

The board has been working for several months on a plan to develop more than 900 acres of land, located south of town, as the fairgrounds. Its members have developed a plan for the first phase of the project, which includes a new rodeo arena, a multipurpose center and a carnival midway area.

In a split decision in every sense of the word, Nye County commissioners Tuesday rejected a compromise proposal and decided to duke it out in the judicial review process with the Forest Service over alleged Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) violations.

The violations allegedly occurred July 4, 1994, when Commissioner Dick Carver bulldozed open a portion of the Jefferson Canyon road that the Forest Service had closed. A lawsuit filed by the federal government against Nye County followed, and it was settled with both sides claiming victory and, by all appearances, with the county having more say on public land issues.

It wasn't so much a revolt as it was a fashion statement. On a nondescript Thursday last month, a host of school bus drivers came to work in Teamsters Union T-shirts, even though they are already represented by the Nye County Support Staff Organization. Some wore the shirts as a general show of support for the union ideal. Some wore them because their friends did. Some wore them because they had the $6 and knew doing so would tick off NCSSO and other bus drivers.

The second meeting on the proposed school district impact fee was over in less than 45 minutes. If approved by the commissioners, the impact fee will generate $1,600 for the school district for each new home and new apartment built and for each new mobile home placed on a lot.

The district has devised the plan with five separate regions in the county, and the money collected in each region will stay there for capital projects such as repairs, remodeling or to assist in the construction of new schools.

Additional meetings are slated to follow.