36 years ago this month:

Entertainer Don Rickles, who spends most of his waking hours in dimly lit nightclubs, accepted an invitation to present trophies for a charity event sponsored by the FOPA (Fraternal Order of Police Associates).

Rickles thought the event was an indoor banquet -- it turned out to be a cycle scramble 20 miles into the desert. When he was placed on the judges stand, which consisted of a roofer truck bed suddenly elevated 15 feet into the air, the wide-eyed Rickles moaned, "What in the hell am I doing here?"

Late rain has played havoc with cotton planting and the first hay harvest in the Pahrump Valley. An inch of rain fell during the first week of May before most of the early hay could be cut.

Bob Ruud is reported to be one of the few to have harvested prior to the rainfall. Cotton, which normally is in the ground by May 1, was still being planted mid-month and in some cases has to be replanted.

30 years ago this month:

The Pahrump Valley will be a major benefactor in a $319,976 rural student-teacher enrichment program that begins this year. The federal grant covers the first 15 months of the two-year program. It is expected the program in Pahrump Valley will serve as a guide to other efforts within the Federal Teacher Corps to give rural schools some academic bonuses.

County road-builders are paving two to three miles of Kellogg Road between Hafen Ranch Road and Homestead Road in Pahrump. The completed road will reach Thousandaire Boulevard.

20 years ago this month:

The Pahrump Town Board is scheduled to approve the second and final readings of the town's parceling ordinance, and the revised Fire Department ordinance, when it meets Tuesday.

The board is also expected to conduct another closed personnel session regarding firefighter Pete Wallace. The session is a follow-up to a similar meeting two weeks ago, when it was decided the job description for Wallace as the paid fireman in Pahrump would be further defined.

A response to the Chicken Ranch suit questioning whether the Nye County sheriff should be a voting member of the brothel licensing board is expected from District Attorney Phil Dunleavy in about 10 days. The suit was filed for the purpose of "declaratory relief," according to attorney for the brothel, Leonard Smith. That means no penalties are being sought; ostensibly the goal of the suit is to answer the question before it's challenged at a later time.

Representatives of various Pahrump organizations met Wednesday with state tourism and economic development officials to plan a strategy for promoting Pahrump. An air of cooperation was fostered, with all local groups deciding to work with the state to promote the Pahrump Valley as a tourism and recreation destination.

10 years ago this month:

The Ponderosa Dairy is one of the things you notice as you drive through Amargosa Valley on Highway 373. Spread across 500 acres, it is hard to miss. About 5,600 cows live there, with all but 1,000 of them producing more than 36,000 gallons of milk per day. About 60 people work at the dairy; they then spend a large amount of their combined yearly wages of $1.3 million at area businesses.

It appears the county commissioners will have to do some picking and choosing rather than strictly abiding by the motion they passed last week to balance the 1997-98 budget.

Faced with a $900,000 deficit and with no concessions forthcoming from the Nye County Employees Association, the commissioners voted 5-0 to balance the budget with funds from the Payments Equal to Taxes account and to fill all positions authorized as of July 1, 1996, but not filled because of lack of funding.

Reports that other doctors may be interested in coming to Pahrump and establishing practices drew a mixed reaction from the Pahrump Community Hospital District trustees during Wednesday's meeting. Chairman Pat Mankins said a cardiologist who has a clientele of Pahrump patients but is no longer affiliated with Pahrump Medical Center (now known as the Arcon Pahrump Center for Healthcare) has indicated he may establish his own office in the community.

Of more interest to the board was a letter from a group of Kingman, Ariz., doctors who may construct a center similar to APCH, which upon completion will include outpatient surgery.