36 years ago this month

A Las Vegas group headed by attorney Daryl EngeBregson has leased the spacious Calvada Valley commercial complex and will commence operation of three businesses in mid-November. Installation of about $100,000 in fixtures and $25,000 in interior decoration by Coast Equipment of Los Angeles would be completed by the end of October.

The operation will consist of a medium-sized supermarket, cocktail lounge and restaurant and casino. Named Calvada Enterprises the market and cocktail lounge and restaurant will open Nov. 10; the casino is pending license approval by the state gaming board.

Billed as "One of America's Great Festivals," the 22nd annual Death Valley Encampment takes place Nov. 11-14 in Death Valley National Monument. Events such as the hootenanny breakfast, the Burro Flapjack Sweepstakes and an old-fashioned fiddlers' contest, along with tours, western art displays and naturalist talks are expected to draw over 30,000 visitors to the free four-day festival.

30 years ago this week

The Nye County Commission will seek bids on television booster service to the northern part of Pahrump Valley. The winning bidder can direct the paperwork required to implement the new service to the town board.

The service will not start until next year. The town budget is committed through this year. The added service will have to be paid for with town taxes. The cost will run about $891 a month. A small increase in Valley taxes is expected to result.

Service does not reach parts of the north end of the Valley due to mountain interference. The rest of the Valley now enjoys service from all five Las Vegas channels.

Somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 people turned out for the Southern Nevada Jaycee's Wild Burro Race that was marred by fights and law violations that produced 15 arrests Saturday night through Sunday morning.

The crowd remained orderly during the daytime running of the 7-1/2 mile burro race but turned unruly during the Saturday night dance. The volunteer ambulance service responded to numerous calls for first aid as a result of fights and over-indulgence.

Arrests, 15 total, ranging from civil protective custody to resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, were recorded by the Nye County Sheriff's Office in Pahrump.

20 years ago this week

The pinch from the strikes at the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range is beginning to be felt in Pahrump and Tonopah.

Hardest hit appears to be Tonopah, where about 500 workers at the Tonopah Test Range live, with a heavy additional impact being felt through loss of services provided to the secret testing base by Tonopah businesses.

More than 300 Pahrump residents are employed by Reynolds Electric Co. at NTS. Few Pahrump businesses are hurting. Most affected is the Country View convenience store and gas station in the north end of the valley.

The second annual Hi-Desert Classic 10K and two-mile fun runs, held Sept. 19 during the Harvest Festival in Pahrump, attracted about 200 runners from Nevada, Arizona and California. A total of 43 Pahrump residents participated in the race.

Arizona University running star Andre Woods won the 10K in 31 minutes, 16 seconds. Patrick Ewing of Southern California was two seconds behind, and Las Vegas' nationally ranked marathoner Frank Plasso was third, finishing at 31:37.

The first of 600 street signs slated to go up throughout Pahrump Valley between now and the end of the month was installed Monday at Betty Street and Dove Avenue. Bob Perry was the successful bidder to obtain the signs and assemble them. Town maintenance personnel will install the signs under the direction of Town Planner Don Brown and Town Manager Gordon Scott.

10 years ago this week

The Pahrump Kiwanis Club, just over a year old, earned state honors as the Club of the Year, which was announced at the annual installation recently at the San Remo Hotel in Las Vegas. The announcement was made by Kiwanis Lt. Gov. Howard Naylor. Naylor and John Spann were responsible for establishing the club in early 1996. Others in the running for the honor included the uptown Las Vegas and Las Vegas Strip Kiwanis clubs.

Pahrump's defense didn't have the Rite stuff. Its offense did, but it couldn't put it in the end zone in a 28-0 loss at Rite of Passage Saturday in Yerington. "Defensively, it was our poorest performance," PVHS Coach Gary Findley said. "We tackled very poorly. We've got to wrap the guys up. It was the worst we've tackled all year." You have to catch the Rams to tackle them. The Rams broke several big plays to win, including five plays with gains of more than 40 yards.

Guess what may be coming soon to a dry lake bed near you: the future of America's space program. In the final draft of an environmental impact statement released last week, NASA selected Silurian Lake, about 30 miles south of Tecopa, Calif., as the preferred landing site for the short-range tests of its new reusable space craft.

Tests of the X-33 could begin as early as 1999. The unmanned craft will be launched like a rocket from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California and land like a plane at the lake, about 60 miles from Pahrump.

Nevada's unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1989, according to the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. August unemployment rates were only 4.3 percent. The low unemployment rate was attributed to excellent conditions in the job market, perhaps best illustrated by a 5.3 percent job growth rate according to the department spokesperson.