36 years ago this month

Death Valley is expected to attract a capacity crowd for the Easter holiday. Almost 50,000 people visited the national monument during the 10-day Easter period last year, the maximum park rangers feel the area can handle. Reservations at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells Village are booked solid through the holiday. There are campground sites with $1 and $2 overnight fees available. No advance reservations are accepted. Easter weekend temperatures will reach between 95 and 100 with night time readings dropping to the low 60s.

Twenty-eight veterans paid dues and made application to become charter members of the first Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Pahrump Valley last month. There will be a meeting to cover initiation, election and installation of members at the Calvada Inn.

Ladies Auxiliary of Post 10047, Lorine Decker, chairman, will serve the inaugural dinner which will be free and open to the public. Veterans interested in information or applications may contact Bill Lambert at Pahrump Valley Western Auto.

30 years ago this week

Lt. Gov. Bob Rose formally announced his candidacy to succeed Gov. Mike O'Callaghan and become Nevada's 23rd chief executive. The vital issues now facing Nevada are ensuring that the current economic prosperity is maintained and expanded throughout the state, tax relief, crime, growth and planning.

We must plan to meet the demands of future growth so that the quality of life we now enjoy is not diminished in the coming decades, according to Rose.

Want to build a fireplace, fix your truck, grow beautiful flowers, repair your rifle, or learn arts and crafts? Then visit the Pahrump Community Library.

A variety of books are included in the more than 500 hard and softcover books available to residents of the valley. One hundred ninety-three applications for library cards have been filed so far and the interest in the library is growing.

The library, located in the old sheriff's jail near the Community Center building at the Nye County Complex, is averaging over 150 books checked out weekly. Donations keep the library growing with most being paperback books. Hardcover books are still in demand, but all books will be accepted.

Continued development of Amargosa Valley appears assured with the recent sales of Ash Meadows Lodge and the Spring Meadows Ranch. Las Vegas realtors Jay Pennington and Vernon Spradling head a group that recently bought the historic lodge. Preferred Equities, developers of Calvada Valley in Pahrump Valley, purchased Spring Meadows Ranch.

The goal is to make the property into the Ash Meadows Hunting and Conservation Club. About 300 members are expected to eventually join the private club.

20 years ago this week

The Nye County Commission voted to propose an ordinance to increase the number of commissioners from three to five. The issue will be placed on the general election ballot in November.

The question of whether commissioners should run at large or from their own districts will also appear on the ballot.

According to Commissioner Pat Mankins, in support of the number increasing from three to five, Pahrump is expected to qualify for at least two of the five commission seats, and possibly will be included in part of a third district, depending on the growth in the rest of the county.

The Amargosa Valley Town Advisory Board indefinitely tabled a proposal that Nye County annex Yucca Mountain into its jurisdiction.

On a recommendation by county consultant Steve Bradhurst, the council backed down from its recommendation for the area -- which is being studied as the possible site for the nation's first high-level nuclear waste repository.

"I think the consensus is that they didn't want to aggravate some of the congressmen from Las Vegas," board member Gary Sivertsen said.

The elimination of 12 jobs with the Nye County sheriff has been recommended by Jan Wellman, county administrator.

Wellman also recommended that Nye get out of its contract with providing police service at the Nevada Test Site and Tonopah Test Range. He claimed the sheriff's department is overstaffed and that emergency dispatching for Beatty and Amargosa could be done from either Pahrump or Tonopah this would allow for the elimination of eight dispatching positions.

The additional four position cuts would be deputies and sergeants.

10 years ago this week

The McCullough Memorial Arena at Petrack Park has undergone quite a transformation.

According to Town Manager Mike Cosgrove, a group of dedicated volunteers put in countless hours of hard work at the arena which now boasts improved lighting, a new announcer's stand, chutes and handicap access.

Best of all, Cosgrove estimates the work done by volunteers saved taxpayers $47,000. Not only has the arena's appearance been upgraded, but it's a safer place for rodeo participants and spectators as well.

A four-cycle billing schedule implemented by the Valley Electric Association this month is the result of growth in the valley and, according to VEA General Manager Lou Holveck, the extreme popularity of the drive-up payment window at the co-op's new building.

At the end of 1997, VEA had 10,572 customers in district one, which includes Pahrump, Mountain Springs and Sandy Valley. That figure marks a 1,000-customer increase from the previous year.

Preferred Equities is in the process of being sold to a New York City Acquisitions firm. Jerome Cohen, President of Mego Financial Corp., PEC's parent company, said the merger has been signed by the respective parties, and the Securities Exchange Commission is in the process of approving the sale.

Cohen said a two-thirds vote of the shareholders will also have to take place. Shareholders, who own 42 percent of the company's stock, have agreed to sell, "so it's more or less a foregone conclusion the merger will be approved by the SEC."

Renovations are now underway at the Terrible Herbst Country Store at Highway 160 and Calvada.

A complete facelift awaits the store, which has been operating since the mid 1970s and is Pahrump's oldest existing gas station. The underground tanks need some work and new gas pumps will be installed.

Some major changes are also in the works for Terribles Town. Plans include relocating the convenience store to the far northwest corner of the building, creating a new race and sports book and expanding the gaming area.

The construction of a hotel tower on the property is expected to start by the end of the year.