36 years ago this month

Norman Kaye Real Estate, one of the largest and most active realty agencies in Southern Nevada, has opened an office in Pahrump Valley.

"I couldn't believe the progress I saw in the Valley compared to several years ago, and we want to go where there is growth," said Kaye.

He named Walt Steele, an experienced sales executive to head the company's new office located in the Saddle West Café. Linc Dorland is the broker.

Six queen candidates have entered the contest for the ninth annual Harvest Festival set in the Pahrump Valley for September.

Four candidates from Pahrump, one from Beatty and one from Las Vegas will vie for the crown. The largest turnout ever is expected for the two-day gymkhana and renowned barbecue and dance to be held.

As usual, admittance to the arena events and lively western dance will be free. Income supporting the event comes from entry fees, the bar and raffle tickets being sold on the two-horse Miley trailer and other top prizes.

30 years ago this week

The local Arts Council has been notified by James D. Deere, executive director of the Nevada State Council on the Arts, that his organization intends to apply for a $6,000,000 slice of the state general fund surplus of $100,000,000.

The Council proposes to construct new facilities, refurbish, restore or remodel old buildings and add needed equipment that would upgrade art services, if the governor and legislature agree to fund the project.

Local art council Chairman Lucille Withers requested a public meeting to assist the council with making tentative decisions as to what kind of a center Pahrump would like to have.

Many folks have wondered as to the origin of the street sign close to the Clark/Nye County line named C.A.A.S.

After digging around and speaking with a variety of Pahrump Valley residents, contact was made with Lyle Christensen and the mystery was solved.

Lyle is the owner/operator of Christensen's Aerial Application Service, located in the area. It seems that before Nye County took over naming the streets the residents had that privilege, and that is how C.A.A.S. Street was named.

Lyle is a crop duster and one of the best in the business.

20 years ago this week

Cover-ups, protection of lawbreakers, withholding evidence, improper expenditure of county funds.

These are some of the charges listed by District Attorney Phil Dunleavy in a petition filed asking that 5th District Judge William Beko empanel a grand jury to look at possible wrong-doing by Nye County officials.

Almost all of the points aim at the sheriff's department but Dunleavy points out that the question of possible expenditure of county funds without legal authority could affect all county officials.

Planning Information Corp. of Denver, presented a community development report for Beatty to the Board of County Commissioners.

Representatives outlined their report briefly for the board and addressed growth prospects, populations, housing, public facilities and services, fiscal impact and impact planning.

Beatty's current population would increase from 1,000 to 1,600 by the end of the year and would peak at 2,800 from 1992 through 1995, returning to less than 1,400 after the year 2000.

The cause of the increase is the construction of man camp facilities for 300 men south of Beatty near the airport. Bond Gold will lease the property for the man camp.

The growth report said, "The growth potential for Beatty, while immediate and substantial, is by no means certain. The actual pattern of mining activity will depend on current and future conditions, such as gold prices, that are impossible to predict.

10 years ago this week

With Pahrump's growth rate pegged as high as 13 percent, enrollment figures for the Nye County School District took an unexpected turn this year -- down. According to the district's latest count, the county's 15 public schools finished the 1997-1998 school year with 5,065 students, or 22 fewer than the previous year.

Perhaps most surprisingly, enrollment at the five district schools in Pahrump dropped by 32 students over that period.

Frank Johnson, who has been working animal control with the Nye County Sheriff's Office in Pahrump for several years, has been arrested on felony theft charges after cashing a county check mistakenly sent to him for approximately $6,500.

The check was for another Frank Johnson, a Crystal Bay resident who had done archaeological consulting work for the county. The check was sent with an itemized voucher detailing the work he had done. That was a clear indication the check had been sent to the wrong person, justifying the felony theft charge.

A long but generally restrained public hearing during the county commission meeting in Pahrump ended with the creation of a Pahrump Building Department with a building and permitting inspection system, as well as the approval of a fee system for the service.

Residents' concerns that the building department would develop into a "cash cow," and that money generated by it would be spent elsewhere in the county, were addressed several times during the meeting.