Fire Safety

I have been a firefighter in Pahrump for 18 years now, career 28 years. There are still a number of things I have a problem with.

The biggest one is why, with the knowledge that by early detection we can save property and lives, doesn't every house in Pahrump have smoke detectors?

What may be even more startling is that in one of every five homes with at least one smoke alarm installed not one single alarm is in working condition.

The question may need to be asked, "Have Americans become so complacent to fire protection they ignore their own personal safety by not following some simple rules and steps?"

The National Fire Protection Association just released some of our latest statistics.

NFPA is a privately funded organization that educates people on fire protection trends.

1. In 2004, only 96 percent of home had at least one smoke detector.

2. Eight-hundred and ninety lives could be saved each year if all homes had working smoke alarms.

3. Sixty-five percent of reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no or non-working smoke alarms.

4. The death rate is 51 percent less with smoke alarm protection.

5. In one of five homes with at least one smoke alarm installed not a single one was working.

Simple rules to follow:

1. Test your smoke alarm once a month.

2. Replace your batteries with new fresh batteries every six months.

3. Never borrow batteries from smoke alarms.

4. Replace your smoke detectors every 10 years wiith new ones.

5. Plan at least two ways out of every room and practice fire drills with your family.

On new contruction, hard wire alarms together so that if one alarm sounds they all sound.

Ealry detection saves lives. Make this holiday safe and enjoyable.

JOHN O'BRIEN

Fire Inspection

Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue

Food Drive thanks

First of all, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Secondly, thank you so much for you generous donations of canned foods, cash, gift cards, turkeys and hams during the recent food drives in December.

Those food drives were conducted by Catholic charities at Albertson's Dec. 1 and KNYE 95.1 FM Dec. 15 at Wal-Mart. Thank you to these two establishments for allowing this to take place.

Special thanks to Karen Jackson of KNYE 95.1 FM for giving of your time again.

Belated thanks to Pat Whittier for all your help to Karen in the past and the current food drive.

Debbie Reneau, Sue LaBonda and Debra Bennett, a very special thank you for turning around and donating back the hams you won from KNYE 95.1 FM.

To all you "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Red Hat Chapter, thank you for your generous contribution of 12 gift cards.

To Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church parishioners, thank you again for your continuous support of our food bank and the gifts and cash contributed for the Angel Tree.

Each and every one of you know the meaning of Christmas.

May God bless you all.

ROBERT F. GAVAN

Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church

Food Bank Coordinator

Our rights in jeopardy

On Thursday, Dec. 20, Peter Liakopoulos was arrested by the Nye County Sheriff's Office. The importance of that date is that it came 12 days before the end of a lifeless recall that has been brought against him.

The question that begs to be answered is this: Was this arrest brought on to re-energize this failing recall?

More importantly, it happened two days after Liakopoulos voted against a tax increase that is said to bring 2.7 million dollars to the sheriff's office and the Pahrump Valley Fire Department.

The public is led to believe that they will not feel this unjust and unnecessary tax.

Aren't you feeling your property tax bite already?

If we are to believe the papers, we are told this arrest was made because Laurayne Murray claims that Peter Liakopoulos made a deal with her about making his wife the curator of the museum that they paid for.

Ms. Murray claims that this deal was made in August. The question here is: when was this supposed crime committed?

In August when Liakopoulos supposedly made the deal, or in December when he did not hold up his end of this supposed deal?

Ms. Murray voted to make his wife the curator of the museum four times. Liakopoulos voted against the tax increase once, the only time it came before him as he promised the voters he would when he was running for election.

The question here is who made the deal with whom?

Another point is Ms. Murray's husband is the head of the local fire department union.

Does it seem funny to anyone else that the sheriff had Liakopoulos arrested just before Christmas in an attempt to separate him from his wife at Christmas, when he had not even investigated this supposed crime?

Where is the due process? No other agencies were contacted; no one at the district attorney's office, no one at the attorney general's office.

Liakopoulos was not even told who was accusing him.

This is a scene out of Nazi Germany, 1939. Liakopoulos' civil rights have been violated. Has anyone ever seen a sheriff this out of control and so abusive of his power? Now this man wants to be a justice of the peace.

Most elected officials are department heads. The county board was elected to represent the people. They are our watch dogs.

Now we have a self-serving town board chairman and an abusive sheriff trying to intimidate an elected county board into doing their wishes for their own personal gain.

If this is allowed to stand, the civil rights of everyone in Nye County is in jeopardy.

ART JONES

What might be going on

The sheriff's department and the town fire department pushed to get a tax increase on the ballot.

The tax increase barely passes and has real trouble getting past the state. Both the fire chief and the sheriff told news agencies that they really had to have this tax increase.

Commissioner Liakopoulos, who campaigned against this tax increase, votes "no" on the tax increase when it comes before the commission in December.

Thirty-six hours after the vote, Laurayne Murray, who is a huge fire department supporter and married to the union president for the town fire department, claims that Commissioner Liakopoulos had been asking her for a bribe since August.

Less than 48 hours later, without a full investigation completed, the sheriff's department arrested the commissioner, at one point using something like six deputies.

The commissioner was arrested and released, all in less than one hour. However, the sheriff's department manages to write a press release and send it out to every news agency in Nevada before he even gets home.

I loved "connect-the-dots" when I was a kid.

DANIELLE DITINTO