Rethinking Yucca Mountain

In reference to Bob McCracken's column on Yucca Mountain of June 20:

Excellent piece. I was enlightened.

Fear factor and all the other unrevealed info brought into light, hopefully, will give some real food for thought about how to re-look at Yucca Mountain, our county, jobs and much more.

And don't forget that politicians objectives are not always as they seem to be -- in the people's best interest.

TERRI NELSON

Horses barred from brothel

If you plan on riding your horse to Sheri's Ranch for a drink, don't do it. Their new policy is "no horses on the property."

I've been riding my horse there for over 10 years. In fact, one of the owners asked Wayne and I to ride to the "grand opening" in full cowboy dress.

In doing so, we were filmed by Channel 41.

It seems the new management has a problem with horses and many other things.

There are no more senior citizen tour groups. I haven't seen a Red Hat luncheon there in a long time. There are no more spring parties.

They stopped participating in motorcycle runs. "They don't want that image."

I don't know if they still do charity golf tournaments.

Now, in "The Heart of the New Old West," high gas prices, going "green," DUI penalties -- they don't want the cowboys -- a tradition and symbol of something totally American.

What would Matt Dillon do if he couldn't tie his horse up at Miss Kitty's?

Beautiful women, good food, nice bar, cold beer and questionable management.

I miss Lorraine.

LEONARD APONAS

Making ends meet

I've written letters to the editor before and got some phone calls about them, but I've got to say my piece.

I can't believe how our lustrous leaders high above and local have let our funds be drained.

For instance, why, when our fuel and gas for our vehicles comes from the same refinery, is there such a difference in prices throughout the valley?

No-name stations can sell for less than "Shell and Mobile," yet I've seen the Shell stations be two different prices for the supposedly same gas.

Are they getting it from two different suppliers? I think not.

The same thing with propane. Do you know anywhere outside Pahrump, the price is one dollar less. Yes, it's true.

In upper Nevada, where they have to travel 100 miles one way, they sell it for $1 less.

Not only is it coming from another state, Utah, and traveling so far, it's cheaper. Why?

My supplier is only about four miles from my home.

We, or at least most of us, are on a fixed income, retired, on disability, or some other income. How can we continue to make ends meet?

I truly feel very sympathetic to those younger couples trying to start out in life.

What is it going to be like in 10 years if nothing is going to change this horrible situation?

Now the biggest question is, "Do we buy gas or food?" Where are we going?

Do you think incorporation or not, is going to change the situation? I really doubt it, but at least I've had my say.

God bless our troops, our veterans and everyone that has helped to make these United States a better place to live.

JIM CORNELL

Embarrassed again

Wow, the D.A. got a DUI.

I guess us old-time Pahrumpians will have to dig out our "My D.A. Embarrasses Me" signs (Phil Dunleavy and Art Wermeister).

PETE WALLACE

Gun rights

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the Washington, D.C., gun ban. It's about time.

The Second Amendment does not give us the right to own guns. It acknowledges that we already have that right,

It does not give us the right to protect and defend ourselves. It acknowledges that we already have that right.

Read it. Gun ownership is a God-given right.

If you call the police to report that someone is kicking in your front door, you can expect a response time in excess of five minutes. That assumes you actually have time to call the police.

Your gun is your first line of defense. Your gun is your last line of defense. Your gun is your best line of defense.

I was car-jacked several years ago. The carjacker had a gun. But since I was a law-abiding California citizen, I had nothing. I was a sitting duck. I was a victim.

It is more than guns, it is survival. It is more than guns, it is freedom.

Gun control? Not my gun. Not now, not ever.

"From my cold dead hands."

GARY MARCHINKE

Harley riders not stereotypical

I found the Garrison Keillor column of June 4, entitled "The thundering roar of hollow patriotism," highly offensive.

His description, stereotypical, of bikers as "fat men with ponytails," makes me wonder if he even really looked at the bikers he complained about.

Did he look at the patches on those bikers? Did he even see "Vietnam Vets?"

He made the assumption that none of those bikers know anything about being in a war, and recommended books for them to read, so that they could "get a vision of what it was like to face death for your country."

Most of those "fat men with ponytails" that he thinks should be "airlifted to Baghdad," and that he thinks are "playing soldier ... without exposing themselves to danger," have already been there.

The older ones in Korea and Vietnam, and the younger in the deserts of the Middle-East.

Riding a Harley doesn't mean the rider is brain-dead, or lacking courage. Nor does it require a particular body type or hair style. It does not require "getting drunk."

The "thundering" to which he objected, is the thunder of freedom -- freedom to express beliefs as the person sees them.

His main objection to the bikers seems to have been the noise, and the fact that the parade blocked his way to cross a street, temporarily.

Would he have objected to a parade consisting of marching bands playing Souza? It obviously was a planned parade of bikes, if the street was blocked off for them -- it wasn't a bunch of rowdies out to frighten pedestrians.

Mr. Keillor, to show how much our war dead meant to him, went to a museum to look at "uplifting" paintings by foreign artists -- which he called "showing our patriotism."

Makes me wonder if this man, who waxes eloquent about a painting, envisioning himself in the painting ("it is quiet on the water..."), ever saw action himself, or if the only combat he knows about, he learned from books, pictures and movies.

Harley riders come from all walks of life. One of my best friends rides a Harley. He is not fat, nor ponytailed, nor does he drink.

He is a Vietnam veteran and a patriot.

My father, a decorated World War II combat veteran and a 30-year member of the USAF, rode a Harley.

He was not fat, did not have a ponytail, was well-read and enjoyed a good painting. He would have been as offended by this panty-waist's diatribe as I.

Had he been alive, he would have been one of those thousands of bikers that Mr. Keillor found so offensive.

It's a shame that someone so bigoted, and obviously ignorant of his subject, should be a contributing columnist for your paper. His attitude of "my patriotism is better than yours," that there is "his way or the wrong way," doesn't match the freedom of belief and the expression of those beliefs, that so many of our real patriots died for.

SAM STROFFE-RAINS

Hiring a licensed contractor

I am responding to the letter written by Dale Lynn who related a story that is all too common in Nevada.

The hiring of un-licensed contractors is only a recipe for problems. The process of becoming a licensed contractor is a rigorous one, which includes obtaining four or more notarized references, having a minimum of four years trade experience, the obtaining of a bond which requires a credit check, the passing of a test in your trade, and of course, money to back all of this.

Nevada has the most extensive qualification program in the country, which does a great job of weeding out quality contractors from bad ones.

Although a licensed contractor is more expensive, you are protected from a bad job.

The Nevada State Contractor's Board even has a Residential Recovery Fund in place for homeowners that receive sub-standard work from licensed contractors.

A protection you will not receive from a non-licensed contractor.

Certainly it is important to do your homework when deciding on a contractor.

A contractor's license can be researched through www.nvcontractorsboard.com or by telephone at 702-486-1100. You can find all the disciplinary actions and details on the contractor you are considering.

I know it is tempting to hire unlicensed contractors because of their pricing. I also understand their desire to earn a living as well.

However, I would encourage the public to resist this temptation and hire contractors that have earned the right to work in the construction industry legally.

JACOB SKINNER, PRESIDENT

Five Feathers General Contracting

Language barriers

Mr. Smith tries to show how wrong and medieval it was to require some Hispanic students to speak English or shut up. He compared this to us forcing Native Americans to speak English.

The difference here, Mr. Smith, is that the Native Americans did not come here across our borders, they were already here when we got here.

If Native Americans crossed the Atlantic Ocean and assimilated into Europe, then I'm sure those Europeans would have expected them to learn their native language. It didn't happen that way, though, did it?

We forced them to assimilate into our culture.

The whole thing from the first moment that Columbus stepped out on the shores of North America right up to this very moment, we have wronged the Native Americans.

No one is forcing Hispanics to cross our borders either legally or illegally, and we are not going into the Hispanic-speaking areas to our south and forcing them to speak English.

They choose to come here and live. Therefore, they should want to assimilate into our culture and speak our language.

It's a choice they made.

If I choose to move to Mexico and live, then I am not going to expect the people there to accommodate my needs.

If my situation here in America were so bad that I wanted to leave for a better place to live, then I don't believe it would be barbaric or medieval for my new host nation to expect me to blend into their culture and speak their language.

In fact, I would not be so naive to expect that nation to respect my native values. I would want them to still let me practice them at home and in private, but I certainly wouldn't expect them to make laws and enforce those laws in order to bend to my needs and the needs of some of my fellow natives.

If Mr. Smith feels he has to stand up for injustice, then maybe he should demand that the whole Caucasian and Negro races leave North America. That would certainly right a terrible wrong.

What a waste of newspaper print.

BILL LINTON

Jonesborough, Tenn.

(Hispanics were in the Southwest long before any Anglos showed up. -- Ed.)

Great job from Pahrumpians

Wow-wow-wow.

How wonderful the waterfall and surrounding areas of Calvada looks.

A great big thank you is in order from all of us Pahrumpians.

Great job.

It was so painful to see things die for lack of water and care -- it looks wonderful now.

A resident of 17 years,

JOANN AND LARRY MCCALLA

Sex offender registration fees

This is a response to Kathleen Bienenstein's opinion of my rebuttal letter for the sheriff's request for registration fees.

Ma'am, first of all, my complaint was about registration fees, not the act of registering itself. As I have stated before, I am in full compliance with my registration obligations and have been since my release from prison.

2. You may claim that I am just a jailhouse lawyer but the fact is, you know nothing about the extent of my legal knowledge.

Maybe you should read the Review-Journal from June 27, section B, pages 1 and 7. You will discover that the courts have put a temporary injunction on the Walsh Law to see if it will pass constitutional edit.

3. You know nothing about the circumstances of my case. If you feel the need to pass judgement, maybe you should get a copy of my transcripts from the 8th Judicial District Court clerk.

The first thing you will discover is that my case is nearly 18 years old. The second thing you will discover is that I not only pled guilty to the charge that I was convicted of, I also turned myself into the police of my own free will. So I do have a conscience.

4. I do agree that sex offenders should be registered. However, charging for registration will not make the public any safer.

If Sheriff DeMeo gets what he wants (a fee for registration) he will be double-dipping into the cookie jar.

The Walsh Law, if it passes constitutional edit, provides literally millions of dollars to each state that enacts the law within a three-year period.

It will fund the Smart Program, the Soma Program, GPS Program and other similar programs.

If you are not aware of these programs, may I suggest reading the legislative notes that are attached to this law.

5. I am all for keeping schools, neighborhoods and public gatherings safe and free of predators. As I stated before, charging a fee for registration will no accomplish that.

Law enforcement needs to actively seek out non-compliant offenders. Compliant offenders need to remain compliant and take an active roll in the sex offender specific therapy that is mandated by the Department of Parole and Probation.

Yes, for the record, I have completed that too.

6. In regards to my victim, I would love the opportunity to apologize for the harm that I caused. Unfortunately, doing that would be in violation of my parole. Simply saying I'm sorry just isn't going to cut it.

To make excuses or attempt to justify my actions would just be wrong, because there is no excuse or justification for committing a sex offense.

ANTHONY PIETRORAZIO

Thanks for your support

Thank you very much for your response to the food drive conducted at the Albertson's Supermarket June 16 through 25 by Catholic Charities of Nevada.

To the parishioners of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, thank you very much for your continued support of the food bank.

You all have a true understanding of sharing with the less fortunate of Pahrump, even more so now, with the economic situation as it is.

May God bless you all.

ROBERT F. GAVAN

Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church Food Bank Coordinator

Sex offenders being registered

This is in response to Ms. Bienenstein's letter back to Mr. Pietrorazio.

First off, you must not have read Mr. Pietrorazio's letter too well.

As for him being a jailhouse lawyer, sounds like a good one to me. At least he reads all the facts before saying anything. Props to you, Mr. Pietrorazio.

He is not against sex offenders registering or keeping the schools and public safe. Get it right.

He is just saying to quit putting more fees and more restrictions on those who have done quite well in our and other communities since they have served their time for what they have done.

Some sex offenders are not sexual predators, just victims of happenstance.

Stop and think. Teenagers do not care about age.

If you are dating someone and turn 18 you are a sex offender. If you are babysitting and one of the little ones has diarrhea and yuou have to clean them off and their little brother or sister tells mommy and daddy you touched their sister, boom, you're a sex offender.

Being a rape victim myself, I feel you should be punished for your crime, but see the happenstance I am talking about. If you are a repeat offender (rapist etc.) or even a first-time offender of a child, you should serve your time and be registered as a sex offender.

As for victims -- Quit being victims. Make something good out of a messed-up situation.

You can sit around the rest of your life blaming everyone , even yourself, or get up and be productive. Live on -- I have.

You cannot say that it is hard, I know. It is up to you how you want to live.

Do not dwell on it, that is the worst thing you can do.

I understand that it kills a part of you. It's like losing a spouse; you lose a part of yourself, but keep on living.

I know that too, having lost my husband seven and a half years ago, and I am still living after that, too.

Life is hard, you just have to learn to live with it.

Mr. Pietroprazio has made good points. He has served his time. He has done everything right since he has gotten out.

He is a good person. What he did once in happenstance in his youth past is just that -- past.

He had no youth due to it.

Ms. Bienenstein, worry about the two-and three-time offenders. The ones that keep doing the same crime over and over again. The ones that don't register (maybe because of people like you who pass judgement on others without even knowing the happenstance).

Charging the offenders more money might just stop the good from registering. Yes, I understand it is going to cost more for everything, but the government is [paying for it.

Why does Nye County have to charge more?

Wow. Sounds like they want to be paid twice for the same thing.

Ms. Bienenstein, you might think that I don't have any kids. Wrong. I have three and I worry about them every day in this screwed-up world of ours. Doesn't any normal parent?

You worry about them being out with friends, driving to and in Vegas.

All I am saying is to think about all the aspects of things before you pass judgement on anything or anyone.

If you say that you can cast the first stone, I would call you a liar. Everyone has some kind of sin in his or her life.

No one on earth can throw the first stone. Only God can pass any kind of judgement on a person.

TINA MILLER