39 years ago this week

The author of the monthly column titled "Borderlines" came up with some goofy stuff.

For one thing, at Gracie's Gold Mine of Used Treasures, about seven miles from Lathrop Wells toward Death Valley Junction, the manager used to face the nearby Mecca Bar and holler, "Tom Collingin, you're an old Scrooge."

Collingin, "who hears this when the wind is right," would call back by phone. He allegedly refused the Gracie's manager a share of his barrandite claim in exchange for a dried-up snake said to be the one that bit Cleopatra to death.

Well, OK.

In the same column, when the Pahrump pool needed safety improvements, "a blue ribbon delegation was appointed to put the bite on some willing prospect."

That turned out to be the controller of American International Development, Roger Green, who "is said to have experienced dilated pupils and a change of skin tone" upon hearing the request.

But he shortly produced a check for $300, was given $300 worth of season swim tickets, and the blue ribbon panel left.

30 years ago

Twenty-eight folks agreed to serve on the Nye County grand jury, with only eight more needed. The panel was set to look into charges of corruption and "be free to examine any other areas considered of interest."

Developers Paul Simkins and Rick Morin planned to put up a 10,500-square-foot building four miles north of the then Highway 16-52 junction. They said they would lease it in 2,100-square-foot sections.

The Melvin Bowman Farm, roughly between Gamebird, Homestead and Highway 160, was for sale, reputedly at a cost of more than $1 million.

Pahrump Valley's 4-H Livestock Club was named Best Club and displayed its many awards for a front-page photo.

The Nye County Commission was expected to resolve the difference of $50,000 between what was budgeted for the county complex here ($125,000) and what the expected cost would be ($176,600).

Clyde Widrig was named the first commander of the American Legion post here.

20 years ago

Judge Thomas L. Stringfield quashed a grand jury accusation against Sheriff Harold "Stick" Davis after hearing extensive arguments. He said the issues were "very clear." He charged that District Attorney Philip Dunleavy constantly told the grand jurors "mere negligence is sufficient for them to bring back an accusation."

Not so, said Stringfield: "This is clearly not the law."

The town's proposed zoning ordinance was, so the headline said, "received with reasonable calm."

But in the first paragraph, one resident argued that it would have officials trying to "regulate everything but how often I can flush my toilet."

Even those supporting zoning took a cautious approach.

Undersheriff Mark Zane demanded that Judge William Beko be disqualified from hearing charges that he prevented a deputy from from arresting a man for drunk driving.

And getting back to DA Dunleavy ... Leslie A. Mankins was bound over to district court on charges filed by Dunleavy that he, Mankins, lied when he testified regarding signatures collected petitioning for the recall of ... Dunleavy.

10 years ago

According to a Michigan relative of Roland Wiley, the late owner of Cathedral Canyon, the site would most likely remain closed after signficant damage was done to it by vandals.

With the RPC expected to discuss its Pahrump Regional Planning District master plan, it seemed likely the rift between David Cleveland and Tom Riley was about to become a public matter.

The bad feeling allegedly stemmed from a conversation:

Cleveland: "Tom Riley said, 'We're zoning you guys out of town, all you trailer trash.'"

Riley: "You can't zone manufactured homes out even if you wanted to. Besides, such a comment would be stupid for a private citizen to make, let alone a public official."

Riley was on the RPC; Cleveland had served on its predecessor, the defunct planning advisory board.

The hospital board planned to discuss the possibility of a memorial for the Flight for Life crew, which had died in bad weather April 3, 1999.

Editor-in-chief Rich Thurlow suggested doing something with the blank billboards along area roads: making them into drive-in movie screens. "We could have a half-dozen along Highway 160," he wrote.

Letter-writer Eugene McDonnell might have agreed: "It was not long before all the magnificant views [in the Midwest] were hidden behind garish, monster billboards. I see Pahrump going the same route."