There was an article in the Feb. 13 Pahrump Valley Times indicating Joni Eastley wants to support a pending bill to stop printing the county payroll/vendor list for public review.

Make no mistake about it -- wanting to cease printing this document appears to be due to the fact it allows us taxpayers to see the alleged rampant nepotism, as evidenced by how many families have multiple members working, practiced by the county.

It also allows us to see, at a time in our country where many employees are taking pay cuts or being laid off, just how much Nye County spends on salaries, vendors and consultants.

Are you aware, within the Nye County workforce, how many families are on the payroll? Examples are many, and Pahrump should consider, just as examples, the following names: Weldon, Dudenski, Madziarak, Stringer, Musselman. How many relationships are involved among them and others?

This is known as nepotism.

While others desperately seek employment in Nye County and/or Pahrump, these families and others seem to have "cornered" the market within the Nye County "family" of employees. Perhaps, Mrs. Eastley doesn't want this to be all that visible to the public. The cost isn't what's paid to regularly publish these payments to employees and vendors; it's the cost we all pay for families who seem to be favored by Nye County with employment.

Since the monies being disbursed are our tax dollars we want to continue to see how much is spent for, say, the Tuscany Hotel in Las Vegas, the NRA and magazine subscriptions. If you use taxpayer money and spend it secretly, what are you hiding?

Nepotism, is defined as: ". . . the showing of favoritism toward relatives and friends." Additionally, according to United States Code, it is against the law to practice nepotism.

Mr. Rust and myself have been submitting applications in Nye County for several years but have nothing to show for it nor, as it were, have we any relatives working for Nye County.

Twenty years ago, Pahrump had a limited labor pool to choose from, but that is not so today. As the population has increased, the labor pool of well-educated, well-experienced, talented people has also increased exponentially. What hasn't increased is the hiring of these people.

I, Kathy, have an associate's degree and more than 25 years of clerical/administrative/executive assistant experience. Additionally, I have a U. S. government secret security clearance.

I have been submitting applications every time a county position I was qualified for was advertised. In 10 years I have received only one interview, and that interview came only when I attached a letter to my application (spring 2008) asking if perhaps it was my age, or my experience, or my secret security clearance and the tenets of same, or was it due to the often talked about alleged rampant nepotism practiced by Nye County, and because I wasn't related to a current employee, that prevented me from being considered for a position with the county?

I finally got an interview. Only once in 10 years, and the only reason was due to the letter I attached.

The hiring practices of Nye County are appalling. How many other Pahrumpians, qualified for the positions available, have not been hired, much less been interviewed, or even had acknowledgement of receipt of their application?

If the alleged nepotism is not practiced, then could you please explain why all these relatives are employed with Nye County? Are we to believe that relatives of current employees are the only applicants qualified to fill a position?

The time has come to end the alleged nepotism practiced within Nye County. We as residents of Nye County need to contact our county commissioners and request an investigation.

We need to contact our county commissioners and request that a public report be produced on how the county will pattern themselves after Valley Electric's hiring policy of no relatives, ever, and that they will institute an anti-nepotism policy which will be put in place and adhered to.

The county also needs to ensure that when positions are advertised that the position description is written fairly, i.e., so as not to exclude all but a possibly "pre-chosen" candidate for the position.

After all is said and done, all we're stating is that everyone is entitled to an equal chance of employment based on their qualifications and experience, and that chance shouldn't be based on nepotism.

By copy of this letter to the U. S. Department of Justice, we are asking that it investigate the hiring practices within Nye County.