30 years ago this week

Pahrump Valley High School was getting ready to propel 40 seniors out into the real world.

Arlamay Rogers had been named valedictorian and Janelle Opal Ward was salutatorian.

Gasoline remained in short supply. Milam's Texaco and Stanton's 76 were open for only two hours daily as some drivers parked their vehicles and left during the preceding hours.

The 20-piece Jazz Machine was gearing up for the Memorial Day concert at the community center. Also planning to perform were the Parasol Dancers and Dorothy Harris' Desert Belles.

Meanwhile, school music director Ray Souza was trying to spark interest in a community band.

With more Las Vegas residents picking Pahrump as a place to dump their pets, the town board was considering an ordinance outlawing the practice. "Roving packs of dogs" were becoming a problem in the community.

Cal Mattice wrote that he hoped Valley Bank would build a second office. He said "no one likes to stand in line and sometimes even stand outside."

20 years ago

Charges against Sheriff Harold "Stick" Davis were dropped, leaving Davis free of criminal charges for the first time since the prior July. Judge Thomas Stringfield cited what he called "prosecutorial misconduct" by District Attorney Phil Dunleavy.

In the judge's words, "A new proceeding for the same offense ... is not allowable." As defense lawyer Peter Flangas put it, any attempt to pursue the matter further would be "an effort in futility."

Earthmoving equipment worth some $200,000, stolen from the Tipton Colton Equipment Co. of Fontana, Calif., was recovered in Pahrump. It was unclear exactly how it had come to be here, but several pieces of the gear allegedly came from several sources.

Bill Swope, once a candidate for Nye County district attorney, died in an auto accident on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas.

Bond Gold Bullfrog Inc. was preparing to undertake two mining operations for gold, one just west of Beatty, the other -- the Mother Lode project -- about seven miles to the east.

The Nevada Supreme Court suggested to Pahrump that it consider incorporation as a legal way of achieving more home rule. Of little acorns...

10 years ago

"The Pahrump Factor" -- the town's relative distance from large subcontracting firms with plenty of business available -- was explained as the reason for bids above the expected level for a new middle school.

In this case, the lowest bid for phase I came in at $16.2 million, or only about a million bucks less than the county had expected to pay for the entire project.

The town board voted to take over the Mountain Falls water and sewer systems.

A sting involving working girls at Angels' Ladies brothel in Beatty resulted in several arrests. The girls were hired for "out-dates" by Sheriff Wade Lieseke's deputies, who then identified themselves as law enforcement personnel.

A mysterious resolution before the town board here may have indicated upset about the work of Nye County Planning Director Ron Williams as liaison to the Regional Planning Commission, or even an effort to "get county planner," but no one was talking much. In any event, Williams remained active in the county administration until last year.

Editor Doug McMurdo wondered about the roles of town board Chairman Gary Hollis and member Mary Wilson, suggesting neither has learned the cardinal rule of politics: "Everybody wants to talk. Everybody has an axe to grind. But almost nobody wants to stand by and watch an innocent person get bushwhacked."