Thanks to Chief Lewis/firefighters

Haven Selah ("A safe place to pause and calmly think about it") sustained a terrible fire Aug. 5. The following Friday the paper had a picture of the fire on the first page, with erroneous information: it said two people lived above a garage at 1680 N. Blagg.

Actually, one person, four cats and two dogs were staying temporarily above the living room.

When we retired, we built a workshop for my husband to restore old cars and to house his old Ford tractor.

The workshop is on the right side of the building with a large living room on the left, where we keep our books and drums, and entertain. (Our home is small with no room to entertain or have overnight guests.) There is a spiral staircase going up to a second floor that is over the living room only, which had several beds for relatives and visiting friends to stay and enjoy our peace and quiet.

Because of the heat wave, we let a homeless woman who lives out of her old Ford van and travel trailer, and her cats and small dogs stay upstairs for a few days as she had no air conditioner. On the morning of the fire, she left a hot plate on the second level porch unattended, resulting in totally burning up the interior of our second floor, including windows, sliding glass door, ceiling, walls, furniture and sleeping bags, with water and smoke damage downstairs.

My husband tried to put the fire on the porch out, but when a bottle of cooking oil blew up and the fire went inside the building through the sliding glass door, his face was burned and he ran home to have me call 911.

Fire Chief Lewis and the firefighters seemed to arrive immediately, but the second floor of the building was already aflame, and we assumed the entire building would be lost.

We want to thank the brave firemen who walked right into the fire and went to work with no hesitation. We found Lewis to be efficient, dedicated and an extremely considerate person.

He spent the day keeping us informed on his crew's progress and saving our structure from major damage. It was a miracle when he told us the first floor was saved. We had lost all hope of the animals living through the holocaust, but one by one the heroes of the day called firefighters brought out the traumatized animals, and although weak, all are still alive.

Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts, Chief Lewis and your crew, for coming to our rescue. Because of all of you, this place is still a safe haven.

ERNIE AND TERESA FULLER

Solar Millennium project

I have been a resident and businessman in Nye County for more than 15 years and have seen many major projects proposed that would benefit our community and its citizens.

In virtually every case, a small group of negative individuals have rallied against progress and limited the opportunities available to us and our children.

The protests by a vocal minority against this project seems to be a replay of what we have seen in the past.

A billion-dollar project like this has the potential of making Nye County a national leader in renewable energy. It will also offer opportunities for our struggling economy and our children's future. With appropriate training programs offered by the community college, they would not have to move away, with the likelihood of not returning. We, and Amargosa Valley, could become more than a transient community.

My only hope is that our neighbors have seen enough of this and will join in supporting this project that could have positive impact on our communities. This impact would not only include jobs with a higher earning potential but would increase our property and sales tax base.

During these tough economic times, with the potential for renewal of a positive and prosperous lifestyle, let this be the cornerstone of that regeneration.

ED DODD

Sept. 11 is coming up

Friday, Sept. 11, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States.

Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity.

Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

So please, everyone, honor all those affected by this tragedy and fly the American flag in their memory.

BOB ROCCO

Thank you, Joni

Some time ago I contacted Commissioner Joni Eastley to look into a situation for me. She contacted the appropriate people, and between them immediately had the situation corrected.

More recently I contacted Commissioner Butch Borasky about the pond water situation on Willow Creek Golf Course. He recruited Commissioner Gary Hollis, and the three of us went to Willow Creek.

They witnessed a deplorable condition in the ponds and immediately contacted NDEP, Brent Jones of Emergency Services, Richard Osborne (county manager), as well as many others.

Thanks to the swift action of these hard-working elected officials, I am pleased to say that fresh water from a well is now being pumped into the ponds at Willow Creek, thereby diluting the effluent brought in by Utilities, Inc.

Again, my hearty thanks to our commissioners for a job well done.

RICHARD CANTINO