By Charlene Dean

The Pahrump Valley Museum will again host its monthly lecture presentation at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the museum at 401 E. Basin Ave. This month’s featured speaker will be Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley speaking on the Nye County History Project. She is collaborating on the documentation with Nye County historian Robert “Bob” McCracken.
Eastley said the Nye County History Program was initiated in 1987 by a former Board of County Commissioners with the initial goal of compiling oral histories from longtime residents.
“The program was dormant for many years, too many years, before I was contacted by Dr. Bob McCracken to ask if I was interested in revitalizing it. Of course, I was.”
Eastley plans to talk about the program’s history, its current status and the long-term goals.
She said the funding comes from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act which allows a site county funding with stipulations governing the expenditures.
“One thing the funding allows is socioeconomic projects and preserving the county’s history allows us to receive funding to carry it forward,” she said.
Eastley is in her third term as a Nye County commissioner  and has held numerous other government positions. She is also a founding member and secretary of the Tonopah Historic Mining Park Foundation.
She is a dedicated preservationist and is currently serving on the Preserve Nevada board of directors, an organization formed by Sen. Richard Bryan.
Eastley and her husband, Dennis, live in a home they restored in Tonopah. The Arthur Raycraft House, circa 1906, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Eastleys were recognized by the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office in 2005, for the home’s restoration.
Eastley said, “My greatest hope after my term in office expires, is that the BOCC will allow me to continue to be the liaison for this project.
“It isn’t an assigned position. I have adopted it as my own.”