By Selwyn Harris

In just a few days, Pahrump Town Board Chair Vicky Parker will end her tenure on the board after serving one full term, which began in 2008.
Parker was unsuccessful in her bid to win re-election last month. She said it was an honor to serve the community for the last four years while running a clean campaign this year.
“I’m actually pleased that over 5,000 voters had confidence in me,” she said.
Parker noted that there have been several town-related issues that she said she was happy to be a part of. One of those things was the fall festival, which was nearly canceled after the group that put on the event for the past several years decided to bow out at the last minute.
“I was so happy that we were able to get over 200 donations of carnival and rodeo tickets for our underprivileged children for the fall festival. I was able to do that because I was on the town board and had a platform to speak from. I am also proud of the job the town did for that event,” she said.
Another town matter that Parker has been championing is Last Chance Park along west Bell Vista that has been mired in bureaucracy for several years.
“I’m still looking forward to Last Chance Park. That goes all the way back to 2006 and we are still waiting on the BLM before it moves forward. That was my reason for running in the first place. Last Chance Park provides a foothold. All of the area there is disposable area. When I started on this, the economy was booming,” she said.
The resignation of board member Carolene Endersby was another issue that Parker talked about.
Endersby, who abruptly vacated her seat earlier this year, has since moved out of state.
Parker noted that she wishes the best for Endersby’s current and future endeavors.
“I hear that she is doing well and I hope that is true,” Parker said.
The town board chair also said she was very happy with the recent news about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s decision to fill Endersby’s vacancy after eight months.
“I was very pleased to see that the governor finally appointed Bob Adams to the town board. He was the unanimous first choice of the entire board and he was the chairman of the Public Lands Advisory Board. He was also working on tourism. He has been the official trails representative for the town and he has been dealing with the BLM and the Forest Service almost weekly during that time. He attended all of the town board meetings so he is very knowledgeable. Just all superlatives for Bob,” she said.
Parker seemed to have had more to say about her colleagues on the town board than about herself while reflecting on the past four years.
She noted what aspects of the job she will miss the most, and other aspects she will not miss at all.
“I will miss working with Town Manager Bill Kohbarger and the town staff. They were all easy to work with. What I will not miss is working with disagreeable people. I won’t have to deal with them anymore. You’re not going to see me for awhile at the town board meetings because I will be watching them online,” she said.   
As for offering advice to incoming town board members, Parker said listening to the concerns of townspeople is crucial to maintaining the respect of local residents.
“You have to listen to all areas of the town. You can’t just listen to people who come to the town board meetings or just listen to your friends. You have to key in on all of their concerns,” she said.
She also gave her thoughts on the possible future of the board and the town proper following the Nye County Board of Commissioners’ decision to place a question on the Nov. 6 ballot asking voters whether they would like to see the board dissolved.
The ballot question passed by a very narrow margin.
“I would like to see the town become incorporated and separate itself from the county that way. People don’t realize that right now an unincorporated town is under some of the county. An incorporated town reports directly to the state. It would be its own entity, which means it would be responsible for itself and it also would be eligible for a lot of grants that it is not eligible for now. Right now, we have to go through the county and I don’t see much grant money coming to the town,” she said.
Right now, I am just looking forward to not getting 10 or 12 phone calls a day with problems other people want me to solve for them,” she said.
Parker, a Nevada native born in Tonopah, arrived in Pahrump back in 2001.
She noted that she will enjoy spending more time taking it easy once her term comes to a close at the end of this month.
“I’m going to enjoy taking it easy. I will have more time to spend with my husband. Most people don’t realize how much time that it takes when you are a town board member. I feel that I have made decisions that I thought were best for Pahrump,” she said.

Selwyn Harris / Pahrump Valley Times - Vicky Parker has served as the town board chairman for the last several months. After losing a close re-election bid, Parker is ready to take it easy, though she will miss her colleagues on the board and the town employees she worked alongside.