By GINA B. GOOD

PVT

The Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Lucille Ball and Soupy Sales all advanced their careers by getting hit in the face with pies. But the reason 18 volunteers forfeited their dignity — and hairdos — on Saturday was to raise money for the Symphony Animal Foundation to help pay fees and other expenses to begin a no-kill animal shelter.

The parking lot of Wulfy’s restaurant looked like a classic slapstick comedy scene, thanks to folks showing up expressly to shove whipped cream pies in the faces of their favorite public officials, town and county employees and business people.

Moe Howard of the Three Stooges was widely known for throwing a pie from a bit of a distance and still hitting his target square in the kisser. Apparently, there is an art to the technique that requires timing and a good pitching arm. So, in order to make certain each $5 opportunity was put to good use, the whipped cream pies were smushed directly into the face or ground on top of the head of the volunteers being pied.

The event netted $1,100 for Symphony Animal Foundation. Doing the math, that means 220 pies were sold. That works out to an average of a little more than 12 pies per volunteer.

However, some volunteers were judged more pie worthy than others, with Sheriff Tony DeMeo getting pied 17 times, edging out Town Manager Bill Kohbarger and town board member-elect Harley Kulkin by two pies.

“They wiggled the pies around on your face and the whipped cream gets in your nose,” said town board member Vicky Parker, who said she got pied seven or eight times. “It’s for a worthy cause and everybody had a good time. The only difficult part was getting the whipped cream off my face.”

Parker explained the whipped cream left a residue that felt like oil. “I scrubbed and scrubbed my face but I couldn’t get the oil off, I felt like I was 15 years old again.”

The inaugural pie was placed in the face of Symphony Animal Foundation founder Laraine Russo Harper by her husband Kevin. “He tried to drown me with that pie,” she said. “He will pay later.”

Harper said she was thankful for the volunteers and community support. “Three thousand healthy animals were killed in Pahrump last year because there is no place for them to go. There is no proactive placement of animals here because we only have time to react.”

Kohbarger admitted that he got pied three times by his own 7-year old son. Each time the little guy begged his mom for five more dollars. And then he told his dad he wanted to get pied to help the animals, too. Business Development Manager Al Balloqui and his wife Mary did the dastardly deed.

“He thought it was the best thing in the world,” said Kohbarger. “He is learning at a young age that it is good to give back to the community. He’s incredible. He is trying to understand what daddy does for a living. It’s cool. So I try to take him with me every chance I get. He has met Senator Ensign and Senator Reid and been to several meetings with me including the Nevada League of Cities conference.”

Al Balloqui said he enjoyed depositing a pile of whipped cream in Kohbarger’s face. “Guilty as charged,” said Balloqui. “I pied my boss and I rubbed it in as much as I could.”

Kohbarger, town board member-elect Harley Kulkin and Pahrump Valley Fire-Rescue Service Chief Scott Lewis declined to wear protective gear, while others wore goggles and ponchos with layers of other gear.

“I didn’t think it would be as much fun for the people if we wore the protective gear,” said Harley, who thought he got pied about 15 times. “The event was well organized. It was a nice time and it was fun; I really enjoyed it.” Lewis, who was all smiles under the whipped cream, agreed. Kulkin said compared to the dunk tank of cold water during the fair, being pied was a piece of cake.

Other volunteers pied during the event included NHP Officer Scott Cobel, County Manager Rick Osborne, Beth Lee from Nye County Planning, Kelly Hartwick from the county Recorder’s office, County Animal Control Supervisor Tim McCarty and D.A.R.E. Officers Rick Dugan and Don Boulden.

Commissioner Gary Hollis was pied by talk show host Karen Jackson, instigating a retaliatory strike. Commissioner-elect Dan Schinhofen and commissioner Butch Borasky took a percentage of the pies for the county.