53°F
weather icon Clear

Beatty board votes to support off-road race

The Beatty Town Advisory Board has voted to support the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno race scheduled for August.

As in several years past, Beatty will be the actual starting place for the 550-mile event planned for Aug. 18-19.

“I don’t know why they don’t call it the Beatty to Dayton race,” quipped Board Chairman Dick Gardner at the board’s meeting in late June.

The race has not been without its local critics, particularly those who enjoy exploring the surrounding desert. Some race roads have been heavily damaged and basically rendered unusable.

Local resident Randy Schroeder was particularly upset by past race damage to a historic road referred to as “the Old China Road.” He also said Sober Up Gulch, Windy Gap, and others had been “screwed up.”

David Spicer said that a lot of damage was done by earlier races that were actually sponsored by a different organization. Back then there were no requirements for reclamation.

Tim Coward, from U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Tonopah office, said that the requirements on racers have been getting stricter, and things would be better in the future.

Alternate course benefit

Both Coward and Daryl Folks, with the Best in the Desert group, said that there is significant advantage in having alternate race routes so that they are not used year after year but are given time to rest and recover. “It’s amazing what Mother Nature can do if you give her time,” Folks said.

Folks said that, as a former motorcycle racer, he is very sensitive to soil types, and that he will be looking very closely at that factor in searching for race routes.

Schroeder asked what the passing rules were like for Best in the Desert races. He said he had seen places where racers had plowed through vegetation by passing off the course.

Folks said that in places like the dry lake bed at Sarcobatus Flat, they had laid out the shortest possible route. “So if they go off the course, they are breaking the rules, but they also are not taking the shortest route.”

The BLM is encouraging the organization to submit multiple routes for analysis so that once they are approved they can issue a five-year permit.

Folks said he wanted to make some donations to the community but did not know what his father had done in the past. Brad Hunt said that he had given $500 each to the Beatty Volunteer Fire Department and to the high school.

Spicer suggested that Best in the Desert might partner with his company and others to repair some of the roads damaged in the past, even damage caused by other races.

Richard Stephens is a freelance writer living in Beatty.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Looking for some family fun for Easter? Hop over to Simkins Park

Anyone looking for a fun, family-friendly festivity to enjoy this holiday can hop on over to Simkins Park to join the Mills family as they celebrate Easter Sunday with worship music, free food and an enormous 14,000-egg hunt that is sure to bring a smile to hundreds of faces.

Campground fees to increase at Death Valley National Park

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — Visitors to Death Valley National Park can expect a slight increase in entrance fees for various campgrounds beginning on May 1.

Clerk staffer Cori Freidhof appointed interim leader

Nye County Clerk Mark Kampf’s time in office officially comes to a close on March 31 and deputy clerk Cori Freidhof has now been selected to assume that vacated seat. Freidhof will take over the office as of Monday, April 1 and fulfill the unexpired term ending Jan. 1, 2027.

Gaming can have impact on us

When does gaming cross the line from recreational relaxation to problematic behavior? How do video games and gambling relate? What resources are available for those who find themselves struggling to control their relationship with video games and gambling?

County eyeing impact fee increases

The cost to develop in Pahrump could go up, with a public hearing on a proposal to raise local impact fees set for next month.

Here’s who filed as political candidates in Nye County

Locals have filed their political candidacy as of March 15 and this year two major offices in Nye County will be up for grabs in the general election. Nye County residents have to first narrow down their preferred party candidate on June 11 in the primary and then vote in November to support their preferred candidates.

Second Source donation for Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Nye County Sleep in Heavenly Peace is now better off thanks to a second donation from The Source dispensary’s Round Up program.

Beatty riled by sheriff’s substation closure

Lone staffer will be relocated to Pahrump to help with workload there; be onsite in Beatty just once a month.

Sales tax question headed to the ballot

Road conditions in the Pahrump Valley are a sore point for many drivers as well as a source of frustration for the crews dedicated to maintaining them but with only so many road dollars to go around, it can be hard to keep pace with the demand.