Nye County government offices to reopen

It has been more than 12 months since the first case of the coronavirus was reported in Nevada and over the last year, shutdowns, cancellations and postponements had become something of the standard in the state. Now, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic appearing to subside somewhat, life is starting to slowly inch its way back toward normality and as part of this return to business as usual, Nye County government offices are finally set to reopen to the public.

“Nye County government offices will bring its remote employees back to full-time, in-person work beginning Monday, March 15, and reopen all offices to in-person services,” a news release from Nye County Public Information Officer Arnold Knightly read.

That doesn’t mean that all COVID-19 precautions will be left by the wayside, however, with Knightly noting that mitigation measures will still be observed. “All other COVID prevention requirements, such as face coverings, distancing, sanitizing, etc., will remain in place. Each office will restrict the number of visitors to its lobby. This includes the town of Pahrump government offices,” Knightly wrote.

Nye County started closing its various offices to the public “out of an abundance of caution” on March 16, 2020, beginning with the Nye County Recorder’s and Nye County Assessor’s offices in both Pahrump and Tonopah.

Not long after making these announcements, the county was notifying the community that a host of other county offices were also shutting their doors and moving to remote operations, including Nye County Health and Human Services, the Nye County District Attorney’s Office and the Nye County Treasurer’s Office. That was not the end of the closures, with the clerk’s office, planning department, county administration, building and safety and more all seeing closures at some point throughout the year. The town of Pahrump’s offices, too, closed their doors to the public and for months, access to these various services has been restricted.

That is all about to change, however, now that the county has made the decision to eliminate in-person restrictions at its many offices.

“I’m happy to report that our COVID numbers statewide and within Nye County are beginning to decline,” Nye County Manager Tim Sutton stated. “While we aren’t out of the woods yet, we can now begin to ease some of the restrictions currently in place and provide improved access to the public.”

For those who may have become accustomed to accessing governmental services virtually, a wide variety of services will still be available online through both the county’s website at www.nyecounty.net and the county’s various department webpages. Services specific to the town of Pahrump can be accessed online at www.pahrumpnv.org

Details regarding the address, hours of operation and contact information for each of the county’s offices can be found online at www.nyecounty.net

The reopening of Nye County government offices does not extend to the Fifth Judicial District Court or the justice courts in Tonopah, Pahrump or Beatty. These entities are guided by administrative orders from the judges and justices themselves.

“For ongoing restrictions involving the individual town justice courts, or the Fifth Judicial District Court, please refer to their most recent Administrative Order at https://www.nyecounty.net/1072/Administrative-Orders-regarding-COVID-19,” the new release states.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com