Letters to editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

We are not entitled to our own facts, states reader

Mr. Weiss said, “CNN, NBC, MSNBC, PBS, ABC have brainwashed viewers by telling untruths about Trump and Democrats are starting to censor free speech, free thought by way of Twitter and Facebook.” Mr. Weiss did not present one shred of evidence to back up his assertion. He also asserted, “…Democrats are the modern day version of the KKK, the Third Reich, Mao and Stalin.” Again, no evidence presented to back his statement.

“Democrats take to the streets and beat on innocent people.” We must have watched different events. I recall the KKK, neo-nazis, and skinheads, all trump supporters, walking with torches and clubs, and killing an innocent bystander at Charlottesville.

“Democrats want to destroy everything you have worked for.” Strange. I am comfortable and also a Democrat. Why would I remain a Democrat if Democrats want to destroy what I have earned?

However, Mr. Weiss did make one true statement, “the Democrats said they did not want to impeach Trump.” We don’t want to impeach, but if he has violated our laws, and it appears he has, then it is the duty of all congress people to investigate and bring charges if the facts warrant it.

I admit I have been critical of Fox News. Sean Hannity of Fox news has called the investigation by Mueller, a Republican, a “witch hunt.” Such a statement by Hannity is a bold-faced lie, especially since Mueller has brought about 33 indictments so far. However, let me say that Chris Wallace of Fox News is fair and gives equal weight to both sides, although he is right of center.

Reporters are professionally trained to get the truth before the story is presented. Some may make a mistake once in a while, but overall their mission is to arrive at the truth. They have ways of doing this, like vetting the informants, checking out their credibility, and checking with other sources. In general, they get facts and don’t give opinions, unless in an editorial. So I remind Mr. Weiss that he is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts, and that his opinions should be backed up by facts instead of sweeping statements without support.

Jim Ferrell

Robotics program helping to inspire local students

On Saturday, Feb. 9, three teams of teens from Pahrump competed in the annual Nevada FIRST Robotics Competition. Two of those teams made it to the final round!

This is significant because this is only the second year that a team from Pahrump has competed. Our success this year is because of the vision of the folks at Southern Nye County Pahrump 4H. They created the program that sent the first team to Reno last year.

This year that vision has expanded to include a second all-girl team at the 4H and a co-ed team at Pahrump Valley High School. And, that’s not all. There are now 10 FIRST Lego League teams (up from one team in 2018) at the grade school and middle school level.

FIRST has been around for 30 years. To learn more about this organization, you can visit their website at https://www.firstinspires.org/about/vision-and-mission. FIRST has successfully combined the excitement of a sports competition with the discipline of math and science. In a nutshell, it makes being a geeky nerd exciting and cool.

Exposure of our children to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects is pretty important today. The teams that compete in FIRST get hands-on experience in why these STEM skills are important and are able to directly apply these skills to build a winning robot. They learn skills for the future. They learn teamwork. They compete for scholarships. They have fun. Just like other athletes.

We’re going to continue supporting the Pahrump FIRST Coalition.

We would encourage others to get involved as well.

Bill Carpenter

Randale C. Sechrest, MD

Heartfelt thank you for successful fundraiser

Tails of Nye County would like to offer their heartfelt thanks to everyone who made our recent fundraiser at the 2019 Balloon Festival very successful.

We would like to thank all the businesses that donated raffle prizes: Mom’s Diner; The Hubb; Red Sky Barbecue; Tawny Darlyn at Salacious Skin and Body; Michaella Denning, Heather Ann Williams, DeAnna Fortunato, Glenda Knight, Natalie Arms, and Taylor LeBaron, all of Today’s Image; Preferred RV Resort; Pahrump Nugget Bowling Center; Fitness for $10; Sheryl Hunter and Molly Clark, both of Nevada Realty.

A big thank you to Beverly Hembree for taking all the donations and making them into beautiful baskets, Nevada Realty for sponsoring our booth, Andrea McGuire at Hubbster for printing our T-shirts, and Quality Signs and Banners.

We would also like to thank all the volunteers and the public for supporting Tails of Nye County. We are Nye County’s only 501 (C)(3) spay and neuter charity. We are located at 520 East St., Unit B. Our phone number is 702-306-3245. Our hours are 12-5 Wednesday through Saturday.

Nancy Guin, volunteer

Tails of Nye County