Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Memorial Day for remembering, not celebration

This is not a time for joy and parties and festivities. I do not want to hear about your special sales and deals …”This Weekend Only”…

It is a time for reflection; to honor, to remember, to grieve.

We who remain feel loss, anguish, sorrow, emptiness, guilt.

These feelings do not diminish with time. If anything, they overwhelm us at this time of year. All the “moving ahead” and “carrying on” and “dealing with It” we do for 51 weeks a year comes crashing down leading up to this Day of Remembrance.

We can pretend we are strong and put on a good face as we march through life. However, beneath the calm exterior, the grief is building pressure, looking for a way out.

So, when we look upon a grave or a memorial or statue of a Hero, the floodgates open and it all comes out.

Do not think me weak when I cry at a grave of an unknown Warrior. You do not know the effort it takes, the strength it requires, to hold back the tears the other 364 days a year.

I find strength in the fellowship of my Brothers in Arms, for they have the same feelings, the same memories, the same sorrow. And I will support and love them as they support me.

No, I will not “celebrate” on Memorial Day.

This is the quiet time.

Stephen M. Pitman IV

Thank you to generous stranger at Mom’s

You made my day and more by paying for my out order lunch at Mom’s Diner Wednesday, May 15 at approximately 11 a.m.

I have bought lunch or dinner for people I did not know several times over the years but have NEVER had anyone do it for me until now.

As I am 86 years old and my husband of 32 years just died seven months ago, I am so sad and feel lost. I had to deal with a swarm of bees Tuesday and I am trying to sell my husband’s fantastic truck but no takers. Everyone wants it for next to nothing.

At Mom’s Diner I was really feeling down, with too many people trying to cheat me. Then along came a wonderful person and made me smile.

So thank you and God bless you whoever you are.

Phyllis Hogadone

Food bank grateful for community support

A huge thank you to the community of Pahrump for coming out and supporting the Veterans Food Bank lasagna dinner. The Veterans Food Bank receives no taxpayer help, their only source of income is donations from our community. The Veterans Food Bank feeds 500 veterans and their families each month. We are the only food bank for veterans in the entire United States.

I am so thankful for this community and their support. We achieved our goal, thanks to cash donations and lasagna orders. It was a crazy two hours, but so worth it.

Thank you to the volunteers – Vi Morrissey, Linda DeMeo, and Shawna Lee – we could not have done this without all your help. Thank you to Joyce Sullivan for the donation of cookies and water, that was so thoughtful of you, and greatly appreciated.

Thank you Pahrump for your support. It’s a large undertaking, which we are thankful to be able to do. Looking forward to doing it again in 2019.

Sincerely,

Valerie Barton

Question 3 would be bad for rural Nevadans

There’s been a lot of discussion across Nevada about Question 3, a constitutional amendment on our statewide ballot this November that would dismantle Nevada’s existing electricity system and replace it with a new, unknown system established by the Legislature and the courts.

The reality is, we don’t really know exactly what we are voting on with Question 3. The amendment provides no details on how Nevada’s new electricity system would work, and the proponents have not offered any sort of plan of their own. Instead, the ballot measure would lock a risky and costly experiment into the state Constitution and create an uncertain electric system that even the proponents admit would not guarantee the lower electric rates they’ve been promising.

What we do know is our existing energy providers would disappear if Question 3 were to pass. The rural electric co-ops that many of our communities participate in aren’t protected under Question 3. The state’s major providers would be forced to sell its power plants and cancel long-term energy agreements, many of which are for renewable energy projects built right here in Nevada.

Those costs would be in the billions and would be passed onto consumers in the form of higher bills. In fact, a recent independent investigation conducted by the Public Utilities Commission found that Question 3 would likely increase average residential electric bills for Nevadans for at least a decade.

We have come a long way in the last 50 years, and if Question 3 were to pass it would be a major setback in the progress we have made, coupled with a whole lot of uncertainty. I personally don’t miss the days with the old Witte, or worse yet, it not thumping out back. We must not forget the old times when we had small providers that gave consumers in rural areas low voltage in the afternoons and evenings, which meant we went without electricity for blocks of time.

Many of you recall we had energy choice over two decades ago and it failed. In the late 1990s, many states, including Nevada, tried to implement laws like Question 3. California’s attempt in the early 2000s led to skyrocketing rates and consumer complaints, rolling blackouts, the Enron scandal, and more than $40 billion in added costs for consumers and taxpayers.

Of the 24 states that originally attempted a scheme like Question 3, only 14 states still have deregulated electricity systems in place. In those states, average residential electricity rates are 30 percent higher than Nevada’s, and California’s overall electric rates are nearly double ours.

That’s why it’s been nearly 20 years since any state has taken the risk of implementing a system like that which Question 3 proposes. Given this history, Question 3 is especially risky for Nevada because it would be very difficult to repeal from our Constitution and take years to undo the damage it would cause.

As a Nevada native and public servant, I am deeply concerned that if Question 3 were to pass, the ramifications would be detrimental to the hard-working residents and small businesses in rural communities across the state. We do not need a constitutional mandate, the average ratepayer and majority of consumers will not benefit. Rather than implement a risky scheme that would dismantle our reliable electricity system and cost Nevadans billions, I’m urging my constituents to look into the facts and vote NO on Question 3.

SENATOR PETE J. GOICOECHEA

Nevada State Senator, District 19

Reader says just don’t sign the brothel petition

So a ballot vote is the new push for the brothel agenda. Does this involve taxpayer money to be put on the ballot?

Maybe a better vote would be don’t sign the petition to get it on the ballot. That way, no taxpayer monies are used except to verify the petition’s signatures of legal voters if enough sign it.

Maybe this would end the push to outlaw legal brothels for a while. Hopefully….

P.S. It seems the roundabouts are working pretty well – it seems people are getting used to them. I’m glad and hope the businesses were paid.

Henry Hurlbut

We need to recognize social misfits to end shootings

Some Democrats and Republicans have agreed on three measures that would greatly reduce school shootings. The first measure is to install metal detectors on entrances to schools, while at the same time limiting the number of entrances. The second measure would be to pass a law in all states, or one law at the federal level, that would require all gun owners with teenagers in the home to keep their guns locked up at secure locations in the homes while the guns are not in use lawfully. Thirdly, education must address itself even more on how we can live and get along with each other without some of us resorting to violence.

Many of us hate to see our schools become more restricted by having security restrictions similar to those at our courts and airports. We can argue all day among ourselves as to who is to blame for a more violent society, but we should not deny the truth. A metal detector at the Santa Fe school in Texas would have set off an alarm and prevented Demitri, the shooter, from getting his guns inside the school.

Most responsible citizens who have teenagers in their homes would obey a law which required them to keep their guns from being used by others unless such use would be for a lawful engagement such as hunting. Such a law could be easily obeyed by just about all of us.

Demitri was an honor student, but also a loner. It was reported that one of his first victims was a young lady who has refused to make a date with him. I believe just about all of us have been rejected by at least one person during our lives. It is never pleasant and even hurtful. Those of us who are adults know that seldom is anyone a friend to everyone, especially if he/she decides to stand up an express their beliefs. Moreover, some young ladies need to learn how to say no without insulting the young men who pursue them.

I remember well during basic training in the Army when we had the first inspection. The lieutenant doing the inspection jumped all over our squad leader because some of the men were failing the inspection. His question, “are you going to let some of your men die in combat because you were negligent in having them properly prepared?”

In my opinion, education cannot evade a similar responsibility. It needs to recognize the social misfits and develop curriculum that brings these misdirected youth into social acceptance. Finally, the bullies also should be held responsible for their cruelty.

May be a tall order, but I know we can fix it.

Jim Ferrell