Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Statement from county commission chairman

Recent news stories around the state and nation may be giving the false impression that these positions are those of Nye County. I have been contacted or approached by more than one resident asking if these statements are the position of the Nye County Board of Commissioners.

While I respect my fellow commissioners right to support whichever candidates they chose, it is important to remember a commissioner is one of five decision-making members and individual statements do not reflect the opinions of the elected body unless backed by a resolution supported by a majority vote of the board.

The board does not and will not endorse candidates. I look forward to working with whoever is elected governor of Nevada for the betterment of Nye County and its residents.

I would also like to note comments that gubernatorial candidate and current Attorney General Adam Laxalt “has not done a thing for Nye County in all the time he’s been there” comes as the board and the sheriff’s office accepted a donation on June 19 from his office of an incinerator to dispose of opioids and other drugs at no cost to Nye County taxpayers. The donation will also save county taxpayers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that would have been spent in shipping the hundreds of pounds of drugs currently in the sheriff’s office custody out of state for destruction.

Political season can be a contentious time, and I welcome varying views and opinions. However, it is important to note that the individual opinion of one commissioner without the support of the Board of County Commissioners is just that, an individual opinion.

Sincerely,

John Koenig, Chairman

Teacher thanks community for school project help

This past February, my third-grade students wrote letters to small-town newspapers around our country. The letters asked people in each state to send items of interest that the student might include in their final State Fair project.

My students were thrilled as packages started arriving from all over the country! They received books, newspapers, postcards, maps, and many unique items from the wonderful and generous people of the United States of America.

This project could not have been the success that it was without YOU! I’ve had several parents indicate that their family would be taking a trip to the state that their child learned about this last school year to see the beauty and unique qualities firsthand. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Most sincerely,

Mrs. Bozorgzad

The Langley School, McLean, Virginia

A sticker shock experience at the Nevada DMV

When my vehicle registration renewal came in the mail, I experienced a sudden feeling of sticker shock, noticing that the “Government Services tax” (GST), you know, that other charge In addition to the registration fee, was substantially more than I’d paid in previous years. And I wondered, is this a mistake? But I learned soon enough that the increase was merely another installment on the state tax I’m obliged to pay on the new car I bought in 2017. “How much next year?” I asked. “It will be less,” the young lady at the DMV office advised me.

Certainly, Nevada, like every other state has the right and need to collect revenue by various means. But as I reflected on the cost of the previous registration renewals, the GST thing kept buzzing in my mind like a swarm of bees. Then, recalling that Nevada is among those few states that does not have an income tax, it occurred to me, we don’t need one! That terminology isn’t necessary when added revenue, under another less attention-getting name, is collected from every resident who owns and operates a motor vehicle.

Hah. Those lads and ladies who toil in the Carson City State House are far more clever than I imagined. Now mind you, I’m not criticizing revenue enhancements per se. I suppose the thing that troubles me is blatant deception by our lawmakers. Really? And how long have you been of legal age? Okay. Granted, I’m not the sharpest pencil in the cup, and I’ve been lied to more than once. But forgive me if I cling to the expectation that we are entitled to reasonable transparency in government.

If we don’t abhor duplicity and demand truth from elected officials at every level, we citizens are little more than chattel - to be used by those in power as they see fit. I consider that bottom line completely unacceptable. … Think term limits.

Ralph Bazan

Another view of the immigration issue

Here’s another thing to think about when all the bleeding heart politicians snivel and cry about the families torn apart at the border for ILLEGALLY crossing the border into MY COUNTRY - What about the military families that are torn apart when their loved ones are sent to face the dangers of protecting our freedoms?

Who are they really for?

Martin Glackin

A different point of view on mainstream media

I want it known, I do not watch TV news because the majority of news put forth by the mainstream media is negative and negativity gives me unneeded anxiety; however, I do confess to viewing YouTube posts and subscribing to the PVT where in doing so I noticed a letter to the editor submitted by Mr. Jim Ferrell on June 20, 2018.

When reading Mr. Ferrell’s letter, a line from Shakespeare came to mind, “Me thinks the man protests too much,” when spewing forth his wrath focused completely on Fox news and its clutch of provocateurs. By Mr. Ferrell’s obvious omission, none of the alphabet news channels were mentioned, leading one to believe those unnamed channels and collective reporters therein must be noseless by virtue of never having propagated a light-colored fib.

I would like to pose a few questions regarding reportage by the obvious sacrosanct unnamed TV news channels. Why has so much airtime been devoted to Stormy Daniels and so little mention made about the collapse of Isis, the taming of North Korea and over 3,000 CEO’s and elected officials resigning since last December. Why in the immediate wake of the Parkland School shooting CNN minions were at the scene passing out handouts to students containing politically correct answers to questions CNN reporters would ask? Why have the other news networks continued to pound on the $7 million Russian dossier long after it was proven a fake? Why does Mr. Ferrell argue the complete FBI and the Department of Justice, having been impugned when only the top officials in each organization were caught in probable acts of treason? Why does the mainstream media feel it so important for Russia to be our nation’s top enemy? Why was Lt. Col. Ralph Peters singled out from hundreds of officers to offer proof Fox News promotes desecration of the nation’s Constitution?

From perhaps a twisted collateral damage point of view, why do Mr. Ferrell’s favored news channels spend so much airtime hammering on repealing the Constitution’s Second Amendment to prevent a minor percentage of deaths, while the nation suffers over 400,000 unnoticed deaths annually from iatrogenic causes, ie medical errors, unnecessary procedures and surgeries gone bad?

Incidentally, when putting on my Navy uniform I also accepted the oath to protect our nation and our Constitution from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Why am I left with a notion Mr. Ferrell has a sliver in his veracity when claiming political neutrality?

Dwight W. Hunter