

When local communities pursue self-interests

8:07 PM, Feb. 18, 2014  |  Comments

The political foundation of this country is, theoretically, all for one and one for all. But that is purely theoretical, isn't it?

When examined a bit more, it all comes down to what is best for me and to heck with everyone else. President John F. Kennedy had it right when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country." That statement had a profound effect on our nation for that generation, but it turned back to just the opposite when President Lyndon Johnson founded the Great Society welfare state and people began to look to government to solve all their problems.

Looking at Nevada, you can see jut how devastating this looking after one's self can be to the entire state's progress. For many years, the north held the political power and most of the state's budget was spent in the north. Now, Las Vegas holds the reins of political power, and the north has to go hat in hand to get any funding for necessary infrastructure.

One can compare this to what has gone on in Lyon County. Each community is out to get all it can for itself, and so far the southern part of the county has called all the shots. Oh, you will hear protests aplenty, but it is true. Dayton is no better, the south of the river community has no interest in any other part of the county, just what services it receives. Silver City is not too interested in what goes on in the rest of the county. Fernley is not very interested in what happens in the rest of the county other than disputing what its fair share of revenue is. Silver Springs. Stagecoach and Mark Twain just cannot get their act together as there are too many individuals who are just interested in their own advancement, but the community desire for a larger part of the county income is there.

I say all this not because it is true, which it is, but there is a project that has been languishing that will benefit all communities in Lyon County.

That project is the USA Parkway. The completion of the roadway will benefit every aspect of the financial health of the county, but the simple fact of working toward what is best for me is preventing it from happening.

Storm a curse on county

The "what is best for me" syndrome is also affecting the Carson River drainage system. From the political entities down to the environmentalists, the story is the same: As long as I can get what I want, to heck with the rest of you. The latest winter storm is actually a curse because the drought was beginning to have an effect on how the people were looking at managing the Carson River system to handle severe shortages of water.

Now, there is a collective sigh of relief because things are temporally wet and no action is required. Scattered along the Central Lyon County corridor are the remnants of windblown sand deposits, which indicate water was a pretty rare thing in ages past. Petrified wood can be found in the area also and that indicates water was abundant in the past also. Climate does change but for now the lack of water cycle seems to have the upper hand and things just may get worse, so Mark Twain may have had the answer, so start drinking whiskey folks. It is a cinch: Working on our water supplies is not a priority of the people.

The 'lucky' one

I lost another good friend this week. Not only was he a friend, but my brother and I worked for the same company for while.

One thing about Ray: You could count on him to never BS you, and he was always fair in his dealings. When you were working with him, it was always together. He was a fine finish blade hand and maybe a bit picky, but you never had to go back to fix some thing he had done. Ray had a good sense of humor and never seemed to lose his temper even when he backed into a 50-gallon barrel of asphalt binder and had to clean it up.

Ray was bit lucky, according to my brother. They were working together on a job, and while my brother turned up an old bottle Ray rolled out a silver dollar. Ray loved his horses. I talked to him for some length about his love for catching mustangs. Not only did he catch them, but he had them trained to ride or traded them to others for the same thing.

Ray was the person that rode a horse into the old corner bar in Dayton on a bet. When the owner made the comment he was lucky, Ray asked if he wanted him to do it again. The owner said no, once was enough as giving out a round of drinks on the house was too expensive. Ray told me he gave up on catching mustangs when his daughter chewed him out for missing roping a horse she had driven by him. Kids!

Ray was a good man. We will miss him. The Boss' and my most sincere condolences go out to May for losing him. There are a couple of stories there, too, but I know when to quit when I am ahead.


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