Sandy Valley's blog

Jury returns guilty verdict in Sandy Valley murder trial

2008-04-17T01:33:17-06:00

A jury in California returned a guilty verdict in the trial over a murder on the California side of the valley nearly two years ago.

Ramping up for the holidays

2007-11-05T18:09:26-07:00

With Halloween (nee Nevada Day) behind us and Thanksgiving a couple of weekends away it is time to look towards the holidays. Be sure to remember those families who need support by contributing your cans, cash and donations to the community drive. Stop by the Hitchin' Post to leave them off.

Once Thanksgiving is behind us it will once again be time for Cowboy Christmas. Be sure to stop by and pick up a few extra pairs of gloves for those cool winter evenings.

Friday afternoon weather excitement

2007-09-23T12:11:59-06:00

On Friday afternoon the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for Sandy Valley. Though no tornado materialized the storm did bring intense hail and rain as it passed through the valley. The warning is preserved below for posterity.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAS VEGAS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING FOR...
EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN INYO COUNTY IN EASTERN CALIFORNIA...
EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...
WEST CENTRAL CLARK COUNTY IN SOUTHERN NEVADA...

* UNTIL 615 PM PDT.

* AT 536 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR SANDY
VALLEY...AND WAS MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
SANDY VALLEY 550 PM PDT.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3630 11583 3619 11558 3572 11547 3570 11569
TIME...MOT...LOC 0038Z 171DEG 50KT 3580 11560

Sandy Valley Elementary earns top rating

2007-07-28T00:04:08-06:00

This week saw the release of Clark County School report cards. The rankings, part of No Child Left Behind, rate schools annually on their progress. Sandy Valley Elementary was one of 13 of the 339 schools in the district to earn the highest score, "Exemplary". In the 2005-2006 year only six of the district's schools were rated exemplary.

Final Environmental Impact Statement Table Mountain Wind Generating Facility - July 2002

2007-07-20T01:53:11-06:00

Attached in separate pieces will be the Final EIS from July 2002.

Advancing the community

2007-07-17T19:56:24-06:00

There is a cliche which tells us we'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. It can be really frustrating to be in a meeting with a public official who you don't hold in high regard. All too often as a community we've let officials who come to our CAC and other community meetings know just what we think of them. In our public forum we call them on the carpet and feel as though we've told them off or sent the message that we're on to them and they won't get away with it anymore.

More often than not, however, we've just shot ourselves in the foot. Consider for a moment one of Nevada's U.S. Senators coming to a meeting. Go ahead and pick the one you care less for. Will the community's position, our need to protect our precious water, our need for inter-state cooperation, our desires for more or less access to federal lands around the valley, or any of a hundred other issues, be better served by telling the politician off or asking them how they can help us accomplish one of these goals? What if we ask that same person how we can be most effective in getting information to them? Consider the possibilities if we take a few minutes to understand what matters most to them and from that learn which of the planks of our argument to stand most strongly upon when addressing that person.

No matter how useless or obstructionist we think an individual is I'm quite confident that we stand to gain far more as a community from thoughtful, considerate questioning and attempting to understand where the speaker is coming from than we will with any attack we can launch. Certainly there may be a need to challenge someone on their lack of response or to share our individual or collective frustration. Whether a bureaucrat, agency head, Senator or President the community is much more likely to leave with an advocate from a meeting they perceive as positive than one which leaves a sour taste. When the speaker is one who the community cannot take as an ally, Vidler comes to mind here, there remains great power in gathering information and understanding that we have a difference of the minds but piling on and blasting the individuals who come to visit our community don't lead to the community we want.

Table Mountain Wind project FAA letter of determination

2007-07-11T01:41:03-06:00

At the July CAC meeting the subject of FAA comment on the Table Mountain wind generation project came up. Attached is a letter from September 2006 where the FAA makes the determination that the proposed construction would not have an impact on air navigation.

Maps from census bureau

2007-06-02T14:19:56-06:00

Sandy Valley is a census designated place. Maps of exactly what is, and what isn't included in the census designated place can be downloaded from the census website.

Superintendent commits to public high school

2007-04-12T22:39:21-06:00

Midway down the fourth page of the thirteen page agenda was the ominous item. "REVOCATION OF CHARTER BETWEEN KEYSTONE ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL AND CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Discussion and possible action regarding the charter of Keystone Academy Charter High School, including, but not limited to, revocation or further consideration of the charter agreement, is recommended."

If the board of trustees was looking for a way to bring the community out in force to support our local school they succeeded. The board's public seating area was filled with Sandy Valley residents wanting to speak on behalf of Keystone Academy. When the agenda for the meeting was approved the item was removed from the agenda but the residents of Sandy Valley stayed in force and spoke their minds. Before the presentation of community speakers Superintendent of Schools Walt Rulffes addressed the reason the item had been pulled. Rulffes explained that the goal would be to create a county high school in Sandy Valley.

The fight for a local school in Sandy Valley goes back more than two decades. After years of frustration eight years ago key community members supported charter school legislation and Keystone Academy was the second charter school formed as soon as the legislation passed. When asked about the time line Rulffes said he anticipates the district will help Keystone complete the school year in compliance with the regulations and would be looking to have a K-12 program in Sandy Valley in time for the fall 2007 start of the school year.

In order to get a CCSD high school up and running in the next several months it will take dedicated work of school district personnel and the devotion of our community to ensure it happens. Judge Haviland stressed to the board of trustees the importance of community involvement in Sandy Valley's rural schools.

Options for Sandy Valley

2007-04-04T11:14:38-06:00

At the March 2007 Citizens Advisory Council meeting Clark County Rural Towns Liaison Chris Muhnall give a presentation on the different forms of government for towns in Clark County. Mr. Munhall's presentation, which is attached below, includes discussion of the different forms of town governance in Clark County including unincorporated area, unincorporated town and incorporated city. In addition to outlining the requirements for each the presentation covers examples of the revenue possible from each of the various forms of town governance.

Nevada Landing to close in April

2007-02-13T15:02:19-07:00

Nevada Landing in Jean, NV will close in April. Nevada Landing employees got the word Monday morning as MGM announced plans to redevelop their Jean properties into a master-panned community. Employees of Nevada Landing are being offered jobs at other MGM properties.

Two perish in early-morning fire

2007-01-31T08:14:50-07:00

Shortly after midnight Wednesday morning Sandy Valley Volunteer Fire Department was called to a mobile home fire on Osage. When the fire department arrived the mobile home was fully engaged and was threatening a nearby building. When the firefighters entered the home they found two people and three pets dead.

KTNV News has a little more on the story and some video.

Copper thieves strike Sandy Valley power

2007-01-25T11:25:07-07:00

Thieves attempting to steal copper wire are at the root of several recent Valley Electric Association power outages affecting Sandy Valley and surrounding communities. As copper prices have gone up world wide thieves have gotten more determined in their attempts to steal it from electrical facilities.

Sandy Valley Scouts camp out on frozen lake

2007-01-19T22:01:28-07:00

Last weekend's cold spell provided an extra chill for the Fire and Ice Festival in Ely. Several hardy Sandy Valley Boys' Scouts members spent the weekend camped on the frozen lake.

Minutes of the January 9 meeting of the Sandy Valley Citizens' Advisory Council

2007-01-16T12:58:10-07:00

Attached is a PDF version of the draft minutes of the January 9 meeting of the Sandy Valley CAC. These minutes will not become official unless they are accepted at the February 13 meeting of the CAC.