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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.