May 23, 2007
Editorial

Opinions And Vigilance

In this, our final Editorial as the management team for the Lincoln County Record, we wanted to offer our opinions on some of the biggest issues facing the county.

First is the upcoming election in Caliente.

ELECTIONS

While all four of the candidates for City Council are worthy, we’re not going to offer any endorsements.

Tom Acklin and Keith Larson are both good men with long histories of service to their communities.

Andra Farmer and Doreen Brown are passionate in their efforts to give the City Council a breath of fresh air.

To the credit of all four candidates, this election isn’t about personalities, it’s about issues.

Acklin and Larson are the incumbents, and are therefore responsible for the Caliente electric utility (although, to be fair, Larson only joined the Council in late 2006).

Farmer and Brown are both unhappy with the way the electric utility has been run.

If you like the way the electric utility is running, vote for Acklin and Larson.

If you’re not, vote for Farmer and Brown.

CALIENTE ELECTRIC UTILITY

While we aren’t recommending any candidate over the other, we are taking a strong stand on the ballot initiative regarding the electric utility.

We recommend a vote of “No” on the initiative.

After listening to the Lincoln County Power District and looking at the problems which led to the rate increase, we don’t believe that giving up control of the utility is going to significantly lower rates.

One of the things hurting the rate structure is a $600,000 bond that the utility still owes.

Also, LCPD indicated that, in order for them to take over the utility, it would require huge costs to upgrade the equipment and bring it up to their operating standards.

Caliente users would have to pay the cost of those upgrades, which means their rates might go even higher.

But those in favor of dumping the electric utility have valid points.

It’s not fair to force electric customers to subsidize other city projects, using electric rates like a back-door tax.

More importantly, voters and citizens need to look very closely at the efforts by the City Council to block this vote and keep the initiative off the ballot.

That squashing of First Amendment rights is unforgivable, and the council members should be held accountable.

Don’t dump the electric utility.

But take a hard look at those running it.

COYOTE SPRINGS

On paper, this looks like one of the most impressive projects that Lincoln County has ever seen, or is likely to ever see.

Unfortunately, right now it’s just that…paper.

After three years, there isn’t a single house on the property.

The developers have moved dirt, and even built a useless golf course in the middle of the desert.

But it’s houses that make a community.

If it comes to fruition, it will be a huge boon to the county.

It will come at a cost, particularly in the water shares that will be needed to service 156,000 homes.

It’s a trade off.

We think the project is a great idea for the county (if it really gets built), but citizens need to stay vigilant, particularly on the issues of water.

TOQUOPTOWNSHIP

Like Coyote Springs, the homes planned for this project will provide an excellent tax base for the county, particularly with the anticipated pricing of the proposed homes.

However, like Coyote Springs, there is a significant problem with finding water for the project.

Citizens need to make sure that they recognize the sacrifice they’re going to have to make in water shares to reap the benefits of those increased tax dollars.

Fortunately, both Coyote Springs and Toquop will lead to increased interest and activity in the county overall, and should help boost county-wide land values in years to come.

TOQUOP COAL FIRED POWER PLANT

This one we oppose.

Vehemently.

It’s funny how tree huggers and other eco-lunatics will come out of the woodwork to defend some obscure little species of birds or battle to the death over desert tortoises, but are curiously silent over the construction of a coal-fired power plant just a few miles away from the planned Toquop Township.

As has become obvious when talking about certain elements of the Green movement, animals are more important than people.

In this case, the power plant is in the wrong place.

It should be moved to a more remote location, well away from the proposed Toquop development, and to a place where they can actually access water.

But they won’t.

There are billions of dollars at stake here, and greed always trumps common sense.

YUCCAMOUNTAIN

Unlike Senator Reid, the one-trick pony from Nevada currently leading the U.S. Senate, we don’t oppose Yucca Mountain.

It makes more sense to bury radioactive waste deep in a remote mountain than to leave it percolating around dozens of populated areas across the country.

If that means ferrying it through Lincoln County, or Clark County or White Pine County, that’s not a terrible thing.

What IS terrible is the level of municipal welfare going on.

Lincoln County has suckled at the Federal teat for millions of dollars.

This would be great if it was somehow going to directly benefit the citizens, but it won’t.

It’s going into the pockets of consultants who are going to find a way to study this thing to death.

We don’t oppose Yucca Mountain.

We DO oppose the obscene waste of millions of Federal tax dollars on a boondoggle for out-of-town “experts.”

LCAT

Please set aside your differences, your long-held feuds and biases, and open up your minds.

LCAT has the potential to bring true greatness to the entire Lincoln County community.

Replacing diminishing agricultural and mining dollars with tourism dollars is the right move.

It’s a rising tide that can lift all boats, if everyone will get on board.

Every member of this county should join in the LCAT effort to bring tourism to Lincoln.

WATER DISTRICT

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

The county government is in bed with a private water company.

This marriage shouldn’t be trusted.

There are examples of cooperation and contractual coordination between the private sector and the public sector that can be extremely valuable to a community.

This isn’t one of them.

Make no mistake, the private water company is in this for one thing, and one thing alone:

Money.

They aren’t in the business of looking out for the citizens of this county.

That is supposed to be the Water District’s job.

Unfortunately, it seems the Lincoln County Water District is more interested in being the lap dog for this powerful multi-million dollar conglomerate than in protecting the best interests of the current populace.

Instead of helping the water company line their pockets, the Water District should be looking for ways to divest themselves of this unholy matrimony and do their job, which should be the protection and acquisition of water for ALL of the citizens of Lincoln County, not just the millionaires trying to build Coyote Springs, Toquop Township, and the coal-fired power plant.

While the County Commissioners are good people, they are blinded by the potential millions in tax dollars from those projects, and appear to be a little too willing to hand over the county’s water future to a for-profit company.

So it’s up to the citizens to look out for themselves.

The first order of business should be to find a General Manager for the Water District who knows more about water than law, someone willing to take over the operations and seek ways for the county to handle its own water work.

The second movement should be to appoint a Water Board consisting of local residents instead of the County Commission.

A good start would be to involve Bevan Lister, a local resident who has watched, researched, and tried to keep the Water District accountable.

You can’t expect the County Commissioners to do it all, especially when the business of the county government, growth, conflicts with the best interests of the citizens.

Third, local landowners need to think twice before selling out their neighbors and selling off water shares to out-of-town entities.

If the Water District functioned properly, the landowners could comfortably sell those shares to Lincoln County and reap the large profits they deserve, while knowing that the water would remain in the hands of local people and the government agency charged with protecting them.

But most importantly, the people of Lincoln County need to get personally involved, and in large numbers.

Don’t let your Water District squander the little bit of water the state has allocated here to Las Vegas, Mesquite, and especially not to a private water company.

Defend against this like you’re defending your home, or your family’s future.

Because you are.

POSTSCRIPT

Now that we’re gone, we’re sure those we’ve discussed here will come out and bash us as interlopers and carpetbaggers who don’t know what we’re talking about.

That’s okay.

Just remember that the advantage to being “out of towners” is the fact that we’re not related to anybody here.

We’re not married to anybody here.

We don’t owe any money or favors to anybody here.

And we don’t have a decades-old feud to uphold or an axe to grind.

We aren’t perfect, but we DO care about Lincoln County.

You are our neighbors.

We respect and in some cases envy the lifestyle you have carved out for yourselves.

Like us, you are Nevadans, and Nevadans should watch out for each other.

Most of all, we feel blessed to have been permitted to be a part of your community for the last five months.

We thank you, and wish you good luck and a prosperous future.