From the REAL Reporters Notebook…GAK!

Lots of times I must rely on my reporters notebook in order to maintain any sense of organization. This last weeks notes nearly got out of hand, so I thought I’d share them with you…

Virginia City’s Veterans Day a Success

The annual Veteran’s day celebration came with a slight twist this year because of COVID-19. The Veterans Day Cruise as it was known was opened to walking groups and vehicles.

“We felt it was important to find a way to show veterans that we appreciate them and that we care,” Deny Dotson, Tourism Director for Virginia City Tourism Commission, said. “We wanted to do something in a safe way that adheres to the current guidelines, but demonstrates our appreciation for those who serve our country.”

Participant lined up at the Fourth Ward School, located at the junction of U.S. Routes 342 and 341 at C Street and proceed south through town.

And just in time for the event, personnel with the Nevada Army Guard’s G Company, 2/238th Aviation Unit returned home following a tour in Afghanistan.

“All 60 soldiers in both rotations of the 2/238th Aviation unit’s mission to Afghanistan are home safely in Nevada,” said SFC Erick Studenicka of the Nevada National Guard.

The soldiers had been in Afghanistan for the majority of this past year performing medical evacuation missions. Their return marks the conclusion of their mission with Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

A demobilization ceremony had been scheduled for Friday was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Storey County’s DMV Closes Temporarily

The Storey County DMV is closed until further notice with no reason given. Residents are asked to visit dmvnv.com for other DMV locations and online services.

Meanwhile COVID Numbers Climb

Carson City Health and Human Services is reporting 369 new cases and 26 additional recoveries of COVID-19 in the Quad-County region. Of these 369 new cases, 343 are prisoners in the Warm Springs Correctional Facility, bringing the total number of cases to 2,638, with 1,948 recoveries and 27 deaths; 663 cases remain active.

The breakdown of numbers for Storey County are 26 people, with four of those being active cases and the remaining 22 listed as recoveries.

New COVID Hotline Number

Carson City Health and Human Services (CCHHS) has announcing a new phone number for the Quad-County COVID-19 Hotline. Starting Tuesday, November 17 the phone number will be (775) 434-1988.

The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The change is required to handle the volume of calls regarding questions about COVID and the number of people interested in being tested.

CCHHS will continue to offer testing to Quad-County residents with and without symptoms. Drive-thru COVID-19 testing events are for Quad-County residents only, all others will be turned away.

Residents can call the Quad-County COIVD-19 hotline at (775) 434-1988 to be assessed for testing. All COVID testing offered through Carson City Health and Human Services is free of charge.

Dayton Chamber Awarded COVID Cash

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center has been awarded $14,150 by the Nevada Commission on Tourism, the as part of the COVID-19 Rural Recovery Grant Program to print 40,000 Dayton and Mound House map and brochures. Earlier this year, the Chamber was awarded $3,500 for 10,000 maps.

The grant increases the amount of maps to be printed and now includes a wider distribution area that covers northern Nevada, Reno, Carson City, north and south Lake Tahoe, three Welcome Centers, in addition to 140 sites in the California Gold Country.

Sisolak’s Friday the 13th

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has tested positive for COVID-19. He’s the third person in his office to test positive for the virus. Two weeks ago, the governor’s office announced an unnamed Carson City-based staffer had tested positive for the virus. While early October, Sisolak’s COVID-19 response director Caleb Cage also tested positive.

New Deputies on Duty

Nevada Peace Officer Standardized Training ceremony saw three new Storey County Sheriff’s Office deputies graduate. Congratulations deputies Doston, Smiley, and Heffner. We look forward to your service to the communities.

People Helping People

The Silver Springs Senior Center would like to thank the Over The Hill Motorcycle Club for their very generous donation of $500.00 to go to help purchase Christmas Presents for our home bound Seniors.

Burn Permits Available

Storey County Fire Protection District has begun issuing open Burn Permits for the fall season 2020 through the Spring Season of 2021 and are valid until the last day of March 2021. To renew a permit from last season or to request a new Burn Permit, please call Station 71 directly at 775-847-0954. All new burn permits require a site safety visit.

Holiday Garbage Pick-up

Waste Management said that there will be no collections on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Please note: This is specific to Virginia City only. The Rainbow Bend/Canon General Improvement District and the Industrial Park area off USA Parkway will not be affected.

Seasonal Closures

The Historic Fourth Ward School Museum and Archives has closed for the closed for the season and will reopen to the general public on May 1, 2021.

Local favorite, Tommy Knockers, the bar, has also closed up for the winter months. No date’s been set for reopening yet.

Lyon County Makes International News

We have it on good authority that the Asian news media is keeping an eye, not only on Nevada as a whole, but Northern Nevada in general, as they follow the outcome of the Silver State’s US Congressional election.

“Rep. Steven Horsford of the 4th Congressional District and Rep. Susie Lee of the 3rd Congressional District defeated their respective Republican opponents in what were considered two battleground races in Nevada,” writes Christina M. Oriel, managing editor of the Asian Journal Weekly Newspaper.

Horsford, a Democrat and former state senator became the first African American to represent the Silver State in Congress, received 50.8 percent of the vote in his bid for another term. He beat out Assemblyman Jim Marchant, who received 43-percent and Libertarian candidate Jonathan Esteban who took 2-percent.

His district covers southern Lyon County, most of northern Clark County and all of Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine counties.

“Thank you to the residents of Nevada’s 4th district for reelecting me and I am so incredibly honored to continue serving #NV04 in Congress,” Horsford wrote in a Twitter post.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of the state’s 2nd Congressional District easily won reelection with 56.4 percent of the vote defeating Democratic challenger Patricia Ackerman.

More on the Asian Connection

According to Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (AAPI,) a nonpartisan civic engagement group, there are more than 209,000 eligible AAPI voters in Nevada, about 11 percent of the state’s electorate. According to the 2010 census, it is in Nevada that their numbers have been increasing the fastest.

Robin Titus Reelected to Caucus

Members of the Nevada Assembly Republican Caucus have unanimously re-elected Dr. Robin Titus to be Caucus Leader for the 81st Legislative Session. She was first elected to represent Nevada’s Assembly District 38, which includes part of Lyon County, in November, 2014 and was reelected after winning the Republican primary election in June.

Titus has represented her district in three regular and two special sessions.

Nevada’s Democratic Supermajority Defeated

Republicans will return to Carson City next session with three more Assembly seats and one Senate seat, stripping Democrats of their supermajority in the lower chamber and narrowing their majority in the upper one. Democrats still maintain a 12-9 majority in the Senate and a 26-16 majority in the Assembly.

Bad Luck on Friday the 13th

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak recently test positive for COVID-19. He continues to isolate and monitor symptoms. The only symptom he has experienced is mild head congestion. Sisolak has been discussing a second closure of the state as COVID cases increase.

COVID Cases Continue to Rise in Lyon County

The Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force met with eight counties flagged for having an elevated risk of transmission of COVID-19 including Lyon County.

The county’s been flagged for more than two weeks with an elevated disease transmission having experienced five weeks of COVID test positivity higher than 8 percent of people tested and a cases rate per 100,000 population greater than two hundred. The latest report shows where the majority of those positive cases were from:

• Contact with a COVID case (58 percent or 87 cases)
• Visiting a grocery or retail store (32 percent or 48 cases)
• Eating at a bar or restaurant (18% or 28 cases)

There were also two cases associated with the Mason Valley Residence outbreak during this period.

County Manager Jeff Page advised all Department Directors and Elected Officials to have employees work from home where possible. All Lyon County Offices will remain open until directed otherwise.

Meanwhile the state’s task force has approved the county’s action plans has also requested to have additional information from OSHA and Department of Business and Industry be included in the next report.

New Fernley Senior Center Opens

Lyon County and the City of Fernley are celebrating the opening of the new Senior Center and Human Services Office at 105 Lois Lane, behind the Fernley Depot. The project is the first part of what is eventually hoped to become a community center complex. The 18,000-square foot, $8.6 million facility replaces the old senior center on West Newlands Drive, but is only partially open to the public because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Lyon County School District Spawns Winners

The Nevada Association of School Boards 2020 Awards has recognized four Lyon County School District employees. Josh Wiley, at Silver Stage Middle School, ‘Innovative Educator of the Year;’ Billiejo Hogan, principal at Fernley’s East Valley Elementary School, ‘School Administrator of the Year;’ John Stevens, ‘Individual School Board Member of the Year;’ and Wayne Workman, ‘Superintendent of the Year.’

Dayton Man Sentenced to Prison

A Dayton man who robbed a Lake Tahoe home has been ordered to spend up to 3-8 years in prison and must pay back $657,984.78 that he stole. Miguel Guevarra Gacuma, 31, admitted looting the home’s safe while he was a home healthcare worker.

Road Work Continuing

Overnight lane closures are underway on Interstate 80 between Vista and Mustang through Nov. 27, as the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) resurfaces the interstate for enhanced friction and driving safety. Meanwhile, lane and ramp closures are in place on USA Parkway near Interstate 80 while NDOT completes repairs to a raised concrete median damaged in a previous crash.

Thanksgiving Travel in Nevada

Thanksgiving travel is expected to see a slight dip this season as coronavirus cases surge. AAA Nevada anticipates a 10 percent decrease, marking the largest one-year decrease in anticipated traffic volume since the 2008 Great Recession. So far, there are no statewide travel restriction in Nevada.