This may appear to be off the beaten path at first, but you’ll soon understand why I am treading this road…

The Ramona Food and Clothes Closet is in its 30th year of service to the community. The FCC, as it is known locally, was officially launched in March 1983.

My wife’s parents, Don and Helen Conklin along were the primary organizers. They started by supplying a three-day food package to each needy family or individual who lived in Ramona, California and who expressed a need for food.

I was lucky enough to have helped deliver these boxes a couple of times while visiting them.

Meanwhile, Christmastime’s “Share Your Holidays” became an annual event. And as far as I know, this tradition continues with the help of local churches and schools who donate both food and pack the boxes.

In 1994, the FCC was moved to the abandoned Bank of America building on Main Street. It is still in full operation today, housing the thrift shop, emergency and holiday food distribution, an emergency food pantry, board room, and a room to receive, store, and process donated merchandise.

That weekend, my wife and I were visiting her family.  I recall Don and I spent that Saturday cleaning the place, drinking coffee and swapping corn-ball jokes.

Honestly, I miss my wife’s folks.

Bullfrog County was a short-lived county in Nevada created by the Nevada Legislature in 1987.  It consisted of an uninhabited 144-square-mile area around Yucca Mountain completely enclosed by southern Nye County, the county from which it was created.

Bullfrog” was the name Frank “Shorty” Harris and Ernest “Ed” Cross, the prospectors who started the Bullfrog gold rush, gave to their mine. As quoted by Robert D. McCracken in A History of Beatty, Nevada, Harris said during a 1930 interview for Westways magazine, “The rock was green, almost like turquoise, spotted with big chunks of yellow metal, and looked a lot like the back of a frog.”

The Bullfrog Mining District, the Bullfrog Hills, the town of Bullfrog, and other geographical entities in the region took their name from the Bullfrog Mine. If fact, “Bullfrog” became so popular that Giant Bullfrog, Bullfrog Merger, Bullfrog Apex, Bullfrog Annex, Bullfrog Gold Dollar, Bullfrog Mogul, and most of the district’s other 200 or so mining companies included “Bullfrog” in their names.

Mining in and around the county 1920 consisted mainly of working old tailings until a new mine opened in 1988 on the south side of Ladd Mountain. A company known as Bond Gold built an open-air pit mine and mill at the site,  along State Route 374.

LAC Minerals acquired the mine from Bond in 1989 and established an underground mine there in 1991 after a new body of ore called the North Extension was discovered. Barrick Gold acquired LAC Minerals in 1994 and continued to extract and process ore at what became known as the Barrick Bullfrog Mine until the end of 1998.

The name persisted and, decades later, was given to the short-lived Bullfrog County.

Bullfrog County’s 1987 seat was located in Carson City, the state capital, some 270 miles north.  The county’s establishment was a response to plans by the federal government to create a disposal site for radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain when the fed’s agreed to provide payment-equal-to taxes funding to Nye County during the characterization and construction of the Yucca Mountain repository.

This money was intended to go straight to the county government bypassing the state government. In response, Nevada Assemblyman Paul May drafted a law declaring the unpopulated area around the proposed nuclear waste site to be a new county, Bullfrog County.

Because this new county had no population, any federal payments for placing the nuclear waste site there would go directly to the state treasury. Furthermore, rates in the county were set at 20 percent, or $5 on every $100 valued, the highest allowable by the state constitution.

This tax was meant to discourage the waste site’s creation by making the tax rate so high that the federal government would balk at paying to use the land for a radioactive waste dump. However, it also guaranteed that, should the site be built anyway, its existence would at least be profitable (at least $25-million) for the state government.

The bill was passed jus’ before 4 in the morning, June 18th, 1987 — near the end of the year’s legislative session — and signed into law by Governor Richard Bryan. The bill stipulated that if the repository was not built in the county, it would be merged back into Nye County

Bullfrog County was the only county in Nevada whose county commissioners and sheriff were not elected. Instead, the law creating the county stipulated that those officials were to be appointed by the governor.

It was not assigned to any of the state’s nine district courts and as such had no district attorney or judiciary.

To date, Bullfrog County is the only county with a population of zero known to have existed in the United States, and except for Shannon and Todd counties in South Dakota, the only organized county whose was not contained within its boundaries. It contained no paved roads, buildings or infrastructure of any kind. The easiest ground access to the county was by way of a dirt road off U.S. Route 95.

More than three-fourths of the county’s land was to the public. Half of it was taken up by the Nellis Air Force Range. The remaining fourth was owned by the Bureau of Land Management but almost no one visited there.

The existence of Bullfrog County had the potential to create serious legal problems for the state of Nevada. The Nevada Constitution requires all criminal trials to take place in the county where the crime occurred, and before a jury of residents of that county

However, since it was not assigned to a judicial district, it had no judiciary or prosecutors. Additionally, if a felony or serious misdemeanor was committed in Bullfrog County, it would have been theoretically impossible to empanel a jury.

For these and other reasons, Nye County sued, claiming the law was unconstitutional. In late October 1987, Nevada Attorney General Brian McKay announced that the state would not defend the law in court, since in his view it was likely unconstitutional.

On February 11, 1988; retired Nevada Supreme Court justice David Zenoff conducted a special hearing and found Bullfrog County to be unconstitutional. In addition to its zero population size, Zenoff found that the provision of the law giving Bryan the power to appoint the commissioners and sheriff ran counter to the democratic process, so state legislature abolished Bullfrog County in 1989, and the territory was absorbed back into Nye County.

Annette Funicello died April 8th, 2013, following a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 70.

In July 1983, when she was 41,  Annette was photographed playing a slot machine at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.  At the time Annette was appearing at the hotel-casino.

Meanwhile, Annette’s passing has touched many in Northern Nevada, including Sharon Baird.  She has a lot of photographs and memorabilia from the times, but her most valued are her memories.

She told KTVN’s Erin Breen she and Annette met when they were 12 on the set of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club in 1955 and they stayed friends for a lifetime.

“When I moved up here Annette would come and see me here in Reno,” Sharon says. “In fact she made three trips up here after her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis. We knew she wouldn’t always be able to travel and I made a promise to her that I’d continue to visit her. And I did.”

Baird was a child-actor with Annette, who went on to start in string of Disney movies, while Sharon went on to star in other kid shows and adult movies, but the two always kept in touch. Sharon was even there when Annette passed away.

“She always dreamed she’d be able to walk again,” Sharon says, “and she always said she wanted to dance again. The last thing I said to her was, ‘Put on your dancing shoes.’”

Officials are trying to determine if a boat that washed up on a beach is debris from the 2011 tsunami. The  20-foot boat with Japanese writing, believed to be a license or registration number on its side, washed ashore Sunday near Crescent City.

Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson reports, “Yesterday evening at about 8:30, we received our first debris from Japan. It washed up on South Beach and was full of goose neck barnacles.”

A team from Humboldt State University’s Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, an assemblage of local, state and federal agencies and others that studies tsunami hazards is examining the small vessel. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the group is working with the Japanese government to try to confirm the origins of the craft.

Experts say while unlikely to be radioactive, debris could have invasive species, human remains, or other things that you may not want to casually handle. It’s recommended you call your local authorities to report such finds.

His family had no running water, so they bathed in the Truckee River every Saturday — something that prepared him for conditions during Central Intelligence Agency operations in Vietnam during the war, he wrote in his autobiography, “The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA,” with Malcolm McConnell.

Antonio “Tony” Mendez’s mastery led CIA efforts in 1980 to rescue six Americans hiding from Iranian revolutionaries by using a ploy they were in Tehran to scout locations for a science fiction film. The public learned of his exploits in the film “Argo,” with Ben Affleck playing him.

But not as well-known is Mendez’s life of living in a tent just east of what is now Vista Boulevard in Sparks in 1947 and 1948, while his stepfather worked at a quarry. His time in Sparks helped shape his character.

Mendez was born in Eureka, Nevada in 1940. His father went to work in neighboring White Pine County at the copper pit at Ruth.

In 1943, his father was working as a signal hand on the railroad that carried ore out of the copper pit and when caught between the wall of the mine and a railroad car, he died. He was only 23 years old.

Mendez’s mother remarried and got a job in Eureka editing a newspaper but, when his stepfather lost his job in 1947, they moved to the Sparks area. His stepfather worked in a quarry, and they lived on the property until they moved to Pioche in 1948.

That quarry was jus’ west of Brierly Way and north of where Vista Boulevard meets Interstate 80. The eastern boundary of Sparks at the time was Stanford Way, about two and a half miles away.

Mendez had one older sister, a younger brother and three younger sisters. They walked about a half mile to what is now Larkin Circle, to the one-room Vista School, which had about 10 students, from first grade through high school.

Another important thing leading up to his career in the CIA occurred in Sparks.

One day, his mother gave him a sketch pad and watercolors to encourage his artistic abilities.  Nearly 20-years later, Mendez  the CIA hired him as an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division.

He and his family eventually moved to Colorado, but still have ties to Nevada. It’s a mine near Silverton — east of Tonopah — where the family’s cemetery is found.

Generally, it’s my mouth that gets me into trouble — other times it’s my thoughtless actions.

It was our final foray to San Francisco as a track team my senior year of high school. And even though we were on a strict curfew, I sneaked out of my hotel room, using the fire escape to visit my ex-girlfriend, Debbie’s room.

She was bunking with her best friend at the time, Donnel Stull. I tapped on the window and she let me in so I could talk with Debbie.

Doni was certain Debbie and I were going to “mess around,” so she headed up the fire escape to my room. Though I suggested it, Debbie and I remained fully clothed.

We ended up talked a lot longer than intended — though I can’t recall what was so important at the time.

By the time I got back to my room, Doni was asleep. Unfortunately for her reputation, also in the bed next to her was a my male room-mate, and he too was fast asleep.

The incident haunted Doni for years as it labeled her as a ‘bad girl.’ In reality though, I was the one who was bad, by placing her in that unflattering position.

Worst of it is — I didn’t know this had happened to her and I’m so sorry for that.

Every couple of months my wife will gather up all the romance novels she’s read, put them in a plastic bag and she’ll donate them to the Spanish Springs Library.  Last Sunday was one of those times.

Since she was doing that, she decided to also pick up a few supplies from the local office supply store for her sandwich shop. On her way home, she’d drop off the books.

Once home she brought in her bag of goodies from the store and set them on the counter. A few seconds later, I heard her ask: “What the…?”

“What?” I felt inclined to ask since she never completed the question.

“I think I donated my staples and pens to the library,” she answered.

I was still laughing as she backed out of the driveway.

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;
for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
When the hay is removed and new growth appears
and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
the lambs will provide you with clothing,
and the goats with the price of a field.
You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
and to nourish your female servants.”  Proverbs 27:23-27 (NIV)

It jumped right out of the Bible at me the second I began reading it, though I’ve read it hundreds of times. The recent financial crisis in Cyprus must have been on my mind – where the government has taken 40-percent from both people and businesses bank accounts to help prop up the country’s failing financial system.

We all can’t be completely self-reliant but our efforts should be toward being as debt free as possible and capable of producing something useful that we can rely on to help sustain us. Being dependent on others or a government is not good.

There are circumstances where we have no choice but to lean on the help of other people but our efforts should be to work hard, prepare for our old age, and to give our children the best start in life we can provide, both spiritually and physically. Sadly, since World War II we’ve tended to view pleasure as a need with a lot of our money spent on things that tend to leave us unprepared and eventually leaving us dependent on others for support.

Work hard, work smart, and say no to yourself at least once a day, make your pleasures a treat and not a daily need. Put away money for your own old age, and teach yourself and your kids to be as self-reliant and self-disciplined as possible.

Lay your wants aside, care for your needs first and shield your assets.

The bludgeoning of faith continued Easter Sunday as ABC’s George Stephanopoulos’, “This Week,” had atheist Susan Jacoby, who wrote in the New York Times that the murders in Newtown are “The Blessings of Atheism.”  Jacoby wrote this piece of trash on January 6th, but Stephanopoulos chose to have her on as a guest Easter morning.

Perhaps it was to off-set the hugely popular cable TV show, “The Bible,” on History, owned by A&E Television Networks. It is safe to say though, “This Week,” didn’t have even half the viewer-ship of “The Bible.”

Strangely enough A&E is a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and the Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Remember, timing is everything with these people.

Fortunately, God is in control.

Simply bad timing? Not on your life.

On the eve of Easter Sunday no less, CBS News’ “48-Hours,” decided to air a show attacking credibility of the Joyce Meyer Ministries. In the story called, “Writing on the Wall,” the head of security for the ministry killed is wife and two children and was found guilty and  sentenced to life in prison for the his crime.

However,  rather than providing viewers with the facts about the case, Maureen Maher dragged Joyce Meyer into the mess claiming Chris Coleman felt trapped by the restrictions of his employment contract. Coleman faced dismissal from his well-paying position if caught having an extramarital affair.

And that’s exactly what Coleman was doing.

Worse yet, to get out of his marriage, to the keep from getting caught and moving on to a life with his girlfriend, he murdered his family. To blame anyone else for Coleman’s actions is wrong.

However, it does fit perfectly with the national medias disdain for anything Christian.