The Morning R-C

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an airplane crash that left one man dead and caused minor damage to a Minden home on Sunday afternoon.

"I heard a plane that was way too loud. I looked up and it was right there above my porch. As I looked up it went over the garage and there was a huge plume of dust," said Merry Anderson.

The crash occurred in the 1700 block of North Benton Road in Minden just after 3:15 p.m. Sunday, when the single engine float plane lost power, skidded off the roof of Anderson's home, struck the ground twice and overturned. It left two holes in Anderson's garage, but caused only slight damage.

The pilot and sole occupant of the craft, described by Douglas County deputies as a Caucasian man in his 60s, was killed instantly. The name of the pilot is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The exact cause of the crash isn't known and is under investigation by the FAA.

Check back to www.recordcourier.com throughout the day for more updates on this story.

Initiation of a business license tax, utility operator fee and/or a 25-cent 911 communications fee will be considered today in an effort to shore up Douglas County's sagging revenue base, according to Assistant County Manager Michael Brown.

Sales and property taxes, together with revenues derived as a result of new construction have all dropped over the past year, but overhead and the demands for services have decreased, according to county reports.

A special meeting to consider the issues and options is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Mtoday in the Douglas County Administration Building, 1616 Eighth St. in Minden.

The general fund, which is experiencing a $906,000 deficit, makes up 29 percent of Douglas County's $157 million budget. Room tax, social services, 911/technology services and senior services funds are experiencing deficits just over $1.5 million, according to county reports.

The use of general fund revenues is unrestricted, so it can be used to shore up county services experiencing deficits, but when the general fund catches a cold, the rest of the funds get the flu, Brown said.

Work on the Gardnerville Main Street lighting project will continue this week with utility crews reducing the lanes to one on Highway 395 in the evenings starting at about 9 p.m. through Friday.

Temperatures should drop to about 73 degrees today with partly cloudy skies before rising back to the low-80s the rest of this week.