Letters to the Editor

Why another liquor store?

Editor:

Does the Gardnerville Ranchos need another liquor store? With the issues of underage drinking and drunk driving in our community, does it really make sense for the county to issue a business license for another liquor store in the Ranchos?

There are already two liquor stores within walking distance of each other, plus a big-name convenience store. Why at the corner of Tillman and Kimmerling is there going to be another one?

Kerry Stack-Mora

Gardnerville

Suspend vote

on master plan

Editor:

I am a member of the Carson Valley Vanguard Coalition Inc. and have been following the Minden-Tahoe Airport business for about three years now.

I was totally blindsided by the huge development planned by Piñon Aero on which your newspaper reported.

How can the airport master plan, which is soon to be up for approval by the county commissioners, say absolutely nothing about the biggest development in years at the airport? One can't even call this disingenuous, it's simply a blatant effort to hide this development from Carson Valley residents until it appears to be too late to influence any changes.

Not only will this negatively impact our beautiful environment but it will also devalue the homes of many Valley residents, especially those whose homes are in the approach/takeoff aviation pattern.

And all for the benefit of corporations, mostly situated in California. Now we are being told that the FAA is throwing out our 50,000-pound weight ordinance.

How convenient to suddenly tell us that the problem is with the Feds and not with any airport personnel or planning staff. I often wonder just how stupid bureaucratic people think the general population is.

I would call on the county commissioners to suspend the scheduled vote on the airport master plan and listen to the outrage of Valley residents and to their ideas for solutions to this corporate raiding of our Valley.

Pat Anderson

MInden

Closing airport could stop project

Editor:

This is directed to members of the Carson Valley Vanguard Coalition, of which I am a member, regarding the tactics they are using in trying to protect our beautiful Valley.

I know many of the members and they are very honest and good people that see a major problem with a large increase in jet traffic at the airport.

I completely agree with them. They were months ahead of the curve on what Piñon Aero was planning on doing and the recent article in The R-C proves how far ahead of the curve they were. But they are going about it the wrong way.

Large and vocal turnouts at commission meetings don't mean a thing. A majority of commissioners have already made up their minds.

Piñon Aero would not have publicly announced their major expansion plans for jets, if they were not completely satisfied that it was a done deal at the commission. There is only one way to stop this.

It is through an initiative petition to close the airport or to make landing fees so high that jets would not come here. It has to be taken out of the commission's hands. We always hear the politicians state that our taxes would double if the airport closed.

Really, do they mean that the airport produces more revenue than all the casinos at the Lake, all the businesses in the Valley and all the homes combined?

Probably Wal-Mart produces more income for the county than the airport. Next, the politicos will say we will have many lawsuits if we close the airport. How much would 970 acres near Highway 395 sell for?

Could it be $100 million to $200 million or more? Many more times than a couple of lawsuits would cost.

The only other alternative is to elect commissioners who will listen to the people instead of special interest groups.

Good idea, but the special interest groups would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their puppets elected. A true citizen with good intentions of representing the public couldn't raise that kind of money for a job that only pays $22,000 a year.

Ted Wallace

Minden

Pilots don't

own airport

Editor:

Mr. Charney's letter is a glaring example of total contradiction of what the great majority of the voters want our airport to be. The tone of his letter is that the airport is the domain of a few well-heeled pilots. Mr. Charney says the airport should not be closed. I have not personally seen calls for closing the airport, nor do I think the owners want it closed. We have asked to be put in charge of the airport so we, the owners, can protect and preserve the size and nature of this facility.

He then proceeds to ask for a control tower which will definitely change the nature of the facility to a larger airport. This will certainly bode well with Mr. Charney's plan to make this the tax haven and dumping ground for his Silicon Valley friends.

There is a general opinion amongst the pilots that this airport belongs to them. Pilots are nothing more than lessees. As lessees, they should have a voice, but not control. If there is any doubt about who owns the airport, ask yourself who is at risk if a lawsuit is filed against the airport.

It surely is not the pilots, nor the commissioners. It will be us the residents/owners of the facility to bear the burden of such a law suit.

So start acting accordingly.

The Feb 15 R-C report on Piñon Aero activities is an eye-opener. They have big plans for your airport.

A couple of businessmen have recently managed to get the FAA to mandate the county to take the weight limit ordinance out of its airport facilities directory.

It was done behind yours and the commissioners backs and in direct violation of the voters mandate.

The safety net we had has now been challenged. Call, write or lobby the commissioners to follow the wishes of more than 75 percent of the people of this county.

Request they give us at least parity in the Airport Working Group. Ask them to stop the master plan proceedings as it has no credible input from us, making their tainted decisions bogus.

A citizen advocacy group should be formed to oversee the total operation of our airport and report directly to the county commissioners.

Art Fontanes

Minden

A hero among us

Editor:

Erin Kuechler, our hero, called 911 when she heard screams from a neighbor.

Our little girl, our friend, our kind and giving one was being viciously beaten and Erin didn't ignore the screams for help. Instead, she called for help and probably saved a life last Monday night.

We all want to thank her and feel so grateful that she was not only concerned enough but also brave enough to care for someone she did not even know.

She truly is our hero.

The family, friends and patrons of Two Guys from Italy.

Sarah Lawrence

Gardnerville