Jan. 25, 2023, R-C Letters to the Editor

Planning commission now has two Tahoe members

Editor:

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 17, 2023, among other items, they made appointments to the Planning Commission, where there were six candidates for three positions, including three incumbents whose previous terms had expired. 

In the Board discussion, Commissioner Danny Tarkanian stated that it was “long past due to get someone from Lake Tahoe to represent the Planning Board.” The problem is that statement was untrue.  Two-term Planning Commissioner Kirk Walder has lived at the Lake for many years. Did Mr. Tarkanian not know that he was making a false statement? Two days later he admitted that he knew Mr. Walder and knew that he resided at the Lake.

Commissioner Wes Rice, who lives at Lake Tahoe, stated: “I concur with Commissioner Tarkanian that it’s about time that we had somebody representing Lake Tahoe on this Board” (meaning the Planning Commission). I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know that Mr. Walder lives at the Lake. Nonetheless, his statement was demonstrably false.

Chairman Mark Gardner did know the truth of this matter and should have corrected those false statements as soon as they finished their comments. At a minimum, Chairman Gardner should have corrected the record before any votes were taken, but he didn’t. Instead, he waited until after the appointments were made to mention it, knowing that some of the Commissioners may have been voting based on false premises.

The Board ended up appointing two of the incumbents, along with Paul Bruno, who was a construction attorney, lives at the Tahoe Beach Club in Stateline, and has been a county resident for three years.

I was the third incumbent and had applied for re-appointment. This is not sour grapes, however. At the BOCC meeting two days later, I told them: “I wasn’t all that disappointed at not being re-appointed.” This is not criticism of Mr. Bruno, either. He did nothing wrong, and I congratulated him and wished him luck.

My concern is that, possibly due to those false statements, we have now two of the seven Planning Commissioners from the Lake, which has only about 10 percent of our population, and what little growth they have at the Lake is mainly controlled by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

In addition, the Planning Commission now has a developer, a construction industry member, and a construction attorney. That is over-representation by an industry that is like to be dependably pro-development. It appears that commissioners were seeking a docile planning commission that will go along with most staff recommendations for approval, will not ask the tough questions, and will be unlikely to act to preserve the rural character of our community, which residents overwhelming support. In the process, the Board has done a disservice to the community as a whole.

I’m not suggesting that the appointments would have necessarily ended up any differently, but to have two commissioners make demonstrably false statements, and to have the Chairman, who knows that the statements are false, not correct the record before the votes are taken, is deeply troubling. The public expects and deserves better. 

Jim Slade

Foothill

Thanks for help digging out

Editor:

Thank you to all the people in the 1400 block of Mary Jo Drive for keeping an eye on my mom. We couldn’t get out of our driveway for three days. It made me feel good that she has such wonderful neighbors. Many people came to her house and shoveled her driveway and sidewalks more than once. She, my husband, and I are thankful for all of you.

Chris and Bill Banker

Gardnerville

Good job, GRGID

Editor:

We just had to write and tell you just how great GRGID has been removing the build up of our snow situation.  

On Jan. 10, it was like seeing the movie “Groundhog Day.”  

Then to our rescue came the snowplow.  Last week it was a front loader.

We certainly appreciate the efforts made to all of us in Gardnerville.

Zona Neighbors

Gardnerville Ranchos

A drinking poncho

Editor:

Few people could say they don’t enjoy a good cup of rich, hot coffee, simmering tea or warm, chocolate milk with maybe a marshmallow floating on top when they wake up.  Espresso – ah – one of the delights in life. It’s a little after 6 a.m. Thursday. Looking out the living room window, snowflakes gracefully falling, and no view of majestic Job’s Peak this early morning. Maybe later as the sun comes out. 

Delicious coffee odor permeates the living room. The early morning news is on the TV, and a little more of the white, fluffy, cold stuff is falling. Pouring that first cup…adding hot milk…sitting on the sofa wrapped in a warm, fringed, ancient poncho, the large window affords a spectacular view of Job’s Peak on most days. Life can’t get much better in our Valley. 

Relishing a deep mouthful of café con leche, a warm feeling comes up the side of the body — seems like the fringe on the old poncho has managed to dip itself into the wonderful cup of coffee absorbing a few sips itself. Can’t blame the poncho, but what a waste. A drinking poncho – just imagine how content the plum-colored wrap must be as the warmth rises up the wool fibers. Off it comes—into the machine on “Quick Wash” it goes along with the coffee damp T-shirt. A refill of the rich, dark café con leche in the special “Yiayia” (Greek for grandma) cup is definitely in order. Sitting once again to glance outside and up towards the mountains, the snow has subsided for a while. The shoveled doggy path in the backyard has a just a smattering of snow dust. 

The warm swallow of café con leche reaffirms all is right in the La Costa neighborhood in this ancient, beautiful Valley that weaves through Minden.

Robin Sarantos

Minden

True science repeatable

Editor:

Time has passed, but I’d still like to bring to bear a little common sense regarding the fossil site stories in both the Record Courier Dec. 28 and the Nevada Appeal Dec. 31, titled “Ichthyosaur nursery,” and “Fossil site maternity ward,” respectively.

Firstly, “millions of years” between then and now would mean earth’s sun star would have burned out a long time ago…and we wouldn’t be here.

Secondly, millions of dead things, buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth (with your dinosaurs ending up in “sea beds”), is evidence of a cataclysmic, worldwide flood that is geologically and geographically documented in detail.   Things were buried quickly and powerfully. Present day evidence is seen in the multiple fossilized logs blown into Spirit Lake when Mount St. Helens volcano blew in Washington. 

Thirdly, dinosaurs HAD to be buried quickly to “fossilize” or they would have decayed and disappeared with “time.” (Soft tissue discoveries in dinosaur fossils show they cannot be millions of years old.)

Lastly, true science is dealing with repeatable, observable processes in the present. Were any of us, including researchers and paleontologists, there?  No. These are speculations about the unobservable and unrepeatable past. 

If this has piqued your interest, please check out the source of my information: Creation Ministries International, Powder Springs, GA (Email: us@creation.com).

Joy Uhart

Minden