WINNEMUCCA - The Humboldt Sun's annual two-part series highlighting the top stories from the past year begins in this edition. Today's issue features items from January through June 2012. Items from July through December will be featured in an upcoming edition.
January
• A housing developer is scaling back his plans to build a high-density subdivision near the airport, after regional planning commissioners unanimously rejected the proposal.
Robert Stitser initially hoped to develop a 61-lot subdivision on West Rose Creek Road between Pine Street and Sandhill Circle. But Stitser has since withdrawn his application for the project, and will instead develop a project at half the proposed density, as allowed under current zoning regulations.
• If you think that the federal permitting process is too cumbersome, brace yourself, because things could get far more complicated if the greater sage grouse is listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has another two to three years to develop conservation strategies that could determine whether or not the iconic bird will end up on the list.
In all likelihood, the strategies will call for more detailed reviews of permitted activities on public lands. Yet while those reviews have the potential to slow some projects down, they could be preferable to the alternative.
"We as the BLM and I think we as a whole as the American public do not want to see the bird listed," BLM Winnemucca District Manager Gene Seidlitz said Tuesday. "Because if that happens and (Commissioner Garley Amos' grazing) permit comes up for renewal, my office would have to formally or informally consult through the Endangered Species Act."
• The road toward even greater American energy independence may begin northwest of Orovada, where lithium from clay deposits could power up to one million new electric car batteries per year.
Kings Valley Project developer Western Lithium announced last month that its proposed mine could begin producing 13,000 tons of the lightweight metal every year by 2015. If demand for lithium increases, the production rate could double within four years, according to the company's pre-feasibility study.
At that rate, the mine not only has the potential to reduce the nation's already-lessening dependence on foreign oil: It could also wean the U.S. away from Bolivian lithium.
Western Lithium's study found that the Kings Valley Project comes with an estimated $248 million in start-up costs; the company would need to raise another $161 million or so if it wanted to double the production rate, plus another $40 million in miscellaneous expenses.
According to the study, Kings Valley's clay deposits contain enough lithium to keep the mine going for an estimated 20 years.
• A number of tips were received on two area missing person cases following a broadcast of "America's Most Wanted" last Friday.
Humboldt County Undersheriff Curtiss Kull said the television program's call center received 86 tips and Humboldt County Dispatch an unknown number of tips on Saturday regarding Patrick Carnes, 86, and Judith Casida, 62.
Kull and Carnes' family made their plea nationwide via "America's Most Wanted" in the continued quest to find out what happened to the senior Carnes. As for Casida, who went missing in February 2006, her connection to Carnes' case is the fact that her vehicle was found abandoned in the same place as Carnes' vehicle, five years later.
• After six years on the job, Humboldt County School Superintendent Mike Bumgartner is getting ready to step down.
Bumgartner told school board trustees on Tuesday that he will be leaving the district once his contract expires on June 30. The public announcement came just moments after Bumgartner emerged from a closed-door meeting with the school board's leadership, where he turned in his letter of resignation.
February
vA project that's long been a dream of community garden volunteers may come to fruition if they are able to find the funding. An open air pavilion is on the wish list of Winnemucca Community Garden Acting Director Amanda Hoffer and those she works with; but the price tag of the structure may prove to be a bit of a stumbling block.
Hoffer went before the Winnemucca City Council last week to ask for funding assistance. They estimate the project to cost around $62,000; $6,000 of which they already have in place.
• County commissioners are invoking a federal appeals court ruling in their latest legal quest to resolve ongoing litigation over the proposed Jungo Landfill.
Four of the board's five current members, along with former Commissioner Chuck Giordano, argue that they acted as a quasi-judicial entity when they rejected a five-year extension of a conditional use permit for the project.
The defendants' latest court filings quote almost verbatim from a U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which found that the potential for liability is an "especially potent adversary" of objectivity in contentious zoning disputes. In that respect, the Third Circuit declared that a local governing board looks like a court.
• Commercial production at the Pinson Mine is still on track to begin by year's end, and smaller-scale operations could get under way even sooner, developer Atna Resources said Monday.
Design work at the underground gold mine is already under way, and Atna anticipates that it can begin mining bulk metallurgical samples over the next quarter.
Atna currently has a permit to conduct small-scale underground mining at the former open pit mine on the Getchell Trend. However, it can't expand those operations until federal regulators approve an amendment to the permit.
• After more than a century of on-again, off-again operations, it looks like there's still plenty of gold and silver left in the ground at the Hycroft Mine.
In fact, there's far more than anyone previously imagined, according to Allied Nevada's latest estimates of the Hycroft's mineral reserves and resources.
As of Dec. 31, the mine's total proven and probable mineral reserves stood at 12.7 million ounces of gold and 481.9 million ounces of silver - a 24 percent increase over previous estimates from last June. Measured and indicated resources were also up by a respective 21 percent and 16 percent, for a total of 8.2 million ounces of gold and 236.9 million ounces of silver.
• Nevada's rural counties stand to gain under the U.S. Interior Department's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, but they also stand to lose a growing source of revenue from geothermal royalties on public lands.
The department's $11.5 billion budget request would fund the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program to the tune of $398 million, helping Western counties offset the loss from non-taxable federal lands inside their borders.
At the same time, though, it would permanently repeal a 2005 funding formula that gives counties a 25 percent share of the receipts from geothermal royalties, and instead divert that money back into the U.S. Treasury.
March
• The final operating permit for the Jungo Landfill project took effect Wednesday, with the stroke of a state regulator's pen.
Nevada Bureau of Waste Management Staff Engineer Jon Taylor signed off on a Class I solid waste permit for the Desert Valley project, which is located on private lands about 25 to 28 miles west of Winnemucca.
The permit gives a Recology subsidiary the right to dispose of an estimated average rate of up to 4,000 tons of garbage per day from northern California. However, it also prohibits the San Francisco company from placing asbestos, sewage sludge, toxic PCBs, liquid waste and formally defined hazardous waste at the site.
Under the permit, the landfill is required to monitor and report on groundwater quality and methane gas levels in accordance with the project's plan of operations. It must also submit quarterly reports on waste shipments to the site, and perform three decades of post-closure care and monitoring activities, following its projected lifespan of nearly 100 years.
• Humboldt County's next school superintendent will make more money than his predecessor, but his annual salary will continue to lag behind the pay scale at neighboring school districts.
School board trustees voted 5-2 on Feb. 28 to approve a $121,494 contract with Dr. Dave Jensen; Andrew Hillyer and Ann Miller voted against John Seeliger's motion.
Jensen, the district's current assistant superintendent, will officially take over on July 1, after Mike Bumgartner steps down from the job.
• Coeur's plans to expand mining and exploration activities at its Rochester Mine may have hit another temporary snag.
Rye Patch Gold US is asking a district court judge to prevent Coeur from conducting further work on hundreds of disputed mining claims in the Rochester Mining District near Lovelock. Coeur has allocated $4.4 million for exploration work this year around the greater Rochester area, but Rye Patch insists that the company has no right to move forward with those projects.
Rye Patch's motion for injunctive relief is just the latest salvo in the legal battle between the two companies.
The dispute initially flared up last fall, after Coeur failed to pay its annual maintenance fees for 541 unpatented mining claims within the district.
• Humboldt General Hospital could begin construction on a new acute care patient wing addition and remodel, a project many years in planning, in a matter of weeks.
The hospital's board of trustees voted Tuesday to award a contract for $5,714,600 to Ascent Construction Inc. of Centerville, Utah, the low bidder on the project.
The addition and remodeling will create individual, single-occupancy rooms for acute care patients. The hospital is not adding any new beds to the current 52. Officials said the end result will be modern, updated patient rooms with the latest medical technology. Patients will get privacy, and parents can stay with children who are patients in the hospital. One patient per room also greatly assists with infection control. Some rooms will be prepped so dialysis machines can be rolled in. During numerous scoping sessions, the hospital's nursing staff submitted input that was incorporated into the project design to improve patient care and efficiency.
April
• If federal regulators adopt a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, it won't affect the North Valmy Generating Station.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it's proposing to cap releases of heat-trapping gases from new coal-fired units at 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour. However, the proposed standard would not apply to existing coal plants, so North Valmy operator NV Energy would be exempt from stricter requirements.
• The Winnemucca Volunteer Fire Department requested and received from the city a change in PERS benefit funding that will reward longevity on the fire department.
The city council approved Tuesday increasing the PERS deemed wage from $1,000 to $2,000 per month in exchange for eliminating the per-call pay of $26.33 firemen had been receiving. The change becomes effective July 1.
City officials said the retirement benefit equates to a salary of $24,000 annually. City Manager Steve West said volunteer firemen don't actually make a salary, and that's why the term deemed wages is used. Instead of getting paid immediately in the form of per-call pay, they will get paid when they retire or when they are vested in the PERS program.
• City officials say they are back to where they were five years ago in trying to find a solution to ease traffic congestion at the intersection at Haskell and Bridge streets.
Lee said there are other high priority safety areas that the department is currently working on within the state using federal safety funds, and "unfortunately, it appears that funding for a roundabout at Bridge and Haskell Street cannot be guaranteed any time in the near future."
Instead of getting a roundabout to ease traffic flow at the intersection, city officials said they feel like they are getting the runaround from NDOT.
• The aviation community in Winnemucca and Humboldt County is mourning the death of Buster High, the fixed-base operator at Winnemucca's municipal airport, who died in a plane crash Thursday in Wyoming.
The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the wreckage of High's twin-engine Cessna 320D was located 22.5 miles southwest of Green River, Wyo., according to a news release.
High, 65, was alone in the airplane. The wreckage was scattered over a fairly large area of sagebrush.
May
• About 40 students gathered Saturday night at Vesco Park for a candlelight vigil to remember a classmate who was always smiling, always happy. Word spread through social media about the vigil, and friends posted words of condolence on her Facebook page. In a news release, the Winnemucca Police Department said police dispatch was contacted about 1:42 a.m. early Saturday morning by Union Pacific Railroad personnel that a pedestrian had been struck by a westbound train. A female juvenile was discovered northwest of the railroad tracks adjacent to the 1400 block of Railroad Street.
• If it worked for Humboldt County, it could work for the rest of the country, as well.
The Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) board of directors unanimously supported a resolution this month that calls on Congress to release certain Wilderness Study Areas, based on recommendations from local stakeholders.
The resolution from Humboldt County Commissioner Tom Fransway is modeled on locally driven efforts to end more than three decades of land management limbo in the Pine Forest Range.
• About a half-dozen residents who use a weight room in a city-owned building will soon have to look for a new place to pump iron.
City officials said they are interested in increasing the utilization of the recreation center adjacent to the outdoor swimming pool, especially by groups and organizations, and the weight room will have to go.
Community resident Brian Nelson is spearheading the effort to turn the building into a youth center and meeting facility. He told the city council last week that he has five groups interested in using the building that he's calling the Family Youth Teen Center, or FYTC for short.
• State regulators followed Nevada law when they issued a final operating permit for Recology's proposed Jungo Landfill, a three-member panel ruled Tuesday, leading it to reject two appeals of the decision.
Appellants Richard Cook and Robert Hannum had argued that the state's action was arbitrary and capricious, since it conflicted with laws designed to protect and enhance Nevada's environment. (A third appellant, the Winnemucca-based Clean Desert Foundation, formally withdrew its appeal shortly before the two-day hearing began on Monday.)
But ultimately, the three Nevada State Environmental Commissioners said they heard nothing that would indicate regulators shirked their responsibilities under the law. Quite the contrary, they said: based on the evidence they heard, regulators did everything they could to ensure that the landfill design protects Desert Valley's aquifer.
• Humboldt General Hospital's board of trustees moved fairly quickly to secure surgical services after giving Dr. Soon Kim notice in April that her contract would be canceled without cause in 180 days.
The HGH board voted Thursday to approve a contract with Rural Physicians Group for surgeon staffing. The company was represented at the board meeting by Dr. Sukhbir Pannu, who participated via a conference call.
The contract stipulates one of the group's physicians will provide on-site services on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week. The physicians, and Parrish said four have been identified who are willing to travel to Winnemucca, will each rotate through HGH on a 10-day shift.
June
• The 2012 senior class at Lowry High School -179 students in all - was given a boisterous send-off at commencement Thursday with cheers, applause and a few blasts from air horns by a large crowd of well-wishers.
The line outside the Winnemucca Event Center started forming for the ceremony before 6 p.m. Thursday on a warm evening. Parents of graduates sat in reserved seats in front of the stage, while multiple generations filled out the grandstand and bleachers. Some brought bouquets of flowers and balloons to note the momentous occasion for graduates.
The graduating class, whose theme was "2-0-1-2 there's nothing we can't do," was awarded an impressive $2.14 million in scholarships to pursue post-high school education opportunities.
• One of the larger residential subdivisions proposed within the city limits in the past few years will be reviewed by planning officials next week.
RJB Partnership plans to eventually build 136 townhomes and 110 single-family homes on 52.1 acres as part of a planned development called Frontier Village. The subdivision will be located on vacant land north of Offenhauser Drive and between Great Basin Avenue and Highland Drive.
Project manager Alan Means said the townhomes will start in the $160,000 range and prices for "all products" will go up to $260,000. Once all approvals are in place, the developer plans to start construction on roads and utilities in September and homes in November.
• Pat Songer, Director of HGH EMS Rescue, has been named one of the 10 most innovative individuals in EMS for 2011.
Songer was awarded the coveted "EMS 10 Innovator" award during the "EMS Today Conference" held Feb. 28 - March 3 in Baltimore, Md.
The innovations project is sponsored by the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS) and recognizes and pays tribute to 10 individuals, nominated by their peers, who made significant and selfless contributions to the development of EMS in the United States in 2011.
• A 14-year-old male has been charged by prosecutors in the shooting death of his mother Monday afternoon at a Winnemucca residence.
Coleton Crouch was formally charged Wednesday with open murder with use of a deadly weapon by the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office. A preliminary hearing in Union Township Justice Court has been tentatively scheduled for July 12.
Winnemucca police officers were dispatched to a residence on Camelot Drive at about 4:35 p.m. Monday for a report of a deceased female adult in the residence. Officers found Twila Crouch dead in a bedroom. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Winnemucca police said.
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