RENO —After review of the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s recommendations and consideration by County Advisory Board’s to Manage Wildlife, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners has approved big game tag quotas for the upcoming 2024-25 hunting season.
ELKO COUNTY — The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has received results from two independent genetic labs regarding the samples gathered in conjunction with the recent sighting of three suspected wolves near Merritt Mountain, north of Elko.
Birth information is provided by Humboldt General Hospital and not edited by staff.
Unspoken words
Inside Magic
Back in August 2023, the Winnemucca Airport Board approved the beginning design phases of a project with Armstron Consultants to update the Magnetic variation (MAGVAR) displayed on the Winnemucca Municipal Airport runway, wind cones, and lighting, all necessary for pilot and public safety, costing $89,590. The next phase of the project will cost $56,020 and will involve entering into an agreement for professional services from Armstrong Consultants for bidding, construction and the closeout phase of the updates.
After substantial push back from the Nevada delegation and Governor Lombardo on the proposed changes to the Reno Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), USPS announced that they will go ahead and transition the Reno P&DC to a to a Local Processing Center and transfer mail processing outgoing operations to the West Sacramento, California P&DC. This comes after a hurried review process and only one public meeting with limited opportunity for Nevadans to provide comments and concerns. There are no present indications that USPS has any interest in responding to Nevada’s concerns.
After a Republican floor rebellion last week kept his bill from getting a vote, Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R-NV) Mining Regulatory Clarity Act passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 216-195. Six Republicans voted with Democrats to send the bill back to committee last week as part of an ongoing war with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) about his legislative decisions. There were further fireworks Wednesday — the vote was briefly postponed as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) brought a motion to vacate the speaker to the floor. But after both parties joined together and tabled that motion, the mining bill sailed to a smooth passage with the support of all Republicans and even nine Democrats.
By Julia Maestrejuan julia@winnemuccapublishing.net Recently the Humboldt County Public Works Department implemented a watering schedule for users of Grass Valley's Star City and Gold Country watering systems with the intent of lowering creeping nitrate levels that tend to surge during the summer. “It’s a tool. It’s not a fix, and it’s something that we can do away with if we get another solution in place and operating in the near future,” explained Public Works Director Dan Ferraro during the most recent meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners on May 6 (Commissioner Mark Evatz absent from the meeting). Ferraro said that the idea is to reduce the overall nitrates going into the water supply and eventually back into the system itself throughout the heavy water usage months. The county’s domestic well near the airport area can handle the volumes and pressures during the winter season independently, See WATER, Page 5 WATER — From Page 1 but as water usage ramps up in the summer months to water lawns, fill pools, and other activities, the secondary well becomes active, which is higher in nitrates, according to Ferarro. “We don’t have a lot of enforcement, but it is just for overall water quality and users of the water system to protect them and keep their interests in mind and we can reduce the volume [of nitrates] through the summer,” said Ferarro. Humboldt County Code pertaining to water resource planning and Nevada revised Statute does allow the Public Works Department to implement water schedules in order to conserve water and/or protect users from things like dangerous levels of nitrates (NRS 540). The schedule has some users watering on certain days based on their address to keep it simple and users were notified via pamphlets, letters and on their water bills. However, Ferarro said there is no real way that the schedule can be enforced, so it is voluntary for users and the schedule only applies to those on the Star City and Gold Country watering systems. “Anybody that’s on a well or has their own system we have no say and they can do as they please,” said Ferarro. Commissioner Tom Hoss questioned the validity of the water schedule and its enforceability. Regulatory laws at the state level require that nitrate levels be measured and not exceed a level 10. During winter, according to Ferarro, the levels measure at a two or three with water coming primarily from the primary domestic well, but during the summer when the secondary is active, they are measuring between 12 and 15. With the blending of the domestic well and the secondary well though, the levels are currently between seven and nine. “We’re right on the cusp of playing with some state involvement,” said Ferarro. Commissioner Jesse Hill questioned whether the implementation of a water schedule should be brought before the board before application. “We should probably have a conversation as a board or an agenda item, whether this sort of thing goes out—is it a commission decision or is it a public works decision? And if it is going to be mandatory on the letter that is sent out then we make it mandatory, we figure out how to enforce it or we just call it a voluntary thing and when we change our wording so that everybody’s on the same page,” said Hill.
The Nevada Clean Energy Fund has been awarded $156 million in federal money for statewide solar projects, the nonprofit group announced Monday. The five-year grant will fund a combined several thousand solar installations on single-family homes and affordable housing developments, as well as fund community solar projects and education and workforce development, according to CEO Kirsten Stasio.
The Humboldt County Rodeo Club hosted its annual high school and junior high school rodeo. Cowboys and cowgirls from around the state converged on Winnemucca. Those same cowboys and girls will be back in Winnemucca at the end of May for the state finals.
On Saturday, the Pershing County High School baseball closed out its season at home with back-to-back wins against Silver Stage. The Mustangs traveled to Silver Springs earlier in the week and lost 13-7 to the Nighthawks.
The Battle Mountain High School baseball team rounded out its season this past Friday in Tahoe City, Calif., with a doubleheader against North Tahoe. The Lakers won the opener 5-2, with the Longhorns bouncing back to win the season finale 7-6. Battle Mountain concluded the year at 6-19 overall and 5-18 in the Northern 2A.
Last week the Pershing County High School softball team defeated Silver Stage on the road in five innings (36-19). This past Saturday, the Mustangs hosted and beat the Nighthawks in both senior day games (15-0, 19-4). With the series sweep, Pershing County sits at the top of the Northern 2A League at 23-0 overall and 21-0 in league play.
Humboldt County Court Docket and Arrests for May 8th, 2024