Letters to the Editor

Hansen’s experience, vision makes him ideal city manager

It seems a shame to have go outside searching for a new city manager when we have a qualified and dedicated person already on city staff that could fill this position.

Scott Hansen has lived in Boulder City since he became city engineer in 1998. He has done an outstanding job as public works director for the last 12 years.

At times when we have not had a city manager, Scott has always been selected to fill that post.

Scott has a vision and thinks outside the box.

He has always been responsive in any contact we have had with him. He is a dedicated and conscientious employee who would make an excellent city manager.

Steve Cottrell

Support of Lend A Hand fundraiser appreciated

Lend A Hand of Boulder City is grateful to all who donated and contributed to the success of the recent “non-event” fundraiser. Your donations will help Lend A Hand continue its mission of assisting Boulder City seniors and disabled residents remain independent by providing transportation to medical appointments, helping with daily errands and chores and providing companionship and caregiver respite.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

Shannon Eckman

Executive director

Solar leases should directly benefit city’s residents

What is the city of Boulder City? It’s not the administrators or elected officials. It’s us, the residents who live here. All those above just work for us.

Let’s hear a story: I have a house with a huge backyard and a company asks if they can put solar panels there. They claim the panels will generate electricity to sell. I listen and do some homework. I come back with four requirements for using my land.

First, you will provide me with cheap/free electricity for the duration of the lease. The solar company shall provide the grid system and/or make arrangements for the delivery of this electricity to my house. (It is a common practice for power companies to share grid systems from other companies. The onus of making this arrangement is on the solar company.)

Second, the facility must stay environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing. I’ll set these standards.

Third, there also will be an annual fee for leasing my land. That money goes to me and not Clark County.

Fourth, Upon expiration a) renegotiate a new lease; b) purchase the facility at a fair and equitable price (like a landlord purchasing a renter’s furniture when the tenant moves out); if no agreement is reached, the solar company will remove all remnants of the facility. The solar company must restore my backyard to its original state. That includes all natural flora and fauna and washes and gullies.

Now that my friends is the negotiation we, the owners of Boulder City, demand our hired City Council do. We cannot allowed these hired guns to sell us out like the last utility vote.

If anything, our rates should be going down. The use of our land by others needs to effect directly each of our pocketbooks: i.e. our power bills. A good portion of our citizens are on fixed incomes and cannot afford these costs.

Mark St. Arnault

Return to old-fashioned values, end to loneliness needed

We need to return to the old-fashioned values of yesteryear. We need a companion to take walks with through leaf-sodden woods, where we can smell the aroma of birch and pine trees and feel the mulch under our feet.

We need old-timers sitting on their front porches wearing bib-jeans who will share their wisdom while talking under the shaded canopy of a large maple tree.

I see you people go to the park with your dogs hoping to find someone real who will take away your grief and heartache, if only for a moment (yes, the sage sees all).

In the past, we had individuals who reach out to us from their hearts with their writing — like poet Robert Frost. But where are people like him today?

Men, you look at that lady. And ladies, you look at that man in the park and you desire to tell them to “stop talking about your shaggy pet dog and give me the answer that will give me certainty and end my loneliness.”

What we need is to return to our basic core values that have been stolen from us. Loneliness and anxiety will continue to chip away at us until we stand firm and fight back. We fight back by saying no to pot, drugs, drinking, vulgarity, tattoos, vile behavior, homosexuality, dishonesty, greed, lies gossip, calumny, etc. Let’s return to what God originally intended for us. Are you coming with me? Please do. There’s always room for one more where I’m going.

Bobby Morrow