Letters to the Editor, May 9

Florist’s service another reason to love city, its residents

There are so many great things about living in a small community like Boulder City. Connections with family and friends, and wonderful special events, but nothing struck home with me about how great it is to live here than my experience with a local florist.

I have a friend who was having her 50th birthday party at a country club. Her mother hinted as to what she thought her daughter would like to wear as a flower corsage, and so I went to Boulder City Florist and ordered the perfect flower corsage. I ordered it on a Monday, but since the party was at 6 p.m. on Saturday, I told Kris (Thompson), the owner, I would like to pick it up on Saturday. Kris informed me that they close at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and I assured her I would pick it up early in the morning.

Saturday was the BeerFest in the park, and friends had come into town to take part in the festivities. We covered the entire park, and upon getting into the car to go home, I asked my husband what time it was. He responded 3 p.m. Oh no; the florist closed at 1 p.m. He suggested we go past the store just in case someone was still there.

As I walked round the corner, I saw the neon open sign flashing in the window, and I was filled with hope. I peeked in the window, and it was pitch black. No one was there, but as I approached the entrance to the shop, this note was pasted on the window: “Charm. Call Kris at … We can arrange for your pickup. We closed at 1:20.”

Another reason to love Boulder City. The ultimate in customer service. Kris and Dan Thompson met me at the store, opened it and gave me the corsage. Thank you Kris and Dan for saving the day.

Charm McElree

Municipal pool does more than provide place to swim

As a longtime resident of Boulder City and a former operator of the Boulder City Pool, I would like to advocate for the renewal/construction of a new pool. As a Boulder City youth enjoying the refreshment of water in a warm desert community, to a pool operator that saw hundreds of children gain health and enthusiasm from the invigoration of aquatics, I can easily speak to the great resource the pool is for the community.

The current pool was constructed in 1981, making it 38 years old. The average life expectancy of an outdoor pool is 25 years based on national statistics. Even more dramatic than this timeline is that the pool was built on the site of the original community pool (Boulder City Pool Swimming District) from the 1960s. This infrastructure was used in 1981 construction, creating plumbing and foundational issues over 50 years old. Problems have become evident as piping under the pools has failed requiring costly repair.

The Boulder City community has long had the spirit of providing recreation for youth, adults and families, even before becoming incorporated in 1961. Boulder City remains full of individuals who continue to contribute today based on the skills and character once learned from recreation activities such as aquatics. Many have also been ambassadors around the world as members of the Boulder City swim team.

It is hard to imagine no aquatic resource for youth and adults in Boulder City. However, if the Boulder City Pool is not replaced, the facility will implode like other icons. Replacing the pool is an investment in the community today and its future as Boulder City’s youth become adults.

Community success continues to depend on how citizens value the future and continue a heritage by maintaining an aquatic resource.

Steve Corry

Barth’s contributions to preservation worth knowing

Boulder City should know of an exceptional act of conservation by a local citizen, Marti Barth. This lady has again demonstrated a real understanding of historic resources and their proper care. This then allows us to learn from the past.

A recognized preservation specialist, Mimi Rodden, needed to relocate to another state due to illness. She needed to move quickly and without the usual preparation time to distribute historic materials to their proper repositories. Many of these images and papers are records spanning 150 years of Nevada history. Pictures from the 1850s forward, most of which are identified and the only records known to exist from that period.

Had Marti Barth not reorganized these treasures, they would have easily been lost. Marti worked for Rodden as an assistant. First as a willing helper, then as she learned more about Mimi’s wide range of projects, she grew as a serious student of cultural resource management. After 24 years of close work with Mimi, Marti soon applied her own talents and became invaluable to Mimi’s business.

Recognizing boxes of “cultural information” Marti, with help from her husband, Mike, “saved” and delivered important information to its proper institutions. Rodden’s personal information and pictures of early settlements in Nevada are safe and available to study.

Thank you Marti Barth for recognizing a need and acting as a curator of our Silver State.

Mimi Rodden

Historic preservation consultant

Past state historic preservation officer for Nevada

Chairman of the President’s Advisory Board for Historic Preservation

Police behavior causes mistrust

Performing maintenance on my sprinkler system one evening, I observed the Boulder City Police Department stop at the intersection a few times directly across from my home my wife and I have lived in for 20 years. I had to step back behind my hedge to protect my eyes from the headlights. I thought little of it, continuing my maintenance.

Suddenly, a row of 200,000-watt stadium spotlights exploded onto the scene with obvious intent as the vehicle surged in at a 45-degree angle as if it were re-enacting storming the beaches at Normandy or perhaps preparing to do a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver on me, spinning me out of control. Frozen in place, all I could do was cover my eyes and wonder what on earth?

I expected to be commanded to my knees as weapons were drawn. The officer erupted out of the vehicle and shouted, “Are you the property owner”? I shouted back a resounding, “I am!” He then shouted, “Come over here” while waving his hand in a similar gesture. Half-blinded I came closer. I noticed a smirk on his face which turned into a full blown laugh as he stated, “Someone called in that you were petting your lions.” (I have two lion statues in front). My reaction was less than hospitable. He then said that when an officer pulled up to the stop (blinding me), I darted behind a bush.

What is wrong with this picture? A man in his own yard, presenting no threat, clearly doing maintenance on his watering system is treated with such disdain at the hands of police officers (an additional cruiser directly across the street) clearly entertaining themselves at his expense is exactly the type of behavior that causes mistrust and resentment for the police department in our community as a whole. I assume I am not the only resident experiencing this out-of-control behavior.

Michael R. Nix

New pool an expensive boondoggle

Nouveau riche. It usually refers to someone who has struck it rich in sports, entertainment or just the lotto. The usual reaction is to buy a mansion and a solid gold tooth with a diamond in the middle.

That’s how City Hall seems to be reacting to the substantial income from our solar leases. It seems every few weeks we add another highly paid bureaucrat to our municipal payroll.

Once you have all your cronies and good old boys in place, you need a project — a grand scheme to prove how important you all are. But it needs to be truly grand so the governor will attend the grand opening and the mayor and his gang can all have their pictures take with him.

How about an $80 million aquatic center? The public immediately choked on that number, so with some creative bookkeeping they dropped to it a mere $40 million. This will be paid for by approximately 7,000 homeowners through their property taxes.

Our utility bills are already rising steadily, and the head-in-the-sanders won’t even admit that global warming is upon us. Since the year 2000, every year has been warmer than the previous one. Go look at Lake Mead. It’s a tattered remnant of what it once was.

So from $80 million to $40 million. These two figures make me suspicious. That’s why I’m calling it an $80 million boondoggle.

We need conservative and practical here, and it seems that only mayoral candidate Kiernan McManus can provide this. We need to repair and improve what we have. We need to reject this boondoggle, or we’ll be paying for it the rest of our lives.

So no grand opening photo op with the governor, but maybe we could take up a collection and buy the mayor and his gang each a solid gold tooth with a diamond in the middle.

Carl “Carlos” Raines