Letters to the Editor

City’s early history lives on in Boulder City High School alumna

Joan Patterson, there is still time for you to talk to Mary Jane Carter Smith. She moved to Ragtown in 1931 at age 8, went all through school in Boulder City, and has a wonderful memory of early day Boulder City events.

Her dad was a high scaler and died at (Hoover) Dam in 1934; her mom started the first newspaper in Boulder City.

Here is an excerpt from the Boulder City High School alumni website: “Great Boulder City History. Mary Jane Carter Richey Smith was in the class of 1943, she moved to BC in 1931 with her parents, her dad was a highscaler, her mom a civic leader and started the first newspaper. Mary Jane and her aunt opened Maryemma’s.

“She visited the great museum at the Boulder Dam Hotel, while at the reunion and … there was a picture of her, from second grade in 1932+-, in front of the one room school on New Mexico St. … She is a charmer and we all enjoy her loyalty to BCHS and her attendance at the reunions. Be sure and visit the museum on your next trip to BC.”

P.S.: You can see her picture at the museum last year at www.bouldercity60.com.

Jim Widner

Change necessary for community to survive as folks love it to death

I have not lived here for 65 years and love Boulder City … to death. Smaller communities always have “change is bad” community promoters. Change is good and necessary.

New residents, less than five years, have totally different observations of what should or could be improved. Status quo is for smaller communities to cling, ripen and drop off the tree to wither and rot. Our greatest resources, available vacant land and our youth, are going to waste. Yes, downtown Boulder City can change to the better. Change is good. The youth can find employment, raise healthy families, build a home, and open new businesses that are modern and competitive with Henderson.

Organizations promoting the 20th century are the same residents that love the community to its death. The future belongs to our youth and what is to be, and not what was and is no longer viable or competitive. Change is good and necessary.

Ray Eklund

Focus on priorities, not proposed gateway project at interchange

We are very concerned about the Hoover Dam Gateway project that is proposed to be built at the U.S. Highway 95 and Interstate 11 intersection.

This project will cost money for all the residents of Boulder City to pay for the infrastructure: sewers, water supply, electrical supply, plumbing, computer cables, streets, sidewalks, parking lots and safety lighting. Also, additional safety personnel, including firemen and policemen, will be need to be employed.

There is other land that is located nearer to downtown that can be sold or leased and developed.

People driving south on the interstate will stop at the intersection and then proceed onto Arizona and California, not stopping in downtown.

We need to look toward the future of the present Boulder City. Modernizing downtown with solar lighting, better sidewalks and parking would help attract more people to move to Boulder City and help attract more tourism.

We need a new swimming pool; better inside recreation facilities with improved exercise equipment, basketball courts, craft rooms for children and adult painting classes, sewing classes, etc. A dance hall would be nice for square dancing and ballroom dancing, so would a modern theater for movies and live plays, and a modern bowling alley.

We don’t need to take on a brand-new major building project that “might” succeed or fail. There are too many projects in Boulder City that need to be addressed right now such as upgrading and repairing our electrical grid, plumbing, sewers, roads and sidewalks.

A complete review of all of the electrical grid, sewer and plumbing, etc., needs to be done. A plan needs to be implemented detailing and prioritizing what is needed to keep Boulder City modern and safe for all citizens and businesses.

There is a meeting regarding the Hoover Dam Gateway project at the City Hall on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. All Boulder City residents and businesses should attend and give their input on this proposed project.

Edward Denaut and Lois Denaut

‘Monster’ killing people at Lake Mead is the people themselves

There is no Lake Mead monster.

The last few days have been a busy place at Lake Mead because of the drowning near Hoover Dam. People have said it’s because Lake Mead is haunted. Lake Mead has lots of water currents. The Lake Mead monster dragged them down. Too many people drink, too many people make mistakes, etc. etc. etc.

Facts are hard to come by but the lake does not kill people. People kill people. A large lake (like Lake Mead) is dangerous for many reasons.

Visibility on the lake makes things look closer than they are. Desert heat boils your brain and body. Personality enhancers (alcohol, beer, wine, drugs) all affect your decision making. People make errors in judgment. The shore line is farther away than it looks (always). You are not strong enough to swim all the way over to the (fill in the blank).

You won’t/don’t/can’t wear a life jacket because it makes you look like a dork/coward/hides your physique, etc.

Personally, I would rather look weird and be alive, than to look cool and be dead. The American Boating Association tracks deaths and accidents all over the U.S. and if you read this list, you can learn something very, very interesting.

In 2016: 509 people died from drowning; 427 did not have on life jackets, and 125 people died from trauma, cardiac arrest, hypothermia etc.; 78 did not have life jackets.

Contributing factors for the deaths and injuries include: vessel operator inattention; vessel operator inexperience; improper or no lookout; excessive vessel speed; mechanical failure; alcohol/drug use; weather; rule violations; hazardous waters; and force of waves or wake.

With the exception of mechanical failure (and people might argue that one, too), every cause of injury or accident is a mistake or a poor decision by someone.

Gary Berger

Gateway center will damage existing businesses

Dear mayor and City Council members: Having already wasted $170,000 on a plan for the Hoover Dam Gateway Center is bad enough, but small potatoes compared to the $123 million it will cost to build and the inestimable damage it will do to the existing businesses in Boulder City.

The proposal itself is in direct violation of the city’s master plan and public consensus. Voting no on this is the right thing to do.

Ainsworth “Ace” Hunt

City needs to assist residents with high utility costs

The Aug. 1 Boulder City utility bill hit citizens with a big cost increase. My family follows careful energy and water conservation, yet we still got a record-high bill. Energy, water and trash/recycling are essentials. The recent cost hikes are too much.

Many citizens and I opposed the past unwise city move to dramatically raise utility rates. What will the City Council, Mayor (Rod) Woodbury and city manager do to reduce utility rates and help people? So far they have failed. Boulder City should cut rates and create strong economic incentives for rooftop solar electric and hot water.

Dan Patterson