Eight apply for GRGID board seat

GARDNERVILLE - A new board member will be appointed today by the Gardnerville Ranchos General Improvement District..

The position is vacant following the death of Chairman Bruce Nystrom.

Eight people had submitted letters of interest to the GID as of Wednesday. The district offices were closed Thursday and Friday, but anyone can submit a letter until 4 p.m. Monday, two hours before the meeting.

The candidates include: Richard Bonebrake, Roger Paul, Jim Caughron, Jaynese Knight, Stacey Erven-Smalley, Deane Swanton, Yvonne Cinciala, and Jimmie Fields.

- Bonebrake has run for a seat on the board twice before. He said he has a leg up on the competition because he regularly attends the meetings.

Bonebrake said he is interested in helping transform the green belts into public-use lands and in "utilizing all the empty buildings to get businesses in to get people to shop out here," he said.

Bonebrake was in the Navy for 30 years and now is active with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

- Paul said he also attends the meetings as often as he can and has liked the direction the board has been taking the district.

Paul, who has been retired since 1991 from civil service with various defense agencies, said his experience there provided him a good foundation for working with the board. He has also volunteered with the Carson Valley Historical Society.

- Caughron said he would like to be on the board of the community he has been a member of for 23 years.

Caughron has been the engineering and facilities maintenance director of many area casinos and now is the mechanic/safety coordinator for Aervoe-Pacific. He also was a Washoe Tribal police officer and is a member of the VFW and the Douglas County Local Emergency Planning Commission.

- Knight said she will be retiring soon from her job as a local government budget analyst for the Nevada Department of Taxation and wants to become more involved with the community she moved to five years ago.

Knight said she will bring knowledge of taxation and tax laws to the table. Knight said she has been a member of the Municipal Finance Officers Association and in the Lake Tahoe Council for Logic, which was formed to protect property owners rights.

- Erven-Smalley's degree is in political science and he has worked in public relations. He and his wife are now the owners of ClubSpa in Minden, and he said he thinks he can help the community.

Erven-Smalley is a member of the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and various professional fitness associations.

- Swanton has worked as an engineer and has been involved with many community organizations and committees.

Swanton said he is interested in upgrading the water system in the district. He is a member of the Minden-Tahoe Airport Advisory Committee, Kiwanis International and several professional engineering societies.

- Cinciala works at her husband's business, Jethro's Oven and Grill in the Tillman Center, but said she wants to get more involved in the community.

Cinciala said she understands what GIDs do because she worked for the Kingsbury GID as an accounts clerk.

- Fields could not be reached.

What: Gardnerville Ranchos Improvement District

When: 6 p.m., today

Where: district office at 931 Mitch Drive.

For more information, call Spellberg at 265-2048.