Letters to the editor June 2

Concern over Pony

Express rider appreciated

The Pony Express horse and rider are up and running again. Over the past four years, Mother Nature used her strong winds on the silhouette perched high on the hill in Mound House and laid it on the ground. People noticed and, amid concerns, offers of help came in.

On May 25, good friends and experienced workers joined forces to resurrect the silhouette.

Arthur Johnson of Monarch Construction based in Fallon and his helper, Seth Wadsworth, used a bobcat to raise the 1,200-pound structure and helped fortify it against future winds. Ron Bell of Sierra Insul-Panel based in Silver Springs, is a licensed welder, among other talents, and did all of the welding, most of it while lying on the ground.

We managed to get the horse and rider up and visible to the public once again before the strong afternoon winds on Wednesday and, from the reports I've received, it still is up and should remain that way for many years to come.

Arthur Johnson, Seth Wadsworth and Ron Bell donated their time and expertise to bring the Pony Express back to life, and I am more thankful than I can express. The symbol of an important part of our history is once again visible to the people of the area.

I would also like to thank Teri Vance of the Nevada Appeal and Laura Tennant of the Dayton Courier for their excellent coverage of the disappearance of the silhouette and its meaning to our community.

Larry McPherson

Stagecoach

Carson resident's story resonates with reader

I just wanted to comment on the recent letter, "Carson resident just trying to get by." My heart goes out to Mr. Carroll. His story gives an indication of just how many people in our area are suffering in relative anonymity due to the poor economy and leaders who seem to be out of touch with the common people.

Mr. Carroll's story struck a nerve with me because I can empathize with him. I haven't had to live in my car, or resort to panhandling, but I have been struggling.

One year ago, I was kicked out of my home of nine years. Until then, I had the pleasure of being able to serve as stay-at-home dad to my three daughters. Even though I am a college graduate, I relished my role of stay-at-home dad.

After the shock of losing the life I had known, and having applied for over 100 jobs in the past year, I find myself still without a job.

Today, I find myself thousands of dollars in debt, just trying to keep the bill collectors at bay. And if that weren't bad enough, after being used to seeing my beautiful daughters every day at my old home, now I only get to see them every other weekend. I am the face of the poor economy and seemingly indifferent politicians.

I would be glad to hear the comments from like-minded people out there.

I can be contacted at www.face

book.com/johnmartin1969.

John Martin

Carson City

Are we paying more because we conserved?

Remember how we were told we needed to be conservation-minded, and needed to do things to improve energy efficiency by weatherizing our homes, buying energy-efficient appliances etc.?

Well, apparently we did that and did it too well. Now NV Energy has won permission from the Public Utilities Commission to increase our rates by 3.4 percent, or about $5.30 on average per month.

Why? It's to pay about $35 million for loss of revenue due to conservation.

That's right. Because we conserved, we now have to pay more because we didn't use enough. What?

Seems to me that if we conserve, there would be a surplus of energy. How do you get to raise rates based on what you used to sell, then what you need to sell?

I could understand if we consumed more than they could produce, and they had to go to outside providers, but here we go again.

I haven't seen a pay raise in two years, but everything else has gone up. Anybody know of a good candle sale?

Ed Deusenberry

Carson City