SILVER DOLLARS AND WOODEN NICKELS: Bridging a gap for WNC, after all

The Nevada Appeal’s Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out other acts that missed the mark.

SILVER DOLLAR: To the Legislature for restoring $4.95 million in funding for Western Nevada and Great Basin colleges. While it looked like those two schools were again going to have to do without a form of the so-called bridge gap funding, in the end the Legislature came up with nearly an additional $5 million which more rural colleges like GBC and WNC need to deal with their types of students and circumstances. At a time when schools like WNC and GBC are being counted on to provide workers with 21st century skills, it only seemed logical the Legislature would come up with the extra funding. It’s likely Carol Lucey, former WNC president, and John Gwaltney, former Truckee Meadows Community College president, also deserve a Silver Dollar. When they testified previous funding levels would do irreparable damage to schools like WNC and GBC, it must have hit home with Legislators.

SILVER DOLLAR: Another kudo goes to WNC as some of the college’s welding technology and computer information students helped Carson City Little League by fixing one of its 11-year-old pitching machines and solving a technical problem with the league’s hitting screens.

SILVER DOLLAR: To the Carson City Library for opening on Sundays, providing a community service in which area residents can take advantage of needed resources when they wouldn’t have the time to do otherwise.

SILVER DOLLAR: To all the Legislative Counsel Bureau members who work behind the scenes that make the Legislature run day in and day out.