There's been a parade of candidates at the Nevada Appeal

When Sen. John Ensign walks into the Nevada Appeal offices on Monday, he will be the 30th candidate to have visited us in just over a two-week span. Each of them talked and answered questions for about an hour from members of our internal editorial board and our reader panel.

They talked about their backgrounds, about their proposals and about their opponents.

After the interviews, the editorial board met and talked and debated and disagreed before voting on the candidates the Appeal would endorse. Some of the results appear today. Others will be in Sunday's paper. We'll hold another brief editorial meeting next week to decide whether to endorse Ensign or Jack Carter. And then we'll catch our breath.

Our endorsements, true to a long newspaper tradition, represent our opinions on who is best qualified to hold a particular office. You are free to disagree and vote accordingly. You'll notice that some of the races are not included. That's because we only endorsed in races where we heard from both candidates.

One thing that's become clear during the process is that Nevadans are lucky to have so many good candidates, especially in the local races. In deciding on the endorsements, many of the choices were difficult, and few were unanimous.

Running for public office is not easy. It takes a lot of time, money and patience. Yet there aren't many uncontested races, a sure sign that people care enough about their schools and communities to get involved.

We applaud all the candidates for their willingness to serve.

Now it's up to you to do your small part: Vote.

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Here's further evidence that there's something about Carson City that makes a lasting impression upon people. This e-mail came recently from Karen Finnegan.

"When my husband and I vacationed here over twenty years ago, I looked at him as we were driving down Carson City's main drag and said, 'It feels like coming home.'

"Shortly after that getaway, we moved here and have loved it ever since. We both agreed on the above comment and thought it would make a great slogan for Carson City!"

They've got my vote on that one.

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If you spot a shiny cougar, Lorna Steele would like to know about it.

The cougar in question is a shiny metal sculpture that was stolen from the back yard of her Hells Bells Road home about a week ago.

It's the size of small mountain lion crouching to attack, and it's been watching over the neighborhood since her daughter in Oregon gave it to her about three years ago. People would often ask where she got the unusual sculpture, which was visible from the road.

"The mailman actually misses it," Lorna said.

The 15-pound sculpture was stolen one night while she slept.

"They had to climb over a chain link fence and through some trees," she said.

If you've seen the sculpture, please call 884-4768. If you've taken it and are having second thoughts, just put it back.

"It had a lot of sentimental value to our family," she said.

• Barry Ginter is the editor of the Appeal. Contact him at bginter@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1221.