Letters to the editor

Airport Authority is flying straight

As a Carson City resident for over 49 years and a former Chairman of the Carson City Airport Authority, I take extreme exception to Bob Thomas' one-sided commentary in the August 24th Sunday Appeal. His tirade amounts to nothing more than empty rhetoric, malicious innuendo, and outright falsehood.

The CCAA has the absolute right and responsibility to review the status of each of its part-time contract employees whenever it feels the need to do so. Neither Yvon Weaver nor any other independent contractor has the right to employment in perpetuity and should expect a review of their position from time-to-time. Furthermore, Mr. Thomas conveniently failed to mention the more than $20 million in federal grants coming to the Airport with Carson City as the grant sponsor. These grants constitute a multi-year funding cycle and together with over $15 million in hangar development either approved or underway, represent the greatest investment in infrastructure in the history of the Carson City Airport.

Since our airport is the only capitol city airport in the United States that does not have a full-time airport manager and given the unprecedented level of development taking place, it is altogether fitting and proper that the Board should review the need for at least one full-time staff member.

Ms. Weaver was not asked to resign, but rather, was contacted as a courtesy so that she may understand why the matter was under review. Her resignation is solely her own doing, and in my opinion, was a completely emotional response.

I served on the Airport Authority with Supervisor Staub for four years and have known him personally for many more years than that. He is an honest, fair mined, and a committed public servant, who sought nothing more than to provide Yvon with clarity regarding the agenda item in question. To suggest otherwise is patently false.

If Mr. Thomas has proof that the Open Meeting Law was violated, let him produce it now. Otherwise Bob, stick to the facts.

HARLOW NORVELL

Carson City

Hoping for a future of logical decisions

You rightly put the study about how people make decisions as a front-page headline. This is probably the biggest story of the year.

We don't have as much free will as we would like to believe. We fancy ourselves as logical and reasonable beings that make intelligent choices for a variety of good reasons.

The truth is that ALL of us make small and large decisions from what to have for lunch to choice of career or mate based on a very powerful emotional system that our conscious mind is only partly aware of.

The first step in gaining some control is to realize what we are up against and not trust our own thought process so much. We need to give some credence to the notion that perhaps our opinions are not so sacred after all but are suspect due to unseen forces deep in our subconscious inner workings.

Our choice of president will certainly come from this emotional soup as it always has in the past. Maybe someday we will become aware of enough of these forces to find a better balance between emotion and reason in these big decisions.

DANIEL SCHLENGER

Minden

Didn't recognize the supervisor depicted in letter

This is in response to Mr. Robbins letter published on Aug. 28. I am sorry you didn't feel welcomed at the recent public meeting. Maybe your fears were caused from lack of self confidence

I would like to introduce you to the real Richard Staub that I have worked for and personally known for more than eight years. Mr. Staub is compassionate and hard working.

Mr. Staub spends his time going to these meetings and writing down the concerns of the public speakers, in his little note book, so that he can take immediate action. When he gets to work the next morning, he will spend his whole day acting on those concerns and discussing them with public officials.

Mr. Staub is sincere to the numerous phone calls he receives every day from concerned citizens in Carson City, based upon all of our best interests.

Mr. Staub is successful because he manages his time and money not only in his financial affairs, but his business, family and Carson City affairs. I have never met a person who could schedule their whole life around something that they are so compassionate about.

Again, Mr. Staub is dependable, hardworking and caring. He is successful because he has worked his whole life to get there.

You sir, your comments are unjust and downright insulting.

TONYA HEALD

Carson City