Letters to the editor

Smart meters aren’t that smartSince we just finished another election season, I had hoped the factually vacant drivel we’ve been immersed in lately would have tapered off a bit. Reading the two letters on Nov. 28, I realized that my hopes had been dashed. Mary Santomauro and Nancy Gammie both shared their “facts” about how the new NV Energy Smart Meters will do us harm. Mary has a friend whose clocks are being shut off spitefully by the power company because she refused the new meter installation. Nancy thinks the power company can turn her air conditioner off and on at will. Sorry ladies, having worked in the electrical industry for nearly 40 years, I have to say that presently there is no mechanism the power company can use to interrupt your electrical service in the ways described. They have no “switches” attached to the individual circuits in your home that would turn selected electrical loads off and on remotely. Currently, all NV Energy does is connect your home to the grid and meter your usage. Yes, they will now know what times of day you use the most electricity. When someday in the future they mandate the installation of a “smart switch box” next to your electrical panel to remotely control your household appliances, then you can complain about how violated your are. In the meanwhile, please just push your tinfoil helmets a little more firmly onto your heads, you need the protection.Rich VadenaisMindenSupport Silver State Charter School performersWhat a mostly young cast may have lacked in experience was more than made up for by sheer joy and enthusiasm as students and faculty of Silver State Charter School presented a debut performance of “Snow White” on Thursday evening. Although contractual issues required names of the original dwarfs to be changed (Doc is now Sarge) the play was true to the original we all remember and excellent sound and lighting were a special surprise.I enthusiastically encourage all patrons of the lively arts to support these wonderful performers.Steve WacloCarson CityThe demise of our country“I don’t want to destroy the rich, I only want to seize a little of their surplus to help the poor, just a little. They’ll never miss it.” Barack Obama in 2012? No, Ayn Rand over 60 years ago in “Atlas Shrugged.”As in the novel, this was just the beginning of Obama’s plan for the demise of our country as we know it.Dr. John StoppCarson City