Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: Bently leaves a monumental footprint on region

The Nevada Appeal's Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.SILVER DOLLAR: To Don Bently’s everlasting footprint on Carson Valley. Bently, who passed away on Monday, was a philanthropist, an entrepreneur and, most of all, a gentleman. Bently, a pioneer in the advancement of alternative fuels, created thousands of jobs in the valley. SILVER DOLLAR: To the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program for taking the fight to Asian clams in Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay. According to the Associated Press, scientists will place barriers in the bay for about one year to stop the spread of the invasive specie. SILVER DOLLAR: To the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas team. During last week’s Nevada Drug Summit in Reno, Kent Bitsko, executive director of the NHIDTA said that for every dollar spent for the agency about $26 in seized drugs and cash are taken off the street. Agencies working together —the U.S. Attorney General, the Bureau of Specialized Prosecutions and other agencies — have made strides in shutting down medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California and Nevada.