Cheers & Kudos

Thanks for culvert pipesCentral Lyon County Fire Protection District would like to offer a special thanks to Apex Security Consulting Firm and owner Jeff May for the generous donation of two large poly culvert pipes. The Fire District will be utilizing the donated pipes in its confined-space rescue training program. The donation allows the district to further develop its training program with participation from both Central Lyon County Fire Protection District and Storey County Fire Department.With sincere thanks,Bob Ryser, Battalion ChiefCentral Lyon County Fire Protection District

Thank you to all of the generous people who donated money to help Mr. Russell help Fredrick the basset hound. Through this generosity of spirit for another living creature, not only was Fredrick’s needs met and Mr. Russell’s spirits lifted, but our non-profit came a little closer to meeting its goal of raising money to build a new city animal shelter in Carson City.Our present shelter, built in the early 1960’s, is outdated and outgrown. CASI has been formed to help Carson City build a shelter that provides a safe and secure environment for our homeless pets as they await adoption and forever-homes. As Wednesday’s coverage of the duties of Carson City Animal Services attests, CCAS provides a wide range of services to our community. Public safety, education and animal welfare all fall under the umbrella of animal services, and while our community population has grown ten-fold, our building, and the ability to be progressive when serving our homeless animals, has not. CASI is hoping to help bridge this gap.Thank you to Sierra Veterinary Hospital for telling people about CASI, and thank you to all of the donors who so generously gave to our homeless animals via CASI.Lisa SchuetteCarson Animal Services Initiative

The Polar Express is now a tradition for many Northern Nevada families and visitors. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this extraordinary experience, which would not have happened without the dedication of the following people who were willing to give up their precious weekends before Christmas to make sure 10,700 ticket holders had a magical journey to the North Pole.Thank you to Tom Gray and the V&T Railroad for the beautifully decorated train which ran on time every night, no matter the weather and for the hard-working crew Peggy Bertrand, the helper elf and conductors Kevin Wilcomb, Dave Bell, Fred Schnick, Tom Andrews, Randy Harris, Bill Heneks, Brian Covey and engineer Bill Willetts and brakeman Tim McCarthy.To the speeder drivers Bob Beatty, Tom Toboco and John Kelty who made sure Santa had a safe ride back to the North Pole after each run. To Millard Construction and Brad Spriggs and crew for the construction and maintenance of our North Pole and for setting up the big top at the depot and keeping it there during our wind and snow storms. To Kevin Ray, Bob Robinson, Darren Monteressi and Neil Duncan for setting up, decorating and staffing the depot and gift shop as well as helping with parking, loading and unloading the trains, keeping the water going for the hot chocolate and all the other tasks required to serve over 10,000 passengers.To the wonderful group of volunteers from Rotary as well as other local volunteers who came up to the depot to help make the hot chocolate and count the bells and cookies under the capable direction of Jessica Schumann and Donna Keppler.To Paul Schat’s Bakery for the yummy cookies (especially the hand decorated trees for the VIP car.)To Byron Davis, Carson City manager of Alsco for the donation and weekly laundering of our chef’s uniforms.To Tami Shelton of the Brewery Arts Center for her casting and direction of our elves, chefs, Santas and to Grayson Stipe for making sure everyone could hear the music and the story.To Our “Chelves” for keeping the magic going in every car for every ride.To Joy Evans (AKA Mrs. Clause) for helping decorate the North Pole and for recruiting the Sea Cadets to join Santa as our energetic elves, and to Scott Pierczynski who made sure the North Pole lights stayed on and the road was graded.To Granite Construction and Sign Co. for supplying the highway signs and light standards to guide our passengers to the depot.To Norm Luke for his reprise as Joe the Hobo, delighting the passengers with his change of heart.To Santas Tom Strekal, Jimmy Arendt and Jeff Fast who made every child feel special.To Craig and Sandy Marshal of CL Marshall Images for serving as our official Polar Express photographers and Santa Al for smiling through all the photos.To Liza McIlwee for designing and sewing our elf costumes and for serving as our greeter at the depot.To Linda Macauley, Janet Jones, Molly Bundy-Toral and Joy Evans at the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau for handling the ticket sales, the phone calls and the questions and for helping families get their tickets.And a huge thank you to each and every one of our passengers for helping us keep the Christmas spirit alive. We hope to see you all next Christmas, tickets will go on sale in August.Candy DuncanPolar Express Coordinator