2016 in review in Carson City

Some of the top stories of the second half of 2016. The first half appeared in Friday’s Nevada Appeal.

July

2: The Eagle Valley Children’s Home, a long-standing Carson City institution founded in 1946, celebrated its 70th anniversary.

5: Thousands gathered in Mills Park to enjoy carnival rides, food, and fireworks on Independence Day.

8: The Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to an agreement that transfers ownership of South Carson Street to the city in 2017.

9: As a way to help student succeed in school, the Carson City School District hired 12 social workers to improve students’ emotional and mental learning.

12: The Nevada Department of Transportation board voted to condemn two parcels of land — where Opal Avenue meets U.S. 50 — needed to build the USA Parkway.

15: Hundreds packed the streets outside Adele’s to celebrate the 8th Concert Under the Stars with Tower of Power, an event to benefit the Greenhouse Project.

16: Nearly 600 people are spending the day at Spooner State Park, running in a 100 mile, 50 mile and 55K around the lake in the 15th annual Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run.

19: Marilee Swirczek, who taught English at Western Nevada College for 24 years and served as a Carson City supervisor, passed away at 68 years old.

22: Actor Lucas Black, entertainer Justin Timberlake, NFL great Marcus Allen, NBA MVP Stephen Curry and others were on hand as the 27th annual American Century Championship kicked off at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

24: Thousands gathered in downtown Carson City for the 23rd annual Taste of Downtown to benefit the Advocates to End Domestic Violence.

28: Temperatures in Carson City hit a high of 101 degrees, the highest since 1981.

29: A new athletic field is being debuted at Sierra Lutheran High School.

30: Western Nevada College launched its new mechatronics program, in partnership with international automation giant, Siemens.

31: Bob McFadden Plaza opened with a splash and no one enjoyed it more than the dozens of kids keeping cool in sweltering weather.

August

2: A crowd of some 400 turned out at the Carson Nugget to hear Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, Mike Pence.

3: Thousands gathered in Mills Park to celebrate a collaboration between community and local law enforcement for the 14th annual National Night Out.

6: After 16 years of work to remodel and modernize the Ormsby House hotel-casino, owners Don Lehr and Al Fiegehen are putting the property up for sale.

11: Carson City is getting its first arts and culture coordinator, Mark Salinas, an artist and businessman coming from Queens, N.Y.

12: The Carson Tahoe Breast Center officially opened with a grand opening ceremony to introduce it to the public.

16: Carson City Deputy Carl Howell was honored in two ceremonies for loved ones and colleagues as they came together to remember the fallen officer, who was killed Aug. 15, 2015, after being shot while responding to a domestic violence call.

19: Entrepreneurs Assembly, a group who provides education and empowerment for emerging businesses, launched a Carson City chapter.

20: Thousands gathered at Carson Tahoe Hospital to support cancer patients at the 6th annual HopeFest.

23: Summer break officially came to an end for Carson City kids as students started the first day of school.

24: Stewart Indian School received a $400,000 cash infusion from the Interim Finance Committee to help expand the master plan and support the application to have the complex declared a national historic landmark.

26: Edwin Rico, 16, and Christopher Gonzales, 24, were identified as deceased in a Goni Canyon rollover crash in Carson City.

28: Trees are returning to the concrete planters on the newly-constructed and wider sidewalks along the stretch of Carson Street from William to Fifth streets.

30: The final stretch of the Carson City Freeway is officially 50 percent complete.

September

1: President Barack Obama attended the 20th annual Lake Tahoe Summit in Stateline to talk about the growing danger of climate change.

7: National Guardsmen in Carson City and others stationed in Kuwait held a memorial run to honor the victims of the IHOP shooting that occurred on Sept. 6, 2011.

9: RISE, Carson City’s first medical marijuana dispensary, held a ribbon cutting ceremony with city leaders and retired NFL player Eugene Monroe in attendance.

13: Officials and citizens gathered in Mills Park to mark the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, at the Carson City 9/11 Memorial.

20: Work on the downtown reconstruction project is progressing with the base layer of asphalt officially laid on Carson Street in front of the Capitol and Legislative building.

23: Carson City transportation planners held an open house as the first step in gathering public comment on the future of South Carson Street.

24: The Carson City Off-Road was named the best mountain bike race in the nation during the Interbike International Bicycle Exposition in Las Vegas.

25: The Free and Accepted Masons, city officials and others celebrated 150 years since the cornerstone was laid at the Carson City Mint, now the Nevada State Museum, on Carson Street.

28: Prestige Care and Carson Tahoe Health broke ground on a new skilled nursing and memory care center on Mountain Street in Carson City.

30: The Nevada Supreme Court barred the school vouchers program created by the 2015 Legislature from moving forward because the state constitution prohibits using money appropriated for K-12 public education to fund it.

October

1: Carson City’s Shelly Aldean was awarded the Governor’s Points of Light Award for her work with Capital City C.I.R.C.L.E.S. Initiative.

5: The new Carson City Animal Shelter on Airport Road is officially open for business.

8: A mural of five historic faces — Jack Johnson, Bertha Raffetto, Abraham Curry, Sarah Winnemucca, Kit Carson, and Julia Bulette — went up on the south end of the C-A-L Ranch store.

11: Southern Nevada business luminaries turned out for the opening day of the 30th Special Session of the Nevada Legislature describing the construction of the football stadium and expansion of the convention center as vital if Las Vegas is to stave off competition from other tourist cities.

12: The room tax hike to build a football stadium in Las Vegas moved forward when the Senate approved it 16-5.

14: Crews from all over Northern Nevada worked for several hours battling a brush fire that ignited in a field near Clear Creek Avenue in south Carson City.

15: More than 2,000 acres have been burned and 22 homes destroyed in Washoe Valley by the Little Valley fire.

19: History was made at the post office on South Roop Street when Heidi Clark became the city’s first female postmaster.

22: Jeremy Smith and his son, Xander, 6, found this year’s Nevada Day Treasure Hunt prize on the Comstock Trail in Virginia City.

27: The historic granite water fountain in front of the Attorney General’s building is flowing once again — for the first time in a couple of decades.

28: Following a makeover of the interior and exterior of FISH, the new thrift shop celebrated its grand reopening to showcase the new building and the services it offers.

29: More than 250 residents braved the sporadic rain showers to celebrate the competition of the redesigned and reconstructed downtown Carson Street.

30: Under sunny skies the 77th annual Nevada Day Parade made its way along the renovated Carson Street, this year without the center median and with wider sidewalks.

November

2: An officer-involved shooting at the Roop Street Senator Apartments claimed the life of one man, Henry Simpson, after he allegedly brought a shotgun into the apartment manager’s office.

6: No weapon was involved in a commotion that briefly disrupted Donald Trump’s rally in Reno and caused agents to hustle Trump from the stage.

9: Donald Trump claimed his place as America’s 45th president.

11: Carson City celebrated Veterans Day when nearly two dozen veterans from present and past wars were honored at a ceremony at Fritsch Elementary School.

12: A “blue wave” that rolled through Nevada following the election has brought a different group of lawmakers — seven female senators, up from five in 2015; and 17 female Assembly members, compared with 16 in 2015.

16: Sierra Wellness Connection, Carson City’s second medical marijuana dispensary, opened its doors on Highway 50, capping the limit allowed within the city for two dispensary locations.

18: The science labs at Western Nevada College will soon get a makeover thanks to a $1.46 million grant to be used for doubling the size of its cadaver lab and updating its science facility.

19: Several dozen community members, including Assembly persons, city and school employes and members of the Washoe County Board of Supervisors, attended the second IAFF Fire Ops 101 to learn about EMS techniques and firefighting.

24: Click Bond, which manufactures products used in commercial jets, shops and on the Mars Rover, celebrated 30 years of business by opening its newly renovated space in Carson City.

26: After 96 years in private hands, the sandstone sculpture of an eagle that once graced the entrance of the old Nevada State Prison is back at the historic site.

December

2: The Vintage at Kings Canyon development cleared its last major hurdle, receiving the needed go-ahead from the city to build the project despite opposition from nearby residents.

3: The city was so full of Christmas spirt that even the Grinch joined in on the annual Silver and Snowflakes tree lighting festival in downtown Carson City.

6: About 25 American Indians and their supporters took to the streets of Carson City to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who one day earlier won a victory when the Army Corps of Engineers announced it wouldn’t permit a pipeline to be drilled under a section of the Missouri River.

8: Carson City commemorated the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor by remembering the 76 crewman on the USS Nevada who died on the historic day.

9: The Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition celebrated 10 years of passage of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, which bans smoking in most public places and indoors places of employment.

10: Work on the entrance to the Ormsby House was nearly complete as crews from Metcalf Builders worked to set the final pavers in place beneath the Portico.

14: Scoups, a family owned ice cream parlor and soup bar, is gearing up to join downtown businesses at McFadden Plaza early next year.

16: The Nevada Commission on Tourism awarded 89 marketing grants, including 25 to western Nevada and Carson City governmental and nonprofit groups totaling $132,295.

18: Frigid, cold air didn’t stop Santa and helpers from Friends to All from going door to door to deliver gifts to about 150 seniors.

22: More than 200 Carson City students celebrated Christmas thanks to the 12th annual Holiday with a Hero, an annual spending spree that helps students in the McKinney-Vento Students in Transition program.

24: A petition — filed by the Carson Nugget, Casino Fandango and Gold Dust West — that would effectively block a second Bodines casino in north Carson City proved unsuccessful after it was rejected by Judge James Wilson.

27: The Carson City School District announced plans to expand Pioneer High School and Mark Twain Elementary School, both of which are currently using mobile classrooms.

29: Areas across Northern Nevada and California were jolted by three major earthquakes and hours of aftershocks.