Letters to the Editor for December 14, 2019

Home means Nevada

As a fifth-generation Nevadan, I have faithfully read for years “Past Pages,” looking for a mention of my family. Finally, my diligence has paid off.

Thank you so much to Sue Ballew and Trent Dolan for mentioning my family (under the “Saturday 150 years ago” column featuring Ada and Mollie Holmes who made the honor roll at the Sierra Seminary in 1869). Ada Holmes McCarthy is my great-grandmother and she and her husband, A.J. “Judge” McCarthy, had a huge hand in raising our mother, Frances Millar Burns. Ada and Judge owned a newspaper in Hawthorne, where our mother spent her early years.

Ada Holmes’ father, Julius Justus Holmes, owned a bar Genoa in 1859, but he had been in Nevada before then (Utah Territory). Julius also was a main cog in many Nevada railroads.

Again, thank you so much for your Nevada history column. When I finally saw a family pioneer mentioned in your “Past Pages,” I yelled out, “Jackpot” — though, maybe “Eureka” would have been more fitting with the 1860s era.

I enjoy this column so much and appreciate the job you both do.

Home means Nevada.

Mary Burns

Gardnerville

Trump’s policies correcting previous administration’s mistakes

So columnist Guy Farmer “implores his Democrat friends to nominate a candidate (he) can vote for” (“How old is too old,” Dec. 7 Appeal). Ah, the luxury of the never-Trump elitists who blather on with no regard for the good President Trump has done for the little people whose taxes fund Farmer’s fat federal pension.

Also on Dec. 7 was the Wall Street Journal headline “Job growth bolsters confidence.” Stock and bond yields are near record highs, important for us Joe Lunchbuckets who invest our savings, and private sector pensioners whose companies invest retirement accounts in the markets. Job hunters saw the unemployment rate drop to 3.5 percent, a low not seen since 1969.

Trump is cracking down on illegal aliens at the border, toughening criminal laws and penalties and standing up for individual rights, including gun rights. Trump wasn’t elected to be ambassador to the Court of Saint James, nor was he expected to prioritize etiquette or collect style points from peanut gallery effetes.

Trump’s policies continue to deliver a strong economy, a rising tide that lifts all boats. He pulled us out of the many messes Obama, supported enthusiastically by Farmer in 2008, created.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden

Candidate has plan for rural health care

With hospitals closing and health care professionals leaving rural Nevada in droves, Cory Booker’s rural plan will stem the bleeding and ensure the hundreds of thousands of rural Nevadans have access to quality affordable care.

Investing in student loan repayment programs to encourage providers to serve in rural areas and connecting rural critical access clinics with larger hospital systems will not only save lives, but improve health outcomes for our future generations down the road. Too often rural issues in Nevada get overlooked, it’s refreshing to see a presidential candidate take this head on.

Check out Sen. Booker’s rural plan at www.corybooker.com

Kelley Hopkins

Dayton

Carson City residents to participate in impeachment rally

I know. Enough already. It’s nearly Christmas and our hides are raw from three years of political warfare. It brings no joy to have to continue to agitate for justice that is as clear to us as the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Still, our spirit is strong in our conviction that patriotism demands a response to the executive actions that threaten the foundations of our democracy. We believe in the value of civil society to serve apart from government or the private sector, neither Democrat nor Republican, to play a positive and active role in our communities. We believe in our right to free speech and our right to assembly. Over 120 of our neighbors in Carson City and throughout Carson Valley have signed up to participate in a rally to impeach and remove President Trump in collaboration with over 400 communities throughout the nation. To find events in our community and others, go to https://act.moveon.org/event/impeach-and-remove-attend/search/.

Laura J. Hale

Carson City