Make plans to attend "Birds of Lakes and Marshes,” a presentation by Michael Goddard of the Lahontan Audubon Society at the Churchill County Museum on Thursday, April 28 at 6 p.m.
Learn about the common birds that live in the lakes and marshes of the Lahontan Valley.
Spring Wings festival this weekend
The annual Spring Wings festival returns Saturday and Sunday. Events will take place from 7:30-11:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, events will take place from 1-3 p.m.
For information, visit www.springwingsbirdfest.org.
Bingo is back
Hosted by the Rotary Club of Fallon, bingo returns Friday at the Pennington Life Center, 952 S. Maine St.
Bar opens at 6 p.m., and bingo starts at 7 p.m.
This year’s Flower Power theme is encouraging attendees to show off their funky threads from the 1960s.
There will be five rounds. The $20 buy-in includes a game pack, five games and three bingo cards. Additional game packs are $10.
Proceeds go to Rotary Youth programs.
Oats Park Arts Center
Mindy Nettifee is a poet, artist educator, depth somatic researcher and practitioner, and a psychonaut. She holds a doctorate in depth psychology with a somatic studies specialization, and recently published her doctoral research Voice as Embodied Sense – Rethinking Voice and Language in Trauma Healing. She is also the author of three full-length collections of poems.
She will present a poetry reading on April 30 from 5-7 p.m. The presentation is free.
• Timothy Berry’s Vanishing Territories: Paintings and Works on Paper opened April 9.
A panel discussion and reception for the artist is May 14 from 5-7 p.m. in the E. L. Wiegand Gallery with the discussion beginning at 5:30 p.m.
DEA National Take-Back campaign
The Churchill County Sheriff's Office is collecting unused/unneeded/expired medications at Walgreen's parking lot Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the larger Rx Take Back campaign.
Fire hydrants testing
The Fallon/Churchill Volunteer Fire Department will be testing fire hydrants within the City of Fallon during the evenings through May 13.
This annual testing is important to ensure the system is functioning properly and is one of many requirements that the fire department must complete in order to maintain its ISO Class 1 rating. This rating can help reduce insurance rates that homeowners pay.
During this period of peak fire demand water testing it is common for water consumers to experience discolored water. This discoloration occurs due to abnormally high flows in the piping system which can stir up small amounts of naturally occurring sediment.
Please remember that although the water may be discolored, it has been properly treated and is entirely safe. If the water is heavily discolored, you may wish to temporarily refrain from drinking from the tap or washing clothes.
After testing is complete, any discolored water in your home can usually be removed by flushing your water pipes for several minutes. It is best to flush cold water from an outdoor hose bib or an interior bathtub fixture.
Contact the City of Fallon Clerk’s Office at 775-423-5104 for any questions.
Museum’s ‘War Comes Home’
War Comes Home: The Legacy is part of Cal Humanities' current “War Comes Home” initiative, a thematic program designed to promote greater understanding of veterans and explore how war shapes a community.
The Churchill County Museum exhibition is based on the work of the Center for American War Letters (CAWL) and is presented by Exhibit Envoy. Andrew Carroll, the Director of CAWL and an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, and John Benitz, associate professor in the Department of Theatre at Chapman University, co-curated the exhibition.
The exhibition explores the joys and hardships that returning soldiers and their families face during homecoming, as expressed through private letters and email correspondence. Spanning conflicts from the Civil War through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and displayed on 13 interpretive panels, War Comes Home: The Legacy explores the shared themes of wartime separation, the adjustment to life back at home, and the costs of war.
This exhibition runs through May 29 and offers a space to write letters to currently deployed service members.
The Churchill County Museum is located at 1050 S. Maine Street in Fallon and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, and has a $5 suggested donation.
Military authors speak at museum
Four authors will speak on successive Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the Churchill County Museum. Copies of their books will also be on sale.
Kenneth Beaton presents his literary work on May 4. Beaton is a frequent contributor to the Nevada Appeal newspaper, and for many years he has been a voice for veterans by telling their stories during wartime, especially during World War II.
Beaton’s uncle Richard was killed in action in 1943 on Monte la Difensa, Italy. After Beaton’s parents passed away, he discovered the picture from Richard’s helmet with his mom’s writing on the back. After 16 years of research and two trips to climb Monte la Difensa, Beaton published “A Toddler’s Picture: In His Uncle’s Helmet”
The May 11 speaker is Michael G. Leonard, a retired U.S. Air Force officer and global business executive. He was a USAF Command Pilot with a military career spanning 20 years, including two Vietnam tours in 1965–1966, and 1969–1970.
His “An American Combat Bird Dog Pilot” is a compelling look at the life and times of a member of the Silent Generation. Leonard’s story chronicles not only his breathtaking combat adventures, but the unforeseen perils that nearly sidetracked him during his time as an international sales executive.
Daniel Quinley, who speaks on May 18, learned much about his father as a child from rummaging through containers looking at medals and letters written during the war from his father to his beloved, Margaret. He said his father never wanted to talk about the war.
In his adult life, Dan Quinley took the letters and wrote a book that came out in 2014 — “Forever: A true story of love and war” — which revealed a love affair that began with a blind date in 1936, continued through World War II and into their later years to Fallon.
Steve Ranson, the coordinator of the project, “Legacies of the Silver State: Nevada Goes to War,” has had a longtime interest in World War II veterans. He will wrap up the lecture series on May 25.
Ranson retired as editor/general manager of the Lahontan Valley News in 2017.
Legacies contains more than 70 stories on World War II veterans who have some type of Nevada tie. Ranson, Beaton and former LVN owner David C. Henley have interviewed scores of World War II veterans and learned more about them and how they helped the war effort.
Dems to meet May 12
The Churchill County Democrats will hold their regular monthly meeting May 12 at the Churchill County Administration Complex on the corner of North Taylor and A streets in room 136. They will be planning their summer picnic and voting on their current platform. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
Meningococcal vaccines
The Nevada Legislature has passed a law that if your student is an incoming senior, they must have the meningococcal vaccine (MCV4) before they can start school in the fall. This means that every current 11th grader has to have this vaccine before they can start 12th grade. This does not apply to any other grade.
Parents can get this vaccine at their doctor's office, pharmacy, or the community health nurse (the appointments for the community health nurse must be scheduled in advance as hours are limited). Once your child receives the vaccine, please notify CCHS school nurse Adonna Crowley at crowleya@churchillcsd.com or call her at 775-423-2181 ext. 4124 with the date the vaccine was given.
For information, contact Adonna, or Chief School Nurse Stefanie Utz at 775-423-3463.
Kindergarten registration open
Kindergarten registration for the 2022-23 school year is open now. For information or to register your child visit: https://bit.ly/ChurchillCSDKindergartenRegistration.
For questions regarding registration contact Selena Gomes or Debra Shyne by emailing registration@churchillcsd.com or by calling 775-423-5184.
Pre-Kindergarten applications available
Pre-Kindergarten Applications for 2022-23 at Northside Early Learning Center are being accepted. Applications can be found by following this link: https://bit.ly/ChurchillCSDPreKApplication
For information visit https://northside.churchillcsd.com/
For questions contact Northside Early Learning Center at 775-423-3463.
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society 5K Fundraiser, “Purple Up for Military Kids,” will be held Saturday. Begins at Veterans Park (behind City Hall) at 10 a.m. Fee is $20 per person.
Second COVID booster doses
Churchill County is now offering second COVID booster doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for individuals age 50 and up as well as a second booster of the Pfizer vaccine for those aged 12 and up or the Moderna vaccine for those 18 and up with moderate to severe immunocompromising health conditions.
To be eligible for the second booster, one must have completed the primary three-dose vaccine series.
Based on emerging data, the CDC indicates a second booster dose may increase protection levels for higher-risk individuals.
Those eligible to receive the recommended additional mRNA (both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines) booster dose include the following:
• Certain immunocompromised individuals, including individuals 12 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and are four months out from their first booster;
• Individuals age 50 and older who received an initial booster dose at least four months ago who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised;
• Adults (18-49 years old) who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least four months ago.
All three vaccines are available at all Churchill County vaccine clinics. Vaccines are offered at the Miner’s Road public health site on Monday mornings, Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings and at the William N. Pennington Life Center on Wednesdays. See the full schedule for April.
