OPEN LETTER #4 TO THE COMMUNITY FROM A TOWN BOARD MEMBER
As stated in previous Open Letters, the information below is provided because there are many in the community who have no information, some information, or erroneous information about several issues.
I will continue to select two or three topics once or twice each month merely to enlighten or inform. I will also accept topics from you for future “Open Letters.” Feel free to contact me at twaters@pahrumpnv.org or 775-764-0949.
As a DISCLAIMER, please understand that I speak ONLY for myself as a Town Board member and will provide accurate information as I see it through my research. Please check my facts and feel free to provide corrected data if you believe I am in error. You are also free to ask other Town Board members or members of the community if they agree with me or have a different view point. All information is reviewed by several entities to ensure there are no NRS violations.
1. The Documents of Freedom -
I want to say from the start that I plan to insert several articles about the United States of America, the country I swore an oath to serve. This is the country of my birth and I love her and I will continue to serve her. Yes, I served over 32 years on active duty in the Air Force, served as a Senior NCO and as a Senior Officer, and completed prestigious leadership schools such as the Air Command and Staff College, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and Air War College but still did not know that there were TWO Civil Wars fought here in less than 200 years. Then I listened to Mr. Phillip Hider and my eyes were opened to the Documents of Freedom. This is merely Part 1 of some of the history I learned from this dedicated patriot who loves America as much as I do.
I want to say from the start that I plan to insert several articles about the United States of America, the country I swore an oath to serve. This is the country of my birth and I love her and I will continue to serve her. Yes, I served over 32 years on active duty in the Air Force, served as a Senior NCO and as a Senior Officer, and completed prestigious leadership schools such as the Air Command and Staff College, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and Air War College but still did not know that there were TWO Civil Wars fought here in less than 200 years. Then I listened to Mr. Phillip Hider and my eyes were opened to the Documents of Freedom. This is merely Part 1 of some of the history I learned from this dedicated patriot who loves America as much as I do.
Let me explain what I meant about the TWO Civil Wars. I learned in school that we fought the Revolutionary War in the 1700’s to gain freedom from Great Britain. I was taught that the American patriots fought the British soldiers and finally won our freedom. That is NOT true. It was British subjects fighting British soldiers and that denotes a Civil War. Not so Revolutionary after all unless we want to change the title of the “War Between the States” (North and South) to Revolutionary War #2. I still like the title Revolutionary War because I am stubborn but at least now I can explain the difference.
I was ignorant about so much of our Documents of Freedom. Ignorance is gone once you know and accept the education. It is stupidity to refuse to be educated. I have read the “Declaration of Independence” many times in my lifetime without ever realizing that I had the title all wrong. It is really The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. When we use the incorrect title of “Declaration of Independence”, so much information about our beginning is bypassed through the use of this incorrect title. The actual declaring of the separation from the British Monarchy is only a very small part of the unanimous declaration. It is far more than just word play on the titles. I am thankful that I am no longer ignorant about this.
We are extremely fortunate that our Founding Fathers insisted on a written constitution to guarantee the freedom of the people. How many nations have written constitutions that have lasted over 100 years? I’ll give you a hint, only ONE and you live here. Here are other Documents of Freedom that you should study and understand to understand the United States of America. 1) Magna Carta, 2) The Mayflower Compact, 3) The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America, 4) The Constitution, 5) The federalist Papers, 6) The Bill of Rights.
I’ll end this as Part 1 of the Documents of Freedom with the following questions to see how well we have been taught in our public and private school systems. Please study them so we can discuss them more when I present Part 2 in my next report.
1. What form of government do we have in the United States?
2. What is the supreme law of the land?
3. How many Articles are in the U.S. Constitution?
4. What are the Branches of Government?
5. What is the Bill of Rights?
6. From where are the U.S. citizens rights derived?
7. How many rights are enumerated in the Bill of Rights?
8. How many amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution?
9. What is the 1st amendment?
10. What is the 2nd amendment?
11. What is the 3rd amendment?
1. What form of government do we have in the United States?
2. What is the supreme law of the land?
3. How many Articles are in the U.S. Constitution?
4. What are the Branches of Government?
5. What is the Bill of Rights?
6. From where are the U.S. citizens rights derived?
7. How many rights are enumerated in the Bill of Rights?
8. How many amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution?
9. What is the 1st amendment?
10. What is the 2nd amendment?
11. What is the 3rd amendment?
As we go through life, how will you know when your rights are being taken away if you don’t know what they are? You hear many people loudly state, “I know my Rights!” But do they? Do you?
2. The Pahrump NV Vacation Destination (aka Theme Park) Part 2 -
There continues to be some very good questions coming forward about the Pahrump Vacation Destination. Also, there are seriously flawed assumptions along with some seriously erroneous information being spread to the public. I hope I clarified much of that information in my previous Letter #3. In this letter I plan to be brief on why I (and I hope others) will wait to review the upcoming information before making any decision.
There continues to be some very good questions coming forward about the Pahrump Vacation Destination. Also, there are seriously flawed assumptions along with some seriously erroneous information being spread to the public. I hope I clarified much of that information in my previous Letter #3. In this letter I plan to be brief on why I (and I hope others) will wait to review the upcoming information before making any decision.
For people who know me know that I am a Christian and an Ordained Elder in my church who believes in prayer before making decisions. This in NO way is meant to belittle anyone that chooses to believe differently from me. As a Military Veteran, I support the right of every citizen to freedom of religion and to believe (or not believe) as they choose. I merely want to state that I use the Christian Bible as my foundation. Using The Living Bible and the following scriptures, you or I can respond to any project, question, or dilemma. Proverbs 18: 13, 15, & 17 which state:
13: - “What a shame --- yes, how stupid --- to decide before knowing the facts.”
15: - “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.”
17: - “Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight.”
13: - “What a shame --- yes, how stupid --- to decide before knowing the facts.”
15: - “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.”
17: - “Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight.”
The Vacation Destination should remain a topic of discussion by all of us. My recommendation to everyone continues to be, “Let’s wait until we receive all the information before making a final decision that could affect all of us.
3. Open Meeting Law (OML) Violations in Pahrump -
The latest Report on OML violations from the Nevada Attorney General’s (AG) Office is IN. The report on the SIX violations filed by a Town resident to the AG’s office concludes with this statement, “Based on these facts, we do not believe any correction is required. The Board has acknowledged its mistakes and has taken steps to ensure no further violations occur. We are closing our files on these matters.” The ‘corrective steps’ were in place prior to the OML filings by the resident. These costly filings could have been avoided by a clear understanding of the OML as was explained to the resident in an OML presentation prior to the filing.
The latest Report on OML violations from the Nevada Attorney General’s (AG) Office is IN. The report on the SIX violations filed by a Town resident to the AG’s office concludes with this statement, “Based on these facts, we do not believe any correction is required. The Board has acknowledged its mistakes and has taken steps to ensure no further violations occur. We are closing our files on these matters.” The ‘corrective steps’ were in place prior to the OML filings by the resident. These costly filings could have been avoided by a clear understanding of the OML as was explained to the resident in an OML presentation prior to the filing.
I mentioned in my Open Letter #3 that each filing costs the Town money (approximately $500 each) to prepare a legal defense for the Town entity. For that reason we encourage filing if there is a clear OML violation but we discourage frivolous filings because it wastes the assets of the Town. As stated above, there were recently SIX violations filed by a Town resident to the AG’s office with a finding that “we do not believe any correction is required.” The cost to the Town to prepare the defense was approximately $3,000. If they had been upheld by the AG, it would have been a valid submittal and the offenders could have received a monetary fine. However, since there were no “valid” violations found, it is considered frivolous and a waste of Town funds.
Between years 2000 and 2011 the AG’s Office reviewed fifteen (15) complaints regarding the Pahrump Town Board. That is at a cost to the Town of approximately $7,500 with NO valid violations. Also, of the 15 perceived violations submitted, NONE were valid complaints. A recent change to the Open Meeting Law states the AG’s Office can now access a monetary fine of $500.00 or more for valid OML violations. Since there were NO fines assessed for the latest SIX complaints, the AG’s office is concluding that there were no valid violations. Remember too that the last ten complaints were filed by only two Pahrump residents.
So, my fellow Pahrumpians, I would hope that all residents that believe there has been an OML violation by a Town Board or Advisory Board member would request an interpretation from the Town Manager prior to submission to the AG’s office. Some residents already follow this procedure because finding out if it is a valid or frivolous complaint could save the Town’s monetary assets for more important matters.
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