Out Esmeralda Way
DOE cleans up
by Carol Sirnes
During the next six-to-eight weeks, local residents will be
seeing more than the usual traffic going through town. The
Department of Energy (DOE) has begun the transporting of
waste resulting from the clean-up of a 7.48-acre portion of the
Nellis Air Force Range, known as Clean Slate 1, which was
contaminated by nuclear weapons testing during the early
1960s.
The DOE is removing about 125,000 cubic feet of soil at
depths of six inches or less from the site. The department will
then transfer the contaminated soil inside super polypropelene
wrappers in covered, compartmentalized trucks that meet
DOE requirements, to the Area 3 disposal site at the Nevada
Test Site. These strong-tight containers will travel by a
combination of government roads on the Tonopah Test Range
and Nevada Test Site, and on public roads including Nevada
State Route 504 and U.S. Highways 6 and 95.
In 1963, as part of a joint U.S. - United Kingdom operation
called "Roller Coaster," the Atomic Energy Commission
(now DOE) tested the safety of nuclear weapons in simulated
accident conditions.
The Clean Slate I test, which contained 3,269 pounds of
explosives including three pounds of plutonium, contami-
nated the soil. As the second of four Operation Roller Coaster
sites to be remediated, Clean Slate 1 follows the Double
Tracks demonstration site which was selected because of its
closeness to a populated area which was Goldfield, 14 miles
to the west, and because it was the smallest of the plutonium
contaminated areas.
Disturbed areas will be stabilized and in the fall of 1997
DOE will revegetate the sites.
Now, for the other side of the coin! The DOE was a little
late on releasing this news! As a matter of fact it has been
transporting through Goldfield for about six months now. In
an interview with Undersheriff Bob Rogers, he said the DOE
did NOT notify their office to be on the alert in case of any
accidents or spills.
Calls to the Santa Fe Enterprises in Las Vegas to see if it
has employed any of the local area residents have not been
returned.
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, May 29,
1997 13
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Taxation Emergency meeting/
On May 21, 1997, at 2 p.m.. the Esmeralda County
Commissioners held an emergency meeting telephone con-
ference in the Goldfield Courthouse related to notification
from the Department of Taxation regarding reduction of
estimates for net proceeds of the mines for the FY (fiscal year)
1997-98, and related budget matters affected by the reduction
of net proceeds of the mines.
At the meeting were Susan Dudley, chairperson, Norah
Adams, auditor; Lynn Scott, recorder; and District Attorney
Steve Evenson. On the three-way phone hook-up was Esmer-
alda County CPA Mike Cox in Las Vegas, Commissioner
Ben Veljoen in Silver Peak, and Commissioner Gary O'Connor
in Fish Lake Valley.
First, a motion was made and passed declaring this an
emergency item.
After discussing many options, a motion was made to
reduce the Contingency Fund Account from $50,000 to
$25,000 to eliminate the $76,000 Community Support fund,
and reduce the ending balance by $528,000.
This item will be placed on the next agenda for June 3,
1997, tor more discussion,
decisions, and public input.
Esmeralda County
School District
May 30 - 97 - Goldfield
8th grade graduation
Dryer 8th grade gradua-
tion June 1-4 - Eighth grade
trip; Silver Peak, Fish Lake
Valley and Goldfield will be
going to'Las Vegas June 6
- Last day of s:hool!
Goldfield 8th
Grade Graduates
Sharleine Arnold, Amanda
Elsea, Heidi Hafer, Heidi
Metscher, Jackie Stanley,
Adam Siri, Jillian Cain,
Veronica Farmer, Kassandra
Huskey, Jennifer Rice, Tyler
Scott, David Tyson.
The Goldfield 8th grade
will be graduating Friday,
May 30, 1997 at 7 p.m. inthe
Goldfield Gym. The guest
speakerswill be Susan
Dudley, chairman, Esmeralda
County Board of Commis-
sioners; and Harold Tokerud,
superintendent, Esmeralda
County School District.
Cake; punch and coffee will
be served immediately fol-
lowing the graduation. At
8:30 p.m. there will be a con-
gratulations dance for the 8th
graders. There will be a disc
jockey with all your favorite
music. The dance will be over
at 10:30 p.m. Parents are re-
minded to pick theirchildren
up by 10:30 p.m.
The EsmeraldaCounty 8th
graders will be leaving on
their end-of-the-year trip to
Las Vegas June 1. They will
be going to the Excalibur foi" a Medieval Times dinner and
games, the MGM Theme park, Scandia, Wet 'n' Wild, to a
• movie, and possibly to a Las Vegas Stars game. On several
occasions they will allow their chaperones, Ronda Bridgman,
Jim Cunningham, George Worden, Ludene Hilligoss and
Leslie Huskey, a much needed rest by the pool at their hotel.
They will return June 4. All students will be taken to their
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