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Four Nye County employees quit
by Mary Ann McNeill
Gazeue Stall
TONOPAH--Four employees have quit or given their
notice to leave the Nye County administration department
within the past couple weeks. At first, rumors were fly!ng that
the reasons for all these people leaving were intolerable work-
ing conditions.
When the PVG investigated, we found that the rumors were
true for two workers involved, but were not or may not be true
for the other two.
The four employees are Charles Rodewald, Budget/Fiscal
Analyst; Janice Williams, Repository Administrative Techni-
cal Analyst; Mary Alice Gable, Secretary; and Geniel Shrum,
Secretary.
Gable and Shrum are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Nye
County and their former boss, Bill Offutt, for sexual harrassment.
They could not speak about their reasons for leaving, but the
PVG was able to reach their attorney, John Keating, in Califor-
nia.
"They (Gable and Shrurn) wanted to stay there and try to work
it out," Keafing said. 'It is my understanding in that community,
working for the county government is a good job. We have two
women who had to leave there to work in lesser paying jobs
where they have some working conditions and benefits that axe
less than they were getting. I believe that it is Gable that has a long
commute and is on her feet all day. ; employees
Wouldn't ordinarily want to take demotions, bat of
tm-y k,t stay where they :,
'Tney didn't quit because of the lawsuit. quit became
working enditions there were intolerable," gearing said.
In contrast to those statements, Janice Williams assured the
PVG that she had no problems working for Nye County
administration. "I resigned," she said, "I'm retiring and
moving out of state. Further, I love my job. I have a wonderful
job, a wonderful boss. They are fair, honorable and ethical. I
Continued on page 16
Valley Electric Association planning for the future
by Mary Lamar
Gazette Stall
PAHRUMP--Valley Electric Association at the July
monthly Board Meeting presented a 10-year forecast that
shows the possible growth in the areas of Pahrump, Sandy
Valley, Lathrop Wells, Amargosa, Beatty and Fish Lake
Valley. Board members were excited by the news of a six
percent per year residential growth prediction, and a real-
istic three percent growth for small business.
Already this year VEA's own commercial business is
up 54 percent in comparison to last year's figures, mainly
due to the enormous usage by the Nevada Test Site.
Residential business is also up 10 percent over last year's
figures. "The growth here is mainly because people in Las
Vegas want to get out of the smog, get into affordable
housing, find good schools for their children, breathe some
fresh air and see a blue sky." Joe McCauley, director of
member services said.
VEA, because of these projected increases, is faced
with some major growth worries of their own. They will
need to find additional sources of electricity, build new
electrical substations, additional power lines and larger
transformers. "We are growing and we will continue to
grow," said Board Director Robert E. Hartman of District
4, Fish Lake Valley.
With growth comes change. The completion of the new
VEA building is just around the corner. It is scheduled to
open the first part of October. The new building will have
several new customer conveniences including a drive-up
window for paying bills and a larger customer service area
to accommodate more customers.
The new building will have approximately 13,000 square
feet providing the much needed room for VEA employees.
McCauley said that VEA grew out of the present building on
Highway 372 about two years ago.The building provides
the necessary office space, lunchroom and a larger board-
room. The best part of this $1.5 million project, is the cost
will not affect current rates, according to Larry Ortman,
office manager. "The funding for this project will be paid by
operating revenue and borrowed monies."
The old building that was originally occupied in April of
1981 will be renovated. A new sprinkler system will be
installed, walls will be moved and some other minor changes
will be needed before the Engineering Department will
move into the building. The renovations will all take place
after the new building is in full operation. The cost of this
project will be approximately $150,000 to $200,000. "The
funding for this project will be paid by operating revenue
and borrowed monies," Orman stated.
