Community News
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Tlaursday, Septembei25,
1997 2i '"
Waiting for El Nino
Last month, this fine journal ran a short series on El Nino.
El Nino seems to be a change in ocean currents and the jet
stream that brings a rise in the temperatures of our coastal
waters. This relatively small increase in water temperature
brings all sorts of excitement to winter storm patterns. Like
rain, and wind and more rain and stronger wind, and oh, my
goodness.
As is often the case, the Pahrump Valley Gazette ran it's
series well before the big city news services woke up to the
fact that the sky was falling. Now every TV news cast brings
dire predictions of the attention we can expect from the
rampaging storms of El Nino. Having lived in the deserts a
'I and having some ability to remember previous wet
w"rnter, it seemed only prudent that a bit of preparation might
be in order. Like maybe catch up on some deferred mainte-
nance items that have been awaiting my attention.
Our home is a rental. The landlord is a longtime friend. The
rent is reasonable, the home is comfortable and because the
landlord lives way up north in Utah, I take care of the minor
maintenance by which I mean all of the maintenance. Being
a renter, I don't just order up a new roof, expensive. I keep the
old one repaired. A lot of work. Like most desert roofs, ours
needed attention.
Shingles, we have. Nails and tar needed to be purchased.
Times have changed a bit. The products I used 20 years ago
are now made safe and environmentally polite. Halfa day of
label reading was required to get it right. With a fresh bucket
of tar and roofing nails long enough so I wouldn't hammer on
my fingers, I set out to check the condition of our roof. The
basic checking of the roof is done by counting the tiles that are
laying in our yard. It is a-law of nature that tiles can blow off
of the roof, but they can never blow off of the lawn. It looked
like a few too many tiles were decorating the grass.
Shirley has been feeling a bit low lately so while she was
gone, I set out to work on the roof. Shirley always gets so
excited, shouting things like, "Be careful, Why don't you buy
a good ladder...No, no, you're going to fall." I'm sure she
means well, but I am a man and am a natural born maintenance
expert and will buy a ladder any day now, real soon, honest.
I set the step ladder up on the porch and by standing on the
very top platform I am able to pull myself up on the roof. I pile
up the shingles, tools, and tar and survey my lofty domain.
Missing shingles, missing clumps of shingles, lots of tar from
past projects so not leaking through yet. Leaks are rare when
In The Thermometer's Shadow
by Mike Dougherty
W/!!I
it doesn't rain for a year. The sun is ii
warm and gentle on my moistly per- i!!
spiting face. I go to work. '::'" ....
Lift up the old shingles, slop on the
tar, remember to get some tar in my hair, lay the new shingle
under the old, nail everything in sight. The directions say that
an adhesive strip on the edge of the shingle will hold it down
in the wind. Forget it, use more flails, Lift, and tar, and nail,
keep on working, enjoy the warm radiance of the sun as it
bronzes everything that doesn't have whiskers. Finally, the
roof is well shingled. Covered with tar and sun burned, I ease
my legs over the edge of the roof and search out the top
platform of the short ladder. Wash up in a can of dune buggy
gas and that job is behind me.
There is a problem or two with our back door. Years ago
it was replaced, however it was replaced with a door designed
for use inside the house. Over the years, weather has not been
kind. The door sort of comes apart when it gets wet. I've
repaired it and sealed it a few times, but it still leaks. Rain runs
down the side of the house and over the top edge of the door
and into the kitchen. IfI owned the place, I'd call a contractor,
spend $500, and the job would be done. However, that's not
an option. I decided to build a short roof over the door that will
cause the run offfrom the roof to be carded away from the side
of the house and thereby protect the door and its leaks from
falling water.
There's an old piece of sheet metal that has been lying in
the road on the way to the post office. I go to pick it up. It'll
work. Lacking tin snips, I re-invent the can opener using a
hunting knife and a hammer. The tin is now trimmed and
using leftover lx4 stock from my car port project, I frame the
tin and prepare to nail it to the edge of the house, leaving a
little tin to slip under the shingles on the edge of the roof.
Good idea. Just not a one man job. I get it all figured out and
set up and call Shirley for just a bit of help.
Shirley holds the mini-roof up on one end with a broom
while I balance on my favorite ladder driving nails through
the shingles and into the tin. Not bad, it works. I could have
maybe gotten it a bit more level, but it ought to shed water. A
few strokes with a paint brush and it looks OK. Diagonal
bracing was added so the winds would have to work a bit to
tear it off, but the bracing merely looks decorative.
So, we are a little more ready than we were. If El Nino cares
to come calling, it will take a little more wind and rain to carry
our house away. I figure if the sky really does fall and all is
lost, we can load up the dune buggy and drive across country
to Salt Lake. It's shaping up to be an interesting winter.
Mortgage Life
Insurance
Around Amargosa with Andrea
by Andrea Lynn
The Church of Amargosa is having a potluck, Sunday, September 28 at 11 a.m. Sunday
school begins at 10 a.m. Join in the fellowship and welcome the fall season.
Th8 Middle School Volleyball and football teams both played Round Mountain over the
weekend. The football game went into overtime, but we didn't make those extra points we
needed. Christian Nunez broke his elbow during the game and had to have surgery, so it sounds
like everyone playedhard. Volleyball is made up of three teams this year: A, B, and C. A and
C teams won their games and the B team lost.
I I I II I1 II I II
Kids from various Valley organizations
September 20
through
September 27
Over 4,000 Desert Plants n Stock!!!
Open: 9 am - 5 pm Daily, Sun 10 am ~ 5 pm 12740 Blue Diamond Road
1/2 Mile off 160 W. on Blue Diamond Rd. (Hwy 159)
=j
(702) 875-1968 ,
i
Fax (702) 875-1913 [_/z
00p00Cash or Candy donation for
Cactus .. Cactus
Largest Selection in Nevada i
Desert Plants Succulents " :t"Ob "4
Lots of native Nevada plants including:
Red Barrels, Cholla, Yucca, Mound Cactus, Clariet
Teddy Bear, Beaver Trail, Prickly Pear, Saguaro
Golden Barrels, Organ pipe, Desert Willow
Blue Pale Verde, Ocotillo, Mexican Fence
PONS:a:c,d a oXtrh:;lYeN;e gld00 will peovlde 00onor a Tax
TMuetion rcilrt Iffe and wlndaw display
Free Cactus Say you saw it in the Gazette, limit of one
Birth in Amargosa will be calling on local-businesses to gain
00.o00ao, an00.=,o of 00a.,o,a aro p.ou00 of a 00au,hto., support in the form of a tax deductible
JoAnna Mary, born September 11, 1997, in Las Vegas. Paternal grandparents are Ed and Ruth
O'Neill of Zirconia, N.C., and Bea O'Neill of Lake Panasoffkee, Fla. Paternal great-
grandmother is Anna Rudaitis of Lake Panasoffkee, Fla. Maternal grandparents are the late
Joseph and Anna Hoyne, formerly of Dublin, Ireland.
