New Program Schedule effective April 18

 

5-4 News - Commission to hire contractor to handle accounts payable

 KELY News sponsored by Sahara Motors.   The Kawasaki KX450 is built out of the box with everything you need to dominate the track. Check it out today at Sahara Motors and let the Good Times Roll. 

More clouds than sun today with scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms possible. Look for today’s high around 65. 

The White Pine County Commission will hold a special meeting Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the County Library Conference Room in Ely, with a live broadcast on KELY.

Commissioners will receive updates on several key vacancies, including Human Resources Director, Finance Director, Accounts Payable Clerk, and Golf Course Director.

The board is also expected to consider a contract with Eide Bailly LLP to provide temporary financial support while the accounts payable position remains unfilled. The agreement would cover processing and related services at hourly rates ranging from 170 to 396 dollars, with a total cost capped at 18-thousand dollars unless further approved.

The item comes as the county continues operating with interim financial leadership of Gina Rackley, a contract employee through her Rackley Financial Services LLC and is also running for mayor of Winnemucca, NV.  

KELY will broadcast the meeting live.

Wednesday’s special meeting precedes a Friday court date for an evidentiary hearing in the 7th District Court against Commission Chair Paula Carson by County Treasurer Catherine Bakaric and Recorder Christina Shady.  Carson is accused of of malfeasance and repeated violations of Nevada’s Open Meeting Law.

At issue is the January firing of the county’s finance director, which plaintiffs claim was an effort to bypass public meeting requirements. The complaint also alleges Carson sought unauthorized access to financial systems, approved a costly consulting contract through emergency meetings, and withheld a taxpayer-funded payroll study—first reported by KELY in February. Read the report at this link.  

Carson remains in her position as commission chair as the case proceeds. Court documents are available at this link. 

The White Pine County Sheriff’s Office handled a wide range of calls on Thursday and Friday, including an arrest, theft investigations, disturbances, and multiple assists to other agencies.

On Thursday, deputies arrested 34-year-old Sean C. Ganie of McGill on charges of luring a child using computer technology. Bail was set at 10-thousand dollars. Deputies also investigated a reported theft at a city residence, responded to several reckless driving complaints, and handled a disturbance involving loud music. Other calls included assisting an intoxicated pedestrian, helping a stranded motorist, and detaining two juveniles out past curfew.

On Friday, deputies located two missing juveniles who had left home overnight and returned them safely to a parent. Deputies also investigated a fraud case involving someone impersonating a peace officer, a report of suspicious drone activity in the county, and a domestic disturbance in a vehicle.

Additional calls included a rollover crash referred to Nevada State Police, a wanted subject who fled from deputies, and multiple parking and trespassing complaints in Ely.

The White Pine Bobcats baseball team delivered a pair of dominant wins over Lincoln County, rolling past the Lynx 18-to-2 and 10-to-nothing.

In the 18-2 win, Maddox Sedlacek struck out seven on the mound and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with six RBI. Jacob Derbidge added three runs, helping power the offense.

In the 10-0 shutout, Jacob Hall struck out 13 over five innings while allowing just two hits. He also went 3-for-3 at the plate. Derbidge stayed hot with three more RBI.

White Pine continues to pile up big wins this season, improving to 12-and-7, while Lincoln County drops to 6-11-and-1.

The two teams meet up again on 1pm Thursday at the Meadows in Las Vegas in the first round of the 2A Southern Championships. 

The White Pine Ladycats softball team picked up a pair of tight wins over Lincoln County Friday, edging the Lynx 10-to-9 and 9-to-8.

In game one, Laila Trujillo struck out seven in a complete-game effort, while Layla Ruesch and Addie Costello each homered to lead the offense.

Game two saw Gracie Hall go a perfect 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBI, as White Pine held off another late push from Lincoln County.

The Ladycats have now won six straight on the road, improving to 15-and-6 on the season, while the Lynx fall to 14-and-14 after three consecutive losses—all by a single run.

The Ladycats and the Lady Lynx go at it again in the first round of the 2A Southern Championships Thursday at 3:30pm at the Meadows in Las Vegas.  

In other sports, the Swim Team Swimming is on the way this morning to Regional Preliminaries at the Pavilion Center Pool in Las Vegas, and the Boys Golf Team will leave this evening for the 2A East Regional Tournament in Fallon.  Best of luck and prayers for all the Bobcats and Ladycats! 

5/1 News - Special county Commission Meeting to outsource Accounts Payable

 KELY News sponsored by Sahara Motors.   The Kawasaki KX450 is built out of the box with everything you need to dominate the track. Check it out today at Sahara Motors and let the Good Times Roll. 

 Look for mostly fair skies and warmer weather today with a high around 63.

The White Pine County Commission will hold a special meeting Wednesday, May 6th at 9 a.m. in the White Pine County Library Conference Room in Ely. 

Commissioners are expected to consider hiring outside accounting firm Eide Bailly LLP to provide temporary financial support while the county’s Accounts Payable Clerk position remains vacant.  Eide Bailly LLP is an American mid-tier public accounting and ancillary professional services firm headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, with fifty locations worldwide including in Elko, Las Vegas, and Reno.  The proposed contract would cover accounts payable processing and related services, at a rate of $170.00 to $396.00 per hour, billed in quarter-hour increments, with costs not to exceed 18-thousand dollars unless approved by the board.  The current Interim Finance Director, Gina Rackley, is also a contract employee through her Rackley Financial Services LLC and is also running for mayor of Winnemucca, NV.  

In addition, county officials are scheduled to provide an update on several vacant positions, including Human Resources Director, Finance Director, Accounts Payable Clerk, and Golf Course Director. 

KELY will broadcast the meeting live. 

The White Pine County Sheriff’s Office stayed busy on Tuesday and Wednesday with fraud reports, accidents, disturbances, and multiple assists to Nevada State Police.

Deputies handled welfare checks, investigated property damage, responded to landlord-tenant disputes, and warned several people for fireworks and juvenile motorcycle activity in a park. Reports of gunshots in a county township were determined to be fireworks. Officers also checked an abandoned vehicle near Ely’s water tower, finding it had simply run out of gas.

Nevada State Police made one booking. Michael Watts was arrested on charges including DUI, child endangerment, possession of a firearm while under the influence, expired registration, and child restraint violations. Bail was set at 17-thousand-690 dollars.

The Bureau of Land Management has issued a statewide fire prevention order for Nevada that takes effect Friday.

Under the new restrictions, several fire-related activities will be prohibited on BLM-managed lands to reduce wildfire danger. Those bans include possessing or using fireworks, pyrotechnic devices, or incendiary materials. Explosives, including binary explosive targets, are also prohibited.

The order further bans firing tracer, incendiary, or steel-core ammunition, along with operating combustion engines that do not have a properly installed and working spark arrestor.

BLM officials say the temporary restrictions are aimed at preventing human-caused wildfires during Nevada’s fire season.

4-30 News - City tries to ease construction traffic pain

 KELY News sponsored by Sahara Motors.   The Kawasaki KX450 is built out of the box with everything you need to dominate the track. Check it out today at Sahara Motors and let the Good Times Roll. 

 Look for mostly fair skies and warmer weather today with a chance of isolated afternoon showers.  Today’s high around 61.

The City of Ely says traffic changes began yesterday to help ease congestion during ongoing construction projects.

As of yesterday, Clark Street will become a two-way street from 1st Street through 10th Street. The temporary change is intended to improve traffic flow during continued work on Aultman Street and the Duck Pond project.

Drivers are asked to use caution and be respectful as crews and motorists adjust to the new traffic pattern.

Questions can be directed to the City Public Works Department.

An 18-year-old California woman was killed in a rollover crash last week in White Pine County.

The Nevada Highway Patrol says troopers responded on Friday to State Route 487 near mile marker 7, just north of Baker. Investigators say a Ford Expedition left the roadway, crossed the center line, then overturned after the driver overcorrected.

Authorities say passenger Katherine Truong of San Jose, California, was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol’s Major Incident Reconstruction Team.

4-28 News - Club Rio Licenses suspended until May 14

 KELY News sponsored by Sahara Motors.   The Kawasaki KX450 is built out of the box with everything you need to dominate the track. Check it out today at Sahara Motors and let the Good Times Roll. 

Just about a third of an inch of precipitation over the past 48 hours.  Look for mostly fair skies and warmer weather today with a chance of showers tomorrow and Thursday.  Today’s high around 57 

In a tense special meeting of the Ely City Council last night, the council voted to suspend the liquor and business licenses of the Club Rio on Aultman Street until the Council’s May 14 meeting.  The Council pointed out past violations that the bar had regarding minors loitering and drinking in the establishment and told the owners they would need to come up with a concrete plan to address these issues and submit them to the City Clerk by May 7th.  

 The move comes after a chaotic scene on April 16th when White Pine County deputies reportedly found the bar doors locked and windows covered while minors were allegedly drinking inside. Authorities claim staff refused to let officers enter as juveniles scrambled to hide.

This isn’t the first time the establishment has been under the microscope; city officials note the owner had received prior warnings regarding underage violations.

(UPDATE: After spending almost an hour again, having to file oddly specific parameters in the state's AURORA Campaign Finance Disclosure system, which was touted as permitting significant transparency in the reporting process, I managed to dig up all but one of the missing campaign finance reports. The system is deeply flawed. Hopefully one of the Secretary of State candidates can address this issue that is one more bit of opaque "transparency" in Nevada government.)

Several White Pine County candidates had not filed required campaign finance reports as of last night.

In the crowded Seat One race for the County Commission, incumbent Hank Vogler and candidate Gina Cavenaugh both filed reports showing no money raised or spent. But former commissioner Mike Coster, Robert Mike Simon, and David Pratt had not yet filed the required documents.

In the county assessor race, Burton Hilton reported no contributions but listed spending for yard signs. Opponent Jane Murdock had not filed a report.

The only contributions reported were in the sheriff’s race, where candidate Todd Fincher listed more than 10 thousand dollars in donations from three contributors. Opponents Roy Allen and Robert Whiteside had not filed reports as of last night.