12-9 - Duck Pond tops County Commission agenda tomorrow

 KELY News is sponsored by Sahara Motors.  Take a test drive now through December 22nd and win a new Kawasaki Elektrode Electric bike.  Stop by Sahara Motors for full details on how to win.

  Fair skies all week long with near record high temperatures.  Look for today’s high of 59. 

White Pine County Commissioners meet tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. in the County Library conference room, with public comment at the start of the session. The spotlight item comes at 11:30 when engineers and designers present the long-delayed Phase Two redesign of the Courthouse Park duck pond, funded through SNPLMA dollars. Commissioners will review cost-cutting changes, then vote on awarding the $1.4 million construction contract to Reck Brothers LLC. The county’s share is capped at $200,000.The project has been stalled since the original contractor, JCR, went bankrupt without finishing the work. Bonding issues from that failure are still unresolved. Notably, Reck Brothers successfully stepped in and completed other unfinished JCR projects in the county. Controversy has flared over the cost of caring for the park’s resident ducks during construction. As reported in this week’s Bristlecone Tribune, Commissioners Hank Vogler and Paula Carson have openly questioned those expenses and suggested the ducks be “disposed of, one way or another.”

Also on Wednesday’s agenda:

• Possible creation of a Cherry Creek Citizens Advisory Board  
• Potential changes to the scope of the Fairgrounds Event Center project  
• A request from the County Treasurer to switch the county’s primary checking account from Wells Fargo to Zion’s Bank

Commissioners will also receive an update on the extended Grand Jury from Chief District Court Judge Steven Dobrescu. In a written report posted on our Facebook page and at kely1230.com, Judge Dobrescu says the grand jury has returned indictments in every criminal case submitted by the Attorney General’s office and has now shifted to its investigative phase. Because of juror turnover and the time needed for those investigations, the court has extended the grand jury’s term through May first.Again, the White Pine County Commission meeting starts at nine tomorrow morning at the White Pine County Library conference room. The duck pond presentation and contract vote are scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

The weekend flap on Facebook over the headline story about the White Pine County Commission meeting on November 26th had people suggesting a forensic audit of the commission and the county.  One commissioner thought that was a good idea as Commissioner Tim Pauley said, quoting, “I’m only one of the five commissioners, but from my standpoint, a forensic audit would be welcomed.”  We’ll see if Mr Pauley makes good on that suggestion.  

The Ely City Council meets Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Ely Volunteer Fire Hall on Mill Street. 

A public hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. on a request from C&B Auto Parts to abandon about 1,875 square feet of city right-of-way along the north edge of High Street next to the business at 20 High Street.

Among the action items up for consideration: a water-use and deed agreement with White Pine County; waiving nearly 90 dollars in past-due utility penalties for a Cherry Creek property; allowing newly hired building official Chris Flannery to begin January 12 and covering his COBRA health insurance for February and March; reappointing Terrill Trask to the Tourism and Recreation Board and naming Anthony Ithurralde to the Historic Preservation Commission; joining the Butte Valley Exploration Project environmental review as a cooperating agency; approving a property swap with the county; and extending the Nevada Northern Railway Foundation’s development agreement to January 2027.

The council will also receive the city’s annual financial audit and hear updates from the White Pine Chamber of Commerce and the Porter Group on efforts to secure state and federal funding. The meeting is open to the public in person or online, with a final comment period at the end for any topic.

The White Pine County Sheriff’s Office handled a steady mix of calls on Thursday and Friday, ranging from minor accidents to fraud reports and welfare checks. Deputies responded to juvenile issues at local schools, a hit-and-run in Ely, online banking fraud, and several reports involving child welfare that were forwarded to other jurisdictions. Officers also investigated multiple trespassing complaints, a barking-dog disturbance, and several computer-related scams.

On December 5, deputies handled several traffic accidents and made three arrests: 55-year-old Dodi Harris on a North Las Vegas warrant, 65-year-old Carman Dingey on an Ely Justice Court warrant, and Richard Mike, who was booked to serve time from a previous case. No major injuries were reported.

Zanskar, a Utah-based geothermal exploration company, says it has discovered a large “hidden” geothermal resource in the Nevada desert using its artificial-intelligence model. The company says the find—nicknamed “Big Blind” and located outside Tonopah—is the first blind geothermal system confirmed as commercially viable in the U.S. in more than 30 years.

There are no surface signs of geothermal activity, but two wells drilled earlier this year to about 2,700 feet revealed a 250-degree reservoir. Zanskar says the system is big enough to support a utility-scale power plant, though the potential output could range anywhere from 50 to 150 megawatts or more.

Company officials describe the discovery as proof that AI can locate geothermal resources that would otherwise remain hidden. NV Energy currently gets about 5% of its power from geothermal, and Zanskar hopes to begin operating a plant at Big Blind within three to five years.

Both Bobcats Boys and Ladycats Girls Basketball teams will be hosting Pahranagat Valley from Alamo tonight  with JV games starting at 3pm and Varsity at 6.