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Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 3:53 PM

Gray, Carmona urge governor to allow rural counties to reopen

Gray, Carmona urge governor to allow rural counties to reopen
Storey County Commissioner Jay Carmona and Lyon County Commissioner Ken Gray

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

Lyon County Commissioner Ken Gray and Storey County Commissioner Jay Carmona together sent a letter to Governor Steve Sisolak this week asking him to allow rural counties to begin reopening.

Gray and Carmona had the letter hand-delivered to Sisolak Monday, in which they say the best approach to open things back up is to let local officials decide.

Carmona said they gave the letter to Sisolak Monday, hoping he’d have time to consider it before his scheduled press conference Thursday. However, the press conference was bumped up to Tuesday and they aren’t sure whether Sisolak had the chance to read it before the speech in which he announced his tiered criteria for businesses and government offices to reopen.

“The economy in Nevada is on the brink and while it’s imperative we do what we can to keep COVID-19 infections and deaths down, we cannot ignore the many lives affected by these closures,” Carmona said in a Facebook post announcing the letter. “From business owners to employees, the impact is far and wide.”

In the letter, the outlined that while roughly 15 people out of every 1,000 population have become infected, while in Lyon County, that number is about 2 in every 10,000, and Storey County does not yet have a confirmed infection.

“Based on the above information, we ask you to allow rural Nevada to begin to reopen at the discretion of their respective Boards of County Commissioners, relying on the input of medial and public health professionals as well as the needs of their citizenry,” the letter states. “The approach you have taken with the prolonging of the “one-size fits all” restrictions is no longer necessary or in the best interests of our great state. And quite frankly, many are becoming less willing to cooperate as patience is running out with the “one size fits all” approach.”


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Comment author: Jack & Nancy CookComment text: Wonderful man. Created a precious family with Linda. Will always respect and admire his contribution to teaching at FHS.Comment publication date: 4/18/26, 10:27 AMComment source: Howard David JacksonComment author: JeffDickersonComment text: Very well reported, even though our motion was denied.Comment publication date: 4/15/26, 11:05 AMComment source: Judge allows Fernley City Council to proceed with corrective agenda item in Lau expulsion caseComment author: Todd fossumComment text: Hi my name is todd fossum i'm clarence's stepson, I was wondering if he had any siblings. I think he said he had a sister that just survived cancer. If she can get ahold of me or any buddy, my number is 916. 3 4 3 1 1 7 7.Thank you have a blessed dayComment publication date: 1/16/26, 4:33 PMComment source: Clarence L Shields C Comment author: Carl HagenComment text: So just curious, what is the point of a franchise agreement if it is not exclusive?Comment publication date: 12/15/25, 4:18 PMComment source: Council approves non-exclusive franchise agreement for waste collection C Comment author: Christine S GleasonComment text: In the first photo, the woman in the middle, wearing the black shirt, is SaraH Jean Gleason. She is not an FHS Leadership Student but is the person who is responsible (with the help of her father) for starting the Fernley Community Thanksgiving Dinner in 2011. She attended this year's dinner while home from Arizona State University, where she is working on her PhD.Comment publication date: 12/8/25, 8:52 PMComment source: About 400 meals served at Community Thanksgiving DinnerComment author: SusanComment text: RIP Sean. Prayers to the family, sorry for your loss.Comment publication date: 9/25/25, 1:11 PMComment source: Sean Everett Turner
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