1st: Val Montgomery, 33

2nd: Nancy Newton, 35

3rd: Shane Miller, 37

4th: Loretta Bradley, 38

Birdies: Val Montgomery, #4; Nancy Newton, #14

Low Putts: Nancy Newton, 29

Closest to Hole #7: Loretta Bradley, 23'0"

Closest to Hole #14: Nancy Newton, 26'0"

Chip-In: Paula Reed, #17

Ingredients:

2 cups water
4 cups potatoes (peeled and chopped into morsels)
1 lb ground pork sausage
1 cup yellow onion (chopped)
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp ground pepper (adjust to taste)
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage and onion in a large pot. Drain the fat (unless you want extra flavor or are exceptionally slim).
2. Add water, potatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then lower temp and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes (cook time varies by potato type and personal taste).
3. Add the corn, cream corn, and evaporated milk. Stir thoroughly. Cover and cook on low an additional 10 minutes until warm.
4. Enjoy!

Spencer Pryor scrambled home with the winning run on a squeeze bunt by Brock Boyd to give the Vaqueros a 7-6 win in the first game of a three-game series against Lowry last Friday. The Vaqueros then followed up with 12-0 and 12-6 wins on Saturday to complete the series sweep.

The Vaqueros were down to their last out trailing 6-4 in the seventh inning, when Spencer Pryor hit a double that scored Alex Juliot and Riley McCullar to tie the game.

“Huge hit from Spencer Pryor, but some great at-bats before that to get on base,” coach Thomas Chapin said. “Riley leads the league in runs scored and it usually works out in our favor if that guy is on the basepaths at some point.”

McCullar got on base three times Friday, with two hits and a walk, and scored each time. The three batters behind him in the lineup drove in six of Fernley’s runs, three by Spencer Pryor, two by Nikko Pryor and another by Brody Jones.

“I don’t want us to get used to playing extra-inning games like that,” Chapin said. “The best thing about it is the competitiveness. But they’re just being as competitive as possible, wanting to win when they have the chance.”

No such dramatics were needed Saturday. Fernley scored five runs in the first inning, two in the third and five more in the fourth to end the game in five innings. Brody Jones had two hits and drove in three runs, Derek Boelter drove in two in the 12-0 win.

In the finale, Brody Jones, Nikko Pryor and Maverick Parks each drove in two runs to lead the 12-6 win.

“It’s always nice when you get a sweep,” Chapin said. “Those are the best things you can hope for.”

The Vaqueros are now 8-4 in the Northern 3A, and have won eight of their last nine games since being swept by Dayton in the first league series. This week they’re scheduled to play at South Tahoe, with a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“I’m really happy with how we responded from our Dayton series,” Chapin said. “They’re just playing really good baseball right now.”

Lau filed an emergency petition on March 24 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, along with a temporary restraining order, arguing the council could not vote to expel him because the agenda item did not list expulsion as a possible action. The court agreed there was enough evidence to justify immediate intervention.

The agenda item for that March 4 meeting, requested by Councilman Albert Torres, read: “Discussion and Possible action to adopt Resolution number 26-004 and discuss the competency, character, and/or alleged misconduct of Councilman Lau including the results of the independent investigation conducted by Sutton Law and Consulting, with possible action, including but not limited to: censure, removal from boards or committees, adoption of resolution, request for resignation, etc.”

Although the agenda item listed “Resolution number 26-004”, the resolution, which was included in the agenda packet, was Resolution 26-002. That resolution stated that Lau was permanently expelled from the City Council effective immediately, citing NRS 266.240; declared the seat formerly held by Lau vacant as of March 4, 2026; and stated that the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with NRS 266.225, including an applicable appointment or special election requirements.

After discussion, the council voted 3-2 to adopt Resolution number 26-002.

In his order, Judge Leon Aberasturi found that Lau would face “immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage” if the city moved ahead with declaring his seat vacant and filling it before the matter could be heard. The court also noted that Lau’s verified complaint and supporting declaration showed a reasonable chance of success on the merits, pointing out that a later agenda item explicitly stated the council would consider expelling a different City Council member, which the item involving Lau did not.

That agenda item, requested by Councilman Ryan Hanan to discuss the character, conduct and competency of Torres, did specifically list expulsion among the possible actions, but the item was removed from the agenda by a 3-2 vote of the council.

The court ruled that the balance of hardships favored Lau and temporarily waived any bond requirement.

Under the order, the city and its officers are barred from enforcing Resolution 26-002, including the provisions declaring Lau’s seat vacant and directing it to be filled at the next regular meeting. The Court ordered that the city has 10 days to show why a preliminary injunction should not be granted. Lau may file a reply once that response is submitted.

The temporary restraining order remains in effect until the preliminary-injunction hearing, which is set for April 10 at 2 p.m. at the courthouse in Yerington. Each side will have 90 minutes to present evidence and argument.

The order was issued March 26 at 11:30 a.m.

The Vaqueros had won their last seven games without allowing a run, but after losing two of three games to Lowry over the weekend in their first league series, coach Diane Chapin said those blowouts against weaker opponents didn’t give her team the kind of tests they needed for a matchup of that caliber.

The Vaqueros got just seven hits in the two games in which they faced Lowry ace pitcher Makinley Hislop and committed 11 errors in the series, seven of those in the first game.

Lowry won the series opener 7-3 on Friday, then the teams split a doubleheader Saturday, with Fernley winning the first game 6-3 and Lowry taking the finale 9-1.

Coach Diane Chapin said the Vaqueros weren’t ready to face a pitcher as good as Hislop and hadn’t been forced to make many plays defensively during their winning streak.

“For the last month we hadn’t had anybody make us play a whole lot of defense because our pitchers have been shutting everybody down,” she said. “When you spend your last seven games shutting everybody down, it throws you off a little bit.”

The Vaqueros found themselves trailing 7-0 Friday until Taylor Tollestrup worked a walk with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth. In the sixth, Emma Collins hit a triple that drove in Emma Masters and Grace Chapin, but Hislop retired the last four Fernley hitters to hold the lead.

In Saturday’s first game, Tollestrup doubled to lead off the first inning and later scored, then she homered in the third and sixth innings. Masters and Grace Chapin both drove in runs in the third inning as the Vaqueros put six runs on the board.

After facing Lowry pitchers Maite Bengochea and Elisabeth George in the first game Saturday, they scored just once against Hislop in the nightcap, when Tollestrup was hit by a pitch, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Bella Leija.

“Their second pitcher throws good speed, but doesn’t move the ball as much, so we hit that pretty good, but I think she threw the third girl to see if she could really get our timing off, then turn around and throw her best pitcher at us,” Diane Chapin said. “It was a good move on her part to mess up our timing, which it did.”

The Vaqueros are now 10-4 overall and 1-2 in the Northern 3A East. This week the Vaqueros go to Elko, which won two of three against Dayton last week. Every league series in the opening weekend ended 2-1, and Chapin said that could indicate a balanced league.

“Early on in the league you’re still kind of testing things out to see who’s going to be that player that can get things done for you,” she said.

The first game in Elko will be at 3 p.m. Friday, with a doubleheader Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

“They still have the same pitching from last year so we know what to expect pitching-wise,” Diane Chapin said. “Our focus is going to be a lot of our game situations to make sure we know what to do. Just focus on good, competing at-bats.”

Richards is charged in connection with the March 2024 death of 25-year-old Sara Filiatraut after investigators with the Lyon and Churchill County sheriff’s offices found her body in May in a remote desert pit about 30 miles east of Fallon.

The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, believing Filiatraut was killed around March 23, 2024. Before she was reported missing, Richards had been arrested on April 8 in an unrelated case, released on his own recognizance on April 10, and later admitted to investigators that he had been with Filiatraut the night of March 22, claiming she left his trailer at the Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley.

On July 25, 2024, prosecutors concluded they had sufficient evidence and filed murder charges against Richards, leading to a multistate manhunt. Richards was extradited from Utah in November 2024, denied bail, and later evaluated and determined competent to stand trial. He pleaded not guilty on Feb. 9.

Judge Aberasturi said a criminal settlement conference is scheduled for July. At that time, both parties will present their cases to an out-of-district senior district court judge. If the matter is not resolved, the case is set for jury trial Oct. 27 through Nov. 6.

Brock told the court the defense intends to seek a change of venue, which would transfer the case to another county. Motions for change of venue must be filed in writing and include a supporting affidavit outlining the reasons for the request.

Aberasturi noted that changes of venue are rare and said it has been 12 years since he presided over such a hearing. He said any motion must be filed before the settlement conference, after which the court can schedule a change of venue hearing.

Richards remains in custody on a no-bail hold at the Lyon County Jail.

You couldn’t script two more opposite scenes. At Victory Logistics District, the scale alone tells the story. Plans for rail, power, roads and industry in various stages of development signal that Fernley is no longer a town waiting for something to happen. People who may not have realized the scale of the project got a first-hand look at what Mark IV Capital has planned.

Even though nothing like this had ever happened here before, InFERNo, on the other hand, was Fernley in its most familiar form. The creativity of a dedicated bunch of doers came to life at the racetrack with music blasting through the desert, fire lighting up the night sky and hundreds of people enjoying every minute of it.

Put the two together and you get a snapshot of Fernley’s crossroads. One path is built on long-term planning, private investment and the promise of jobs that could reshape the city’s economy. The other is built on the volunteers and donors who don’t need a groundbreaking ceremony to feel connected to where they live.

Both of those matter and both showed up this week.

Whether you’re new here or have been here all your life, the question Fernley keeps circling is whether the city can grow into the future without losing the parts of itself that make it feel like home. Whether the big projects can coexist with the small moments and whether the scale of what’s coming can still leave room for the people who built the place long before anyone talked about logistics districts.

If you were paying attention, this week offered a hint. Fernley showed it can look forward and look inward at the same time. It can walk through a billion-dollar development and a festival that started with a “what if” on the same day. It can imagine what’s next without forgetting what’s already here.

That balance is Fernley right now. And if the city can hold onto it, the future might look a lot like what we saw this week, full of big plans, local roots, and a community that shows up for both.

Ward 1 City Council candidate Gregory Barrett, who organized and hosted the event, opened the forum by explaining the format and encouraging residents to meet with candidates afterward or leave written questions in boxes designated for each candidate. Each candidate was provided table space to meet with voters following the presentations.

Mayoral candidates

John Kenneth Barchie, who moved to Fernley in 2021, said he is running for mayor because he believes the city is beginning to experience the same problems he saw in California and wants to prevent Fernley from following that path. Barchie said the city is “leaving money on the table” and argued that Fernley needs greater financial transparency, including clearer public information about water resources, development impacts and long-term planning. He criticized what he described as a lack of accessible data on the city’s website and said residents deserve to know how decisions are being made. Barchie also said Fernley should negotiate more aggressively with large corporations locating in the region, arguing that the city’s infrastructure needs far exceed current revenue. He said he wants to preserve Fernley’s character and ensure the city does not repeat the mistakes he witnessed in Silicon Valley.

Tim Bickerton said he had a short career as a Reno police officer and retired from Waste Management. He said he is running for mayor because he believes Fernley is at a pivotal moment as major industrial projects and regional growth accelerate. Bickerton, who is known locally for his community volunteer work and for administering the “Fernley Rant and Rave” social media page, said the city’s recent controversies have damaged its reputation and created a perception of dysfunction that could deter future investment. He said Fernley must present a united front, restore professionalism on the council and actively pursue both large and small businesses. Bickerton said he would work to bring opportunities to the council’s agenda, reduce internal conflict and help Fernley shed its “laughingstock” image as it prepares for significant growth in the coming years.

Alexis Colosi, a nurse, veteran and mother who moved to Fernley about a year and a half ago, said she is running for mayor to address the strain rapid growth has placed on the city’s emergency services, healthcare access and community resources. Colosi said her work in healthcare has shown her the real-world consequences of Fernley lacking an emergency room, hospital and adequate primary care, forcing families to travel to Reno for basic services. She said the city’s expanding population is increasing demands on police, fire and EMS, and that response times can mean “the difference between life and death.” Colosi said she would prioritize strengthening public safety staffing and resources, improving access to healthcare by recruiting providers and expanding local services, and supporting strong schools and family-oriented amenities. She said her background as a veteran and nurse has prepared her to lead with accountability, service and compassion.

Mayor Neal McIntyre, a 66-year Fernley resident, said he is seeking a second term because he cares deeply about the community he has watched grow from 500 people in 1960 to more than 26,000 today. McIntyre highlighted his long record of public service, including 14 years on the Lyon County School Board before being elected mayor, and said Fernley’s location, with access to I-80, U.S. 50, U.S. 95 and the rail line, continues to attract major national and international companies. With growth expected to push the population to 40,000 to 45,000 within the next decade, he said the city must stay ahead on infrastructure. McIntyre outlined planned road and utility projects in the upcoming budget, including work on Cedar Street, the streets behind 7-Eleven and streets in the industrial area, paired with water and sewer upgrades. He also began to address a proposed reorganization that would eliminate the city manager and deputy city manager positions, but ran out of time before he could finish.

City Council candidates stress growth, infrastructure and community leadership

City Council Ward 1

Gregory Barrett, who said he spent his career managing maintenance budgets and compliance under pressure, said he is running for the Ward 1 seat to address Fernley’s long-standing road conditions and the strain rapid growth has placed on infrastructure. Barrett said more than 2,700 new homes have been approved or are in the pipeline, yet many neighborhoods, including his own, have gone more than a decade without meaningful road repairs. He outlined a five-point road maintenance plan built around Fernley’s existing Pavement Condition Index system, calling for annual public updates, an interactive online dashboard, and strict prioritization of streets scoring below 60. Barrett said the city must fix the worst problems first, ensure new development pays its fair share through appropriate impact fees, and tie PCI-based priorities directly into the capital improvement plan to accelerate funding by two to three years. He also criticized the proposed Title 16 nuisance ordinance as granting too much unchecked authority to a single official.

Incumbent Councilman Ryan Hanan highlighted his involvement in regional and local initiatives since taking office, emphasizing his work representing Fernley at state, regional and economic development meetings. Hanan said that shortly after being elected, he was assigned to meet with the Nevada Department of Transportation in Carson City to address “dozens of items” needing attention in Fernley, and he said all of those issues were resolved. Hanan said he has regularly attended events hosted by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and the Northern Nevada Development Authority, as well as the annual State of the County addresses, to ensure Fernley has a voice in regional planning and economic discussions. Hanan said he has been involved in workshops and planning sessions for the Nevada Pacific Parkway overpass rehabilitation and has made a point of attending Chamber of Commerce events, ribbon-cuttings, and meetings to support local businesses and community groups. He said he stands by his record and asked voters to evaluate him based on what he has accomplished during his time in office.

Debbie Skinner, a lifelong Lyon County resident raised in Fernley, said she is running for the Ward 1 seat to bring practical experience, fiscal responsibility and community-focused leadership to the council. Skinner has owned the Desert Rose RV Park for 26 years and said her work in hospitality has taught her how to solve problems, work with people and understand community needs. She noted her local roots as a contractor’s daughter who grew up doing hands-on work. Skinner highlighted her service on the Lyon County Room Tax Board, which helps fund community events, and her past work on the City of Fernley’s Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. She is in her second term as a director for the North Lyon Fire Protection District and said strong relationships between local agencies are essential as Fernley grows. She said she is concerned about overspending, the lack of infrastructure and the need for additional amenities.

City Council Ward 3

Ryan Cross, a 26-year Fernley resident and principal of Fernley High School, said his nearly three decades in public service have shaped his belief in collaborative, mission-focused leadership. A former U.S. Army commissioned officer, Cross said his career in education has allowed him to work closely with families, public safety agencies and community partners to expand opportunities for local youth. He highlighted his role in bringing an emergency medical training program to the high school, creating a pathway for students interested in careers in fire and EMS while helping meet workforce needs in the region. Cross said he believes good leadership means listening first, working collaboratively and focusing on solutions rather than personalities. He said his priorities if elected would be responsible growth, strong public safety and reliable infrastructure.

Roy Edgington Jr., a former mayor and longtime Fernley resident, said he is running to restore civility and professionalism to the council. Edgington, who previously served four years on the council and eight years as mayor, said he first ran for office after seeing a council member repeatedly admit he had not read staff reports. He said the level of conflict on the current council is “unacceptable” and that Fernley needs elected officials who are prepared, respectful and able to conduct meetings with decorum. A retired Reno-Tahoe Airport firefighter with 29 years of service, Edgington said Fernley has strong potential but must be realistic about what the city can and cannot do, noting that businesses such as restaurants and hospitals will only come if the market supports them. He said he supports improving medical access but cautioned that a full hospital is unlikely without significant population and financial backing.

Editor’s Note: A separate story on the county commission, district attorney and sheriff candidates who took part in the forum will run next week.

Zachary Petersen won the frosh/soph 3,200 meters in 10:59.13, while Jayden Esparza took the frosh/soph 110-meter hurdles in 16.09, with Eli Slaughter placing fourth in the same race.

In the varsity hurdles, Keeshawn Love placed second in the 300 hurdles in 41.04 and added a fifth-place finish in the 110 hurdles in 15.44. Love also anchored Fernley’s 4x100 relay team, which finished second in 44.22.

The Vaqueros added another top-five relay finish in the distance medley, where the varsity squad placed fifth in 11:29.47.

In the field events, Bodie Parsons earned a fourth-place finish in the varsity discus with a throw of 131-4, while Kole Miller placed fifth in the varsity shot put at 43-6½.

On the girls side, Justice Martell-Artiaga placed fourth in the varsity 300 hurdles in 48.44, and Fernley’s 4x200 relay team finished fourth in 1:53.48. Angel Pochop added a third-place finish in the varsity discus with a throw of 100-3.

This week the Vaqueros were scheduled to compete at Wooster on Tuesday, then split squads this weekend, with younger runners competing in Friday’s Little George JV Invitational on Friday and the varsity in Saturday’s Big George Invitational, both at Douglas.

What happened out there was something we’ve been working toward for months. Thousands of hours, countless decisions, and more dollars than we care to discuss at this moment. To finally see it all come together, to see people show up, experience it, and be part of it, it was overwhelming in the best way.

This was a massive undertaking and one that was pretty risky for our small nonprofit organization. We took that risk because we believed in the idea, because we believed in what this community is capable of when it comes together, and because we believed in ourselves.

In the room where it happens, where the decisions are made, the plans laid out, and the impossible is undertaken, there are just a handful of people. Each person comes with their own ideas, visions, and passion for making things happen. Those few also spent days on end hauling things out to the Reno-Fernley Raceway, measuring, setting up cones and signage, collecting tumbleweeds, building the pyres, meeting with permitting agencies for inspections, making last-minute decisions and changes, and then undoing all of it once it was over.

InFERNo is an example of what is possible for Fernley, and we are incredibly proud of what we accomplished and massively appreciative of everyone that came out and believed in the ACES to pull this off.

As a first-year event, it was hard to convey the vision we had in our minds to the public since we lacked any media to show people what it would look like. It was a bit of an uphill battle to convince people that Drowning Pool, an internationally-known celebrity band, really would be playing for us in Fernley. We constantly battled the idea that this was somehow a mini-Burning Man; no hate to Burning Man, but it’s not the same. In the end, the vision came to life, and the InFERNo festival burned bright.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we are bursting with pride.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our many volunteers who showed up for the weekend to make things run. Sebastian Martinez, Fernley resident and festival volunteer, said, “By the way, I have worked more events than I can count and I have never seen such a large event pulled off so professionally with so few staff members. You guys should be super proud of yourselves.”

Seeing county officials, North Lyon County Fire personnel, Lyon County Sheriff deputies and other supporting crew out there, enjoying themselves and smiling through their workday was pretty great. Support and cooperation with those agencies and others made this all possible. In addition, the Reno-Fernley Raceway put in a lot of work to get the facility ready and to help us when we needed it. We owe them and the crew a huge thanks for making this possible. Scrap Metal Recycling donated three cars for people to smash, and the car smash was run by Reno Punk Rock Flea Market, with proceeds benefitting their nonprofit. Waste Management donated a dumpster for all the trash. Desert Pigs came in clutch with volunteers cleaning up and staying on top of emptying trash cans. Vet Mech Arms donated the flamethrower, autographed by Drowning Pool, that lit one set of fires, and which people will have a chance to win.

Truly, this massive undertaking wouldn’t have happened without their support.

We would absolutely love to do this again, but we are going to need help.

Conversations have already begun about how we take this to the next level, how we build on what worked, and how we make next year even bigger and better. But the reality is, something like this takes a tremendous amount of resources.

If InFERNo meant something to you, if you felt that energy that was palpable, that chaos, that spark, and you want to see this grow into something even more incredible, this is where we ask you to be part of what comes next.

Support comes in many forms: showing up, spreading the word, volunteering, partnering, sponsoring. It all matters. It all adds up.

Because this wasn’t just a one-time event. This was the beginning. InFERNo will rise from the ashes in the desert and burn once again.

Executive Director of Operations Harmon Bains told trustees the district’s enrollment began the year 125 students below projections and has continued to fall by roughly 30 students per quarter, leaving the district 185 students under budgeted expectations as of March 6. Under Nevada’s Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP), he said, that shortfall represents an estimated $4 million impact over the biennium.

Bains said the district is not attempting to cut the full amount in a single year but must take proactive steps to protect the general fund. He estimated that the reductions he presented total between $1.8 to $2.2 million.

The proposal presented to the trustees included reducing 22.5 interventionist positions funded through the College and Career Readiness program to 17.5 positions, with the program ending in 2027; eliminating the English Language Implementation Specialist, a district office position that has remained vacant; ending teacher-leader and administrative-leader stipends, which were created with federal pandemic-relief funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program, which cost about $650,000 annually; and eliminating summer custodial and groundskeeping positions, which Bains described as helpful but nonessential.

Trustee Darin Farr said he appreciated that the only eliminated position is one that has been vacant, meaning no employee loses a job. He described the reductions as trimming “luxuries” rather than cutting essential services and said other counties are facing far more severe cuts.

“We’re making the least possible cuts we can in order to stay afloat,” he said.

Trustee Elmer Bull asked how much the teacher-leader and administrative-leader stipends cost. Bains said teacher-leader stipends are $10,000 and administrative-leader stipends $12,000, totaling about $650,000 annually.

Bull said the district’s enrollment decline mirrors a statewide trend and raised concerns about students leaving for charter, private and home-school options. He said the issue is “serious” and may warrant a future agenda item.

“We can't keep going the direction we're going,” he said. “It’s unsustainable.”

Trustee Kallie Day asked whether the district is actively pursuing grants. Bains said the grants team constantly searches for opportunities and recently secured a $500,000 pre-K grant, adding that the district will continue seeking outside funding to support programs affected by reductions. Trustee Sherry Parsons expressed concern that eliminating teacher-leader stipends could shift uncompensated work onto teachers, particularly in special education. Superintendent Tim Logan said substitute teachers are licensed and allowed to assist with IEP processes, and that special education teachers will continue to be compensated for writing IEPs outside contract time. He said the loss of stipends removes expectations, not teaching positions, and that many teachers will likely continue mentoring colleagues voluntarily.

Bains added that non-teacher-leader staff already assist with IEPs and are paid for extra duty hours, a long-standing practice that will continue.

Trustee Tom Hendrix noted that staffing reductions do not always align neatly with enrollment loss because students leave across multiple grades and schools.

“I recognize that’s difficult, because if we lose five students across six different grades, we're not going to lose a teacher,” he said. “If we lose all of those 30 students within one grade level, then we would have a reduction of one teacher there.”

Bains said staffing allocations are determined by board-approved formulas and monitored by the human resources department, but acknowledged it is “not a perfect science.” He said it is within the board’s purview to scrutinize positions if needed, though he does not believe the district is at that point.

Bains said the district will present its full 2026–27 budget next month, incorporating the reductions approved Tuesday. He said enrollment will continue to be monitored and that the district intends to remain proactive rather than wait for deeper cuts to become unavoidable.

The motion by Trustee Dawn Carson to approve the proposed changes passed 6–1, with Trustee Sherry Parsons opposed.

“People drive by and think nothing is going on,” Nelson said. “Now they realize there’s a lot going on.”

He said the open house was the first in a planned series of public events designed to offer tours, answer questions and gather community input. Attendees were encouraged to leave written comments, and Nelson said Mark IV will compile those comments and deliver them to the City of Fernley as it prepares its North Fernley Master Plan.

Nelson said most visitors were surprised not only by the amount of work already completed but by the scale of what is coming next. The rail spur, he said, is now 60 percent complete, with ballast in place and crews welding track. The line is expected to be operational by September, a milestone he called critical for attracting advanced manufacturing. Two companies are evaluating sites because rail-served property is scarce in northern Nevada.

He also highlighted progress on the proposed Fernley Power District, which he said is nearing 90 percent design completion. Mark IV is working with the city to finalize the structure, and Nelson emphasized that the district would operate outside NV Energy’s service area.

“It doesn’t touch any of the ratepayers,” he said. “It’s insulated.”

Nelson said the district would operate under a city-approved franchise, generating franchise-fee revenue for Fernley. Nelson said the model creates a self-contained economic engine where franchise fees boost the city budget, new businesses expand the tax base, workforce demand grows, and property and sales taxes increase.

“We built a mechanism that benefits the city without costing the citizens,” he said.

Nelson said the two concerns he hears most often from residents are that data centers use too much water and that the project will strain the region’s power supply or raise electric bills. He said both concerns are based on outdated assumptions.

“Microsoft has already applied to the city for their campus at just over nine acre-feet per year,” Nelson said. “That’s less than seven houses. The City of Fernley has given out permits for new housing over 100. When you compare that to what we’re building, we’re vastly underneath it.”

On power, he reiterated that the Victory project’s power district is separate from NV Energy and therefore has no impact on local rates. Instead, he said, it creates a new revenue stream for the city from a franchise fee and makes the district more attractive to advanced manufacturers. Workforce development is also beginning to take shape. Western Nevada College President J. Kyle Dalpe attended the open house, and Nelson said several companies are working with WNC to train electricians, welders, HVAC technicians and, eventually, more specialized trades.

“Workforce development provides job opportunities ad infinitum,” he said.

Residents were able to view maps showing future road alignments, the Nevada Pacific Parkway connection and the broader North Fernley development plan. Nelson said future open houses will continue to show where roads will go and how infrastructure ties together.

“Most people are pleasantly surprised at the progress,” he said. “They’re very surprised at the amount of future progress that’s in place, and they’re extremely happy that there’s some level of revenue generation that can go to the city.”

Nelson said many components of the project are on schedule and on budget, but progress cannot move faster than the pace of required reviews and approvals.

“Can we go faster?” Nelson asked. “I don’t think so. We have to go at the speed of review and approval.”

He said Mark IV is navigating approvals from the city, state agencies, federal agencies, Union Pacific, NDOT and other regulatory bodies.

“Everyone gets to put their fingerprints on everything,” he said. “Every review and every comment has to be reconciled. All of that consumes time and effort. But we’re moving through it.”

The board conducted interviews with Levi Collins, Natalie Burgess, Cooper, and Mike Walker, scheduling 10-minute breaks between each session. After the interviews, trustees ranked the candidates on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being the top pick. Rankings were then converted to points, with first place earning four points, second place three, and so on. Cooper and Burgess tied for the top score with 23 points each, followed by Walker with 13 points and Collins with 11.

During his interview, Collins discussed his experience in a rural district and emphasized communication, visibility, teacher support, and priorities in reading and math. Burgess focused on collaboration, trust, and retention, noting that district goals aligned with her own. Cooper highlighted the need for cabinet meetings, weekly alignment, and timely communication, as well as his ties to Fallon and his rural experience as a principal. Walker stressed the importance of clear, consistent communication across the district and the need to build relationships with staff, students, and the community early on.

Board discussion reflected a divide between prioritizing experience and long-term potential. Trustees said Burgess brought strong experience, a clear communication style, and a detailed, goal-oriented vision for the district. Several noted that she provided specific benchmarks tied to district priorities, including improving school star ratings and increasing attendance. Concerns were raised about her background in charter schools and whether transitioning to a traditional public school in a rural community could pose challenges. Some also questioned whether not being local would affect community fit.

Cooper’s local ties were seen as a strength, with trustees pointing to his Fallon background and the fact that he has children in the district. Board members described him as coachable, ambitious, and capable, and noted his humility and straightforward communication style. Some concerns centered on his lack of district-level and superintendent experience, and whether he was ready to step into the role without additional time or development.

Two members of the public spoke during the meeting. One supported Cooper for his local background and involvement in the district. The second speaker, Matt Hyde, thanked the board for its work and emphasized the importance of supporting whichever candidate is selected.

After discussion, Trustee Joe McFadden moved to select Cooper as superintendent, and Celestia Blakey seconded. The motion was amended to direct the board president and district attorney, with support from consultants, to negotiate a contract and return it for approval. The motion passed 4–3.

Swimmers from 13 schools competed in the same five events, with individual rankings determined by the combined total of each athlete’s finals times.

In the girls 100-yard freestyle, senior Rylie Pearson placed 28th. Pearson also competed in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing 32nd, followed by Holly Vanden Brink in 54th and Riley Schultz in 64th.

Fernley had six swimmers in the boys 50-yard freestyle. Senior Matthew Walker-Coghlan led the group with a 22nd-place finish, while Jayden Scripilliti placed 14th and Darius Carney was 15th. Demery Aldredge finished 24th, Alexander Terso placed 27th and Isaid Solis was 31st.

In the girls 50-yard freestyle, freshman Lily Morrow finished 24th, followed by Alondra Estrada Gutierrez in 25th, Elaina Vanden Brink in 27th, Victoria Pleth in 28th and Abbie Ledoux in 32nd.

Aldredge and Carney also turned in strong results in the boys 50-yard breaststroke, placing 10th and 11th.

In the girls 50-yard backstroke, Elaina Vanden Brink recorded Fernley’s top finish, placing 26th. Morrow finished 28th, Estrada Gutierrez was 31st, Pleth placed 33rd and Selene Yang finished 34th. Ledoux added a 30th-place finish.

In the boys 50-yard backstroke, Scripilliti placed 16th, Carney was 20th, Terso finished 25th, Aldredge placed 33rd and Matthew McDowell was 34th.

Crews began working on the rail route earlier this month, using scrapers and rollers to shape and compact the path that will carry about 5,000 linear feet of new track. As part of the preparation, crews mixed dry cement into the soil and sprayed it with water to harden the subgrade.

The spur will include a pickup track, a drop-off track and a runner that will connect to the original transcontinental rail line at the southern edge of the Victory Logistics District, roughly across from Banner Health on U.S. 50A.

The above-ground work follows more than a year of underground preparation across the southern portion of the district, where crews raised low areas out of the floodplain, installed storm drainage and buried utilities needed to support rail, roads and future buildings. Some of the major drainage lines now sit roughly 20 feet below the finished grade.

Sub-ballast installation was scheduled to being Monday, followed by ballast and rail installation through August. Hensley said the spur represents an estimated $20 million investment and will give future tenants a major efficiency advantage.

“When you’re pushing something on rail, it’s really easy,” he said. “Your fuel efficiency is 100 times better.”

A potential extension of the spur north toward a future transload facility, roughly three miles, will depend on tenant demand and the pace of development within the district, Hensley said.

Separate from the rail project, Mark IV has also begun construction of the new fire station required under its development agreement with the city. After dirt work began Feb. 2, crews graded the site, excavated for footings and began forming them. Footings were expected to be poured starting this week, with a slab in place by the end of March. The station is scheduled for completion next January.

Mark IV Capital will host an open house this Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include staffed displays covering the North Fernley Plan, power and utility systems, site infrastructure, Nevada Pacific Parkway, the rail spur and the fire station project.

OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, March 28
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
1740 N. Nevada Pacific Parkway, Suite 100

Displays will cover:
• North Fernley Plan
• Power and utility systems
• Site infrastructure and drainage
• Nevada Pacific Parkway
• Rail spur project
• Fire station project

The Vaqueros host Lowry in a three-game series with a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. Each of the Northern 3A East teams play their first league game this week, and all six of them went undefeated in crossover games against teams from the West.

Fernley did it with six shutouts, running their streak to seven consecutive games without allowing a run.

Fernley beat the Debbie Smith CTE Academy 15-0 on Friday then beat Wooster 15-0 on Saturday.

Friday, it was Emma Masters in the pitcher’s circle. She went four innings with 10 strikeouts, one walk and allowed one hit.

The Vaqueros had 15 hits as a team. Janessa Robinson and Bella Leija both got two hits. Leija also drove in three runs, while Masters, Ximena Rodriguez and Taylor Tollestrup all drove in two. Lauren Smith scored three runs and both Rodriguez and Leija crossed the plate twice.

Saturday it was Robinson’s turn in the circle. She also allowed only one hit, with six strikeouts and no walks in three innings.

Masters hit a two-run home run and Tollestrup hit a grand slam to lead the attack at the plate. Smith, Robinson and Tollestrup all had three hits.

Offensively we had a slow start against Debbie Smith, but made the necessary adjustments to finish the game with good at-bats,” coach Diane Chapin said. “Saturday we hit good throughout the lineup.”

In barrel racing, Ellie Machado delivered Fernley’s top finish, winning both go-rounds on the way to 26 total points. Machado posted times of 17.988 and 17.905 for a 35.893 average.

Hill picked up a pair of top-four finishes in the girls cutting, placing second with scores of 67.0 and 73.0 for a 140.0 average and 24.5 points. Process added a fourth-place finish, scoring 68.0 and 70.0 for a 138.0 average and 21.75 points.

Hill also placed second in goat tying, earning 25 points after runs of 8.490 and 9.150 for a 17.640 average.

In pole bending, Hill finished fourth with a 47.279 average and 16 points, while Process placed ninth, earning nine points after a strong second go and average.

Hill added another runner-up finish in reined cow horse, scoring 144.5 and 150.5 for a 295.0 average and 26 points.

Fernley also picked up points in the rifle shoot, where Kaelynn Frisk placed seventh with 155 points in the first go, and Omar Adame finished eighth with a 135-point first round.

Hill closed out her weekend with an eight-point effort in team roping, earning seven points in the first go and one on the average.

The spring season concludes this weekend at the Washoe Junior/High School Rodeo at the Reno Livestock Events Center.

Clark singled home Brodie Jones with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Vaqueros pulled out a 10-9 win to take two of the three games in the series.

The Vaqueros are now 5-4 in the Northern 3A after getting swept in their opening league series at Dayton. The Vaqueros have responded from that sweep by winning five of six against the two teams that played in the regional championship game last season.

“I think that’s a big props to our guys for kind of the way they reapproach practice and they show up with a purpose every day,” coach Thomas Chapin said. “When we play our clean brand of baseball, we’re the best team I think in the league, but if we don’t play that kind of baseball anybody can beat you.”

After a 10-1 Fernley win in the first game of the series Friday and an 11-1 Fallon win in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Vaqueros jumped to an 8-2 lead after two innings in the finale. Riley McCullar and Brodie Jones had run-scoring singles in a four-run first inning, In the second inning, Nikko Pryor drove in two runs with a triple, then scored on a double by Spencer Pryor. Matthew Bigrigg then singled to score Spencer Pryor for the 8-2 lead.

Fallon scored three runs in the third inning, then with Fernley up 9-5, the Greenwave scored four times in the top of the seventh to force extra innings.

Both teams had their chances to win in extra innings. The Vaqueros loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Fallon turned a line drive by Spencer Pryor into a double play to help escape the jam.

The Greenwave loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the 10th, but Riley McCullar struck out the final batter.

The Vaqueros put one runner on base on a hit batter in the bottom of the 10th, and Fallon had a batter reach the same way in the top of the 11th, but both teams came up empty.

In the 11th, singles by Jones and Bigrigg set up a sacrifice bunt by Jayse Jones to move the runners to second and third, then Clarke delivered his game-winning hit.

“In all honesty my stomach was on the floor for about all four of those innings,” Chapin said. “It’s always fun to play extra-inning baseball but it turns the nerves up a little bit.”

Friday, the Vaqueros took advantage of five Fallon errors and a strong pitching performance by Nikko Pryor to claim the win. McCullar had three hits, including a triple, scored two runs and drove in two. Alex Juliot and Vance Swindlehurst both scored three runs.

Fallon put up 11 runs on 14 hits in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, while Zack Adams held Fernley to three hits.

At last week’s water users meetings held both in Fernley and Fallon, TCID staff confirmed that orders are being accepted and activity is picking up across both the Carson and Truckee divisions. Early counts show more than 200 orders already submitted as irrigators prepare for the start of the season.

Crews are beginning the physical work of getting water moving, including flushing canals and starting to fill reservoirs. Initial flows are expected to begin immediately, with water distributed through the canal network as conditions allow.

The start of deliveries follows the district’s decision earlier this month to set a 100% water allocation for the season, despite concerns about how water supply will unfold.

As previously reported, current water conditions are being shaped by an unusual winter pattern. Early snowmelt and warm temperatures have pushed runoff ahead of schedule, meaning flows appear strong now but are expected to drop off earlier than normal, potentially by early summer.

That dynamic is already shaping how the district approaches operations this spring, moving water efficiently early while keeping a close eye on how quickly supplies decline.

During the meeting, water users raised ongoing concerns about delivery timing and system efficiency. Ernie Schank noted inconsistent delivery times and asked whether more coordinated scheduling could reduce waste and improve overall use of available water.

District staff acknowledged those challenges, saying they continue working to balance user requests with system limitations. While irrigators can request preferred delivery times, TCID emphasized that it cannot always accommodate individual schedules due to operational constraints.

Efficiency also remains a concern under the federal Newlands Project contract, which includes performance benchmarks tied to water use. Manager Ben Shawcroft said TCID is currently below the threshold needed to receive efficiency credits but is evaluating ways to improve performance moving forward.

One of the biggest changes on the horizon is a long-overdue upgrade to the district’s water ordering and accounting system. TCID announced it is preparing to roll out a new online platform that will allow users to place orders, track deliveries, and monitor account balances in real time.

The system will replace an aging database that has been in use for decades. Once launched, each water user will have an individual login, with access to all of their water rights and account information. The district expects the platform to be available within the next month and is encouraging users to sign up and move away from paper notices.

In addition to operational updates, TCID also announced the general election of the TCID will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at the district office to elect Directors for Divisions 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Candidates are Wade Workman, Michael Olsen, Eric Olsen, Abrahm Schank, and Lester deBraga.

For now, the focus remains on getting water on the ground.

While early conditions have allowed for a full allocation year, the message from both district officials and federal water managers has been consistent: this will be a season to watch closely.

The first classs, Basic Electricity (ELM 110), will run April 6 to May 16 inside Mark IV Capital’s office building on Nevada Pacific Parkway. It will be paired with WNC’s mobile advanced-manufacturing lab, a fully equipped training trailer that can be staged inside the building’s warehouse space.

WNC President Dr. Kyle Dalpe said the move reflects both long-standing plans and the timing created by Fernley’s recent momentum.

“I’ve kind of watched this history unfold,” he said. “There’s this new impetus or this new kind of momentum moving now in Fernley, where we always thought Fernley would be a great feeder, a great place to have people live and then work in the industrial complex, but now we’re seeing the industry build up.”

WNC previously offered classes in Fernley at various sites, including the high school and a conference room at City Hall. The recession and later the pandemic pushed most instruction back to Carson City, Fallon, or online. High school dual-credit remained strong, but adult enrollment never returned.

Dalpe said the college has spent years trying to re-establish a presence. Before the pandemic, WNC evaluated property, but “it just wasn’t penciling out” and the college wasn’t sure which side of town would become the long-term hub.

“If we had bought on the south side of town and all of a sudden Mark IV shows up on the north side, then it’s like, wow, we’re on the wrong side,” he said.

Victory Logistics District now includes occupied buildings, newly built structures awaiting tenants, and undeveloped pads. The full build-out could take 10 to 15 years, and each new tenant brings different workforce needs. Dalpe said WNC is already tracking those developments.

“We’ve got boots on the ground up there,” he said, referring to shared office space with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Economic development groups often call WNC with early-stage inquiries from companies considering relocation.

“Sometimes we don’t even know who they are,” he said. “We give information because it’s all speculative, but just to say, you know, we can ramp up this program or we can ramp up that program.”

WNC serves about 4,000 students across six counties, including Lyon County. Fernley is the only major population center in the service area without a physical WNC presence. Dalpe said the city has reached a point where local instruction becomes viable.

“Fernley is kind of in a situation where there’s a critical mass of students,” he said. “I'm hoping someday we could get to something where we've got our own facility, like on that plot right there, and, you know, we have our own building where we can offer even more classes.”

Without local instruction, Dalpe said distance is a real barrier for some students. He noted that in Yerington, “it’s an hour and 15 minutes to the Carson campus, maybe an hour and a half if you get stuck behind a rig or an RV. That’s three hours round trip for one class time.”

Students want to learn where they live, he said. “If we could put something out there, then that makes sense.”

Advanced manufacturing, automation, and battery-recycling programs are a natural fit. “We’ve created a battery-recycling program,” Dalpe said. “It’s also things like there’s always a need for welding. There’s always a need for CDL drivers.”

And the curriculum is already built. “It’s not like, hey, we’ve got to start from scratch,” he said. “We’re not building a rocket science program.”

The first class will use Mark IV’s front conference room for lectures and WNC’s mobile advanced-manufacturing lab for hands-on work. The lab, a large trailer outfitted with PLC trainers, automation equipment, and portable suitcase trainers, can be parked inside the building’s warehouse through a roll-up door. Dalpe said the mobile lab allows WNC to start immediately.

“It’s a way to bring stuff out there without having to scale up a new lab right away,” he said.

Enrollment promotion is just beginning as WNC finalizes its MOU with Mark IV. “We’re going to start recruiting right away,” Dalpe said. “Hopefully we can get enough momentum on it.”

WNC plans to add additional courses in the fall, including Basic Electricity, Introduction to PLCs, Manufacturing Production Technology, Fundamentals of Manufacturing and Automation I and Fundamentals of Manufacturing and Automation II. CDL training is also likely.

“That’s another one that’s probably going to be offered out there because there’s a ton of logistics,” Dalpe said.

Because Victory Logistics District will continue evolving for more than a decade, WNC is preparing to adapt as new industries arrive.

“It all depends on what it is,” Dalpe said. HVAC, for example, would require more equipment, but “if it’s a big need, then we can do it.” Data-center needs are more straightforward.

“The computer piece we already have,” Dalpe said. “It is just like a classroom of laptops and maybe some server racks.”

As new businesses bring new needs and workers are looking for retraining and career shifts, Dalpe said WNC will be prepared. “We’re ready to pivot,” Dalpe said. “We’re ready to do what we need to do.”

Even large programs are possible if the need is real. “If somebody all of a sudden said, Fernley’s grown up so much, we need a nursing program out there, that would be like, okay, now we’ve got to put up another nursing program,” he said.

Dalpe said the workforce shortage in some fields is enormous. “If all of the community colleges put all of their students in advanced manufacturing in one bucket, we probably still could not meet the need,” he said. “We’re behind on the need, just like housing is behind on housing and roads are behind on roads.”

That’s why he sees Fernley as WNC’s “next big market.” “I’m hoping someday we could get to something where we’ve got our own facility,” he said.

For now, the partnership gives WNC a way to start small and grow with the community. “We’re going to see where it goes,” Dalpe said. “I’m feeling pretty good about it.”

The convention begins at 10 a.m. in the school’s multipurpose room at 3755 W. Spruce Avenue. Lunch will be provided.

Delegates to the Nevada State Democratic Convention, scheduled for June 13 in Las Vegas, will be selected during the county convention. Lyon County is allotted six delegates and one alternate. Those interested must submit a Delegate Intent Form.

Participants will also review and approve the 2026 Lyon County platform and are encouraged to bring suggested updates to the 2024 platform.

Trustees spent much of a March 10 workshop refining those goals and discussing how state requirements shape what the district can realistically commit to each year. They settled on three goals focused on student growth and achievement and reducing chronic absenteeism.

Deputy Superintendent Stacey Cooper told trustees the state requires both School Performance Plans and a District Performance Plan, and that individual schools will add supplemental goals once the district goals are finalized.

“We want to make sure our goals are achievable on an annual basis,” she said, noting that school plans are due to the state in August.

Cooper explained that Nevada law requires every public school to identify its own specific goals each year, along with action steps and an evidence-based intervention designed to improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. She said the district must develop SMART goals that also include equitable objectives aimed at increasing student proficiency. Schools must outline the action steps they will take over the coming academic year, embed monitoring and evaluation throughout the process, and incorporate those goals into their School Performance Plans.

She added that the state expects schools to set small, attainable goals that demonstrate measurable growth each year over a three-year period.

Trustee Tom Hendrix said the district must show measurable improvement each year but cautioned that last year’s goals were misunderstood. Last year’s District Performance Plan included eight goals, but trustees received pushback from administrators who said the goals took away each school’s autonomy to address its own students’ needs.

“We erred because the goals were based on district percentage but did not explain well enough that each school had to meet them,” he said. “I’m a proponent of setting goals high and doing the best you can, but if you don’t achieve them, it kicks you down.”

Hendrix agreed that setting goals too high can backfire under the state’s rating system. “It’s not on what we have achieved, it’s what we have achieved in relationship to the goal that we have set,” he said.

Trustee Darin Farr said the district had “way too broad” a set of goals last year and needed to scale back. “We’ve got to look at what we can measure this year and base it on that,” he said. “We are making progress in areas. It may not be what we set it for last year, but we are making progress.”

Cooper said the proposed goals were “lofty enough, but realistic, palatable and achievable for a one-year benchmark.”

During the March 10 workshop, trustees discussed three districtwide SMART goals for the 2026–27 school year:

Smart Goal #1: Ninth- and 10th-grade students will demonstrate a median growth percentile of 50 percent or greater from fall to spring on the NWEA MAP assessment in reading and math.

Smart Goal #2: For grades K–8, the district will increase the percentage of students demonstrating typical growth in reading and math by 2.5 percent from the end of the 2025–26 school year to the end of the 2026–27 school year.

Smart Goal #3: The district will reduce chronic absenteeism by 2.5 percent from the 2025–26 school year to the 2026–27 school year.

Farr said he realized while attending a parent engagement event at Fernley Elementary School that many families do not realize how tardies affect absenteeism rates. “Three tardies equals one day of absence,” he said. “If you were to just take tardies out of it, our chronic absentee number would probably cut in half across every school in the district.”

Administrators also discussed complications with putting too much weight on assessments at the high school level. Superintendent Tim Logan said he wants to maintain academic assessment without limiting students’ career pathways.

“I don’t want to stop a welding kid from going down the welding path and an ag kid from going down the ag path,” he said. “I still want to assess common-core subject areas, but I don’t want to restrict a kid from going down a path that’s going to lead to their future.”

Executive Director of Data and Professional Development Damon Etter said MAP data can still be useful at the student level but said the growth percentile can be a better indicator that the growth score.

“You can often look at growth percentile of each individual student and then you can see who our lowest growth percentiles are and start to target intervention,” he said. “Sometimes it could just be like if you know the kid, they just didn't care that day and you don't need to intervene. They're doing great academically. But sometimes you could also see that they're low and they've been consistently low, so then you might want to intervene.”

Superintendent Tim Logan emphasized that the district supports accountability but wants goals that reflect reality. “We’re not afraid of accountability,” he said. “We just want to make sure it’s attainable and it’s actually the goal that we want.”

One of the goals from last year’s DPP the Trustees agreed to remove was to increase the graduation rate from 88.7% to 89.7% by the end of the 2025-26 school year. The district’s graduation rate actually decreased to 85.73%, but Executive Director of Education Services Jim Gianotti told the Trustees in November that much of the decrease was attributable to students who transferred into the district’s adult education program. He said students going into adult ed are considered nongraduates by the state and count against the district, but not against the individual schools.

Cooper and Logan told the Board the high schools will address graduation rates in their School Performance Plans. “That won't go away just because we're focusing on something else,” Logan said. “I promise you, our high school principals are doing everything to get kids across the stage.”

The final District Performance Plan was scheduled for board consideration Tuesday so it can be uploaded to the state platform before the April 15 deadline.

All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Ronald Smith
Area: Mason Valley
Bail amount: $0
Charges: Court commitment

Joseph Schwab
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $3,130
Charges: DUI (2nd); Open alcohol container in vehicle; Fail to maintain lane/improper lane change/use signal

Charles Hakala
Area: Silver Springs
Bail amount: $675
Charges: Assist other agency — hold

Troy Nelson
Area: Silver Springs
Bail amount: $93,420
Charges: Driver disobey peace officer, endangering other persons or property; Possession of schedule I or II controlled substance less than 14 grams, third or subsequent offense; Destroy or conceal evidence; Disregard for safety of persons or property; Use or possession of drug paraphernalia

Sara Johnston
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $2,600
Charges: Criminal contempt — failure to obey court order

Christopher Kelly
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $8,140
Charges: Prevent or dissuade reporting a crime/causing prosecution or arrest; Domestic battery (1st)

Michael Marinkovich
Area: Silver Sprins
Bail amount: $26,000
Charges: Assault with a deadly weapon; Resist public officer

Janell Sheets
Area: Mason Valley
Bail amount: $0
Charges: Court commitment

Brian Hastings
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $8,024
Charges: Assist other agency — hold; DUI (1st); Fail to maintain lane/improper lane change/use signal; Drive with suspended driver’s license; Failure to appear on traffic citation

Drew Seitz
Area: Dayton
Bail amount: $3,140
Charges: Domestic battery (1st)

Denise Dunmore
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $1,140
Charges: Resist public officer

Kody Judd
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $64,280
Charges: Kidnapping (2nd degree); Child abuse or neglect (1st); Domestic battery (1st); Contribute to delinquency or neglect of a minor

Jacobe Cortner
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $5,000
Charges: Criminal contempt — failure to obey court order

Isacc Albarran
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $9,280
Charges: Domestic battery (1st); Torture, injure, abandon or starve animal (1st); Prevent or dissuade reporting a crime/causing prosecution or arrest

Sergio Garcia Frias
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $515
Charges: Failure to appear on traffic citation

Mark Davis
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $1,500
Charges: Criminal contempt; Felony arrest — fugitive from other state/comply with warrant

Brandee Passey
Area: Dayton
Bail amount: $3,640
Charges: Indecent or obscene exposure (1st); Resist public officer; Felony arrest for violation of probation/conditions of suspended sentence

Edward Wilson
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $20,000
Charges: Domestic battery by strangulation; Unlawful act regarding excretion or fluid by prisoner in confinement

Greg Roller
Area: Dayton
Bail amount: $0
Charges: Murder (1st degree) — with deadly weapon; Discharge gun or other weapon where persons might be endangered

Joshua Pellerin
Area: Dayton
Bail amount: $1,155
Charges: Drive with suspended driver’s license; Failure to appear on traffic citation

Alissa Henderson
Area: Mason Valley
Bail amount: $27,500
Charges: Assault with a deadly weapon; Allow child abuse or neglect (endangerment) (1st)

Kody Rankin
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $1,140
Charges: Convicted person fail to register with law enforcement within 48 hours

Jaydee Parker
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $3,640
Charges: Possess more than 1 ounce but less than 50 pounds marijuana/more than 1/8 ounce but less than 1 pound concentrated cannabis; Possess or consume marijuana in public place/marijuana store/vehicle

Joshua Bekman
Area: LYSO
Bail amount: $0
Charges: Felony arrest for violation of conditions of parole

Raul Camarena Gutierrez
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $1,915
Charges: DUI (1st); Fail to maintain lane/improper lane change/use signal; Drive without driver’s license

Juston Birch
Area: Fernley
Bail amount: $2,910
Charges: DUI (2nd); Basic speed — 11–15 mph over posted limit; Fail to maintain lane/improper lane change/use signal

Dawna Ebel
Area: Mound House
Bail amount: $70,090
Charges: Battery by prisoner/parole and probation; Assault on protected person by prisoner/parole and probation; Intoxicated pedestrian or animal rider on roadway

The idea was originally sparked out of disdain for our local prickly tumbleweeds. From there, the fires of inspiration were stoked to create InFERNo. The soundtrack consists of metal, bold sounds to set the tone for the festival. The ACES set the stage with headliner Drowning Pool, an internationally known and touring band with a platinum hit song, Bodies, and band lineup consisting of 8 other metal and hard rock bands. Add in some wild entertainment like a car smash/rage room, armored fighters, metal and fire sculptures, six tumbleweed bonfires, fire dancers and more, it’s set to be something unlike anything you’ve seen before. Participants are also encouraged to dress the part–with a desert wasteland/apocalypse feel.

To grow a small spark into a giant bonfire, the process of planning and creating a new festival is no easy feat. The all-volunteer crew of the nonprofit Fernley ACES took on the task with enthusiasm and optimism. With several years of experience in planning events like the M3 festival, this was a leap into something somewhat familiar, but also much bigger in scale than anything before. The learning curve was sharp and unforgiving, muddling the crew in a sea of new permits and requirements that not only came with lots of paperwork, but also a lot of unexpected expenses.

The cost of putting on an event like this is impressively large. The festival has ballooned into 6 digits, a huge lift for a small nonprofit. Obvious expenses like a big-name band and professional stage aside, there are tons of hidden or unexpected expenses. Things like bathroom rentals, permits, fire/EMS crews, security, more permits, supplies, and much more.

The costs are not only monetary, but it takes more volunteer hours than you’d probably expect: meetings with various permitting agencies (everything from the health department, NDOT, fire department, Sherriff, to the county itself and more), planning meetings amongst the crew, site meetings to plan the layout and show various involved parties the space, creating advertising campaigns and materials to spread the word, putting out physical flyers all throughout the area, building needed items, creating signage, creating and ordering merch, actually setting up, cleaning up, and running the festival in between, coordinating with vendors, and so much more. This amounts to hundreds and even thousands of volunteer hours.

Community support is so important in launching an event like this through participation, purchase of tickets and merchandise, volunteering, sponsorships (see our website for new options!), donations, and simply by spreading the word. This kind of event has huge potential to make a big impact on our city through tourism and recognition in the way that Night in the Country has impacted Yerington, and this proof of concept first year is a great step in that direction. This first year has challenges in getting the word out and getting people to come, or even to believe that we really do have Drowning Pool performing in Fernley.

Another hope is that through an event like this, the ACES can support more free community events without leaning so heavily on the city and local businesses to support them. As we grow this event, ticket sales have the potential to cover existing events and ease the burden, allowing businesses to support more of the nonprofits and amazing causes in our area, but the ACES can’t do it without some help along the way. If the ACES can create something like this with a small crew, imagine what we can do together!

The ACES would like to thank the City of Fernley and the FCTA for their support, All In Graphix for their partnership on the merch, Lyon County Fire for their support and for the fun with the test burn last weekend, Vet Mech Arms for donating a flamethrower (which you can win!), Waste Management, Desert Pigs, Fern45, the Reno-Fernley Raceway, and our community partners for their participation in our Cash Caps promo: The Silver Spur Saloon, All Points Grill, Fire Forno, The Canal Wine Lounge, and McHoppers Brew Co.

The community is invited to drop off their dry tumbleweeds (no branches, trash, yard waste, weeds, or green plants) at the Reno-Fernley Raceway on Friday March 27th from 10am-3pm if you’d like to contribute to the six tumbleweed bonfires that will burn Saturday night.

Camping passes are available so you can get the full InFERNo experience including fire walking on Friday the 27th and the afterparty on Saturday the 28th. Metal Morning Yoga will be offered Saturday and Sunday mornings to stretch those muscles before and after all the fun, too.

Tickets and information can be found at fernleyaces.net/InFERNo. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Chamber President Michelle Barney and Past President Shannon Ceresola presented this year’s awards, recognizing both new faces and long-standing contributors to Fernley’s business community.

Tillie’s & Crew Sourdough was the winner of the Newcomer Award, All Points Grill was named the Best Fernley-Owned Business, Burke Roofing was presented with the Best Business Award. The Fern 45 was named Best Non-Profit for its annual efforts benefitting veterans in need.

Oscar Aguilar, the Area Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows Serving Fernley was presented with the Distinguished Citizen Award for his work supporting local youth. The presentations closed with the President’s Award, presented to Wendy Fagundes for her dedication to the Chamber and the broader Fernley community through her participation in a variety of local committees and community events.

Fernley’s boys collected a string of top finishes on the track. Joe Perkins won the 400 meters in 53.96 and added a victory in the 1600 in 4:41.47. Alex Mergell placed fourth in the 1600 and second in the 3200 in 11:14.09, while Cael Wilson finished fifth in the 800 and third in the 3200.

In the sprints, Bryce Dunagan-Stephens took fifth in the 200, and Larry Kipkorir placed 11th in the 100. Fernley also earned strong relay results, highlighted by a win in the 4x400 with Michael Fitzgerald, Elijah Perez, Bodie Parsons and Perkins in 3:40.31. The Vaqueros finished fifth in the 4x100 and eighth in the 4x200.

Fernley added major points in the field events. Kole Miller placed second in the shot put at 44-05.5 and fifth in the discus, while Bodie Parsons finished second in the discus at 132-07. Wyatt McGinnis added a fourth-place finish in the discus, and Dunagan-Stephens placed fourth in the long jump at 20-04.

On the girls side, Angel Pochop led Fernley with a win in the discus at 101-08 and a second-place finish in the shot put at 31-05. Faith Mhondo placed second in the 300 hurdles and 10th in the 200 meters, while Blessing Mhondo finished eighth in the 400.

Fernley also earned a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay with Asia Christopher, Blessing Mhondo, Alyssa Gromelski and Bronwynn Garrett, and a sixth-place finish in the 4x100.

Garrett added a seventh-place finish in the 1600, and Reese Johnson placed ninth in the triple jump and 11th in the 100 hurdles.

This week the Vaqueros are scheduled to compete Friday and Saturday in the Reed Reno Running Company Invitational, formerly called the Reed Rotary invitational.

The quiet felt too loud, so I put in my earbuds, turned on an audiobook and went to work. The voice in my ears filled just enough of the space to make the yard feel less hollow, and the weeds gave me something simple to do with my hands. After pulling just a few, I was already encouraged by my progress, so my original idea to take it 20 or 30 minutes at a time turned into an hour.

A cleared patch here, a straightened edge there and suddenly it started to look a little less neglected. I wasn’t trying to fix the whole yard at once, but I just kept working, one stubborn root at a time, until the audiobook reached a chapter break and I’d already filled my trash can twice.

Somewhere in that hour, the yard stopped feeling like a place I’d been avoiding and more like a place I could step into again. Not because it was perfect, because it wasn’t even close, but because I’d finally done something about it.

It’s a rare kind of relief just moving from one weed to the next without having to solve anything. No editing, no rewriting, no wondering if this verb or that adjective works better.

At first I thought the voice of the narrator on the audiobook was irritating and almost quit, but soon it actually seemed perfect for the story. Eventually it matched the work. The same pace, the same lack of urgency. Just one sentence after another, one weed after the other, both moving forward without asking much of me.

It felt good to let my mind idle like that, to let the yard, and the voice in my ears, set the terms instead of the clock on the wall reminding me that my deadline is fast approaching.

There aren’t enough moments like that in a day when you can just do the next small thing without thinking about what comes after. Writing never works that way, and life itself rarely does.

But for that hour, the yard let me step out of all that. I didn’t need to be clever or efficient or ahead of schedule. I just needed to keep pulling.

By the time I stood up and brushed the dirt off my knees, I realized I felt steadier than when I’d started, despite the protestations coming from my lower back.

The yard still needs plenty of work, but that’s progress, and for now, progress is enough.

1st: Verl-Lee Ely, 41

2nd: Terry Richter, 43

3rd: Val Montgomery, 44

4th: Jana Garner, 44

5th: Loretta Bradley, 44

Low Puts: Patty Liljeberg, 27

Closest to Hole #7: Jana Garner, 32'3"

Closest To Hole #11: Linda Garrett, 15'3"

Closest to hole #14: Kathy Kennedy, 8'8"

Birdies: Ava Case, #2; Jana Garner, #7  

Chip-Ins: Ava Case; Shane Miller; & Linda Garrett

Each candidate will give a short 5-minute speech, followed by open table time so residents can speak directly with the candidates. Suggestion boxes will also be available for anyone who needs to leave early.

Candidates scheduled to participate are:

Mayor  

- Tim Bickerton  

- John Kenneth Barchie  

- Alex Colosi  

Lyon County Commissioner  

- Mark Jones (District 5)  

- Micah Triplett (District 5)  

- Davy Stix (District 2)  

- Scott Keller (District 2)  

Sheriff  

- Brad Pope  

Fernley City Council  

- Roy G. Edgington Jr. (Ward 3)  

- Deborah Skinner (Ward 1)  

- Gregory Barrett (Ward 1)  

- Ryan Hanan (Ward1)

- Ryan Cross (Ward 3)

District Attorney  

- Mark Kreuger  

- Mario Walther

A kitchen fire displaced one resident and a pet early Monday morning after North Lyon Fire units responded to a structure fire in the 600 block of Silver Lace Boulevard.

Crews were dispatched at about 5:01 a.m. and arrived to find smoke coming from an apartment, the fire department said. Before firefighters arrived, Lyon County Sheriff’s deputies helped the occupant out of the apartment.

The fire started in the kitchen and extended into the attic space, causing moderate damage. No responders were injured. The resident and one pet were displaced.