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March 29, 2024 2:12 am
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LETTER: An Addition To the Moapa Valley Way Of Thinking

Vernon Robison’s impeccably researched article on the front page of The PROGRESS about the new Logandale levee is much appreciated (Flood Control Project Underway To Shore Up Logandale Levee: PROGRESS Mar. 29, 2017). I have walked to this levee from home a time or two but never realized its history. Local farmers with primitive equipment or just hand and shovel building an embankment, homes wiped away in 1981 and rebuilt with pride, neighbors with heavy equipment shoring up the levee in 2005 to spare us “100-year” flood devastation—all of this speaks to Western pride, independent spirit and true grit.

“Grit” says that whatever it takes to survive and thrive is what is to be done, without hesitation. I am an Eastern transplant and admire the fortitude and tremendous courage woven into the fabric of local and Western culture. I propose an addition to the Moapa Valley way of thinking that speaks to survival now and in the future which I hope you will find valuable.

We don’t need reminding that building materials and resources are expensive and labor to engineer and construct this new levee are expensive. Let’s at least acknowledge the government which is paying for it, in this case, $6,700,000.

If Moapa Valley were to build this ourselves now, our 7,000 residents would have to fork over $957 for each man, woman and child. Yes, most of us pay property taxes, and that’s my point as well. We benefit from our proximity to greater Las Vegas and its 2 million residents who also pay taxes. Divide $6.7 million by 2,007,000 residents, and suddenly $3.34 apiece is reasonable. People in our society now and everywhere are more interdependent than we’ve ever been. We can no longer go it alone in our larger endeavors.

For those who are sure that government dollars make us dependent, and if we go it ourselves we would do it better and cheaper, consider our new high school gym. During the years we waited and waited for its construction, no one volunteered to build it. It is smarter, after all, to balance true grit and interdependence. This is an appropriate example of achieving the good of the community while preserving our cultural strength of character.

So thank you, Clark County, for making our new levee possible. Thanks also for the Gubler Bridge, the flood control project at Cooper Street, the Lewis and Rice Street resurfacing, the Moapa Valley Water Resource Center, new Senior Center, Clark County Library, Clark County Parks and Recreation Center for our swimming pool, maintenance of our Fairgrounds and baseball fields, Clark County Department of Aviation for our airport, and many other projects. These have made our life in the Valley safer and more pleasant.

Nancy Grimes

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