Editor’s Note: The past year has been a busy one for news events in the Moapa Valley communities. What follows is a brief recap of some of the major news highlights for the year 2014.
January:
Major Construction Projects
At the beginning of the year, the PROGRESS reported on three long-awaited major construction projects due to begin in the early part of the year and be ongoing throughout.
The first was the rebuilding of the Logandale LDS Chapel which was destroyed by fire in the spring of 2010. Five years later, the newly built chapel is nearly complete and due to be put into use within the first few weeks of the coming new year.
The second major project was the new bridge at Cooper Crossing. Construction began in early 2014. But the project hit a catastrophe when two huge floods swept through the community during the month of September. The project was originally expected to be completed in the Spring of 2015.
The third project was the repaving of a segment of I-15 stretching from exit 93 (Logandale/Overton) to the Apex area. This project also hit an obstacle with the September flooding. But has currently gotten back underway with the focus currently on the exit 93 area.
February:
New MVHS Track Completed
After two years of running on a track surface that was bubbling and coming up in places, Moapa Valley High School athletes and coaches were happy to open a beautiful new track.
An earlier renovation on the track had failed, allowing water to flow under the rubberized surface and causing it to buckle and bubble up.The red-colored renovation had to be pulled back up. Then landscape modifications were made to fix the irrigation system around the track.
Finally, a new surface was applied, this time in a Pirate Blue color. The color was applied thanks to additional donations made by community businesses and local supporters.
March:
First Solar Breaks Ground
Nevada Senator Harry Reid joined with leaders of the Moapa Band of Paiutes to break ground on a 250 megawatt solar generating power plant, the first of its kind to be built in Indian Country. The ceremony was held on March 22. The project will include large arrays of photovoltaic panels on a 2,000 acre area of the reservation.
The plant is expected to supply power to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The plant is currently under construction and was expected to be complete by the end of 2015.
Moapa Valley Days
Sponsored and coordinated by the Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce, the community put on a huge celebration spanning two weekends in March. Festivities included a Community Campfire event, a Street Fair, Archery Shoot, MV Art Guild Exhibit, Rotary-organized Community-wide Yard Sale, MV Riders Barrel Racing, Classic Car Cruise-in and more.
April:
BLM versus Cliven Bundy
BLM officials began an action on April 5 to seize and remove “trespass cattle” belonging to Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy. In the process, federal agencies closed off more than 300,000 acres of public land in northeastern Clark County including virtually all lands immediately surrounding the Moapa Valley communities.
This set off a long string of escalating protests which eventually reached a nation-wide scope. Bundy’s son, Dave, was taken into custody by BLM officers while standing along State Route 170 near Bunkerville watching their operations. He was released the following morning. But this event incited public anger and further demonstrations near the Bundy Ranch.
Scuffles between protestors and BLM officers broke out later in the week resulting in citizens being roughed up, tasered and threatened by federal officers.
The series of events ended on April 12 in a stand-off between protesters and federal officers beneath the Toquop Wash bridge of I-15, near the location where the Bundy cattle were being gathered by federal contractors. After an hour-long standoff, federal officers left the area and released the cattle back to Bundy.
I-15 Traffic Snarls Hurt Clark County Fair Attendance
Beautiful spring weather promised to bring a record turnout to the Clark County Fair. But traffic from the I-15 repaving project north of Las Vegas, and the Bundy standoff at the Toquop Wash near Mesquite, brought I-15 traffic to a standstill in either direction approaching Logandale. This hurt the Saturday attendance at the Fair.
May:
CCSD Announces Formation Of Rural Performance Zone
After years of actively pursuing the concept of grouping all CCSD rural schools into a single administrative zone, the Moapa Valley Community Education Advisory Board (MVCEAB) finally made a breakthrough.
At a May 16 MVCEAB meeting, CCSD officials announced that they would be forming a rural performance zone. The zone would be headed up by an administrator who could specialize in rural issues, officials said. Later in the year, that position was filled by former Logandale resident David Wilson who had served as principal of Mack Lyon Middle School and of Virgin Valley High School.
June:
Industrial Fire On Tribal Land Causes Smoky Skies
A major fire broke out on tribal land, at an industrial mulching/recycling facility about two miles east of the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza, on June 4. Local volunteer firefighters, as well as firefighting crews from Las Vegas and the BLM Wildfire units responded.
But after assessing the situation, tribal leaders decided to not engage the fire at that time and sent the firefighters home, allowing it to burn.
The fire continued to smoulder for weeks and months following the incident. Tribal leaders say that the tribe has put extensive efforts into extinguishing the slow burn. But to date, the fire is still a source of smoke and haze in the region.
Reid Bill Proposes Expansion To Moapa Reservation
Bills introduced to the U.S. Congress by Nevada Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Steven Horsford in June proposed to add 26,582 acres to the Muddy River Indian Reservation.
This would include a large strip of land just south of the Paiute Travel Plaza, another large area to the east of the reservation including the Byron exit of I-15 as well as several other segments on the northern and western borders of the tribal land.
July:
Mesquite Grapples With Medical Marijuana
In a series of public meetings Mesquite leaders struggled with the issue of allowing facilities for the sale and production of medical marijuana within the Mesquite city limits.
The issue was hotly contested on both sides by residents and city council members. In the end, the City Council voted 4-1 to approve ordinances governing medical marijuana facilities.
City Councilman Kraig Hafen was the lone vote in opposition to the ordinances.
August:
Moapa Dace Population Soars
The endangered Moapa dace continued its dramatic comeback. The summer survey which counts the number of the finger-sized fish dwelling in the Warm Spring headwaters of the Muddy River showed that the dace population had increased by 30 percent over the previous year.
Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that this apparent comeback is proof that the management techniques and habitat restoration efforts being employed in the Warm Springs area are working for the little fish.
September:
Floods Hit Moapa Valley
On September 8, heavy dark clouds dumped nearly 4 inches of rain within 90 minutes over the town of Moapa. The floods that resulted crippled the community for weeks.
Water barrelling down Weiser Wash completely wiped out a large section of the I-15 between the Logandale/Overton and Glendale exits. This shut down traffic both directions on I-15 for four days while construction crews made a mammoth effort to repair the major thoroughfare. Severe flooding damage occurred to homes, neighborhoods and vital infrastructure at the Moapa River Indian Reservation. Reid Gardner Power Station was also hit hard resulting in a loss of power to the entire community for several hours. Major roadways were washed out in Moapa.
Down river in the lower valley significant flood damage occurred to homes in both Logandale and Overton. The Cooper Bridge construction project received significant damage, but the work done on the river channel in that area seemed to alleviate some of the usual flooding seen in the Stringtown area. Neighborhoods south of Overton received significant property damage.
Just as the community began to recover from this flood, another heavy rainstorm in the upper Muddy brought a second flood event. The Warm Springs area and Hidden Valley Ranch area were hit the hardest in this incident. But signficant property damage occurred once again in other areas of the community as well.
Grand Opening Of MVHS Gymnasium
The community organized a huge event to celebrate the dedication of the new MVHS Gymnasium. A community dinner and a carnival of games for the kids kicked off the festivities.
Cutting the cermonial ribbon in front of the facility was CCSD Trustee Chris Garvey, County Commissioner Tom Collins and many others who were instrumental in getting the project completed.
The gym represented a 16 year effort by various community leaders to advocate for local needs and to secure funding for the project from an increasingly cash-strapped CCSD.
October:
Logandale Fall Festival
A new event was added to the community calendar in October. The Logandale Fall Festival was designated as an official part of the state-wide Nevada 150 celebration.
Organized by the Logandale resident Rik Eide, the event featured the return of the Southern Nevada Bluegrass Festival, a Nevada State Championship Barbecue contest, the traditional community Trunk or Treat event on Halloween night, a Craft Fair, a Carnival midway and much more.
November:
Pirate Football Wins State
The Pirates ended an undefeated season with a nailbiter State Championship game against Desert Pines.
It ended up being the greatest come-back win in Moapa Valley football history.
The Pirates overcame a 22 point deficit and secured a 42-36 victory in overtime to become the 2014 Division I-A State Champions.
December:
Nevada PUC Rejects Moapa Solar Proposal
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission gave a final rejection to a modified NV Energy proposal to build and operate a huge solar plant on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. The proposal was part of a long-term plan to end the utility’s reliance on coal power by 2019.
The PUC approved the other elements of the plan which included the decommissioning of Reid Gardner Coal Burning Plant in Moapa and replacing those resources with natural gas plants located in Las Vegas.
But the PUC deemed the Moapa Solar project to be too expensive and not in the best interest of the rate payers.
