Mesquite Mayor Honors Local With Plaque

By WESLIE STRATTON

Moapa Valley Progress

Mesquite Mayor Allan Litman revealed a special dedicatory plaque to family members of the late Jim Wilson at Mesquite City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 31. Wilson was instrumental in planning and building the city’s key flood detention basin.

Dedicated in 1992 the Jim Wilson Town Wash Detention Basin protects the city against numerous water related issues. The basin is located on a major wash just to the north of the Mesquite community. Wilson is credited with undertaking the initial project and coordinating the necessary funding. The basin was eventually named after Wilson and a plaque was imbedded in concrete at the physical location of the basin.

But after 26 years the initial plaque is no longer accessible to the public, due to development in the area and blocked roadways. Litman said that Wilson’s sister contacted him asking for access to the site for family members as well as for anyone interested in learning about the history of the basin.

“It was out there locked up,” Litman said. “You couldn’t get to it, you couldn’t walk to it. It was behind Plexiglass that was yellowed with age. You couldn’t read anything on it.”
Litman said that the original plaque was chiseled out of the concrete and was found to be perfectly preserved under the Plexiglass.

“We put it where people could get to it to see if should they want to,” Litman said, adding that he made the decision to make a similar plaque using the same data to put in City Hall.
“People need to know this stuff,” he said regarding the history of Mesquite.

Wilson’s sister Pat Bemis attended the revealing of the new plaque along with her husband Jim.
“This is just wonderful,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Bemis said that Wilson was responsible for getting the funding from the federal government for the basin.

“Because he had [previously] worked for the State of California and knew how to get the funds and he knew that this was so needed for this town,” she said.

Bemis remembers her brother as a good man.
“He was a guy who was raised in poverty and rose above it and managed to go to college and get a degree,” Bemis said. “He was the only one in our family to do that. It was a miracle the way he set out.”

State of the City
Following the plaque reveal Litman spoke with the Progress about his upcoming State of the City address that will take place during a Mesquite Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Casablanca Resort on Wednesday, Feb. 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“What I do is highlight the accomplishments of the last year,” Litman said. “What the city is hoping to do in the coming year, my goals that I would like to see the city working towards and then I always bring in a little about the history of the City of Mesquite.”
Litman said that many residents don’t know about the history of the city they are living in.

“They have to understand that this city was built on a lot of failure,” he said. “They tried and it didn’t work, they tried and it didn’t work. But they persevered.”
Litman said that the theme of his speech is perseverance because “it gets you where you’re going.”

The general public is invited to attend the luncheon and is encouraged to RSVP by Friday, Feb. 8 at www.mesquitenvchamber.com or by calling (702) 346-2902.