The Moapa Valley community is steeped in small-town traditions. Whether they be major community events like the Clark County Fair and the Pomegranate Arts Festival, or smaller observations like lighting up the ‘M’ on Homecoming Week or firing off the cannon after ever home team touchdown; taken together these, and many more like them, are the simple community practices that make small town life special.
To folks living outside of a small town, it may be difficult to comprehend why these simple homespun traditions are so important in the eyes of local residents. After all, to more sophisticated urban dwellers many of these rural activities seem like a throw-back to a prior age; like Andy Griffith’s Mayberry or Mayor Shin’s River City. Indeed these treasured traditions can easily be dismissed and even scorned as quaint, provincial and silly by city dwellers accustomed to more sophisticated and complex forms of entertainment.
All of this sharply contrasts with the recent behavior of the Clark County Water Reclamation District (CCWRD) and its contractor, Las Vegas Paving, towards the Moapa Valley community. Their sensitivity towards local customs has been like a breath of fresh rural air.
Over the past year while the valley-wide sewer system project has been in the works, the district and construction crews have gone out of the way to accomodate the unique rural traditions of this community. They have asked the community about our most treasured local events and customs. And they have listened to the answers. Then they have done everything possible to show respect to the community and accomodate these small town traditions.
During the Clark County Fair, the workers slowed down construction and cleared the Boulevard as much as possible to allow for the increased traffic that would come through the community. In May, they coordinated the timing of work in front of the famed Overton Tank to allow for the traditional Tank Day fundraising event. Then they cleared things along the Boulevard again to allow for the community’s July 4th celebration. Though the daily lane closures and detours involved with the project have been an inconvenience to local drivers, work crews have diligently kept traffic moving through this complex project.
Perhaps the most admirable display of respect for local tradition came last week in the days before the Veterans Day Parade. In the weeks leading up to the parade, local veterans organizations had expressed concern that the main street in Overton might not be in any condition to allow the parade to take place. The project had hit some snags near the area where the parade is usually staged. The pavement was rough and uneven with open trenches and heavy bumps occurring every ten or fifteen yards. There was worry voiced from the veterans that their parade might not be possible this year.
But this was not acceptable to Las Vegas Paving officials and CCWRD representatives. They made a commitment to the community that, come hell or high water, the road through Overton from Best Western to Lin’s Marketplace would be filled, smoothed, paved and ready for the annual parade. Construction schedules were shifted. A tremendous effort by work crews was expended to meet that commitment. And by Wednesday afternoon before the event, the street was smooth and wide all the way through downtown with brand new white lines painted down the middle. Not an orange cone was anywhere in sight.
It is clear that all of this had to come at a premium. Smoothing and paving this section of roadway now before the rest of the project was complete could not have been the most economical course to take. But rather than dismissing our small town parade as insignificant and silly, the work crews and their leaders went the extra mile in honoring their commitments and providing a worthy setting for local residents to honor their veterans. The folks from Las Vegas Paving and CCWRD should be commended for their patience and willingness in showing sensitivity and respect for what is important to the members of this community.
