At Caliente City Council meeting on Feb. 25, Sheriff Kerry Lee and Sergeant Chase Dirks presented the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) 2018 statistics. The statistics do not include the Nevada Highway Patrol except for service calls. Pioche has a higher call volume because of jail contract transports and court purposes.
Last year saw approximately 175 investigations/reports per officer. The average yearly mileage an officer put on a patrol vehicle was between 35,500 to 50,000 miles.
There were 4,108 Caliente 911 calls county-wide including everything from noise complaints to murder.
Officers made 580 law incident investigations in Caliente. County-wide, they did 2,101.
Offenses were a more complex matter as one case might see four to six, so they were not broken down specifically in the report. Caliente had 39. The county had 1,204.
Meadow Valley Court had 105 arrests.
In terms of cases prosecuted, there were 59 felonies, four gross misdemeanors, 557 traffic citations, and 131 overall citations.
At the March 7 meeting, Councilman Keith Comella joined by phone. The first order of business was to appoint someone to take Councilman John Ahlstrom’s seat. At the last meeting, Ahlstrom asked the council to consider Jamin Hunter for his replacement. Hunter had been on the Planning Commission Board. Hunter was sworn in at the meeting, leaving an opening at the Planning Commission. Anyone interested in applying for the job should contact city hall.
Next, there was a discussion regarding fingerprinting and background requirements for medical/recreational marijuana business licenses within the Caliente city limits. Attorney Franklin Katschke explained that the city might not be able to receive background checks for the businesses until approved by the State and FBI, which could take awhile. The city can get copies of the background checks. Citizens can verify any licensed business in Caliente by going to https://www.nvsilverflume.gov/home.
Meadow Valley Wildlife Unlimited was approved a temporary liquor license for the annual banquet on March 16 at the Fire Hall.
The Beautification Committee’s request for a temporary liquor license was tabled. They want to have an outdoor event for the Cinco De Mayo by the Clock Tower along Hwy 93, closing off the road between the island and the businesses located there. This will be on the next agenda.
Chris Glassburns’ request for $5,000 from the Caliente Room Tax Fund for Memorial Day Softball Tournament was approved.
The council approved the Memorial Day Committee’s request to close off part of McKinley Street for vendors and part of Conaway Street for the car show and corn hole.
Ruben Rowe gave a fire department report on the calls that they made for 2018. Seventy-three calls were made, the majority for medical assists, with approximately 10 being fires. The quick response on the calls was praised by several. Ken Dixon brought up the fire at the Knotty Pine, saying it would have been a disaster if not for the fast response time. Mayor Victor Jones noted how grateful he was for the fire department and their diligence.
During public comment there were citizens who expressed their concern about unusually high electric bills. Some people noted the bills were three times as high as in January.
Rick Phillips asked what would happen if one of his renters who lives on McArthur leaves, and her bill has gone up 300 percent. He asked if he then has to pay the bill. He also questioned why citizens aren’t being better informed of such changes.
Deputy City Clerk Amanda Anderson asked that concerned people please contact them to discuss problems paying their bills. She stated that there are many options available.
After more comments in a similar vein were made, Jones said that he might go to the council about holding a special meeting regarding power bills. However, the servers have been down for a few days and all the data they needed could not be obtained, which was also why the Planning Board could not meet at the usually scheduled time.
The next planning meeting will be March 20 at 5 p.m.
The next city council meeting will be March 21 at 6 p.m.
