Crescent Valley Town Board Highlights

The Crescent Valley Town Advisory Board met on March 19. 

Grant approval

Chairwoman Diana Kersey noted, “We were approved from Nevada Gold Mines for $4,000 out of the $6,000 we submitted for donation for the Crescent Valley Fun Days and Christmas Event.” Kersey said she got an email from Shawna Adams explaining she was only allowed to donate up to $5,000 and that anything larger must be reviewed. The intent is not to exhaust the budget too early in the year. 

New EMTs

Secretary Christina Tucker mentioned several new EMTs have been hired including Brett Jones, who received applause on introduction.

Rabies clinic

The board then set the date for a rabies clinic for Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sheriff’s update

Expanding on what he had reported during the county commission meeting, Sheriff Miles Umina gave further insight into the Western States Sheriffs Association meeting in Reno, which he attended with Undersheriff Tyler Thomas. 

“We did updates on what’s going on in the country; what’s going on outside of the country was pretty enlightening, from the drug trends on, jail management…Also, we have just rolled out a policy regarding immigration. We’re not going to be stopping people just if we think that they’re illegal and taking them to jail. That’s all on ICE…The only time we’ll contact ICE is if it’s a felony or DUI, assault, battery, domestic, something along that line…That was something that all of the Nevada sheriffs came together and put together.”

Umina said, “To be honest, and I’ve talked to a lot of the locals around here, immigration isn’t a major issue around here. If anything you might have a couple of migrant workers that might not be legal, but we’re not going to go out to all the farms and ranches and go, ‘What’s your green card status? What is your immigration status?’…We’re looking for people…that shouldn’t be here, that are doing things wrong.”

High-speed driving course 

Sgt. Nick Collins will attend the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course, addressing safe high-speed driving, in Boulder City, Nevada, April 2-11. Sheriff Umina said, “We drive like that all the time and it’s a skill we keep up all the time, but it’s better we have training on it consistently.” 

Collins will be able to train sheriffs, EMS and Fire staff.

New sheriff to be sworn in

Umina will be sworn in as sheriff in Crescent Valley in April. He said, “I’m really excited about that. I will say in open meeting here, since they’ve appointed me, I will run in the next election.” 

He noted there will be a walk-through of the Crescent Valley Sub-Station so the commissioners understand “some of the issues that we have moving forward, especially as we have two people in backgrounds and one person just applied for the north here. Once we get those three positions, we’ll be fully staffed. So, that’s two sergeants and four patrol deputies up here. I don’t think Crescent Valley has had that forever.”

The Eureka Sheriff’s Office hasn’t been fully staffed for the past six or seven years. 

Umina noted issues of gas being stolen and said, “If somebody wants to remain anonymous, they can still call in and report it.” 

He noted Eureka County is 5,000 square miles with lots of highway and dirt roads, which is about “1,000 miles per person that we have to patrol out here.”

He said they are still looking at possibly opening the jail in the future but opined, 

“Right now, fiscally, our taxpayers’ money should be kept here. It’s cheaper for me to take them over to White Pine or up to Lander County than to have our jail fully staffed and working 24/7, which is about $700,000 a year.”

ISO rating

Vice Chair Jeremy Rice noted the ISO (International Standardization Organization) meeting for insurance ratings took place on March 19 in Crescent Valley and “went really well.” The ISO rating for Crescent Valley is currently 7 and Rice said, “We’ll either stay at 7 or go to 6.” The lower the number, the better the ISO score. Dale Kersey related, “The best firefighting companies in the world are about a 2 or 3.”

Elko health fair

Nik Hirschi of the Crescent Valley Medical Clinic reminded everyone that there is a health fair, Saturday, March 22 in Elko, with the CV Senior Center providing transportation on the senior bus.

Member Laura Shivers noted, “If you’re not a senior, you can still ride the bus. It’s $5, but if a senior comes, you may be bumped.” The bus will leave between 8:30 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, and they recommend anyone having labs done should fast to get the best results. 

Hirschi will have a booth there, #124, near the entrance, for his Elko Clinic, Primary Choice Health and Wellness, and will have a raffle and grab bag.