Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
ENLARGE
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid presents his thoughts during a town hall meeting at the Fallon Convention Center Tuesday. Photo by Kim Lamb
Despite a long-standing lack of support from Churchill County voters, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid came to Fallon Tuesday, just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election, to hear from local residents.
Although about 90 percent of the state's population lives in urban centers, "I represent the whole state," Reid said.
Nevada's senior senator defended actions that have been the main source of discord between himself and many Churchill County voters - the 1990 Truckee Carson Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act.
Local farmers say they got the short end of the stick on the bill, which Reid pushed through the senate. Since then, Reid has garnered only about 20 percent of the vote in Churchill. But Reid said while the bill may have left farmers worse off, it fixed a lot of other century-old problems.
Although about 90 percent of the state's population lives in urban centers, "I represent the whole state," Reid said.
Nevada's senior senator defended actions that have been the main source of discord between himself and many Churchill County voters - the 1990 Truckee Carson Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act.
Local farmers say they got the short end of the stick on the bill, which Reid pushed through the senate. Since then, Reid has garnered only about 20 percent of the vote in Churchill. But Reid said while the bill may have left farmers worse off, it fixed a lot of other century-old problems.
Before the 1990 bill, Reid said there was raging water wars between farmers, Indian tribes and two states. There were wetlands going dry and two lakes dying after a third had already disappeared. His bill went a long way toward alleviating those concerns, Reid said.
"The problem that hasn't been resolved," he conceded, "is agriculture in Churchill County."
The senator pointed to a $450,000 appropriation he championed for a new plant materials center in Fallon, saying he's still working to help rural Nevada's agriculture industry.
"This is the first time we (Nevada) have gotten anything out of this (farm bill). ...We still haven't gotten our fair share but we're going to keep working on it," he said.
"The problem that hasn't been resolved," he conceded, "is agriculture in Churchill County."
The senator pointed to a $450,000 appropriation he championed for a new plant materials center in Fallon, saying he's still working to help rural Nevada's agriculture industry.
"This is the first time we (Nevada) have gotten anything out of this (farm bill). ...We still haven't gotten our fair share but we're going to keep working on it," he said.
Self-described conservative David Thawley, dean of the University of Nevada, Reno's school of agriculture, further boasted Reid's support of farming, touting money the senator secured for several other agricultural research projects.
For the bulk of Tuesday's town hall meeting, Reid fielded questions from the field of about 50 local residents, most of which focused on health care and the elderly.
Reid, who is on the Senate Committee on Aging, blasted the state of health care in America.
The U.S. doesn't have a health care system, he said. It has a sick care system, where people only get help when it's too late.
For the bulk of Tuesday's town hall meeting, Reid fielded questions from the field of about 50 local residents, most of which focused on health care and the elderly.
Reid, who is on the Senate Committee on Aging, blasted the state of health care in America.
The U.S. doesn't have a health care system, he said. It has a sick care system, where people only get help when it's too late.
In response to a question from Churchill County Commissioner Norm Frey about funding for the Churchill Area Regional Transit bus system, Reid took on Bush administration budget cuts to programs from health care to transportation, saying they force the elderly from their homes and into assisted living facilities, at a far higher cost to taxpayers than CART or Meals on Wheels programs.
"We're spending a lot of money keeping people in convalescent centers when we should be spending less money on keeping them out," Reid said.
"If we're going to have a society that we can be proud of, we're going to have to be able to take care of people in their golden years."
Before reaching Fallon Tuesday, Reid stopped off for a town hall meeting in Fernley. After Fallon, he headed off to Lovelock, then Winnemucca and Battle Mountain.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
"We're spending a lot of money keeping people in convalescent centers when we should be spending less money on keeping them out," Reid said.
"If we're going to have a society that we can be proud of, we're going to have to be able to take care of people in their golden years."
Before reaching Fallon Tuesday, Reid stopped off for a town hall meeting in Fernley. After Fallon, he headed off to Lovelock, then Winnemucca and Battle Mountain.
Cory McConnell can be contacted at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
