Mayor Susan Holecheck has resigned from the board of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce.
The resignation was submitted on Friday, March 5, prior to a meeting of the Chamber board scheduled for Monday.
The mayor has previously come under fire for her hands-on involvement on the Chamber board, particularly last fall during the tumultuous period after the departure of Chamber Executive Director Katherine Cole.
In her resignation letter, the mayor mentioned the problems endured at the Chamber over the last 24 months of her three years on the board.
"While the first year seemed to be clear sailing and not problematic, I have found the last two years to be full of controversy - probably the natural result of change."
Holecheck's letter also hinted that her involvement with the Chamber board may have been a factor in some of those controversies, writing "if my presence on the Board is creating conflict then I would prefer to decline the honorary position." [Read full story]

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
That old children's homily sums up the never-say-die approach of A Pirate's Paradise, the company owned by Tim and Claudia Andrus which continues to work toward bringing an indoor skating rink to the people of Mesquite.
On Tuesday, the company received approval by the Mesquite City Council for a Conditional Use Permit which will allow them to open a skating rink in the Cimarron Business Park.
It's the third time the city has voted on the skating rink, albeit at three different locations.
Throw in tentative plans to open the rink at two different sites in Arizona, and the project has logged a lot of miles.
Originally, the company attempted to purchase city-owned land in the Mesquite Technology and Commerce Center back in 2008. [Read full story]

Different communities have their own unique ways of celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
In Savannah, Georgia, the river is turned green as part of the second largest St. Patrick's celebration in the country.
Ditto for the river in Chicago.
On the south side of Boston, a raucous parade winds through the city.
The same will happen in New York City and dozens of other communities across the country.
In Mesquite, the only way the Virgin River will be turning green is if there's an unexpected algae bloom.
Also, the parade which works its way down Sanhill Blvd. and onto Mesquite Blvd. won't involve marching bands or decorated floats.
But it will be a party atmosphere just the same, as the community celebrates the wearin' o' the green with the annual St. Patrick's Day Walk. [Read full story]

Tuesday's Mesquite City Council meeting drew a sizeable and vocal crowd, as people on both sides of the Gold Butte controversy took turns expressing their positions on the issue.
The debate centered around a previous decision by the council to approve a resolution supporting the federal proposal to declare the 350,000 acre parcel of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land as a National Conservation Area (NCA).
According to the proponents of the designation, including the local Friends of Gold Butte organization, the NCA would protect the area, including cultural and historic sites, as well as the endangered desert tortoise.
Those opposing the proposal claim the designation would result in more closed trails, and denial of access to the area by ATV's and other motorized vehicles.
According to Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck, the city originally supported the NCA as a means of ensuring the city would have a say with the feds once the NCA legislation was introduced in Congress. [Read full story]

The Veterans of Foreign Wars is pleased to announce that Abigail Barnard, an eighth grade student at Charles Hughes Middle School in Mesquite, Nevada, is the first place winner and recipient of a $10,000 savings bond for writing the winning essay in the 2009-2010 Patriot's Pen essay contest.
Barnard, who was sponsored by VFW Post 7385 and its Ladies Auxiliary in Mesquite, Nev., wrote her winning essay based on this year’s theme, “When is the Right Time to Honor Our Military Heroes?”
As the first place winner, Abigail received a savings bond and trophy at a special luncheon on March 7 during the VFW National Legislative/Voice of Democracy/Senior Vice Commander Meeting held in Washington, DC.
The youth essay writing contest is a nationwide competition that gives students in grades six, seven and eight the opportunity to write a 300-400 word theme-based essay expressing their views on democracy.
A total of 109,465 students participated in the competition this year.  [Read full story]