Wednesday, March 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
ASSEMBLYMAN MARK MANENDO, D-Las Vegas, has been carrying the state legislative burden for Nevada veterans wanting a home in Southern Nevada. It was Manendo's Assembly Bill 304 two years ago that made the first request for state funds. Without the support of the executive branch and a majority of legislators, it failed.
This year, the son of a disabled veteran returned with the support of Gov. Bob Miller and presented AB109, requesting $6.7 million for the home. Then, Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan met with Veterans Secretary Jesse Brown in Washington, and he agreed to move the Nevada home up to No. 1 on his priority list. The building of this facility will complete the third leg of Reid's three-pronged plan which includes the new outpatient VA clinic in Las Vegas, the federal hospital at Nellis AFB and the veterans' home. At the state level, Manendo has done outstanding work in the Assembly. Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, has submitted SB22, which includes $6.5 million for the veterans' home. Jake has a long history of almost four decades supporting Nevada veterans and representing them in Carson City. ...
The Leonard-Camacho television fight was a total flop. What happened prior to the fight also left a lot to be desired. During the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," an interview of Mark Juliano of Caesars Palace-Atlantic City was conducted by a thoughtless television announcer. ... A couple of Northern Nevada newspaper columnists made note that former Sen. Howard Cannon had told SUN reporter Ed Koch and Las Vegas Kiwanis Club members there is "no chance" the nuke waste repository can be kept from landing at Yucca Mountain. The part of Koch's story that the Northerners overlooked, or maybe didn't see, was the referral to a SUN story written in 1995 when Cannon said the use of Yucca Mountain would never have become an issue if he, as a senior senator, hadn't lost to Chic Hecht.
"I would have become chairman of the Armed Services Committee and it (the proposed waste repository) would have had to come before us," Cannon told the SUN when he retired and moved back to Las Vegas.
"There were a lot of things I could have done to make sure Nevada never came up (as a proposed site)."
Was Andrew Golota the Marine drill instructor for Riddick Bowe? Must have been, because Bowe laid down on the Marines, just as he did after getting thumped by Golota in the ring. I'll bet the man who recruited Bowe will be a bit more careful screening future enlistees. Or maybe he has already been reassigned. Big and tough with lots of muscles isn't necessarily the kind of men needed in combat units. Give me that skinny kid with a sunburned nose and a big heart to deliver the automatic fire needed when in a tight spot. Sometimes a big heart does come with big muscles but, as Bowe has proven, they don't always come together. ...
Some additional letters have arrived discussing past issues in this column. About my concerns over the Syrian mistreatment of the people of Lebanon, a Las Vegan has her own experience: "My husband is an attorney who studied for the Maronite priesthood in Beirut. His five brothers are all as well educated. None of them ever were allowed to practice a profession under Syrian rule. My husband's father, a noted journalist, was taken from his home and cruelly beaten and tortured. He and his brothers were taken from their home and forced to serve in the military or their family would be shot. Their houses were bombed and their freedom stolen. This is the short and horrifying story of one Christian, church-going family. There were thousands of others. ..."
About abused children, SUN reader P.G. DeVilhiss suggests: "For second-time offenders, I would increase their jail time and upon, or prior to, their release, I would have a tattoo of letters like 'CA' or 'CM' tattooed on their foreheads or faces, which would be plainly visible for the public to see instantly. 'CA' for child abuser, 'CM' for child molester. ..."
M.L. Wagner writes: "Schools must report any appearance of child abuse. Too often school principals are concerned with pleasing parents, instead of taking responsibility for the children who are suffering. Most teachers are diligent, some are not, and some are hampered by diplomatic principles. I have worked in the school district and speak from observance.
"Whenever I hear about abused or murdered children, I wonder about the neighbors who live nearby and who are aware of abused or neglected neighbor children. How can anyone hear a child's cries or screams and do nothing? Often children in the neighborhood know which children are suffering abuse and still no one does anything.
"Some people may not want to be involved because they know the courts are very lenient and the alleged abuser will be released and will be free to retaliate against the people who reported the abuse. ..."
The strong response from readers, when I write about abused and neglected children or unmet needs of the elderly and ill members of our community, demonstrates that Nevadans are a warm and compassionate people.
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