Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
HOME, HOME on the range.
The chance of a lifetime, promoters will tell you. You can buy yourself a square-mile tract of land in Northern Nevada for something in the neighborhood of $40,000.
The desire for land ownership is as old as man. Historically one of the greatest land grabs of all was when thousands of pioneers gathered to establish homesteads in the Oklahoma land rush.
Northern Nevada is dotted with falling down barns, shanties and broken fences built by hardy men and women who tried to farm on 160 acres offered by the government in an effort to settle the West.
The latest Nevada land rush is planned for April 2 when 60,000 acres will be sold at a private auction.
I have seen some of that land, and believe me if the term "caveat emptor" ever fit a situation, it's this land sale.
Laura Fox, an official with the Nevada Real Estate Division, put it in the proper perspective when she said, "To me, it's for the more eccentric buyer who basically wants to own a parcel of Nevada land."
In most of the sale areas, there is no electricity nor do mineral rights and water rights come with the deal.
Some of the parcels are within a half-hour or so drive from small Nevada communities -- that is, if you can find a road.
Young people might be lured by the idea that the value of the land will increase noticeably over their lifetime. Maybe so.
Older citizens who are looking for a space all their own will find it among the rabbits, rattlesnakes and coyotes, but the cost of bringing in electricity, water and utilities is almost prohibitive.
There you are. The great Nevada land auction on April 2 will go on as advertised. There might even be some buyers who will come out of the deal with a real bargain.
If I were plunking down $40,000, I would want to know just what I was buying. In other words, "buyer beware."
There are politicians and there are politicians.
Before they get elected they assure the voters they will look out for their interests. They will listen and abide by the wishes of the electorate.
After they get elected they sing a different tune. Now instead of listening they are telling. Overnight they realize that they are much smarter than voters and it is incumbent upon the officials to tell the citizens what they want.
For example: The Assembly group that wants to draw up a bill to give voters a chance to overturn the term-limits amendment they approved twice.
They are basing it on the fact that the judges were able to create a separate ballot question on term limits and the voters rejected limits for judges.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, claims "the judges got a chance to educate the public and we didn't."
Tough.
On another front, county commissioners and officials are playing around with a bond issue passed by the voters that would give $45 million for renovations at Spring Mountain Youth Camp and Zenoff juvenile detention hall. They want the money for an elaborate justice center.
That's fine, but the voters passed the bond on the expectation of the $45 million allocation to Family and Youth Services.
I think it was $46 million and now they want to cut it back to $40 million.
Who cares what the voters want.
Incumbents get a leg up on their opponents.
Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa does it by issuing news releases on sensitive subjects like domestic violence, drunken driving and crime prevention.
City Councilman Matt Callister does it by appearing on the Las Vegas town talk show on Channel 4 where he can tout all his accomplishments with his buddy Mayor Jan Laverty Jones' smiling approval.
"But I had a flu shot."
I complained to my doctor that I shouldn't have been felled by this bug that's going around. His reply to me was, "Just think how much worse you would be if you hadn't had the shot."
That's not much consolation when one is forced to miss the WestCare dinner honoring Sen. Richard Bryan and his lovely partner, Bonnie; and the bat mitzvah of a beautiful young lady named Moira Greenspun; and, most of all, a Rebel basketball game that topped anything else during the season.
My only consolation is that I have a lot of company. This bug has hit hard in Las Vegas this year.
City Council candidate Sue Brna is puzzled.
She went to apply for a permit to post signs. It cost $25. That was OK, but she is still wondering why others haven't paid the fee yet their signs are out in abundance.
An elderly SUN reader claims children are a comfort to you in your old age, but like Social Security, it's nowhere near as much as you expected.
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