Thursday, Sept. 18, 1997 | 9 a.m.
Residents in the northern Las Vegas valley are upset over a herd of cattle living in a rapidly growing area on the valley's only livestock farm.
Clark County commissioners threatened Wednesday to fine the owners of the farm unless he removes some 300 head of cattle that neighbors say are giving off a nasty odor.
But the Combs family, which has raised pigs for years at R.C. Farms, say they have no intention of getting rid of the offending animals.
"We're not against progress or development," said James Combs. "We just want to continue our way of life and service to the community."
Combs said his family is ready to take the county to court to keep the cattle, despite threats from Commissioner Lorraine Hunt to remove the cattle and make the family pay for it.
The commissioners were responding to complaints from nearby residents about the manure stench when the wind blows the wrong way.
"They can't control the smell coming off the pig farm, and the cows just multiply it," said Suzie Beirle, a resident of the nearby Eldorado community. "These are the most noxious fumes I've ever smelled. I've lived there three months and smelled it at least a dozen times."
When residents move into the neighborhood, Beirle said they have to sign a form acknowledging there is a pig farm nearby. But the cattle are more than they bargained for, she said.
The area was once mostly desert, but in recent years has been filling fast with subdivisions.
In 1962, the Combs family got state permission to have pigs on 40 acres, which was then far away from any housing. They argue the permit also allows them to keep livestock on an additional 80 acres acquired in 1977.
In the face of opposition from commissioners, the farmers' attorney, Bill Curran, withdrew a zoning application Wednesday for the cattle . But he said he would fight the county in court if it continued to fine his clients or forcibly attempted to remove the cattle.
"What the city of North Las Vegas and the county are trying to do is run the valley's last farm out so they can build a house on it," said Stan Parry, who also is representing the farmers.
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