Where I Stand -- Ruthe Deskin: Disgruntled flushers unite against faulty new gadgets

IT SEEMS we are all in this together.

Last week, this space was devoted to a discussion of a much-touted water-saving device for toilets.

This being a family newspaper, I suppose I should use the word commode or even bidet, but President Clinton and Vice President Gore recently have exhorted the nation to use simple English, so toilet it will be.

Apparently there are hundreds of folks out there who believed they could add their contribution to the "save the water" campaign, thus allowing more golf courses to be built. They installed the water saver.

Sam Armijo's letter adequately summed up the reaction of dozens of readers who discovered that the new flushers didn't flush.

She wrote: "Thank you. Thank you. Your article regarding the worthlessness of the "water-saving toilet devices" we all were guilted into having installed was the first time I didn't feel alone in my frustration.

"I live in a manufactured-housing community and since these mechanisms were installed, I've complained about the excessive waste of water it uses to flush even a few sheets of paper, never mind anything of a serious bulky nature. Everyone I've complained to has told me that it's because we have low water pressure in the park, which may also be true, but it was never this bad with the old mechanisms. I would also like to know why the residents of Las Vegas have to endure "low water pressure" while tourists at the casinos have toilets that flush with enough power to suck-start a Harley.

"Your article has reaffirmed my sanity and I am a grateful subscriber. If you ever get those coalition people to give you an old bulb-flush system, please get me one too. Keep up the good work of flushing out life's little annoyances."

My undercover agents tell me that the old bulb-type flushers are bringing big money on the black market!

Allen Couch claims there's a gadget you can get at Home Depot for seven bucks that will take care of the situation.

Tony Lese called a plumber, who found a piece of cardboard in the tank, and that took care of the problem. How I wish for such a simple solution.

One caller, who wished anonymity, thinks the Las Vegas Valley Water District should be looking into this matter instead of trying to float a sales tax to pipe more water into the valley.

Lese has found another problem. Water heaters are situated in garages, so the water has to run for some time before the water gets hot. He claims it takes about three gallons.

His suggestion is that builders should be required to "put water heaters closer to the bathroom."

Lese concludes: "One million people -- two gallons per person -- 2 million gallons of water wasted daily."

When you come right down to it, it's the little things in life that can be the most frustrating.

In all of the drooling over the Chicago Bulls, few sports writers or commentators made reference to the last game when an horrendous call robbed Howard Eisley of a three-pointer in the second quarter. It could have made the difference, and the series would have gone to a seventh game.

If you can't come through the front door, try the back.

Not long ago, the City Council turned down a request for a pawn shop in the old bank building at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Meadows Lane.

Imagine the surprise of some of the nearby residents when they received a notice that the Planning Commission was holding a meeting to consider the opening of a secondhand jewelry and furniture store at that location.

Petitions already are being circulated in opposition to the venture.

So what's the fine line between a pawn shop and a secondhand jewelry and furniture store?

You know you are past your prime when a slick magazine selects the 10 most influential people in Las Vegas, and you don't know any of them.

Or when the U.S. Navy brass announces the demise of bell-bottom trousers for Navy sailors.

Or when you need a new ribbon for your old Selectric typewriter and have to search all over town to find one.

Or when when police officers and firefighters all look like they just graduated from high school.

A word to the wise for special counsel Kenneth Starr.

If lawyers and prosecutors would quit trying their cases in the media, they wouldn't get into a pack of trouble.

The words of a warning during World War II come to mind -- loose lips sink ships.

A Sun reader reports seeing this sign near a local park: "Pets must be accompanied by a responsible adult on a leash."

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