Pahrump’s bad reputation not deserved

William Lockwood, Pahrump

Saturday, June 28, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

After reading your Monday article headlined “Is Pahrump pop king’s refuge?” I felt compelled to write.

Pahrump has always had an unsavory reputation and your article played on this, calling our town “the great weird magnet in the desert.” But why does this reputation persist?

The majority of homes in Pahrump do not arrive on the back of a flatbed, or under their own power on wheels. We have beautiful “real” homes in places such as Artesia, Mountain Falls, Burson Ranch, Pleasant Valley and the winery area. Our homes are usually larger than the average home in Las Vegas, and sit on more property.

My own house is paid for, and so are the Dodge and the BMW that sit in my family’s three-car garage. Our driveways are not gravel, and our streets are paved.

We do not sit out front on rocking chairs smoking corncob pipes. As far as my teeth go, you would have to check with my dentist — and yes, we do have dentists.

We chose to live out here instead of in the thriving but crime-ridden, overcrowded and “shoot ’em up, run ’em down” metropolis of Las Vegas.

At night we clearly see the stars and can hear a dog barking in the distance, not the sounds of traffic and gunfire. I don’t have to worry whether I locked my front door or not.

I realize the article was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. However, I wish the Sun had just bitten its tongue. The article did not come across as humorous, just malicious.