Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Commissioners shouldn’t succumb to underbuiling

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:52 a.m.

AS THE PEOPLE of Clark County look around the area and listen to outside experts, some things become obvious. Henderson has done a great job providing parks and recreation facilities for people. Also, McCarran International Airport is the one major facility that has kept up with the growth of Clark County, and the Las Vegas Convention Center isn't far behind meeting visitor needs.

Some of us remember the public outcry when the new airport was first opened and later expanded. Critics claimed it was too big and too fancy, and now it's necessary to add on another wing. The same kind of critics were around back in the 1950s when Bud Albright and the County Commission pushed for a convention center. Since then, it has been almost always in some stage of expansion and improvement.

The County Commission should recall these lessons as they prepare to build the Regional Justice Center. Don't cheap it out and underbuild this facility. You sure didn't spare any expense when building your own offices and meeting rooms. And don't worry, when all is said and done, there's no danger of overbuilding this badly needed facility.

Every Monday morning in our rural, one-room school house, an eighth-grade student had the assignment to pass around the "goiter pills" so each of us would have one. It was during the Great Depression, and the soil and resulting diet of the people in that sandy area provided very little iodine. The "goiter pills" contained iodine and, as we were instructed, would protect us from goiters. Evidently it was a successful program, because I don't know of any of my school mates developing goiters.

Next Saturday, Philip Junkins and the Kiwanis Clubs of Southern Nevada will be at all Wal-Mart stores to gain support for programs that will make certain children from developing countries also will be provided "goiter pills." Lack of iodine in the diet can cause untold misery for millions of children living in mountains of flood plain areas where the iodine has been washed from the soil.

David St. John, writing for Las Vegas Parent & Child, tells readers about the importance of iodine. "Without it, children's brains and nervous systems do not fully develop. Iodine deficiency in adults as well as children adversely affects the heart, liver, kidneys, muscles and endocrine system. It is the greatest single cause of preventable brain damage and mental disability in the world. At the very least, it can cause a loss of energy and can stunt physical development. At its worst, it leads to goiters, brain damage, cretinism, stillbirths and infant deaths."

This Saturday, we all will have an opportunity to help fight the scourge of iodine deficiency disorders. The Kiwanis members will be seeking your help. Just remember that every 5 cents given can protect a child from iodine deficiency for a year.

Gov. Bob Miller's appointment of former Assemblyman Brian Sandoval to the Gaming Commission appears to be a wise selection. Sandoval has been a reasonable and competent legislator who practiced fairness when making decisions. He has been a good public servant. ... Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Minden, will seek to add four years to the 36 years he has already served in the Nevada Legislature. He was the Assembly Speaker during my first legislative session as governor. Several years earlier, during my tenure as a state department head, he first entered the Assembly. I've seldom been around an elected official who was as easy to work with on legislation, and always he thought first of Nevada. He will get another four years, which will end when he reaches 80. ...

It looks like the bullies of the Nevada Tax Commission are forcing businessman Jerry Fullerton to seek justice in our court system. He hasn't been able to get it from the governor-appointed tax commissioners or from the tax collectors trying to show Nevadans that they can outdo any outrageous acts that some people believe the IRS has committed. Jerry's little shoe shop provides appliances for injured workers covered by the state workers' compensation agency. The SIIS is a tax-exempt agency and correctly refuses to pay providers a state tax, but the state tax collectors insist that the business people pay them the tax. Even the Legislature finally got the message and has put forth a law that protects the providers. Nevertheless, the taxers continue to hound and threaten Fullerton for taxes they demanded prior to the law.