Several hundred Nevadans to attend ceremonies

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Jan. 19, 2001 | 10:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- In 1985 and 1989 when he was chairman of the Republican Party, gaming lobbyist Frank Fahrenkopf spent the inaugural evening with the president's entourage, traveling from ball to ball.

This year, he is entertaining Nevada's Republican loyalists.

"It was exciting to do that because it was a part of history," Fahrenkopf said. "It was also kind of a lot of work, to tell you the truth."

Several hundred Nevadans are flocking to the nation's capital for the weekend's inaugural festivities. Nevada's four members of Congress doled out more than 1,100 tickets to the outdoor swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. Most of the tickets merely allow bearers to claim a standing-room-only spot among an expected 500,000 others gathered on the National Mall. Weather forecasts call for rain.

Many of the state's leading Republicans, led by Gov. Kenny Guinn, are arriving in Washington to celebrate George W. Bush's administration, including lobbyists and loyal Bush contributors. Some were scheduled to attend a reception at Washington's downtown Hard Rock Cafe tonight, sponsored by 15 groups including Fahrenkopf's American Gaming Association.

Eight Las Vegas college students are joining the throngs of Republican faithful, protesters, tourists and marching bands.

Community College of Southern Nevada students are here for a three-credit, two-week "Inaugural Internship." The group is sightseeing and volunteering for the Inaugural Committee. Among other trips, the students sat in on a Senate hearing for attorney general appointee John Ashcroft.

"It's an experience of a lifetime for them to see the seat of government and the people who run it and the hurdles they go through to keep it running," said their instructor, Mark Peplowski.

This Inaugural marks an even larger gathering of Nevada Republicans than the Republican Convention in Philadelphia last year, said Mike Pieper, the state's lobbyist and Guinn's point man on Capitol Hill.

For a lucky few Silver Staters, Saturday evening ends at the official Inaugural Ball for Nevadans (and 14 other states, plus American Somoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands). The black tie event is one of 10 official balls President-elect Bush is expected to attend. Tickets were $125 -- and hard to come by.

The only Nevada marching band to participate in Saturday's Inauguration parade is the Douglas County High School band, based in Minden in Northern Nevada, population about 1,500.

The 55-student band made the 2,425-mile trip to the nation's capital on Wednesday armed with a 15-song repertoire, just two weeks after the band was selected to represent the state.

The band is one of six bands that will not actually march in the parade but will stand and play at a designated spot along the route. The small but award-winning ensemble sought the help of their congressman, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and sent audition tapes to the inaugural committee. The school also sent its band in 1989 for the inauguration of Bush's father.

"It's the biggest parade that we could ever go to, so it's a complete honor," said drum major Amy Zabelsky, 17, whose father is band director. "It's something that we will remember for the rest of our lives."