Letter: DMV problems continue despite Guinn’s promise

Friday, July 13, 2001 | 4:17 a.m.

I arrived at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety office on East Sahara at 6:45 a.m. on July 3 to renew my driver's license in person. There were approximately 50 to 75 customers already there, awaiting a 7 a.m. opening. An employee and a guard came out at 7:20 a.m. to announce that the office was not opening today till 8 a.m., but no explanation why! We were told to get in an orderly single-file line to await the 8 a.m. opening.

By the time the door was opened there were approximately 200 or more customers of every disabled group that you can think of: elderly; some using canes, crutches, oxygen bottles; young children and babies, etc. And the temperature in the shade must have been approaching 100 by then. It was well after 10 a.m. before I got out of there for what should have been a 15- or 20-minute job. Approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes. It was a life-threatening, horrible experience for some.

The workers there were great and did their best under very trying conditions. Triple dipper (Clark County School District, Southwest Gas retirements, governor's salary) Kenny Guinn said he fixed the long lines and wait problem at DMV. He appointed Richard Kirkland, another double or triple dipper, to head up the DMV. They both should be fired.

I have a $100 bill and I will bet that I can find 100 present DMV workers who should have been promoted to head this agency, and could have corrected these problems, and be happy to do it for a salary of $103,000. Not some greedy, selfish political hack friend of Kenny Guinn's. Doug Bache was right. These two guys are abusers!

MIKE AUPPERLE