Thu, Oct 11, 2007 (6:45 a.m.)

As a professor of ethics at UNLV, Craig Walton was one of the most quotable public figures in Southern Nevada.

After retiring from university life three years ago, he remained a prominent commentator as president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics.

For years his was the voice of reason and clarity whenever the complex subject of ethics in public life arose, which it did frequently.

Walton was much more than a trusted and reliable source for reporters who wanted to put controversial actions of elected officials into an ethical context.

He was an invaluable resource for state and local governments on those occasions when public ethics policies needed to be rewritten or reformed.

Walton's death Monday from complications of surgery ends a long career that well served the people of Nevada. Although his voice may be gone, his influence and guidance will continue.

The Web site of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics (www.nevada-ethics.org) outlines his principles and contains many of his letters and essays.

"He was a stickler for what was right and wrong," university system Chancellor Jim Rogers said in remembering Walton.

Although Walton was most known for raising ethical awareness in government, he also offered thoughts from time to time on personal ethics. In 1999, in an interview with the Sun, he said children should be taught that "you're not the only pebble on the beach."

"Every kid on Earth needs to learn it," he added.

Walton, 72 at the time of his death, spent more than three decades contributing to community life in Southern Nevada. By lifting ethical values in government, Walton lifted the quality of life for all of us.

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