CARSON CITY – Here is a selection of comments made by Nevada public officials today following the announcement of the death of former state Sen. Bill Raggio:

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio. There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”

Rick Santorum — “Prenatal testing, particularly amniocentesis, I’m not talking about general prenatal care...We’re talking about specifically prenatal testing, and specifically amniocentesis, which is a procedure that actually creates a risk of having a miscarriage when you have it, and is done for the purposes of identifying maladies in the womb. And which in many cases, in fact most cases, physicians recommend, particularly if there’s a problem, recommend abortion.

Watch out, there's another Heller in politics. Emmy Heller was just declared the winner of the vote for student body president at Carson High School. Her father Sen. Dean Heller has held elective office since before Emmy, 17, was born, and helped her craft her positions and talking points. But Emmy said the experience of running for election was so stressful that she doesn't want to pursue politics as a career.

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F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Helping) has launched a campaign to refinance the mortgage on their building and free up extra funds to help the needy of Carson City. The group currently owes $1.7 million on the property on North Carson Street, which is valued at $1.6 million in today's market. Their interest rate is 7.75 percent, well above what can be obtained through refinancing. Executive Director Jim Peckham hopes to raise enough money to obtain a $1.2 million loan at 4 percent, which means they would have an extra $8,000 a month to serve the homeless and others in need.

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The owner of Cactus Jack's casino in downtown Carson City was hit with a $15,000 fine by the Nevada Gaming Commission for using unauthorized poker chips in poker tournaments. Guess the house doesn't always win.

Carson City Sheriff's deputies arrested Kirkland Wayne Abel, 40, an HVAC installer from Carson City, at about 4:30 this morning at the 900 block of East Fifth Street. Abel was arrested for felony allegations of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamines), as well as two misdemeanor allegations of possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana. Abel allegedly got into an argument with his wife when he discovered that his thermostat had been changed from 65 degrees to 66 degrees. Bail is set at $5,100 plus administrative fees.