Community Partners

The Nevada Mining Association has teamed up with the Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada for the first-ever “Mining In Today’s World” patch program.

It was an eventful year around the Carson City region notwithstanding the limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's some notable stories that were not pandemic related that happened in 2020.

This week's Senator Square features guest writers Ananda Campbell and Bridget Gordon-Johnson who explain Monday homeroom academic strategies. Campbell is a CHS Library Media Specialist and Carson City School District Library Coordinator. Gordon is a CHS counselor. This is their report:

On Friday, the Greenhouse Project held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new outdoor classroom which will be used to host both students from Carson High School as well as community classes on gardening and agriculture.

In our region, as well as in many areas across the country, there have been massive spikes in COVID-19 transmissions over the past few months. Even as restaurants and bars were reopened, daily positive cases were generally staying within single digits inside the Quad-County region.

However, between October and December, both test positivity rates as well as overall cases — and deaths — have seen a massive increase. Local health organizations are now not only fighting against the disease, but against misinformation campaigns as well.

In the last year, the number of students at the University of Nevada, Reno experiencing food insecurity increased from 22 percent to 24 percent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as lacking consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

CARSON CITY — More than eight months into the Nevada guard’s support of the battle against COVID-19, the stubborn microscopic enemy showed no sign of surrender as many of the state’s counties reported record number of cases in late fall.

Greater Nevada Credit Union, a Carson City-based credit union serving northern Nevada, contributes $25,000 as the first corporate sponsor and financial institution to the Audacity Fund Reno, which provides funding, education and support to local business owners from underserved populations.

On Friday, Carson Tahoe Health (CTH) made a gift of $5,000 to the Salvation Army to support the purchase of turkeys for their holiday meal program at the Salvation Army’s Turkey Drop at Max Casino in Carson City.

CARSON CITY — On Sunday, Nov. 1, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, the state agency that connects Nevadans to budget-appropriate Qualified Health Plans through the online marketplace known as Nevada Health Link, kicked off its eighth Open Enrollment Period and its second year operating as a State Based Exchange.

After announcing new flights and two new destinations in September alone, the Reno-Tahoe International Airport was recognized as one of the nine best small U.S. airports by The Discoverer Blog.

The Moonridge Foundation’s 5th Annual Philanthropy Leaders Summit will be held as a virtual summit on Friday, Sept. 18 in place of its regularly scheduled in-person event. The summit is a gathering for corporate funders and family foundations, along with local, statewide, and national philanthropists to hear about the latest trends and best practices in giving. Knowing the importance of connecting and inspiring, attendees will hear from dynamic speakers about crisis philanthropy and strategic giving.

The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) is aware that employnv.gov, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) site is currently operating at a slower speed, causing user to experience slow response time.

The Nevada State Treasurer’s Office and Clark County announced Monday that new applications for the CARES Housing Assistance Program have been paused in Clark County.

Donor Network West, the federally designated non-profit organ procurement and tissue recovery organization for northern Nevada and northern California, has elevated Nicole Bishop to Regional Director of the northern Nevada region.

The Brewery Arts Center normally provides the Levitt-Amp concert series throughout the summer, but due to COVID-19 the festivities were cancelled this year. The BAC, however, along with several Carson City community partners, stepped up to bring safe family fun to the capital city, including the Flatbed Concert Series and drive-in movie nights.

The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange), the state agency that connects Nevadans to Qualified Health Plans through the online State Based Exchange (SBE), known as Nevada Health Link, announces the Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for Plan Year 2021 will run from November 1 through January 15, 2021 – extending the traditional OEP by an additional 30 days and giving consumers a total of 75 days to enroll in a comprehensive health care plan.

A local parent has started a petition to open Carson City schools in August and will present the petition at the Tuesday, July 14 meeting of the Carson City School District Board of Trustees.

Statewide partners collaborated to launch Nevada’s first website focused on first responder Crisis Intervention Team training and other behavioral health resources which can be found at nvcit.org.

The Brewery Arts Center in Carson City is continuing to monitor the latest developments about COVID-19. To comply with the mandate of Governor Sisolak, we are canceling the 2020 Levitt concert series to help lessen the spread of the virus. It is imperative that we act according to the directives of the government, public health authorities, and medical professionals.

In a letter distributed to all students, families, employees and community members, Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes announced that due to the emergency directives from the Office of the Governor, schools within the District cannot reopen in normal fashion to begin the 2020-2021 school year.

Sierra Lutheran High School launched its Graduation Week celebration Saturday with members of the school’s faculty and administration delivering congratulatory signs to the Class of 2020.

CARSON CITY — The Aging and Disability Services Division recently received a federal grant of $450,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support Nevada Care Connection Resource Centers as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CARSON CITY — The Aging and Disability Services Division was recently awarded $6,929,262 in grants from the Administration for Community Living as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The funds will help meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities as communities implement measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Editor’s Note: This week's guest writer is Bridget Gordon-Johnson. She is a counselor at Carson High School. This is her report.

Staying connected to students, virtually, is the biggest challenge every educator is facing right now. Teachers, paraprofessionals, school counselors, administrators, school secretaries, custodians, and everyone for that matter is missing the energy and life students bring to our worlds.

Editor’s Note: Bryant is a freshman Honors student at CHS, and the following is her response to the poem "A Builder or a Wrecker" by Charles Franklin Benvegar.

During this pandemic, I would love to think I am in fact a builder because I strive to see the best in this, because I have been helping those struggling immensely during these hard times, and because I am doing my best to help the medical professionals I know.

Each year, National Read Across America Day is observed on March 2, the birthday of children’s book author Ted Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. In celebration, many schools often dedicate an entire week as “Reading Week.” In Carson City, grade-schoolers at Fremont Elementary School got to celebrate a week prior to the observance with several community partners and local dignitaries, who visited classrooms to read to students.

CARSON CITY — Debbie Barham, co-owner of DeBug Computer, presented a check for $500 raised at the company’s annual Photos with Santa event over the holidays to Barbara Slade, program and equine manager for Between Horses and Humans at the organization’s Gardnerville riding arena.

Carson Tahoe Health is pleased to announce Mallory Behavioral Health Crisis Center was recognized Thursday, Jan. 9 for its diligent efforts in advocacy, community connections, and support for those experiencing a mental health and, or substance use crisis. The 31st annual Human Services Awards named Mallory Behavioral Health Crisis Center Agency of the Year.

CARSON CITY — Royce Ponton gave birth to a new baby boy, Leviathan Wayne Ponton at 12:53 AM on Jan. 1, the first baby of 2020 at Carson Tahoe; he also achieved the title of first Northern Nevada baby born in 2020! But, unbeknownst to Royce, she had even more to celebrate!