MESQUITE Last week of published ballot LOCAL NEWS Page 6-7A THE WEEK OF JAN. 31, 2019 Vol. 15, No. 16 OVERTON POWER TOURISM Response 33 hot air bal- loons took to the to power skies over Mes- quite Jan. 25-27 for the Eleventh Annual Mesquite outage Hot Air Balloon Festival. Bal- loons came in all questions shapes and sizes but most were By Mendes Cooper about 60 feet Overton Power GM across when fully inflated and Since the power outage on Monday, I over 90 feet tall. keep hearing a couple of common ques- tions. I want to let everyone know where we are regarding some of these ques- tions. Teri Nehrenz First, people want to know why we didn’t bring in power from Utah during the power outage. I want everyone to un- derstand that we did bring in power from Area resident thrilled for first flight Utah to serve the hospital, the police sta- tion, a fire station, a gas station, and a By Teri Nehrenz commercial endeavors for his company rest of the kids were anticipating getting grocery store in Mesquite. We brought MLN Hot Air Enterprises LC. a ride from the pilot who was freely giv- in all the power we could from Utah, but Bingham has been piloting balloons ing the kids a floating thrill. Bingham’s unfortunately with the existing load and The 11th Annual Mesquite Hot Air Bal- for 20 years; this festival was the start of daughter couldn’t see over the side of the the growth in the St George area along loon Festival, sponsored by the Mesquite his 21. basket. Dad had to hold her and take that with some other technical issues we can- Resort Association, was held Jan. 25-27 Bingham bought his first balloon in first ride with his baby girl. He helped not get enough power to serve the entire with spectacular sights of 33 colorful bal- 1998 and became a commercial pilot in the pilot take the balloon down that day Mesquite area. loons taking flight. 2003. His interest in hot air balloons and the following day Bingham helped Next, people ask why we didn’t bring During the three-day event, local resi- came from his school’s Weekly Reader. him set up and take down the balloon. in power from Lincoln County Power dents have a chance to volunteer to work He read about some research being done The pilot promised to come back the District (LCPD). Lincoln County was crews/chase teams for the balloon pilots to test space suit development, hot air following year but never did so he helped affected by the NV Energy problem just and some even get lucky enough to take balloons were somehow involved. A few someone else; he did that for about eight like we were. When NV Energy loses a ride. years later, during a local balloon festival or nine years before deciding to take the a line that affects us, it affects Lincoln Marie Sweet of Beaver Dam, Arizo- someone landed one in his neighbor- plunge and purchase his own balloon. County as well, so we were both out of na, took her first hot air balloon ride in hood. Sweet said her first ride was “sweet!” power. “Twister” a balloon owned by Pilot Lyle Bingham said his daughter was about Later in the day, LCPD was able to se- Bingham. Bingham flies “Twister” in four years old and she along with the > See BALLOONS, Page 2A cure a limited amount of power on the old transmission line that was built to serve OPD and LCPD back in the 1930’s. DEVELOPMENT OPD crews started to go through the switching procedures to bring in some of that power to the Moapa Valley area. Again, there was not enough power Power line construction available to energize the entire area, but our intent was to provide power to key reason for dirt moving locations. As we started to go through the switching procedures, we received By Barbara Ellestad word from NV Energy that the problem MLN would be fixed within two hours. Con- sidering the amount of time it takes to Massive amounts of dirt are being moved on Pio- switch back and forth, we abandoned neer Boulevard behind the Methodist and Luther- our plans to utilize the little bit of power an churches and east of the commercial building we could get off of the old line. that houses the DMV. According to Richard Secrist, Next, people want to know where we City of Mesquite Development Services director, the are at in securing a second transmission project began with Overton Power District’s need to line. I want you to know that we have install a new power line across the I-15 highway. Barbara Ellestad been working on this issue for several “OPD wanted to knock down the hill behind the Massive amounts of dirt are being moved on land between the Meth- years. My staff and I have worked si- churches when they installed the new power line to odist and Lutheran churches and the DMV building on Pioneer Boule- > See OPD, Page 2A > See DIRT, Page 2A vard. Ms. Senior Mesquite contestants named Mesquite Local News taken on the challenges to be bold, courageous, adventurous, and in- Contestants in the 2019 Ms. Senior spiring in yet another chapter of their Mesquite pageant were introduced to the lives. public Saturday, Jan. 26, during their an- Each year the Ms. Senior Mesquite nual Bingo Bash fundraiser at the Elks Pageant contestants sell advertising for Club. their program as part of their contestant The 2019 Ms. Senior Mesquite Pag- responsibilities. The money collected eant Contestants are perfect examples from the sale of the ads goes to charity; of the outstanding and varied talent specifically, the non-profit organizations that comprises the citizenry of Mes- that thrive in Mesquite. Be on the look- quite. They have made contributions out for the ladies to come knocking on to the communities from which they your door for a good cause. Submitted photo lived prior and continue that tradition The pageant takes place Saturday, From left, Mary Paliganoff, Teri Nehrenz, Julie Hoffman, Ann Murphy, Reigning here. As contestants, which they’ll April 27, at 4 p.m. at the Mesquite Com- Queen LeAnn Elder-Kalstein and Diana McKinney. agree is not a “cakewalk”, they have munity Theatre. ACE IS THE PLACE TO HELP 102 W. Mesquite Blvd. ORGANIZE Mon. - Sat. 7AM-7PM | Sun. 9AM-4PM 702-346-5277 YOUR TOOLS Ace Hardware Supports the Desert Dogs 2A MESQUITE LOCAL NEWS The Week of Jan. 31, 2019 Balloons The city of continued from Page 1A Mesquite is installing two Bingham expertly floated them from the new traffic sig- Oasis parking lot to the Ford dealership nals on Pioneer and landed quite gently with just one Boulevard that hop before touching safely down in the will make it saf- dirt. She said that she never imagined er to travel the the ride to be so smooth quiet in between busy roadway. bursts of fire from the burners. “I didn’t really know what to expect but I definitely didn’t expect it to be so Barbara Ellestad smooth. You can’t imagine what it means Teri Nehrenz to ‘float on air’ until you really do float on Marie Sweet of Beaver Dam, Arizona, air; it was very surreal. I was also antic- Pioneer travelers getting upgrades took her first hot air balloon ride in ipating a much harder landing but Lyle “Twister” a balloon owned by Pilot By Barbara Ellestad was an incredible pilot and he explained light poles for the signals will be shipped Lyle Bingham. MLN quite a bit about balloons while we were to the city on March 29. “There’s a mas- traveling.” when fully inflated and over 90 feet tall. All those travelers who have constant- sive back order for the poles and we’ve As tradition dictates, after a safe land- They weigh a whopping 250 pounds and ly been irritated by the difficult and busy waited a long time for them,” he said. ing, newbies to the air toast their safe with the rest of the equipment, basket, intersection of Pioneer Boulevard and “We are getting all the other work done landing with champagne, in this case tanks and burners they weigh in at 650 the Grapevine overpass are about to get first so that once they get here, we can sparkling cider. pounds all together. a long-awaited solution. And the fear of install them quickly.” Superstition also plays in this tra- One of the more spectacular evening traversing the almost-hidden intersec- The city is installing a flashing caution dition; the newbies must drink their events is the night glow. Balloonists in- tion of Turtleback Road and Pioneer light on Pioneer Boulevard as travelers champagne without the benefit of using flate the balloons at night while keeping Boulevard will soon be gone. approach the Turtleback Road intersec- their hands. If drops of liquid are spilled, them tethered to the ground and fuel the Travis Anderson, City of Mesquite tion from the west that will warn drivers it is said that the pilots next flight will fires that set them aglow. Pilots are more Building Department, said both inter- to prepare to stop for a red light. not a smooth one. Of course, no tradi- than willing to share the information sections are receiving new traffic signals “That area has a real blind spot go- tion is any fun without a little practical about their balloons and ballooning in that are projected to be completed by ing into the intersection and we want joke thrown in for laughs.