Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

A look back at the year 2006

The year 2006 will likely be remembered as the year of the great electric debate, though there were a number of other issues and events that captured the attention of local residents.

It was March of 2006 that the plan for an overpass in the city of Prescott was announced, beginning with a public meeting. With three possible routes, the plan was not yet set in stone but was at least off the ground. The project is slated to be finished in 2008.

In January the city finally opened bids for the proposed walking trail at the northern end of town. The trail, since dubbed the Johnson-Hale Walking Trail, was completed in the fall.

In February, the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce issued a call for designs for the annual Chicken and Egg Festival T-shirt. In March, Lisa Pennington was recognized for submitting the winning design which was printed on an orange shirt.

Judy Duke was named 2006 Citizen of the Year at the annual chamber banquet in March while Davis Benton was honored as 2006 Treasure of the Year. The banquet theme prompted several people to retrieve those bell-bottoms for the event.

The first week of April saw a change at the Picayune, with John Miller resigning the editors post - a position he held for more than a decade.

It was also in April that Amanda Rogers arrived in the county to become family and consumer science agent at the local county extension office. Rex Dollar, county extension agent, announced his intention to take a new position with the agency in September as the Nevada County Fair and Livestock Show was drawing to a close.

The spring saw the political season kick into high gear. There was a three-way race for county sheriff with Bobby Carlton taking the seat from incumbent Steve Otwell. County Judge James Roy Brown announced that he wouldnt seek another term and Baker Butler won that seat. Circuit Clerk Carolyn Steed also announced that she would retire and Rita Reyenga made a successful run for the office.

It was also in April that the National Guard held training exercises, creating a mock hostage situation in front of a group of onlookers. The drill included helicopters, snipers and an embedded journalist as a hostage.

The David Barlow family was named Nevada County Farm Family for 2006 in May.

In September, the Prescott School Board asked voters for a millage increase to pay for repairs and renovations to buildings within the district. Their bid for the increase was unsuccessful.

It was in July that a bomb threat cleared the Nevada County Courthouse for several hours as police searched unsuccessfully for the person who made the threat. No one was injured and the time for detonation came and went with no explosion and local authorities declared the threat a hoax.

In August the electric issue became the main topic of discussion for customers of the city-owned electric company as city officials heard from residents and business owners regarding increasingly high bills. The issue died down by the end of the year and the city purchased a new computer system for figuring the bills.

By September, the Prescott Curley Wolves had hit the playing field. Though the team lost non-conference games that started the season, the Wolves went head-to-head with each team in the conference and emerged victorious. The Wolves ended the season at second place in state playoffs.

It was also in September that Kevin Barton pleaded guilty in the 2004 murder of James Booger Red Cummings and K-9 Officer Duchess - a German Shepherd drug and tracking dog - the Prescott City Police .

In October a train derailment in Gurdon caused the evacuation of residents and cancellation of church services. An accident in December claimed the life of a Hamburg man who was struck on the train tracks at Emmet.

The county saw its share of tragedy. An elderly couple were attacked in their homes during the early morning hours of Nov. 11. In October, two tragic accidents took the lives of four.

There were many other happenings during the year - an Easter egg hunt, homecoming at Prescott High School and Breakfast with Santa.