Sladek appointed to town board

Joe Sladek was appointed by Gov. Kenny Guinn Monday to fill a vacancy on the Pahrump Town Board.

Sladek will replace Michael Johnson, who resigned effective June 1. Johnson himself was sworn in last November to replace Ed Bishop, who was elected to that position. Bishop resigned Sept. 18 because of medical problems. Bishop's term ends in January 2003, and Sladek said he is going to see how it goes before deciding whether to run for re-election next year.

"I'm excited, I'm looking forward to working for the town and members of the community and helping to determine the future of Pahrump," Sladek said. "I'm definitely not a professional politician. I'm just doing it to help the community, it's a voluntary position, no pay."

Sladek has been a State Farm Insurance representative for 14 years. An Iowa native, Sladek has lived in Pahrump for three years. He came here from Reno, where he lived for six years. Sladek received his accounting degree from Iowa State University.

Sladek is a member of the Pahrump Valley Senior Center board, the Pahrump Valley Rotary Club and the High Desert Hospital Group, which successfully recruited Banner Health Systems to build a hospital in Pahrump. Last year, Sladek opened a mall, which he owns, on the south end of Highway 160 containing the new Valley Bank.

Sladek indicated he may allow his term on the senior center board to expire this December, to avoid spreading himself too thin. The High Desert Hospital Group has completed its task of securing a hospital, he said.

Sladek outlined a few of his top priorities as a town board member.

"I want to see the fire and rescue issue resolved and a new fire chief hired. Then I'd really like to see something happen with the BLM land, the town was fortunate to get it transferred to the town," Sladek said, referring to the acquisition of 420 acres acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for a new fairgrounds. The town is also involved in negotiations with the new firefighters union, four days of discussions have been scheduled this weekend.

Regarding the fire chief position, the town board was set to consider the appointment of Barry Jennings Tuesday night. Jennings was the recommended choice of an eight-member screening panel. Jennings is fire chief of the 40-member Laramie County Fire District No. 1 in Cheyenne, Wyo. Among his 28 years of fire department experience, Jennings was fire chief of North Pole, Alaska, just outside Fairbanks, from 1990-98.

Under a resolution passed in 1997, Pahrump Town Board members may recommend up to three names for the governor's office to consider in filling a town board vacancy. Sladek received a vote from all four town board members, Liz Kerby's name was also submitted to the governor because she was recommended by three board members.

Kerby said Gov. Guinn's assistant in charge of boards and commissions, Buzz Harris, suggested she apply for a position of one of the 207 boards and commissions in the state.

"I'm disappointed and I think politics won out again," Kerby said. "I had dozens and dozens of letters of support and dozens and dozens of people had called the governor. I thought I had a fair shot if the decision was being made fairly."

Kerby, a frequent critic at town board meetings, is secretary of the Nye County Libertarian Party and a founding member of Informed Citizens, a group that was initially formed to fight attempts to incorporate the town of Pahrump. Kerby admitted her outspoken positions may have kept her from getting the appointment.

"They knew I wasn't just going to go along to get along. Truthfully I think this all came down to politics, one or two phone calls from certain people and the decision was made," Kerby said.

Town board chairman Tim Leavitt said he was happy with the selection, but he applauded all the candidates. The other candidates to submit letters of interest included Assistant School Superintendent Wil Booker, Richard Ewing, Harley Kulkin, Ralph Sutter and Elyssa Couch.

I think it's great. I don't think we would've really been worse off with anybody that put an application in," Leavitt said. "It was pretty awesome, I think there were seven applicants, they all had good backgrounds, college education, but I'm real happy with Joe, he's obviously a successful business owner."

"We need more people like Joe Sladek who want to contribute to their community. He has the intelligence to lead the community where we want to go," he said.