(The Las Vegas Sun posted the following Associated Press article on its website on March 24.)
CARSON CITY, Nev. — A big eastern Nevada delegation seeking state funds for a historic railroad restoration project got encouragement Monday from Assembly leaders.
At the conclusion of an Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing on two bills providing $1 million for the effort, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, praised the delegation for “not looking for a handout but a hand up.”
“I’m hopeful we’ll be able to find some way to accomplish this,” said Perkins, adding that it would be “good for our entire state.”
Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, and Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, also were encouraging – although Giunchigliani was a little more cautious.
“The check’s not in the mail,” she said.
When Assemblyman Pete Goichoechea, R-Eureka, said he wanted the committee to see how many people made a 320-mile trip from Ely to back the railroad bills, almost everyone in the crowded hearing room stood up.
Bob Hadfield of the Nevada Association of Counties said the railroad project was “an incredible treasure” and “really part of the state’s overall economy.”
Ways and Means is considering AB180, which would appropriate $500,000 to help White Pine County buy and restore 120 miles of Nevada Northern Railroad track connecting Ely to Union Pacific track near Wells.
The panel also is considering AB181,which appropriates $500,000 to the White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation to renovate historic buildings and the foundation’s Locomotive 40.