Bouncing Bunnies take first place at fair

Kay Scherer reports the Carson 4-H Bouncing Bunnies took first place in herdmanship at the Nevada State Fair. The 14-member Carson contingent was judged as a whole and was victorious over five other rabbit clubs and also took home the overall award for herdmanship with 968 out of possible 1,000 points. They were competing against clubs raising all manner of livestock.

Katie Dinauer of Carson City won the costume competition and several members won awards for excellence with their rabbits.

Kay said a rabbit raised by 10-year-old Matthew Scherer of Carson City was picked best in show for the Nevada State Fair 4-H/FFA competition.

"I did not expect to be sending you that news -- he was a very shocked and happy 10-year-old," Kay wrote in her e-mail.

Kay's husband, Scott Scherer, is a fellow Clark High School graduate and took government class from my father.

"Scott remembers your father fondly," Kay writes.

Scott is on the Gaming Control Board and served as Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff.

Joanie Compton and Jack Bass have taken their Good Tyme Karaoke show to the Carson Airport from 8 p.m. to midnight on Fridays. Joanie says she and Jack have been having a great time playing Cheers on Saturdays and wanted to expand.

They are in the new Mr. Poor's Roadhouse Restaurant Cockpit Lounge, 2600 Graves Lane, which opened about a month ago.

"We started about two weeks ago and would like more people," she said. "We are playing a little bit of everything. We have 5,000 songs from country to rock."

Richard Applegate is the owner of Mr. Poor's and has remodeled the old airport cafZ and lounge.

The restaurant has been open for eight weeks and business is getting better every day, Richard says.

The 59-year-old has worked in the restaurant business for 25 years, having managed the Sizzler and the I-Hop here in Carson in addition to Tahoe restaurants.

"I feel so far business has been good," he said.

The restaurant is open six days a week. On Saturday and Sunday, Mr. Poor's is open early for breakfast.

Richard has lived in Carson for more than 22 years and presently resides in the company of his shar pei, George.

At 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, the chimes at the Paul Laxalt Building in downtown Carson City will toll once every 5 seconds for one minute.

Bill Kelley told me that while 7:30 a.m. our time would be the accurate for the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the later time would be better in terms of audience.

"We on the chime committee decided it would be the best thing to do," he said. "We talked to the mayor and he agreed."

I told Bill that I often find myself singing "You Are My Sunshine" around the hour when the chimes go off.

"Those chimes can play 305 different songs, so we have a pretty large supply of them," Bill said. "As long as Dottie and I are alive and kicking they will keep ringing."

I was hoping to get a live Burning Man report from Appeal extreme copy desk editor Karl Horeis, but he got smart and left his cell phone off. He is at the annual art festival with former Record-Courier photographer Michael Okimoto, where they are no doubt getting into some trouble.

Meanwhile, present Record-Courier photographer Belinda Grant gave birth to an 8-pound 6-ounce shutterbug at 12:05 p.m. Thursday. The child of Belinda and Tahoe Daily Tribune photographer Jim Grant, I predict Adriana Sophia Grant will be the most photographed child in the history of the camera.

It was Ranger day at the Costco last Monday. I brought my pickup by to get the tire worked on when I saw another just like it in the next bay.

The other Ranger belonged to John Erb, an engineer with Parson Transportation Group in Carson City. My Ranger is a 1989, his is a 1990, and they both predate the streamlining that occurred when Ford decided to make their pickups look more like Dodges.

John, who lives in Gardnerville with his wife and two children, said he has never regretted buying his Ranger, having only had a few minor mechanical problems with it.

However, he says he will have to give it up pretty soon, because the children are getting bigger and there just isn't enough room.

I, on the other hand, am going to drive the thing until the bumpers fall off.

Appeal Circulation Manager Jerry Byrne brought his power bill into work the other day.

Sierra Pacific's computer must have slipped a digit, because it said he paid $1,250 on his last bill.

Jerry, who is as honest as the day is long, says he actually paid $125 and phoned Sierra Pacific Power Co. to point out the mistake.

Range Magazine publisher C.J. Hadley hit me on the head Friday. C.J. was judging the Great Nevada Photo Hunt for Nevada Magazine. We had a minor disagreement over a photograph. She reached across the table as I was looking down and rapped me on the side of the head.

Later at lunch, she popped me again. I guess that'll teach me to argue with my betters.

Birthday greetings to Carson City resident Melissa Loomis, a fellow University of Nevada, Las Vegas, communications studies graduate, who had the audacity to ask me how people get into my column.

That's how.

Kurt Hildebrand is former managing editor of the Nevada Appeal. Reach him at 882-2111, ext. 402 or e-mail him at kurt@tahoe.com