Sunday Morning column

With all the controversy over state Controller Kathy Augustine's ethics violations, a piece of good news from her office crossed our desks recently.

She has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for the fiscal year ended 2003.

We trust the state's financial reports add up better than the press release, which says "This marks the sixth consecutive year the state controller, who has been in office since 1999, has received this award."

Let's see. Six annual awards in five years. Now that's impressive.

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How and why the flag outside the Federal Building on Plaza Street was flying upside down on Columbus Day remains a mystery, but who righted the cockeyed glory has been revealed.

Sheriff Ken Furlong was driving past when he noted the flag's improper display, his wife, Phyllis, said.

So being the nosy neighbor he is, Furlong investigated and found a tribal officer near the rear of the building who said everything was copacetic.

On his way back to the car, the sheriff stopped, lowered the Stars and Stripes and flipped it right side around.

"He fixed it," Phyllis said.

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Fallon made the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday - and at least it wasn't a story about cancer clusters.

Nope, this time it was about prostitution.

Churchill County has a proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot to ban prostitution, even though the only brothel, Salt Wells Villa Ranch, has been closed for months.

The most interesting part of the article is about how personnel from Fallon Naval Air Station used to charge services from "James Fine Dining" onto their credit cards, until the General Accounting Office caught on.

It says 50 cardholders had spent more than $13,000 on prostitutes at Salt Wells and other Nevada brothels before GAO auditors wised up.

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The Governor's Mansion on Mountain Street and its neighboring west side homes are already decked out for Halloween. If you're looking to avoid the Halloween night crush, but still want to appreciate the ghoulish decor, take a ride by on your way home one night.

The decorations are best viewed when it's dark, but for a real scare, walk by with your children after dinner. The leaves crunching underfoot will add to the spooky atmosphere. Watch out for the werewolves.

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Golden Girls dance team member Pat Johnson let us know three men showed up for dance lessons prior to the Sept. 25 Community Dance at the Carson City Senior Citizens Center. They also stayed for the dance, much to the delight of the women.

The community dances are held the fourth Saturday of the month at the center from 7-10 p.m. Free dance lessons are taught by Carson City resident Thane Cornell (who has a long list of impressive credentials) one hour prior to the dance.

Admission is $6 per person; live music is provided for your dancing pleasure. For information, call the center at 883-0703.

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A longtime Carson City resident called the other day to ask us to help out geographically challenged newcomers to the area.

A lot of them, she correctly pointed out, don't know the difference between Carson City, Carson Valley and Eagle Valley.

OK, here goes: Carson City is in Eagle Valley. Carson Valley is the one just south, where Minden and Gardnerville are located.

We could go on with Washoe Valley, Dayton Valley, Pleasant Valley, Mason Valley, Lahontan Valley, ... but we don't want to overload you.