Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: 48,000 take first step of civic pride

The Nevada Appeal's Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.SILVER DOLLAR: To the 48,000 Nevadans who registered to vote in the last five weeks. More than 34,000 of those came under the state’s new online system. If you missed out, you still have time to register for the Nov. 6 General Election, by going down to your county clerk’s office and registering in person. Hurry though, registration closes on Tuesday. WOODEN NICKEL: To the $5.5 million budget shortfall the school district is facing for the 2013-2014 school year. However, kudos to the school district for recognizing that this shortfall is unavoidable and being proactive about finding a solution. “We need to have lots of discussions. We need to talk about things that are of greatest importance to our community for our students,” said Superintendent Richard Stokes.With close to 85 percent of the district’s budget spent on personnel, the final decisions will more than likely have an impact on everyone in the district. Hosting public forums and discussions — like the one Thursday night — to generate ideas is a sign of leadership from the district. Another one is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Eagle Valley Middle School. “We will take very seriously any opinions,” Stokes said. “We’re hoping people come out and share their ideas.”