Fact Checking on Anthem Journal

[Rana Goodman]

In today’s issue of David Berman’s Anthem Journal there are a few things that are not correct, and since I have often been the author’s punching bag when correction was needed, I thought it time to point some of those corrections out.

First item: David Berman wrote;

I’ll tell you this: Never, in my entire 18 years of publishing this blog, have I ever received such a tsunami of concerned emails and phone calls from long-time SCA residents who have knowledge of Nelson Orth and his oft-stated positions about the Anthem Community Council. This includes angry and concerned responses from former Anthem Council members, current and former SCA committee members, and many others, totaling nearly 40 communications so far.

My response:   I would like to remind long time readers of Anthem Journal that quite a few years ago, while I was serving on The Henderson Senior Citizen’s Advisory Committee, I applied to renew my term of which I had served four years. I applied for another term, giving me 6 years of service when completed.

David Berman wrote a letter to the City of Henderson objecting to that renewal and claimed, on Anthem Journal to have signatures of many SCA residents who agreed with him. The mayor at the time was Debra March, who granted my added two years of service in spite of Berman’s letter.  I completed that new term before joining The Vegas Voice.

Based on the Freedom of Information Act, I went to the city and asked to see and have a copy of the letter including the signatures the signed it. Rather than the dozens of names Mr. Berman claimed to have, there were three as I recall, one of the three told me that her husband had signed her name without her permission.

Moving on to Anthem Community Council who might or might not “own” the following, which Mr. Berman says was printed in the Relay: The ACC owns, operates and maintains the landscaping, water features, medians, lights and the perimeter walls along Anthem Parkway and Sun City Anthem Drive. These roads surround Anthem and are known as the Anthem Loop.

I encourage any of you who are interested to drive the “Loop” and pay attention to the huge empty spaces where the plants were removed more than three years ago and never replaced on the medians along Anthem Parkway. Those medians, which feature hundreds of large weeds, especially as one drives down the hill toward CVS and the Albertson’s center.

Nelson Orth, who has been the “watch dog” of Anthem Community Council for as long as I can remember and who has researched the ownership of the property, street lights, and many other things, all with the City of Henderson officials as well as his own attorney whose specialized in these type of issues.

As for attendance at the Council meetings, in my opinion they are long and drawn out placing public comment, questions etc. at the very end of the agenda, thus one must sit, as I had to, for two hours to ask one question. Sorry, but since I was falling asleep from boredom, I had to give up and go home without ever getting my question asked.

I was not aware that Karen Hadrick had or had not resigned, but I was happy when I heard she was the representative because, having worked with her when we were both on the board, I knew if anyone could do a good and through job, it would be Karen.

And as I recall we had two representatives, during my term it was Art Shuetz and Larry Orloff.  I have no idea if their term was up, if they quit, or what. All I do know if that it has been many years since the Anthem Community Council took care of the landscaping, today it looks like hell and although my village looks 99% pristine, our community property looks nothing like the SCA where I purchased my home in 2003, today, in my opinion, the areas under the control of Anthem Council are, quite literally “a sight for sore eyes”!.

I was on the SCA board when Art Shuetz was appointed to the ACC. At that time I told him that there was a dead tree lying on the ground to the right of Anthem Parkway just before the signal at Reunion, it had been laying there for 10 years without the council having their landscape company remove it. Within one week Art had it taken care of.. I hoped that would mean the council was going to get better at doing their job, unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case.

I have known Nelson Orth for many years, he can be a “bull dog” when needed and he would take no bully tactics from anyone.

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