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BARBWIRE
by
ANDREW BARBANO

Hearty hometown heroes hurting
Expanded from the 12-23-2007 Daily Sparks (Nev.) Tribune
Updated 12-29-2007, 1-4-2008

Some of northwestern Nevada's finest have been hurting a lot of late. Here are the bittersweet bulletins.

ADRIENNE "ACE" ABBOTT GUTIERREZ, a member of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame, underwent heart surgery at Carson-Tahoe Hospital on Dec. 10 and suffered a stroke two days later.

Ace was an assignment editor at KOLO TV-8 and news director at Reno and Carson City radio stations over her long career. She is also a broadcast engineer and head of the statewide emergency alert system. She played a critical role in bringing Amber Alert to Nevada by starting its predecessor, the Krystal Steadman Alert, named for the victim of a brutal fatality in Douglas County in 2000.

Ace is recovering at Tahoe-Pacific Hospital,10101 Double R Blvd. in Reno. You may call her at (775) 326-6148. Her husband advises keeping conversations brief and simple. I spoke with Ace briefly last week and her concern was typical – she asked about the welfare of some of her friends.

DENNIS MYERS, Ace's colleague back at Channel 8 and a former Tribune reporter and columnist, was writing uncharacteristically bloodless prose and couldn't figure out why. Subscribers to his online Poor Denny's Almanac became concerned when the incisive daily history lesson went AWOL after Dec. 15. His readers received the following last Friday:


Dear Friends:

   To those who missed my daily almanac, it pleases me that its absence was noticed.

   A few days ago, my chest started pumping like crazy when I would exert myself even a little. It turned out that my body somehow lost a huge amount of blood and my heart was pumping to try to deliver what was left.

   At Washoe Medical Center's emergency room, I was given a transfusion, then a visual probe was sent down my throat into my stomach where it found several (probably bacterial) ulcers that were then cauterized. I spent a couple of days in the hospital receiving a half dozen transfusions and medication. I'm now back home, though my whole body is kind of stiff and sore.

   A six-foot-long bandage would probably be helpful.

   In the meantime, some things fell through the cracks, such as mailings. I hope you will overlook things like late arrivals of holiday cards or my absence at events to which I was invited.

                                             Take care,

                                             Dennis


Get well wishes may be sent to the Reno News & Review.

MARSHALL SCHULTZ, founder of the Nevada Renters Hotline, suffered a massive stroke a few weeks ago. Some of his friends didn't expect him to survive, but he has rallied.

In an ironic anticipation of his personal shutdown, in October he announced the end of his direct-mail newsletter. With the recent death of very active board member Brent Tyler, this work of the angels stands in serious jeopardy. The non-profit, personally funded Hotline can generate 3,000 calls a year statewide.

The Hotline board needs to be reconstituted with new leadership to coordinate with state and local agencies. Those interested should contact Ernie Nielsen at the Washoe County Senior Law Program, (775) 328-2592.

Visitors can drop in to see Marshall at Manor Care on Plumas Street in Reno.

ROBERT BUTLER, 64, died of a massive heart attack while swimming at the Sports West Athletic Club last week. A memorial service for the longtime local attorney will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 5 at the Nevada Air Guard. I did a little business with the retired Air Force lt. colonel back in the 1980's. All you need to remember about Robert Butler is that he was truly an officer and a gentleman. Rest in peace, brave warrior.

ON THE GROUND IN IOWA. Last week, I posted a bulletin at BallotBoxing.US from my spy on the frosty streets of Waterloo. He correctly anticipated what the national news media reported a few days later: Undecided Hawkeye state Democrats will probably break for former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, making an upset win possible. Here's an excerpt:

   Oprah has had a big impact among under-40 age groups working for Obama. While Obama is personable and probably as honest as one can expect a politician to be, I hear nothing from him as far as specifics. Among my niece's under-25 crowd, he's "hot."

   Edwards seems to be holding steady and will probably be the choice for the uncommitted on caucus night.

   It gets mighty cold in Iowa on January 3d at 7:00 p.m. My wife, as precinct captain, has yet to get a single Democratic voter (and she has contacted over 100), to commit to attending, as most of the folks are in their 60's+ with a whole bunch in their 80's and 90's. They won't even commit if someone gives them a ride.

   I suspect that support for Obama will wither as it's a lot more fun to party at one of the local watering holes for the younger voters rather than attend some stodgy caucus which no one other than the "in" crowd understands.

   When my wife and I did the Nevada caucus in 2004, I thought it was a methodology whose time had passed, given how metropolitan Las Vegas and Reno had become.…Oh, yeah, lots of dissatisfaction among Democrats here (my acquaintances and those I hear speak at forums put on by the candidates) with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.


YELLOW ALERT

     (12-29-2007) — Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee is also using yellow in Iowa. A poll published on Dec. 29 shows Huckabee's lead has evaporated and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney now enjoys a substantial lead for the GOP nomination in the Hawkeye State.

     (1-4-2008) — So what does Huckleberry Hound's Iowa win prove? Not much, other than most Iowa polls were wrong and that yellow, indeed, lost at least half the time, perhaps more. Democrat Chris Dodd used yellow on his website. John MCain uses ochre, which I have always included in my yellow stats. Fred Thompson uses a tannish beige. (The jury's still out on that one.)
FROZEN FULL FRONTAL HILLARY. Regular Barbwire readers may remember an ancient bugaboo I often invoke during election season.

It originated with a Carson City man who displayed his world class collection of historical political paraphernalia at the Nevada legislature in the mid-1970's.

Memorabilia Man noted two trends.

First, candidates who use red, white and blue win most often. (Which may happen because most candidates employ Old Glory.)

He also observed that those using yellow usually lose.

I've kept a running count of such campaigns for many years.

Mellow fellows rarely break .500.

Sen. Clinton is using red, white and blue nationwide, but green and (aargh!) yellow in Iowa.

So I unscientifically predict that Billary will bomb because of colorful trouble in corny River City.

Be well. Raise hell.

 



They'll Never Learn Dept.

     (1-4-2008) — On the Jan. 4 PBS Newshour, both John Edwards and Hillary Clinton were shown making New Hampshire speeches with yellow signs behind them. Sen. Edwards was apparently the victim of over-enthusiastic freelancing by "Steelworkers for Edwards." Sen. Clinton's bout of yellow fever was apparently contracted by her own campaign, the graphic equivalent of using one's own foot for target practice. Perhaps she was trying to please the gun lobby. .Stay tuned.

 

In follytix, as in sports, superstition still stalks.

The Dean's List

   The Dean of Reno Bloggers could very well be Andrew Barbano, self-described "fighter of public demons," who started putting his "Barbwire" columns online in 1996 and now runs 10 sites.


      RENO NEWS & REVIEW, 11-9-2006


 

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Copyright © 1982-2007 Andrew Barbano

Andrew Barbano is a 39-year Nevadan, editor of NevadaLabor.com and JoeNeal.org; a member of Communications Workers of America Local 9413/AFL-CIO, and the Reno-Sparks NAACP. As always, his opinions are strictly his own. Barbwire by Barbano has originated in the Daily Sparks (Nev.) Tribune since 1988.

 

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