Tell me about Fallon (Reno, Carson City: leases, house prices, purchase)

[KurtJ]

I'm retired military, may be accepting a civilian contractor job a the Naval Air station in Fallon,NV. Can anyone give some details, I can see it's close to Reno/Carson City and Lake Tahoe on the map. Is it pretty much dry desert climate? Personally, I can't wait to leave this sad third world country known as Louisiana, this place is a joke, and so anything in NV has got to be better than here. Had enough of hurricanes, high humidity,mosquitos,rude idiotic people, (and did I mention much of south LA. including New orleans-is SINKING into the Gulf of Mexico.) But anyway, any good info on Fallon would be appreciated. Thanks.

KurtJ

[greatbasinguide]

Once you get your dirt bike you will be happy!, Fallon is classic small town America. It will be more isolated than you are familar with. The local radio station is KHAWG, country oldies AM..

You will love it or hate it,

If you are an outdoors person, Nevada is great, and your fingers won't rot with fungus.

When you get here, your skin will crack and your nose will bleed,, Arid here, don't worry, just bring your lotion.

[PinkString]

Ive been in Nevada for over 10 years and i've yet to get a nosebleed from the dryness. I'm really amazed when people say they have that happen to them. But i invest in alot of lotion and moisturizer. And hair conditioner.

Kurt, you will probably really like northern Nevada much more than Louisiana. Small towns are great.

[Forget Fallon]

You might hear that Fallon is a nice little city, NOT. Talk about corruption in the air... The police force enforces what it wants and doesn't do more than that. The school district allows a senior to beat up on freshman to the point of being knocked out, school board doesn't care as long as it gets your tax dollars. A school board member got teary eyed when he was told he has to stop his internet blog, but was very stoic when he listen to a greiving mother about how her kid was beat unconscious by a senior at the locall high school.
You still want to come here, poor guy you are being misled.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Forget Fallon

You might hear that Fallon is a nice little city, NOT. Talk about corruption in the air... The police force enforces what it wants and doesn't do more than that. The school district allows a senior to beat up on freshman to the point of being knocked out, school board doesn't care as long as it gets your tax dollars. A school board member got teary eyed when he was told he has to stop his internet blog, but was very stoic when he listen to a greiving mother about how her kid was beat unconscious by a senior at the locall high school.
You still want to come here, poor guy you are being misled.

Like it or not, beleive it or not, this is part of many small towns. We have the same thing throughout our county and the city we live in. NMNita

[Michie1]

We are also looking for information about Fallon. We will be making a trip to visit in June. How long does it take to get to Carson City from Fallon? Seems like Fallon has a bit more to offer in terms of shopping then Fernly, and is also "greener." Am I correct? It's hard to get a real "feeling" of a community till you see for yourself. <S> Any info would be appreciated.

[jmpdk3]

KurtJ,

Hi, I too am looking for info on Fallon. I'm writing a book in which about 5 pages take place near Fallon NAS. I do not have info on Fallon and hope you don't mind me asking a military question.

In my story, my main character has been abducted by a stalker, and is trapped in a van by the Fallon NAS. Two military personal find her half dead. What terminology would they use to radio in that an ambulance is needed for her? Would they call her a civilian? The area they are in is called Bravo 16. Would they identify themselves as Bravo 16? Would they give coordinates? What does the MN mean in: 9 MN east of Fallon?

Thanks, I really appreciate it. The way I have it written, I think the military guys sound like chumps, like a civilian didn't know what the heck she was writing.

Best wishes,
Jane
jmpdk3@go.com

oh, and are you guys allowed to hang posters in your bunks? Suggestive posters? Seems like a dumb question but that's how the military guys know who the woman is-from a poster in the barracks.

[Tressa]

KurtJ, I recently purchased land about 70 miles north of Fallon, Fallon is where I will purchase my manufactured home so I've spent some time there looking around and shopping and the local hardware store. My experience was the folks were very pleasant, it's dry not alot of plant life there but it will grow if you want, the days we drove in the wind was blowing about 15-25mph from what I understand that is somewhat of the norm for spring. I was there in the summer months also, very warm slight breeze and not humid. We are so looking forward to the area ourselves as that is where they say I will be doing my major shopping if not in Reno. Good luck with your search for information.

[Raven Maniac]

OK, Kurt,
I'll try to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I've been here a decade, employed by the services contractor that operates the Electronic Warfare Training Range and other facilities around the area.
People: (most important) Mostly white farmers. Piute-Shoshone reservation; most of them also farm. Large number of Hispanic farm workers.
Economics: Mostly irrigated agriculture. Even NAS leases out large tracts. Water from Truckee-Carson Irrigation District; water from the Carson River, stored in Lake Lahontan. Carson Sink, where water from Carson River flows out into the salt flats and evaporates, is just north of town. Water also from Truckee River is diverted over to Lahontan. Mostly flood irrigation; combined with leakey canals, keeps water table high.
On the subject of water, (whiskey's for drinking; water's for fighting over - Mark Twain) the Carson River is heavily polluted with Methyl Mercury so don't eat the fish downstream from Dayton. (Comstock gold extraction residue.) And Fallon had to build a very large and expensive Arsenic removal plant because the city water was the most arsenic-contaminated in the nation. (Part of this was due to the infant lukemia cluster and some fingered arsenic as a possible culprit. Others pointed to the high amounts of tungsten in the air from the processing plant in the middle of town. I still run my tap water through a Brita filter to remove the taste.)
NAS Fallon is also large emloyer. (Obviously.) SMI Joist and the associated steel supplier is another large employer.
Bango Road plant reprocesses oil into lubricants and is expanding their biodiesel production.
62 miles to Reno. 62 miles to Carson City. Both are growing. Californicators have also bid house prices way past reasonable expectation. No land available in Fernley, about midway to Reno. The big distribution facilities along the Truckee River between Reno and Fernley have fueled explosive growth in Fernley. WalMart is building a Super WalMart in Fernley. (They just completed one in Fallon.) And Lowe's is building a huge store in Fernley, also. Also, Amazon.com is running three shifts in their Fernley distribution facility.
Climate: drier than a >>>! Typically 40 degree swing between daytime high and nightime low. Today, that's closer to 50 degrees. Only plants that grow without irrigation are ones that can reach the water table or are adapted to harsh desert environment. Grow alfalfa, corn, and cantalopes under irrigation. Temperature swings make for a short growing season because frosts stay late in the Spring and return early in the Fall. Ignore the instructions and plant peas long before the last frost! Windy? Mom asked, "are you sure you want to relocate there? We had to stop [the RV] there because of the wind so many times and the wind almost blew it [the RV] over!"
Wildlife: deer and quail in the farmland. Pronghorn in the flat desert. Bighorn in the mountains. Chuckar in the steep, rockey canyons.
Culture: Churchill Arts has recently completely renovated an old school. Reno has an excellant chamber music society, lead by Theodore Kuchar. Reno also has Art Town in July, the highlight of the year's entertainment calendar. (Lady friend and I are going to see Barishnakov.)
As for rude idiots, you'll find them everywhere. Welcome to The Island of Broken Toys!
I'm biased against cities. I rarely go to Reno and I don't like to because I turn into an agressive idiot just like all these other agressive idiots on the road. My daily commute is 50 miles each way. I leave town going east on US 50, pass two defunct brothels, Sand Mountain, over Sand Springs Pass, into Fairview Valley, and past a wide spot in the road where a bar once was. A brothel (Salt Wells) and the bar (Frenchman) are listed on most hiway maps but they're uninhabited. Nothing else out there to put on a hiway map!

[NiteMan]

wasn't there a problem in Fallon with an unusual statistically high amount of young children dying? Recall hearing some wives of military who were being sent there being very concerned. People blaimed things from the water; others on the Navy bombing range to dumped jet fuel, etc. Don't remember there being any conclusive answer. I don't want to spread any unfound rumors but its something you can check out. Maybe its been solved by now

I just did a google on this - goes back to 2002, so its pretty old. I now understand Raven Maniac's notes on arsenic and infant leukemia cluster in his posting. So is it over now?

Here's a few links I found:

about navy
Jeffrey St. Clair: The Fallon Cancer Cluster and a US Navy Bombing Range

Bill Moyers did a study that was on PBS
Are we making our kids sick PBS Chemicals in our Environment

Again can't vouch for the accuracy and responsibility of these sites - they came up on the first page of google search

Maybe its no longer a problem. Hope so - seems like plenty of people living there. I remember Niagara Falls having some problem but they worked it out there. Good luck!