Desert Companion - August 2014

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Clark County School Board for running a segregated school district in violation of federal law). They took all the elementary schools in West Las Vegas and turned them into sixth grade centers, and all the children from all over Las Vegas were bused there for sixth grade. … Our children had a great experience there. They loved it. They were big shots. They had their own school, and they got to ride a bus. The one they went to (Kit Carson) was really good. The principal (Ron Gaydosh) was outstanding. It was a great way for them to get used to changing rooms for classes and having lockers. That was the good news. — Heidi Kyser

JOE NEAL Former state senator

T attempted assassination was made on President (Ronald) Reagan, they sent someone out to look at all the governors' mansions, and they couldn’t believe ours. People could just walk up and open the front door then. We had people over all the time.

have the privilege of membership. We all had to work at the thrift shop, 17 shifts a year, three hours per shift. We were required to go to meetings; now you’re not. We worked on projects together. All that formed friendships that have lasted to this day.

That’s not to say Bonnie had no life of her own — she did. A big part of it was the Junior League, which she joined in 1969, when she was 29 and the youngest of her three children was 2 years old. When I joined, nothing met at night and nobody worked. We all joined early, because back then, you had to be sustaining at 40, which means you’re no longer an active member, but you still

Her children were the biggest part of Bonnie’s life, though, and she recalls at least one way they were involved in an important chapter of our nation’s history. Our son was in the first class after they started the sixth grade centers, and all three of my kids went to them. They were created to answer the (U.S. District) Court order on integration of the schools (following a lawsuit against

he first African-American elected to the Nevada State Senate, Neal served for 32 years and earned a reputation as the upper body’s conscience, fighting for equal rights and higher taxes on Big Gaming. After he was elected in 1972, he caused one of his first stirs when he told blacks they had a right to retaliate against abusive cops. The fallout was immediate. I became a target. I came out of the Civil Rights movement in the South. When I was younger, I was willing to die for my beliefs. I was fresh from law school and knew the laws that governed this country. If a cop was abusing you, you had the right to match force with force. After I said it, cops gave me tickets all the time. If I felt the ticket was wrong, I’d challenge it in court. I got good at beating the tickets. In municipal court, I’d appeal to district court. In district court, the judge would knock it down to a parking violation. It became too costly for cops to ticket me and the court to only get $40. … I spent four years in the Air Force, where I was trained with hand-to-hand combat, so I felt that no one cop could beat my butt. I knew how to defend myself. I didn’t want to get hurt or to hurt anybody. But august 2014

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