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Vol. 3 No. 30 | e Week of January 15, 2026
Shining a light on all of Eureka County. Our Mission: Inform, enlighten, educate and entertain—Enjoy the journey.
HERE YE, HEAR YE
ElEction KicKS oFF e Eureka County Star Gearing Up for the 2026 Mid-Term Elections By Trina Machacek e Eureka County Star is looking forward to all that the 2026 elections will have to offer the citizens of Eureka County. In that frame of mind, we are here to let the public in on press releases, upcoming debates, interviews, news and notes of the election. From who files to who retires.
Two residents have chosen the new year celebration to announced their desires to be considered for our Eureka County Sheriff. ey are Sheriff Miles Umina and Jason Falnnagan. Candidate Flannagan, e Star has been told, is being supported by a former, resigned to avoid a successfully filed recall, ex-sheriff, Jesse Watts. Current Sheriff, Miles Umina contacted e Star sending his press release to us informing the county about intentions, himself, his credentials, his Eureka timeline and his announcement for the office of Eureka County Sheriff. We will have a full interview with Sheriff Umina next week. We are open to any candidate to send in press releases as this election year progresses. Please email trina@theeurekacountystar.com. ElEction campaign announcEmEnt From: Sheriff miles umina Date: January 1, 2026 RE: county Sheriff miles umina
Sheriff Miles Umina. We look forward to candidates contacting us to do interviews. Candidates who want to advertise of course, but more so, to talk with and inform the people who the hopeful candidates are choosing to serve in the various public offices they are vying for. So, if you are ready to throw your hat into the “ring of fire” of public service, contact Trina and we will help get your name and ideals and hopes for this wonderful county, out to the public. As we state in our masthead, your community newspaper is: Shining a light on all of Eureka County. Our Mission: Inform. Enlighten. Educate and Entertain—Enjoy the journey.
Eureka, Nevada Greetings Eureka County residents, I am announcing my bid for election as your Sheriff. Today is an important day in my life. On January 1, 2005, I began my career in Law Enforcement. I started as a dispatcher and was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff for Lincoln County Nevada. During my 21-year career I have worked as Detentions and Patrol Deputy, K9 handler, member of the Eastern Nevada Narcotics Task Force, and an investigator of misdemeanor to major felony crimes. On October 5, 2020, I joined the Eureka County Sheriff ’s Office team. At ECSO, I have been a Deputy, Sergeant, and Lieutenant and on November 1, 2024 I was made Acting Sheriff. April 1, 2025 I was appointed by the Eureka County Board of Commission as Sheriff of Eureka County. Since becoming Sheriff, I recognized the need to rebuild and strengthen relationships between the [ Continued on page 3 ]
During the Public Comment Period At the latest County Commissioner’s meeting on January 6, the commissioners were asked by the comptroller and public works director if they were interested in increasing the gas tax in Eureka County as that increase is available. e question was asked to see what, if any, direction the commission wanted to take. e tax could be up to five cents per gallon on gasoline and or highway diesel only. e question was not on the agenda so the commissioners could not vote on this question, however they did state that they did not want to take any further action on a tax increase on fuel in Eureka County.
IN THIS EDITION
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Johnny’s Tech Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Senior Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Word of the Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ask A Doc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Sheriff’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Subscribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Worship Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
From Our Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Commissioners News & Notes . . . . . .5 Market Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Courts & Arrest Recaps . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Classified and Legal Ads . . . . . . . . . . .5 Business Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 January Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
TIDDLES-N-BITTLES Calanders! Free! Yes it’s calendar season. Word has it that if you want a lovely Ag calendar, or some of those little stick-on calendars, you just need to stop in to the Mt. Wheeler office in Eureka. e Ag calendar has several pictures taken by our own Lynn Conley of Diamond Valley and e Rusted Shack. She has an amazing eye. Stop in and tell them you read about it in e Eureka County Star!
School News Tate Else, Eureka County School Superintendent was named Superintendent of the Year at an award ceremony from the Nevada Association of School Board on December 4th – 6th in Reno. Congratulations Mr. Tate. Well done. Also in school news, Lisa Hutchinson, Eureka Elementary Principal has resigned from her position. Many of the teachers, students and co-workers have nothing but praises for her work with the kids, and creating a wonderful work atmosphere in the schools in Eureka and Crescent Valley. She will be missed by all that she has touched. No word of when or who will fill her “hard to fill” shoes.
Is this you? One More Talk of THE TREE By Trina Machacek We are well into the new year. If you are reading this in June, just go with me here. We have Christmas every year aer all. e tree needs to come down and be put away aer all the hoopla of Christmas passes. I recently heard a guy on the radio talking and he was going on, and on about the new way to put the tree away is to wrap it in plastic wrap, for us regular folks that is Saran Wrap. He stated that his inbox has blown up with people saying to take all those ornaments and lights off and box them all up is just too time consuming. So the “new” tree storage is aimed toward the artificial tree crowds. Apparently, you start at the bottom, wrap the thing up, secure the end of the wrapping with tape somewhere up where the angel is perched, and then put the tree in a bag. Here, without a doubt, size matters. You can stuff a little tree in a big bag, but you can’t stuff a big tree in a little bag! Aer bagging is complete, you then store it until next year, when-you slice open the bag, plug in the lights and there you go. Christmas has arrived! I personally think NOT!
But. Yes, a pine fresh “but.” Apparently taking time to undecorate and box up the pretty ornaments, garland, bells, beads and all is now considered gauche. Well, I am here to spout about the importance of the tree and all the amazing things a family should strive to accomplish with the Christmas tree. Of course there is Hallmark and their annual ornament displays. ere are Christmas shops filled to the brim to buy the perfect ornament when one elicits a memory. Sigh! Even when you are on vacation in the middle of the summer there are shops that will have memory making ornaments for you to buy. en, if you are anything like me you will misplace, okay you may lose those until the days aer Christmas when you start to plan your next summer vacation. Yes, that has happened more than once in this house. But I fell in love with the little puffin ornament in Maine one year. Again, SIGH! Collecting ornaments from friends, family and even a cool conference you attended or a church revival. ere are nearly an innumerable number of people and places and events that become a memory through a Christmas Tree ornament. At the end of the classic Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George is holding his daughter and she rings this little bell saying whenever a bell rings, an angel gets their wings. at year my mother bought this set of little porcelain bells, just like the one in the movie. I still have them and love them all over again when I take out my box of tree memories. So to tell me to wrap up my tree like it is yesterdays le over fish? Not going to happen. I have to admit; I would put up my tree early in the season then take it down a day aer Christmas. e other side of that is, some Christians go with the tradition to not take your Christmas tree down until the 12th night aer Christmas. at night is the epiphany in which the ree Kings or Magi arrive in Bethlehem, bringing their gis for a baby Jesus. e trees I have the past few years are nowhere near the giants that sometimes took a chainsaw in the living room to fit, are now smaller and sadly artificial. e ornaments are still the warmth of the season. I have though started to send them out into the world telling the story of them, to live with other families I know. at is how over the years I accumulated some of the bells and glass balls and plastic reindeer ornaments I have put on my trees. at is the real circle of life. To gather, then to distribute. I am in the distribute phase of life. I finally see and feel why when my mom gave her bells to me, she had such a quiet happy face. Here’s to putting up the tree and taking down the tree and enjoying both ends of Christmas. Now? On to the new year and the hunt for new memory ornaments to bring home, lose them and then get the thrill of finding them again. Happy New Year–even if you are reading this in July! Trina lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka, Nevada. She loves to hear from readers. Email her at itybytrina@yahoo. Really!