Some urban legends turn out to be fact

On Thursday, education reporter Teri Vance was in Carson High School Principal Glen Adair's office when Glen decided to have a little fun with Operations Manager Mike Mitchell.

"Ask me how much asbestos is left in the high school," Glen said as he spotted Mitchell headed his way.

"How much asbestos is left in the high school?" Teri played along.

"There's no asbestos in the high school," Mike exclaimed on overhearing the exchange.

It's been a hard couple of weeks at the high school, so it is good to hear they've survived with a sense of humor intact.

Bill Lawson brought something in that sounds like an urban myth, but apparently is a real phenomena.

The Federal Drug Administration has issued a warning saying microwaving water in a clean mug can cause a geyser.

According to the feds, the water becomes superheated without boiling and any disturbance can result in the boiling water shooting out of the cup.

We were going to try it here at Appeal labs, but we couldn't find a clean mug.

This weekend, boats of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary are scooting around on Lake Lahontan as part of the annual search and rescue exercise conducted by Nevada Department of Wildlife and Nevada State Parks personnel along with search and rescue crews from Lyon, Pershing, Churchill and Mineral counties.

Cindy Clampitt, who has sailed with the Auxiliary for 26 years, said Mineral County brought Boy Scouts to play victims in the annual get-together, which this year features food by the Red Cross and the Nevada Baptists Association.

Pershing and Mineral counties' search and rescue folks are new to the event which started two years ago when the state parks personnel sought some training in towing and rescues.

"This one is going to be slightly larger than last year's," Cindy said.

Most of the eight Auxiliary members who participate in the exercise are from Carson and one is from Incline.

Cindy said she got her start with the Auxiliary when she and husband, Roger, purchased a new boat.

"We decided to take some classes to learn the proper way to do things," she said.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary offers classes in boating safety every year.

Cindy and Roger have patrolled lakes all over Northern Nevada, except for Walker. They own a 27-foot Almar.

"We kind of like to think of it as a semi-custom-built boat," she said.

Both Cindy and Roger are longtime Carson residents. Cindy says Roger has been here since 1960. She arrived in 1964.

From boats to wagon trains, Lyon County is the place.

Carolann Evans and husband, Randy, have been riding with the Highway 50 Wagon Train for 10 years. Both are former Tahoe residents who moved down to Carson City a year ago.

The wagon train has passed down Highway 50 for 53 years, going from Dayton, over Spooner Summit and into South Lake Tahoe.

Carolann said she and her husband met up with the wagon train in Tahoe.

"Every time they would come through town, we would hang out with them," she said. "Then about 10 years ago, I decided I wanted to ride the wagon."

She wrote a letter to the Highway 50 Association's headquarters in Placerville and received a reply from a friend.

"The lady who answered and I used to be on the South Lake Tahoe Woman's Bowling Board together," Carolann said. "She wrote back and said it was about time."

Since then the couple has been donning appropriate garb (no tennis shoes or T-shirts) and making the slow trip from Dayton to Sacramento.

The couple moved down to Carson after Randy, who had a 64-mile, one-way commute to Sparks, got tired of fighting the weather every day.

"We are now 35 miles closer to our grandkids in Dayton," she said.

Carolann works at the Heritage Bank in Carson City, which opened Aug. 1, 2001. She says it's the only Nevada-owned bank in the state.

Speaking of bowling, Carson City resident and National Guard Maj. Renea Greenlee just got back from the Armed Forces Bowling Championships in Fort Jackson, S.C.

According to Sgt. Lisa Kent, Renea took fourth place overall during the tournament with a 215 average.

Lisa points out that the major is the first Nevada National Guard soldier ever chosen for the 28-member Army Professional Bowling team.

Washoe Valley resident and freelance writer Jon Christensen has received a John S. Knight Fellowship and will be spending the next academic year at Stanford University in the Bay area.

Jon has written for the Nevada Appeal and New York Times. He has been touring in support of his book, "Nevada." His wife, Kit Miller, has a book of her own on casino workers.

They are both pulling up stakes for the year and moving to California, where Jon will evaluate environmental conservation projects and Kit can take any class she wants.

Where do I sign up?

Kurt Hildebrand is managing editor at the Nevada Appeal. Reach him at 881-1215 or hildebrand@nevadaappeal.com.