Thanksgiving week: food and shopping (and a rivalry)

The Christian Life Center kicked off the holiday week with its annual Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday at the Fallon Convention Center.

Pastor Jimmy Myers said the dinner with all of the trimmings serves about 950 people. In addition to CLC serving the meals and the church’s youth club helping where needed, Myers said the Fallon Ministerial Association and individuals from Celebrate Recovery also assisted.

Every year, Myers said members of the CLC congregation purchase and prepare the meal, which consists of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and desserts.

American Legion Post 16 and its volunteers will deliver Meals on Wheels dinners on Thanksgiving since the William N. Pennington Life Center (senior center) will be closed. Sailors, current and retired military personnel and community members wishing to deliver meals or prepare meals for delivery should arrive at the hall, 90 N. Ada St., between 8:30-9 a.m.

Once volunteers arrive at the hall, they will pack food into containers and then drive different routes within the city limits and in the county to deliver hot meals to the county. The American Legion normally seeks about 30 volunteers to help with the preparation and/or delivery. The American Legion post also provides the volunteers and money to buy turkeys and all the fixings.

Their annual Thanksgiving dinner for the community is from 11 a.m-1 p.m.

Most businesses are closed on Thursday, and state, county and city government offices are closed on both Thursday and Friday. Federal government offices are closed Thursday. Both post offices resume their regular hours on Friday and Saturday. Naval Air Station Fallon operates on its holiday schedule.

The city of Fallon will have no garbage pickup on Thanksgiving. Those affected will have their garbage picked up on Friday.

Financial institutions are closed on Thanksgiving but check with your bank or credit union for any closures on Friday.

Churchill County schools are closed for three days, today through Friday as is Oasis Academy. No classes are scheduled at Western Nevada College.

Traveling could be interesting for those leaving Churchill County for the Thanksgiving weekend. The National Weather Service in Reno reported snow for the first part of the week and a chance of snow showers through Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. For residents staying in the area for either Small Business Saturday or the Nevada-UNLV football game at noon in Reno, bundle up. The expected high for Saturday is forecast at 37 degrees.

Nevada, which shocked San Diego State and Fresno State on the road, returns to Mackay Stadium for the season’s final home game. At stake is the Fremont Cannon, which the Rebels snared last year after upsetting the Pack.

The weatherman said Wednesday will see a 40 percent chance of snow showers, and Thursday and Friday a 30 percent. Expect winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. New snow accumulations will be less than a half inch.

Daytime highs will be range from the high 30s to low 40s and morning lows will drop into the teens.

Check with either the Nevada Department of Transportation (http://nvroads.com) or Caltrans (https://roads.dot.ca.gov) for the latest road conditions and restrictions on area highways.

The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority said travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday will hit a high this year at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The authority strongly recommends travelers to arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before domestic departures and two hours before international flights.

“Many locals are accustomed to a quick trip through the airport, but this Thanksgiving, expect delays,” advises the authority.

Including today and the weekend through Dec. 2, the authority said full flights and the potential for 15,000 passengers arriving and departing on peak days is expected to create crowds typical for the four-day holiday weekend.

The airport has contracted with Wooster High School for employee parking during the week of Thanksgiving, freeing up more than 400 spaces for customers and to alleviate the backlog of extra cars searching for short and long-term spots. Additional on-site parking will be available at other sites.