County Briefs

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

* GANG PREVENTION -- Clark County's Gang Task Force reached its fifth anniversary this month, and celebrated it with a name change. Family and Youth Services Director Kirby Burgess said the group has been renamed the New Directions Task Force for Youth to emphasize its focus on prevention and intervention. Burgess said close to 5,000 gang members live in Clark County with 1,800 associate members and an average 40 new gang members a week. Last year, 245 drive-by shootings resulted in 10 gang-related deaths, he said. The task force has tried to prevent kids from joining gangs and getting killed by offering outreach activities and alternatives to detention, Burgess said.

* DEWEY CARE -- The County Commission has voted to spend $396,000 to bail out the financially troubled Dewey Animal Care Center. The decision Tuesday saves the center's contract with the county to provide animal shelter services. The center came up short on its annual rent after the city of Las Vegas pulled out of a joint contract with the county.

* TERM LIMITS -- The County Commission has approved a request by Metro Police to change the term limits for nongaming work cards. As approved Tuesday, work cards will be issued in one of two forms -- either a permanent five-year card or a 90-day temporary card, pending criminal background checks. There will be no deviations from these term limits.

* TRAVEL AGENCY -- American Express Travel Management and Corporate Card Service has been selected to run the first on-site travel agency at McCarran International Airport. The company was chosen Tuesday by the County Commission to provide on-site travel arrangements for Clark County and develop a corporate travel card program.