Nevada briefs from Tahoe, Reno, Sparks, Ely and Elko

Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Wynn, a member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, told fellow board members on Wednesday that he will use his casino operation to drum up support for Question 12 on the November ballot.

If approved, the bond issue would add about $2 to the property tax bill of the owner of a $100,000 home.

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Kenneth McDonald, 18, was arrested Wednesday and jailed on $110,000 bail. He is charged with attempted murder and robbery for the Feb. 16 shooting of Jonathan Higginbotham, 20.

A police affidavit said the victim met McDonald at a party. The two later drove to a hilly area near Cold Springs to look for a dune buggy that had been abandoned there.

McDonald allegedly shot Higginbotham several times in the abdomen, took his truck and left him for dead.

Higginbotham crawled and walked to the highway, where a motorists stopped then called for help.

The victim is recovering from his wounds at Washoe Medical Center.

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Gaming Control Board Chief Bill Bible said the Fallon, Walker River and Yerington Paiute tribes currently are in negotiations to allow gaming on their reservations, and the Pyramid Lake tribe has requested negotiations.

The state approved an agreement in November with the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. That compact was approved by the federal government earlier this month.

Reno-Sparks Tribal Chairman Arlan Melendez said the tribe has no immediate plans to build a full-fledged casino.

Instead, he said it may put some slot machines in some of its stores while studies are done on the feasibility of establishing a casino operation.

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Deputy Fire Chief Lee Leighton said fire and health inspectors returned to the site on Wednesday but did not find where the liquid came from.

Meanwhile, the manager of James C. Kingsbury Tile company said the solvent didn't come from there.

Manager Deborah Duncan said the company doesn't stock any chemicals, and the only thing they clean is grout, for which they use white vinegar and water.

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"I want it to be known to everyone in Ely that I am not against senior citizens," Council member David Rattazzi said. But he added that the safety problem at the high school had to take precedence.

School officials said the potholes themselves were a hazard and a blind curve on the road is an accident just waiting to happen.

The senior citizens' center might receive some help from another source, the Council was told. One of the county's block grant priorities is to provide better access for the handicapped to public buildings.

Those funds can be used only to assist the disabled and cannot be directed toward any expansion.

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The Elko County school board chose Clark & Sullivan Constructors over five other bidders at Tuesday night's meeting, according to Assistant Superintendent Dick Harris.

The 70,000 square foot junior high will include a wood floor gymnasium, science and home economics labs and will be built near the existing Spring Creek High School and Sage Elementary School grounds.

Construction should begin April 1 with completion set for the fall of 1997.

Barrick Goldstrike Mines gave the district $1.8 million on Tuesday in advance of net proceeds of mines taxes from its underground Meikle Mine in Elko County to help with construction of the new school.