Local news briefs for August 30, 1999

Monday, Aug. 30, 1999 | 11:38 a.m.

Man's cause of death still undetermined

The coroner's office is still trying to determine the exact cause of death of a 67-year-old man who was assaulted in a parking lot early Thursday.

Metro homicide detectives say the beating Delbert Hicks received did not appear to have been severe enough to have caused his death.

A spokesman for the coroner's office said the cause of death is still pending.

Hicks apparently was assaulted in a parking lot between a Lucky and MacFrugal's store at Decatur Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road about 1 a.m.

Sgt. Kevin Manning said the motive for the assault did not appear to be robbery.

Man surrenders after five hours

A nearly five-hour standoff between Metro Police and a man ended peacefully Sunday afternoon.

Patrol officers arrived in the 1000 block of Rainbow Rock Street near Pebble Road and Maryland Parkway about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police found a despondent man in the house upset about some problems he was having with his wife. There were several guns in the house including at least two rifles, police said.

Negotiators were called in, and the man surrendered to police just after 3 p.m. He was taken to a valley hospital for evaluation. The man never threatened anyone and was not arrested, police said.

Eye specialist moves to Vegas

Dr. Kenneth Houchin, a specialist in a form of opthalmology that deals with unexplainable vision loss, has been hired by a Las Vegas eye care center.

Houchin is said to be the only neuro-opthalmologist in Southern Nevada. He will be working for the Buzard Eye Institute at 6020 W. Spring Mountain Road.

"It's been quite some time since a neuro-opthalmologist has practiced in Southern Nevada," said Dr. Kurt Buzard, founder of the Buzard Eye Institute. "The addition of Dr. Houchin will be felt by many patients in need of a specialist of his caliber."

A neuro-opthalmologist deals primarily with people with brain abnormalities and stroke patients. He can determine if a patient has a brain tumor by a thorough eye examination, Buzard said.

Houchin taught opthalmology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and practiced in Southern California before accepting the Las Vegas position.

Legislative analyst takes schools job

CARSON CITY -- Jeanne Botts, regarded as an expert in public school financing for the Legislature, is resigning to become business and financing director for the Washoe County School District.

School Superintendent Jim Hager in announcing the decision Friday said Botts will work toward increasing the financial accountability and the efficiency in the district.

Botts is a senior program analyst in the fiscal analysis division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau where she has worked since 1989. She is also chief of the bureau of education accountability and program evaluation. As an adviser to the legislative budget committees, she helped write many of the educational reform bills with their financing in the past two sessions.

She has served as member of the Humboldt County School Board and was president of the Nevada Association of School Boards.

Storm warning fails to deliver

A trace of rain fell at McCarran International Airport on Sunday during typical summer thunderstorms.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southern Clark County on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., but canceled it an hour later after the storm moved into the Green Valley area then veered east and collapsed.

A Clark County Regional Flood Control rain gauge at Paradise Road and Duck Creek measured 0.39 of an inch of rain in less than half an hour during the brief thundershower.

A flash flood watch issued at 3 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. today was dropped from the forecast at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The Mexican monsoon air flow will shift east when a low pressure system drops from the Pacific Northwest into Southern Nevada today, bringing winds from 10 to 20 mph with gusts near 40 mph late this afternoon.

The high Sunday reached 102 degrees, two degrees above normal. Highs this week are expected in the mid-90s with lows ranging from the mid-70s to low 80s. A drier weather pattern is expected starting today.

Cops on lookout for gang suspects

Metro Police are looking for three men indicted by a grand jury on charges of trafficking in controlled substances and graffiti.

All three men are believed to be gang members, police said.

Steve McLeroy, 22, is described as white, 6 feet tall, 160 pounds and has the letters "OFA" around his neck. Mike Norquist, 19, is white, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 165 pounds. Daniel Howard, 21, is white, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 220 pounds.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the gang unit at 229-3309.

Las Vegas fire captain retires

A Las Vegas Fire Department captain retired on Saturday after 36 years of service to the city.

Capt. Ronald Anderson joined the department just after he left the military in 1963 when he went to then-Chief C.D. Williams and asked for a job. Anderson, 56, joined a 100-member department and has seen it grow to more than 300 firefighters.

Anderson began as a firefighter before being promoted to engineer and finally to captain. He was involved in fighting the 1981 fire at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.

Teen pregnancy focus of forum

Teen pregnancy prevention will be the focus of a forum to be held Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Grant Sawyer Building, 555 E. Washington, Ave.

The forum is being sponsored by the Nevada State Health Division and the Nevada Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and State Health Division Administrator Yvonne Silva will conduct discussion groups during the forum, which is open to the public.

Other forums are to be held Wednesday in Yerington and Thursday in Reno.