Las Vegas news briefs for July 27, 1999

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 10:37 a.m.

Widow arrested in LV in husband's death

The widow of a wealthy Tulsa businessman was arrested in Las Vegas yesterday in connection with the death of her husband 19 years ago.

Patsy Barbour Woofter, 61, was taken into custody at her East Quail Avenue home by the Criminal Apprehension Teams and two Tulsa, Okla., homicide detectives. She has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Andrew "Mac" Barbour Jr. in 1980.

Woofter was booked into the Clark County Detention Center while she awaits extradition proceedings.

Barbour, secretary-treasurer of Barbour Drilling Co., was shot to death Feb. 12, 1980, while sleeping in his Tulsa condominium, according to press accounts. Woofter, then known as Patsy Barbour, told police she heard a noise and fled the condominium to notify security.

Some jewelry was stolen from the residence and pry marks were found on a door, according to one newspaper report. But Tulsa police had nagging doubts about the burglary and Barbour's death and continued to work the case until new evidence led them to Woofter's arrest Monday.

Woofter moved to Las Vegas and remarried, although that marriage was later annulled, according to the Associated Press.

Hammargren election may favor Democrats

CARSON CITY -- GOP Senate hopeful John Ensign is upbeat about former Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren's election as head of the Clark County Republican Party despite suggestions it could help Democrats.

In a close race, as Nevada's 2000 Senate race is expected to be, some Democrats are hoping Hammargren, an outspoken political maverick, will say something that could hurt Ensign.

Also, Aaron Russo could enter the Senate race, and Democrats say the GOP-turned-independent could siphon off votes from Ensign. Russo got 26 percent of the vote in losing a 1998 Republican primary race against Kenny Guinn, who went on to be elected governor.

Ensign campaign manager Mike Slanker laughs at the suggestion that Russo and Hammargren could combine to weaken Ensign's chances.

Slanker said Hammargren, a Las Vegas neurosurgeon, will bring energy to the chairman's job. He said because Ensign handles his own media relations, it's not as if Ensign will be hanging back waiting for Hammargren to speak for him.

The most positive thing to come from last week's central committee meeting, in Slanker's opinion, was that more than 500 people showed up to vote for a new chairman.

He hopes he can persuade them to work actively for Ensign.

Military plans to test explosives

The first of three military munitions tests this year will explode on Wednesday inside a 19-foot wide tunnel drilled into Little Skull Mountain at the Nevada Test Site.

Called "Blackbeard," the test involves blowing up 24 155mm artillery shells to help experts measure emissions in a confined environment.

The test is sponsored by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory of Northern California and the Department of Defense.

The tunnel is located about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The tunnel extends 600 feet into Little Skull Mountain, where a 5.6 earthquake occurred on June 29, 1992. Little Skull Mountain is 12 miles northwest of Yucca Mountain, which DOE scientists are studying as a potential high-level nuclear waste repository.

A series of three munitions tests were conducted at Little Skull Mountain in December 1996, January and February 1997.

New phone books headed to valley

The July Sprint First Source phone book is now being distributed throughout the Las Vegas Valley. In this edition, the Internet index is between the residential and business listings of the White Pages.

In its inaugural listing, in January, the Internet listing appeared on the last five pages of the phone book. The Internet listing contains e-mail addresses and websites for a variety of businesses.

Due to the valley's growth, the Sprint First Source phone book is one of only a few in the country that are printed twice a year.

Residents are asked to recycle old phone books by dropping them into Silver State Disposal Service white recycling bins. Anyone who does not receive a copy of the latest phone book may call 1-888-256-5647.