Local news briefs for July 30, 1999

Friday, July 30, 1999 | 12:05 p.m.

Boy, 17, removed from Lake Mohave

A 17-year-old boy from California died Thursday in an accident on Lake Mohave.

Josh Robinson parked his Jet Ski at the Katherine Landing marina and swam over to the docked houseboat where his family was staying, according to the National Park Service. Robinson just reached the houseboat when he began struggling in the water.

National Park Service rangers and Bullhead City Fire Department crews responded to the scene just before 1 p.m. and pulled Robinson from approximately 30 feet of water 30 minutes later. He was taken to a Bullhead City hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The National Park Service is investigating the incident.

Reward offered for information on death

The friends and family of a slain Las Vegas tavern owner have raised more than $16,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his death.

Greg Brewer, the 47-year-old owner of Duffy's Tavern III, 3085 S. Nellis Blvd., was shot and killed in the tavern's office on March 12.

There were about 40 people in the bar when Brewer was shot at about 3:30 p.m., Metro Police said.

Police believe Brewer was shot in a robbery attempt by a Hispanic man in his late 20s, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 135 pounds. A second man acted as a getaway driver in the holdup, police said.

The reward money has been raised through car washes, barbecues, and donations from area bars and the Nevada Tavern Owners Association.

Anyone with information on Brewer's killer is asked to call Secret Witness at 385-5555 or Metro's homicide section at 229-3521. Secret Witness is offering an additional $1,000 reward for information on Brewer's killer.

Las Vegas girl nearly drowns

A 2-year-old Las Vegas girl was in critical condition this morning after she nearly drowned in a family pool Thursday afternoon. Metro Police and paramedics responded to a home in the 4800 block of Alameda Avenue, near Nellis Boulevard and Bonanza Road, to a report of an unconscious toddler pulled from a pool. She was taken to University Medical Center. Police are calling the near-drowning an accident.

State personnel director named

Gov. Kenny Guinn Thursday named Jeanne Greene to the permanent job of state personnel director that oversees some 17,000 jobs in government.

Greene, 42, had been acting director in the $78,050 a year job since the retirement of Sharon Murphy in January. She has worked nearly 20 years with the agency and was chief of field services for recruitment and classification before she was named acting director.

The agency, with a budget of about $7.3 million a year and a staff of 75, runs the state payroll system, conducts training for workers and recruits and tests for the estimated 2,000 vacancies annually in state government.

One of the main duties in the next two years, Greene said, will be reviewing the personnel laws -- a project that Guinn initiated. The agency also conducts the biennial salary survey, comparing wages in state government with other governments and private industry. Greene is a graduate of Sinte Gleska College in South Dakota with a degree in business.

Fewer officers killed so far in '99

The number of law enforcement officers killed in the U.S. in the line of duty during the first half of 1999 dropped to its lowest level in more than 30 years, according to figures released Thursday by two national police organizations.

During the first six months of this year, 68 officers were killed, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Concerns of Police Officers.

Eighty-one officers died in the line of duty during the same period last year.

Memorial Fund Chairman Craig W. Floyd called the figures "encouraging, especially the fact that shooting deaths among law officers dropped by more than 24 percent during the first six months of 1999 compared to the same period last year."

Of the 68 officers who were killed through June, 26 died in automobile accidents, 25 were shot to death, eight succumbed to job-related illnesses, four died in motorcycle accidents, two were killed in aircraft accidents, two were struck by cars while outside their own vehicles and one was hit by a train.

No officers from Nevada have been killed in the line of duty to date this year.

Commission recalls Star sprinklers

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling five types of Star brand sprinklers widely used in nursing homes, school warehouses and supermarkets.

The Star D-1, RD-1, RE-1, E-1, and ME-1 were produced between 1961 and 1976, and are used in dry sprinkler systems only.

"If property owners still have these sprinklers in service, they should obtain a notice-of-claim form by calling 1-800-866-7807.

The Mealane Corp., formerly Star, is offering consumers free replacement sprinklers and reimbursement of the removal and replacement labor costs.