News briefs for August 14, 2001

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001 | 11:13 a.m.

Woman found dead in home

The death of a 47-year-old woman found dead in her mobile home last week is not considered a homicide, Metro Police said.

Ka S. Henderson is believed to have died from self inflicted or accidental injuries, but a cause of death has not been determined by the Clark County coroner's office, police said.

Henderson's boyfriend, who has been living with her in the home in the 4000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North for the past few months, told officers he found her dead inside the locked mobile home, police said.

Bus stranded in the mud

A tour bus from Las Vegas became stranded in mud and high water during the weekend after a trip to the Grand Canyon. No one was injured.

Search and rescue personnel moved the 20 passengers to higher ground Sunday and used winches to free the bus, said Mohave County sheriff's spokesman Steve Johnson.

He said the passengers had been visiting a Grand Canyon West Rim lookout.

Court rules against district

A federal appeals panel ruled the Clark County School District failed to provide an autistic preschooler an adequate education as provided for under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturns a decision by U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben.

According to court documents, the case involves a girl identified as Amanda. Born in 1991, she and her family lived in Las Vegas until they moved to California in 1995.

She was evaluated by a psychologist at a special clinic and was placed in a program for developmentally delayed children, even though some experts who evaluated her suspected autism but did not inform her parents.

The appellate ruling sends the case back to McKibben to reinstate a decision by a hearing officer, who concluded Amanda's parents were entitled to reimbursements for the costs of a later assessment diagnosing autism and an in-home program they paid for privately.