News briefs for December 6, 2001

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 | 10:01 a.m.

Southern Nevada ski resort opens

Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Park officially opened Wednesday morning in Lee Canyon.

Until last week there wasn't enough snow to allow skiers and snowboarders to slide down the slopes. More than a foot of snow in the higher elevations of Lee Canyon over the weekend allowed the recreation area to open.

Cell phone bid put on hold

Clark County commissioners put on hold a proposal for a 153-foot wireless phone tower in the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

The applicants for the Sprint tower asked that the issue, contested by residents of the Calico Basin neighborhood within the conservation area, be heard Jan. 3.

Dan Davis, representing would-be tower builder Wireless Facilities Inc., said he needed more time to work with residents to find a suitable spot.

Residents, however, said they will continue to fight the project.

Commission reverses planners

The Clark County Commission, responding to an appeal by Coast Resorts, reversed a county Planning Commission approval that would have doubled the size of a topless bar near The Orleans.

Divas, an "existing adult cabaret" across the street from the Coast Resorts Inc. hotel, sought approval to grow from 3,785 square feet to 6,115 square feet and add a two-story parking garage.

In July the bar owners unsuccessfully sought approval to expand the topless bar by 15,498 square feet.

Sutton named new chief

Doyle Sutton, a former Truckee Meadows battalion chief with 26 years' experience in fire services, has been named the new chief of the state fire marshal's office in Carson City.

Sutton, who succeeds retiring acting Chief Bryon Slobe, was selected after a statewide Public Safety Department search, Public Safety Director Richard Kirkland said Wednesday.

Sutton, 54, began his career in 1975 as a firefighter with the Truckee Meadows Fire Department in the Reno area and served as battalion chief from 1980-90 before being appointed to administrative battalion chief and training chief. He was promoted to training chief and acting assistant fire chief in 1995.