Local news briefs for February 15, 2001

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001 | 11:47 a.m.

Henderson statue found

The $45,000 bronze statue of a little boy stolen from a Henderson intersection was found Wednesday on the loading dock of Opportunity Village in Henderson.

The 250-pound statue apparently was dropped off late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. The statue was found resting on a couch that had been dropped off as a donation, Linda Smith, resource development director for Opportunity Village, said.

The statue was one of two at the intersection of Green Valley Parkway and Wigwam Avenue. One statue is of a little boy and the other is of his sister bending over to tie his shoes. The statue of the little boy was apparently stolen Sunday.

Henderson Police were at Opportunity Village this morning investigating the return of the statue.

Northeast's needs to be addressed

The Nevada Department of Transportation will have two public meetings on the ongoing Interstate 15 Northeast Corridor Study later this month.

The study will look at the current and projected traffic needs for the northeast region of the Las Vegas Valley bordered by Bonanza Road on the south, Martin Luther King Boulevard on the west, Hollywood Boulevard on the east and Apex on the north.

The first meeting will be Feb. 27 at the Sunrise Manor Town Hall, 1106 N. Nellis Blvd. The second will be Feb. 28 at Raul P. Elizondo Elementary School, 4865 Goldfield St. Both meetings will be 4 to 7 p.m.

For information, call 486-3541.

Midweek holiday holds down numbers

Fewer people were struck by Cupid's arrow in Las Vegas this Valentine's Day than last, but Clark County Marriage License Bureau officials today attributed the drop in weddings to the holiday falling during the week.

There were 1,040 marriage licenses issued on Valentine's Eve and Day in Las Vegas -- 618 on Tuesday and 422 on Wednesday -- compared to 1,430 for the same two days in 2000 when the lovers' holiday fell on a Monday, capping a busy weekend, marriage licenses officials said.

However, county officials said the overall turnout for the Valentine's week this year has been solid, as Sunday was busier than normal with 326 marriage licenses issued, as was Monday with 447 marriage licenses doled out.

Proposed facility gets committee OK

The proposed academic medical center that would be built in the heart of downtown Las Vegas won the approval of higher education committee members on Wednesday.

The center was approved for recommendation to the Board of Regents by the Health Care Education Committee in a 4-0 vote.

Regents will make the final decision on the project March 1. The city of Las Vegas will then consider whether all or a portion of a 61-acre plot of land will go to the center, but hundreds of other developers are expected to compete for that land.

The $222 million center, which is the vision of Dean Robert Miller of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, would house a pharmacy, dental school and medical center in one 600,000-square-foot complex.

Grant coming for seat belt use

For a fourth straight year, Nevada has received a grant for buckling up.

In Nevada, 78.5 percent of motorists used their seat belts last year compared with the national average of 68 percent, according to government statistics. As a result, Nevada will receive $288,130 to further encourage seat belt use, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week.

The amount of the grant is based on savings in medical costs to the federal government as a result of improved seat belt use rates, Reid said.