News briefs for June 6, 2001

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

Former probation officer charged

A former Clark County juvenile probation officer accused of having sexual relations with one of his probationers has accepted a deal.

Tommy Burse Tuesday pleaded guilty to one count of statutory sexual seduction and is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 8 by District Judge Donald Mosley. He had been scheduled to go on trial next week.

The charge is punishable by one to five years in prison, but Burse is also eligible for probation.

During Burse's preliminary hearing in 1999, the 14-year-old girl testified about two encounters in June 1998 with her then 35-year-old probation officer.

One of Burse's co-workers turned him in, and he was fired in November 1998.

Man wanted in San Francisco

A man wanted in San Francisco on a murder charge was arrested by Metro Police Tuesday morning at a downtown pay phone.

Emmit Byron, 26, was spotted by detectives who were conducting surveillance downtown after getting a tip from San Francisco police that Byron had used a pay phone at the Greyhound bus station.

Police saw Byron leave the Union Plaza hotel about 4 a.m. and arrested him at the bus station pay phones.

Byron was booked into the Clark County Detention Center as a fugitive, police said.

Lanes reduced on Charleston

Traffic on Charleston Boulevard between Rancho Drive and Martin Luther King Boulevard will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Sunday.

Shadow Lane from Charleston Boulevard to Alturas Avenue will be closed to traffic during that same period.

The streets will be closed while work continues on a project to reduce flooding in the area.

Construction will continue on Shadow Lane between Charleston Boulevard and Goldring Avenue and will be closed from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for about eight weeks.

Plan to reduce arsenic works

A test to remove arsenic from Fallon's water supply appears to work, Mayor Ken Tedford said Tuesday.

The town, about 60 miles east of Reno, is required by an order from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to remove naturally occurring arsenic from its municipal water supply by September 2003.

The current federal limit for arsenic is 50 parts per billion. Fallon's water, drawn from deep wells, contains arsenic levels of about 100 parts per billion.

Fallon plans to use an enhanced coagulation process that adjusts the acid level of the water, adds iron sulfate that attracts arsenic, then filters the resulting solids through coal, sand and garnet. The resulting sludge is non-toxic and may be disposed of in a landfill.

The city will begin designing a full-sized treatment facility in September. Fallon has secured about $1 billion in federal funding to pay for the design costs.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman

will take a morning stroll with area seniors Thursday at the Meadows mall, located on Valley View Boulevard near U.S. 95. The stroll, at 7:30 a.m., is designed to promote fitness among senior citizens and allow them to keep out of the heat. A free continental breakfast will be provided, and Pacific Care will sponsor a booth with free health tips.