News briefs for April 8, 2002

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

Area evacuated as devices found

Metro Police are searching for a man who left five pipe bombs in a bag at a home near Monterey Avenue and Flamingo Road.

About 20 residents in a two-block area were evacuated to William Ferron Elementary School until 6 p.m. Sunday while the Las Vegas Fire Department bomb squad detonated each of the bombs, Lt. Richard Collins said.

Officers also searched Boulder Station on Boulder Highway after witnesses at the scene said the man might have taken more pipe bombs to the hotel, Collins said.

No injuries, deaths in two years

For the second straight year no one was seriously injured or killed at abandoned mine shafts, the state Division of Minerals reported.

The last person killed was an 11-year-old girl who fell down a 130-foot abandoned mine shaft near Beatty in 1999.

In its annual report issued Friday, the division estimates that 50,000 shafts, glory holes, stopes and mill sites present "significant hazards" to the public.

It conducted an extensive publicity campaign warning the public to stay out of these dangerous areas, and closed 447 sites to remove the dangerous conditions.

Of the 447, 39 sites were closed by six Eagle Scout candidates, and nine sites were repaired by the group.

Although no humans were injured in the last two years, two dogs fell down mine shafts in 2000 in separate incidents, each suffering a hip injury.

New district ranger named

Steve Holdsambeck has accepted the position of district ranger for the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

Holdsambeck started his new assignment on April 1, replacing Tom Kuekes.

Jack Troyer was appointed regional forester on Friday for Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, the largest region in the U.S. Forest Service at 32 million acres.

Troyer served as deputy regional forester in the intermountain region since 1997 and acting regional forester since November.

Troyer replaces Jack Blackwell, who moved to the Pacific Southwest region in California.

Woman, 83, dies in crash

An 83-year-old Las Vegas woman died Friday in a two-car accident at Blue Diamond at Industrial Road.

A car driven by 68-year-old Peter Duffy was turning on to Industrial from Blue Diamond about 10 a.m. Friday and apparently failed to yield, police said. A sport utility vehicle, driven by a 47-year-old woman, collided with Duffy's car, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.

A passenger in Duffy's car, Yvette F. Boucher, died at the scene. Duffy was treated at University Medical Center and released Friday, hospital officials said. The driver of the SUV had minor injuries, police said.