Community briefs for January 31, 2002

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

Brooks charity helps gather goods

More than $325,000 in goods has been distributed to disadvantaged children in Southern Nevada by three organizations, one a charitable arm of country singer Garth Brooks.

The Las Vegas distribution by the Venetian, World Vision and the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation was one of nine worldwide.

The local effort helped more than 3,500 children, organizers said.

Denny's to raise funds for museum

Local Denny's restaurants will be participating in the company's efforts to promote human and civil rights and raise $1 million for the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

Denny's was named Fortune magazine's "best company in America for minorities." This represents a turnaround from the mid-1990s when the eatery was socked with lawsuits and numerous other complaints from minority customers who claimed they were discriminated against by servers and management at several outlets.

There are nine Denny's restaurants in Las Vegas, each with brochures and other materials promoting the establishment's civil rights efforts and information for donating to the museum, a Denny's official said.

Predict when tortoise emerges

The third annual contest to predict when Mojave Max, the desert tortoise, will emerge from a desert burrow begins 11 a.m. Saturday at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Biologist Ron Marlow will install a device that will record the exact date and time when Mojave Max leaves the burrow this year. Tortoises typically enter their burrows in October and emerge in March.

Biologists, educators and master gardeners will also be available to answer questions.

Las Vegas Valley students are encouraged to research Mojave desert weather, temperatures and conditions to scientifically estimate when they believe Mojave Max will first emerge from his burrow this year.

Students can log onto www.mojavemax.com, review the contest rules and electronically enter their official guess.

The winning student will receive prizes, including a Wet 'N Wild season pass. The winner's entire class will go on a field trip to Mojave Max's habitat, receive Mojave Max Olympic-style medals, one-day passes to Wet 'N Wild and Putt-Putt passes to Mountasia Family Fun Center.