News briefs for Nov. 14, 2002

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

Power outage delays newspapers

A power outage and fire at Southwest Printers Wednesday is expected to cause a delay today in the delivery of Henderson Home News and other papers, publisher Tim O'Callaghan said.

Subscribers should get copies of their Home News late this afternoon or Friday morning, O'Callaghan said this morning.

A truck pulled down power lines and a transformer about 4:30 p.m. at the printing plant at Meade Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, causing the building and surrounding area to lose power. A fire started at the building about 7 p.m.

There was no estimate of damage.

Pedestrian killed on Boulder Highway

A 58-year-old pedestrian was hit by a car and killed about 6 p.m. Wednesday on Boulder Highway between Sunset and Russell roads.

Henderson Police said a 61-year-old woman was driving a green Chevrolet Blazer north on Boulder Highway when a man walked into the road. The victim was dressed in dark clothing and the area was dimly lit, police said.

The Clark County coroner's office is withholding the name of the victim pending family notification.

Judges drop their challenge on pay

A legal challenge for wage increases filed by two Henderson Muncipal Court judges was officially dropped Wednesday before being argued in Clark County District Court.

Municipal Judges John Provost and Ken Proctor dropped their suit against the city of Henderson after deciding the fight would be more difficult than any potential gain, Provost has said.

The judges sued the city Oct. 4, arguing that their annual cost-of-living increases should be set at 8.5 percent rather than the 3.5 percent offered by the city. The judges earned $102,000 last year.

In 2001, a majority of the city's administrative department heads received a 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase as well as a 5 percent merit increase, the judges said. They should be entitled to the same, they said.

The city argued that as elected officials, the judges had no boss but the public, and as such, could not be eligible for merit increases.

EPA approves power plant

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a request that will allow construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in Eureka County and also a gas pipeline to serve the area.

The agency approved a request from the state to split a 546-square mile air-planning region in northeast Nevada. Allen Biaggi, director of the state Division of Environmental Protection, said the power plant and businesses in the area would still have to comply with federal clean air standards.

Splitting the big basin would permit a power plant to be built.

Biaggi said mining operations and businesses in the area are still negotiating to get a company to build the power plant.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, who announced the action by the federal agency, said the natural gas pipeline is critical for further economic development in northeast and north central Nevada. He said the pipeline would not be economically viable without the gas-fired power plant in Eureka County.

Rapist who escaped in 1979 is found

A convicted rapist who escaped from an Oregon prison in 1979 was arrested in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Metro Police said.

Michael Lee Laub was caught in the 3000 block of North Fifth Street about 3:20 p.m. by the Criminal Apprehension Team, which includes investigators from Metro, Henderson Police and the FBI.

Laub was wanted for escape out of Salem, Ore. He was convicted of first-degree rape in Bend, Ore., on March 1, 1978, and sentenced to seven years in prison. He escaped from Santiam Correctional Institution on Jan. 8, 1979.

Over the next 23 years Laub lived in California and Utah and was employed as a truck driver, he told investigators. He was using the name Michael Lee Silvey and had been living in Las Vegas since 1986 with his wife, to whom he had been married since 1986, police said.

When asked by investigators if he would have done things differently, Laub said he would not have, police said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn today

named Spiridon Filios of Las Vegas to a three-year term on the state Contractor's Board. Filios, president of Filios Construction Inc., succeeds Dennis Johnson. The governor also reappointed Michael Zech of Las Vegas, Randall Schaefer of Henderson and Margaret Cavin of Sparks to three-year terms.