News briefs for April 3, 2003

Thursday, April 3, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.

Boggs-McDonald named to board

Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday named Las Vegas Councilwoman Lynette Boggs-McDonald and Wendy Simons of Reno to two-year terms on the state Commission on Aging.

The two fill vacancies on the 11-member board that evaluates the needs of the elderly and promotes community-based services.

McDonald has served on the City Council since 2001. Simons is an administrator and a partner at Park Place Assisted Living in Reno.

Suspension upheld for prison worker

A state hearing officer upheld a 10-day suspension without pay of a casework specialist at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center who accepted massages from prison inmates and engaged in "horseplay" with the convicts.

Hearing Officer Henry Egghart found the conduct of Paul Hochsprung violated prison regulations.

"Clearly the most serious conduct that the employee committed involves the back rub massages he received from inmates," Egghart wrote in a decision made public Wednesday.

NLV selects parks director

A University of Nevada, Reno, graduate who has been a parks director in Oregon will be the new director of the North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Department, officials announced this week.

Michael Henley will start April 28. His salary will be $102,000 a year, city spokeswoman Brenda Johnson said.

Henley has been director of parks and recreation for the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District in Milwaukie, Ore.; director of community services for Tustin, Calif.; and director of parks and recreation for Lake Oswego, Ore.

As the head of the North Las Vegas department, Henley's responsibilities will include overseeing an annual budget of $15.1 million, 59 full-time and 304 part-time employees, and 25 parks.