Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 10:56 a.m.
Sprinklers douse Stratosphere fire
An automatic sprinkler system doused a trash fire in the Stratosphere late Friday.
Firefighters arrived at the Stratosphere about 11 p.m. on Friday after a report of smoke on the 109th floor. They found a trash fire that was put out by an automatic sprinkler.
Fire investigators believe a food-warming can tossed into a trash container started the fire. Damage was minimal.
Automatic ventilation systems removed smoke from the building.
There were no injuries.
Firings upheld at boys reformatory
A state hearing officer has upheld the firing of two group supervisors at the state boys reformatory in Elko for mistreating and bullying the juveniles who are serving time for various criminal offenses.
Hearing Officer Pat Dolan, in two decisions released last week, found there was sufficient cause to dismiss both Robert J. Brown and Arthur Leyva for abusing the inmates at the Nevada Youth Training Center.
Dale Warmuth, superintendent of the center, said these were "isolated cases" and did not have anything to do with each other.
"Anytime there is inappropriate behavior, we take appropriate action," he said.
Gibbons names rural coordinator
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., has announced the hiring of Frank Roberson as his rural coordinator.
As rural coordinator, Roberson's primary responsibilities will be monitoring issues in rural areas and community outreach. He will also serve as Gibbons' grant coordinator, assisting communities and organizations in obtaining federal grants and funding.
Roberson will be based in Reno. He served as political director for the Nevada Republican Party before joining the congressman's staff.
SUV collides with semi
A 37-year-old North Las Vegas woman was seriously injured Friday morning when her Toyota 4-Runner collided with a tractor-trailer near Craig Road and Martin Luther King Drive.
North Las Vegas Police said Errika McCarrell, 37, went through a red light at the intersection at Home Depot Drive, crossing the path of a Freightliner tractor-trailer, which was was attempting to turn left onto Craig Road.
The truck driver, Thomas Adams, 56, of Pahrump was not injured. McCarrell was discharged Saturday from University Medical Center.
Speed and failure to obey a red traffic signal were factors in the crash, police said.
Test Site facility needs upgrade
The National Nuclear Security Administration estimates it will cost between $100 million and $130 million to upgrade a Nevada Test Site facility and transport nuclear weapons material from New Mexico to the site.
When the Test Site facility is ready in 2006, the NNSA plans to ship about 2.6 tons of material containing plutonium from four reactors in New Mexico and about 11 tons of natural and depleted uranium and thorium.
The nuclear materials are expected to be moved from Technical Area 18 at Los Alamos National Laboratory to a Test Site complex built to assemble nuclear weapons.
The Energy Department planned to build the $100 million Device Assembly Facility at the Test Site in the early 1980s -- during the Cold War -- but did not complete it until 1998 after a 1992 nuclear testing moratorium.
Plans to move the nuclear material from New Mexico to the Test Site began during the Clinton administration, but an environmental impact statement was not completed until last year.
Debate brews over voter registration
Legislators and county officials are split over Secretary of State Dean Heller's plan to let voters register on Election Day.
Some officials fear the proposed law would invite fraud and cause extra expenses, while others think it would boost Nevada's dismal voter turnout.
Less than 32 percent of Nevada's eligible voters cast ballots in the November general election, according to the secretary of state's office.
In 2000, 70 percent of the state's registered voters cast ballots in the presidential election, a high-water mark for Nevada. But only three states had worse turnouts than Nevada.
If Heller's plan is accepted by the 2003 Legislature, Nevada would join six states that allow for Election Day registration. The six top the nation in voter turnout, national studies show.
"Anything that gets more voters out is a good idea," Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Under current law, Nevadans must register 30 days before the election, allowing time for election officials to check identities and addresses.
"Major study after major study show that the average citizen makes a decision to vote 10 days before the election," said Fred Lokken, a political science instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno.
"In Nevada, that is already too late. We need to lift barriers. We need to make it easier to vote and be realistic about how and when voters make their decisions to vote," Lokken added.
archive
