News briefs for March 5, 2003

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

Man, 66, killed while jaywalking

A Las Vegas man who tried to cross a street apparently against a red light and outside the crosswalk was struck and killed by a pickup truck Tuesday night, Metro Police said.

Harry Dugard, 66, died at University Medical Center from injuries sustained in the accident shortly after 10 p.m. at Decatur Boulevard and Pennwood Avenue.

He was the 12th pedestrian fatality so far this year.

"This is typical for these type of accidents -- someone crossing against a red light in the dark of night," Metro Traffic Lt. Carlos Cordeiro said.

Witnesses said he was just outside the marked pedestrian crosswalk and was crossing against a red traffic signal. Witnesses told police that the truck tried to avoid Dugan.

Police investigators said the cause of the accident was pedestrian jaywalking, but the investigation is continuing.

Contract approved for landfill cap

Plans to turn the old Henderson landfill into a municipal golf course took another step forward Tuesday.

The City Council voted 4-0 to pay CH2M Hill $216,722 to design a cap for the landfill northwest of Lake Mead Parkway and Olsen Street, which was closed in 1975. Councilman Andy Hafen was absent from the Tuesday council meeting.

Brenda Pohlmann, the city environmental program manager, said it could take up to two years to design a cap for the old landfill. A cap could be made out of clay or plastics or some combination of materials, she said.

Once the cap is designed the city will seek bids on constructing the cap, Andy Urban, an assistant city attorney, said.

Building the cap could take another two years and cost about $12 million, he said.

Rain expected to take a holiday

Southern Nevada's brief bout of rain is gone.

Spotty showers dropped a trace of rain on the Las Vegas Valley Tuesday night, but the cooler and rainy weather scooted east of Southern Nevada after midnight.

There was no measurable rain recorded at McCarran International Airport.

After a high of 56 degrees on Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicts daytime temps could reach 75 degrees by Sunday. And there is no more rain in for forecast for up to a week.

Who's been counting sheep?

Due to a mix-up by the government, some Clark County residents received forms telling them to declare the number of cattle and sheep they own and to compute the tax they owed on them.

Jenny Bartlett of the state Agricultural Department said the names of people who were mistakenly on the list would be removed.

Bill Smith of Boulder City was one of those who received the form in error.

"I do not and have never had any livestock," Smith said.

Reserve Boulevard in Henderson

will be renamed Fiesta Henderson Boulevard. The road is an entrance to the Fiesta-Henderson hotel. The City Council voted 4-0 on Tuesday for the name change.