News briefs for May 9, 2003

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

Wind clocked as high as 64 mph

Although McCarran International Airport recorded only a 38 mph wind gust on Thursday, other areas of Southern Nevada felt a stronger sting of a late, cold storm that moved east Thursday night.

North Las Vegas Airport registered gusts of 41 mph and Boulder City clocked a 64-mph gust Thursday.

The National Weather Service canceled a high wind advisory at 10 p.m. Thursday, but breezy conditions were expected to linger through today and tonight, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, despite a chilly spring, the area has not set any records, though today could set a record for the lowest high. That record, set in 1953, is 70 degrees, but meteorolist Charlie Schlott said, "We could have a shot at it today."

Odor forces school evacuation

A foul odor from an unknown source caused the evacuation of a small Las Vegas private school Thursday morning, and investigators say they believe the source may have been a nearby gas line.

The American Heritage School, which rents space from a church in the 4700 block of South Lamb Boulevard, called for help about 10 a.m. Thursday, said Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Las Vegas Fire Department.

Of the school's 11 teachers and 80 students, only a handful described feeling light-headed or nauseated from the smell. All were examined at the scene and did not require further medical attention, Leinbach said.

A hazardous materials team inspected the site and found no sign of any contaminants, Leinbach said.

Inspectors from Southwest Gas are investigating a possible link between the odor and work being done on a nearby line, Leinbach said.

Hughes, BLM make Red Rock exchange

A land exchange adding 1,100 acres to Red Rock Canyon along the western and northern edges of the Summerlin community has been completed between the Howard Hughes Corp. and the Bureau of Land Management.

The Hughes Corp. received roughly 990 acres of investment land, primarily along Summerlin's southwestern border, the Rouse Co. of Columbia, Md., said. Hughes Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rouse.

The exchange was made possible by a bill approved last year. The measure protects 444,000 acres in 18 places in Clark County as wilderness, while freeing 233,000 acres for public use or possible development.