News briefs for December 16, 2004

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

Arrest made in misuse of inmates

Two North Las Vegas city employees were arrested Tuesday night for having inmates clean buildings for a friend's janitorial business, police said.

Glenn McKinnon, 42, and Rene Moran, 31, are each charged with theft by a public officer and theft in connection with the operation, which police believe began in September.

Hilda Flores, 24, owner of Durango Janitorial Services, was charged with theft.

Officer Sean Walker, North Las Vegas Police spokesman, said McKinnon and Flores allegedly had a relationship, but the nature of it is not clear.

McKinnon and Moran are accused of having inmate work crews clean four city buildings for which Flores had contracts for janitorial services.

McKinnon and Moran did not have permission to have the work crews clean the buildings, Walker said.

Police began investigating in November.

Walker refused to say how much the contracts are worth because, he said, the city plans to put them up for bid.

Boy, 12, killed by taxicab

A cab struck and killed a 12-year-old boy who rode his bicycle into the path of the taxi Wednesday night, Metro Police said.

Police said the boy, whose name was not released, was crossing Jones Boulevard near Tropicana Avenue and failed to yield the right-of-way to a 2002 Mercury driven by Wayne Sowers, 43 of Las Vegas. The bike and the rider were thrown forward and came to rest in a northbound traffic lane.

The boy was taken to University Medical Center, where he later died.

The collision was under investigation this morning by Metro's Accident Investigation Detail but early evidence and witness statements indicate the boy was at fault. Sowers was not charged with a crime or cited in connection with the incident.

It was the 137th fatal traffic collision in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

Teen arrested in cab holdup

Investigators from the Nevada Taxicab Authority on Wednesday arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with a robbery earlier this week.

The teen allegedly robbed the cabdriver at gunpoint on Tuesday near Tropicana Avenue and Torrey Pines Drive in southwest Las Vegas. A later investigation pointed to the juvenile, who was arrested Wednesday and remains at the Clark County Detention Center facing charges of robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.

The robbery was the 63rd of its kind in the state this year.

Trauma centers prompt law change

The state Health Board on Monday granted an exception to state law that will allow the Clark County Health District to draw ambulance boundaries for planned trauma centers, board spokeswoman Martha Framsted said.

Sunrise Hospital hopes to begin accepting seriously injured patients in January, with the eventual goal of becoming a Level I trauma center. Currently, University Medical Center has the Las Vegas Valley's only Level I center.

State law requires ambulances to take injured patients to a trauma center if there is one within 30 minutes' drive, but the statutes do not provide for the situation of two centers within 30 minutes of each other.

St. Rose Dominican Hospital also hopes to offer trauma services at its Siena campus, but at a lower level, Level III. St. Rose submitted a supplementary application to the state on Friday, hospital spokesman Andy North said.

Once new trauma centers are prepared to open, county emergency services managers will divide the county into "catchment areas" that dictate which victims go where.

Canyon access limited near river

As construction continues on the Hoover Dam bypass project, the National Park Service has blocked all land-based access to Goldstrike Canyon and the hot springs.

Motor vehicles, hikers and others using the area will be restricted until at least May 30, 2005, Park Service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

The access to the canyon is off U.S. 93 at mile marker 1.5, she said.

Water-based craft from the Colorado River in Black Canyon are still available for those wishing to visit the hot springs.

Impact statement released on wash

The Bureau of Land Management released its final environmental impact statement for the Upper Las Vegas Wash on Wednesday, selecting conservation for 5,000 acres of sensitive lands with plants, paleontological fossils and cultural resources.

From dating seashells, scientists believe fossils may offer a record of the environment in the area from 190,000 years ago.

The bureau prefers to take a year and plan for the protection of the area through a Conservation Transfer Alternative.

The public has 30 days to comment on the proposal through Jan. 18, 2005.

The area contains the Las Vegas bearpoppy and the Las Vegas buckwheat, plants found in few spots across the Las Vegas Valley.

There are also 200 sites where mammoth fossil bones have been discovered, as well as more than 200 sites where camels and small horses have been found.

Comments on the final environmental impact statement may be submitted by e-mail to: lvblmeis@pbsj.com or by mail to BLM Land Disposal EIS, PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle, Suite 100, Henderson, NV 89074.

To appeal BLM's decision, specific procedures must be followed. The procedures are described in the cover letter of the final EIS and on the Web site: www.nv.blm.gov/lviseis or at the BLM Las Vegas Field Office at 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive.