Columnist Susan Snyder: Children deserve a safe bet

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 | 8:22 a.m.

Show children they are loved this Valentine's week by making sure they're buckled up when they're in the car.

It's National Child Passenger Safety Week, and members of the Clark County Safe Kids Coalition want to make sure parents buckle up their children properly.

Nevada law says children up to 4 years old or who weigh up to 40 pounds must be secured in an approved child safety seat. A new law that went into effect this year says older children must ride in a booster seat until they are 6 years old or weigh up to 60 pounds.

But a seat that isn't properly installed doesn't work. So Safe Kids workers will explain the difference in the two types of seats and check installation for free from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at Krispy Kreme, 7015 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas.

Safety seat checks also will be made from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Babies R Us, 2150 N. Rainbow Blvd. in Las Vegas, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Babies R Us, 510 Stephanie St. in Henderson.

A group of local nurses is celebrating Valentine's Day by hosting a seminar to discuss afflictions of the heart.

And colon. And prostate gland.

Figuring it's easier to love a guy who's alive and well, members of the Southern Nevada Black Nurses Association are hosting a free, three-hour men's health seminar called "Taking Care of All the Men in Your Life."

It's scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the theater of the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

Participants will learn about heart disease, cancers of the prostate and colon, HIV/AIDS infection and male sexuality issues. Testing for diabetes, blood pressure, HIV, bone density, sight, body mass index and anxiety and depression will be available. Refreshments and door prizes also will be given away.

Members of the Nevada Black Police Officer's Association, Community Partners for Better Health and 100 Black Men of Las Vegas are co-sponsors of the event. For information, e-mail snbna @ aol.com.

Want to give your Valentine the opportunity to be a fashion model for a day?

How about giving him or her a Hawaiian vacation or tickets to Celine Dion's show?

Nevada Public Radio is auctioning off those and other high-end goodies to raise money for its two Las Vegas-based stations. And participants don't even have to leave their homes to bid on the prizes, which are posted at www.knpr.org.

Buyers may place a bid for items and keep checking back to see whether they've been out-bid. Or they may enter a maximum amount they want to pay. The computer automatically will raise their bids in increments if someone else enters a higher one until the maximum is reached.

Nevada Public Radio in October split its single station into two -- KNPR 89.5 FM for news and KCNV 89.7 for classical music. The nonprofit stations accept no advertising money; they are entirely supported by donations.

The auction closes Thursday. So get your bids in. You might score a U.S. flag that flew over the nation's Capitol, which was donated by Sen. Harry Reid.