News briefs for June 16, 2004

Wednesday, June 16, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

Officials search for mountain lion

Metro Police and wildlife officials teamed up on a hunt for a 3-foot-long mountain lion that was spotted sitting on top of a cinder block wall behind a shopping center at Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road about 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Security guard Jonathan Afalla called for help after two people reported seeing the tawny animal perched on the wall.

"I'd guess it was a year or two old," Afalla said. He said the observers told him it was larger than a house cat.

The cougar was not found at the shopping center or in a housing development to the north of the wall after an hourlong search.

A dry wash cuts under Pebble and authorities suspected the mountain lion might have arrived at the shopping center by cutting through the culvert.

Police, Nevada Division of Wildlife officials and a Metro helicopter joined in the hunt.

Woman, 65, dies after hit by car

Metro Police this morning were still looking for a driver whose vehicle struck and killed a 65-year-old Las Vegas woman Tuesday morning.

Dolores Moose had just gotten off a bus after leaving her job downtown about 2 a.m. Tuesday when she was struck by a car while crossing Lake Mead Boulevard, police said. Officers determined she had been lying there several hours before passersby called police, Metro Sgt. Frank Weigand said.

Moose was taken to University Medical Center, where she later died.

Detectives this morning had yet to pin down a description of the driver, Weigand said.

Anyone with information about the accident can contact the Metro Traffic Detective Corey Moon at 229-3538.

Moran named as pro tem judge

John T. Moran III, a Las Vegas attorney and grandson of a former sheriff, was appointed a pro tem judge for Henderson Municipal Court on Tuesday.

Moran said he has political aspirations and hopes this appointment to fill in for judges when they are sick or on vacation will lead to elected office.

Moran, 32, said he will probably run for a seat on the District Court bench in the future.

The Henderson City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday to appoint Moran to the position. Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers did not attend the meeting.

Moran's grandfather, John Moran, was Clark County sheriff from 1982 to 1994. The former sheriff died in 1998. John Moran Jr. is a prominent Las Vegas attorney.

Replacing turf in parks OK'd

The Henderson City Council approved a measure Tuesday that would allow the Parks and Recreation Department to speed up a project to replace turf with drought resistant landscaping in city parks.

Reacting to the current drought, the council agreed to foot the $425,000 bill for removing 62 acres of turf and for completing a demonstration garden at Acacia Park in south central Henderson.

The garden would offer residents a model on how to tend to their own yards without using too much water, Kurt Segler, the director of utility services for Henderson, said.

According to Segler, the city already had budgeted for the project, but now hoped to complete it in 12 months instead of 12 years.

"We expect this to save 100 million gallons of water a year," Segler said.

Guard unit put on deployment alert

A Las Vegas-based Army National Guard unit has been put on alert for possible deployment in the war on terrorism.

About 450 soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry, could be mobilized in the next 18 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Noble Eagle, a National Guard spokesman said.

The unit is based at the National Guard Armory near Nellis Air Force Base and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Its main function is to drive M1A1 Abrams tanks.

Another Nevada National Guard unit, the Henderson-based 1864th Transportation Co., could send about 100 to either Iraq or Afghanistan as early as this fall.

Woman injured in motorcycle crash

A woman was in critical condition Tuesday night after she lost control of her motorcycle and crashed alongside a curb on Paseo Verde Parkway near St. Rose Parkway.

The woman landed face down and was not breathing at one point after police arrived, according to Lt. James Green of the Henderson Police Department.

The woman was flown to University Medical Center around 7:45 p.m., he said.

No other vehicles were involved in the collision, he said. Police did not know what caused the woman to lose control of the motorcycle.