News briefs for Sept. 20, 2004

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

CCSN hirings to be reviewed

Community College of Southern Nevada President Richard Carpenter said he will limit temporary appointments and require some administrative staff members to reapply for their jobs in an effort to control hiring done without a proper search.

Carpenter instituted a hiring freeze at the college while he works with faculty and staff to overhaul CCSN's human resources department, he said, and will have temporary employees come out of a pre-certified hiring pool.

One out of every four faculty members at CCSN was hired to a full-time position without a proper search, Carpenter said, which makes him question whether the community college's emergency hiring system has been abused.

Of 708 faculty members, 217 began work at the college as adjunct professors filling an emergency need under CCSN's "letter of appointment" policy. As these professors continued to teach at the college, they earned full-time positions.

Carpenter said it is common for community colleges to hire adjunct faculty full time, but he also found that several administrative and support staff were also hired through temporary letters of appointment that also gave benefits.

Under the current emergency hire policy, these temporary employees were only supposed to fill the position until a proper search could take place. Instead, many of these employees have stayed on beyond the one-year limit, Carpenter said.

Seven businesses cited in booze sting

Seven Henderson establishments were cited for selling alcoholic beverages to underage buyers Saturday night during an alcohol compliance check conducted throughout the city by Henderson Police.

With the assistance of two young volunteers, Henderson Police conducted the the checks at 70 locations.

Police found 63 of the establishments were in compliance with Henderson Municipal Code, which prohibits selling alcohol to minors. Seven of the locations sold alcoholic beverages to the decoy minors, resulting in citations for those employees, police said.

The compliance rate for the on-site locations throughout the Henderson community is 90 percent, and the owners and employees of those outlets are to be commended for their efforts, police said.

Incline group to pitch city

A group of Incline Village residents is giving up on a plan to split from Washoe County and pursuing a new plan to incorporate as a city instead.

Members of the Independent Incline Committee are taking the new approach after four unsuccessful attempts to become a county over the last 25 years.

"If we become a city, there aren't going to be as many people who are going to be against it," said Bill Horn, general manager of the Incline Village General Improvement District.

Jim Clark, committee chairman, said the group would prefer the north Lake Tahoe community become a county but realizes the plan faces slim odds at the Legislature.

"We can become a city now and a county later," he told the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza. "A city could be the first step" to becoming a county.