News briefs for August 17, 2005

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

Students' scores improve slightly

Performance by Clark County students on the ACT college admissions exam improved slightly in 2005, a new report being released today shows.

The average composite score for Clark County students was 21.2 this year, up from 21 in 2004, according to the American College Testing Program, which administers the national exam.

Clark County's average ACT score has hovered around 21 since 1989, reaching a high of 21.4 from 1997 to 1999 and a low of 20.8 in 1990.

Nevada students also saw their scores improve overall, to 21.5 this year up from 21.2 in 2004. The national average ACT score was 20.9 for a second consecutive year.

A perfect score on the exam, which evaluates student knowledge of English, reading, math and science, is 36. In 2005 nearly 1.2 million students nationwide took the exam with 32 perfect scores recorded, including Coronado High School junior Wen Hui Tan of Henderson.

New traffic lights to be activated

Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross and Las Vegas traffic crews will flip a switch to turn on new traffic signals at Buffalo Drive and Elkhorn Road and Buffalo and Farm Road at 9 a.m. Monday.

The new traffic lights will help handle increasing traffic in Centennial Hills in the northwestern part of Las Vegas. About 20,000 vehicles a day travel along the section of Buffalo.

City funds paid for the traffic lights and they were installed by city Public Works Department traffic engineers.

Public opinion sought on hire

The Clark County School Board is asking the public for opinions as to the qualities and characteristics the next superintendent should have.

More than 1,100 people have completed an online survey registering their opinions and dozens more have filled out paper versions, district officials said. The surveys are available in both Spanish and English.

So far many respondents have cited strong communication and collaboration skills as important qualities for the next superintendent to possess, district officials said.

To participate online go to www.ccsd.net and click on the link for the Superintendent Search and Community Survey. Paper versions are available at the CCSD region centers and the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas.

Search for man called off at lake

The San Bernardino County, Calif., Sheriff's Department dive team stopped its underwater search for a 54-year-old man who disappeared at 6:45 p.m. Sunday on a boating trip on Lake Havasu.

Kevin Kent Heil of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was with a friend and both left their boat to dip into the water, a sheriff's department statement said. The vessel drifted away.

A passing boat picked up the woman with Heil, but he could not be found.

A surface search was completed by Mohave County Sheriff's Department, Lake Havasu Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, but Heil was not found and is presumed to have drowned.

Monday and Tuesday police dive teams searched underwater. Heil still have not been located. A sonar device was used to help divers search a 3,000-square-foot area in one location. The sonar scanned a total of 88 sites on the lake.

The underwater search was suspended late Tuesday, but a surface search will continue, a sheriff's department statement said.

Woman found dead on highway

A woman was found dead this morning on State Route 160 about a mile past Mountain Spring Road, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The woman's injuries appeared to have been caused by a vehicle, but the authorities were still investigating and had little information, Trooper Robert Honea said.

He said the highway patrol received a report of a woman being struck by a vehicle at around around 7 a.m.

UMC, county offices lose phone service

A power surge this morning knocked out the phone systems at University Medical Center and several Clark County offices, including the coroner's office and family services, according to Sprint Nevada.

Phone service was expected to be restored to UMC and the county offices by mid-afternoon today, said Vicki Soares, spokeswoman for Sprint Nevada.

She said a power surge at 3:45 a.m. knocked out some equipment, and Sprint was replacing the equipment. Sprint is attempting to identify the cause of the power surge, she said.

Cheryl Persinger, spokeswoman for UMC, said only two outpatient buildings were affected and no emergency services were affected.

Suspect escapes Arizona hospital

A murder suspect being held at Arizona's state mental hospital escaped Tuesday night.

James Edward Bates, 34, is extremely dangerous and was wanted in Nevada on numerous felony charges including murder and robbery, said Phoenix police spokesman Detective Tony Morales.

Bates escaped from the Arizona State Hospital near downtown Phoenix. He scaled numerous razor wire-topped fences.

Morales said Bates -- described as white, 6-feet tall with a shaved head and several tattoos -- was armed and appears to have been planning his escape for some time.

Two men shot in or near club

Two men were shot this morning in or in front of a nightclub on Convention Center Drive at Paradise Road, Metro Police said.

The men were shot in or just outside The Beach at 365 Convention Center Drive at 3:20 a.m., police said.

One man was shot in the arm and another was shot in the leg. The suspect was still at large this morning, Metro said.

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