Criminal complaints against both City Clerk Pamella Malmstrom and City Councilwoman Linda Strickland have been dismissed by the district attorney's and attorney general's offices, respectively, after being forwarded there by the city.

Prosecutors did not find evidence to support either charge.

City Attorney Dave Olsen last month sent both cases to the higher levels after receiving them from the Boulder City Police Department. He said prosecuting a city council member would be a conflict of interest.

Roy Theiss, a city employee, filed the complaint against Strickland Sept. 4, accusing her of violating City Code article 2, section 11, stating that the council is "not to interfere in appointments or removals."

In a letter to Olsen, Chief Deputy Attorney General Hafen said the charter section, which says no council member should give orders to subordinates of the city manager, "may be constitutionally vague and therefore unenforceable."

The incident report filed with the Police Department and an Aug. 28 e-mail Theiss sent to City Manager Vicki Mayes state that two hours before the Aug. 26 City Council meeting, Strickland directed Theiss to play a DVD at the meeting, without consulting Mayes.

The recording Theiss played showed the City Council at a Feb. 12 meeting voting to hire a consultant to study the landfill. Strickland said she asked the DVD be played to remind council members on which measure they voted.

Theiss in the Aug. 28 e-mail to Mayes said he worried his job had been compromised because of the poor quality of the DVD. The incident report states Theiss "was advised to file an information report" after Mayes contacted Olsen. Theiss Oct. 14 said Mayes assured him his job had not been jeopardized.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said he couldn't prosecute Strickland because there wasn't enough information, and he sent the case back to Olsen last month.

"We couldn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.

Strickland said she thought the complaint was irrelevant.

"I don't hold it against him (for filing the complaint)," she said. "If he really thought I violated the charter, he had the right. I have a concern when someone's trying to prosecute me for something that does not apply."

As for the complaint against Malmstrom, filed Sept. 18 by resident Joe Roche, Olsen said he would have dismissed the case himself.

"I wouldn't be able to assert probable cause she committed any kind of crime," he said.

Roche, who owns a Las Vegas recycling company and lives in Boulder City, alleged Malmstrom violated state election law in July by appointing him and several others to ballot committees without the approval of the City Council.

The Clark County Commission in June charged Malmstrom with finding committees to write general election ballot arguments for and against a property tax to benefit the Boulder City Hospital and to have them appointed by the council. She appointed the committees herself.

Roche in his complaint claimed Malmstrom violated Nevada Revised Statutes 295.121, 295.217 and 293.800.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent said he dismissed the case because Malmstrom didn't break a law.

"Because of the statute, there's no duty imposed on that person to do anything," he said. "It doesn't appear there was any intent for her to violate the law."

Malmstrom declined to comment on the matter.

source: lasvegassun.com

A year ago, Boulder City resident Vicki Brown was finishing training for her first triathlon — the 2007 Pumpkinman.

As this year’s Pumpkinman approaches on Oct. 18, she’s more experienced and eager to see how she does.

“This is what I’ve been training for since last year,” Brown said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how I do and how much I’ve improved.”

This is the fifth year the Pumpkinman has taken place in Lake Mead and Boulder City. About 1,500 triathletes are expected to participate.

The triathlon starts at Boulder Beach for the swimming portion. Competitors will then bike along Lake Shore Drive until reaching their turn-around point and then bike into Boulder City to Bicentennial Park. From there, they will run through Boulder City, returning to the finish line at Bicentennial Park. The first groups start at 7 a.m. The event is broken into three distance classifications.

Brown, 34, last year competed in the short distance — a 0.75K-swim, 12.4-mile bike and 3.1-mile run. She finished 102nd in 1 hour, 59:07 minutes and ninth overall in her age group.

“It was such a feeling of accomplishment when I finished,” she said. “It wasn’t like anything I had ever done before.”

She undertook the race to support a friend, Lesley Harvey, who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Some friends were putting together a team to support her and asked me to join them,” Brown said. “As great as it was to finish the race, it was nothing compared to showing our support for Lesley.”

After finishing one triathlon, Brown knew she wanted more and began to train with Frank Lowry’s Multisport team in Henderson.

“She’s put in a lot of work the last year and has really improved as an athlete. I can’t wait to see how she does,” Lowry said.

She competed in two triathlons to prepare for this year’s Pumpkinman. Her first triathlon of 2008 was the Lake Havasu Triathlon on March 22.

She competed in the sprint distance (500-meter swim, 12.4-mile bike and 3.1-mile run) and finished in 1:32.00, which was first in her age group and 70th overall out of nearly 200 competitors.

Her next event came four months later in Flagstaff, Ariz., where she competed in the Mountain Man Triathlon on July 20.

Brown said she wanted to push herself, so she competed in the Olympic distance, which consisted of a 0.93-mile swim, 24.9-mile bike and 6.2-mile run. She finished 163rd of 264 competitors in 3:02.01.

“It was tough to move up to the longer distance, and we were up in the mountains, but it showed I was ready for the challenge,” Brown said.

source: lasvegassun.com

The city’s new airport manager, Kerry Ahearn, met the city’s Airport Advisory Committee Oct. 7, her second day on the job.

Community Development Director Brok Armantrout, who had acted as the manager for four years as part of his job, introduced Ahearn to the committee members during their meeting. The committee last year recommended a full-time airport manager be hired to accommodate the four tour operations and more than 200 private planes stationed there.

Ahearn is a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and a licensed commercial pilot.

“She’s already got two things on me right there,” said Armantrout, who will maintain supervisory authority over the airport as director.

For 10 years, Ahearn worked in operations at Morristown International Airport in New Jersey, and recently worked at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn.

She told the committee that in New Jersey, she handled grant writing, managed tie-downs and leases, and was in charge of security.

In Connecticut, she managed a sound abating program.

She came to Boulder City, she said, because she “missed the general aviation side and was sick of snow.”

Next month, Ahearn will help hire an airport operations technician— another full-time position converted from the contracted airport coordinator position Mike Minshall fills.

Minshall said he plans to apply for the job.

source: lasvegassun.com

Grass surrounding ballfields at Hemenway Park and Veterans Memorial Park will be replaced with trees and shrubbery that consume less water.

The city predicts the change will save $3,400 and 5.7 million gallons of water every year — 55 gallons per square foot.

Work began last month and should finish in mid-December on the $231,380 project, which will remove 104,400 square feet of turf, City Engineer Jim Keane said.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority and Clark County Regional Flood Control District will refund the city $200,159, he said.

The balance will come from residential construction tax revenue.

Keane said grass on slopes outside the fences of fields at both parks was difficult to mow and wasted water, which flowed downhill.

At Veterans Memorial Park, trees and shrubs will cover half of the area the lawn did, and landscape gravel will fill the rest.

At Hemenway Park, the area to be converted is a storm water detention basin, so half of new look will be trees and shrubs and the other half will be larger rocks.

The city last month replaced a smaller grassy area at the Public Works shops on Railroad Avenue, and a year and a half ago converted lawns at ABC Park to desert landscape.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or cassie.tomlin@hbcpub.com.

Source: lasvegassun.com

One woman died and a man was critically injured Oct. 1, when their truck veered off U.S. 93 at Pacifica Way.

The driver, 50-year-old Theresa Lynn Bettler, of Pahrump, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 51-year-old passenger was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center trauma.

The 1995 Toyota pickup heading southbound on U.S. 93 swerved off the road and rolled just after 6 p.m. No other vehicles were involved, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Kevin Honea said.

Bettler was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle, he said.

About 6:45 p.m., traffic both ways was halted for 20 minutes while the helicopter landed on the highway, Boulder City Police Chief Thomas Finn said

He said the truck was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed.

A cat was badly injured when it was ejected from the car and was euthanized by Boulder City Animal Control, Finn said.

source: lasvegassun.com