IN BRIEF

COMPETE FOR SAME FEDERAL FUNDS

RTC rejects request from monorail company for help

Members of the Clark County Regional Transportation Commission rejected a proposal Thursday to help the struggling Las Vegas Monorail Company secure federal transit grants .

Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Jacob Snow told the board that monorail representatives approached him and asked whether the government agency could help the private company secure the grants. Snow suggested opposing the request, saying that the two agencies compete for the same type of federal funding.

"We wish the monorail well, but we do not want to act as a conduit to access federal grants," Snow said.

Although the board did not take formal action, some members' feelings about the monorail became clear.

The monorail has "ruined an image of how to move people," said Commissioner Chris Guinchigliani.

50 TO BE GONE FOR A YEAR

Henderson Guard members in training for Afghan mission

About 50 Nevada Army National Guard soldiers from a Henderson military police unit will begin training in mid-April before leaving for a yearlong mission in Afghanistan, a Guard spokesman said Thursday.

The soldiers from the 137th Military Police Detachment will perform law-and-order duties in a NATO-controlled region of Afghanistan following training at Fort Bliss, Texas, said the spokesman, Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka.

The Henderson detachment was established in November 2007 . In 2008, the unit served as a police force at Nellis Air Force Base.

AWAITS CONFIRMATION

U.S. Senate panel OKs police lieutenant as U.S. marshal

Las Vegas police Lt. Christopher Hoye was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Thursday to serve as U.S. marshal for Nevada.

Hoye's nomination was sent to the full Senate for final confirmation.

Hoye has been a member of the Metropolitan Police Department since 1988. He would replace U.S. Marshal Gary Orton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006.

BEGINS APRIL 5

LV firefighter to become fire chief in Springville, Utah

A firefighter from Las Vegas soon will be the new fire chief in Springville, Utah.

City officials said Henry Clinton, a battalion chief with the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Department, will begin his new job in Springville on April 5.

Clinton, a California native, has been with the Las Vegas department since 1982. He replaces Phil Whitney, who served as fire chief for 25 years before he died in October.

City officials said 35 people applied for the Springville job.