IN BRIEF

INCIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION

Toddlers hospitalized after falling into backyard pool

Two toddlers were taken to a hospital on Friday after falling into a backyard pool near Rancho Drive and U.S. Highway 95.

The children, who are 11/2 and 21/2 years old, fell into a pool on West Mesquite Avenue about 2 p.m., Las Vegas police Lt. Ted Snodgrass said.

They were in the pool for about three to five minutes, Snodgrass said. The younger child was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The older child also was hospitalized but is expected to recover, he said.

The circumstances surrounding how they fell into the pool remain under investigation.

Snodgrass said there was a party at the house with 15 to 20 people, about half of whom were children.

STRUCK BY SEMI-TRAILER TRUCK

Arizona man who died in bicycle accident is identified

Authorities have released the name of a Bullhead City, Ariz., man who was fatally injured Wednesday in a collision involving a semi-trailer truck and a bicycle.

The Department of Public Safety reported that Robert Aho, 50, was trying to cross U.S. Highway 95 near Joy Lane when his bicycle was struck by the big rig, which was traveling north. He was taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he died about 10 p.m., a little more than two hours after the accident.

The truck driver, Ernesto Delgado, 55, of Barstow, Calif., was not injured.

MOVED FROM MINDEN TO GARDNERVILLE

Restaurant owner receives anonymous gift to erect sign

The owner of a downtown Gardnerville sandwich shop is calling a gift of $700 found in an envelope slipped under her door the best Christmas gift ever.

Cafe Girasole owner Leslie Dupont said an anonymous letter she received with the money on Dec. 18 praised her hard work in opening the restaurant and urged her to use the money to erect a storefront sign.

Dupont said she opened four days earlier and had run out of cash to put up a sign before the envelope arrived.

She said the whole thing brought her to tears.

Dupont operated her sandwich, soup and salad restaurant for two years in Minden in a smaller, less visible location.

She said she now hopes to add some new menu items.