IN BRIEF

ROADS COALITION

Woodbury named to highway users board

The longest-serving Clark County commissioner, who has a beltway named after him, has joined a coalition of highway users.

Bruce Woodbury, who has served almost 28 years on the commission, has joined the Nevada Highway Users Coalition's board of directors. He will leave office in January.

Formed in 2007, the coalition is made up of citizens, business leaders, labor unions, elected officials and community groups seeking to educate the public about problems facing the state's transportation system.

"We in the Las Vegas valley and throughout Nevada have come to understand that maintaining a livable community with a growing sustainable economy and a healthy environment is closely tied to an efficient transportation system," Woodbury said in a written statement.

Traffic congestion is high on Woodbury's list of problems to tackle.

Congestion costs area residents an estimated $380 million yearly, or about $279 per capita, Woodbury said. Also, the region's travel time index is the 10th worst in the country, putting it on par with New York City, he said.

He estimates that spending $500 million to improve the state's roads would create more than 16,000 jobs.

Woodbury has served on the Regional Transportation Commission. He was instrumental in developing the Las Vegas Beltway, which was named after him.

ANATOMICAL ISSUES

Park officials move statue after complaints

A Utah state park on Thursday moved a statue of a humpbacked flute player over objections the figure was offensive because it is anatomically correct.

Edge of the Cedars State Park moved the sticklike figure from the front to the back of a museum where it can't been seen from the street, said park manager Teri Paul.

The sculpture by artist Joe Pachak has welcomed visitors to the park for 19 years, yet raised objections only recently from a group of Blanding's more conservative residents who were concerned that the figure has male anatomy, she said.

"There are people in the community who felt the opposite way," Paul said. "I believe we have served everyone the best we possibly can. It's not right in the front of the museum on the street where everyone can see it."

Blanding resident Harold Lyman told The Salt Lake Tribune that he supported moving the statue. Lyman objected to the phallic symbol, saying that because it isn't always depicted on rock art it's not an essential part of the image.

The flute player is a Hopi clan symbol that's often confused with the ancient fertility god Kokopelli.