Soldier injured in Afghanistan part of service-oriented family

It's time for a salute and a prayer.

Army Pfc. Blaine Sullivan of Las Vegas was critically wounded in fighting in Afghanistan just before Thanksgiving, family members report.

The former Cimarron Memorial High student and athlete, who joined the Army after high school and is part of the 101st Airborne Division, was injured by an improvised explosive device. His right leg had to be amputated above the knee.

The bomb detonated during battle as Sullivan was attempting to assist a wounded soldier, family members say.

Less than a month after that explosion, Sullivan's condition continues to improve at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The tough young man has already begun physical therapy.

Sullivan comes from a service-oriented family. He's the grandson of John Sullivan, the former Metro police deputy chief.

WHITNEY WONDER: If you think the age of miracles has passed, take a look at the work Principal Sherrie Gahn is doing at Whitney Elementary in one of the poorest areas of the Las Vegas Valley. Most of the school's 600 students are homeless or near-homeless, and all live well below the poverty line.

For years now, Gahn has gathered help from throughout Southern Nevada for the children, and Christmas is an especially important time at Whitney.

Business owners Bobby and Sandy Ellis and the crew at Findlay Acura continue to take a personal interest in Whitney. They distributed clothing from sneakers to sweat shirts and also delivered turkeys for each family.

DEALERSHIP DUST-UP: At Centennial Hills, there's a fight brewing between longtime Courtesy auto dealership owner Joe Scala and City Councilman Steve Ross.

The area has been traditionally -- but not exclusively -- reserved for new-car dealerships. Scala has been scaling back his Southern Nevada operation and wants to keep open a used-car dealership.

Scala's permit expires on Christmas Eve, and Ross campaign manager Steve Redlinger says the mayoral candidate won't agree to an extension unless other area dealers sign off on the idea.

Yeah, that's likely to happen.

"Steve Ross has done everything in his power to help keep that dealership open for the past 18 months," Redlinger says. "Mr. Scala knew the lifting of town board standards was temporary, and he hasn't done what he needs to do to conform with local standards."

Without help, Scala says, he will be forced to lay off 30 employees.

"This was done for the dealership next door," Scala argues. "It was granted for an entire year. Why their employees are more important than our employees I will never understand. This is Christmas. If these people lose their jobs, there are no jobs they can go to. This is heartless. No one but a bureaucrat would ever be able to understand this kind of thinking."

Where's a City Hall Santa when you need him?

WOMMER'S LAW: News this week that former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Wommer was indicted on felony structuring charges might surprise some, but not all, of his former colleagues in the federal prosecutor's office. They can't wait to hear him try to plead ignorance of the statute he surely has memorized.

Wommer is accused of depositing $129,200 in cash in a local bank account in increments under $10,000 between June 30 and July 15 to avoid filing Currency Transaction Reports.

What was the source of the money?

ON THE BOULEVARD: The Boulevard tips its cap and bids a fond farewell to "Rapid Robert" Feller, the Cleveland Indians great who made scores of friends and a new generation of fans during his visits to Cashman Field. The Hall-of-Fame pitcher was 92.

BOULEVARD II: Dick Taylor, the grand old man of Mount Charleston, knows more about that special place than anyone. His collections of stories about the mountain continue to enlighten after more than two decades. He's also one of the great, unsung Las Vegas historians.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.