North Las Vegas Neighborhood News

city closures planned
through new year

Several North Las Vegas facilities and services are scheduled to be closed beginning Friday and reopen Jan. 3.

The closures are due to the holidays and mandatory furloughs. The furloughs are part of the Teamsters Local 14 agreement with city officials to avoid layoffs and maintain a balanced budget.

Police and fire emergency services will operate normally during the furlough week. Safekey Holiday Day Camp also will continue.

For more information, visit cityof
northlasvegas.com.

City closures

n Most services at City Hall, 2250 Las Vegas Blvd. North

n Neighborhood Recreation Center, 1638 N. Bruce St. (open Saturday)

n Silver Mesa Recreation Center, 4025 Allen Lane (open Saturday)

n North Las Vegas Library, 2300 Civic Center Drive (open Friday)

n Aliante Library, 2400 Deer Springs Way (open Friday and Saturday)

n Alexander Library, 1755 W. Alexander Road (open Saturday)

Open facilities

Utilities Payments at City Hall and 2928 Fort Sumter Drive, 8 a.m. to
5:45 p.m. Dec. 27 through 29

(Fort Sumter location also will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 30)

Municipal court

7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 27 through Thursday, Dec. 29, 2332 Las Vegas Blvd. North

Municipal Golf Course

Open normal business hours (open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday), 324 E. Brooks St.

Aliante Golf Club

Open normal business hours (closed Sunday), 3100 Elkhorn Road

Libraries

All three North Las Vegas Library District locations will be closed Sunday through Jan. 3.

Go green and recycle your
Christmas tree this season

Recycle your Christmas tree and help create mulch used to beautify and sustain local public gardens and parks.

There are 20 drop sites around the valley accepting trees free of charge Monday through Jan. 15.

North Las Vegas donation sites include: Aviary Park, 6650 Aviary Way; Seastrand Park, 6330 Camino Eldorado; and Craig Ranch Golf Course, 628 W. Craig Road.

Donations are to be free of non-organic objects such as lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments and nails. Flocked trees cannot be recycled.

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension works with other community organizations to host the recycling event.

The trees' organic material is chipped into mulch, which helps conserve soil moisture and keeps plants healthy. Last year, Southern Nevada residents recycled more than 15,000 trees, which created 130 tons of mulch for landscaping projects at local parks.

For a complete list of donation sites, visit cdsn.org. For more information, visit unce.unr.edu.

NINE-FOOT-TALL MENORAH LIGHTING PLANNED

Residents and local businesses donated a 9-foot-tall Hanukkah menorah to the Aliante Master Association for this year's celebration. The menorah will be set up on Aliante community property just east of the North Las Vegas Fire Station on Elkhorn Road, Drive, just west of Aliante Parkway.

The first lighting ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m. today. Each night afterward, local members of the Jewish community are welcome to light another light for each of the eight days of Hanukkah.

For more information, call Mark Pallans at 657-0456.

Wednesday's CITY COUNCIL MEETING CANCELED

The North Las Vegas City Council meeting planned for Wednesday has been canceled.

Disney on ice tickets offered
for book donations

The North Las Vegas Library District is offering residents a chance to give and receive this holiday season.

Through Jan. 9, those who donate new and gently used children's books to the district will receive a ticket to "Disney On Ice" presents Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3," scheduled to from Jan. 12-15 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

There is a limit of one ticket per family, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Donations are needed in English and Spanish.

The books can be dropped off during regular library hours at all three library locations: 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the North Las Vegas Library, 2300 Civic Center Drive; 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way; and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Alexander Library, 1755 W. Alexander Road.

Drop off books at the circulation desk. For more information, visit nlvld.org.

Transit system hours
to change over holidays

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is to operate Saturday or Sunday transit system schedule on holidays, including Christmas and New Year's Day, due to traditionally lower ridership and less traffic on those days.

The commission enacts Sunday schedules for holidays with the lowest ridership and Saturday schedules for holidays with slightly higher ridership.

Schedules for all commission transit routes are available on at rtcsouthernnevada.com or in the commission's Transit Guide.

For more information, call 228-7433.

Martin L. King Day, Jan. 16, and Presidents' Day, Feb. 20, will also be observed on the adjusted schedules.

MCCALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WINS
ANTI-BULLYING AWARD

McCall Elementary School recently was named the No Place for Hate School of the Year by the Anti-Defamation League's Las Vegas office.

McCall, 800 Carey Ave., North Las Vegas, and 31 other schools partnered with the Anti-Defamation League this school year to promote anti-bullying. The program has reached more than 160 schools in the past seven years in Clark County School District.

McCall reported a 33 percent decrease in discipline referrals compared to last year, and parent-teacher conference attendance was at 100 percent. The No Place for Hate program is aimed at encouraging discussions about respect in every classroom, kindness awards and a resolution of respect signed by each student.

For more information, visit noplaceforhate.com.

NEW VIDEO PUTS FACES TO AIDS AWARENESS

In recognition of World AIDS Day, the Southern Nevada Health District has created a video series, "Facing AIDS," available at youtube.com/snhealthdistrict.

Meet Ivan, Lane, Maryanne and Tracy, the "faces" behind the disease. They share their stories to prevent just one infection and encourage others to get tested.

More than 3,000 Southern Nevadans are living with HIV, and there are more than 2,800 AIDS cases locally. According to a study by UNAIDS, a United Nations program, about 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV.

For more information, call the health district at 759-0702.

Bad bowlers, beer lovers sought
for league

Bowling league Bad Bowlers & Beer is accepting teams for its winter session at Texas Star Lanes at Texas Station, 2101 Texas Star Lane.

Anyone 21 or older is welcome to sign up for the league at a cost of $14 per week, which includes three games and a pitcher of beer for a team of four.

The next session begins Jan. 11, and sign-ups are under way. The league will run through April.

For more information, visit texasstation.com or call 631-1000.

WEAR YOUR RESPECT FOR RED ROCK

Friends of Red Rock Canyon offers limited edition clothing, some with a distinctive howling coyote logo. The sweatshirt has a map of the Red Rock Canyon trails so you'll never be lost again. It's priced at $24 (or $20.40 for Friends members).

There also is a short-sleeved blue denim shirt for warmer weather, priced at $25 ($21.25 for members).

To order, call 515-5360 Tuesday through Friday (closed Christmas Day).

GO ONLINE TO REGISTER FOR HOSPITAL VISIT

People can now preregister online through the Sunrise Health hospital websites for upcoming procedures. This includes patients who already have a procedure scheduled, expectant women needing to preregister for their baby's delivery and anyone requesting a screening mammogram appointment.

By improving the preregistration process in this way, patients now have greater flexibility in the preregistration process.

To preregister online, or to request a mammogram appointment, patients can visit the website of the hospital involved -- sunrisehospital.com, mountainview-hospital.com, southernhillshospital.com or sunrisechildrenshospital.com.

Pet hospital to collect items
for pet haven

During December, Paradise Pet Hospital, 1060 E. Flamingo Road, will be collecting items for Noah's Animal House, a nonprofit division of the Shade Tree shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence. Donations can be dropped off at the hospital throughout the month during normal business hours, which are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The items will be taken to Noah's Animal House the first week in January to start the new year off for the animals of battered women and children. Needed items include: chemical sprayers, paper towels, canned cat and dog food, cat litter, 13-gallon trash bags, cat and dog treats/toys, puppy training pads, doggie pick-up bags, toilet paper and Kleenex, gift cards to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, PetSmart or Petco.

AREA ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVE GRANTS

The CarMax Foundation awarded $12,500 in grants to Las Vegas organizations to help local youths as part of the foundation's Regional Giving Program.

The Las Vegas-area grant recipients include: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, $5,000; Street Teens, $5,000; and Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada, $2,500 for Troop 83's Light Up the Night program, which is aimed at battling cancer.

More than $2.9 million has been donated to local nonprofit organizations across the United States through this program since it was started in 2007.

For more information, visit carmaxcares.com.

VOTES NEEDED FOR READER'S DIGEST GRANTS

Help North Las Vegas compete for a Reader's Digest grant of up to $50,000 by voting in the We Hear You America campaign.

Express how the grant will make the city better by going to wehearyouamerica.readersdigest.com/ and searching for North Las Vegas.

Winners will be announced in 2012.

Henderson and Las Vegas are also in the running for the grant funds.

PRUNING SERIES PLANNED AT ORCHARDS

Gardeners looking to sharpen their pruning skills are welcome to a series of weekly classes offered at the University of Nevada's Cooperative Extension orchard.

Classes will be given every hour from 9 a.m. to noon on these days:

n Jan. 7, Pruning Apples, Pears and Quince

n Jan. 14, Fertilizing Fruit Trees and Pest Control

n Jan. 21, Pruning Figs, Pomegranates and Persimmons

n Jan. 28, Pruning Almonds and Pistachios

A $5 donation to the orchard for each class is being solicited to help support educational research, outreach and demonstrations. The orchard lost its monetary support from the university this year.

No reservation is needed.

The UNCE orchard is 100 yards east of the intersection of Decatur Boulevard and Horse Drive.

For more information, contact Bob Morris at extremehort@aol.com or call the orchard at 257-5532 and leave a message for a volunteer.

Specialty gift baskets to benefit
Three Square Food Bank

Double holiday giving with a Jadon Foods gift basket.

The North Las Vegas-based gluten-free bakery is donating all proceeds from its specialty baskets to Three Square food bank through December.

The baskets include the bakery's signature cookies and snacks for people and pets as well as Tea-rrific brand teas. One Park Place Enterprises partners with Jadon Foods to create the baskets.

Jadon Foods also caters to customers with diabetic and dairy-free dietary restrictions.

For more information, visit jadonfoods.com or threesquare.org.

HELP OF SOUTHERN NEVADA LAUNCHES HOLIDAY PROGRAMS

HELP of Southern Nevada, 1640 E. Flamingo Road, is launching three of its annual programs this holiday season.

Donations to HELP's Thanksgiving program provides a holiday meal for a family of four.

The group's Adopt-a-Family program allows people to assist needy families in giving them clothing and toys for the holidays.

The Holiday Assistance/Toy Drive benefits more than 16,000 families with its donations.

To donate, volunteer or for more information, call Lisa Laudadio at 369-4357, ext. 1246, or visit helpsonv.org.

Learn to sell local produce and meat during workshops

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 8050 Paradise Road, plans to launch a Beginning Farmers & Ranchers program in 2012 with workshops on field crops, processing and selling locally grown meat products and becoming a produce farmer.

Each workshop is two days long and costs $50, which includes two lunches and snacks.

The program is scheduled to run from March to September 2012. For more information, call Staci Emm at 775-945-3444 or visit unce.unr.edu.