Neighbors say group home poses problems

By Tony Cook

Monday, Feb. 4, 2008 | 5:44 p.m.

Imagine you are at work when one of your two daughters calls to say that a

strange woman is inside the house, baking brownies in the kitchen.

Or imagine walking out to your driveway to discover that an unfamiliar

elderly woman has locked herself inside your car and won't come out.

Or pretend your child attends a school that a registered sex offender keeps

entering in search of pocket change.

The neighbors of Eagle Ridge Manor group home say these scenarios are a

daily reality.

Acting on such concerns, Clark County commissioners will decide

Tuesday whether to file a formal complaint against the home for the elderly

and mentally ill.

Neighbors aren't the only ones taking issue with the home, located in the middle of a

residential neighborhood in the northwest part of the valley, near Brooks Street and Cheyenne Avenue.

State officials found deficiencies in medication management during a visit

to the home last year and Metro police responded to the property eight times

in the first six months of 2007.

The home's manager, Alegria de Venecia, said neighbors are overreacting.

Since appearing before a county hearing officer in September, de Venecia

said she has not received any complaints from the neighbors. She said the

sex offender has left the facility and that many of the neighbors'

accusations are unsubstantiated.