Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.
Soldiers honored for work in Iraq
The Nevada National Guard announced Tuesday that two soldiers from Clark County have been awarded the Distinguished Service Medals for their actions during insurgent attacks in Iraq in June 2003.
The medals, the third highest state military award that guardsmen can receive, went to Sgt. Henry Lujan and Spc. Mark Carabajal. They served with the 72nd Military Police Company in Iraq.
Lujan was honored Monday by Gov. Kenny Guinn at the "State of the State" message for his military service.
Both men have been nominated for Purple Hearts for injuries suffered during the attacks but so far those nominations have not been approved.
Lujan, 35, has lived in the Las Vegas Valley for more than 30 years and is a 1987 graduate of Rancho High School. He is a city maintenance worker for Las Vegas and also works part time for Georgio Armani located at the Bellagio.
Carabajal, 23, has been employed as a military policeman at the Army National Guard since 1999. He moved to Las Vegas at the age of 13 and graduated from Green Valley High School in 2000.
Brig. Gen. Randall Sayre presented the medals to the two guardsmen on Monday.
Intersection to get traffic signal
The Clark County Commission on Tuesday agreed to install a traffic signal at Desert Inn Road and Hualapai Way, the site of an intersection now controlled by stop signs.
In September, a 7-year-old girl was killed after a driver allegedly ran a stop sign and collided with another vehicle in which the child was a passenger. The collision resulted in an outcry for traffic signals at the intersection and others where traffic or accident counts justified the full red, amber and green lights.
Clark County Public Works officials have said the new lights can cost $250,000 for each intersection, and replacing all the stop signs with lights would cost $4 million or more. As a stopgap measure, they are investigating putting warning flashers or similar systems on existing stop signs.
They installed a similar warning system on the stop signs at Desert Inn and Hualapai last year after the accident.
Clark County Public Works Traffic Manager John Toth told the commissioners that it would take 60 days for contractor Roadrunner Electric, of North Las Vegas, to install the lights. The work will cost a little less than $234,000, Toth said.
Cause of blaze is investigated
Fire investigators this morning were trying to determine the cause of a fire that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage at a home near Eastern and Harmon avenues this morning.
Firefighters responded to the blaze, in the 4600 block of Saddle Place, about 4:40 a.m. The fire quickly spread and within 30 minutes flames reaching 60 feet high were shooting through the roof of the one-story structure as about 45 firefighters were on scene, said Bob Leinbach, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department.
None of the three people living in the 3,700-square-foot house were injured, he said, although smoke and flames could be seen up to a quarter-mile away.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the fire may have started in a room in the southeast corner of the house, Leinbach said.
Man in custody after standoff
Metro Police took one man for a psychiatric evaluation late Tuesday afternoon after an argument between a father and his 35-year-old son resulted in a standoff with a SWAT team at their home near 18th Street and Sunrise Avenue.
A neighbor had called police shortly after 4 p.m., reporting a shot had been fired, Metro Officer Jose Montoya said. One of the men came out of the home after speaking to the police negotiator, Montoya said.
Police refused to release the names of the father and son and refused to say which one was taken into custody.
Motorcycle rider remains critical
A 22-year-old man remained in critical condition Tuesday at University Medical Center after he lost control of his off-road Yamaha motorcycle at 10:16 a.m. Monday in the southeast Las Vegas Valley, Metro Police said.
Jesse Jarrard of Las Vegas hit the ground on Jacobs Field Street at Mesa Vista Avenue while riding his motorcycle on a paved road, police said.
Police said Jarrard was not wearing a helmet when he wrecked.
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