Today is Las Vegas' birthday – we are 103-years-old and never looked better. And this weekend, you have an opportunity to celebrate our city's birthday and rich heritage by coming out for the Helldorado Parade Saturday night in Downtown Las Vegas.

At his press conference Thursday, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman proclaimed this week Helldorado week.

“We ask all of our citizens to celebrate our heritage by taking place in this wonderful series of events taking place,” he said.

Helldorado Days began back in 1935 as a way to get folks interested in staying in our community — and it apparently worked.

Jim Buell, assistant chairman of Helldorado Days said, “At one time, the Queens Parade was as big as the Rose Parade. Roy Rogers, Dale Evans were Grand Marshals in the 50's – used to be a big, big deal,” he said.

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum currently is featuring an exhibit that chronicles Helldorado Days in Las Vegas.

“We have some great shots that have been blown up, thanks to the Las Vegas News Bureau. Some shots of some of the parade — also of when Bob Hope was the Grand Marshal one year,” said Marilyn Gillespie, the museum's director.

Organizers say seeing the exhibit can bring you in touch with the soul of the city.

“We would really like for people to appreciate Las Vegas' history. We are very rich in history, and we just hope to instill some of that — because it is Helldorado Days are so much a part of this city and history. I think that people that really want to get involved with the city of Las Vegas, and be Las Vegans, need to truly get involved with Helldorado because it's certainly a major event,” said Buell.

The parade starts at 7 p.m. Saturday. It will be followed by a fireworks show in Downtown Las Vegas. Also the Las Vegas Natural History Museum will be offering special activities for children on Saturday until 3 p.m.

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If you were a student at the historic Fifth Street School any time from 1936 until 1966, the city Redevelopment Agency wants to hear from you.

The Redevelopment Agency will recognize former students during a rededication event to be held this fall celebrating the building's renovation and conversion into an urban “cultural oasis.”

The building, which was the Las Vegas Grammar School, will now house offices, a gym, courtyards and Centennial Plaza which will be available for private and public events.

Portions of the historic building will also house historic photos, memorabilia and the recorded recollections of people who attended the school. If you, or someone you know, can provide historical mementos and interesting anecdotes, or if you are a school alumni who would like to attend the rededication ceremonies as a special guest, please fill out the online form that can be found on the Fifth Street School Web page at www.lasvegasnevada.gov/5thstreetschool . Alumni can also call (702) 229-4955 or e-mail 5thstreetschool@lasvegasnevada.gov for more information.

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Metro needs your help to find a man who robbed a bank near Tropicana and Jones.

Police say the man in pictures on the left went up to a teller and said, “This is a robbery,” back on April 29.

They also believe this is the same person who robbed another bank near Rainbow and Sahara on April 25.

If you know anything about this, you're asked to call CrimeStoppers at 385-5555.

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Educators everywhere face the challenge of keeping kids in school and helping them to graduate. Reading, writing and arithmetic — the basics that every student is taught. But how do you get students to really understand what they're learning?

It's not an easy feat — but one local middle school is going to try and reinvent the education wheel.

For thousands of Clark County students, graduating from high school and going to college is only a dream. But the staff at Fremont Middle School wants to make that dream a reality for its 1,000 students.

“This school is about shifting a mindset about what they can and can't do with their lives,” said Antonio Rael. He is the principal at Fremont Middle School. He says simple steps, like changing the way math is taught, will engage students.

“The idea is to get away from the textbook – math doesn't change as far as the values and what the rules are but the way you look math can change significantly. Try to apply math to what the real world has to offer so kids can connect the current knowledge to the knowledge in the math realm,” he said.

And it's not just changing the way math is being taught. Students will also be able to take elective classes in engineering and communication.

Assistant superintendent, Eva White said, “We lose kids because they feel like they don't have a relationship with the school – that what they're learning isn't relevant to them and that maybe we don't make things as challenging as we can.”

It's not just students, but teachers will benefit as well.

“You may have a teacher who's been in the school five years, 10 years, 15 years — who is an excellent teacher but who may not have read the most recent journal article that a professor has written or the most recent book. But by taking the faculty from the university and placing them in the schools and partnership with teachers and in classrooms with students, there's an opportunity to improve student learning,” said M. Christopher Brown, Dean of Education at UNLV.

Michelle Sparks teaches special education reading at Fremont. She plans to spread her passion for teaching into this new program and can't wait to see the results.

“Children carry with them such a high degree of hope – there is so much opportunity to be explored in the minds of these children,” said Sparks.

UNLV professors will be on campus teaching, helping teachers with their lesson plans and even offering masters and doctorate classes for the teachers themselves. This is the first middle school to have this program.

Email your comments to Reporter Colleen May.

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A man facing criminal elderly neglect charges is speaking out to Eyewitness News. The conditions were so bad, the 86-year-old bedridden woman was found covered in feces and the skin on her legs had grown together.

Alex Burt says his grandmother Rosemary wanted to spend her later years at home — not a hospital. But he told Eyewitness News he made several attempts to get her medical attention.

Alex Burt and his mother Jacqueline were charged with neglect after Metro police visited a home near Flamingo and Rainbow.

Burt says he never called 911 and tried to make arrangements with a Christian Science nurse to help his grandmother but that but that never happened.

“Every time my mom would come home, I'd pester her, saying we had to clean her together. I sometimes would call on the cell phone, but I had to deal with the potential of her getting rather explosive at me for questioning her judgment. I told her that if we could not adequately clean her, like she was cleaned up the first time, I was going to have to get some professional care for her,” said Alex. 

Rosemary Burt is still hospitalized. Alex Burt and his mother have a Monday court appearance.

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The softening economy is hurting major construction projects. Mayor Oscar Goodman is admitting the plan for a downtown Las Vegas arena has basically ground to a halt.

The hope is a state of the art arena will help to attract a major pro sports franchise to town, but developer REI Neon has struggled to secure financing for a facility estimated to cost as much as $400 million.

“My dream, I think, was in jeopardy the moment they proposed the idea. There are no sure things. I really do feel that we are getting to the point that somebody has to put a shovel in the ground if we are going to get an NBA team,” said Goodman.

The mayor says he's still working the phones to try to salvage the plan to bring an NBA franchise to Las Vegas.

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The man who was caught red-handed trying to steal an ATM overnight may have tried to steal the same machine before. It happened at Sahara and Richfield Tuesday morning, near Palace Station.

When officers arrived, they found the man trying to pull out the entire ATM with a chain wrapped around it.

Metro's trying to figure out if he is the same person who tried to make off with the same money machine back on April 23.

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More than 18,000 people, many in pink T-shirts, turned out over the weekend for this year's Race For The Cure. Eyewitness News anchor Paula Francis reports the numbers were down from last year, but spirits were high.

It was a major show of support for the local chapter of Susan G. Komen For The Cure — as 18,112 participants came out to Fremont Street for this year's race.

“The Pink Divas, we're about three to four years old – we're all survivors. We met in doctors offices, radiation, or something like that. We realized we had a common bond,” said Delores Hanshew. She and the Pink Divas, from northwest Arkansas, were among those who came.

The event makes a lot of things possible throughout the rest of the year.

“Our programs can get a clinical breast exam, a mammogram, a biopsy, an ultrasound. We can help women through breast cancer, we can help their families, we can help them after their treatments – and beyond,” said Jackie Brown. She is executive director of Susan G. Komen For The Cure of Southern Nevada.

She says it looks as though they will surpass their fundraising goal of $400,000 — even though participation appears to be just shy of their goal of 22,000.

“I am so happy with the way it turned out – the numbers, the people, the support. It was a great day,” said Brown.

Race manager, Stephanie Kirby says this year's event went smoothly with the help of some 500 volunteers — great weather and a can-do attitude.

“You know, you plan something all year long and when the day actually happens, you see the emotion and how people turn out for it. You can't help be so proud of this community. That's how we feel. We just feel very proud right now. Not that it was so successful for us, but that so many people came out and really showed the spirit that Las Vegas has,” said Kirby.

Most of the funds raised will stay in Southern Nevada while 25-percent will help support national breast cancer research projects.

You can still make a contribution by registering online and following the links to “Sleep-in For The Cure.”

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More than $1 million is expected to be raised at this weekend's Race For The Cure, in Downtown Las Vegas. That's a lot of cash, but it doesn't take long to spend it.

With some 22,000 participants expected, Race For The Cure is the area's largest fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation.

Without this colossal fundraising event, some programs would cease to exist. And so would some valuable research.

At last year's Race For The Cure, Rebel Rally for a Cause had 12 runners. This year, they'll have over 200.

The group was formed at the Jean Nidetch Women's Center at UNLV. Breast cancer education is a big part of the center's mission.

Director, Liz Baldizan says Komen grants — totaling $84,000, have allowed the center to cultivate awareness among thousands of young women.

“Our tag line is to support, motivate, educate and empower. So we, as a grantee, and this is our 3rd year now receiving these wonderful funds from the Komen Foundation, it is directed toward education and awareness,” said Baldizan.

Through special events and the distribution of information, Baldizan says they are making a difference in getting women to open up about breast cancer.

Ten local programs have received Komen grants this year, totaling $725,000. But the money trail doesn't end there.

Stacey Gross is programs director for Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Southern Nevada. She says they've given another $360,000 this year toward national research projects.

Total research dollars this year from all Komen affiliates came to $100 million. “We now fund more breast cancer research than anybody including the government. And that is an incredible accomplishment,” said Gross.

Other services funded by Komen include counseling, financial assistance, and prosthetics.

Several rural areas outside of Clark County also benefit. And Komen funds outreach and screening programs in Nye, Lincoln and Esmerelda counties.

And this Saturday's Race For The Cure makes it all possible.

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