A high school in Henderson is now officially the first in Clark County to do random drug testing.

On Sunday night, the principal of Green Valley High School met with parents to lay out how the new program will work.

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Beginning Monday, urine drug testing will be mandatory for student athletes including cheerleaders and dance team members. Parents will be able to voluntarily enroll their kids who are not athletes in the drug testing program.

LAS VEGAS, Nv. — Mariela Moreno disappeared without a trace on New Year's morning and hasn't been heard from since.

Moreno's boyfriend told her family that he dropped her off at her house 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 1st after ringing in 2008 with friends. He says he drove away and never saw her actually make it to the front door.

It seems as if Moreno has vanished without a trace. On Thursday, the search for Mariela Moreno could get some additional help from Metro Police.

Family videos show Mariela celebrating Halloween this last year with her family. She's smiling and dressed as a pirate while partying at the District.

Mariela's 20th birthday was last Oct. and was a joyous occasion. Lately though, her family's smiles have been replaced by tears. It's been very a tough time for Mariela's sister Monica. She says the worst part is not knowing what happened.

“We are very worried about her,” she said.

Missing persons posters are on display and police have been searching, but so far, there's no sign of Mariela. Her cell phone hasn't been used since New Year's Day but the family is just holding out hope.

“I feel that she is alive. I feel in my heart. I think that she's okay, but I don't know why she can't communicate with us,” said Monica.

She prays that if Mariela is being held against her will, her captors will think of how much she is loved and missed.

“We love you too much and we're waiting that you're back with us,” she said.

This investigation will get a boost Thursday. Metro's Missing Persons Detail will meet with Henderson Police Department in the morning to offer up its resources and any assistance.

If you've seen Mariela Moreno, please call CrimeStoppers at 385-5555.

You only have to look around your office to know that cold and flu season is in full swing. If you're sick, you may be miserable. But miserable may not be an emergency.

Local health officials are concerned that symptoms of the common cold are unnecessarily clogging the system.

Rory Chetelat does not like to see long waits at emergency rooms. As manager of Emergency Medical Services for the Southern Nevada Health District, he strives to get ambulance crews in and out of ER's as quickly as possible.

He encourages patients with minor symptoms to use an alternate facility.

“The common colds, flu symptoms, ear aches, minor sore throats, those are the kinds of things better seen in an Urgent Care or in your own doctor's office. And then you won't clog up the emergency rooms — which are really designed for emergency care,” he said.

Currently, typical wait times at UMC are 4 to 6 hours. The more serious cases are seen first.

Urgent Care Physician, Dr. Frederick Lippmann says those with common cold symptoms can do everyone a favor by going to a satellite location.

“Somebody with a 102 temperature that's coughing and feels bad, that's not a life-threatening emergency. So you've taken somebody's spot that potentially has something that could kill them. And you've taken that time away from them. That's what the quick care system is set up for. That's why we have them around the whole valley,” he said.

But it's always possible for even the common cold to escalate to something more serious, including pneumonia, requiring a justifiable need for emergency care.

“If you can't get your fever down with normal remedies, if you're coughing up gross amounts of mucous, your body feels like you got run over by the mac truck, then you should probably come to the ER or Quick Care,” adds Lippmann.

The health district recommends that elderly patients, or those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, speak with their primary care doctor about whether their symptoms need emergency care.

With the price of almost everything rising, some Las Vegans are trying to save money — while saving the environment.

Eyewitness News found one man who's net energy consumption is zero. His home is one of t0he most self-sustaining in all of Las Vegas.

The numbers show how at the end of the day this house actually uses less energy than it produces.

In Steve Rypka's personal power plant, energy made 90 million miles from the earth, is collected and turned into power.

“My neighbor spent more money on their pool than I spent on my solar system before any rebates. My solar system is saving me over a $1,000 a year,” he said.

It also makes him feel better for easing the burden on our natural resources — because his power does not come from the power company. He even bought a home with windows facing south to help save energy.

“East or west facing windows in our environment really turn your house into a solar oven,” he said.

Meaning every day in the afternoon a home would suck more energy to keep the inside cool.

With 2,100 square feet, it's nice to have a power bill for $8.40 a month. That's less than most people spend on lunch.

“Our net electrical usage is always zero so we just pay the customer service charge,” said Rypka.

It's not just power, a glowing disk actually reflects sunlight.

“It was always dark and we found ourselves turning on the light here so we could do the dishes. Obviously we do not need that now. It lights up the whole area. It balances out the sides of the house were the windows are and the dead center which used to be dark,” he adds.

His carpet is also environmentally friendly. It's made of plastic fibers from recycled soda cans. Rypka even recycles his left over food into compost and uses it in his garden.

While Rypka efforts may sound strange to some, he says he practices what he preaches and in the long run, it will save him money and help the environment. Plus, it makes him feel good.

Rypka is a green consultant – proof, he says, that renewable energy will create a whole industry of new jobs.

Email your comments to Reporter Edward Lawrence

A Henderson police officer shot and killed a man Wednesday. They say the man had a gun and moved aggressively toward police. It happened near Boulder Highway and Horizon.

It happened around 10:30 a.m. in the Walgreens parking lot on Race Track Road and Boulder Highway. Police have collected the last of the evidence and cleared out the crime scene tape.

Read the Clark County Homicide Report

Henderson police spent most of the day examining the scene. It is unknown how many shots were fired yet. A department spokesman said it all began when two officers noticed a man getting into a blue mustang at Foothill and Equestrian.

They apparently thought he looked suspicious and when they ran the car's California license plate, they discovered the car was stolen.

It's not clear if they turned on their lights and siren, but the officers followed the suspect less than two miles to Walgreens. From there, the traffic stop turned deadly when the man got out of the Mustang with a semi-automatic gun in his hand.

Keith Paul, the spokesperson for Henderson Police said, ”The suspect didn't as far as I know, did not fire any shots but he had a gun. He refused to put it down. The officer did order him to put it down, and he did not.”

Detectives have not yet released the suspect's name. They did say the suspect died at St. Rose Dominican Hospital where he was transported.

The officer who fatally shot the suspect and the more than likely the second officer on the scene will be on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the police investigation and coroner's inquest.

Henderson police say the suspect was wearing a long trench coat and was in a desert area. The officers felt it just didn't seem right, and that's when they ran the license plate.

Email your comments to Reporter Adrienne Augustus.

Parents upset about proposed school zoning changes voiced their opinions to Clark County School Officials Monday night. The Attendance Zone Advisory Commission, or AZAC, met at Coronado High School.

Zoning for the following schools were discussed: Bartlett, Beatty, D. Cox, Kesterson, Lamping, Roberts, G. Taylor, Twitchell and Vanderburg Elementary Schools. Burkholder and B. Miller Middle/Junior High Schools; and Liberty and Sandy Valley High Schools.

Many parents at Lamping Elementary in Henderson have been very vocal about how the proposed zoning will affect their families. They are angry because the zoning changes will force hundreds of kids to be transferred to schools further from their homes.

Teresa Lobosco tells Eyewitness News, “They are going to move us to a school that is farther away which means that we will be on Eastern which is very busy and probably take us 45 minutes to get home from school. The three schools show no continuity in their education. If my daughter was to go to Lamping to Glen Taylor and then to the new school when it is built, there is no continuity in her education.”    

Parents from the Sunridge Community set up a mobile billboard last week to show their opposition to the plan.

Lamping Principal Michael O'Dowd is tired of the fight. “I think at some point we need to put our differences aside and say the district has policies and procedures in place to handle this. Let's let them handle this, do their job and let's get back to being a community and supporting our children.”

The School District is trying to fix the overcrowding population. The Zoning Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees after the meeting and a final decision is expected in early March.

Former President Bill Clinton is campaigning Monday in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada in support of Hillary Clinton.

President Clinton has spent the day speaking to very different groups. Monday morning he spoke to students at Green Valley High School, then to parents and retirees at the Centennial Hills YMCA in the northwest and now a group of all three at the Doolittle Community Center. But each time he's been talking up Hillary Clinton's experience and track record.

Jan. 14 Poll Shows Dems Neck-and-Neck

The former president hammered the point home that his wife has established a history of catering to Nevada's needs in health care, education and her stance against the war in Iraq.

In 2000 and 2004, President Clinton had been seen as a liability to many running for office, but the crowds in 2008 love what he has to say. Monday, some supporters rekindled the talk of a co-presidency, thanks to the the Clinton family attitude toward the rest of the world.

“From now on, we will practice vigorous, persistent diplomacy with friend and foe alike and use military force and only use military force only as a last resort — not the other way around,” said President Bill Clinton.

“I'm sure that she'll ask him for his input but I really think the decision will be hers even though, like they claim, you'll get two for one,” said Marlene Mobley, a Clinton supporter.

Clinton also mentioned his wife's long time opposition to Yucca Mountain and how that fight still continues. He said Clinton knows the science and voted against the project — even though New Yorkers wanted to ship waste here to Nevada.

There's less than a week left for some Henderson parents to fight possible rezoning changes at Lamping Elementary School.

The school is overcrowded by more than 400 students, but many parents don't want their children moved.

What once was a united school has slowly turned into community against community.

Sunridge community parents all pitched in to rent a mobile billboard which shows their opposition to being bused to a different school — especially when they are within walking distance of Lamping.

But other parents say this is just an example of how desperate parents have gotten.

Parents from the community were out in front of the school Wednesday getting signatures from parents that don't want to see their kids bussed to another school.

One of the proposals for this re-zoning change is to make Sunridge kids, who live just a couple of blocks from Lamping, take a bus to Glen Taylor Elementary down the road.

Meanwhile, there's a chance children coming from Anthem Country Club will be taken out of Lamping and moved to Glen Taylor.

In either situation, somebody is going to lose. P

Parents on both sides are fighting to make sure it's not them. They're frustrated, saying they feel like it's neighborhood against neighborhood.

“We have to fight for our children. I understand that they've got to fight for their kids too and I don't fault them for that. I have nothing against anyone in Anthem County Club, but my kids can walk to school and I just think it is ridiculous and a waste of taxpayer's money,” said parent Michele Leckie.

Lamping is overcrowded by 400 students and there are 26 portables behind the school. While parents ultimately wish the district would leave them alone, they've been told that's not an option. Something will have to change.

The Sunridge community has actually paid to have the billboard stay at the school for the rest of the week.

The zoning committee is having a final public input meeting about the issue on Monday night. From there they will make a recommendation to the board on what rezoning proposal they think is best.

A decision isn't expected until early March. The board can take the recommendation of the zoning committee or decide to go another way.

Email your comments to Reporter Melissa Duran

Random drug testing is soon going to be part of the normal routine at Green Valley High School.

The school's principal says drugs and alcohol have created too many problems at the Henderson school. He is now making it mandatory for all student athletes to be part of a random drug testing.

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The principal of Green Valley High sent out a letter to parents giving them a heads up of what's to come. In the letter, it says it will be mandatory for all student athletes to be part of random drug testing.

Parents whose child is not in sports can also sign a permission slip allowing their child to be tested.

The Green Valley High principal would not talk with us until after he meets with parents Wednesday night.

But according to the school board president, there have been several problems at Green Valley High with drugs over the past several years — especially with student athletes.

According to the school's accountability report, 19 Green Valley High students were caught distributing drugs last year.

Students say it is common for drug deals to go down at school.

School Board President Mary Beth Scow strongly supports the principal's decision to drug test and says it's the first time random testing will take place at a Clark County Public School.

“The kids know there are drugs and I think that's why the administration took this step. They've lost some kids who had great potential, not only in athletics, but in life. Because of drugs, they went down,” said Scow.

There's still no word on when this program will start what the consequences will be for students caught with drugs in their system.

The school board president says she hopes this testing will be a preventative measure to deter kids from drugs altogether.

Some private schools in Clark County already do random drug testing and are happy with the results.

Clark County says if all goes well at this school, testing could be used in other schools as well.

Email you comments to Reporter Melissa Duran

Henderson police are looking for a woman who did not return home from a New Year's Eve party.

Twenty-year-old Mariela Moreno was last seen by her family as she left for a party on Paradise road. Her boyfriend told police he dropped off Moreno at her home around 4:30 a.m. but did not watch her go inside the home.

Moreno is described as Hispanic, 5 ' 7 ” tall, weighing around 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Henderson Police at (702)267-5000 or Crimestoppers at 385-5555.