The deadline to register to vote in the primary election has already passed, but the Henderson City Clerk’s office is pushing to make sure that they register as many Henderson residents as possible.

“If they’re not voting, they’re silent,” Forst said.

Marilee Forst from the clerk’s office organized a voter registration drive at the Whitney Ranch Recreation Center on July 23^rd to try and catch unregistered parents as they dropped their kids off for the day. 

Forst said that the importance of this election makes every vote critical on both the national and local level.  That’s why her office is holding multiple drives so that residents who can’t get around Henderson that easily will still have a chance to register somewhere near their homes.

“When it comes time to vote in August for the primary as well as November for the general election, they have no excuse.”

Call (702) 267-1400 or click here for more information about Henderson voter registration and upcoming drives.

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Dani Dynamite is a summer camp director for Mad Science, a company that has been organizing kids’ science camps throughout Las Vegas for five years.

“It’s a better alternative than day care.  So they’re learning science, hands-on experiments and science projects that they can do here or at home because we tell them about all the different stuff that they can do.  The parents like it because it’s more than just day care.  We’re not just looking after their kids, we’re actually teaching them stuff as well,” Dani said.

Dani started working in human relations with Mad Science two years ago, but when she saw how much fun the camp directors have with kids, she just had to start camps of her own.

“I love teaching them something that they may already know a little bit about, and then the light bulb goes off above their head, and they’re like, ‘Oh! That’s how it works!’ I just love that idea, the way that they realize things like that,” Dani said.

Each camp lasts a week, and seven are held throughout the summer.  Each week has a different theme and the kids learn about everything from nature, to crime scene investigation, to “owl’s poop,” a subject that one student said was his favorite.

“I found bones and skulls and a bat inside…”

The kids also get to make projects that they can take home too.  One day they made sidewalk chalk out of Plaster of Paris, tempura paint and water.  The goodies and the gross-outs are what matter to the kids, but their parents are thankful for something educational to preoccupy them on long summer days.

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A private plane made an emergency landing Saturday morning in a residential neighborhood.   It happened at the intersection of Cactus Ave. and Maryland Pkwy. at 8 a.m.

The pilot reported the plane had trouble with one of its engines as it was approaching Henderson Executive Airport. She says she tried to re-start the engine, but it didn't work, forcing her to declare an emergency and look for a safe place to land.

No one was injured. The emergency landing is under investigation.

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“The right comparison to make is to the pre-First Friday.  That’s when the arts buyers show up at the galleries in the Las Vegas Arts District.  This is directly comparable to that.  In fact, I’m teaching a course in photographic gallery management and practices, and I brought my students on the pre first Friday in July to see what the galleries were doing there compared to what they’re doing across the street right now in operating my gallery as the final project in their class. It’s very comparable in terms of numbers and the interest level of the people that come,” Gary Reese, from the Plaza Gallery said.

Vendors at Third Thursday say that the crowd is much different than the First Friday or Fourth Friday art festivals, and while it’s not as well established, the Henderson event still draws good crowds.

“They’ve done a very good job of making it a family oriented included event, where (First) Friday is really primarily for those young adults who are just out pre-partying to the rest of their Friday night,” Trev Stinnett, owner of Geosoul Arts said.

Stinnett is a Venetian glass blower who sells his work at the three art festivals every month. He said he changes his merchandise based on the crowd, and that he has boosted sales in a slow economy with smaller jewelry pieces that anyone can afford.

One of Gary Reese’s students, Nichole Beltran, sold an Oregon landscape photograph on Thursday night, and helped to run Plaza Gallery as part of her final project. She used to show her work in L.A. and has exhibited at First Friday, but she says she prefers the Henderson crowd.

 ”I like that it’s slower paced, it’s not a circus act like First Friday… It’s a lot calmer. You can really stop and take a look at some of the art galleries and get a feel of the art, instead of being rushed and pushed from piece to piece and First Friday is just crazy,” Beltran said.

Another major component of Third Thursday is the ARTsWALK event for kids. On average, a group of 40 kids roam downtown to learn about art and even create some of their own. Their leader, Susanne Reese appreciates the unique opinions kids give artists.

“The children’s perception of art and their comments about art are so wonderful. And there are a lot of things, like modern art exhibits, where the children really (get) the art. They really enjoyed it, whereas adults would walk in and they already have a mature mindset, and they would look at contemporary art and maybe wonder what it was all about. Children know exactly. They know what they like and they can tell me all about it,” Reese said.

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Soon there may be a new family attraction in Henderson and it’s in a surprising place.  Aeroballoon is planning to install a ride in the parking lot of the closed Roadhouse Casino on Boulder Highway.

“It is a helium filled balloon, it is a tethered balloon ride and it carries five passengers and it goes up. It’s safe because it’s on a cable, it has a winch system that goes up and it’s silent, it’s non-polluting.  It’s helium gas, an inert gas and it’s just for fun,” Laurie Nanni of Aeroballoon said.

Aeroballoon held a meeting at the request of the City of Henderson Planning Commission to address concerns from people living near the area.  Robert Piantosi lives across the street from the location came to the meeting because he was worried that the balloon would be too high, noisy and too bright.

“It’s only going to be 200 feet in the air and I thought it was going to be 400…and it’s not going to show in my bedroom window,” Piantosi said.

 Eddie Dichter, Principal Planner for the City of Henderson also attended the meeting.

“We’re approving the project and we’re hoping it’s successful so maybe it can continue on this site or another area in Henderson and I think it’s a great opportunity for people to get a good view of this area of Henderson,” Dichter said.

Nobody has seen the view from 200 feet above the old Roadhouse, but the surrounding area includes a lot of power lines and a water treatment plant.  Nanni assured everyone at the meeting that the view at night would be worth the ride.

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Two police robbery suspects are on the run and police need your help to find them. Henderson police say the person robbed the Community Bank at Sunset and Green Valley Parkway last Friday.

The suspect walked up to the counter with a small handgun.

Investigators say the person demanded money before leaving in a silver four-door Nissan.

If you know anything about this robbery, call the Henderson Police Department at 267-4750.

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“This area naturally developed as the heart of our town. This is where our city started. It is a natural downtown, and it has evolved over time so it has character and place and a sense of community already here. We don’t have to build that from scratch, we don’t have to create it.  It’s here already, we just have to enhance it and make it even better,” Redevelopment Manager Michelle Romero said.

Even though the rest of Southern Nevada’s economy is slow, Romero said that her department hasn’t had much trouble leasing out space. There are a few empty buildings now, but people interested in starting a business are coming in steadily because the rent is low and Henderson is still growing.

“We have seen some slow down in the economy…it’s happening everywhere. But we still have a very high interest we have people in every day that are looking to locate down here. It’s just a matter of finding the right match for the particular business that comes in, so, while the economy has affected us some, we’re still finding people coming down here quite a bit,” Romero explained.

Dave Beason, lifelong Henderson resident, business owner and president of the Downtown Business Association says business at his muffler shop has been steady. He also said that he loves the redevelopment plan, but is frustrated that the gateway to the district still looks dirty and industrial.

“Once (people) get past the original construction that they’re doing right now, it’s really a nice place to be. It’s that first block that we’re struggling with right now to get people past that first block that’s under construction and development,” Beason said.

Beason has seen decades of change come through Henderson, and he says that the Water Street District redevelopment is a much needed way to strengthen the community.

“It’s a lot better off right now than it was 15 to 20 years ago. We’re a lot better off, and it’s going in a great direction. So as long as we can keep going that direction, I think within the next four to five years, we’ll see some really neat stuff down here and it’ll be just as neat as across the street at the Target center.”

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Henderson police broke up a drug house Tuesday morning. Eyewitness News was on scene as detectives were cleaning up what neighbors say was a massive marijuana grow system.

Ronald T. Miller, 33, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

One neighbor said Miller lived at the house near Gibson and the 215 for the last year was a nice guy, but he had no idea he was growing marijuana.

He went in the house and took pictures of the painted over windows and remnants of the grow system. He says Miller was basically living in a closet because of the huge drug set-up.

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This is the second day in a row Henderson has gotten hit hard by a very wet, fast moving storm. It's gone now, but it left behind a muddy mess in some locations.

These summer storms are either slow movers or fast movers. This one – a fast moving but brief storm dumped a lot of rain in a short period of time.

The wash that collects all that water has been bone dry these past few months, but today it's filled.

Flash Flood Information

Around 2 p.m. Monday, that storm dumped inches of rain in less than an hour here in Henderson as it rolled off Black Mountain.

Rain coming that fast and hard collected quickly and left behind standing water. With the rain rate so fast, not even all the side gutters can take all of the water in. So it tends to back up, leaving behind muddy and flooded streets.

Obviously, cars can get stuck in all of that, so we want to make sure any flooded streets are avoided and motorists should always find alternate routes.

It looks like the skies have cleared up, but we know during monsoon season those skies can turn dark and dump rain quickly too. 

With storms that hit this quickly and have the potential to flood roads and neighborhoods, you can either sign up for weather alerts through email and cell phones.

But always pay attention to our weather watches and warnings that the forecasters put out.

Email your comments to Reporter Tedd Florendo.

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Mandy Hagen, 28, is behind bars after police say she robbed a store, led police on a car chase, took a woman hostage and shot at officers.

It all happened Sunday morning at a Pet Smart store in Henderson. Hagen robbed the store and fled in a car. She refused to pull over and came to a stop at a gas station near Vegas Valley and Nellis.

Police say she took a 70-year-old woman hostage. Officers were able to physically take down Hagen without hurting the hostage.

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