Celebrities to Help Kick Off Sept. 22 Opening of New Soccer Park 

Celebrities Anthony LaPaglia, Costas Mandylor and Jimmy Jean Louis of the television show, "Heroes", and other members of the Hollywood United Football Club will join Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid to dedicate the new McCarran Marketplace Park and its soccer fields on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m.

The semi-pro Hollywood soccer team will kick off the first official game on the fields and a local youth league game will follow immediately afterward. The new park is located at 5800 Surrey St., just west of Eastern Avenue off Russell Road. Refreshments will be served. The event is open to the public.

  "This park is a great addition to our recreational sport facilities," said Commissioner Reid. "It's hard to keep up with the demand for soccer fields, and McCarran Marketplace Park will fill that need and will accommodate families with small children who come to watch the games. We're very pleased to be able to offer this beautiful new park to the public."

Amenities include two full-sized synthetic turf soccer fields; a covered children's playground; restrooms; two picnic pavilions; desert landscaping and parking for approximately 100 cars.

The grand opening event will feature a 30-minute exhibition match between the Southern California-based Hollywood United Football Club and the Las Vegas-based Tyneside United Soccer Club. The Hollywood Club is comprised of actors and entertainers, most of whom hail from Brittan. In addition to LaPaglia and Jean, other team members include Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and former professional soccer players Vinnie Jones and Frank Leboeuf. The Tyneside Club is the reigning champions of the Las Vegas Premier League, and have won the league title six years in a row.

The new park provides much-needed soccer fields for the community and will be used by both soccer leagues and flag football leagues. The park was created by the Department of Aviation in cooperation with the developer of the McCarran Marketplace commercial center, as part of the land use application process. Clark County Parks and Recreation will maintain and schedule games and events at the facility, which was built by Marnell Construction.

For more information about the upcoming event, contact Dan Giraldo at 702-455-7388 or Kevin Carey at 702-455-7507.   If you are interested in reserving the fields, please call Parks and Recreation at 455-8242.

Emergency Preparedness Is Always Timely

September is Emergency Preparedness Month, but it's a topic that's always timely since we never know when or where a disaster can strike. The role of government in an emergency is to organize a coordinated response to address the most pressing public safety needs first. The public is our partner in this effort, and much of our community's success in dealing with any emergency lies with citizen preparedness. The efforts you take before a disaster occurs will help ensure the safety of yourself, your family and even your neighbors.

 Emergency mangers suggest three main preparedness steps: Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed. These are summarized below:

 1. Get a disaster supply kit . The kit should contain items for you and your family's basic needs for at least three days, including food and water. A week's worth of supplies is even better.   Plan for your family's unique needs such as supplies for infants, medically fragile, and pets.  

 2. Create an emergency plan . Family members may not be together when a disaster strikes, so it's important to plan in advance how you will connect with one another.    Choose a primary and secondary meeting place in case an emergency impacts your home or neighborhood, and designate an out-of-state contact for family members to call in the event they are separated. In an emergency situation, it's often easier to call out-of-state than within an affected area.

 3. Be informed . In an emergency, stay tuned to your radio or TV for instructions and information. Have a hand-powered radio on hand in case of a power outage. Battery-operated radios are only as good as the freshness of your battery supply. Here's a link to a radio the American Red Cross recommends:

It's also important to learn about the emergencies that can happen in our area and how to respond to them. Hazards we are most vulnerable to in Clark County include communicable disease, wildfire, flooding, earthquake and extreme heat.

You can find a lot of information about preparedness on Clark County 's Web site, www.accessclarkcounty.com , via the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Another excellent source for information is the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org .

The Southern Nevada Health District is focusing on flu as part of Emergency Preparedness Month. Getting a flu shot each fall is recommended as a good health-care measure. More information is available on the Health District's Web site at www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org .

Wetlands Interpretive Center Update  

After years of planning, construction on the new Wetlands Interpretive Center is expected to start in May 2008.   An opening date is set for approximately 15 months later in August 2009.

The Interpretive Center encompasses close to 30,000 square feet, and will serve as a primary field trip destination, a learning center for school children, and a cultural resource for residents, local clubs, and convention groups. Amenities include a 5,600-square-foot exhibit hall, a 1,235-square foot auditorium, and two classrooms. Featuring a contemporary design, the facility will serve as an example of ecologically responsible architecture. Its central indoor viewing area will contain examples of native vegetation. Outdoor landscaping will use native plants.  

Because of the sensitive environment in which the facility is being constructed, Clark County Parks and Recreation has determined that the centers design would benefit from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED) certification by the United States Green Energy Council. Its guidelines set high standards for water efficiency, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality. Clark County has set LEED GOLD for their target certification.

The facility will be located near the park's main entrance at the east end of Wetlands Park Lane (formerly Tropicana Avenue ). The parking lot for the Wetlands Interpretive Center will be just north of the building.