Briefly for Jan. 18

Happy Senior Tours travels to Harvey's

The Carson City Senior Center's "Happy Senior Tours" will travel to Harvey's on Feb. 8. The bus will load at 7:45 a.m. and return to the center at 4 p.m.

To make reservations or for more information, call 884-9357.

Tax volunteers sought; training provided

AARP Tax-Aide, the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax counseling and preparation service, is seeking volunteers to assist in tax preparation. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome; you do not need to be an AARP member or a retiree to volunteer.

Tax counselors receive free tax training and become IRS certified by passing the IRS exam. They help customers one-on-one at tax sites in Carson City, Dayton, Gardnerville and Minden.

Volunteers are reimbursed on a limited basis for qualified program-related expenses. For more information, call Gil Yanuck at 775-841-3675.

Wildlife officials to stock 1.2 million trout

RENO (AP) - State wildlife officials say they expect to be able to stock more than 1.2 million trout in Nevada streams and lakes over the next year despite the closure of a key hatchery due to an invasion of mussels at Lake Mead.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife closed its Lake Mead hatchery in 2007 after they discovered quagga mussels in the lake, where their numbers now total in the trillions.

The agency ramped up production at the Mason Valley hatchery and signed an agreement with a federal hatchery in Arizona.

But NDOW spokesman Doug Nielsen says the Arizona deal expires this year. That means the state will stop stalking Lake Mead in the fall to make sure mussels are not transferred elsewhere. That hatchery won't reopen for at least two years.

Woman gets 20 years for embezzling

RENO (AP) - A former office manager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $408,500 in restitution for embezzling from her Reno employer.

Washoe County District Judge Steven Elliott handed down the sentence last week to Mary Mattoon, who earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of embezzlement.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Hicks says Mattoon encouraged owners of NevDex property development and management to lay off workers because of the recession, while she continued to forge checks and deposit the company's funds into her personal bank accounts.

Hicks says she embezzled so she could pay for shopping sprees, trips and a $41,000 horse trailer.

Mattoon will be eligible for parole in eight years.

Thousands march in Vegas Martin Luther King parade

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Drummers, dancers and the occasional vuvuzela horn set the tone for an event that has become the largest annual parade in Las Vegas.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and thousands of spectators took part in the 29th Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade on downtown's Fourth Street.

Organizers say 150 entries - including floats, custom vehicles and siren-sounding fire trucks - helped celebrate the legacy of the slain civil rights leader.

The Las Vegas Sun reports the event capped a week of events honoring King, ranging from a youth talent show to an interfaith service and a banquet.

Fall from Vegas hotel apparent suicide

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police are calling the death of a man in a fall outside a Las Vegas Strip hotel an apparent suicide.

Las Vegas police Lt. Patrick Charone tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal the man died in the fall between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday outside the Imperial Palace.

Charone says the body fell several stories before landing in a courtyard between the Imperial Palace and Harrah's Las Vegas towers.

The man's name wasn't immediately made public.

United Way of No. Nev. takes on Great Basin

ELKO (AP) - The United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra is taking over services to five counties that used to be served by United Way of the Great Basin, at least temporarily.

United Way chief executive Karen Barsell says her organization board agreed to accept responsibility for Elko, Eureka, White Pine, Lander and Humboldt counties at the request of United Way Worldwide.

Barsell tells the Elko Daily Free Press the Reno-based agency served the same region before 1997.

The Great Basin United Way laid off staff and closed its Elko office in May after Newmont Mining Corp. began letting employees donate directly to charities they choose, rather than through United Way.

Newmont and its employees were the main contributors to United Way of the Great Basin.