Las Vegas Review-Journal

Victims include student at UNLV

Plane crash killed two others from LV

- By Blake Apgar Las Vegas Review-journal

One of the six people killed in a plane crash on a suburban Phoenix golf course Monday night was an internatio­nal business student at UNLV.

Helena Lagos, 22, was among those killed in the crash in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lagos enrolled at UNLV in 2014, a university spokesmans­aid.

Two others killed — Erik Valente and James Louis Pedroza — also were from Las Vegas.

Lagos was born in Honduras and moved to the Las Vegas Valley when she was about 10, the Review-journal reported in 2013. She attended Legacy High School in North Las Vegas, where she participat­ed in DECA, a program that teaches students about entreprene­urship. She also served as the Nevada DECA state secretary at the time.

Her involvemen­t in entreprene­urship continued in college, where she was the executive director of the Rebel Venture Fund, according to the group’s website. The student-run group invests in businesses around Southern Nevada.

The cause of the crash is still under investigat­ion.

Authoritie­s have not said who was flying the plane. One of the victims, whom Scottsdale police identified as Valente, was issued his pilot’s license and flight instructor certificat­ion March 15, Federal Aviation Adminis

PLANE

who don’t care about us,” he said.

But Hardy and Gibbs took a different stance. Hardy, who was the District 4 representa­tive from 2014 to 2016, said protecting people is the “right thing” to do.

Gibbs equated Syria to a schoolyard bully.

“Like the school bully, they need to be grabbed by the collar, and they need to be swatted,” Gibbs said. “That’s what they did when they launched chemical weapons against women and children.”

Abortion, taxes and troops

Hardy said he supports abortion only in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother’s life. Gibbs said he wants to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood, saying the nonprofit “should go out and raise money” on its own.

Townsend said that the real issue is unwanted pregnancie­s and he would advocate for better birth control and more access to women in lower-income communitie­s. Miller said he would like to bring more awareness to other options, such as adoption.

The men agreed to sign a pledge that promises not to raise taxes, but Townsend said it “depends on what it says.” The four men unilateral­ly supported a push to take back Nevada lands from the federal government.

Asked about Trump’s ban on transgende­r troops, Gibbs — who served 25 years in the Air Force — compared it to serving alongside his first female instructor pilot, calling that a “culture shock” at the time.

But times have changed. Gibbs said, “If the troops are OK with it,

I’m OK with it, too.”

Miller agreed, saying that if a service member shows mental competence, Congress should not decide who is fit to serve in the military.

Hardy said he would like to re-enact “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy instituted by the Clinton administra­tion that banned openly gay, lesbian or bisexual troops. The policy ended in 2011.

Packed field

There are 16 candidates running for Nevada’s 4th Congressio­nal District — including six Democrats — a district that has a Democratic voter-registrati­on advantage. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Ruben Kihuen, who faced sexual misconduct allegation­s last year.

Mike Monroe and Kenneth Wegner were the only Republican candidates who did not take part in the debate.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjour­nal. com or 702-380-4538. Follow @ Ramonagiwa­rgis on Twitter.

 ??  ?? youcaring.com UNLV student Helena Lagos, 22, was killed Monday night in a plane crash in Scottsdale, Ariz.
youcaring.com UNLV student Helena Lagos, 22, was killed Monday night in a plane crash in Scottsdale, Ariz.
 ?? Ramona Giwargis ?? Las Vegas Review-journal Republican candidates for Nevada’s 4th Congressio­nal District, Dave Gibbs, left, Cresent Hardy, Jeff Miller and Bill Townsend at a debate Wednesday in Mesquite.
Ramona Giwargis Las Vegas Review-journal Republican candidates for Nevada’s 4th Congressio­nal District, Dave Gibbs, left, Cresent Hardy, Jeff Miller and Bill Townsend at a debate Wednesday in Mesquite.

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