Ex-chair ramps up SNRHA feud
Lagrande sends email to board members urging director’s dismissal
A confrontation between top officials at the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority has escalated, with the agency’s former chairwoman urging board members to fire the executive director.
The former chairwoman, Dora Lagrande, wrote a fiery email to board members Thursday alleging that an investigative report commissioned by Executive Director Chad Williams falsely claimed she had prevented staff from investigating housing authority Commissioner Theresa Davis.
“I pray that all of you reconcile yourselves to do what is in the best interest of Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and not what is in the best interest of one man,” Lagrande wrote, according to a copy of the email that she provided to the Las Vegas Review-journal. The email was also sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.
In her email, Lagrande disputed the findings of an internal fraud investigation report that Williams released May 8. The report stated that housing authori
In just one week, staff at Sierra Vista raised $5,500 through a touching post that Principal John Anzalone shared on Facebook about the family’s journey. Project 150, a local nonprofit, also chipped in.
The family grinned as Smith got into the front seat in the Sierra Vista parking lot, watching her shout with glee as soon as the car turned on.
The new wheels mean staff no longer have to watch Smith pour water into her old car, trying to get it to work in the school parking lot.
But they also mark the end of a journey for Bryan, who came to the valley behind in credits and who wanted to leave high school at one point. Things seemed hopeless for him until he channeled his efforts into football.
“I had a talk with God one day, and he just changed my life through the game of football,” he said.
His mom cared about her children’s education, and she was a frequent presence at the school.
“She’s devoted to the kids,” Anzalone said. “I don’t think there’s a day on campus I don’t see her.”
Though it was hard for Bryan and his younger siblings to adjust to Las Vegas initially, they’ve come to appreciate why their mom yanked them out of Broussard, Louisiana, population 12,000.
Bryan, 19, now serves as a role model for his younger siblings, Loren and Laura Sampey, 16, and Christopher Lagrange, 17.
“I saw my brother change,” said Loren, who just earned all A’s and B’s for the first time in her life. “So I was like, you know what, if he can change, then I can change. And I can do better, just as much as he can do better.”
In college, Bryan plans to study business with the goal of opening a business of his own. He believes he’s now in a position to be able to provide for his family one day.
“When I get there, I’m going to do what I’m supposed to,” he said of college. “I don’t know, I just feel, I just feel good about myself.”
Contact Amelia Pak-harvey at apakharvey@reviewjournal.com or 702-3834630. Follow @Ameliapakharvey on Twitter.