North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts will continue prescribed fire operations around Incline Village, Kingsbury Grade and Van Sickle Bi-State Park through next week as weather and conditions allow.

On the west side on Incline Village, crews will be burning 77 acres of hand piles starting Monday, November 23.

35 acres on Park Cattle property near Van Sickle Bi-State Park were ignited Wednesday and will continue as conditions allow.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has received several reports of stolen mail from mailboxes in the Topaz Ranch Estates and Gardnerville Ranchos areas.

"Citizens should attempt to collect the mail as soon as possible after the mail delivery has been made or consider a lockable mail box," said DCSO Sgt. Pat Brooks. "Additionally, outgoing mail should be placed in a secured US Postal mailbox if possible."

With the upcoming holidays, packages and items being delivered to the door step should be collected as soon as possible or arrangements for another delivery location should be made.

The men's soccer team from Lake Tahoe Community College has repeated as the Golden Valley Conference Champs, earning them a spot in this weekend's state playoffs.

The LTCC Coyotes will be the #5 seed in Saturday's game in South Lake Tahoe against Lassen College, the #12 seed. The 2 p.m. game will be played at the Community Playfields on Al Tahoe Blvd.

A win by the Coyotes on November 21 would earn them another home game on Tuesday, November 24 at 7 p.m.

The local American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) office is currently seeking applicants for their South Lake Tahoe work training program. All applicants must be 55 and older, meet low income qualifications and apply through AARP.

They will be filling several jobs including a receptionist position at the Senior Center located at 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Once applicants have been qualified through AARP, SLT Recreation Manager Lauren Thomaselli will be conducting interviews.

‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also for possible distress for our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if they munch on undercooked turkey or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic drink.

Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling Thanksgiving that your pets can enjoy, too.

Talkin’ Turkey

Sometime in the future, one will be able to hop on a bike at Van Sickle Bi-State Park and travel on Class 1 trails to Sierra Tract, and hopefully beyond.

The concept for the trail where people would walk and bike safely off the main roads actually began in 1985. Caltrans owned land through the middle of neighborhoods where a highway was proposed, but when it was apparent that would never be built, the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) joined Caltrans in discussions to obtain the land.

Sierra-at-Tahoe is opening on Friday, marking the earliest opening date in 11 years. They will have limited terrain with early season conditions on three lifts and two surface lifts.

Great news for 2014-15 pass holders, Sierra announced that last year's passes are good for the first month of operations (through December 20, 2015).

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

Tahoe Youth & Family Services has been the recipient of some truly amazing kindness from the community in the last few months.