Awards

The community is warmly invited to three free art exhibit opening receptions at Lake Tahoe Community College. On Thursday, January 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., enjoy gorgeous printmaking by artist Emmy Lingscheit in her show Departure, housed in the Haldan Art Gallery in the library building. In the Foyer Gallery in the Fine Arts building, explore recent paintings by artist Kelley Hackleman in her show, Slightly Disheveled. In the Student Gallery in LTCC’s Main Building, artworks created by regional high school students will be featured.

Time to get your Santa on and run in the annual South Lake Tahoe Santa Run! Grab your Santa suits and hats and enjoy a 1.3 mile run up Ski Run Blvd from Blue Angel Cafe to Himmel Haus.

The Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation (HSSF) is holding their annual Santa Run on Sunday, December 21 at 4:00 p.m., rain or snow. They will be raising funds for the HSSF Scholarship Fund wil the help of Himmel Haus, Blue Angel Cafe and Rainbow Mountain.

Weidinger Public Relations was presented with four awards by the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter at the organization’s 28th annual Silver Spike Awards recently held in Reno. They won the prestigious “Judge’s Choice Award,” denoting Northern Nevada’s best overall campaign.

By now you may have seen or heard about pop star Taylor Swift's ground breaking performance at the American Music Awards (AMAs) on November 23. During the production of her hit, Blank Space, Swift is carrying a rose that is set on fire by a petal she pulls off. Her hand appears to catch on fire as well.

And it's all because of Alex Ramon, the 29-year-old part time South Lake Tahoe resident and star of Illusion Fusion during its two year local run.

The 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony was the biggest yet, with 300 people at Thursday's banquet and 175 nominations of local businesses, employees and experiences.

Here is the list of winners:

Experience Award – Sponsored by Marriott Grand Residence & Vacation Club

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe are accepting applications for the VIOLET RICHARDSON AWARD.

Each year the two local Soroptimist clubs honor young women in our community ages 14-17 who are engaged in volunteer deeds such as fighting drugs, crime and violence; cleaning up the environment; or working to end discrimination or poverty.

Each recipient will receive $100.

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra and Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe are once again collaborating to honor two women in our community with the LIVE YOUR DREAM award. Eligible applicants must be women who provide the primary financial support for their families, and are attending an undergraduate degree program or a vocational skills training program.

This past Sunday at Keep Sierra Clean Day, 300 people from Sierra-at-Tahoe’s loyal community collected nearly 1,300 pounds of trash from the slopes, including unique finds like an electric toothbrush, several snowboards and even a ski from Sierra Ski Ranch. Awards were given in categories such as the strangest find, oldest find and the best haul weight to body weight ratio. Participants reconnected and fueled up with an Italian-inspired lunch at the new Solstice Eatery, then kicked back on the Solstice Plaza listening to Reggie Hall.

The nomination period for the 2014 Blue Ribbon Awards ended on Friday, October 10 at noon. TahoeChamber’s prestigious awards program that recognizes exceptional South Shore businesses received over 175 nominations for eight separate award categories. The finalists and winners will be announced at the 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Awards dinner and ceremony on November 13 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. Tickets for the awards ceremony are now available for purchase at www.tahoechamber.org.

The Nominees:

Minden's Jim Payne has soared to another world championship, winning his third consecutive Aerokurier Online Soaring Contest (OLC). This year long event has almost 15,000 pilots from around the world competing for top honors.

To compete, glider pilots record their flights with a GPS logger and submit their flight logs to the contest web site for scoring.

Payne not only won the top award, he won several categories as well as other awards:

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced recipients of its 2013 Best in the Basin awards today. Award winners in the agency’s 24th annual Best in the Basin include remodel, new construction, Best Management Practices, stream restoration and erosion control projects that stand out as examples of the best environmental planning, design and implementation.

Rock ’n’ roll’s very own Dream Police, Cheap Trick, will crank up the volume and belt out the hits that made them famous at Lake Tahoe’s MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, Friday, Nov. 21.

Backers of California Proposition 46 claim it will protect the patient and reduce patient harm. While the initiative argues patient safeguards and seems well-intended, the proposition is flawed and costly. If passed as written, Proposition 46 would discourage doctors from working in California, jeopardize patient privacy, and increase patient and government healthcare costs.

Have you dined with the ghost of Mark Twain recently? If not, the historic Dangberg Ranch in Minden, NV is giving you an opportunity!

The non-profit Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch will present a day of music, art and Americana on Saturday, September 13, to raise operating funds for the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

The main event is a reservations-only gala dinner, "Under Western Skies: Dinner with Mark Twain," at 5:30 p.m., featuring McAvoy Layne performing as the ghost of Mark Twain.

Soccer fever has hit the campus at Lake Tahoe Community College as both the men's and women's intercollegiate teams prepare for the 2014 fall season.

The end of the 25th American Century Golf Championship in South Lake Tahoe wasn't seen by the thousands of spectators that normally line the 18th hole in the final round.

Lightning caused the tournament to be placed on delay for a couple of hours, and by the time play resumed thousands of people had headed back to their cars, hotels and homes.

In true Celebrity Golf fashion, the end was an exciting one. At the time of the delay there was a tie between Mark Rypien and Jeremy Roenick, with Annika Sorenstam in third with just a few holes left to play.

Jamie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe won two awards at Wednesday night's ESPY awards in Los Angeles. She won the award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete and Best Female U.S. Olympian.

Anderson, the 23 year old who brought home a Gold Medal, also won the ESPY for Best Female Action Sports Athlete in 2012. She won inaugural Women's Slopestyle Event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance.

Endurance mountain bikers will compete in the Tahoe Trail 100-Kilometer Race at Northstar California Resort Saturday, July 19 – all vying to qualify for the legendary challenge of the Leadville Trail 100-mile mountain bike race in August, which stretches through 100 miles of technical Colorado terrain.

Tahoe Trail 100

People got out of their cars and onto their bikes as part of the Tahoe Bike Challenge over the last two weeks. From June 7th through the 20th, teams and individuals racked up miles, saved money, kept CO2 out of the air, burned calories and had fun.

There will be a cycle celebration on Wednesday, June 25 at the Heavenly Village near the gondola from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to celebrate the challenge. The band Sierra Drifters will entertain the crowd as awards and prizes are handed out. A bike valet will be on site so everyone can ride in and continue what they started.

It's that time of year again. The county fair, full of funnel cakes, carnival rides, animals, music, exhibits, wheelbarrow races, wine and beer competition and good old fashioned fun.

The El Dorado County Fair opened on Thursday and runs through Sunday, Father's Day at the fairgrounds in Placerville. The theme this year is "Photos, Fathers and Fairs."

The County Sheriff's Office invites community members to stop by their booth and see the brand new state of art patrol vehicles. They'll have a new SUV and sedan on display so people can see inside and check out their new features.

The competitive landscape of the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe will dramatically alter in 2014 with the addition of LPGA great Annika Sorenstam.

The legendary golf superstar, winner of 89 international tournaments and over $22 million, is among the most successful players in history. A part-time resident of Lake Tahoe and mother of two, Sorenstam will play on even terms with pro athletes in the nationally televised, 54-hole, $600,000 competition at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department used Peace Officer Memorial Week to honor a few of their own along with some local citizens on Thursday.

In a ceremony in front of the police station, Police Chief Brian Uhler bestowed the following awards:

- Officer Andy Eissinger received an award for Distinguished Service
- Dispatcher Jillian Broadfoot awarded for Meritorius Service
- Todd and Zetta Friedel and Cory Escobar received the Citizen Award of Merit
- Explorer Daniel Loyola received the Distinguished Explorer award

In honor of Peace Officers Memorial Week, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department is inviting the public to their Annual Awards Ceremony at the police station on Thursday, May 15 at 2 p.m.

Those receiving awards:

Officer Andy Eissinger – Distinguished Service

Supervisor Kathy Bolinger - – Distinguished Service

Dispatcher Jillian Broadfoot – Meritorius Service

Todd and Zetta Friedel – Citizen Award of Merit

Cory Escobar – Citizen Award of Merit

Explorer Daniel Loyola – Distinguished Explorer Award

MADD AWARDS:

Officer Jason Cheney
Officer Travis Cabral

Pam Houston will be the featured writer at Lake Tahoe Community College's Writers Series on Thursday, May 8 in the college's library at 8 p.m.

Houston’s most recent novel, Contents May Have Shifted, was published in 2012. The book has been called “an absorbing, generous, ravishing book by a high priestess of you-have-to-read-this prose” by author Cheryl Strayed, who penned the New York Times bestseller Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.