board meeting

Lake Tahoe must improve its internal transportation systems before they can expect visitors to the region to get out of their cars and use different, and better, ways of getting around. That was the message during last week's Tahoe Talks presentation by Lake Tahoe transportation partners, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) and El Dorado County.

This story has been updated 3/16/17.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Board formally accepted the resignation of Chad Houck, the principal of South Tahoe High during their Tuesday night meeting, though word of the upcoming change in leadership had been circulating for weeks.

"Chad will be seeking other opportunities," said LTUSD Superintendent Dr. Jim Tarwater.

The popular principal has received a lot of support from parents, the community and staff.

During the last meeting of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Trustees, discussion about neighborhood schools and theme schools surrounded the proposed STEAM Academy at Al Tahoe Elementary when it reopens. STEAM - science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics - would be the focus of all students at the school, much as the themes surround all other local elementary schools.

At the request of the board, LTUSD Superintendent Dr. Jim Tarwater will present the demographic data from each school in relation to where they reside.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District trustees will continue their discussion into the future use of the old Al Tahoe school site during a study session prior to their normal board meeting Tuesday.

South Lake Tahoe - The year was 1974. Richard Nixon resigned as president, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, All in the Family and Sanford and Son were number one and two on the top TV show list, gas was 38 cents a gallon and Dr. Frederick “Fritz” Wenck became an elected Board of Trustees member for Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC).

Fast forward to 2016 and Dr. Wenck retired from the board.

Jeff DeFranco will become the fifth superintendent/president of Lake Tahoe Community College on February 1, 2016, succeeding Dr. Kindred Murillo who is leaving to take the same position at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.

The LTCC Board of Trustees announced their selection at Tuesday's board meeting. DeFranco is currently the school's vice president of administrative services, a job he has held since 2012.

"This is very surreal," DeFranco said as he addressed the trustees after the announcement. "It's a dream come true."

When one sees a vacant lot in the Lake Tahoe Basin with a California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) sign placed on a tree within its borders, it normally that means the parcel will remain vacant.

And in most cases, that is true.

In the basin, CTC owns 4,780 parcels of land totaling 6,400 acres, many of those parcels are about 1/4 acre in size. In the 1980s and 1990s, most of these smaller lots were purchased due to their being deemed environmentally sensitive. If a lot, or a portion of a lot, was once considered to be sensitive, they are permanently protected and cannot be built upon.

It wasn't your normal badge ceremony and pinning at Lake Valley Fire District firehouse in Meyers, a celebration of a new hire or new promotion. This time, it was historic, a ceremony that saw not only new new hires, but the promotion at all ranks in the department, including a new Fire Chief.

Angela Swanson, who was a Lake Tahoe Unified School Board member from 2005-2009 is back on the board, this time to replace Ginger Nicolay-Davis who left in June to accept a job with the school district. She was interviewed and voted in Tuesday night during the LTUSD board meeting. Her term will last until December, 2018.

The school district accepted applications for the open seat, and Swanson was the lone candidate so Tuesday's interview and vote was just a formality.

Swanson also served on the South Lake Tahoe City Council for a term from 2010-2014.

The Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) will be saying good by to Dr. Fritz Wenck this December as he leaves the LTCC Board of Trustees after serving for 42 years. Wenck is the current President and one of the longest-serving trustees in California’s community college system.

There will be a reception for all of the 2015/16 retirees of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District on Tuesday, June 7 at 5:00 p.m., prior to the start of the board meeting on the lawn at the Education Center.

Those retiring have worked a collective 299 years in education. Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation President Coleen Shade will conduct the ceremony.

The following certificated and classified retirees will be honored:

Cynthia Cowen, Teacher – 37 years
Martha Brown, Sr. Accounting Assistant - 33 years
Sandra Moulton, Teacher – 30 years

A 3.43 acre piece of land once owned by Randy Lane's Falcon Capital LLC may soon have a 22-unit condominium project built on it. The property (made up from two parcels) is underneath the gondola, adjacent to the Van Sickle Bi-State Park near the state line in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The listed owner of the property is now Lucky Look LLC.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency presented Lake Spirit Awards to four people who possess a strong personal commitment to preserving Lake Tahoe at today’s Governing Board meeting.

The Lake Spirit Awards honor people making real progress at restoring Lake Tahoe. Created in 2011, the awards are a way to recognize those individuals whose passion for Tahoe results in progress and environmental improvements.

The agenda for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday, March 8 is a full one. Board members will be addressing the new state law concerning immunizations, new lights for the soccer field at South Tahoe Middle School, a conditioning room and new flooring at South Tahoe High, student privacy, finances, a 4.5% raise for employees, and discuss a tuition agreement with Douglas County Schools. The meeting begins at the District Office at 5:00 p.m. with closed session, with the public portion beginning about 6:00 p.m.

Immunizations

Dr. James Tarwater, Superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified Schools, will provide an overview of student data at the next LTUSD School Board meeting on Tuesday, February 9.

When Nick Arbelaez moved to South Lake Tahoe with his fiancee Stephanie Shamo, he was taking the Assistant Soccer Coach position at LTCC and she was headed to Barton Health.

After Head Coach Ben Wade and LTCC parted ways mid-season, Arbelaez stepped in as interim head coach, leading the Coyotes to the final four for California Community Colleges.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Arbelaez was introduced to the trustees along with
other coaches and volunteers that have helped both the men's and women's soccer teams have early successes in the young programs.

The details haven't been worked out as of yet but South Lake Tahoe is going to have a warming room to keep those without a home warm during winter according to the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless.

A lease has been signed for 981 Silver Dollar, the former offices for the El Dorado County Mental Health Department.

During Monday's City Council meeting, coalition board members Nicole Zaborsky and Scott Weavil said it was a long search for a property that would best serve the community in keeping the homeless warm during freezing winter nights in South Lake Tahoe.

Citing concern over their role in the new playfield proposal, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has pulled out of the Community Play Consortium Joint Powers Authority.

The Lake Valley Fire Protection District honored Attorney William Wright with a “Proclamation of Thanks” at the Board meeting held on October 8, 2015.

Wright served as legal counsel to the board for the past 25 years and is now going to enjoy retirement.

The District thanked Wright for his service and dedication to the
Department and it's constituents.

Millions of dollars could be headed to the South Shore if the Douglas County Commissioners vote to increase gas tax by five cents and add an additional 0.25% infrastructure sales tax.

The Countywide Connectivity initiative looks at several projects both at the lake and in the valley that would address safety issues for walkers, cyclists and drivers while creating vibrate business districts that attract investment.

Last spring, Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) students in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th grades took a new style of state testing. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) was an on-line assessment that measured their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

LTUSD Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater will present the results to the School Board Trustees during Tuesday's board meeting.

Rebecca Bryson and Joy Barney of the South Shore were honored for their work in local schools that resulted in progress and environmental improvements in the Lake Tahoe region.

During Wednesday's Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's Governing Board meeting, the two South Shore women were given the Lake Spirit award along with a family and person from the North Shore. The award has been given to "real people making real progress" at restoring Lake Tahoe since 2011.

As promised during a recent Lake Tahoe Unified School Board meeting, the bleachers at South Tahoe High started to be dismantled the day after graduation.

Its been a four year project getting the design, bids and approval to build new bleachers to replace the 49 year old ones.

The new bleachers will have 917 seats, 12 wheelchair areas and a three-room coach/press box area.

The planned completion date is August 8.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) rewarded five of the seven South Lake Tahoe schools who met the district's goal of an increased attendance of one percent this year.