carson valley

Forty 7th grade students just finished the two week long 2015 Summer G.R.E.A.T. Program sponsored by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO).

Twenty students from Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School and 20 from Carson Valley Middle School learned leadership, goal setting, and decision making skills in the program. They had the opportunity to participate in the Heavenly Resort Epic mountain ropes course, kayaked Lake Tahoe and completed community service by cleaning up Zephyr Cove Beach.

Douglas County Emergency Management is currently working on managing the storms that are currently passing through Douglas County. Areas of concern are the flood prone areas of the Fish Springs, Johnson Lane, Foothill Road and Topaz Ranch Estates.

Current road closures at this time in Douglas County are East Valley Road near Eldon Way in the Johnson Lane area. Precautions should be taken when driving along roads that have steep embankments alongside such as SR207 Kingsbury Grade for falling rocks and debris.

A proposed solar panel project on 260 acres of Park Cattle Company land won approval by the Douglas County Planning Commission in May, but residents opposing the solar farm with its 148,277 panels are fighting back. They are taking their complaints to the July 2 meeting of the Douglas County Commissioners led by local residents Steve and Mary Walker who filed an appeal right after approval of the planning commission.

Come on out Sunday, July 5th to "Sip, Shop & Stroll" Main Street in Genoa. The drinks will be Rum-based, the non-profit recipient will be Carson Valley Arts Council and the entertainment will be "Nigel St. Hubbins". Returning sippers bring your glass and save $2 off of the $12 admission. A completed passport will get you a chance at $100 in Genoa Bucks. More fun contests throughout the day. Check-in is on the porch of the Masonic Lodge. Cheers!!

Location

7:15 p.m. update:

The storm passed through and the concert is back on.

Original Story

The 6,000 people attending the Reggae Festival at the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe are being evacuated because of lightning in the area.

Several strikes of lightning in the South Lake Tahoe area Saturday evening prompted the necessity to get the people out according to Tahoe Douglas Fire Marshal Eric Guevin. He was expecting the open the venue back up as soon as safe. As of 6:45 p.m. Saturday, the lightening was in the ridge about Glenbrook.

Chautauqua performer Juanita Westbrook will present “Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Coleman: Pioneer Aviator” at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday July 8, at 6:30 pm. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

Location

Chautauqua performer Kim Copél will portray Genoa Candy Dance creator Lillian Virgin Finnegan in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Sunday, June 28, at 10:00 ..

Location

Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) is investigating the drowning at Topaz Lake Wednesday of 36-year-old Janneke Strong from Ft. Bragg, CA.

DCSO responded to a call of a reported drowning at 1:48 p.m. on June 17. A witness reported seeing a person lying face down in approximately four feet of water along the North Shore of the lake which is located in Douglas County on Hwy 395.

East Fork Fire Paramedics arrived on scene and began advanced life saving efforts to Strong who was transported to the Carson Valley Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased at 3:04 p.m.

Hello fellow anglers, I have to tell you that last weekend's Lampe Park Kids derby was rewarding. The fishing was slow both days, but there were a few nice fish caught. At one time I felt as if I were at a ball game. I could hear the crowd cheering at one end of Willow Creek with the voices in unison rising and lowering as a 4-year-old angler was reeling in a 7 pound trout.

Back in the mid-1990s, the Tahoe Citizen's Committee pursued the creation of a new county at Lake Tahoe, succeeding the lake portion from the rest of Douglas and Washoe counties. The group felt that all Nevada side communities at the lake did not get their fair share of funding from their counties. The proposed county would have stretched from Incline Village at the north to Stateline on the south.

During Saturday's Carson Valley Days parade, the Douglas County Community Services Foundation will be showcasing a 1967 classic Ford Mustang which they will be raffling off this fall. The car will be the Grand Prize for the Foundation’s 2nd Annual Classic Car Raffle fundraiser to be held on October 17, 2015. Only 100 tickets will be sold for this fun and unique raffle hosted by the Community Services Foundation.

Chautauqua performer Steve Hale will present “George Whittell, Jr." who lived off the interest generated by the millions he inherited from his parents. His enormous assets allowed him to purchase the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe where he built the Thunderbird Lodge in the 1930s. The house was designed by prominent Reno architect Frederick DeLongchamps. This included a six-hundred-foot tunnel connected to a boat house to berth the “Thunderbird”, his fifty-five-foot mahogany yacht.

Location

A race from Reno, around Lake Tahoe, through the Carson Valley, up to Virginia City and back to Reno began Friday morning at 7 a.m. This is the 11th year the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure is taking place and it is growing in popularity each year. There are 253 teams of an average of 12 runners each taking part in the overnight race which covers 178 miles.

On behalf of the entire Barton family, I wish to express my deepest condolences to the Fry family on the passing of Dr. Paul J. Fry, II.

Dr. Fry made significant contributions to the health and wellness of our community, and his impact has improved the lives of many.

"Papa Fry," as he was known by many members of the community, was a beloved orthopedic physician in Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley for nearly 50 years. He opened Tahoe Fracture Clinic in 1964, and propelled the orthopedic program to a nationally recognized level.

John Mackay and William Sharon were the wealthiest of the men to emerge from Nevada’s fabulous Comstock Lode. They were also the most influential. Mackay, who rose from poverty, was the hero of Virginia City, respected by its miners and mine owners, idolized by its children. Sharon, the brains behind the “Bank Crowd,” was generally perceived as a villain: when Sharon ran for the U.S.

Kites will take to the skies above historic Dangberg Ranch over the weekend of May 16-17 during the "Something in the Wind" festival. Expert kite flyers, kite making and other children's crafts, as well as wind artists will be featured.

This is a celebration of the Washoe Zephyr, the seasonal diurnal winds that are in Western Nevada.

There will be eight expert kite flyers from the Rogue Valley Windchasers Kite Club from Brookings, OR at the two day event along with Balloon Nevada with their hot air balloons on display.

Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17

Nevada gaming figures for the month of January show the South Shore casinos won $14,139,520, down 3.8% from the previous year. With seven months of the fiscal year completed, year-to-date figures are fairly even with the gaming win 1.55% over the same period last year.

The Carson Valley casinos are up the same percentage the South Shore is down, 3.8%.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board's monthly report shows the state being up 7.75%.

The Whittell Warriors Varsity Basketball Boys team wrapped up their regular season on Friday and Saturday, with two wins to earn another trip to the NIAA Division IV playoff bracket. When the brackets are announced, Whittell should be in the top spot with their 15-1 record.

Friday's game against then league leading Virginia City went all the Warrior's way as they won the game by a score of 57-43, putting an end to the Mucker's undefeated season.

On Saturday, Whittell traveled to the Carson Valley for a game against Sierra Luthern. The South Shore team won 51-32.

After dismal gaming figures were released in December, the news received on the South Shore today was much better for casino officials.

Local casinos won $15,947,548 in December, up 1.05% from December of the previous year. Year to date figures show that the combination of Harrah's Tahoe, Harvey's, MontBleu and Lakeside Inn are up 2.6^% with a gaming win of $124,107,554.

The gaming win represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

The Douglas County Economic Vitality team is working on Countywide Connectivity project and will present its work and vision at the February 5, 2015 Board of Commissioners meeting in Minden. This information will also be shared at the February 19, 2015 board meeting in Stateline.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released figures Friday that show the Douglas County casinos on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe had a net loss of over $89 million in Fiscal Year 2014. Their total gaming revenue was $184,671,937 which is down 6.1% from the previous year. Total revenue including hotel, food and beverage was $337,090,380, down 3.6%.

In Nevada there were 270 casinos which grossed more than $1 million in FY2014. Together they took in $23,075,800,492 and is a net loss of $743,688,008.

For the past year, Terri Arnold of South Lake Tahoe has been creating promotional videos for the Carson Valley Story Teller series. Each of the nine completed videos (three are still in post production), show Arnold as she shows viewers all they can do in the area. She doesn't show you in the normal way either, everything is done while on a horse named Meha. They can all be seen on the Carson Valley Visitor Authority's You Tube page.

As we at the Nevada Department of Transportation and Q&D Construction substantially complete the Kingsbury Grade Pavement Reconstruction Project this week, we want to thank local community members and businesses for their understanding and support.

Originally scheduled to continue through next summer, the project has substantially completed this week; one season ahead of the original schedule. Completing this important project ahead of schedule could not have been accomplished without the understanding of the entire community.

Kick off the holiday season in South Lake Tahoe at the Barton Auxiliary's Holiday Faire at St. Theresa's Parish Hall on November 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stop by and get holiday gifts, decorations, and treats - including the Auxiliary's famous cheese balls - will be for sale. Santa Claus will be there between 10am and 2pm. For more information about the Holiday Faire, call The Attic at 530-541-3378.

The Parish Hall is located at 1041 Lyons Avenue.

Location