children

Ever since I moved to South Lake Tahoe two months ago to work at Tallac Historic Site, I have been surprised daily to discover how few locals know the historic site exists. Tallac is located next to Camp Richardson and Fallen Leaf Lake Campground – an area most folks are familiar with – and yet locals constantly wander onto the site from the beach and announce they had no idea this place was here.

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Christy Smith was a loving Mother, Grandmother, Wife, Sister and Daughter who dedicated her life to the service of others, especially children. She passed away on July 23rd after a courageous battle with cancer.

Christy was born March 10, 1949 in Altadena, California to Jack and Marjorie Cosbey. She spent her childhood in Southern California, graduating in 1967 from Long Beach Polytechnic High School. She studied Nursing at Long Beach State College and worked as a nurse in Cardiology and Family Practice.

The eighth annual, “Chip in for Children Casino Night” on August 3 will benefit the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Renown Children’s Hospital. Renown Children’s Hospital is the only dedicated children’s hospital in northern Nevada and offers a variety of programs and services specially designed to care for our community’s children.

Renown Children’s Hospital:
• The only dedicated children’s hospital in northern Nevada.
• It has the region’s only Children’s ER.
• It’s the only hospital affiliated with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) in the region.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently promoted three men to the position of Battalion Chief, a move that Fire Chief Jeff Meston says will improve safety for both citizens and personnel.

Jim Drennan, Tim Spencer and Karl Koeppen are all now Battalion Chiefs for the City of South Lake Tahoe. Between them, they have over 61 years of firefighting experience.

In the spirit of community, the idea of honoring law enforcement in South Lake Tahoe on August 1 is growing. Jen Bloch, owner of Tahoe Tot Spot, heard what South Lake Tahoe restaurateur Ted Kennedy was doing to honor the men, and women, in blue, and wanted to join in.

Tahoe Tot Spot will be offering free admission for children of law enforcement officers and deputies that day.

Approximately 90-94.9 percent of students registered for school in South Lake Tahoe are fully vaccinated, which means its time for immunizations before school starts in August for the other 5 to 10 percent.

The new craze "Pokémon GO" has become the top grossing app for smart phones, and its only been a few days since it was released. South Lake Tahoe isn't immune to to the popularity of this geocaching game where you find and capture Pokémon characters at various locations in the community.

Warning though, it can be harmful to your health, or safety.

"This is fantastic," said South Lake Tahoe Mayor Wendy David. "We get to show our visitors what a great sense of community we have."

"Swim Smart, Swim Safe: know the dangers of cold water" is the message coming from agencies responsible for boating and water safety on Lake Tahoe, especially after the recent deaths in the lake of two healthy men.

Drowning incidents from boating, paddling and swimming often share the same cause, "cold water shock," an involuntary gasp reflex caused by sudden immersion in cold water. Swimmers and boaters suddenly exposed to the cold waters of Lake Tahoe may experience rapid breathing, gasping, fainting, muscle failure and immediate risk of drowning.

With summer officially here I thought it would be fun to talk about a very popular All-American sport; fishing. Which, before you start to open that mouth of yours, is most definitely is a sport. Any activity that requires you to go to a store and drop a thousand dollar on equipment is a sport. In this case soccer is not a sport, sorry Europe.

Heavenly Mountain Resort has created Epic Discovery Kids, a program offering free access to Heavenly’s new Epic Discovery summer activities to 2,000 kids from Lake Tahoe schools and non-profits as well as regional non-profits.

Not only have the Girl Scouts from Troop #143 been helping fill bags of food all year for the Bread & Broth 4 Kids program during the whole school year, they also presented the non-profit with a $250 gift card to purchase food with for local children in need. They raised the money from selling Girl Scout cookies this past winter.

The fourth and fifth graders wanted to earn their Bronze Award and decided they wanted to find a community service project that would help other kids and found the Bread & Broth 4 Kids a natural choice.

In the early morning hours of June 10, 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was walking to the school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe when Philip and Nancy Garrido abducted her and imprisoned her for 18 years in the back yard of their Antioch California home. The only clues came from the sole eye witness to the kidnapping, Carl Probyn – Jaycee’s step father, who provided information on the car and one of the occupants.

The park is clean, the picnic tables are stained, and the pond is stocked, all in time for the annual Kid's Fishing Derby hosted by the Lake Tahoe Optimist Club.

From 8:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 4, all children 14-years-old and under are invited to Sawmill Pond to enjoy a morning packed with fun.

There will be prize giveaways, free hot dogs and drinks donated by Raley's Supermarket.

Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters, Francine Tanner and Mack the Naw will be on hand with loaners poles, tackle and to help with fish cleaning.

Bread & Broth would like to thank and acknowledge the South Tahoe Middle School Club Live. Club Live is a program for middle school students that promotes a healthy life style through leadership events, recreational trips and community service projects. Under the guidance of Larry Lambdin and Beth Aiton, the program’s co-advisors, five members of the club helped serve at the Club Live’s “Adopt A Day of Nourishment” on Monday, May 16.

The weather is starting to clear and temperatures are warming up, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget, when you are coming or going from the Lake Tahoe Basin, check out the Caltrans message board at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/. Click on "Options" and "message boards." This handy tool shows you the exact time it takes to get from town over the mountain so you can stay longer and avoid the traffic!

Here is a list of some of the things to do on the South side:

Lake Tahoe Summer Kick Off Car and Bike Show at the Heavenly Village

"Nerves of steel, patience of a saint," is how Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Transportation Supervisor Christy Blach described the bus drivers entrusted with carrying the community's children around in the big yellow school buses.

On Tuesday evening, LTUSD honored driver Coral Lathrop with their Bus Driver of the Year award. Lathrop has been driving full time since 2014, and is a favorite amount parents, kids and fellow drivers.

Charlotte Benton passed away surrounded by her loved ones on May 7. 2016.

Charlotte was born January 20, 1963 in Ely, Nev., to Max Ercanbrack and Melba Austin. Her family moved to South lake Tahoe when she was five years old. She graduated from South Tahoe high school in 1981.

She worked at Horizon casino for many years.

Charlotte loved her children and especially her grandchildren. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend. She will be missed deeply. Charlotte was preceded in death by her parents and son, Chase Benton.

El Dorado County Public Health and school officials are reminding parents of a new California school immunization law, SB 277 that went into effect January 1, 2016. The law eliminates exemptions based on personal beliefs, including religious beliefs, for the vaccines that are currently required for entry into child care or school, kindergarten through grade 12.

In a representative democracy, the system the United States supposedly has, the policy making is controlled by the representatives elected by the people. The idea behind representative democracy is that people will elect representatives that will serve their best interest. However, in the United States the funding for election campaigns is provided by large corporations, banks, and a handful of wealthy individuals that results in the election of representatives who serve the best interests of the large corporations, banks, and wealthy individuals.

There will be three open seats on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education this fall when voters head to the polls on November 8, 2016.

Governed by a team of five members, only Board President Barbara Bannar and member Ginger Nicolay-Davis are not up for re-election. Seats held by incumbents Adam Jones, Dr. Michael Doyle and Dr. Larry Green will be on the ballot.

Adam Jones, who represents Trustee Area #1, was appointed to the Board in March 2015 following the resignation of Sue Novasel.

This week's pet of the week is Bear, a very handsome two-year-old German Shepard-Malamute mix. He is a lovely dog and is not happy being stuck in a cage at the shelter.

Bear would make a wonderful pet, he gets along with children and learns quickly.

Come visit Bear out at The El Dorado County Animal Services, 530-573-7925. For Spay-Neuter services and other support, call the Lake Tahoe Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at 530-542-2857.

Cookiebun and Selenium, the rabbits, are still looking for a home

The City of South Lake Tahoe has hired a new Development Services Director to replace Shawna Brekke-Read, who left the position in December after a year on the job.

City Manager Nancy Kerry today announced the selection of Kevin Fabino for the position. Fabino will be leaving his job as the head of the City of Reedley's Planning, Building and Engineering Divisions and will start the new job in South Lake Tahoe later this month.

During their April 19 meeting, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s Safe Routes to School Master Plan. With this approval, the Supervisors support plans to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and safety around Lake Tahoe schools through infrastructure upgrades, education and encouragement programs, and better enforcement of traffic laws.