paramedics

It is "Pay It Forward Day" once again at California Burger in South Lake Tahoe on Monday, June 12, 2017. All proceeds at the popular restaurant in the Heavenly Village go back to the employees.

This is becoming a recurring event at California Burger. They had Pay it Forward day for the employees in May after the inaugural one in 2016.

"All profits for the day will be given back to the employees," said co-owner Ted Kennedy. "It's their money and they can do with it as they wish, but the hope is that they will use it to help someone less fortunate in their community."

On US50 approximately five miles east of Dayton, a Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) Trooper was involved in a fatal crash at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, June 5. One person was confirmed deceased on scene. The Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper was transported via CareFlight to Renown with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

The deceased victim of the crash is an adult male, according to a witness on-scene who performed CPR on him before paramedics arrived. His name has not been released. Family is being notified.

The first South Lake Tahoe Police Department community gathering was a successful one on Saturday as the 50th anniversary of the department was celebrated with hundreds of people at Lakeview Commons. There were rides on both the police and fire boats, a concert, BBQ, interactions with the police K-9s, booths, fingerprinting and an awards ceremony.

Going above and beyond the call of duty was recognized with awards to both staff members and the public.

Without a boat since 2015, South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) will ask City Council for $75,000 on Tuesday for the purchase of a used SAFE boat.

The former fire rescue boat, Marine 17, was taken off the lake (decommissioned) in 2015 after 15 years of service. Needed repairs amounted to more than the value of the boat. Since the SLTFR has borrowed Marine 2 which belongs to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD).

The following are incidents the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue department responded to from March 1 - 6, 2017.

3/1/17: 7 calls - 4 EMS, 2 interfacility transfers, 1 dispatched and canceled en route

3/2/17: 11 calls - 5 EMS, 1 alarm sounded/no fire, 1 sprinkler activation/no fire, 1 detector activation/no fire, 1 EMS dispatched and canceled en route, 2 no incident found

3/3/17: 15 calls - 8 EMS, 2 interfacility transfers, 1 interfacility psych transfer, 2 carbon monoxide incidents, 1 alarm sounded/no fire, 1 smoke detector activation/no fire

Due to ongoing power outages and damage caused by extreme winter conditions in Lake Tahoe, a West Shore Safety Assessment Operation is being coordinated by a group of local agencies led by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and North Tahoe Fire Protection District (NTFPD) to make sure residents are safe. Other participants include the Placer County Office of Emergency Services, Meeks Bay Fire Protection District, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, and NTFPD Community Emergency Response Team are coordinating a West Shore Safety Assessment Operation.

The following 47 businesses took out business licenses with the City of South Lake Tahoe during the month of September:

09/01/2016
ASHLIE CURTIN RIDESHARE
DANIEL JONES RIDESHARE
DONNAS RIDESHARE
N. CEBALLOS INC

09/02/2016
CLAY RUSSELL RIDESHARE
IVANA RIDESHARE
JACQUELINE PALMER RIDESHARE
MIGUEL R RIDESHARE
RANDY CARLSON RIDESHARE

09/06/2016
KDC CONSTRUCTION
SHANNON SMITH RIDESHARE

09/07/2016
EFREN ROSALES RIDESHARE
HEALING JOURNEYS

09/08/2016
SIERRA VIEW HONEY

09/09/2016
RANDYS QUALITY ROOFING
RITCHIE ELECTRIC
RYAN SELF RIDESHARE

09/13/2016

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Douglas County TRIAD presented this year’s Senior Citizen’s Academy from September 12 through September 16, resulting in the graduation of 34 students who attended the week long program.

The goal of the Senior Citizen’s Law Enforcement Academy is to provide crime fighting educational programs, fire safety and general information to senior citizens of Douglas County.

A 63-year-old man diving in Lake Tahoe near Glenbrook Bay died on Monday, September 5.

Marine Patrols from Douglas County Sheriff, Washoe County Sheriff and El Dorado County Sheriff, along with Tahoe Douglas Fire all responded to the distress call of a scuba diver in trouble just after 10:00 a.m.

A man who had been in custody at the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville since November has died.

Correctional officers found Dennis Renk, 39, unresponsive in his cell at 12:24 a.m. Saturday, August 27.

Renk was immediately treated by the officers and jail medical staff, then transferred into the care of El Dorado County Fire Paramedics and transported to Marshall Hospital. He was pronounced deceased by hospital staff at 4:13 p.m.

He had been in custody since November 6, 2015, when he was arrested on charges of homicide after an altercation in Camino, Calif.

South Shore ambulance service has been a hot topic both locally, and across the county with growing concern over the costs and resulting manpower shortage of providing interfacility transfers (IFTs) to facilities outside of El Dorado County.

To understand the recent actions of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS), a look at the past year is warranted.

The City of South Lake Tahoe Wants Out of the Ambulance Business

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.

An unidentified inmate at the Douglas County Jail in Minden attempted suicide over the weekend by tying a sheet around his neck.

On July 1 at about 2:45 p.m., paramedics were summoned to the jail for an unconscious male. The 49-year-old male was not breathing. Deputies began CPR while the fire department was responding.

The inmate was transported to a local hospital. He has since returned to custody at the DCSO jail. The inmate was in custody for a probation violation originally related to a DUI 3rd offense.

The following are incidents the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue department responded to from May 19 - May 31, 2016.

5/19 - 8 calls: 2 EMS, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 power line down, 1 EMS/Rescue standby, 1 false alarm, 1 psych interfacility transfer, 1 no incident found

5/20 - 3 calls: 1 EMS, 1 good intent call, 1 service call "other"

5/21 - 5 calls: 2 EMS, 2 interfacility transfers, 1 good intent call

5/22 - 7 calls: 5 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 electrical wiring/equipment problem

The following are incidents the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue department responded to from May 13 - May 18, 2016.

5/13 - 3 Calls: 3 EMS

5/14 - 9 Calls: 5 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 system malfunction, 1 good intent call

5/15 - 5 Calls: 2 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 dispatch error, 1 "special type of incident"

5/16 - 13 Calls: 6 EMS, 1 assist invalid, 1 alarm sounded due to malfunction, 3 smoke detector activation - no smoke, 2 canceled en route

5/17 - 5 Calls: 4 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston and the City's representatives on the Cal Tahoe JPA have repeated several times publicly that the City will not leave the area stranded without adequate ambulance service when they pull out of the Cal Tahoe JPA. Both Meston and City Councilmember Tom Davis, who sits on the JPA board, said the City will continue to supply ambulance personnel for at least 90 days after their original termination date of April 15 to ease the transition of EMS services to Lake Valley Fire Department.

A South Lake Tahoe man was hit by a car on Saturday night, resulting in serious injuries and an arrest for felony hit and run.

Scott Murphy, 26, was walking along the eastbound side of Highway 50, east of Apache Avenue, talking to his girlfriend on the phone at about 9:45 p.m. on March 26 according to the California Highway Patrol. A BMW driven by Roberto Luna, 21, was also heading east and, for unknown reasons, allowed the right front side of his car to hit Murphy. Luna, of San Francisco, Calif., was driving an estimated 50 mph, ten miles above the posted speed limit.

Chief Jeff Meston and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) held their annual awards ceremony on Friday January 29, 2016 to celebrate the department's teams members and accomplishments for the past year.

During the ceremony, the following people were honored:

Firefighter of the Year – Mike Mileski
Paramedic of the Year – Sophie Tetlow
Dispatcher of the Year – Linda Clark
STAT Volunteer of the Year – Leonard Smith

Fire Chief’s Meritorious Awards were presented to Marty Creel, Kim George, Jody Benavidez, and Brenen Davis for their work on special projects.

It has been and will remain the mission of the Lake Valley Fire Protection District to provide the highest level of public safety services for our community, its people, and the environment. As our motto states, it is “Because We Care “. Driven by these guiding principles, in 2001 the LVFPD entered into a partnership with the City of South Lake Tahoe to provide fire based ambulance transportation and advanced life support paramedic services throughout the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.

A Gardnerville man was arrested Tuesday night after a shotgun was discharged through the wall of a duplex, injuring two people.

At 11:30 p.m. on December 15, 2015, Douglas County Sheriff deputies got a call that shots were fired and someone was hurt in the 1400 block of Kimmerling Road in Gardnerville.

The Larch Avenue neighborhood's quite Tuesday evening was disrupted by what was described as a violent explosion caused by an illegal honey oil lab.

"My mother's floor rose and fell," said neighbor Daniel Castillo. His mother and sister live in the apartment above where the explosion occurred. Their apartment has a large crack above the front door. "My nephew was standing outside when it happened," Castillo continued. "He said the windows of the apartment came out like a balloon being blown up."

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

2/22
4 p.m. - Driving on a Suspended/Revoked License - Lake Tahoe Blvd - A 27-YEAR OLD MALE DRIVER WAS CITED/RELEASED FOR DRIVING WITH A SUSPENDED LICENSE AND NO IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE.

A domestic argument in South Lake Tahoe Monday night lead to a woman getting into her car, driving over large boulders, through a building and coming to rest against a tree.

South Lake Tahoe Police, Fire, Paramedics and El Dorado County Sheriffs responded to a 911 call reporting that a car went through the local Jack in the Box. When responders arrived they found a car partially inside a building on the corner of Sussex and Brockway Avenues, across the street from the restaurant.

Two fires were quickly extinguished by the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in the early hours on Sunday.

In the first incident, a fire was reported off Echo Road behind the power substation near the Stateline Raley's. When firefighters arrived at about 12:20 a.m., they found five foot flames coming from what was later determined to be an illegal campfire at a transient person's camp. They quickly cut a line around the fire and contained it to a 10 foot square.