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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was found in drinking water wells in South Lake Tahoe near the "Y" in 1989, and it remains in the groundwater today, forming a containment plume from the intersection of Highway 50 and State Route 89 and heading toward Lake Tahoe through the Tahoe Keys.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Two new physicians have been added to the Barton Health team, Joseph Hancock, MD and W. Reid Shepard, DO. They are both providing services at Barton’s new General Surgery and Gastroenterology office at 1139 Third Street in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A study on the health needs of the South Lake Tahoe community has once again put mental health and mental disorders at the top of the list, followed by substance abuse, and access to healthcare services.

Every three years Barton Health conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment to identity the key health issues facing the area. They use a systematic, data-driven process to determine the health status, concerns, and needs of residents in the South Tahoe community.

The 2018 results are a follow-up to similar studies completed in 2012 and 2015.

Gregory Burkard Jr., DO is an interventional pain and sports medicine physiatrist who recently joined Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. I sat down with him to learn more about his medical specialty and the services available.

Natasha Schue (NS): What exactly does a physiatrist do?
Dr. Burkard: I see and treat people living with pain. Pain can be caused by one or several factors. Most patients I see have pain from sports injuries, overuse injuries, and accidents that unfortunately resulted in functional disabilities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City Council will be voting to hire Frank Rush as the new South Lake Tahoe City Manager during their Tuesday, October 16 meeting.

Rush, 49, who has been Emerald Isle, N.C. town manager since 2001, was one of five candidate finalists interviewed for the job after the City Council hired a recruiting firm on April 17, 2018. Dirk Brazil, the interim SLT city manager, said the process has been a fair one with extensive work between the City's human resources department and the recruiter. Rush was a unanimous choice by the City Council.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Each of the nine candidates for City Council answered the same ten questions that were given to them by South Tahoe Now. For nine consecutive days the candidate's responses will be shared in the order received.

Patrick Jarrett shares his thoughts in his quest for a seat on the South Lake Tahoe City Council:

Suicide is a public health issue that impacts everyone. For some of us, we are reminded of suicide daily. Yet, it is important to know that suicide can be prevented.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is one of the top ten causes of death in the United States. The leading reason for suicide is unmanaged depression or a mood disorder. Considering that 20 to 25 percent of Americans are affected by depression, it is important to know the signs that may help save someone’s life.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Cooler temperatures and changing colors of the leaves remind us that autumn has arrived, but keep in mind that fire danger is very high this time of year. Vegetation that can feed a wildfire has had all summer to dry out and is ready to burn. Fall provides the perfect opportunity to check areas where burning embers might accumulate near your home or on your property during a wildfire. The places where pine needles and leaves pile up also tend to be where embers would accumulate during a fire.

There is no greater responsibility in all of government than public safety and the public’s lifeline is the 9-1-1 system.

Every single day, people rely on 9-1-1 to connect with police, fire and EMS responders. For shooting events, wildfires, and even last year’s Oroville Dam incident, 9-1-1 call centers are regularly overwhelmed with calls from the public
requiring assistance. Unfortunately, an increasing reliance on cell phones and reduced “landline” usage is threatening the future of 9-1-1 services.

A 52-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested in the area of North Curry and West Spear streets for felony suspicion of third DUI, driving on a revoked license, and following too close, a Carson City sheriff's deputy said.

Ragan Allen Stacey was arrested after deputies responded to a two vehicle crash Saturday evening. Dispatch advised the driver of one of the vehicles was walking away from the crash, and deputies were able to locate him on North Curry Street.

Last month this column focused on the faces of Tahoe’s housing crisis. This month we look at a few promising solutions from other tourist communities.

One example is the Town of Vail’s “Vail InDEED” program. Like Tahoe, the Town of Vail is constrained by a lack of available land and high construction costs. Development of new housing is slow and costly. The Vail InDEED program was created to deed restrict existing properties to create a market for locals only.

Since tetrachloroethylene, PCE, was found in drinking water wells near the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe, local water companies have been working together to ensure residents have safe drinking water. Those companies, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Lukins Brothers Water Company, and Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association, will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, August 8, to provide updates about the groundwater contaminant at the South Lake Tahoe Airport from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Perry Fire burning between Reno and Pyramid Lake has now burned 25,600 acres and is now 15 percent contained. It started Friday evening and the cause is unknown at this time.

STATELINE, Nev. - It was a come from behind victory for Tony Romo Sunday, something he was familiar with during his career with the Dallas Cowboys. He was four points back during the final round, jumping ahead of the defending champ, three-time winner Mark Mulder and the leader from the first two rounds, Joe Pavelski.

“It’s a special win,” said Romo, who had finished second three times in seven previous trips to the annual celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. “It feels like you’re playing a tournament back home here. The day felt good for a lot of reasons.”

The City of South Lake Tahoe is honored to announce the Marine Band San Diego Marching Band will be in the 4th of July Parade on Wednesday, July 4th at 10:00 a.m. The parade will be immediately followed by a celebratory BBQ benefiting local American Legion Post 795 and performances by the Marine Band San Diego. The BBQ and performances will be held at Bijou Community Park located at 1201 Al Tahoe Blvd.

Just under 40 percent of the registered voters in Douglas County cast their ballots in the primary election Tuesday. With 100 percent of the precincts counted in Douglas County, the following results are in:

Sheriff

Coverley, Dan 6,954 53.79%
Duffy, Joe 3,173 24.54%
Brady, David J. 1,971 15.25%
Paris, Dean 830 6.42%

County Commissioner District 2

Engels, John 4,445 52.57%
Thaler, Steven (incumbent) 4,011 47.43%

County Commissioner District 4

Rice, Wesley A. 4,420 52.69%
Murphy, Janet 3,968 47.31%

Douglas County Assessor

Tholen, Trent 4,222 51.31%

100 percent of the precincts have been counted and there are just some mail-ins waiting for be tabulated and counts can be changed until count is final.

County Supervisor Area 5

Sue Novasel - 1604 Votes or 36.90%
Kenny Curtzwiler - 1419 Votes or 32.64%
Jeffrey Spencer - 718 Votes or 16.52%
Norma Santiago - 597 Votes or 13.73%

County Supervisor Area 4

Michael Ranalli - 3599 votes or 50.03%
Lori Parlin - 2698 votes or 37.50%
Bogdan Ambrozewicz - 888 votes or 12.34%

County District Attorney

Inclement weather has delayed the completion of work on the damaged NV Energy underground electrical vault on Highway 50 at Stateline to Friday, June 1. They had originally planned for work to be completed on May 17.

The road has been paved with a temporary patch and both westbound lanes will remain open to traffic until permanent paving begins on Wednesday, May 30. Eastbound lanes will remain open during the course of work.

Meet the four candidates for the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors at the South Lake Tahoe Democratic Club's candidate forum on Thursday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the California Conservation Corps, 1949 Apache Avenue in Meyers.

Sue Novasel, the incumbent is being challenged by former Supervisor Norma Santiago, local businessman Ken Curtzwiler and transportation specialist Jeffrey Spencer.

The primary will be held on June 5, 2018.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - 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 time of story.

Some of those recently added to last week's log:

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MEYERS and SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Don Ashton has been making the rounds to communities throughout the county, explaining the budget through an informative presentation and discussion.

Most of the communities Ashton has visited have had 15-20 citizens in attendance, all asking questions and giving input in the budget process as Ashton and the Supervisors figure out how to save $20M over the next four years to meet CalPers pension liabilities.

Non-profit partners of government agencies play a critical role in managing trails, recreation, planning and other essential activities taking place on public lands. Locally, the Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) is the region’s largest non-profit trail organization and has the primary responsibility for managing and maintaining about 200 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails in and around the Tahoe Basin in partnership with the US Forest Service (USFS) and NV State Parks.

A mother Black Bear saved from being euthanized, along with her three cubs, are now calling the Oakland Zoo California Trail expansion their new home.

10:55 a.m. update: Crews have fixed the primary wire that went down in the Angora Creek area Thursday morning. At first restoration was estimated at by 2:30 p.m. It is unknown how the wire came down.

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Crews from Liberty Utilities are on their way to the US50 and Angora Creek area due to customers reporting partial, or no power.

The affected area includes Dixie Mountain Rd, Pyramid Court and Circle, Mt. Shasta Circle and Snow Mountain.