public safety

The 26 members of the 2017-2018 Leadership Lake Tahoe class have been announced. They will start their ten-month long journey on September 13.

Anjie Goulding - Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Athena Adler - Harrah's & Harveys Lake Tahoe
Brittani Curtis - Tahoe Chamber
Carissa Bisnar - CB Umbrella Group
Carl Franz - Genentech
Eanad Lott - Live Violence Free
Hannah Greenstreet- Live Violence Free/LTUSD
Jason Burke - City of South Lake Tahoe
Jeremy Brown - Lake Tahoe Community College
Julie Lucksinger - Lake Valley Properties
Katharine Miller - El Dorado County Library

UPDATE 8/31 10:00AM - The Slinkard Fire has grown to 5,000 acres with 0 percent containment this morning. The fire has burned to Hwy 395 and crossed Hwy 89 to the north.

Last night, fire crews focused on the eastern flank of the fire along Hwy 395 and engine crews were dedicated to structure protection in northern Topaz. There are no injuries and no structures lost at this time. Power is out in the immediate area.

Trees will be thinned along the Pope Baldwin Bike Path off of State Route 89 north of South Lake Tahoe starting Monday, August 21. Recreationists can expect path closures for up to 30 minutes at a time as flaggers intermittently close the bike path for public safety as trees are falling.

This phase of the project will take place Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and is expected to last several weeks. Bicyclists may use the bike lane on Highway 89 to detour around the traffic control areas.

The Nevada Highway Patrol Association (NHPA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) announced a new strategic partnership today. The partnership will combine the NHPA's goal of continued safety on Nevada's highways and MADD's goals to end drunk and drugged driving, support victims of drunk driving, and bring an end to underage drinking.

SnowGlobe, the annual outdoor music festival in South Lake Tahoe, has come to town over the New Year's Eve holiday since 2011, and now they want to add ten years to their contract that expires this year.

During Tuesday, August 15th's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting, promoters will make a presentation to the City outlining their plans, showing how they think they can become the largest funding source of South Lake Tahoe projects and non-profits.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - El Dorado County has received a $57.14 million loan to build a public safety complex in Diamond Springs that will bring together the Sheriff’s Office operations which are currently spread out across 13 different locations in the county.

The loan is provided through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program.

By proclamation of the County Board of Supervisors, El Dorado County celebrated Probation Services Week this week, July 17 – July 21, 2017. As the Chief Probation Officer in El Dorado County, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the critical work probation does in our criminal justice system and say thank you to all the men and women of my department who work tirelessly to protect our communities, reduce recidivism, restore victims, promote healthy families, and live the vision of our department: Safe Communities Through Changed Lives.

Another busy 4th of July holiday is in the books for South Lake Tahoe. Both the South Lake Tahoe police and fire departments were kept busy with numerous calls throughout the weekend, resulting in one drowning, issues with alcohol and several disturbance calls.

A 27-year-old Douglas County man, a suspect in a California homicide investigation, was arrested Thursday night during a joint agency operation that happened at an Airport Road apartment complex, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.

The arrest happened at around 6:40 p.m. and involved the Carson City Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and California law enforcement agencies.

At 8:45 p.m. Furlong released the following statement:

After a challenging winter and spring in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the summer season is upon us. Agencies around Lake Tahoe (U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, California State Parks, California and Nevada Departments of Wildlife) are reminding residents and visitors to practice proper food storage and trash disposal when living in, or visiting, bear country.

The new public safety memorial wall was dedicated during a public ceremony on Friday. Fire trucks and patrol cars lined the street as law enforcement, US Forest Service and fire personnel gathered at the Happy Homestead Cemetery in South Lake Tahoe.

Speakers included Undersheriff Randy Peshon, South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Chief Jeff Meston.

Every two years a new business plan is presented to the South Lake Tahoe City Council, outlining goals, the vision and strategic priorities. This is done after each election.

In February, City staff, Council and community members got together for a two-day strategic planning session, and the results that came out of that were put into the 2017/18 South Lake Tahoe Business Plan.

The 50th anniversary of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) will be celebrated with a community party on Saturday, May 20 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Lakeview Commons.

There will be food, music, the annual SLTPD awards ceremony, as well as booths to highlight what the department does for the community. Meet SLTPD staff and officers and enjoy fun and games.

Booths include:

SWAT booth – South Lake Tahoe Police Department SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) division will be hosting a booth with educational information.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) acknowledged Tuesday that it had erroneously reported that a man had died from a shooting at Topaz Ranch Estates in south Douglas County.

At 6:46 p.m. Monday, March 20, DCSO deputies responded to 1205 Slate Road where they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds.

The man, Michael Dixon, 50, was taken by air ambulance to Renown Medical Center in Reno with life-threatening injuries.

Also found at the scene was 60-year-old Cathy Clark. She was transported to Renown with a gunshot wound.

Even though the United States Supreme Court declared in 1982 that local school districts have a constitutional mandate to educate all students residing within their jurisdictional boundaries, regardless of their immigration status, actions of President Trump have caused concern among the Latino population of South Lake Tahoe and many other communities.

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office and several law enforcement agencies are investigating new information related to threats made against a Carson City judge, Sheriff Ken Furlong said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Carson City Sheriff’s Office detectives and Department of Public Safety investigators received information that an inmate at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Detention Center was being held on a 2011 felony contempt of court warrant out of Carson City.

Twenty-five years ago, I finished my graduate work in Oregon and moved to Northern Nevada for a planning position at TRPA. Having spent a large part of my youth hiking and camping at Tahoe and in the Sierra, the move felt like coming home.

It wasn't record setting, but it was disturbing for safety officials in Nevada to read the reports that more people died on Nevada roads in 2016 than the previous year.

Preliminary data shows that 327 traffic fatalities occurred on the state's roads in 2016, one more death than in 2015. There were five more crashes, more pedestrians deaths by vehicles (5), and more motorcyclist deaths (21).

Alcohol related crashes and deaths decreased in 2016, with 11.46 percent fewer deaths and 15.38 percent fewer crashes relating to drunk driving.

A cold and unstable air mass heading to the Sierra may lead to widespread snow
showers with the heaviest snow currently expected to be on Tuesday, the day of the next El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting.

On Friday, county officials announced that the meeting may be postponed if the storm proves to be as big as forecasters are predicting. Total snowfall accumulation projections could change, but 1 to 2 feet in the Sierra are possible through Wednesday.

Even though the meeting is held in Placerville, hazardous road conditions are expected and safety is a concern.

Law enforcement is preparing for the annual New Year's Eve party held at Stateline, an outdoor that at one time saw 50,000 people in the streets.

Though Highway 50 through Stateline hasn't had to close until just before midnight the past two years, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) is prepared to close it to vehicle traffic in the evening if necessary for public safety. If that should occur, vehicle traffic will be diverted around the Stateline casino core area using upper and lower Lake Parkway Drive.

Two Markleville, Calif., men were arrested on December 17 after a Department of Fish Wildlife warden caught them near Diamond Valley Road and Airport Road (Alpine County) as they attempted to "spotlight" deer.

According to Lt. Chris Stoots of California Fish & Wildlife, Ramsey Gene Horse, 29, and William Eugene Berreman, 26, were allegedly driving a Ford sedan with an artificial light in an attempt to spot and kill deer, an illegal action called spotlighting. They also had two loaded rifles in the back seat.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested by Washoe County Sheriff's deputies after the teen made over a dozen false reports to emergency dispatch.

Between November 12, 2016 and November 29, 2016, the Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received calls from the Sun Valley area, including reports of mass murder, shoot-outs in the street, and a bomb threat to a local elementary school.

Ready to cut some firewood? Time is running out to do so on U.S. Forest Service land in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The last day to purchase fuelwood permit for the is on Friday, November 18 and the last day to cut wood is Sunday, November 20.

Permits cost $20 per cord, with a two-cord minimum purchase and a limit of 10 cords per household. Permits have specific conditions and complete information is provided when the permit is issued. Maps to designated cutting areas are also provided and must be in the permit holder’s possession along with the valid permit.

Over the past three Halloweens there have been a total of six traffic deaths and 417 crashes during the past three Halloweens in Nevada, so the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) and Nevada Department of Public Safety (NDOT) has joined together to remind both drivers and pedestrians to be safe.