schools

Snowglobe gave back to the community by using local high school boosters clubs to run their merchandising booths during the three-day music festival in South Lake Tahoe.

Both the South Tahoe High and George Whittell High School booster clubs participated.

"The Snowglobe staff was unbelievable, Chad Donnelly, Leah Chisholm, Lauren Winschester, Kaitlin (in accounting), Erin (credential) and Luke White," said the booster clubs. "The job was a little larger than described but it was a great learning experience and fundraiser for both schools."

The public is invited to see the proposed plans for the new athletic facility for Whittell High School at the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Center on Tuesday, December 12 at 3:30 p.m. during a meeting of the Douglas County School Board.

Lisa Maloff donated $3 million to put in a new football field, six-lane track and new concession building at the high school on Warrior Way in Zephyr Cove, Nev.

Plans created by RO Anderson Engineering will be unveiled during a presentation at the board meeting.

Jeff DeFranco will become the fifth superintendent/president of Lake Tahoe Community College on February 1, 2016, succeeding Dr. Kindred Murillo who is leaving to take the same position at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.

The LTCC Board of Trustees announced their selection at Tuesday's board meeting. DeFranco is currently the school's vice president of administrative services, a job he has held since 2012.

"This is very surreal," DeFranco said as he addressed the trustees after the announcement. "It's a dream come true."

The 8th annual Barton Festival of Trees & Lights at MontBleu got underway on Thursday with the Senior Stroll, complete with an ukulele concert and treats.

Judging of the decorated trees also took place. A team of local media, chamber members and educators viewed the trees and judged them on criteria including elegance, theme and creativity.

The Best of Show and Best Interpretation of Theme awards went to "Woodland Queen."

Looking for a way to help your community by volunteering a few hours a month? Bread & Broth, an all volunteer organization whose mission is to ease hunger in the Lake Tahoe South Shore community, has several volunteer opportunities.

Serving the community with hot meals since 1989, Bread & Broth has expanded to offering "Second Serving" on Fridays at Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church and Bread & Broth 4 Kids, 150 backpacks full of food each week for local school children in need.

The spirit of Christmas comes to life as the 17 piece Reno Jazz Orchestra and Pat Ester’s Gospel Choir brings Christmas favorites, jazz, and soul - with a few surprises mixed in – for three performances of feel good, ‘get ready for the holidays’ music and song.

Each year the Orchestra presents a holiday show with a new theme; this year it's a festive combination of jazz and gospel.

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John Joseph Castellanos, a South Lake Tahoe area lawyer, passed away suddenly on November 5, 2016.

John was born on October 31, 1949 to loving parents Jose Juan and Lucille Castellanos in Stockton, California. He is the second of six siblings, who all experienced the sad loss of their father at an early age and whose memory brought them closer as family. John lived the values and beliefs of his parents, especially his beloved mother. He was a devoted son and loving brother and loyal to many friends.

To the South Lake Tahoe Community,

With the election over, I am writing to congratulate the new LTUSD Board members, to respond to some of the claims Derek Allister made public in the final days of the election, and to reaffirm my commitment to volunteer my time and talents to this school district into the future.

Jim Antti started off working as a firefighter/paramedic for Tahoe Doulgas Fire Protection District 24 years ago, and today he is their new assistant chief.

Antti was hired in June of 1992, promoted to captain in February, 2003, and to battalion chief in June, 2013.

All candidates for South Lake Tahoe City Council were given the same questions. With just one day to go to the elections, we will be featuring their answers and a video of their interview with Tahoe Regional Young Professionals through the day.

JoAnn Conner, 67, Small Business Owner, 35 years in SLT.

Discuss your interest in serving on City Council. What is your prior experience in working with civic, community or governmental organizations?

This is a critical School Board election. It is important that our future Board continue the great work our present Board has completed over the last decade. So, it is imperative that Larry Reilly be elected as LTUSD School Board Trustee for Area #1. There is a great deal of work that needs to be done in our district. There are important decisions that need to be made. Our schools and our community need practical, tough, experienced leadership to support Dr. Tarwater in his continuing efforts to make LTUSD a great district for our children.

Rumors were flying around schools and on social media in South Lake Tahoe this week about a Whooping Cough (pertussis) outbreak at Tahoe Valley Elementary. A 4th grade student became sick with symptoms that resemble pertussis, but that cannot be confirmed for two weeks.

Larry Reilly is the most qualified candidate for the LTUSD School Board. He has dedicated his life to education in the Lake Tahoe basin, holding the same teaching position at George Whittell High School for over 30 years. As one of his colleagues at Whittell and a concerned LTUSD parent, I can vouch for Larry Reilly's clear understanding of educational policy and his ability to communicate and work with both school administration and the community.

I am a resident and registered voter in Nevada, but I work in Meyers, attended Meyers Elementary, grew up in Christmas Valley, and graduated from South Tahoe High School (STHS). The state line is a blur to me because I view the South Shore as one community. I have two children currently in high school, one at Whittell and one at STHS; I also have another child who graduated from Whittell and is now a college freshman. I believe that a good public education system is the great equalizer in America, and that every child has a right to the best education possible.

You hear of the "great recession" causing issues in many areas from jobs and income to housing, but another victim is quality child care in South Lake Tahoe.

Prior to 2009 there were over 45 licensed day care providers on the South Shore, a majority of them licensed for 12 children and open evenings and weekends. Now, there are just 20, 12 of which are licensed for 12, the other eight are small licenses, for six children or less.

The semi-annual Cram-A-Cruiser Day will be held at the Grocery Outlet at 2358 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, October 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Cram-A-Cruiser day encourages the community to fill up a South Lake Tahoe police cruiser with food to be given to children at local schools who need nutrition over the weekend when the LTUSD free lunch program doesn't cover meals.

For the past several months there has been no official SLEDNET servicing the South Shore, and today it was announced that the drug task force that has been serving the community since 1988 has dissolved.

2016 is the 26th year that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has handed out its "Best in the Basin" award for projects in the Lake Tahoe basin that demonstrate exceptional planning and implementation and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

During Wednesday's TRPA board meeting in Kings Beach, the nine winners for the year were honored.

The City of South Lake Tahoe was one of those recipients for the Bijou Bike Park project, a collaborative effort between the City and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association.

There will be an informal gathering on Wednesday, September 28 at the Blue Angel Cafe to meet a couple of candidates running for Area 4 school district boards.

Dave Hamilton, who is running for Lake Tahoe Community College Board, and Troy Matthews, who is running for Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board, will be at the restaurant, which is located at 1132 Ski Run Blvd., from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Come meet them, ask any questions you might have, and talk about the future of South Lake Tahoe schools.

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Leilani (Lani) Mock Anderson died peacefully on September 12, 2016 at the age of 77. She was born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania on March 10, 1939 to Henry Mock of Waipio Valley, Hawaii and Mary Jane Brashier Mock Shirley of Pennsylvania. She had one sister Jane Rowe Ronca who lives in Arizona.

Social media was abuzz this week as South Tahoe High came is as the seventh most beautiful high school campus in the State of California according to the Texas based national driver's education company, Aceable.

Part One in an NPR Ed series on mental health in schools.

You might call it a silent epidemic.

Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.

So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

And yet most children — nearly 80 percent — who need mental health services won't get them.

It’s time for the residents of South Lake Tahoe to employ one of their greatest characteristics with regard to affordable housing – creativity. Creativity is a prerequisite to thriving and sustaining in this town, it always has been. How many times has someone off the hill asked how you can make a living being here? We do it by willing it with creative, even experimental ideas, and now we need to do that together to put a halt to a terrible trend with housing.

The doors opened at all seven schools in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Monday, welcoming students back after their summer vacations.

At Tahoe Valley Elementary, not only were the doors opened, but the red carpet was rolled out, literally. Staff and members of the California Highway Patrol greeted students as they entered the school with fanfare and balloon in celebration of their return.

Not only did the students enjoy the processional, but parents, staff and officers did as well.