South Lake Tahoe community

The South Lake Tahoe community is doing what they do best, helping out others when needed.

With the Butte Fire forcing hundreds out of their homes while destroying over a hundred of them, and burning tens of thousands of acres, people in that community are in need of assistance.

Enter into the picture Monica Nichols and dozens of other locals as they spearheaded a donation drive and are now taking them into the burn area.

A multi-sport expedition that took participants from mountain top to mountain top, up rocks and into the lake and along rivers has wrapped up in South Lake Tahoe. Eleven teams with four members each spent the past several days running, biking, orienteering, mountain climbing, kayaking over 520 miles of some of the world's most beautiful terrain.

The students at Mt. Tallac High School may not be experiencing the traditional path to graduation, but they are now going to experience a new one focused on work ethic and careers.

The dynamic duo team of Holly Greenough and Amy Jackson are beginning Phase Two of what they started last year, a program that takes students from school to career. The students that attend Mt. Tallac are the ones that stay in town, unlike others who take the college path and leave town and start a career and families elsewhere.

When Governor Jerry Brown told the residents of the state to cut back their water usage, he had the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) tell each region how much to cut back. That benchmark in South Lake Tahoe was 20%.

For the past three months, residents have cut much more than that. In May, water use at South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) was down 34%, followed by 24% in June and 27% in July. This is on top of the 27% reduction in water use that the district's customer have accomplished since 2007.

Inmates from the Tahoe jail's culinary arts program won 17 awards at this summer's El Dorado County Fair, something they've done consistently for the past nine years. Since 2007, inmates have had food entries at the fair, bringing home a total of three best in shows, 51 first place awards, 47 second place awards, and 13 third place awards.

This year the inmates entered 18 items winning 17 awards. They received 10 first place and 7 second place ribbons. The ribbons are all posted down the walls at the jail's kitchen.

Sixty children from the South Lake Tahoe community are participating in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Aladdin in two performance on July 10, one at 3:00 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m.. Sponsored by the Tahoe Arts Project, this annual event gives children the chance to shine on the local stage.

Both performances will take place at the South Tahoe Middle School Multi-Purpose room.

The Food Bank of El Dorado County, in partnership with California Emergency Food Link, is holding a free Farmer's Market for the South Lake Tahoe community. During their stop in town last month, almost 200 families received food.

On Wednesday, June 24, a truck full of food including fresh produce will be at the American Legion Hall located at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

There will be one allocation per household. For information please contact them at:

Since 2003 there has been Leadership Lake Tahoe and a few hundred people can now say they've graduated from this worthwhile program. What started as an annual joint venture between the two Chambers of Commerce that served the South Shore is now a biennial leadership experience.

I was a member of Leadership Lake Tahoe in 2006 and I can say that it changed my life.

Have you ever wanted to share your opinion, comments, ideas and other thoughts with the City of South Lake Tahoe? Everyone is now able to speak up on a website with just that name: Speak Up SLT.

Communication is now easier, both for giving and receiving feedback on this forum. SpeakUp SLT will combine the power of social innovation and crowdsourcing with an online forum to prioritize projects and make the best decisions for our community. Citizens can vote on, comment on, and share other citizens’ ideas, as well as their own

Give Where You Live! is a 24-hour giving challenge coordinated by the El Dorado Community Foundation. This year's day long giving day is Thursday, April 23, 2015.

“We have approximately 70 nonprofits participating in the event this year. Each nonprofit will have its own website presence to highlight a particular need or needs for which it is focusing giving dollars, as well as more information about the organization in general,” said Megan Buchanan, donor services coordinator at the foundation.

BloodSource will hold a South Lake Tahoe Community blood drive to meet the community need for blood and blood products. The new blood drive location will be at the South Lake Tahoe Parks and Recreation Center Gymnasium at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. The blood drive is sponsored by the Barton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. Walk-ins are welcome.

Location

Caltrans will be working on Highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe from the "Y" to Cascade Road, north of Camp Richardson and they are holding an open house about the project on Wednesday.

The South Lake Tahoe community to the informational meeting on Wednesday, April 1 at South Tahoe High School in the Student Union Conference Rooms. The school is located at 1735 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The student Union is located in the middle of the campus just beyond the back of the gyms.

Caltrans staff will be on hand to answer questions about the project.

Community members, school officials, local planners and agencies have been involved with the South Tahoe Middle School Connectivity Plan for months and the final plan will soon be available. The goal has been to create safer, more walkable and bikeable off highway routes around South Tahoe Middle School (STMS), Bijou Park and Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC). A $150,000 grant from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District got the activity in motion.

It's been almost three months since Measure F passed and now is the time for the $55 million bond approved by the voters to start being put to use.

The South Lake Tahoe community is invited to a LTCC Open House on Thursday, February 5 at 5 p.m. to learn more information about the bond and to hear about what projects and new construction will be coming to the campus.

Former South Lake Tahoe resident Terrie Q. Sayre passed away Friday in her home in Albuquerque, NM at the age of 54 following a short illness. Sayre, a former Miss Nevada, was the News Director for KTHO and KOWL while in South Lake Tahoe. She made her mark while on the South Shore and in Reno where she was a news anchor on KOH and host of a real estate TV show.

News reports out of New Mexico say that Sayre, who was an on air personality on KKOB 770 in Albuquerque, died after an illness. A close friend of Sayre's told KOB Thursday evening she had been battling the flu for a month.

The death of 19-year old Alyssa Byrne during the 2013 SnowGlobe event in South Lake Tahoe is still on people's minds, especially now that the temperatures have dropped into single digits with wind chills expected to take them down into negative figures.

Nick and Kadi Alfield wanted to do something this year in Byrne's memory, so they had a booth at SnowGlobe that not only charged cell phones but also gave away gloves, scarves and hats to attendees who were cold.

Recently the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, in conjunction with South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling, conducted a “drive and drop” at the LTVA’s California Visitors Center, and curbside collection on regular pick-up days. Once again we were overwhelmed by the generous response from our South Lake Tahoe community. Together we collected over 1,500 pounds of food and toys to benefit Christmas Cheer all Year, plus over $1,200 in cash, $1,000 of which was donated by the Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe.

"We want to take care of everyone that needs it," said Cardinale Way General Manager Joe Caracciolo when asked what moved the South Lake Tahoe dealership to offer free Thanksgiving dinners for 400 people this Thursday.

From 10 a.m. to noon on Thanksgiving, people who need a meal can go to the American Legion parking lot and receive a fully cooked meal which will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables and a roll.

To The Community,

Thank you for your support of and confidence in the students, Board, faculty, staff, and leadership of Lake Tahoe Community College. We’d like to personally thank the South Lake Tahoe community for lending your support to Measure F, and for turning out this Election Day. This community’s four-decade-long involvement and interest in the college is what keeps LTCC going. You’ve supported your local community college, and we hope in the months and years to come, you’ll see firsthand the difference Measure F is making and will join us in celebrating its passage.

Several residents of the South Lake Tahoe community were scammed out of thousands of dollars over the weekend by fraudulent phone callers identifying themselves as law enforcement officers. The callers, who apparently sounded very convincing and knew names of local judges, court clerks and officers, told the unsuspecting citizens that there were warrants for their arrest due to failing to respond to a jury duty summons.

Months before they are scheduled to open, the Hard Rock Casino of South Lake Tahoe donated goods and materials from the former Horizon property to several local charities.

The company has a history of local philanthropy, and South Lake Tahoe will be no different.

Shawna Brekke-Read has been named the City of South Lake Tahoe's new Development Services Director. She is heading to the Sierra from the Bay Area where she has been the Town of Moraga's Planning Director for the last three years.

City Manager Nancy Kerry made the announcement Thursday. “I am very pleased to announce the selection of Shawna Brekke-Read to join the City’s organization leadership team. We are fortunate to recruit a professional of her caliber, experience and tenacity. I am confident Ms. Brekke-Read will serve the community and City Council well.”

Marijuana is a major concern for many in our City. As part of the City Code, our City Council provided for a safer community by allowing marijuana grow operations only after a permit is obtained. The permit process provides for a building official to inspect for things like:

1. Safe wiring—adding large number of “grow lights” overburdens conventional electric outlets and can cause fires.

Emergency food for the South Lake Tahoe community is available on Wednesday, July 23 when the Food Bank of El Dorado County brings their mobile pantry to town.

They are providing a free farmer's market and mobile food pantry at the American Legion Hall at 2748 Lake Tahoe Blvd from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

One allocation per household is available.

For more information, call 530-621-9950 or email them at info@foodbankedc.org.

Volunteers are needed as well. Use the contact information above if you are able to help.