South Tahoe High

South Tahoe High math and choir teacher Paul Kushner has been placed on paid administrative leave by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) pending an investigation into undisclosed allegations.

"The nature of the allegations, and the investigation process, are confidential," Shannon Chandler, Executive Assistant to the LTUSD Superintendent, told South Tahoe Now as she verified Kushner was placed on leave.

When asked about the circumstances, LTUSD Board President Barbara Bannar said she could not comment on personnel matters.

Hard work does pay off, just ask South Tahoe High Senior McKenna Brewer.

The six-foot tall volleyball player from South Lake Tahoe is now headed to the next level and will be playing for Sonoma State next fall.

"I'm so excited," said McKenna as she signed a letter of intent to be the newest Sonoma Seawolf at the high school Thursday. Besides playing volleyball she will also be studying nursing.

McKenna started playing volleyball in seventh grade and hasn't looked back.

There is a brand new club at South Tahoe High School that needs the help of student leaders to bring awareness about mental health to their fellow students on campus. Together, the students will work to end the stigma and made it understood that its okay to seek help, and where and when to find it.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of El Dorado County has spearheaded the new club which is called "STHS NAMI On Campus/Brain Health Leadership Club."

New York performer and choreographer Sebastiani Romagnolo grew up dancing with Marcia Sarosik at her South Lake Tahoe dance studio, and he returned to those roots this week to help teach the next generation of performers.

The 2007 South Tahoe High and 2011 New York University (NYU) graduate took time out his hectic east coast schedule to head west to visit family in South Lake Tahoe, and visits to town always include a stop by Sarosik's studio.

Many may remember his talent as he headlined many South Tahoe High musicals, and now he's entertaining audiences in New York.

Ever since we moved to South Lake Tahoe thirty eight years ago, we have been proud to call this city our home. Between our community spirit of caring and sharing, excellent schools, and the inspiring nature of the Lake and Mountains, we are truly fortunate to live in such a special place. We recently hosted our foreign exchange student from twenty years ago and we were proud to show him all of the community upgrades such as Heavenly Village, Lakeview Commons, Harrison Avenue, South Tahoe High School, and the new Whole Foods project.

Emily Lauren Torney was granted her angel wings on September 20, 2017. She was born July 27, 1984 in South Lake Tahoe, CA to Phill and Sue Torney. She graduated from South Tahoe High School in 2002.

She loved the mountains and enjoyed skiing, snowboarding, water sports, and hiking. Growing up, she was involved in most sports, but loved gymnastics and dance. Her smile and infectious laugh could light up an entire room and she left a memorable impression on everyone she met.

Lots to do in South Lake Tahoe this weekend. Now that South Tahoe and Whittell High Schools had their homecoming games Friday night, the rest of the weekend can be filled with everything from helping feed local youth, buying mattresses or playing golf for the high school, honoring one of the City's first leaders and enjoying the annual Fire Fest.

Former South Lake Tahoe resident Glenn Lucky turn 65 this month, and the Nevada State Museum in Carson City is planning a big birthday party in his honor on September 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the Dema Guinn Concourse of the museum at 600 N. Carson Street.

Lucky was born on Sept. 27, 1952 in Coronado, Calif. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was just one.

He and his family moved to the South Shore when Glenn was 3-year-old.

A fundraiser will be held in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, September 9 for long-time local Bill Horning. The South Tahoe High graduate has had some recent major medical issues but is on the road to recovery.

Horning has spent the last 35 years playing Santa Claus for the community at events such as the Barton Foundation Festival of Trees. He not only worked at the High Sierra and MontBleu, and most recently the Marriott, but has also been a coordinator with Bread and Broth and Second Serving.

UPDATE: The Meet & Greet at Mt. Tallac School is postponed until Wednesday, August 30 due to Monday's widespread power outage but schedules behind. It will start at 10:30 a.m.

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Mt. Tallac High School is holding their third community Meet & Greet on the first day of school, August 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Community members and business owners visit the campus in a casual open house setting with refreshments, meeting the students and engaging in conversation.

Update 9:30 a.m. - Melissa Lea, 18, and her 7-year-old sister Kalila have been found safe in Oregon.

A grocery store clerk near the eclipse festival recognized them from the missing persons' report.

No other information is available at this time.

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Two sisters who traveled from South Lake Tahoe to attend the Symbiosis eclipse festival in Oregon have not been heard from since Sunday, according to the Crook County Sheriff's Office.

A South Tahoe High graduate has come back to the South Shore community to become the new spine specialist at the Tahoe Center for Orthopedics and Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Zachary Child, MD, a 1991 graduate of STHS, is a board certified orthopedic spine surgeon and musculoskeletal oncologist. He is skilled in addressing back pain and finding surgical and non-surgical options that help patients reach optimal spine health.

As new South Tahoe High School Principal Carline Sinkler is preparing for her first year at the helm she sent out a letter to the community and it is shared here:

Dear South Lake Tahoe Community,

It is a privilege to serve as principal of South Tahoe High School and I look forward to a highly productive year of forming lasting relationships, building teams and meeting challenges together that enable us to prepare our students for college, career and life.

Nic Buccholz, a 2017 Whittell High school graduate and stand-out student athlete, was awarded the 8th annual Gene Upshaw Scholarship award.

Buccholz was honored during the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe on Tuesday. The $5,000 college scholarship is funded equally by NBC Sports and Edgewood Companies.

The scholarship was started in honor of the former Oakland Raider, NFL Hall of Famer and executive director of the NFL Players Association who played during the South Lake Tahoe golf tournament for several years.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. — Dr. Deanna Brothers has been named this year's Lake Tahoe Community College Distinguished Alumni and will be honored during the school's commencement ceremony on Friday, June 30.

Each year, LTCC’s Foundation recognizes one special alumnus to receive this prestigious award for their exemplary achievements in their particular endeavors in life.

South Tahoe High School Sports Medicine has announced their top students for the 2016-17 school year.

Drue Chapman was named Student Trainer of the Year and Abby Burns was given the honor of Sports Medicine Student of the Year.

Drue and Abby competed with more than 50 STHS Sports Medicine students who assist with medical care and treatment to STHS student-athletes and volunteering over 1,500 hours.

"Congratulations to Drue and Abby for wining this prestigious award," said Isaiah Tannaci, STHS Sports Medicine Coordinator.

Littering in Tahoe is a big problem. Everywhere you go, there is trash and no one picks it up. People don't throw their trash in the garbage; they leave their trash on the ground and it makes its way into the lake. Other people who pass by it don't pick it up either. The problem started with the tourists who come to the beaches and throw their trash anywhere and they think that it won’t do anything to our lake. Tourists don’t take care of nature and our lake as much as the locals here. Some locals leave their trash everywhere as well.

Two sisters were honored during Tuesday night's Lake Tahoe Unified School District meeting for years of perfect attendance. Ryann Canfield, a freshman at South Tahoe High School, has had perfect attendance since the 1st grade at Tahoe Valley Elementary. She missed only one day of school in Kindergarten. That is nine consecutive school years with perfect attendance. Her sister, Morgan Canfield, 6th grader at South Tahoe Middle School, has had perfect attendance since Transitional Kindergarten. Morgan has not missed one day of school in seven consecutive years.

During a series of recent awards ceremonies, South Tahoe High(STHS) students were recognized for academic success, attendance and bilingual immersion.

The annual Senior Awards Night saw 118 students recognized with $475,000 in scholarships. During the evening, 64 individual presentations honored one or more students for achievements.

The 13th annual Reno Tahoe Odyssey will take runners from Reno, north of Verdi, down to Boca Reservoir, Truckee, down to South Lake Tahoe, over to Virginia City and back to Reno starting Friday, June 2. The event this year is 174.5 miles long, has 242 teams which split up 36 legs of the race, and they don't stop as the sun drops, they run all night long.

South Tahoe High teacher Bridey Heidel is participating this year with her team of "Girls Gone Miles."

"I'm so proud of our community and this great turnout," said South Lake Tahoe City Councilman Tom Davis during Monday's annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Happy Homestead Cemetery.

A larger crowd than normal watched the ceremony which featured boys and girl scouts, music and speakers that included Gold Star Mom Patty Smith. Her son, Sgt. Timothy Michael Smith, was one of three South Lake Tahoe men to die in action since the September 11 attacks in 2001. Smith, 25, who died April 7, 2008, after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

Free sports physicals for boys and girls are being offered by Barton Health at South Tahoe High School on June 5.

All high school, middle school, and Pop Warner athletes from South Tahoe area are eligible to attend the June 5 event at South Tahoe High School. Physicals are scheduled at 5:30 p.m. for South Tahoe athletes, 6:00 p.m. for Pop Warner football players, and 6:30 p.m. for Whittell athletes.

Have you ever wished you could take a magnifying glass to someone’s life? Have you ever wished to be able to live for one day as someone else?

Wish granted.

Who would you choose: a movie star, an athlete, or a president? You would choose someone important; you would choose someone who has made a difference. Be it that difference is taking you into another reality for two hours or creating policies to hoist our country out of The Great Depression. You would want to be up close and personal with someone who has made a difference; you would choose a hero.

Another year of swimming for high school is over, and South Tahoe Vikings girls and boys teams are returning from the NIAA State Finals with some medals. Overall, the girls team are seventh in the state, and the boys are sixth. Boulder City High School had huge wins for both teams, coming in first for both boys and girls.

Here are the results for South Tahoe High:

Girls 200 IM
Hannah Lucas - 7th

Boys 200 IM
Temugen Enkhbayer - 5th

Girls 50 yard freestyle
Alexandra Otomo - 4th

Girls 100 yard butterfly
Sophie Stewart - 6th

Boys 100 yard freestyle
Louis Marin - 5th