youth

In an average year, the United States will lose 44,000 people to suicide.

It is an unbearable and eye opening statistic, and the Suicide Prevention Network is trying to change that number by offering education and awareness in Douglas and El Dorado Counties, and surrounding communities.

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.

The Sierra Tahoe Children's Theater Company presents Beauty and the Junior Beast on Friday, June 30 and Saturday, July 1 at South Tahoe High.

60 local youth have been participating in an intensive theater workshop that taught them acting, singing, dancing, improvisation, auditioning and other theater skills.

The performances are under the direction of Liz Niven and Marcia Sarosik. Their non-profit company works with South Lake Tahoe young thespians every year to put on a performance. This year, every child that participated has a part in the musical.

Staff with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) took the top prizes in the 2017 Tahoe Bike Challenge, while hundreds of Tahoe youth rode in increasingly large bike-to-school events.

Each year, for the first two weeks of June, hundreds of Tahoe residents and visitors participate in the Tahoe Bike Challenge. In teams or as individuals, participants join a friendly competition to see who can replace the most car trips with trips by bicycle.

MINDEN, Nevada – Spencer McLaughlin has been sworn in as a new deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Surrounded by family and friends, McLaughlin joined the department and started a new career in civilian law enforcement. Deputy McLaughlin was a military police officer for five years, spending most of his time on the base SWAT team in Japan and at Camp Pendleton near Oceanside, California.

For the past 38 years, Missoula Children's Theatre has been coming to South Lake Tahoe, transforming youth into actors and actresses in just a few days.

This year the production is Alice in Wonderland.

Auditions will be held on Monday, July 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at South Tahoe Middles School's multi-purpose room (STMS MPR). Approximately 50-60 local children will be cast to appear in the show.

In addition to leadership events, club meetings, and recreation trips, the Club Live program at the Tahoe Middle School promotes service to others and on Monday, May 22nd, Club Live sponsored a Bread & Broth ‘Adopt A Day of Nourishment’. At the Monday Meal, program leaders Larry and Paula Lambdin and club members Mylee Blanchard, Destiny Hursh and Elisa Roberts provided incredible service to the guests who came to Grace Hall for a tasty and filling evening meal.

Area residents and visitors can enjoy two big fairs with rides, music and exhibits. The 2017 Nevada State Fair runs from June 8 to June 11, and the El Dorado County Fair goes from June 15-18.

Nevada State Fair information provided by Jeff Munson, CarsonNow.org

The 2017 Nevada State Fair returns this week to Carson City bringing four days of fun, entertainment, carnival rides, culture, music and more to Mills Park.
From Thursday, June 8 to Sunday, June 11, the Nevada State Fair will showcase exhibits from each participating county throughout the Silver State.

Users of Facebook this weekend might have caught a photo of a South Lake Tahoe Police car parked in the yellow loading zone at Raley's. The person who posted the photo attached the comment, "SLT police are above the law. (And no, there was no emergency, I saw her shopping in the ice cream isle [sic])."

Yes, the officer was getting ice cream, but the real story needs to be told.

Best selling book and Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" has sparked conversation about mental health and suicide among youth after the lead character leaves behind 13 tapes after she kills herself. Each tape tells a different person the part they played in her death.

As a response to the movie and how students will react to it, Lake Tahoe Unified School District intervention counselors will be holding a community panel discussion called "300 Reasons Why Not" on Tuesday, May 30 at South Tahoe Middle School's Multi-Purpose Room starting at 6:00 p.m.

For the 12th year the Tahoe Bike Challenge will see how many locals and visitors will park their cars and use a bike to get to work, school and play. This year's event is from June 1 to 14.

Returning is the popular and friendly competition which pits students from local schools, businesses and agencies against each other in friendly competition to see who can replace the most car trips by bicycle.

Daniel Deemer is biking across America on his "Bike for the Homeless" tour from Big Sur, California to Ocean City, Maryland to bring awareness to a social issue he is deeply passionate about.

In partnership with Tahoe Youth and Family Services, Dan is using the trip in an effort to raise funds for the agency and increase awareness of homelessness.

Dan will be leaving Big Sur on May 22, 2017. He has no predetermined route, but will be passing through the Sierra Nevada on SR-88, and through South Lake Tahoe.

Eleven youth detained at the Juvenile Treatment Center (JTC) in South Lake Tahoe recently received two certifications: American Heart Association Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

This was the first time the course was offered to the youth housed at the facility, and not only did they get these important certifications but they also earned school credits.

2:30 p.m. update 5/5/17: Christopher Klug turned himself in Friday. He is currently in the El Dorado County jail on a $25,000 bail hold.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating a South Lake Tahoe man suspected of embezzling funds from the South Tahoe Pop Warner football program.

Registration is open for all youth ages 4 to 18 for the AYSO regular soccer season. It is first come, first served from May 1- May 31. To register, log onto their website at http://www.sltayso.org/. The season starts with practices in August and wraps up in the middle of October.

All players play at least half of every game. The cost per player for the entire season is $87.50 and includes

• All League play (8-12 games for U6 division and up)

• End of the season Tournament and Trophies/Awards

Thank you Curtis for bringing us this daily ski report for the epic winter of 2016-17!

Good morning skiers and riders, and if you’re visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Today is Sunday, April 23.

Children from the Meyers and South Lake Tahoe communities took part in the Lake Valley Fire Protection District's (LVFPD) second annual Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday at Tahoe Paradise Park.

10,000 plastic eggs were hidden in the park, each filled with candy, Lake Valley tattoos and some special golden eggs with prizes.

Jamie Sessions, and her husband LVFPD Fleet Manager Andrew Session, took two of their chickens to the event for the kids and their families to enjoy.

Nine members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) Explorer Post #2105
gave an outstanding performance this past weekend during the Central Coast Law Enforcement Exploring Competition in Tulare, Calif. They competed against 21 other police, sheriff and highway patrol posts in 19 different scenarios including felony car stops, shooting skills, written exams, oral interviews, suspicious persons and physical agility.

DCSO Explorers won 13 trophies including second place overall for the entire competition.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Local Realtors recently donned rabbit ears and grabbed empty Easter baskets to fill with donations for 80 children in the South Lake Tahoe community.

The South Tahoe Association of Realtors (STAR) and their Community Service Committee combined their funds with donated money to shop for items to fill Easter baskets.

The committee was able to donate 80 baskets to the Family Resource Center and Live Violence Free Center in South Lake Tahoe. These organizations give the baskets to kids who otherwise would not receive anything this season.

With the warm spell of late, at lake level it looks like the big snow storms never happened. However, go up above 8,000 feet and you see a much different picture. Atop Heavenly’s Dipper Chair there is an information shack that is between 8-10 feet high. Next to it is 10 foot high signage indicating where the runs are. As of today, you can’t see either of these. Over 50 feet of snow fell up there and even with the melt and the settling, there is still a ton of white stuff. I expect our streams will be flowing into August and our mountains might stay white throughout the summer.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. – Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless hosted over 100 people at the second South Lake Tahoe Warm Room Open House event on February 22, 2017. We were proud to honor City Councilwoman Wendy David for her participation in the establishment of the Warm Room. David was facilitator of the Lake Tahoe Collaborative when a committee was established to create a vision and a plan for the Warm Room. Her support through nonprofit collaboration and in her role at the City of South Lake Tahoe has been greatly appreciated by all at TCH who have had the honor to work with her.

Sierra-at-Tahoe is extending the 2016/17 winter season and will continue operations through April 23, 2017. In addition to the season closing date, Sierra will honor guests with Customer Appreciation Day on Monday, April 24. Customer Appreciation Day is dedicated to reminiscing about the plentiful powder days with high-fives in celebration of another awesome season.

The 12th annual North Lake Tahoe Science Expo and 2nd annual South Lake Tahoe Science Expo are coming up and they both need volunteers to help with the over 30 hands-on science activities for upper elementary students. This year's theme is Earth and Space Science. All the activities will be ready to go and volunteers will be trained for their station.

Don't worry, no science background is needed and you might even learn something new while teaching the local youth!

A packed house at MontBleu Resort on Saturday night was on hand to see Blue Angel Cafe owner, and Lake Tahoe Community College Board Trustee Jeff Cowen win the mirror ball trophy for the 5th annual Tahoe Arts Project's Dancing with the Tahoe Stars.

Cowen, and his professional partner Rhonda Keen performed a Bollywood number that brought down the house.