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"I will not let cancer define who I am. Cancer is not going to be my story."

Those powerful words come from South Lake Tahoe local Krista Kline Carson.

The 1989 South Tahoe High graduate, wife, mother and wellness coordinator for Barton University, is battling cancer after a tumor removed from her brain was found to be Stage IV Glioblastoma Multiforme, one of the fastest growing brain cancers. On Monday, January 18 she begins a six week regime of radiation and chemotherapy.

Unusual snowpack conditions in the Sierra Nevada are contributing to a type of avalanche problem that in the past decade has rarely been widespread in the region.

That’s according to the Sierra Avalanche Center, a non-profit organization that partners with the U.S. Forest Service to observe and analyze snow conditions in the Lake Tahoe area and beyond.

“There could be avalanches in places that have never seen avalanches before,” said Brandon Schwartz, lead forecaster for the center.

Snow got in the way of school in South Lake Tahoe today, but the show must go on and opening night of Cinderella is on.

The ski resorts are welcoming new snow as a storm that passed through left behind up to 15 inches of it behind on the slopes. Crews are cleaning up the roads around the lake with many controls in place.

There is an avalanche warning for slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Human triggered avalanches are likely and natural avalanches are possible according to the National Weather Service.

As of 9 a.m., chain controls are up on Highway 50 over Echo Summit, requiring all cars to have chains unless 4WD with snow tires on all four wheels from 3 miles east of Kyburz to Meyers.

It's a snow day for all Lake Tahoe Unified schools today, Friday, January 15. This includes South Tahoe High, South Tahoe Middle School and Meyers, Tahoe Valley, Sierra House and Bijou Elementary schools.

Douglas County schools at the lake are on a one hour delay with buses stopping at main bus stops only.

The corner of Tina Court and Ski Court for students living in the Tramway and Kingsbury Village area: ZCES - Bus will arrive at 7:57 a.m. and depart at 8:20 a.m.

Glenbrook area will board at the entrance to Glenbrook

ZCES - Bus will arrive at 7:36 a.m.

Improving transportation options for bicyclists and pedestrians is one of the most effective strategies to conserve and restore Lake Tahoe’s environment, revitalize the economy, enhance recreation opportunities, and improve public health, according to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) officials.

The New Year is getting off to a phenomenal start with snow falling at Lake Tahoe. It seems long ago since we’ve had snow around the lake, but as California and Nevada continue to grapple with four years of drought and water shortages, the snow couldn’t be falling at a better time.

The El Dorado County Senior Nutrition Program in South Lake Tahoe continues to have a great need for community volunteer drivers to help deliver lunchtime meals to homebound seniors and other vulnerable people. The meals are prepared by the Senior Nutrition Program and the volunteers deliver those meals.

Recently, I had the chance to visit the much-hyped Tahoe: A visual History at the Nevada Museum of Art. Located in the hip, CalAve District wedged between downtown and midtown Reno, the museum offers locals to the region a taste of world-class art collections. During events like Art Town (a marathon of a hundred-or-so art related events in Reno during the month of July), the museum offers innumerable pieces from local and global artists alike.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is now without their Development Services Director after Shawna Brekke-Read left the position in December.

Brekke-Read was in the position just over a year after leaving the Town of Moraga in 2014 where she served as their Planning Director.

Her husband Don, who is a middle school teacher, had stayed behind in the Bay Area after she accepted the new position. According to City of South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry, Brekke-Read wanted to move back to the Bay Area to be with her husband.

The City has started recruiting for the vacant position.

After just 17 months on the job, Douglas County Manager Jim Nichols is leaving his position. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners have announced that Nichols' employment relationship with the county is coming to an end.

Officially, a mutual separation agreement will be presented at the next Board of County Commissioner’s meeting on January 21, 2016. This meeting will be held at Stateline.

I like to start every year with this story, it is simple yet meaning full and will hopefully remind everyone that you can make a difference. When I’m having a bad day, feeling like what we do doesn’t matter or just isn’t enough, I re read this story and it reminds me that as long as we keep trying and never give up we are making a difference. If you have not read this short story, read it now and hopefully it will inspire you. If you have read it before, re-read it and get reminded of how much of a difference you can make.

The Starfish

Barton Health is hosting an open enrollment working session on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at the Lake Tahoe Community College from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

During this session, individuals can apply for health coverage and have access to certified representatives for any needed assistance. The deadline to sign up is January 31, 2016.

They are reminding people to bring their picture identification, social security number and household income to the enrollment session.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada starting at 4 a.m. Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

The first storm in potentially a series of them is forecast to impact the area according to NWS in Reno. There is an additional chance for a storm late Thursday and again Saturday, but forecast confidence in these is lower.

Their forecast:

Today - Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Tonight - A 20 percent chance of rain after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

The following is the ski, snowboard and weather report for Tuesday, January 12, 2016 for South Lake Tahoe brought to you by Lake Tahoe SkiBum.

Weather - South Lake Tahoe will have a high of 45 and a low tonight of 31. Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 45. South wind around 5 mph. Tonight: A 20 percent chance of rain after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Keith Urban is set to embark on his first arena tour in two years.

His RipCORD World Tour 2016 will feature Brett Eldredge, who toured with Urban as a special guest on his 2014 Raise ‘Em Up Tour.

Newcomer and critical darling Maren Morris will join the tour as this year’s special guest, and Urban promises it will be one heck of a time.

“We’ll be playing a lot of new music from RipCORD, all new production, new cities where we’ve never played … and Brett Eldredge and Maren Morris? It’s gonna be potent and unbridled,” Urban said in Monday’s (Jan 11) announcement of the tour.

Douglas County Search and Resuce (DCSAR) spent Saturday doing technical training on the eastern slopes of the Carson Range. Heavenly Mountain Resort allowed the members to ride the Gondola and Tamarack chair before the resort opened to the public so that the training could focus on safely traveling down to the valley, as would be required on a real rescue.

They didn't have to wait long to use their finely tuned skills since they were called out to the resort on Sunday after a skier became lost in the same general area. DCSAR was able to safely locate and rescue the unidentified person.

UPDATE 2:00 p.m. - Three young adults were taken into custody Monday morning in connection with the fatal shooting of a young man over a marijuana deal near a park in north Carson City, Sheriff Ken Furlong said.

The three — two men and a woman — were arrested without incident by Carson City SWAT at an apartment complex on Fifth Street near Harbin Street. The three came out following demands by SWAT to surrender after investigators learned they had been hiding inside a residence.

A few weak weather systems are headed to Lake Tahoe, but they don't bring with them much of a chance for precipitation.

A weak storm will pass to the north on Monday and Tuesday with 20% chance of it leaving a little snow according to the National Weather Service.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office responds to calls throughout the county.

The following are calls that only pertain to the South Shore. There may be some missing calls due to sheriff's logs not being completed at press time and the story will be updated when provided.

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3:08 a.m. - Search and Rescue - Oneidas St - SEARCH AND RESCUE INITIATED FOR A LOST, 30-YEAR-OLD MALE SNOWMOBILE RIDER IN AREA OF UPPER ONEIDAS.

7:17 a.m. - Verbal Dispute - James - REPORT OF A DOMESTIC DISPUTE.

The trip is hot and dry. A layer of several feet of dust lined the route, flying around as the wheels of the wagons and hooves of the horses pass over. The road is steep and over granite along the 130 miles from the Carson Valley to Placerville. When not the middle of summer, the road is muddy or buried by snow. A horse could cover the terrain in 24-hours.

The road is Johnson's Cut-off and the year is 1852. It was built by John Calhoun "Cock-eye" Johnson as a way to cut off 50 miles and 2,000 feet in elevation from the common route people took over Donner Summit as they emigrated West.

Soroptimist International of the Tahoe Sierra is holding their 27th annual Elegant Evening on Saturday, April 23, 2016 in the Harrah's Lake Tahoe Ballroom.

Since this is the group's major fundraiser of the year you can count on a silent auction, and this year the ladies are stepping it up by going digital, following in the footsteps of Tahoe Douglas Rotary's successful auction last year. Even though the event is still a few months away, people can view auction items and buy tickets on line.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is hosting a “Coats for Kids Drive” during the month of January and they are looking for donations from the community.

Be a hero and help children of the South Lake Tahoe community stay warm this winter by donating gently used coats. All donations will be distributed to children in need within South Lake Tahoe.

Drop donations at any of the three fire stations at:
Fire Station #1, 1252 Ski Run Blvd.
Fire Station #2, 2951 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
Fire Station #3, 2101 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

That was the question asked a few times by Ken Caldeira, Climate Scientist at Carnegie Institution for Science, during Friday's session of "Operation Sierra Storm (OSS)" in South Lake Tahoe.

One month ago, Caldeira was at the Paris Climate Conference, COP21, and shared that experience and discussion with national meteorologists and interested locals gathered at OSS.

While most of us are concerned with our short-term local weather, Caldeira researches the long term, and long scale climate changes.