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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.

The South Tahoe High School Performing Arts Booster Association (PABA) is holding their annual gala on Friday, January 22 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., prior to the evening's performance of Cinderella.

Despite its name, this is a dress-as-you-please event in the school's Student Union which will feature a photo booth complete with a glass slipper and a silent auction. There will be refreshments made by the STHS culinary students. The whole evening promises to be fun for the whole family.

South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Andy Eissinger is enjoying his new job as the Resource Officer at South Tahoe High, having moved into the position when Aaron Crawford retired at the end of the 2014-15 school year.

Eissinger said the first five months on the job have gone well and have been a nice break from being on patrol for the City the last eight years. He spends all eight hours of the day on the campus, interacting with students and dealing with issues that come up on a daily basis.

Though not as strong as many predicted at lake level, the storms that came through Lake Tahoe this week left behind plenty of powder on the slopes.

The National Weather Service in Reno said little additional snow is expected through Friday but another series of weak to moderate storm systems is likely to bring more snow to the Sierra from Saturday through the middle of next week.

Here is their forecast:

Multimedia artist Cynthia Hooper, whose videos and paintings capture various landscapes found in California and Mexico, is bringing her artistic talents to Lake Tahoe Community College’s Haldan Gallery this winter. Research & Desire: Recent Videos and Paintings by Cynthia Hooper opens Thursday, Jan. 14, with an Artist’s Reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Haldan Gallery. Hooper will give a short talk about her work at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, and all are welcome to attend this free event. The exhibit remains open until March 18.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. They responded to 658 calls between December 15, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

12/15
Trespassing in the 1100 block of Glenwood Ave
DUI in the 3600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

12/16
Vandalism in the 3300 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drunk in Public in the 4100 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Spousal Abuse in the 400 block of Cedar Ave

12/17
Trespassing in the 100 block of Lake Parkway

The El Dorado County Board of Education has promoted one of its own to the top job, one that has been vacant since the November, 2015 resignation of Jeremy Meyers.

Dr. Ed Manansala became the new superintendent Tuesday, moving up from his position as Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services, one he'd held since June of 2013.

What would you like to see future buildings to look like in South Lake Tahoe? Made of stone and wood? Ski lodge look or a more modern city look?

Now is the time to share with city officials what you'd like the visual character to look like in town, and how it can be improved.

A Design Guidelines Public Workshop will be hosted by the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission on Thursday, January 21 in the City Council Chambers at the airport from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

It has been 18 years since Sonny Bono, a California congressman and entertainer who had performed at Lake Tahoe, died in a skiing accident at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

Bono was 62 when he set out skiing on that Monday morning, January 5, 1998. He was first reported missing at 4:30 p.m. In hopes that he left the mountain without telling anyone, Bono was paged in each of the Stateline casinos.

Round two of Councilwoman JoAnn Conner versus the City of South Lake Tahoe and City Manager Nancy Kerry was originally on the court docket for Monday, but it didn't happen and the next court date has yet to be set.

3:00 p.m. update 1/5/16: Well, the storm had another surge and chain controls are back up over Echo from three miles east of Kyburz to Meyers and on 80 from one mile east of Baxter to the Donner Lake interchange.

220 p.m. update 1/5/16: Chain controls over Echo Summit (Hwy 50) and Donner Pass (I80) have been lifted.

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Chain controls have been up through the Sierra Nevada for most of the day as snows passes over the region.