academy

James Anthony Biller was born in Ventura, CA, July 10, 1951, to Jack and Marjorie Biller. Growing up in Ventura, he surfed, sailed, played water polo for the Ventura High Cougars, and was one of the best swimmers Ventura High had ever seen, getting his varsity letter and pin as a sophomore and setting swimming records that stood for many years after he graduated in 1969. That Jim had a love of the beach, sailing, and everything that had to do with the water was obvious to everyone around him.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In an ever changing pandemic situation, Bread & Broth 4 Kids has adjusted their weekly food bag program for South Lake Tahoe school age youth.

Bags will be on the school buses (schedule below) on Wednesdays when school is in session (no delivery December 23 and 30). When school resumes to in person instruction, this schedule will adjust to fit the need and school schedules.

Daylight-saving time comes to an end for 2020 on Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 a.m. in much of the United States. Clocks will move back one hour as standard time starts its run.

The practice of having the time change started in the early 1900s as a way to make better use of daylight during the spring and summer months, so there is an extra hour of sunlight in the evening instead of the morning.

There are those that would say 2020 is hands down the scariest Halloween movie ever and yeah, I wouldn’t argue with that. The script for this year has certainly freaked everybody out. Add to that an election year and the advent of modern day zombies who’ve been quarantined a little too long and you have the ultimate scary flick that appears to have no ending. Are you wearing your mask? Yeah, I’d rather be scared by a movie and not real life if that’s okay?

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Meal Delivery schedule for Phase 1 Distance learning is being changed starting Monday, September 14. At the beginning of the school year there were seven buses and, based on figures from the first two weeks, routes have been adjusted and there are now five buses.

The buses are loaded with breakfasts and lunches and each student can stop by a bus stop or one of the four selected school sited to pick the meals up Monday-Friday (unless a school holiday).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue recently held ceremonies for the hiring of three new firefighter/paramedics and the promotion of three to the rank of captain. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ceremonies were small and held at the fire station during their shifts.

Captain/Paramedic Mike Taormina

My pragmatic mind looks at the recent George Floyd riots in our cities, and as usual, I am astounded with the contrast of how our society and press view the participants, the two sides, in rioting demonstrations recently in our cities.

Peaceful demonstrations as stated by the constitution I have no problem with, even if I disagree with the position of the demonstrators. However, there are two sides to the action in these riots.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in our community, the Lake Tahoe Community College Foundation is hosting its annual Taste of Gold fundraiser as a virtual event this year through July 18. Funds raised from this event support the Lake Tahoe College Promise program that provides up to three years of tuition-free college for eligible students of all ages, a free textbook lending library, and the Lake Tahoe Community College Food Pantry, which provides crucial nutrition and personal hygiene products to LTCC’s neediest students.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - For the fourth consecutive summer, the St. Theresa Bread & Broth 4 Kids Summer Program will provide weekly food bags for South Lake Tahoe youth every Wednesday until school resumes in August.

Since local schools closed in March due to the coronavirus, Bread & Broth 4 Kids (BB4K) has provided weekly food bags to students at bus stops and schools in coordination with the Lake Tahoe Unified School District as they distributed daily meals. Some weeks the BB4K bags went to over 410 children.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - "You're the Black Mamba, but I'm the White Mamba," said a trash-talking 13-year-old in 2011 at the Kobe Bryant Basketball Academy in Santa Barbara.

"I would constantly approach Kobe at any opportunity, even when I wasn't supposed to, pestering him to play me one-on-one," says a now 21-year-old Palmer Chaplin. "I berated him with trash talk about how I could beat him and he entertained it, saying stuff like 'that's not a game, that's a destruction."

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) celebrated graduations and promotions on Wednesday, November 14.

Deputy Steven Schultz was promoted to the rank of Investigator. He has more than 36 years of law enforcement experience in both California and Nevada.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The PG&E power shutdown has prompted County officials to close several departments. The following County departments will be closed Monday, October 28, 2019 due to power outages:

Agriculture
Airports in Georgetown and Placerville
Building A
HHSA - Briw Road Campus
HHSA - Spring Street Campus
HHSA - Veterans Hall
Placerville Jail
Libraries (Cameron Park, Georgetown, Placerville, Pollock Pines)
Parks
Union Mine Facility
Probation
Child Support Services
Public Defender
District Attorney

Mt. Tallac High School is grateful and honored to be part of such a supportive community.

Much appreciation is extended to all who attended the Mt. Tallac High School annual Community Meet and Greet. Thank you to the many business owners and managers from All Seasons Plumbing & Heating, Harrah’s and Harveys, Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, Lake Tahoe Fire Academy, SOS Outreach, Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, Azul Latin Kitchen, Base Camp Pizza Co., and the Juvenile Service Council. Thank you also to the LTUSD Board Members and community members who attended.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) has two new members - Christopher Cable and Charles Roesch. Both men were sworn in during a ceremony Tuesday, September 17.

Before their swearing in, both Cable and Roesch graduated from the six-month long Napa Police Academy on Saturday. At graduation both were honored for their grades and skills and ended up as the top two in their class.

This week at South Tahoe High School, students enjoyed a short week with Labor Day Weekend and Back-to-School night. Seniors get prepared for their last year at STHS and multiple home games wrap up the week.

On Campus

On Thursday, seniors met in the STHS theatre with school counselors to discuss graduation requirements. With Google slides filled of tips and resources, counselors took questions from seniors, helping them prepare for their final year.

Athletics

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Sample the Sierra, South Lake Tahoe’s farm-to-fork festival, will celebrate its tenth anniversary of regional foods, wines, beers and spirits at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 from noon to 5:00 p.m.

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. - Both Douglas County schools at Lake Tahoe are going to start off the new school year with a new principal, Shawn Lear.

During Tuesday's school board meeting, Lear's hiring appeared on their consent agenda. It was approved, making him the principal of both Zephyr Cove Elementary School and George Whittell High School in Zephyr Cove.

Choices for Children would like to thank the community for their amazing support of the 2019 Healthy Bottom Line Mother's Day Diaper Drive. Throughout the month of May, donation boxes that had been decorated by our local Boys and Girls Club members were located throughout the community. We received thousands of diapers that will be distributed to our community's youngest and most vulnerable residents.

A big shout out to Ruby Abuhajleh for writing her "Viking Corner" column this year! She will write some stories this summer but this is her last column for the school year. She'll be back in the fall!

As the school year wraps up, students at South Tahoe High School are getting their beachwear ready for summer break.

The school year of 2018-2019 had many highlights for STHS students. Here are some:

Junior Bryce Dunnigan said his highlight of the school year was going to the volleyball and basketball games with his teammates from Tahoe Hockey Academy.

It was Stage 5 for the men's portion of the Amgen Tour of California as well as day 1 for the women on Thursday as both races are now centered in Southern California.

Podium: Stage 5 presented by LEXUS

1. Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP), Bahrain – Merida (BRN), 4h56’11”
2. Maximiliano Richeze (ARG), Deceuninck – Quick-Step (BEL), +00”
3. Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia (COL), EF Education First Pro Cycling (USA), +00”

Jersey Winners after Stage 5:

Amgen Race Leader Jersey – Tejay van Garderen (USA), EF Education First Pro Cycling (USA)

It prides itself as a first-of-a-kind Israeli cycling startup. The first-ever Israeli cycling team with 30 riders from all corners of the world that has proven it can beat all odds. And now it is set to face the most challenging Amgen Tour of California ever.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Amgen Tour of California 2019 is returning to South Lake Tahoe and the list of cyclists to participate has been released. Men’s Stage 2 race from Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe will take place on May 13.

Amgen will feature the current top-three WorldTour teams and a world-class peloton featuring World and National Champions, Olympic and Tour de France veterans including:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Not only has the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) added some new recruits, they've also promoted from within.

Nicholaus "Nick" Carlquist is the newest sergeant on the force.

The Cal State Monterey graduate became a paramedic before sponsoring himself through the police academy and ending up with the Hollister (CA) Police Department.
Nick then came to South Lake Tahoe and has been with the department since 2008.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - "This is a good day for the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department," said Chief Jeff Meston as he began the annual awards ceremony, celebrating the men and women of SLTFR.

To begin the afternoon, Chief Meston officially welcomed Battalion Chief Jay Manning to the department. Manning came on board at the end of November from Visalia, California where he worked for 18.5 years for the fire department. His wife Stephanie pinned his uniform as son Jacob and daughter Harley looked on. The family is wrapping up their move to the Sierra.