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It was a ceremonial send off today of a former four-legged protector of the South Lake Tahoe community.

12.20.17 update: When closures are in place, Al Tahoe Boulevard will be closed from Johnson Blvd to Pioneer Village to lessen impact on residents.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - The 7th annual SnowGlobe Music Festival returns to South Lake Tahoe December 29-31, but those attending and nearby residents need to know of changes to the layout, resulting in some road closures.

Retired South Lake Tahoe K9 Duke has passed away according to the South Lake Tahoe Police Canine Association. During his years of service he was responsible for the seizure of almost half a million dollars cash and countless narcotics detection arrests. He had numerous street suspect apprehensions, none of which were ever challenged in criminal or civil court according to his handler, Tony Broadfoot.

Duke had been trained by the Dutch Police in Belgium prior to coming to South Lake Tahoe in December of 2005.

Tony Broadfoot wrote this about Duke on the association's Facebook page:

A 38-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested early Saturday for felony suspicion of attempted commercial burglary and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

William Jack Phelps was taken into custody in the 4200 block of South Carson Street.

According to the arrest report, a security guard contacted the sheriff’s office regarding a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of Big Lots, 4215 South Carson Street.

The Nevada Department of Transportation this week completed the second construction season of the State Route 28 Shared Use Path, Water Quality and Safety Improvement Project near Incline Village. The entire project is anticipated to complete in late 2018 or early 2019, depending on weather.

The South Tahoe Action Team (STAT) is now stronger by ten members as the most recent class of graduates was announced at Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting.

Nearly 100 residents have been trained in the program offered by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR).

“The STAT program is designed to have neighbors helping neighbors,” said South Tahoe Fire Department Chief Jeff Meston.

Dr. Devendra I. Patel, aka Devendrakumar I. Patel, 58, of Elko, Nev., was arrested Tuesday on 39 charges of unlawful distribution of prescriptions opioids and Medicaid fraud.

Patel is charged with 36-counts of distribution of controlled substances such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and three-counts of health care fraud. He is a cardiologist at his medical practice, Northeastern Nevada Cardiology. The statutory maximum penalty for distribution of a controlled substance is 10 years in prison and the maximum penalty for health care fraud is 10 years in prison.

As weather permits, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has scheduled projects at Lake Tahoe and in El Dorado County. The following are the projects for the week:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Getting new coats as gifts and need a place for your gently used old ones? The South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Department is holding their annual Coats for Kids Drive starting December 26, 2017.

Bins will be set up at the two stations, Station 1 at 1252 Ski Run Boulevard and Station 2 at 2101 Lake Tahoe Boulevard from December 26 - January 31, 2018. The donated coats will be distributed to Choices for Children and Tahoe Youth & Family Services and will keep kids, from the little ones to teenagers, warm and protected from Tahoe's cold winter.

Arctic sea ice loss of the magnitude expected in the next few decades could impact California’s rainfall and exacerbate future droughts, according to new research released December 5, 2017 led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists.

The study said the melting ice could leave California vulnerable to a recurrence of the severe drought suffered in recent years, as a result of high pressure systems that push away rain-bearing storms, according to the LLNL press release.

The following is the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) roadwork schedule for the Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County area.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

The grand hall at MontBleu Casino Resort has been turned into a holiday paradise, a winter wonderland with the main attraction being the specialty Christmas trees.

On Thursday, local celebrities and media strolled by each of the designer trees, selecting those that won top honors of Most Elegant, Best Theme, Most Creative and Best of Show.

The excellent work on each made it almost impossible to come up with a winner, but four were chosen after much deliberation. Each tree will be paired with a special prize package during a live auction at Saturday's Gala.

Stephan L. DeGraffenreid will be spending the next 15 years in prison after being sentenced Wednesday by United States District Judge Howard D. McKibben.

DeGraffenreid plead guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in September. He was sentenced to the minimum number of years for those charges.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - To show nature is the best medicine, Barton Health and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) have partnered together to give the community Wellness Outings.

Patients will have access to the forest through a guided outing with a USFS ranger and physician or nurse.

In addition to Wellness Outings, the partnership will provide wellness and injury prevention training for USFS rangers and firefighters, as well as accessibility of public lands to promote outdoor recreation.

The man identified as a person of interest in the October 3 murder of Kevin LeRoy Edwards at the Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Lake Tahoe was arrested in Sparks, Nevada on November 22, 2017.

Someone called in a suspicious person report to the University of Nevada (UNR) Police Department. They contacted Jose DeJesus Rodriguez-Quezada, 44, sleeping on the sidewalk near the UNR Agricultural Ranch area on East McCarran Boulevard.

Conservation efforts are seeing the return of black bears into the Great Basin of Nevada, an area that hasn't seen the mammal for over 80 years according to a study released this week by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), and the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR).

Prior to this study, most of the state's black bears could be found around Lake Tahoe and the Pine Nut Mountains after being forced from the Great Basin by unregulated hunting and conflicts with domestic livestock.

The following are the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) projects around Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 189 calls between November 6 - November 12, 2017.

Calls Resulting in Arrests/Citations:

11/6 - 33 Total Calls

Unlicensed Driver at Tamarack Dr & Blackwood Rd
DUI at O'Malley & Blue Lake Ave

11/7 - 19 Total Calls

Drunk in Public in the 3900 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

11/8 - 39 Total Calls

Unlicensee Driver at Lake Tahoe Blvd & Silver Dolalr Ave

11/9 - 20 Total Calls

Approximately 36,854 pounds of chicken and turkey salad products sold at Trader Joe's have been recalled because the may be contaminated with glass fragments and hard silica. Green Cuisine, a San Fernando, California company, has issued the recall on products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ready-to-eat chicken and turkey salads were produced from Nov. 4 - 15, 2017.

The following products are subject to recall:

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch and a wind advisory for Douglas County through late Friday night on November 16, 2017. Douglas County Emergency Management is preparing for changing flood conditions and the safety of Douglas County residents. Updates will be posted to http://www.douglascountynv.gov/AlertCenter.aspx

Each year, children of all ages stop by the Barton Foundation's Festival of Trees and Lights to ring in the holidays during one of the special events including Senior Stroll, Teddy Bear Brunch and the Gala.

From November 30 through December 3, the convention center at MontBleu Resort will transformed into a holiday paradise featuring beautifully decorated trees, wreaths and decorations and a gift shop with famous Barton cheese balls and unique presents.

What is currently six portable buildings at the Al Tahoe school site could be a new home for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe (BGCLT). That is the idea Jude Wood presented to the school board Tuesday night.

Wood, the BGCLT Executive Director, spoke in front of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's Trustees, giving them a look into a proposed partnership and future facility use agreement with the District with a new Clubhouse built on District owned property. The Club would fully fund the new building.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is testing their avalanche control above Highway 50 and Echo Summit on Tuesday, November 14. Some cannons were tested during the morning and another set will be tested in early afternoon.

Some loud booms will be heard around the South Shore during testing.

To volunteer to help others is a selfless act that is both humbling and uplifting. Thanks to Vail’s generous EpicPromise grant, Kirkwood Mountain Resort employees had the opportunity to volunteer at Bread & Broth’s November 6 Monday Meal through B&B’s ‘Adopt A Day of Nourishment' program. Kirkwood Security Officers Mark DeSacia, Rick Hofheins and Charlie Noury and David McCullers, Security Manager, all volunteered their time and effort to make a difference in the lives of those attending the meal served at Grace Hall.