graduation

In a year filled uncertainties and safety mandates, many have been anxiously awaiting the ski season at Lake Tahoe. Heavenly Mountain Resort opened last week, and now their sister Vail property, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, has opened.

As long as allowed, Kirkwood's winter operating plan is focused on comprehensive safety protocols, Kirkwood opened Friday with more than 180 acres of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - During the past three seasons at South Tahoe High, Kelsey Hogan has been a leader on the field with several multi-goal and assist games. On Thursday, she committed to attending the University of Hawaii to continue her stellar soccer career playing for the Rainbow Wāhines.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The City of South Lake Tahoe has selected a long-time local and South Tahoe High graduate to head its police department.

The selection of David Stevenson as police chief was announced Monday.

Graduation, getting a driver’s license, and puberty, all milestones of the adolescent years. With the expected biological, emotional and mental change, it’s easy to underestimate just how much adolescents must cope with. As moods and appetites consistently change, it can be difficult to notice if an adolescent is experiencing any mental or emotional distress. However, noticing any change in the mental health condition of adolescents is important for early intervention and treatment.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a perfect day, at a perfect location, at a perfect celebration to wrap up what wasn't such a perfect senior year of high school.

On Friday afternoon, one by one, the South Tahoe and Mt. Tallac High School seniors stepped out of their decorated cars amidst cheering from teachers and staff. They sent the students onto the red carpet, down the stairs to more cheering, and dancing, and more red carpet, as they made their way onto a ski lift at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was a long, hard-fought effort to get it done, but the determination of Kathy Haven and a group of dedicated parents in 2006 has brought the two-way immersion (TWI) program at Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) its first group of 13-year students and graduates.

Starting in 2007, 20 students enrolled in the very first kindergarten TWI class at Bijou Elementary and that group of students will be graduating from South Tahoe High School at the end of the week. They have had 13 years of school taught in both Spanish and English.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In a graduation season marked by COVID-19 social distancing regulations, high school students across the globe knew the ceremonies marking the end of K-12 school careers would be different than in years past. With daily school work moved online, graduations were moved to a virtual format.

At both South Tahoe High and Mt. Tallac High schools, graduation has been made special by social media acknowledgments, yard signs, and special bags full of gifts.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be holding a regularly scheduled board meeting on Tuesday, May 26 at 5:00 p.m., followed by closed session.

The meeting can be viewed on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHZeyuZYC9ZXKyTO2k-sJ5Q, and public comment can be made in three ways (see at the end of the story).

A provisional board member will be selected Tuesday night. Three people have applied to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Barbara Bannar. Vying to fill out her term are Chris Proctor, David Wise, and Lauri Kemper.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With the Class of 2020 having a graduation experience unlike any in history, parents and faculty are trying to still create a remembrance now that traditional graduation ceremonies are canceled.

For South Tahoe High School (STHS), all 226 graduates received yard/window signs over the past few days. Principal Carline Sinkler, teachers, staff, and other volunteers visited each home in South Lake Tahoe with the signs provided by the Barton Foundation.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With high school seniors missing out on all of the traditional end-of-school activities such as prom and graduation, parents and community members around the globe have been coming up with unique ways to celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In South Lake Tahoe, Baylee Inman decided to help out grads from all schools in Lake Tahoe, including homeschooled students and started a Facebook group Adopt-a-Senior Lake Tahoe to match the students with a gift-giving angel.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Governor Newsom said it was a possibility two weeks ago, California’s schools chief Tony Thurmond recommended the state’s public schools prepare to provide distance learning through the end of their school years on Tuesday, and now today, it became a reality in South Lake Tahoe.

El Dorado County Office of Education (EDCOE) announced they are taking a safety-first approach and immediate action to extend the school facility closures through the end of the school year.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Gone are the old high school woodshop prerequisite napkin holders and cutting boards. In their place are sheds and dog houses built to code, giving their creators valuable life and work skills for their futures.

Students in the South Tahoe High Woodshop 1 classes have been building dog houses, complete with insulation and roofs and sides built with techniques found in residential construction.

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. The entire community is warmly invited to Lake Tahoe Community College’s annual Commencement Ceremony on Friday, June 28 at 6:00 p.m. on LTCC’s soccer field, located next to the Physical Education building on campus.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has announced he'll retire in one year.

Dr. Tarwater has been with LTUSD since 2005.

During their last meeting on June 11, the Board concluded its annual evaluation of Dr. Tarwater's performance. Though details of that evaluation are not available, they extended his contract one extra year until 2022 until they were notified of his notice of retirement.

At their June 25 meeting, the Board is scheduled to accept his retirement.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Good news for the entire community on both sides of the California-Nevada border. Lake Tahoe College Promise, the free tuition program at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC), is expanding from one year to three years starting Fall 2019.

This week at South Tahoe High School, the cold weather continued while students dressed up for “Versus Week,” seniors visited Lake Tahoe Community College day, and athletes brought home gold from the state championships.

On Campus
The spirit week theme was “Versus.” Students dressed up as nerds versus athletes, tourists vs. locals, rappers vs. country musicians, and more. A spirit rally is being held Friday to support the school’s canned food drive.

The newest members of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team were recently celebrated at the graduation ceremony at the Carson Valley United Methodist Church in Gardnerville on April 16, 2019.

The academy they attended was taught at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) by members of the Douglas County Search and Rescue Team, consisting of training in the classroom and practical training in the field.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Two decades old murders in the South Lake Tahoe area have been solved using genetic genealogy, identifying a deceased local man as the murderer of two women.

During a El Dorado Cold Case Task Force press conference in Placerville Monday, District Attorney Vern Pierson said Joseph Stephen Holt of South Lake Tahoe and San Jose was responsible for killing Brynn Rainey in 1977 and Carol Ann Andersen in 1979.

The Tahoe Chamber and South Lake Tahoe community members stopped by two ribbon cutting ceremonies on Friday, one at Doob Lake Tahoe in the Heavenly Village and the other at TaCo. Cantina and Restaurant at Harveys Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Think of it as art, emotion and technology brought together to create a miniature replica of yourself and/or loved ones, and now it is available on the South Shore at Doob Lake Tahoe in the Heavenly Village.

A doob™ is a photo-realistic 3D printed replica that will celebrate life's biggest and smallest moments, as well as everything in between.

Longtime local Tom Davis has partnered with John M. Coyle to open the doors of the newest franchise for the New York City based German company.

I first arrived in South Lake Tahoe in June 1991 about 6 weeks after college graduation. In 1991, Tahoe had the most amazing roads; now, Tahoe has the worst roads. North Dakota – a very low tax state – just might have the best roads in the whole country. In 1991, there were many places to rent in Tahoe at affordable prices; now, too many people who work in South Lake Tahoe need to commute from the Carson Valley, unnecessarily increasing their carbon footprint.

"Your struggles were never meant to break you, but make you stronger."

Those are the words that have been printed on the new mural of Emerald Bay painted by Community Works participants on the gym wall at the Juvenile Treatment Center (JTC) in South Lake Tahoe.

The five participants, all incarcerated at the JTC, had to do something community service oriented as part of their graduation from the one-year program. They brainstormed what that final project would be. They said they felt the white walls of the center's gym needed some color, and the idea of a mural was born.