memorial

Hundreds of mourners attended the memorial service for South Lake Tahoe Police officer Mark Hounsell and his wife Jeanne on Saturday at the LifePoint Church in Minden, Nev.

An large crowd of family, friends and law enforcement paid their respects both along the route from the funeral home in Carson City to the church and at the church.

Wave action is damaging pipes for Douglas County’s Lake Tahoe Cave Rock water system that are above the surface, thanks to the drought.

Lake residents get their water from the Lake, once famed for its clarity.

But with the surface continuing to drop, Douglas is looking at means to ensure the water keeps flowing.

County Engineer Nick Charles told Douglas County commissioners at a workshop on Thursday that the Lake level was about 4 inches from activating a Stage 2 drought.

While the community is still in shock over the death of South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Mark Hounsell, his wife Jeanne and a family friend, a fundraising campaign has started to help their children as they move forward in life without a parent.

All four of Mark's children were in the 2004 Chevy Suburban on October 17, 2015 with Mark and Jeanne when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle left the roadway and crashed, killing all three adults inside.

Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA), NBC and American Century Investments already gave $51,500 to South Lake Tahoe area Soroptimists, the Boys and Girls Club, high schools and the Gene Upshaw Scholarhip Fund, but they still have more to give away.

LTVA is now accepting applications from local nonprofits for distributions of $55,600 as a result of the 26th American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.

"Family" is a word that can sum up what happened during Friday's STHS homecoming parade and football game.

Though not related, about 70 graduates, most of them from the Class of 1984, came together over the weekend to honor another one of their classmates stricken with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Kevin Sullivan, 50, is the second graduate of South Tahoe High's class of '84 to afflicted with ALS. Todd Fields died in 1999 at the age of 33.

With flags lining the American Legion in South Lake Tahoe, the community bowed their heads and remembered those that lost their lives on the dark day, September 11, 2011.

Fourteen years ago 2,977 people died as terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, smashing two into the World Trade Center in New York. A third jetliner rammed into the Pentagon outside Washington while a fourth one crash-landed on an empty field in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Clint Purvance will be taking over the helm at Barton Health on November 1, replacing the retiring John Williams who will retire in early 2016 after nine years with Barton Health.

Dr. Purvance has served as Chief Medical Officer for Barton Health for the past eight years. He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and has practiced medicine at Barton Memorial Hospital since 1999.

Sample Tahoe’s newest cocktail creations at the sixth annual Signature Cocktail Contest. Hosted by the Barton Foundation, the community event will take place Wednesday, September 23 at the Riva Grill at 5:30 p.m.

Contest attendees can sample an assortment of cocktails created by Tahoe mixologists who are comprised of bartenders from local establishments, each showcase a unique concoction with Tahoe Blue Vodka and have been known to add less traditional ingredients like cotton candy or potato chips.

Which year was “Lakeshore Park Beach” renamed the “Thomas F. Regan Memorial Beach?”
What year did Campground by the Lake open?

These are just a few of the questions asked in the interactive History Hunt created to celebrate the City of South Lake Tahoe's 50th anniversary. The community has been invited to participate in family friendly "History Hunt Week" from August 22 to August 29, 2015.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

UPDATE: Tonight at 8 p.m. there will be a candle light vigil at the Peace Officer Memorial site in Carson City at Nevada State Legislature grounds.
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A Carson City Sheriff's deputy was killed in a shooting early Saturday morning during an exchange of gunfire on Montez Drive on the northeast side of Carson City. The suspect also died, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.

The following is a statement by Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong:

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS
State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

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.

7/12
6:50 a.m. - Vacation Rental Noise - Susquehanna Drive - TRASH AT A VACATION RENTAL LEFT OUT AND ACCESSIBLE TO WILDLIFE. ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT VHR LOCAL CONTACT WENT
UNANSWERED. VIOLATION OF COUNTY ORDINANCE.

All three people involved in the July 6 crash between a motorcycle and truck were from South Lake Tahoe.

At 8:26 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, a Nissan truck driven by 54-year-old Michael Cearley made a left hand from Lake Tahoe Blvd onto Modesto Avenue, right in the path of a motorcyclist and his passenger who were riding westbound on Lake Tahoe Blvd.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

State Route 89 (Placer County): Work continues on a $70.1 million project from Tahoma to the "Y" junction with State Route 28 in Tahoe City on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore that will upgrade storm water drainage and treatment systems, add curb and gutter, resurface and realign the road, add new left-turn pockets and widen shoulders on a 9-mile stretch of the highway. Completion is expected in fall 2016.

Due to the increase of travelers expected in the Lake Tahoe basin, all road work projects will end for the week on Thursday, July 2.

On the South Shore:

Barton Health has launched two new billing services: a Price Estimator Tool and a reduced MRI cost structure.

The new Price Estimator Tool gives patients an estimated cost for a planned surgery or medical imaging service at Barton Memorial Hospital. It allows patients to financially plan for a procedure and simplify their billing process by knowing their estimated costs prior to a procedure.

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.

6/14

There was a deadly accident involving a car and a motorcycle on Highway 50 in Zephyr Cove Saturday evening around 8:00 p.m.

A 2015 Nissan Versa, driven by 31-year-old Alma Jaramillo-Garcia of Moxee, WA was driving eastbound on Highway 50 near N. Martin Drive. For unknown reasons she drifted into the westbound lane into the path of a 2015 Harley-Davidson motorcycle ridden by 53-year-old Amber Hallmark of Antioch, CA.

Here is a list of road projects around the Lake Tahoe basin.

U.S. Highway 50 (El Dorado County) from the junction with State Route 89 to 3rd Street in South Lake Tahoe: Eastbound motorists can expect alternating lane closures around the clock from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Friday for gas line relocation work.

Off-road enthusiasts will be flocking to the Rubicon Trail once again this summer, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) team will be there to keep it safe.

The mission of the team is to provide education to the public, maintain the family friendly atmosphere and when necessary, use enforcement to support that education. In its fifteenth year on the Rubicon Trail, the OHV team is again helmed by Sergeant Bryan Brown and staffed with one full-time seasonal deputy and eight part-time deputies who work the OHV team, in addition to their usual duties.

Here is a list of road projects around the Lake Tahoe basin.

Project: State Route 89 (El Dorado County): Work continues on a $25 million project from the "Y" junction with U.S. Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe to Cascade Road, north of Camp Richardson. Curb, gutter and sidewalks will be added in the 1.1-mile four-lane section, and the highway will be widened in the two-lane section to Visitor Center Road to provide 4-foot paved shoulders on each side. Drainage systems are also being built and the roadway will be resurfaced. Completion is expected by spring 2017.