parents

Ryann and Morgan Canfield were recognized during Tuesday's Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board meeting for their commitment to achieving perfect attendance as students.

Ryann, and eighth grader at South Tahoe Middle School, has missed just one day of school in her life, and that was one day in kindergarten so she has eight consecutive years of perfect attendance. Her sister, Morgan, a fifth grader at Tahoe Valley Elementary has had perfect attendance throughout her six-year (to-date) school career, including a year of transitional kindergarten.

"Nerves of steel, patience of a saint," is how Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) Transportation Supervisor Christy Blach described the bus drivers entrusted with carrying the community's children around in the big yellow school buses.

On Tuesday evening, LTUSD honored driver Coral Lathrop with their Bus Driver of the Year award. Lathrop has been driving full time since 2014, and is a favorite amount parents, kids and fellow drivers.

The South Lake Tahoe Recreation Division is gearing up for another summer season full of adventure, learning, fun and great memories. The Recreation staff is proud to host the annual “Spring Into Summer” Kick-Off Party on Saturday, June 4, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event is designed to highlight summer programs, introduce recreation instructors and provide tours of the Recreation and Swim Complex in a fun and festive environment.

El Dorado County Mental Health in South Lake Tahoe is teaming up with local organizations to offer a free community showing of the film “Paper Tigers.” The film is appropriate for older teens, parents, school staff, community members, and anyone who interacts with adolescents and young adults.

Location

El Dorado County Public Health and school officials are reminding parents of a new California school immunization law, SB 277 that went into effect January 1, 2016. The law eliminates exemptions based on personal beliefs, including religious beliefs, for the vaccines that are currently required for entry into child care or school, kindergarten through grade 12.

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.

4/17

12:50 a.m. - Vacation Rental Issue - Player Drive

8:03 a.m. - Contempt of Court - Melba Drive - 24-YEAR-OLD WOMAN ARRESTED FOR A VIOLATION OF A COURT ORDER OCCURRED.

12:50 p.m. - Petty Theft - Black Bart Ave - R/P REPORTED A PETTY THEFT REPORT FROM HER VEHICLE.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 134 calls between March 23 and March 28, 2016.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

3/23
2:49 a.m.- Liquor Laws in 3300 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd - Officer saw two minors with bikes parked, sitting drinking beers. They said a man went into the Safeway Gas Station and bought it for them. Man providing beer was found, arrested for providing alcohol to a minor, and kids arrested for minors with alcohol.
12:07 p.m. - Battery in 1000 lock of Heavenly Village Way

Poison Prevention Week just wrapped up, but the message is always important. The week is a campaign over 50 years old. Every year, we are urged to take notice of the chemicals in our lives that are dangerous. While much of the effort is spent on parents of young children, pets are likewise vulnerable to poisoning. In many instances, pets are MORE prone to poisoning, since we may not be wary of foods or plants that we have no problem with but are toxic to animals.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is concerned about a growing trend with the use of social media by youth, and has shared a warning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Human Trafficking Bureau on dangers of “sexting” and the potential of pedophiles coercing children into unsafe acts.

10 Things Parents Can Do About the Dangers of “Sexting”

1. Talk with your child about the potential dangers of Internet activities. Tell them you have a responsibility to monitor their Internet use and will check their accounts periodically.

According to the California Department of Justice, Human Trafficking is a $32 billion a year global enterprise and the fastest growing criminal industry. It is a form of modern day slavery that profits from the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations. California's Attorney General Kamala Harris is focused on combating the pervasive issue of human trafficking in California and has made it one of her top priorities.

Location

A Carson City family chartered a private helicopter Wednesday to search for two shaggy white dogs missing since Friday night. The owners of the Spinoni Italiano dogs are Stacey and Lorne Belt. The dogs, Mara and Adele, escaped while the couple were walking.

On Friday night the couple were with their dogs in east Carson City along the Carson River and on the ridges in the Mexican Dam area. As Stacey went to take a photo, the dogs broke loose and took off running, possibly after a rabbit.

Ari Ramos, a 2004 graduate of South Tahoe High, is running across the country to bring awareness to obesity. She is using all 2,700 miles of the journey to engage with school children and communities about healthy lifestyles.

Ari touched the Atlantic Ocean and left Jacksonville, Florida on January 28. Today, Tuesday, February 16, she is 350 miles away in Fort Walton Beach.

South Tahoe High's Principal Chad Houck made a phone call to parents last week, warning them of the increased use (and subsequent detection) among teens of what is known as "vaping."

Vaping is to "inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device." The devices are vaporizers, and what goes inside them became popular as a way to cut back on smoking cigarettes starting in 2007, but a 2014 Science News study showed that vaping did not boost quit rates.

The Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra is holding a community Child Fingerprinting ID event at the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe on February 16 and 17 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

Nationally, large numbers of children run away or are abducted each year. Local law enforcement officers have indicated that having a record of fingerprints can be helpful in an effort to safely return the children to their homes.

On Wednesday morning, December 23, 2015, my wife and best friend, Charlene Middlebrook lost her long and courageous battle with cancer. As with everything she did, Charlene handled the cancer and a subsequent stroke, with grace, courage, total resolve and of course her humor and her smile, once again being the hero in our family. Charlene and I met here in Tahoe 35 years ago and soon discovered that we had both grown up in Southern California about two miles apart.

It's not every day a local girl tries out for the musical talent show, American Idol, but Beth Tschantre has done just that.

The 25-year-old from South Lake Tahoe will make her American Idol debut on Thursday night's show when the San Francisco auditions are highlighted. The show is on FOX from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Tschantre can't say much about what happens as she's bound by a confidentiality agreement, but she can say her segment starts tonight and goes into next week.

Just seventeen days ago, Joel Suenkel was leading troops in Wiesbaden, Germany as an Army Colonel. The 30 year veteran of serving in the Armed Forces wrapped up his career when he retired on December 1. Just five days later he was in South Lake Tahoe in his new position as Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service.

His first day on the job happened to be his new employer's annual Christmas party. Suenkel spent that evening meeting his new co-workers

Joy Barney has dedicated her life to connecting youth to the land. In the process she has touched many lives, so it comes as no surprise that winning a national award for her, is all about inspiring others.

No snow day for area students today, Friday, December 11.

All bus stops are on a normal schedule for Lake Tahoe Unified Schools.

Zephyr Cove eleementary school buses will stop at main bus stops only for Zephyr Cove Elementary School (ZCES). These stops are designated as:

The corner of Tina Court and Ski Court for students living in the Tramway and Kingsbury Village area:
ZCES - Bus will arrive at 7:57 a.m. and depart at 8:20 a.m.

Glenbrook area will board at the entrance to Glenbrook:
ZCES - Bus will arrive at 7:36 a.m.

The Lake Tahoe Grizzlies Peewee Team is the 2015 Pacific District Regional Silver Stick Champions in the Peewee B division which has earned them a spot at the International Finals in Ontario, Canada. In order to help the young boys and girls with travel expenses, the team has started a fundraising campaign selling "Tahoe Strong" T-Shirts.

All 14 team members have excelled not only on the ice, but in the classroom according to fundraiser organizer Tye Watson. They players come from South Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, Truckee, Reno, Carson City and Minden.

A 4-year-old Carson City boy was hospitalized Friday night after ingesting methamphetamine that allegedly belonged to the boy's father who is now custody on suspicion of child endangerment, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.

Taken into custody was Pedro Montanez, 27, on suspicion of child endangerment and possession of trafficking levels of a controlled substance.

South Tahoe High senior Kaitlynn Watson signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball of Loyola of New Orleans.

Watson takes with her a long list of accolades including All Team Academics, 1st Team All League and is currently ranked #2 in the state with digs at 360.

"The moment I stepped on the campus, I knew that is where I wanted to be," Kaitlynn said of Loyola. "They made me feel so at home, they're like a family and not a team." Watson will major in Biology with an emphasis in nutrition.

"South Lake Tahoe, you should be proud of yourself."

Those words, said by South Lake Tahoe Police Sgt. Brian Williams, were echoed throughout the evening as the City of South Lake Tahoe celebrated its first 50 years with a golden anniversary gala Saturday night.

Almost 300 people were at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel to share memories of the past, review of the present, and a look towards the future of a city that was formed because many of the residents were tired of being represented by a government in Placerville.

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.