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Looking for an enjoyable way to contribute to the Lake Tahoe community, either as a local or as a visitor?

Adopt-a-Beach is one of the nicest and easiest ways to protect this valuable and beautiful treasure and they're looking for several volunteers to help this summer. This program is sponsored by the City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority, U.S. Forest Service, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and South Tahoe Refuse.

The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City saw records fall and fists rise. Perhaps one of the more memorable Olympics all began at the training facility near South Lake Tahoe at the top of Echo Summit.

On Friday, June 27th a historical marker will be placed at the location of the Echo Summit training site in what is being called "Return to the Summit."

Heavenly Mountain Resort has upped the ante on summer fun, introducing new adventures at the top of the Heavenly Gondola for Summer 2014. Summertime guests will have the opportunity to swing through the trees and fly through the air on new experiences including the Boulder Cove and Black Bear Challenge Courses, the Discovery Forest Canopy Course and the 3,300 foot-long Blue Streak zip line. On Friday, June 13, Heavenly Mountain Resort will open these expanded offerings to the public seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through September 1.

The Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation honored the seven school district employees who are retiring this year during a reception held at the school district board meeting Tuesday night.

Three were in attendance and they received an award and gift certificate to Sprouts: Steve Simmons, teacher at Mt. Tallac and employee for 25 years; Bonnie Oliver, preschool aide at Al Tahoe and employee for 16 years; and Judy Ward, bus driver for 9 years.

Many locals may remember the contest held several years ago to name the new Trolley that would provide transportation service along Highway 50 throughout South Lake Tahoe.

The seasonal trolley is still around but it no longer has a regular route along Highway 50. One may see an occasional trolley along it's old route, but it is just being used for breaks of the bus drivers.

The official dedication of South Lake Tahoe's 1.2-mile shared-use bike path that connects Elks Point and Round Hill Pines and provides access to Rabe Meadow with Nevada Beach and Round Hill Pines Resort will be held on Thursday, June 19 at 12 p.m.

The second segment of the Stateline-to-Stateline Bikeway, South Shore Demonstration Project adds to the existing path for a total of 2.2 miles. Meanwhile, the North Demonstration Project is expected to begin construction in 2015 and the first phase will connect Incline Village to Sand Harbor State Park.

Tahoe’s rugged landscape and mild summer temperatures attract a mountain of sports events. From large events such as America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride and the Lake Tahoe Marathon to local favorites like the Tahoe Kids Triathlon, there is sports event for every ability and age group. Barton Health’s medical staff is gearing up for many of these events, but not just to compete.

During Ray Nutting's sentencing on six misdemeanor charges stemming from loans received for the purpose of getting bailed out of jail, Judge Timothy Buckley ordered Nutting to vacate his County Supervisor seat for District 2.

Buckley also sentenced him to three years of probation and 30 days of community service.

Paid Parking Is A User Fee

There are many people in this community that want to see more positive changes made. Those include bike paths, road repair or replacement, more public art, a BMX track, improvements at the Skate Park and other recreational areas. They want more events at Lakeview Commons, like the summer concert series, which the City helps support for the locals and visitors alike. They like the upgrades around Harrison Avenue and free parking lot being built next to the Tribune building. All of these pull millions from the City’s General Fund.

The U.S. Forest Service has released details of the final BMP project for the Tallac Historic Site. The project will reconfigure the three entrances to the site in order to reduce confusion of travelers and create a more efficient use of paved surfaces. There will also be an internal road created to serve as a connector between Tallac, Kiva and the Visitor Center so vehicles will not have to exit to Hwy 89 to move about.

This project was first proposed in January of 2011. Work may begin in Spring of 2015 and is expected to take 10 years to complete.

South Tahoe Now sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates for El Dorado County Supervisor and Douglas County Sheriff. This is the last of the submitted responses. Candidates Sue Novasel, Kenny Curtzwiler and Angela Swanson were the only County Supervisor candidates to respond, and Douglas County Sheriff candidates Ron Pierini and Dave Brady were the only Sheriff candidates to respond. We thank those that took the time to reply.

1) What do you see as the Number 1 issue facing residents of District 5?

There is a park and ride system for Sand Harbor in place once again for the summer of 2014.

In it's third year, the Tahoe Transportation District’s East Shore Express, the shuttle bus provides rides Incline Village to Sand Harbor. They are able to do so with a federal grant and funds gathered from the selling of Lake Tahoe License Plates.

Get your East Shore Express map.

Blue Shield of El Dorado Hills’ IT Shared Services division offered its community “Day of Giving” services to benefit the Food Bank of El Dorado County. About 50 volunteers arrived at the Food Bank warehouse Tuesday to sort and bag food for three hours, racking up more than 130 hours in volunteer services. In the days leading up to their “Day of Giving”, Blue Shield employees hosted a department wide food drive bringing in 230 pounds of food for El Dorado County’s at-risk population.

Free Drop Off of Combustibles For Nevada Residents

Clear out the combustibles from your yard and drop them off for free at the kickoff event being held for “Compost Your Combustibles 2014” at
Heavenly Boulder parking lot this Saturday, May 24th in recognition of Wildfire Awareness Month.” Drop off days will be held through the first Saturday in August.

Rake and remove pine needles and yard combustible waste to prepare your home in the case of wildfire.

Thinning of the forest areas near South Tahoe High and the Sand Pit OHV began last week. This is part of the South Shore Fuels Reductions and Healthy Forest Restoration Project which will thin out about 10,000 acres between Cascade Lake and Stateline, Nevada.

The thinning of trees is for fuels reduction and forest health.

The Forest Service has closed the areas in units 19 and 117 (marked by a red "X" on the map above, from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily through October 14, 2014, for public safety due to heavy equipment operations and falling trees.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department used Peace Officer Memorial Week to honor a few of their own along with some local citizens on Thursday.

In a ceremony in front of the police station, Police Chief Brian Uhler bestowed the following awards:

- Officer Andy Eissinger received an award for Distinguished Service
- Dispatcher Jillian Broadfoot awarded for Meritorius Service
- Todd and Zetta Friedel and Cory Escobar received the Citizen Award of Merit
- Explorer Daniel Loyola received the Distinguished Explorer award

Fuelwood permits in both South and North Lake Tahoe go on sale next week. They'll start selling permits at the SLT office on Monday, May 19 and the NLT office on Wednesday, May 21.

Permits cost $20 per cord, with a two-cord minimum purchase and a limit of 10 cords per household.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will sell the permits until November 14. The last day to cut wood is November 19, 2014.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is seeking public input on a proposal to remove the Incline Lake dam and restore the area impacted by it. The Forest Service purchased the 777-acre Incline Lake parcel, located off State Route 431 in Washoe County, Nev., on July 29, 2008, for its recreational, scenic and natural resource values. During the acquisition process, a site investigation and assessment determined that the Incline Lake dam and spillway do not meet federal, state or local standards for a high-hazard dam (designated as such due to downstream development).

Jacob Markley Day Reenactment:

Gather at "high noon" below the Alpine County Courthouse (former Forest Service site. Come enjoy as our intrepid cast of locals recreates the dramatic demise of town founder Jacob Markley (including Don Jardine, as Markley!).

Admission free, laughs no charge. Everyone loved it last year, so don't miss the fun!

The yellow jacket queens have already been seen in South Lake Tahoe, and if you don't want your backyard volleyball game or summer picnic ruined by them, now is the time to take action.

The queens are the only bee colony member to hibernate in the winter. She emerges in spring and begins to look for a suitable place to build a nest and begin her new colony. By the end of summer one colony can have 4,000 to 5,000 yellow jackets.

So if you take out one queen, you eliminate thousands of bees.

During April's South Lake Tahoe Drug Take Back Day, over 50 pounds of prescription drugs were dropped off anonymously in the bins location in the Safeway parking lot. This is about a 27% increase over last year's efforts.

Getting unused prescription drugs out of the home is a major step in accomplishing two major goals of Drug Take Back Day: Keeping drugs out of the landfills and water systems and keep drugs out of the hands of people who they weren't prescribed for.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently held a recognition and promotional ceremony at MontBleu Resort.

Fourteen firefighters were recognized with service awards, including 20 year veterans Battalion Chief Jim Antti and Captain Chuck Salerno.

“Fire Chief Ben Sharit challenged 20 new firefighters and staff members to continue the important work we do every day in our community,” says Eric Guevin, Fire Marshal spokesperson for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District.

All active duty, reservists, National Guard and veterans will receive complimentary tickets to the 25th Annual American Celebrity Golf Championship in South Lake Tahoe July 15-20.

The free tickets are being offered in appreciation of their service to the country.

South Lake Tahoe City Clerk Susan Alessi received the 2014 Presidential Award of Excellence from the City Clerk’s Association of California. Ms. Alessi was presented with the Presidential Award at the annual conference which was held in Pasadena and attended by hundreds of City Clerks from around the state.