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A South Lake Tahoe graduate is heading to the podium at the University of Southern California (USC) on Friday, draped with honors cords, award medallions and a pin that will signify her as the 2018 Class Valedictorian.

Rose Campion, 22, will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in History. The double major will leave her USC career behind with a 3.98 GPA.

In a school of 18,000 students and around 5,000 other soon-to-be graduates, it would seem almost impossible for a young woman from South Lake Tahoe to end up in the top spot on graduation day.

Over 200 dancers of all ages graced the stage at Harrah's Tahoe during each show of the Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio last weekend as the annual recitals opened up to full houses. The shows continued Saturday, April 28.

The opening night is still being talked about, especially the opening number, The Greatest Show on Earth, though details are being kept secret until all have seen the show. Other numbers include Put a Little Love in Your Heart, Catch a Falling Star, Sit Still Look Pretty, Bitter and Sweet Symphony, True Colors and Buenos Aires.

This isn't your mother's school play. Tahoe Valley Elementary Performing Arts is presenting The Jungle Book to local schools, parents and the community this week, and the production shouldn't be missed.

Under the direction of Jack Suglian, a Tahoe Valley Elementary and South Tahoe High graduate and stage veteran, the 55 students have been in rehearsal since January, not only working on lines but also on 15 musical numbers.

The play is inside the schools "Thunderbird Theater."

David Alan McClure passed away from multiple organ failure at Renown Hospital on February 24, 2018.

He was the first born child of Charles and Florence Engstrom McClure in Martinez, Calif., on October 7, 1050. Soon after, they moved to San Francisco, they lived in the student housing quonset huts while Charles got his teaching degree. Four years later they moved to San Anselmo, in Marin County, where the family lived in an Asian pagoda style home until 2016.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The student body, teachers, staff of South Tahoe High School and community members came together Wednesday to be part of the National School Walkout and March For Our Lives, events held across the country one month after 17 students died in Parkland, Florida when a fellow student opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - Lights. Camera. Action! Tahoe Arts Project is launching a new after-school theater club at South Tahoe Middle School on March 12 to give all students access to the performing arts.

ACT ONE is meant to help fill a void for middle school-aged student’s hunger for creative expression, given the absence of drama and other arts programming available to students at a critical developmental age.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was just 11 years old as she walked to the bus stop on the morning of June 10 in 1991 when she was abducted by two people. The Meyers and South Lake Tahoe community joined law enforcement in searching for the missing girls. As days turned into weeks, and then eventually years, parents searched for ways to teach their own children about safety and abduction.

An overflowing crowd of family, friends and community members filled the City Council chambers Monday as South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue held their 5th annual awards ceremony.

The staff was honored for their service doing a job that protects the lives, homes and environment of the South Lake Tahoe community and its visitors.

"Your recognition is well deserved, and well earned," said Mayor Wendy David.

SLTFR Fire Chief Jeff Meston led the ceremony which honored the following:

Firefighter/Medic of the Year: Dustin Winter
Dispatcher of the Year: Jillian Gard

Are you a college student looking for an internship this winter? Are you a retired school teacher who misses your students or providing education? Or maybe you simply love the outdoors and want to be involved in your community?

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is looking for volunteers to assist with their Winter Trek and Ski with a Ranger conservation education programs at Heavenly Mountain Resort from January through March 2018.

South Tahoe High math and choir teacher Paul Kushner has been placed on paid administrative leave by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) pending an investigation into undisclosed allegations.

"The nature of the allegations, and the investigation process, are confidential," Shannon Chandler, Executive Assistant to the LTUSD Superintendent, told South Tahoe Now as she verified Kushner was placed on leave.

When asked about the circumstances, LTUSD Board President Barbara Bannar said she could not comment on personnel matters.

New York performer and choreographer Sebastiani Romagnolo grew up dancing with Marcia Sarosik at her South Lake Tahoe dance studio, and he returned to those roots this week to help teach the next generation of performers.

The 2007 South Tahoe High and 2011 New York University (NYU) graduate took time out his hectic east coast schedule to head west to visit family in South Lake Tahoe, and visits to town always include a stop by Sarosik's studio.

Many may remember his talent as he headlined many South Tahoe High musicals, and now he's entertaining audiences in New York.

October is Library Card Sign-Up Month at the South Lake Tahoe Library. During this month, the Library invites you to demonstrate your love of reading by visiting them. Either show them an existing library card, or sign up for a new one. All participants will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win great prizes!

Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) officials didn't have to look far in getting a replacement for Ryan Galles, outgoing Sierra House Elementary principal.

South Lake Tahoe native Karin Holmes will take the school's top spot on an interim basis beginning August 7.

"It is very exciting," Karin told South Tahoe Now. "What they are doing at Sierra House is amazing! With the garden and health and fitness focus there is no moss growing at the school."

Doug Watson will portray legendary humorist “Will Rogers”, at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday, July 12, at 6:30 pm.

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Staff with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) took the top prizes in the 2017 Tahoe Bike Challenge, while hundreds of Tahoe youth rode in increasingly large bike-to-school events.

Each year, for the first two weeks of June, hundreds of Tahoe residents and visitors participate in the Tahoe Bike Challenge. In teams or as individuals, participants join a friendly competition to see who can replace the most car trips with trips by bicycle.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe Unified School District is losing a lot of experience as 20 of their employees are retiring after a combined 551 years of collective service in education. The four retiring food service employees alone had 107 years of working with LTUSD.

During a ceremony on Tuesday, the following retirees were honored:

Certificated Staff:

Roy Benavidez – Biology Teacher, STHS, 29 years of service
Therese Colwell – P.E. Teacher, STMS, 27 years of service
Mitch Delacour – ILA, Independent studies Teacher, 39 years of service

The 13th annual Reno Tahoe Odyssey will take runners from Reno, north of Verdi, down to Boca Reservoir, Truckee, down to South Lake Tahoe, over to Virginia City and back to Reno starting Friday, June 2. The event this year is 174.5 miles long, has 242 teams which split up 36 legs of the race, and they don't stop as the sun drops, they run all night long.

South Tahoe High teacher Bridey Heidel is participating this year with her team of "Girls Gone Miles."

Friday will be the last day on the job at South Tahoe High School (STHS) for Principal Chad Houck. He, his wife and five children are headed to Ridgecrest where he'll be the Dean of Instruction for Cerro Coso Community College starting June 5.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) didn't give South Tahoe High and the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) the results expected after a WASC accreditation team visited South Lake Tahoe in the Spring of 2016.

Instead of an expected six-year term they received a two-year accreditation which goes through June of 2018. On March 19 and 20 of that year a team of educators will return to the campus and evaluate recommended changes.

The South Lake Tahoe community came together early in 2016 to raise money for a new Strength and Conditioning room at South Tahoe High, and the investment is already paying huge dividends.

"This room is changing the culture of our school," said STHS Football Coach Louis Franklin. "Having a room like this allows each kid to reach their genetic potential."

Student athletes are getting stronger, injuries are down and they are able to maximize their potential on the court, the field, the pool, or whatever the venue is for their sport. Cheerleaders and dancers also utilize the facility.

As he reflects back on 30 years in uniform for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, Lt. Brian Williams knows the dates that will be forever etched into his memory. 12/29/1986, 6/10/1991, 1/29/1997, 10/25/2005 and 8/26/2009.

December 29, 1986: Brian starts with SLTPD and heads off to the Police Academy in Santa Rosa.

As we look at reopening the Al Tahoe Elementary School as a STEAM academy, it is important to take a look back at the journey Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has taken to get to where we are today.

Following decades of desegregation efforts and forced busing, lawsuits in the 1990s effectively brought a halt to desegregation efforts in the country. Neighborhood schools in South Lake Tahoe may have been segregated, not only based on race, but based on income levels.

What does a member of the Blue Man Group, a Los Angeles musician and music teacher, and an actor and YouTube video star have in common?

They are all graduates of South Tahoe High School (STHS) and returning for a week of variety shows at local schools culminating with a special Friday night performance at MontBleu on February 3. 2017.

Brothers Nick and Chris Smith will make the way back to South Lake Tahoe from Hollywood with Sean Pawling as part of the Tahoe Arts Project's Tahoe Boys Variety Show.

Being gay and a high school student in South Lake Tahoe in 2005 was challenging.

"It was a scary, dark place at the time," said Alex Boyar, who 'came out of the closet' at age 14. "Its a much different environment today."

Boyar, along with his mother Dr. Virginia Berry and sister Christina Boyar, stopped by South Tahoe High Thursday to talk to the students of Ally, the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at the school that he co-founded in 2005.