training

What does a police officer do after they retire?

Hunt for Bigfoot, of course.

That is what South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Donna Kingman said she'll be doing after hanging up her shield after 29 years of working in the community. Her official last day is April 30, but Thursday was her last shift working in uniform.

Of course, she won't be hunting for Bigfoot in cold, shaded areas as she'll be seeking sun and a life of being "footloose and fancy free."

Tahoe Chamber’s “Level Up” workshop series brings the latest business resources and hot topics to the South Shore business community. The chamber works directly with expert facilitators to host a variety of topics including, customer service training, marketing, social media, human resources and more. Each “Level Up” workshop is designed so participants will be able to solve actual work related issues or gain hands-on experience to further their expertise.

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Local curling and skeleton bobsled athlete, Larry Sidney, will be featured as a guest reporter for Mountain Resort Television and their Lake Tahoe News Line featured on South Tahoe Now and seen on KAME-TV, My21TV.

Larry, a South Shore resident, is a member of Lake Tahoe Epic Curling, competing internationally with the Israel Curling Federation, and a competitive skeleton bobsled athlete for the Israeli team.

It has been about 18 months since the Cal Tahoe JPA voted to spend $192,000 on badly needed EKG monitors for the nine ambulances that serve the South Lake Tahoe and Meyers area. As of March 31, not a dime has been spent due to a division between the two fire departments that are part of the JPA.

"I don't want public safety to get in the way of politics," said SLT City Councilman Tom Davis at Thursday's emergency JPA meeting. Davis is one of two Council representatives on the JPA board. The other is Mayor Wendy David.

Last week, March 15th and 16th, an estimated 75 volunteers participated in the South Shore Business Walk coordinated by the Tahoe Chamber, Tahoe Prosperity Center, El Dorado County, and the Lake Tahoe Adult Education Consortium to collect workforce data from local businesses.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department will be giving Heavenly Village business owners training on a brand new parking garage system that will allow them to validate customer's parking as well as purchase parking passes from the ease of their computer.

The South Lake Tahoe Recreation Department is offering American Red Cross Certified Lifeguard Training. Participants must register for this class by March 14th at www.cslt.sportssignup.com. The class is conducted by American Red Cross Certified Instructor Liz Terzian and will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to prevent, recognize, and respond to aquatic emergencies. Participants will be trained and certified to provide care for breathing and cardiac emergencies, injuries, and sudden illness until EMS (emergency services) take over.

South Lake Tahoe citizens who graduated from the most recent South Tahoe Action Team (STAT) training sessions were honored during Tuesday's city council meeting.

The STAT program is designed to incorporate trained citizens in the field with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and other first responders during times of crisis. This is the first program of its kind in the Tahoe Basin.

"Our disaster preparedness capability is much better because of this class," said Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

Two search and rescue teams training in the snow at the Sugar Bowl Resort on Monday found the body of missing ski instructor Carson May.

The El Dorado County Search and Rescue dog teams, along with the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team, located May under five feet of snow in an avalanche prone out-of-bounds area at the resort.

Carson May, 23, was a ski instructor at the resort and went missing Jan. 15, 2016. He was not found despite an intensive, four-day search by dozens of volunteers and law enforcement officers.

Gregory "Scott" Baker has joined the Tahoe Douglas Fire District as their new Assistant Fire Chief, replacing Mark A. Novak who left the department a year ago to become the new Fire Chief in Vail, Colorado.

Baker, who brings with him over 20-years of service, comes to the fire district from the Reno Fire Department where his most recent position was that of Division Chief of Fleet and Facilities.

Alexis Robin will be presenting this hands-on, interactive workshop on how to take on newly assigned responsibilities and make a successful transition from staff to leader as well as insightful information about Situational Leadership you won’t find anywhere else. This workshop is perfect for employees who are looking at future promotions, recently promoted to leadership positions in their organizations, and anyone who wants to add leadership training to their resume.

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All community members are invited to become an American Red Cross Certified Lifeguard through their training at the South Lake Tahoe Recreation and Swim Complex in March.

The South Lake Tahoe Recreation Department the class with instructor Liz Terzian who will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to prevent, recognize, and respond to aquatic emergencies. Participants will be trained and certified to provide care for breathing and cardiac emergencies, injuries, and sudden illness until EMS (emergency services) take over.

Soul and funk supergroup Tower of Power will headline the 2016 Concert Under the Stars, a fundraiser for the Greenhouse Project in Carson City. The concert outside of Cafe at Adele’s, will be July 14. Ticket sales will be announced soon, said Adele’s owner Charlie Abowd via his Facebook page.

Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller have announced that Katherine "Kate" Krolicki has been chosen to be one of 104 student delegates who will be attending the 54th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) in Washington, D.C.

"I never thought it'd happen," Krolick said of her being selected. "It's right up my alley and I am so excited to go back to Washington."

The Whittell High School senior has worked in Washington, D.C. twice, once as page for Senator Reid in 2014, and as Senator Heller's intern in 2015.

Chief Jeff Meston and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) held their annual awards ceremony on Friday January 29, 2016 to celebrate the department's teams members and accomplishments for the past year.

During the ceremony, the following people were honored:

Firefighter of the Year – Mike Mileski
Paramedic of the Year – Sophie Tetlow
Dispatcher of the Year – Linda Clark
STAT Volunteer of the Year – Leonard Smith

Fire Chief’s Meritorious Awards were presented to Marty Creel, Kim George, Jody Benavidez, and Brenen Davis for their work on special projects.

The 11th annual Science Expo is just around the corner and they are looking for volunteers to help facilitate the exciting and fun activities on five days (Monday through Friday, March 14-18) at eleven different 2 hour and 15 minute sessions:

Monday, March 14 / 9:15-11:30 am
Monday, March 14 / 11:30-1:45 pm
Tuesday, March 15 / 9:00-11:15 am
Tuesday, March 15 / 11:05-1:20 pm
Wednesday, March 16 / 9:30-11:45 am
Wednesday, March 16 / 11:45-2:00 pm
Wednesday, March 16 / 3:45-6:00 pm
Thursday, March 17 / 8:45-11:00 am
Thursday, March 17 / 11:05-1:20 pm
Friday, March 18 / 9:45-12:00 pm

El Dorado County Teen Court in South Lake Tahoe is recruiting new student participants for the spring program. All students going to school in the county in grades 8 through 12 are eligible.

The Teen Court volunteer training will be held on January 21, 2016, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the El Dorado County Superior Court, Department 4, located at 1354 Johnson Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Douglas County Search and Resuce (DCSAR) spent Saturday doing technical training on the eastern slopes of the Carson Range. Heavenly Mountain Resort allowed the members to ride the Gondola and Tamarack chair before the resort opened to the public so that the training could focus on safely traveling down to the valley, as would be required on a real rescue.

They didn't have to wait long to use their finely tuned skills since they were called out to the resort on Sunday after a skier became lost in the same general area. DCSAR was able to safely locate and rescue the unidentified person.

The "Pet of the Week" is Chester, a five-month old Fila Mastiff / Pit Bull mix. He is going to be a BIG dog!

Chester needs a family without children under 12 who is committed to taking him to training classes. He loves to play with other dogs and did not chase the cats that he met at Animal Control.

Please come visit him at The El Dorado County Animal Services, 530-573-7925. For Spay-Neuter services and other support, call the Lake Tahoe Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at 530-542-2857.

Just over two months ago, we wrote about how a large group of South Tahoe High alumni were rallying behind one of their classmates, Kevin Sullivan, who was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

At October's homecoming football game at STHS, many of Kevin's classmates from the class of 1984 and former teammates from the wrestling and football teams came together to honor Kevin and fondly share their memories.

We've seen them walking along the streets, sleeping in the forests or hanging outside of an all night market. The faces of South Lake Tahoe's homeless. Winter can be brutal on the homeless in town with below freezing temperatures, snow covered paths and no place to keep warm.

That is, until today.

The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless opened the doors of their new Warm Room on Friday, ready to take in their first visitors at 7:00 p.m. It is a safe and warm place for people over 18, getting them out of physically harmful conditions.

A mellow, down to earth, tree-talking yoga enthusiast, Jamie Anderson is not your average Olympic gold medalist. But when you observe the 25-year-old snowboarding phenom in her hometown of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., everything snaps into focus.

Watch the documentary, Into the Cold, at the next Lake of the Sky Outfitter's "Movie Night" on December 18, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Unity at the Lake, 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd.

Admission: $5.00 (children free) Please call (530) 541-1027 to RSVP. Light refreshments will be served.

Two men embark on a dramatic expedition to the North Pole, where, for over 2 months, they journey 400+ miles on foot facing harsh temperatures. From their intensive training to the expedition’s successful completion, Into the Cold is a bone-chilling story of true bravery, courage, and determination.

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Whitney Gardner realized quickly she was overmatched when she first competed in the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup.

The competition was stronger and more experienced. The jumps intimidated her. The features scared her. The courses were too challenging. She was constantly falling. She just wasn’t meeting her own expectations.

Ever since she transitioned into skicross from alpine skiing, Gardner had strove to someday compete on the world cup tour. But now that she was there, she had to admit she wasn’t ready. That was difficult.