By Kathryn Reed

TRUCKEE – It wasn’t competing in the Olympics that stressed out Travis Ganong, it was the anxiety of being named to the U.S. team.

“It was stressful the whole season last year during World Cup leading up to the Olympics,” the Truckee native told a crowd of supporters. “Once I made the team, I was relaxed and had fun.”

The most fun was walking in during the Opening Ceremonies – seeing the crowd, being with the other athletes, all those flashbulbs going off. After that, it was all about work. After all, his event was the next day.

But he met his goal at the time – make it to the Olympics. He placed fifth in the downhill, four-tenths of a second from gold, seven-one hundredths from bronze.

“It was frustrating, but it gives me motivation,” the 26-year-old said.

Olympian Travis Ganong returns home to Truckee on Oct. 14 to talk about skiing. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Dressed in a beanie with USA across the front, the speed skier enlightened the Truckee-Donner Chamber of Commerce breakfast attendees about the Olympics, his life and future goals.

In Russia he was not able to complete his final training run because his ski popped off near the top of the course. Ganong admits this may have helped save his legs.

While he has hit 100 mph on the racecourse, at the Olympics he was in the 80s.

A video of his Olympic race was shown for the group last week, with many oohs and aahs as he flew over huge jumps that at times had him in the air for hundreds of yards.

“That course was very challenging,” Ganong said, with turns and steeps that pushed the racers.

Ganong doesn’t set seasonal goals, but instead he has more of a career vision. He hopes to keep racing at this caliber for another eight to 10 years. After that he plans to stay in the industry in some capacity. Taking courses in ski management at Sierra Nevada College will be in his future.

Winning the men’s World Cup downhill title is the big dream. No U.S. man has done so. Daron Rahlves, who raced for Sugar Bowl, placed second. (Two U.S. women have won it – Tamara McKinney of Squaw Valley and Lindsay Vonn of Vail.)

This summer Ganong worked on his starts. He calls them his “Achilles’ heel” and the one area he could have shaved time in Sochi earlier this year. Training in the giant slalom was another focus this summer. Much of the summer is spent in Chile and New Zealand preparing for the upcoming season.

While he still calls Truckee home, as do his parents, the ski season is primarily in Europe. This year is unusual with two events at Beaver Creek, Colo.

Ganong said with FIS (International Ski Federation) leaders being European it’s hard to generate interest in hosting World Cup events in the United States. Plus, he added, most U.S. resorts don’t want to shut down the bulk of their mountain for these races. (Squaw will be hosting a World Cup skiercross race this season.)

He started with the U.S. Ski Team’s developmental team at age 15 after learning how to ski at Squaw. There he participated in various levels of competition. For the last five years he has been on the World Cup circuit.

U.S. athletes have a harder time securing sponsorships. Then there are limits to how much of his clothing can be covered. For example, the FIS allows only one headgear sponsor and then dictates the size. Ganong is still looking to fill that spot.

One thing that has changed is the shape of skis. There is less of a side cut, more old school.

“With side cut, you get crazy pressure on your knees,” Ganong said. “There are fewer injuries (now).”

After the Olympics, Ganong competed the next weekend – securing his first World Cup podium.

The first downhill World Cup race this season is in December in Lake Louise, Canada.

To the community,

With the race for Douglas County sheriff nearing an end I would like to offer the following observations:

First, I have repeatedly heard that Dave Brady wants to cut the volunteer programs, calling them “non-essential.” I am one of the 200-plus volunteers currently serving the sheriff’s office; I am a citizen patrol officer. By being able to recruit, train and retain people that are willing to donate their time Sheriff (Ron) Pierini saves Douglas County taxpayers approximately $1 million per year. The various volunteer services allow the sworn deputies to devote their attention to real-time public safety. I cannot understand why Mr. Brady would want to eliminate programs that do so much good and save so much money.

Second, Mr. Brady has constantly hammered his point that we are not safe in Douglas County because of the ineptitude of Sheriff Pierini. This is absurd. Sheriff Pierini is one of the most competent head of a law enforcement agency I have ever known … and I’ve known several. He is highly trained — as is his entire department — and possesses great acumen as a street cop and as an administrator. I believe his deep and abiding love for and dedication to the residents of Douglas County are what drive him. I’ve been greatly impressed by his proactive approach to crime deterrence and prevention, and his aggressive approach toward gang activity is an excellent example. Recently I heard someone say that we have a gang problem here because they saw some graffiti on a wall. I spent a lot of time investigating gang-related homicides in Phoenix before retiring and returning home to the Carson Valley. I can assure all that we do not have a “gang problem” here.

Third, Mr. Brady has said that DCSO should reduce salaries and benefits of command staff and raise salaries and benefits of officers. How? DCSO has nothing to do with these items. They are set by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners. Mr. Brady was a commissioner for six years. Does he not know this?

Finally, Mr. Brady wears a DCSO uniform in his campaign ads as if he is still affiliated with and endorsed by the sheriff’s office. He also has a DCSO badge emblazoned on his posters and website. I find that to be manipulative, disrespectful and at the very least a gross misdemeanor for impersonating a law enforcement officer.

I have seen firsthand the high quality of leadership exhibited by not only Sheriff Pierini but his entire command staff. The morale in this department is incredibly high, and the dedication and professionalism are a reflection of the sheriff. For months we have heard Mr. Brady deliver a message: in him lies “hope” for the uninformed, huddled masses of Douglas County, and he will save us by bringing “change” to the sheriff’s office. Personally, I have had enough “hope and change” lately to last a lifetime.

Tom Martel, Minden

Amgen 2011 was snowed out. Photo/Lisa J. Tolda/Copyright

Amgen Tour of California is taking another chance on Lake Tahoe.

The first two stages of the expanded women’s portion of the 2015 race will be hosted by South Lake Tahoe on May 8-9. The competition will continue in Sacramento on May 10, with a third racing stage, the same day as the overall men’s start of the Amgen Tour of California.

In 2011, when there was only a men’s race, is was to have started in Stateline, with the second day starting in Squaw Valley. But snow changed those plans.

“Hosting the first two segments of the women’s race for the Amgen Tour of California’s 10th anniversary provides an opportunity to challenge these athletes with our natural environment while elevating awareness of women’s racing as a prestigious sport,” Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, said in a statement.

Susie Marchini of South Lake Tahoe has recently been recognized by Strathmore’s Who’s Who for her contributions and achievements in publishing.

Her father, David Phanco, created the original duplicating student laboratory notebook more than 24 years ago. He developed four versions of it through the years. It has become the industry standard. It was always his vision to have the school crest and name on the cover for each university.

Susie Marchini

Before Phanco died last spring he helped his daughter launch D.E.P. Publishing Company.

Marchini is publishing an up-to-date periodic table, lab information as well as new information on the “how to use a laboratory” notebook page, authored by Bryan Krantz of UC Berkeley.

Strathmore’s Who’s Who honors successful individuals in the fields of business, the arts and sciences, law, engineering and government. Inclusion is limited to individuals who have demonstrated leadership and achievement in their occupation, industry or profession.

By Associated Press

The popular song “Royals” by New Zealand artist Lorde is getting caught up in the fervor over the upcoming World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.

Two San Francisco radio stations say they won’t play the song during the duration of the World Series.

KFOG and KOIT announced the bans last week as the Giants clinched the pennant and headed to the series. KOIT program director Brian Figula said in a statement that listeners called for the ban.

Jim Richards, KFOG’s program director, said they didn’t want to play a song that repeatedly says “Royals” while rooting for the hometown team.

Lorde has told VH1 that a photo of Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett signing autographs in his uniform helped inspire her song when she saw the word “Royals.”

By Tony Bizjakt, Sacramento Bee

Faced with public concern about the risks of crude oil shipments, the Union Pacific railroad last month boosted its rail inspection program on mountain passes in California and the West, dispatching high-tech vehicles with lasers to check tracks for imperfections.

UP officials say they have leased two rail inspection vehicles, called geometry cars, doubling the number of computer-based safety cars in use on the company’s tracks. The move comes amid mounting public concern about hazardous-material shipments, including a growing quantity of highly flammable crude oil from North Dakota being shipped to West Coast refineries.

The inspection cars will supplement similar geometry cars UP owns that it uses to inspect hundreds of miles of tracks daily on the company’s main lines west of the Mississippi River. Running at regular train speeds, the inspection vehicles can detect tiny deviations and wear on rail lines that could cause a derailment if allowed to grow, UP officials said.

The new cars will patrol the main mountain routes into the state, UP officials said. Northern California sites will include Donner Pass, the Feather River Canyon and grades outside Dunsmuir. The state has designated all those areas high hazards for derailments.

Read the whole story

By Heather Somerville, San Jose Mercury News

At the end of a long day on the slopes, there’s only one reward as sweet as a cold beer and a fireplace to warm your toes — recounting your epic moves through the powder.

“You won’t believe the air I caught!”

“Did you see how fast I took that tree run?”

At the end of a ski day, Shirley Hackett goes over her Epic Mix account online. Photo/LTN file

But with a growing number of mobile apps, high-tech goggles and other digital devices that can measure with precision all the moves down a mountain, old-fashioned storytelling with friends and family may not cut it anymore. GoPros and iPhones have long helped athletes record their mountain adventures, but more serious skiers are pushing their limits with gadgets — possibly even Google Glass — that offer skiers a wealth of data about their technique on the trail.

The “quantified self” movement, which emerged as smartphones became more ubiquitous and wearable devices such as the Fitbit grew in popularity, has invaded resorts across the globe, adding competitive aspects and measurable performance gains to the sport. Although many embraced skiing for the chance to be in the mountains, disconnected, alone at the crest of an untracked bowl, even these snow-sport athletes are adopting technology to measure every turn and trick in hopes of quantifying a sport that has for so long been measured by gut feelings.

“You get this emotional feeling, like ‘Wow, that might have been the best powder run I’ve ever done.’ But then you think, ‘A lot of runs feel that way, and they can’t all be the best,’ ” said David Lokshin, co-founder of AlpineReplay, a Southern California company that makes Trace, an app to track ski performance and a sensor that sticks to a ski or snowboard and can identify and record airborne tricks

The data the Trace app collects can then be examined and shared, offering new potential bragging rights and quantifiable improvement.

Read the whole story

• Nevada Highway Patrol is having an open house Oct. 22 from 5-7pm at its headquarters – 357 Hammill Lane, Reno.

• Board of Equalization member George Runner will host a telephone townhall for restaurant owners on Oct. 29 at 10am. To register to participate, go online or call 916.445.3032.

• There will be a handmade holiday fine arts and crafts sale at Sierra College Tahoe-Truckee on Dec. 6 from 11am-4pm.

• Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is now on Facebook.

• Charter Cable customers in some parts of the Lake Tahoe Basin will be seeing higher bills this fall because the once free digital boxes are now going to cost money. During the digital transitioning it’s also likely channels will be changing.

To the community,

Why should we care about investing in higher education in our local, state and national communities? According to a 2013 report by the Economic Analysis and Research Network in Washington, D.C., “States can build a strong foundation for economic success and shared prosperity by investing in education. Providing expanded access to high-quality education will not only expand economic opportunities for residents, but also will likely do more to strengthen the overall state economy than anything else a state government can ever do.”

Karen Borges

Additionally from the same report, “There is a strong correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages.”

South Lake Tahoe has been searching for a solution to spur its economic development. A well-educated workforce is our key to prosperity.

Please vote yes on Measure F for Lake Tahoe Community College.

Karen and David Borges, Borges Chiropractic, Karen Borges is on the LTCC board of trustees

Sexual conduct and how to receive consent is the topic of a campaign being launched at UNR.

With national attention addressing sexual assault on college campuses, the university wants to be part of the dialogue to ensure all students, faculty and staff create a safe, respectful and welcoming campus environment.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., will discuss the Campus Accountability and Safety Act tonight from 6-8pm at the Joe Crowley Student Union, Milt Glick Ballroom C, at UNR.

Alison Gaulden, Reynolds School of Journalism faculty and former Planned Parenthood lobbyist, will talk to students about the role sexual education plays in social and reproductive justice. Tory Clark, certified clinical sexologist and adjunct faculty member at the university, will discuss issues pertaining to culture and gender equality.

Representatives from the Office of Student Conduct, University Counseling Services, Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX and the Crisis Call Center will also be on hand offering students information about their services.