The Nevada Division of Forestry will be conducting prescribed burns at Tunnel Creek in the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park backcountry this month and in November, weather permitting.

Tunnel Creek Road from Highway 28 to Tunnel Creek Station may be closed in order to conduct the burns. Signs will be posted throughout the area when burns are being conducted. Thirty-five acres will be burned in six treatment units.

The burns are part of ongoing fuels treatment and forest restoration efforts being conducted by the Nevada Tahoe Resource Team in the Lake Tahoe area. The goal of the project is to create a healthier forest and to make the area more resistant to catastrophic wildfire.

For more information, contact the Nevada Division of Forestry at 775.684.2500.

By Derek Taylor, Outside

When it comes time to throw stones in the ski world, there’s no easier target than Vail. A $3 billion-plus publicly traded company, Vail is an easy target because it’s a big target. Taking it down verbally is a rite of passage in many mountain communities. Just as a generation of Red Sox fans can’t mention Bucky Dent without giving him a middle name that starts with F, many denizens of ski towns across the nation find it impossible to say the word Vail without immediately following it with “sucks.”

Vail, there is no doubt, brings much of this on itself. Look no further than the recent diarrhea storm it recently created when it purchased Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort after the ski area inexplicably failed to renew the terms of its lease. Even setting aside that it was Canadian real estate developer Talisker, not Vail, that originally evicted PCMR, or that it was neither Talisker’s nor Vail’s responsibility to remind PCMR that its sweetheart lease was about to expire, the strong-arm tactics Vail employed in acquiring its nearest competitor for just slightly more than Randolph Hearst’s former Beverly Hills home were decidedly “un-bro” and left many people with a bitter taste. When Outside first reported that Vail acquired PCMR, the comment section of our Facebook wall overflowed with vitriol directed at Vail.

But before you grab a torch and join the lynch mob, I have something to tell you. Vail is not your enemy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done more than my fair share of Vail bashing. I used to live in a town (Crested Butte) that sold “Vail Sucks” shirts in most storefronts. And if I were to compile a list my favorite ski resorts, there might  —might — be one from the Vail Resorts portfolio on the list. But when it comes time to spew venom, there’s something else to remember. Unlike many entities that storm in and adversely affect our little mountain utopias (Talisker?), Vail is a ski company.

Not only is Vail a ski company, it is a successful ski company. The 11 areas the company runs survive. They attract people. They create skiers. At a time when the buzz in the long-struggling ski industry is about increasing the size of the pie rather than fighting over the pieces, Vail is actually doing that.

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Given Nevada’s current levels of employment and the potential for growth, the projections are for a statewide increase of 528,107 people in the next 20 years.

Broken out by region, Clark County could experience an increase of 328,379 people; Washoe County an increase of 147,422 people; and other northwest counties (Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, and Storey Counties) could see population increase of 44,034. The counties along Interstate 80 (Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander and Pershing Counties) could see an increase of 5,854 people and the balance of the state (Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine Counties) could see an increase of 2,409 people.

The Nevada State Demographer’s Office at UNR released its most recent population projections for Nevada this week.

“Nevada was hit by three major economic factors in the last decade: the housing bubble, the spike in fuel prices and the financial crisis; yet we grew by 35 percent from 2000 to 2010,” Jeff Hardcastle, state demographer, said in a statement. “We are recovering and could end up growing by more than 290,000 from 2000 to 2020, which is roughly equal to the last year’s estimated population of Boulder City and Henderson.”

Models allows Hardcastle to consider the historic relationship between the Nevada economy and demographic composition of the state and how that relates to national changes as well as changes in counties throughout the state.

“In looking at Nevada compared to the rest of the country and surrounding states, Nevada continues to lag behind in job growth, but that is changing,” Hardcastle said. “Since the bottom of employment for Nevada in September 2010, we have regained 58.6 percent of the jobs that had been lost, almost half of that in the past year. Our annual job growth rate has been 2.5 percent since the bottom and is only exceeded by Utah for the states surrounding us. For the period between 2013 and 2020, we expect the annualized rate to be 1.8 percent with a recovery of the number of jobs lost by 2016. The growth in jobs will exceed the growth in the labor force so there may be more opportunity for people looking to reenter the labor force.”

“No matter how we look at it, gaming continues to be the biggest driver for employment in Nevada,” said Hardcastle. “But it is becoming more competitive across the country for the tourist dollar in general.”

Accommodation and food services and arts, entertainment and recreation currently make up more than 353,000 jobs. Hardcastle expects to see gains in manufacturing over the long term, but the other sectors with greater growth will be in construction, administrative and management services. The next two largest sectors, health care and retail combined, equal 279,000 jobs.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

TAMBA is putting on two fun rides this month.

The first is Oct. 12 in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service for the grand opening celebration and showcase ride on the new Monument Pass Trail above Cold Creek and High Meadow.

USFS employees and trail builders will be on the ride.

Meet at 9am at Bijou Community Park. Cyclists will ride from there on a big “lollipop” loop up to high Meadow and Star Lake and then end with a barbecue at the park.

Oct. 18 is the Corral Night Ride. Hearty souls will stage a night ride with Halloween revelry. Riders dressed as ghouls, disco freaks, and other random weirdness are all ready to ride mountain bikes in the dark.

Meet at the Corral parking area at 5:30pm.

For more info about either ride, go online.

Sue Novasel

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News convened an editorial panel of seven community members to come up with this endorsement.

Who is going to genuinely represent the constituency the best?

While that question is good to ask in every race, it was the deciding factor for us when it came to who should be the next El Dorado County supervisor representing District 5.

We kept coming back to Sue Novasel.

Experience trumps the guy you want to have a beer with. The listener wins over the talker. We want substance not hot air. We want someone who will work and not call in sick on a powder day.

Being on a board requires the ability to count to three to get your measure passed. Novasel has demonstrated the ability to do so on the various boards she has been on, most notably to the elected board of Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

There is a give and take to being on a board. It equals working together.

But what we can’t tolerate is another four to eight years of a District 5 supervisor who is led and is not a leader. And being president of a board does not make a person a leader. Leadership is a trait we hope is inside Novasel that she has yet to demonstrate.

Novasel’s experience with such varied endeavors as Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care give her a glimpse into working in different group dynamics. This could aid her as she joins a board that is mostly inexperienced at least at the current job.

When it comes time to act the supervisors represent the entire county, not just where they were elected from. While the East and West slopes are dramatically different, it is still one county. We need someone who will take an interest in all the issues that come before the board.

We trust Novasel will be prepared at each of the weekly meetings, that she will use the time of staff wisely and that she will be more of a presence in the district than the current supervisor.

There is no doubt Kenny Curtzwiler, the other contender, is passionate about his community. He talks a good game until the knowing listener seizes the opportunity to punch holes in his diatribe. The problem is with the unknowing listener who wants to believe Curzwiler’s tales. His spoken word is no different than his writings – full of nuggets of wisdom saturated in half-truths (or less) that amount to a hill of beans.

We need someone in office who looks at all sides of a topic, understands hard topics and gets the answers; not someone who is unprepared, acting on emotion and fails to truly grasp what the job entails. We believe Novasel is the best choice voters have for El Dorado County District 5 supervisor.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is pioneering a project on the Truckee River to control the aquatic invasive plant, Eurasian watermilfoil, which has been growing prolifically since the late 1990s.

Eurasian watermilfoil is a nonnative aquatic plant that can spread easily between water bodies by plant fragments adhering to boats, trailers and other recreational and angling equipment. Eurasian watermilfoil likely entered the Truckee River following the overflow of the dam in 1997 and has been more prolific in the last five to seven years.

For this project only diver assisted hand removal will be used. Permitting constraints and river flows are contributing factors to this decision.

Funding for this project has been provided by the Community Foundation of Western Nevada/Truckee River Fund, California Department of Parks and Recreation and the Tahoe Fund.

For more info, contact Nicole Cartwright at ncartwright@tahoercd.org.

The Sugar Pine Foundation is starting its planting season this weekend.

The foundation will provide seedlings, shovels and gloves. Volunteers should dress in layers with closed toe shoes and bring plenty of water.

Community planting schedule:

Oct. 11, 11am-1pm — Rubicon McKinney planting at 6445 Chamberland Drive, Tahoma
Oct. 18, 10am-noon — Kingsbury Middle School planting at 1900 Echo Court, Glenbrook
Oct. 19, 10am-noon — Zephyr Cove Park planting at 240 Warrior Way, Zephyr Cove.

For more info, call Maria at 650.814.9565.

By Andy Wirth, Outside

I came to Squaw Valley in August 2010 to be president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings and quickly befriended mountain athlete J.T. Holmes. J.T. is predominantly known for BASE jumping, wingsuiting, and big mountain skiing, but when we skied together, I’d tell him how I really wanted to get into skydiving.

Andy Wirth has given up skydiving. Photo/LTN file

In spring 2011, he hooked me up with Red Bull athlete Sean McCormick, who helped me certify to jump, and we saw to that in Perris, California. From the very first time I did it, I was in love with it. I’ve rapelled big faces and skied some big and hairy lines, but nothing felt like this.

We would jump as often as my schedule allowed, which frequently felt like not enough, as many addictions go. There were days when we would jump from first load to sundown, getting as many jumps as possible. On those days when we were really getting after it, we’d get seven jumps in. I got comfortable enough to do some pretty cool things out of the plane and in the air, like four-way inverted exits—where we’d grab each other and exit facing one another—and delta tracking, where you put your hands by your sides, straighten your legs, and fly like a dart, sometimes in formation with other jumpers.

On Oct. 12, 2013, J.T., some friends, and I went to Davis to jump. We had a great, full day of jumping. On Sunday the 13th, the Davis drop zone was shut down due to winds, so we drove over to a drop zone in Lodi. It was windy, but they were still flying. I’d jumped there before, so I knew this drop zone pretty well. We went up, played in freefall, and delta tracked.

But then a few things went wrong. The pilot flew a bad flight line, so we were too far away from the drop zone, and we exited last, taking us even farther from the drop zone. I pulled my canopy too low at 2,500 feet AGL (above ground level). Normally I’d pull the canopy at 4,000 feet AGL. Unknown to all of us, the winds had changed since takeoff, so I had a headwind going into the drop zone instead of a tailwind.

I realized I wasn’t going to make the drop zone, and I didn’t have any good landing options: power lines on three sides and a vineyard on the other. I decided to land in the vineyard rather than try to make it over or under the power lines. I lined up parallel with the rows of the vines, but just as I was coming in and flared my canopy to slow down and land, a small crosswind forced me to my right.

I caught a pole with my right arm. The pole tore off my arm and stripped all the tissue from my shoulder down to mid-forearm. When I looked down, I knew I was in a rough spot. My brachial artery, which runs from your shoulder to your forearm, was bleeding out. Within a short period of time, I had lost a substantial amount of blood.

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By Jeremy Miller

After a severely dry summer financially, Hollywood, sadly, still failed to open October with a successful horror flick. With the genius of James Wan (“Saw”, “Insidious”, “The Conjuring”) backing the film I most certainly expected something more than what I got.

Being somewhat of a precursor to the blowout “The Conjuring”, “Annabelle” follows John (Ward Horton) and Mia (Annabelle Wallis) who are newly married. While finishing medical school, John buys his expecting wife a doll as a gift to complete her already overly creepy collection. A short time later their home is invaded by two people who resemble members of the Manson family who are satanic cultists. The woman cultist is gunned down by police while holding the doll recently gifted to Mia. The woman’s dark spirit possesses the doll and all the cliché possession flick stuff follows thereafter.

Our main characters are accompanied by two rather weak characters, a priest (Tony Amendola), and a bookstore owner (Alfre Woodard) who has little to no real presence in the flick at all. After the attack the couple eventually relocates to try and move on with their lives.

The Miller Meter: 1 out of 5 stars

Sure enough the weird visions and paranormal occurrences move with them. With no more options, the couple turns to the church for help and the little crew wage war against the spirits possessing the doll.

I rate this movie so low for several reasons. The biggest being a total lack of story. The movie only had an hour and a half runtime, but the thing felt like an eternity. The first hour of building characters and backstory was a total bust. They showed a tragic event that starts it all, which is great, but then followed it with 40 minutes of emotional back and forth between the newlyweds that’s so pointless and hollow it nearly drove me out of the theater.

My next qualm is that pretty much nothing happened. Doll gets possessed, family gets scared, stuff gets weird, someone dies, spirit moves on, queue “The Conjuring”. I didn’t need this movie to exist and that’s a fundamental flaw when it comes to an audience. I felt like I was watching “Titanic”, but the version where the boat didn’t crash … an experience that felt like three hours of nothing more than a couple trying way too hard to make it work.

My blame falls on an unseasoned writer/director combo. We’ve got a rather reputable cinematographer, John Leonetti, who’s only directed a handful of TV episodes, a straight to DVD flick, and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”. Though the latter is an absolute classic, it’s not enough to give someone the knowhow or skill to put together a well-rounded horror movie. Behind the script we have Gary Dauberman whose experience is limited to scripting three B-rated, limited release horror flicks with next to nothing budgets.

Now, I’m not saying that people don’t deserve a shot in the big leagues by any means, but a warm up round is a wise move. I wouldn’t consider the first horror movie of an already droughty season a smart warm up round. The camera work was bland at best and I am almost positive I jumped more watching “Insidious” for the ninth time knowing exactly what was coming and when. Acting was pretty poor, but I don’t blame the talent I blame the script. You could’ve put A-listers in those slots and magic would not have happened. I give it a one because there were a few scenes that were almost really awesome, but fell short and I just took it upon myself to divert to my own imagination to keep myself going until the end. It’s never a good sign when every three minutes I am checking my watch in combination with calculating how long the trailers were so I get an accurate estimation of how much more I had to endure.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

Updated Oct. 9 7am:

Financial forms for candidates running for office in November were due this week.

Here are the forms for El Dorado County District 5 supervisor candidates Sue Novasel and Kenny Curtzwiler.

Michelle Sweeney has not turned in a Form 460 for Lake Tahoe Community College.

Only candidates who have formed committees must turn in forms.

Here are the forms for Duane Wallace and Jim Jones who are running for South Tahoe Public Utility District, though not against each other.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report